Despite tales of qat and overweight belly dancers, I found Yousri’s personal story to be the most profound topic touched upon by Tony Horwitz. His struggle to survive in his conditions was incredibly depressing and best showed described the average poor Middle Eastern man. What makes Yousri’s story so effective is that he is a man who is desperately trying to better his position in life but is being held back by the society he lives in. He has worked hard to get an education when so many do not bother to aspire to anything more than a doorman. Yousri is unable to get a decent job, get out of the slums, or meet a woman to spend the rest of his life with. He refuses to work in another country and it is his pride in himself that is both so valiant and honorable yet makes his story even more disheartening. I believe his story resonates with me so much because as an American it is very hard to hear of someone who tries so hard but is denied his basic rights due to his position in society. Everyone deserves the right to work hard and be rewarded for their effort and as seen in Yousri we see a man slowly losing his faith in all that is good in the world. It is very hard to see a man kept down by his own country and not be able to leave despite all of his efforts. Yousri will probably spend his life working a less than decent job, in the slums, possibly never meeting a woman to spend his life with but there is always the hope that is visa may come tomorrow.
-H.C.F.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
HF, I agree almost entirely with your point on how scary it is for us, as privileged citizens of a democracy to imagine the kind of imprisoning lifestyle that Yoursi lives. In the United States, our quest to prosper is fueled by our capitalist government and our society pushing us to succeed. In Egypt however, the situation like you said is far different. I think however that one of the things that you didn’t mention is the difference in what is holding back lower class Americans as opposed to lower class Egyptians. In Egypt, like in Yoursi’s case, he is poor because he is discriminated against. He is discriminated against because of his ethnical background. His heritage is of a race of Egyptians who in the olden days used to be slaves for the Egyptian aristocracies. Now, he is still feeling the affect of what happened hundred of years ago. In the United States, although there are some similar situations, like African Americans, for example make up a large part of the population living in poverty. (One can attribute this to the fact that two hundred years ago, African Americans were unpaid and brutally treated slaves just like Yoursi’s ancestors.) However, for a vast majority of the people in the United States, being poor and living harsh lifestyles has nothing to do with race, unlike the makeup of Egyptian society. In Egypt, if you are poor and make up part of the lower class, you are most likely the same race as Yoursi, or you are a member of another ethnic group which used to be enslaved. In the United States however, it is just as likely that a white man with European heritage is as poor as a black man whose ancestors were slaves. This is something great that our country has to value. Highly respected professions like being a doctor, a lawyer, or a politician can be obtained by people from every ethnic background. Your chance of getting that job depends on your skills, not on your race. The same thing goes for people in poverty in the United States. If a family is poor, it doesn’t mean that they are minorities. Although poverty in the United States is usually thought of as being black people or Latinos in the ghettos of major cities, there is also terrible poverty in more rural areas, specifically in Midwestern southern states. In conclusion, the difference between United States poverty and Egyptian poverty is that in Egypt, if you are poor it is because of your racial/ethnical background. In the United States, one can be poor regardless of his/her heritage.
-BD
Post a Comment