Yesterday… as usual I was listening to D-radio Kultur… Topic was how to help Africa. The first caller answerd this question, and he was serious about it, that the best way to help Africa would be, to colonize it again because these people can’t help themselves. My brain switched immediately to emergency mode and tried its very best to keep me calm.

But it didn’t work out. The reason why it didn’t work out is, that the rest of my ablity to think told me, that the guy who called the radio station is not alone with his strange ideas. I also know some people at the GUC who are really serious about the fact, that they are the better ones and that it is a waste of time to teach Egyptians because they can’t, they don’t want and for sure, they are not developed enough to understand, what we, mighty and thoroughly educated, Europeans want to teach them.

This way of thinking is the reason for a lot of struggle. The better way would be, first to understand the culture and the people we are acting in and with and than to think about how to implement our knowledge in this culture and in other ways of thinking. Things are different, but not worse.

And then I followed the discussion about the strategies to prevent that all these africans come to cross the border to the EU. And I felt really bad. I am a well welcomed guest in this country and never had a problem because of my nationality. These people did’t have the luck we had. That’s it. We are nothing special, we are only the lucky guys. And we dare not to share our luck? I know, it is more complicated than this. But we should think of different ways of how to deal with other humans.

On Friday and Saturday last week the army tried to disperse a demonstration on midan tahrir after the curfew began. Many people were injured and following egyptian media at least two dead.

The mood of the people at the moment is completely different to the mood before the revolution. All over the city people try to do business as usual and to revive the economy.

The army tries to substitute the police while the police is trying to organize itself after the revolution. But the army has not the training to work properly as a police force. And there are still people of the old regime in charge who try to find their own best way through all this.

So. Things are more complicated than they might seem.

…the strongest.

It happened in China and it happens here, in Egypt. People on the street argue for a short moment and than they are going to fight each other, with everything they have, fist and feet. And the most astonishing thing for an european is: none cares. Especially not the police. Why? Because the police is the reason why people have to fight each other. If all arguments are used there is no other solution than to fight. And arguments won’t be available enough because you need education to use arguments. People can’t rely on justice nor on the police. And they have no education. There are no rules nor laws which could be used. There is no justice but for the rich or the strong. The weakest are suppressed either by the authorities or by the ones who have more. The rich ones rule this country and no police will dare to stop them since they are not going to kill someone. Poor people have no opportunity to complain. Their only solution is to hurt themselves as a protest. And the poor people have nothing to fight for but their live after live. Inch’Allah. And the rich have no interest to change something. So everything will stay as it is. You could quote Marx here. But maybe this would not be the best idea. Education will help, to open the horizon for new chances and opportunities. But how to reach the poor? How to wake their interest for more than the holy book? And for sure education is not the medicine for everything. But maybe a good start.

and the spark may strike… there is no big difference between Tunisia and Egypt. Long term leaders without democratic legitimation, a high unemployment rate, and a huge amount of poor and unsatisfied people. And as well as in Tunisia there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Additional we have the problems between the religions here in Egypt. I am not afraid even if I can feel the tension. But I hope if something will happen, it will happen without violence. I like the people and the country.

I was sure some day it will happen. And it will happen again. Every day we go by bus to our workplace. Every day we drive the eight-lined street guarding to New Cairo. Every day people try to cross this street, running between the cars, threading themselves through the traffic, a traffic that moves with estimated 70km/h.

This morning we had a traffic jam heading to New Cairo. The reason for this jam was not obvious, until we could see the newspaper and the red surface on the street. Sometimes they are not fast enough. How this is allowed to happen is hard to understand.

are left till my battery is empty… therefore… we make it short. Again copts, again killed, this time supposably by a policeman in a train. You do not need to really read the news to know that something worse happened. Accidentally there is military and police all around, with heavy weapons and helmets on their head, expecting riots. This time, nothing happened, everything kept quiet. But I learned how to read the signs.