Esam Abou Seif
in Conversation with Walter Grond
Translation by Janice Schützenhöfer
W.G. As a tourist in
Egypt I noticed the exceptional hospitality. Does this hospitality play a roll in an
Egyptians´ self awareness?
E.A.S. Hospitality
is a part of the arabian- islamic culture which exists in Egypt and is a pillar of the old
agricultural culture. In Egypt these two cultures are interwoven additionally with the
Bedouin culture, and that is what leads to the special hospitality of the Egyptians. If
you know Egypt, then you will have experienced that the Egyptian people are very, very
poor, with many daily stresses and problems to tackle. Despite this the humane tendencies
are quite extended. I mean, that one fosters humanity also to supress the poverty.
W.G. Were you ever
in Europe before you fled Egypt?
E.A.S. No. It was
the first time that I ever even thought of leaving.
W.G. Did you experience
culture shock when you arrived?
E.A.S. No, but there
is a very simple reason why. I am one of the well educated people from Egypt and probably
knew more about Europe before my arrival than many Europeans.
W.G. What did you
first notice about European life?
E.A.S. What amazes me
and what I have since learned to admire is this exact and practical implimentation of a
theory. The city plan for example; I was impressed that all the houses look alike in the
district. In every district the fassades have almost the same color, the houses are about
the same height, and there are no exceptions. The same applies to the streets so that
every district has the same type and differentiates from the next, but within the district
care is taken that the types remain similar. The symmetry and the cohesion of the
constructions astounded me.
W.G. You must
have noticed the materialistic life style.
E.A.S. I was amazed
that the high living standards are mirrored by the people in daily life. I could
see that the people are better behaved, content, get along with each other better than in
the third world where the people are generallly more impulsive and very aggressive.
Another important point is that democracy is not just an empty theory, rather put into
practice. I admire over and over that an opinion can be openly expressed during an
election. Even that during the presidential election more that one candidate can campaign,
that one can attack a candidate both personally and politically, that the attackers are
not immediately arrested by the polititians as is the case in other countries. I am aware
that there are abuses but I still experience a democracy which is practiced here and that
I only knew as a theory before.
W.G. Have you
travelled around in Austria already?
E.A.S. Yes, I took a few
trips. I admire the ideal use of the entire land in Austria. I don´t know if it is
ordained by law or whether the people are so reasonable in how they deal with land. I
noticed that here it is planned exactly where the green areas remain and where it may be
built up. In Egypt it is totally different. It is very easy to build a really ugly
building on the coastline and nobody would say a word against it. I have noticed that
people respect nature here. Also totally new to me is the existence of a civilian society.
That there are civilian organizations and that all these associations can exist freely.
One can become a member and these members can meet when and where they want. They have the
freedom, as with the PEN- Club, to support people and it is even possible that the
government will support the association. That would be unthinkable in Egypt. Maybe you
could found an association but then you would immediately come under survelience, would be
buried with law suits from the opposition with the justification of treason and subvention
from foreign countries, arrested and on and on.
W.G.
There now exist diverse European projections concerning the
Middle East, and most of them are stamped with colonialism. These projections also concern
the self image of the Europeans. While the Europeans
consider themselves to be liberal, reasonable, tolerant and so on, they consider the
Middle East to be chaotic, totalitarian, perverse and so on. Have you discovered moments
here in Europe in which these comparisons are questioned?
E.A.S. The machismo
occurs to me.
W.G. As an European
signature?
E.A.S. As an imprint
of Europe as well as that of the Middle East. I always had the impression from the western
cultures that women here are more free, emancipated. Here I noticed that in every day life
the women are not as free and that life here in European culture is dominated by men.
W.C.
Can you experience Middle Eastern moments in Vienna?
...
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