"Baladi Awi", a View on National Identity {The Egyptian Explained}

An aerial photo for the Nile of Egypt

"Baladi Awi" this is what some would say in chitchat when purchasing something. The literal translation of baladi is "my country" and "awi"is very. The understood message from "baladi awi" is looking vulgar or local as a reference for the inelegant despicable taste.

If you are following this series of articles, it is article no.Two follwoing Ya Fallah: Agricultural Cultural View in Egypt. In this talk, I will be addressing what Egyptians actually think about being Egyptians.

In the previous article, I talked about my experience of what is meant to be or labelled as Fallah. As a recap, Fallahen are the ones working in the agricultural lands with their own hands. The lowest class in the agricultural workers as considered by so many.

So why is "baladi" is not so good? perhaps even less than good?

Maybe, because it is Egyptian. Being Egyptian differs from one group to another but there is almost an undisputed agreement on the fact that being Egyptian does not have a lot of qualities. Ironically speaking, this applies to both living organisms and non-living organisms.

Egyptians, well it depends!

I referred that there is even another dilemma about what Egyptians are being classified/labelled socially. So, there are social labelling, stereotyping and even shaming which resulted in social compartmentalization, classism and classist social envy. Typically, these labels, stereotypes and shames are top-down. The top-down approach is a term called for the mechanisms related to decision-making procedures.

The elite indeed!

The construct and deconstruct of the social tend to be usually from an elitist perception. However, there are some bottom-up approaches where the public could have some means to resist or object. Mostly, the top-down is the recognized approach in most countries including Egypt and has the hefty weight that could tip the balance infavor of regimes and causes.

When addressing the role of the elite, there is this notion that the elite is directly related to what the society accepts/consider as elite. The social elitism represents primarily what is perceived by the society's top organizations and entities as elite. Back to the question raised: what is elite in the Egyptian society?

The elite was and is somehow the same as manifested in the Egyptian day to day interactions, media, ads and behaviours. It mostly revolves around power, authority and pride. The authoritative nature of elitism could be distinguished explicitly in innumerable implicit ways. However, there are also some very blunt statements related to this matter.

Colonized heritage

Egypt is a developing country with colonization history similar to other developing countries which acquired their political independence at a certain time in history. Colonization was no longer in control legitimately in the regimes in an explicit fashion. The colonization history of Egypt including conquests dates to very old era and dynasties. Egypt for a long period in time was colony or state in an empire. The country was passed from one conqueror/ruler to another resulting in cultural and social shifts to which the society was exposed. There is this direct relation between the elite and legitimate authority. Therefore, it won't be very hard to grasp that the elitism goes hand in hand with the authority and governing. The public always looked at the powerful the one with power to whom they worked to get closer and be acquainted with. There is this concoction between flirtation and concealed hostility.

Some might think there is a celebrated national ambience in a country with a colonization history. In both the national and independent media, there are some sensational artistic pieces that cast this national pride. However, there are other artistic and media mediums and form depicting the deformed reality the country is facing. Even with official independence, there are still some unresolved colonized leftovers pertinent to the country social culture.

There are views pro-colonization in which the royal regime ruled and other anti-colonization. These views are very much interests based and grounded. The interests differ according to the ruling regimes and its implications on other social categorizations. Therefore, various historical narratives passed down to generations standing as a witness for multiple perspectives. The unequivocal national narrative is disseminated and discerned in the public domain. However, other narratives exist also even in a more deliberate way. Each represents the just and fair verdict considering their lucrative and beneficial side.

The Khawaga complex

Therefore, some try in a futile way to deny any connection to the Egyptian under-covered disgrace conceived publicly. Others attempt to associate themselves with the Egyptian historical pride for its distinctive significance abroad for some. Every Egyptian wants to convey the underlying love-hate relationship with this country in different approaches.

There is this term in the Egyptian public sphere and local terminologies called the khawaga complex. Khawaga or 5awaga (if you know Franco Arab) is a term representing the deep-rooted culture towards the "Egyptian" thing. The term is usually given to any foreigner or westerners specifically by the Egyptians locals. The local culture in Egypt has an underlying masqueraded inferiority towards the Egyptian while admiring anything affiliated with the developed world. Ironically, there is also a very much patriotic movement from some towards supporting anything Egyptian with an unjustified pride broadcasted through lots of mediums. Unsurprised, I found that khawaga is Turkish word translated into the master. Hence, it is conceived that the developed/free/first world countries are the masters.

The Oppressed and the oppressor

A lot of the disgraced massacres and atrocities happened in the name of the white colonizer endorsed back then by the government in a normalized manner. There was a history of resistance and opposition against the colonization initiated by some resistance groups and recognized public figures. The media currently represents this active Egyptian resistance movement in a celebrated way. The patriotic material are appropriate for media creative productions. However, the Egyptian public life was considered to be similar to other historical times. The Egyptians tend in most time not to revolt. They are considered to be people who prefer settling down and averse any activity which could compromise their usual routines even if irritated. Throughout history, there are few revolutions or protests to voice or communicate any kind of discontent or frustration. Some historians including Gamal Hemdan refer this tendency to the natural environment of Egypt and agriculture. Egyptians incline to settle down for the rooted agricultural activities and their connection to the natural environment. Even in times of distress and disputes, not all or even the majority fight or revolt against the oppressor or colonizer. The country dealt with similar causes and issues as the current ones but with the normalization with colonizer coexisting in the country.

The colonizers or the westerners were considered to be the legitimate authority in the country. Any connections with them is considered an open door towards lots of potentials. They were the ones pulling the strings to direct the services and the economic activities of the county along with Egyptian governance assistance. The massacres and atrocities happened in the name of the white man colonizer endorsed back then by the national government.

Post colonization and Power-oppression relations.

The overruled country by colonization contributed to deepen and reinforce an implicit relation between the oppressor westerners and the oppressed Egyptians. A relation built on feelings of inferiority long with infatuation. In the time post colonization, which have several names including military coup or national emancipation, the country still faced a lot of bumps achieving what was promoted as an end of unjust era for an affluent future. However, from time to time, the public restore their past feeling with the long-time oppressor. The feelings of inferiority combined with infatuation is the first encounters for Egyptians for several reasons. They are the go-to sedatives for all the frustrations the country is facing. The deteriorated status of the country accentuates those feeling. Also, the facts communicate the incongruities between the developed and developing worlds. These and other factors made the public to acknowledge in a satisfied way an excuse for contemplation and interpretation with ease and acceptance. Interestingly, other facts could even discard to augment the widely promoted argument as a denial defence mechanism for the superficial cultural norm.

There is an undertone colonized culture entrenched in the once was explicit colonized country. The realized reflections of the ruling colonized minds can be perceived in manifold ways. Notwithstanding, the worst of all is the colonized mind disguised in a very sophisticated fathomable mindset. There is this Stockholm syndrome that explains the pathetic relationship a victim inclined to have with the criminal in illogical way. From imitating the powerful to benefit of allures to submission to avert any form of antagonism, the afflicted symptoms might vary but the cause is pretty much pertinent on the power interactions regulations. This is what contributes to the sense definition of the developed or not.