I just saw a particular aspect of Egyptian culture that can be both inspiring and frustrating. It was expressed in a small fender bender that happened next to me as I was walking down the street. With the erratic nature of traffic and a seeming absence of any traffic laws other than what “feels right”, this is not a completely uncommon experience. This particular collision was perpetrated when an Egyptian taxi slammed on his brakes for no apparent reason and a car of four Japanese tourists slammed him in the back. When everyone got out, the Japanese didn’t seem to know how to play the game. You need to get angry. You need to yell and scream and swear to Allah. Whoever is more upset is seen as the victim, here in Egypt.
The taxi driver knew how it worked, of course. He did his best to be enraged and attracted the attention of all the curious passers-by on the street. This is the second part of Egyptian culture, when a crime has been perpetrated your jury is anybody that is curious enough to gather around you. You have to prove to them that you are on the side of right.
So the taxi driver is explaining to all these people how he was unjustly rear-ended without so much as a warning honk from the horn of the Japanese driver. The horn is a big thing over here. Egyptians love to use it in every possible situation even when there is only the slightest hint that it might be appropriate, such as a pedestrian three blocks away, or if you’re about to barrel through a blind intersection. More than once I’ve been punished with a horn honk for crossing a street too slowly and, heaven forbid, forcing a driver to tap the brakes. These are not normal horns either. I am convinced there is a special tune-up shop to make it more blood curdling and eardrum popping than anyone thought possible.
So back to my story, eventually someone decided that the only one who could correctly arbitrate such a situation would be one of the multitudes of police that idly lounge on the streets of Cairo. I saw several walk by, hurriedly, as if to show that they really didn’t need to deal with this today. After nearly an hour, one large officer with several stars on his shoulder showed up on the scene. All the time, I was talking with the parking attendant next to me, who claimed that since no one was killed, everyone should praise God and drive off happy. I think such a fatalistic attitude is harder to muster when you’re the one who has to pay the repair bill.
I was surprised at the overall outcome. The taxi driver wanted 500 pounds, the Japanese men felt that it wasn’t their fault, and that the taxi driver should bear some of the responsibility for their own damaged hood. Unfortunately, the Japanese were on the stunted end of popular opinion, seeing as how, not only was there a language barrier, and a cultural gap, but also the idea that all foreigners could stand to shed some bills for a deserving Egyptian. Eventually they offered to pay 50 pounds (about $10) in reparations. The taxi driver seemed upset, but the policeman jumped on the chance to end the issue. The crowd seemed ready to be done with it all, and compelled the taxi driver to take it and drive away. Everyone looked very pleased for managing to “solve” the problem.
It’s a whole different culture over here. People just seem much more prone to avoid conflict over achieving justice, and everyone who passes by wants to be the peacemaker. It sounds like a great idea on paper, but when I’m the one getting screwed, I don’t want to just walk away, and the last thing I want to do is have to explain my side of the story to some random guy that doesn’t have anything better to do with his time than watch people get frustrated. The moral of the story is there is a lot of peace and love going on here, and sometimes it's just a little hard to get used to.
