Yes still in Cairo, or at least during the week, as the weekends have been always reserved for activities escaping a bit the heat and smog of the capital.
I want to talk a bit about the new traffic law that has been introduced in Egypt on August 01. Harsh penalties have been implemented for so many things that were normal here before. Driving into a one-way street, driving by night without light, parking in the second, third, or fourth row, not stopping on a red light and not having a first-aid kit - all these things are history now. It seems - on paper - pretty easy to end up in jail for one month, but in reality as everybody confirmed, they have actually only just increased the amount of bribe money you have to pay to the police officer, who stops you.
It sounds all so simple, just go around bribing people, and you have an easy live in Egypt. Me, however, I have not been able to give money to any traffic police so far, and am running for the 6th time after my lost driving license. So how does it work? When do they take it, and when not? Maybe bribing is not allowed for foreigners, maybe there is some kind of unwritten rule about that? Well, maybe I should defend myself now, and say that I find the system wrong, and I should not support it, and be an example. But then, who am I to judge when something is good or wrong in a country? This is not my home country, there are many voices emphasizing that foreigners are supposed to adapt to the new culture and "Do, when in Rome, as the Romans do". And not be the eternal colonialists!
Fine, but then, WHY is nobody accepting my bribe????
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment