Happily Robbed ?

I equate living in Cairo withbeing assigned a platoon at battle.
(Please bear with the dramatics, my obsession with metaphors and my spontaneoususe of bizarre similes lol.)

 In Cairo you defend your own, while you simultaneously guard against and or attack "the foreign". As you may have already assumed, I am indeed among "the foreign". Under this title I have been blindly assigned, by Egyptian society, to the bottom of the ranks; a ranking where refugees stand alert yet vulnerably unarmed and outnumbered. 

Side bar: There are 3 to 5 million resettled Sudanese refuges in Egypt, and despite Sudan's historical relations with Egypt, (Sudan was formally the kingdom of Nubia and under Egyptian rule) the Sudanese refugees still exist as a detached portion of Egyptian society.

The bold shade of black pigment that elegantly drapes itself along the bodies of the Sudanese, simultaneously calls to attention the visual difference between them and the Egyptians. This consequently assists in publicly alienating the Sudanese from the rest of society. The static relationship between Egyptians and the Sudanese refugees is a battle to be discussed in a future post, but as for now it is sufficient to simply be mindful that the relationship between the two is uneasy and hostile.

By default, due to my dark complexion, I too experience the stigma of wearing black skin in Cairo and I am frequently referred to as Sudanese. Being mistaken as Sudanese would therefore imply that I am also mistaken as a refugee and therefore I too fall victim to the hard feelings Egyptians harbor against Sudanese refugees.   

I say all of this to share a brief story:

            During my commute to the Nuba Mountains headquarters, to teach English to my class of Sudanese refugees (see Blog post Volunteering at Nuba Mountains International  http://palmoil-water.blogspot.com/2012/02/volunteering-at-nuba-mountains.html ) ,I ,along with a fellow volunteer, stopped to quench our thirst at a nearby outdoor café.With my back turned away from the road, knapsack partially opened and wallet exposed, I was robbed. An Egyptian man slyly uplifted my wallet from the small unsecured compartment I had tucked my wallet away in and set off in a vicious sprint down the narrow road behind me.

Unaware of the activities occurring at my back I stood nonchalant and at ease until the piercing scream of an Egyptian man, from his storefront behind me, hollered “Haramie.” (In Arabic Harami translates to thief or burglar; a word I at the time was unaware of its meaning.) Confused and alarmed I turned around to witness throngs of Egyptian men sprinting down the road. It was only until the culprit was carried by his neck and tattered trousers, towards my direction, did I then realize the tragedy that had unfolded. My wallet was soon returned to me as a large group of men scolded the culprit and removed the remaining contents he possessed from his pockets, so as to ensure he had not stored any other items elsewhere.

I will abruptly conclude this story to say that in a sort of twisted way I am glad  that I was forced to endure such an emotional experience. (although my current sentiments may have been a bit different if my wallet was not returned to me).

Let me explain: 

Prior to this incident I have endured a number of emotional episodes here in Egypt, all of which did not end as well, which have pushed me to formulate an ugly opinion of Egyptians. For weeks I have viewed Egyptians as overly race conscious moral hypocrites (a similar attitude I hold towards a large number of Americans). Now after surviving this incident (pardon the dramatics) and having been saved by an unknown group of Egyptian men, my perception of Egyptians have improved.

My mission in Egypt is not to unveil how racist and insensitive Egyptians are, because I do not believe this holds true for the country as a whole. I embarked on this journey to embrace a foreign culture and simultaneously be accepted as well (see blog post PALMOIL & WATER http://palmoil-water.blogspot.com/2012/02/palmoil-water.html). Therefore I am content with the fairy tale ending of an overwhelming experience.

Although this incident occurred a couple of weeks ago, I am still burdened by a few questions:

Were these Egyptian men anxious to return my wallet because I appeared to be a foreigner? 

Or was it because I stood beside a Caucasian woman who was obviously a foreigner? 

Or does race not hold weight in matters of moral integrity?

Questions I may never find answers to… and probably best I never find out.