DIVERSITY
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Racism as known in the West does not occur in Egypt. This is not to say that social status distinction and even differential access to positions or power does not exist. The distinction or discrimination that exist is not based on skin colour or race as commonly percieved in the West. Skin colour may be judged on aesthetic grounds to be more or less attractive, but it is not considered important in establishing one's social status.
In Egypt, people do not generally recognise the term'ethnic group'. Instead, people are merely referred to as being 'IN' different groups; like Muslims, like Christians, like upper class,,etc. Nubians and Bedouins constitute somewhat more distinct groups.
SOCIAL CLASS, POWER AND WEALTH
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Social class is the most important delimiting factor in Egyptian society, more so than any type of ethnic designation. Social class structure determines access to power and position. Therefore, recognition of existing social class structure is what is important to Egyptians.
Egypt's social class structure is somewhere between those of the United States and the United Kingdom. No royalty or nobility classes exist in Egypt anymore, but very distinct social class differences delineate everyday life and potential opportunity throughout Egypt.
Most social scientists characterise Egyptian society into three basic social classes that correspond more or less with socio-economic status- upper, middle and lower classes. Intragroup distinctions exist within each of these classes.
In Egypt, status is sometimes more a case of family heritage than income. There are no hard and fast rules, but Egyptian society appears quite inflexible (by American standards), with little or no social mobility. Members of each class tend to socialise only within their group. Almost no cross-class marriages occur. As a result, though persons may amass wealth, gain an education or both, they will not move from one class to another.
Many Egyptians fall into the lower class. These people are distinguished by low educational levels and poverty. Members of this calss have very little real opportunity for social mobility, though the hard working and clever among them do improve their family's living conditions.
Social gatherings tend to be among social status peers; therefore, deferential behaviour tends to disappear or at least become less apparent in these settings,,,e.g. inviting your driver to join a function with your boss or a high ranking official would embarrass both guests.
Even within a group of a social class peers, different relative status may still be represented within the group.
FAMILY
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Life in Egypt revolves around the family, and family concerns often assume greater significance than business relationships. It would not be uncommon for someone to cancel a business meeting because some pressing family matter took greater precedence.
All Egyptians seem to love children. One of the things you notice in Egypt is that children are everywhere. There seem to be few public places where you won't find children.
Traditionally, the mother assumes major responsibility for assuring that children are raised properly. Fathers often fondly hold small children and are frequently seen with them in public. As children age, fathers apparently bond more closely with their sons with regard to career and responsibility roles and daughters become more closely aligned with their mother's role.
Traditionally, the Egyptian standard was to live in the extended family setting usually comprised of three generations within the same household. This is still the preferred living arrangement among most Egyptians, but as crowding forces more people to migrate to urban areas to work, family living arrangements have dispersed somewhat. Most unmarried children remain in the family home until they get married unless they must migrate for work or education. Very rarely do single women move away from their family residence unless it is to another family member's home.
Traditionally, family size is rather large in Egypt by Western standards. Preferred family size seems to be decreasing somewhat. Many people would prefer to have only two or three children rather than eight or nine or more, which was customary in previous generations.
SURVIVAL ON FOOT
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The key words for pedestrian survival are 'situational awareness'. Egyptian drivers are alert not to hit pedestrians, but do not count on their sharpness for your survival.
Rural towns are considerably less congested than are the cities, but this only means the drivers are less alert to wayward walkers. Once you learn to cross the streets successfully in Cairo and maintian your level of situational awareness when being a pedestrian in general, you will have the greatest probability of staying in Egypt unscathed by bumps, hits and slum-dunks.
Slippery soled shoes are a hazard. Cairo's streets tend to be covered with a fine layer of the infamous dusty sand. Sand on sloping streets makes for bad traction. You never know when you are going to have to sprint the extra few feet to avoid an oncoming car picking up speed. Shoes with soles that allow more kind of traction work best.
Don't worry about being at an intersection to cross a street. If you want to go across, head out into the traffic like the rest of the population. Rarely do you find places where police or lights stop traffic. Even when they do, there is usually someone coming around the corner right into crossing foot traffickers. The easiest way to cross is to find some Egyptians who want to cross where you do and go with them. You must be careful not to lag behind them, however, because they are probably gauging their steps by not only what is coming in one lane, but what is coming in several. You may have just enough time to get across one line of cars, and stop as others in the next line speed past, only to quickly dart another lane's worth to stop again. Don't try carrying on a conversation while crossing the street. This tends to slow people down and diverts their attention from oncoming cars. You must also keep your ears attuned to the sound of hisses, horns and bells. Two wheeled vehicles tend to dart in and out among the bigger varieties and may not be visible when you start between two cars. In really congested areas, slowed or non moving traffic makes your progree easier.
Pedestrian traffic is not limited to sidewalks, nor is wheeled traffic necessarily limited to streets. People walk anywhere and everywhere there is room to move. Bicycles and motorcycles sometimes weave through pedestrians whether on the sidewalks or in the streets; they often appear as if by magic out of some little nook or alley between buildings.
GESTURES
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Especially when excited, Egyptians make liberal use of gestures when talking. If you watch people closely, you will also begin to notice head and facial gestures that are commonly part of communication.
