The Cairo - Dubai Dilemma
1 Comments Published by Tom Gara on Wednesday, July 9 at Wednesday, July 09, 2008.
Sandmonkey gets offered a swish Dubai job, and anguishes between the frustrating stagnation of Cairo or the souless materialism of the UAE:
Egypt is a daunting task for the optimist. It is so fucked into the ground that it will take a ton of work just to get it to a point comparable to somewhere like Libya or Tunisia. So on a small scale, individual action is practically meaningless, and unlikely to get much done. But in the big picture, it needs literally millions of passionate, talented people to fight for it and stay committed, even when all seems hopeless. Like he says, is a weird, tough contradiction.
And yet there are victories to be won - victories that mean something - in the UAE. If I had to put money on it, I'd bet a fairly open society will emerge somewhere in the Gulf sometime in the next half-century. Probably in the UAE, maybe Qatar and/or Bahrain. That is a big deal, and a good think to be part of even in the smallest of ways.
But of course Egypt matters more so than anywhere in the Gulf, especially if you are an Egyptian. It occupies a special place in both the fuzzy world of the subconcious - home of civilisation, centre of the Arab world etc - as well as an incredibly important place in the practical sense of how the Middle East will unfold in the next century.
I like to think that if I grew up an Egyptian, I'd be some kind of principled dissident, writing for an opposition newspaper or in jail for my blog. In reality, based on my track record, I'd be safe and sound in the Gulf, earning cash and doing something semi-meaningful.
All the smartest and sharpest Egyptian's I know are either already out of the country or thinking about it. Its this kind of tragic case of lots of individually rational decisions leading to a big picture disaster - a crumbling, decaying nation losing its best hope for change. Which is the story of plenty of countries around the world I suppose, but Egypt matters more than most.
As frustrating as Egypt is, there are still things to fight for here, even if the majority of those who usually fight are battle-weary. There is nothing but potential here. So much work to be done. So many wrongs to fix. So many battles to fight. Loving Dubai is about convenience, loving Egypt is about passion. And it's worth it, even if it takes that love you give it and punishes you for it....I went through a pretty similar thought process when pondering the move to Abu Dhabi, although I guess it's a different set of questions needing to be answered as a Cairo-loving foreigner than it is when you are actually considering bailing on your own country (which I also did...)
Loving Egypt makes no sense and perfect sense at the same time, and yet you don't care that you are living a contradiction. At least it makes you feel something. Take it from a so-called human rights activist in an oppressive autocratic police-state: there isn't a better feeling in the world than the one you get when you win a battle you fought for, no matter how small or immediately inconsequential your victory is. There is simply nothing like it. Now, remind me again: What is there to fight for in Dubai? A bigger Bonus? Thanks but no Thanks. I like my victories to actually mean something.
Egypt is a daunting task for the optimist. It is so fucked into the ground that it will take a ton of work just to get it to a point comparable to somewhere like Libya or Tunisia. So on a small scale, individual action is practically meaningless, and unlikely to get much done. But in the big picture, it needs literally millions of passionate, talented people to fight for it and stay committed, even when all seems hopeless. Like he says, is a weird, tough contradiction.
And yet there are victories to be won - victories that mean something - in the UAE. If I had to put money on it, I'd bet a fairly open society will emerge somewhere in the Gulf sometime in the next half-century. Probably in the UAE, maybe Qatar and/or Bahrain. That is a big deal, and a good think to be part of even in the smallest of ways.
But of course Egypt matters more so than anywhere in the Gulf, especially if you are an Egyptian. It occupies a special place in both the fuzzy world of the subconcious - home of civilisation, centre of the Arab world etc - as well as an incredibly important place in the practical sense of how the Middle East will unfold in the next century.
I like to think that if I grew up an Egyptian, I'd be some kind of principled dissident, writing for an opposition newspaper or in jail for my blog. In reality, based on my track record, I'd be safe and sound in the Gulf, earning cash and doing something semi-meaningful.
All the smartest and sharpest Egyptian's I know are either already out of the country or thinking about it. Its this kind of tragic case of lots of individually rational decisions leading to a big picture disaster - a crumbling, decaying nation losing its best hope for change. Which is the story of plenty of countries around the world I suppose, but Egypt matters more than most.
I at times feel the same about Russia as you describe about Egypt. The place matters a lot, individual actions don't do much impact, but bigger picture needs more people acting. And I'm one of those people who made a rational my own decision, too bad for the country... Sad at times, but I think I'm not a revolutionist to put country's interests before my own...