Here are some of the more common do's and don'ts concerning gestures:
- Most Western lewd hand or arm gestures are well understood throughout Egypt, so they should not be used.
- People not to cross their feet exposing the soles to people. This is an extreme insult.
- Use the old 'thumbs up' gesture to indicate that something is OK or very good or that you are winning [make a fist with the right hand with the thumb extending upwards].
- Pointing at people is equally insulting in Egypt as in the West.
- If you want someone to come over to you or to indicate that you want to talk with someone, hold the right hand up, palm facing outward, and close all four fingers back and forth to the palm. Beckoning someone to come to you by holding the hand palm up, curling the forefinger several times, is considered rude and commanding.
- If you want someone to wait , go slowly or be patient, hold the right hand out, palm upward, touch the thumb and fingers together, and then move the hand up and down.
SPACE
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Personal space is really a Western concept that is foreign to most Egyptians, specially in public. Much of this probably relates to differing concept of the 'SELF'.
To the Egyptians, the self resides somewhere deep within the core of the body, closely tying the individual with the more representative meanings of honour, morality and character..i.e. the symbolic person.The way this translates into behaviour is simple: Westerners prefer a minimum of communication distance of about 46 cm [18 inches], whereas Egyptians prefer 23-25 cm [9-10 inches].
EGYPTIAN TIME
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The clock reads the same in Egypt, but responses and expectations differ significantly from those in the West. Working on Egyptian time boggles the mind. Things happen when they happen, no sooner. If you are on a tight schedule, you are probably destined to suffer severe frustrations. Your best bet is to simply learn to work in approximate time schedules. Tours usually starts on time.
HONOUR
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Never discount the value of honour in Egyptian society. Honour denotes respect, admiration or esteem for another. It can be seen as a right or as due. Intricate interactions among honour, family and family honour constitute some of the most important facets affecting Egyptian life.
In Egypt, an individual's honour cannot be separated from his or her family. As such, the actions of one family member bear directly on the reputation of all other family members. Any behaviour on the part of an individual reflects strongly on the family. Behaviour of any family member is held to be the direct responsibility of the family. It is for this reason, among others, that family members concern themselves intimately with the actions of all family members.
-First, honour means a code of integrity, dignity and pride. Honour, in general sense, applies to both the feeling and the expression of the sentiment. Throughout Egypt, feelings of honour find expression in every day language and demeanor. For example, Egyptians are overwhelmingly concerned with demonstrating their hospitality and generosity. Dignity and pride express themselves in all aspects of dress, manners, language, business, attitudes and behaviour. In daily life, Egyptians demonstrate pride and honour for their religious, political, social, and ancient heritage.
Understanding how appearance relates to honour requires using a broad perspective of how appearance integrates with behaviour to Egyptians. Outward appearance, i.e. how you are dressed, your grooming etc., is very important to all Egyptians, most especially to upper class Egyptians. They strive to appear well-dressed and groomed at all times and cannot fathom why anyone would not appear otherwise. As a result, dress appear to be a bit more formal than is common in the west. For example, casual dress in Egypt more closely relates to what is termed 'dressy casual' in the United States. You will be judged to have little pride, thus honour, if you are not neatly dressed.
-Second, honour very importantly involves personal integrity. A person's word, honesty and good character are hallmarks of an individual's integrity, thus the family's honour. Trustworthiness, as evidenced through honesty and good character, are critical to developing both personal and business relationships throughout Egypt.
It is through personal honour that deference behaviour comes into play. Deference is an honourable way Egyptians use to show appropriate respect for someone in a higher position, authority or who might be deserving great respect for other reasons. The easiest example is with age: Egyptians respect their elders. They rise when an older person enters or leaves a room. They defer to the elder person's opinion, especially in public. One would never contradict an elder infront of others. In fact, a principal requirement of 'good children' is to respect their elders. Another example, in the work place, social setting or in trade, Egyptians tend to defer to someone percieved to be in a higher social, political or bureaucratic position. subtle acts of deference abound in all sorts of human interactions. Expressing opinions in the presence of a superior is not done. The person present with the most percieved social power should be the spokesperson, the one to express an opinion. At business meetings, persons who percieve their position to be below another will not express opinions in the company of the person above them. they might express their ideas individually, but if an opinion is presented publicaly, the person of the highest rank will usually present it unless that person refers the question to someone else or an assistant. By the way, it does not matter whether the person in the superior position is a male or a female.
-Next, women in the company of a male may find that upon asking a question, the answer is then given to the man as if they were not standing there. Alternatively, if an Egyptian man wants to get an answer from a woman, he may well address the question not to her, but to the man she is with. Depending on the circumstances, this kind of behaviour may represent a sign of respect.
-Finally, an extremely important form of honour relates to a woman's chastity or reputaion for chastity. Appearance applies not only to the way a person looks, but also to how things seem. If a situation does not seem or appear appropriate, then it may be judged to be inappropriate. Any behaviour or suggestion of behaviour that compromises or seems to compromise a woman's reputaion for chastity, is extremely serious. Although this extreme is less likely among the upper class, most communities are subject to this kind of concern.
Incidents of honour killings have been given a lot of international press in the past few years. The prevalence of honour killings is quite low in Egypt. In the event they occur, punishments tend to be less stringent than in the case of murders for other reasons.
