How are black americans treated in Cairo Egypt?

Hello Everybody ,
I just joined this blog/site to answer this question.
I would like give/deliver/narrate the experience of my American Black female friend who worked in Egypt for sometimes.

In a nutshell :
-If you are going to move and work in Egypt then it -mainly-depends on where you are going.If you live in somewhere like Zamalk ,Maadi or Rehab then no worries and every thing is going to go smoothly (or as we ,the Egyptians say "Put a watermelon in your stomach" #Egyptian_Proverb )

-I think it is not  a good idea to live in a local or a near-local place .Although ,living in these places is a little bit cheaper but the place itself is a source of troubles!


-I am pretty sure you would be amazed of how much friendly,informative and helpful the Egyptians are!



Finally , I hope my what I wrote above make sense and answered your questions.


Feel Free to "fire away questions"


Cheers
Ahmed

[moderated : inappropriate post]

Having heard the news in the states of the condition of Egypt, the last place I trust for news is in the U.S,... So I ask.....How are the conditions for living in Egypt today? Is it the war-torn country so frequently reported, or is this isolated propaganda? I am planning to move to Cairo and want to know that safety will not be a concern for me, as well as being an African-American male will be treated well. can anyone please shed some light on these concerns for me?

Thank You!

ZRobert wrote:

Having heard the news in the states of the condition of Egypt, the last place I trust for news is in the U.S,... So I ask.....How are the conditions for living in Egypt today? Is it the war-torn country so frequently reported, or is this isolated propaganda? I am planning to move to Cairo and want to know that safety will not be a concern for me, as well as being an African-American male will be treated well. can anyone please shed some light on these concerns for me?

Thank You!

It was safe but now it got really bad. There is military law and a curfew, not allowed to go outside past 7 pm. If you have a beard you will be risking your life. The security forces and the people will automatically equate you with th Muslim Brotherhood. If your do have a beard you must shave it you don't want to walk around here like that - that's bait. and if you look like a foreigner than you may be equated as foreign press - another hated entity in Egypt right now.

For right or wrong - the government has adopted the hgeorge bush you're either with us or against us attitude and there is a large percentage of the population supporting this.

There is an annihilation of all opposition to the current regime so sometimes there is gun fire right at your doorsteps. Right beside me the interior ministry was using the big guns on top of the trucks with bullets the length of an arm. I had to call my kid inside. I just came back from a funeral as well.

There's barely a house in Egypt ( from either side) who doesn't have a relative or friend killed or wounded or jailed because of the curren situation.

Some people say the MB are on the streets to harassing people ( not saying this isn't true but I never seen it )

There is also something called Lagan shabiyyah, basically it is street check points made up of "regular people" I put regular in parenthesis becaus meany times these check points are actually "baltigiyyah" the Egyptian word for thugs, not the cool kind of thug but meaning, the low life street bum who would stab his own mother for a dollar kind of thug. I myself and others I know have been attacked by these people. And some got beaten up and others have had their car stolen. Another Canadian has been killed.

I felt safer in the ghettos of Dallas Texas when I was there ( and I'm a white guy! )

It's really "not that bad" some say. Me I don't know. Id like to say ive been relatively safe. But i stay  inside and when i go out i stay to the side streets, I never go to any city square.  Things will calm down as soon as all traces of opposition are erased and neutralized though and life will be back to "normal".

Thank you English teacher, I appreciate your input! Certainly something to think about in the short-run! Hopefully things will calm down soon and return to normal bc this is a beautiful country that I want to live in!

One other question concerning the events in Egypt today.......Is it the same condition in other cities in Egypt?......Alexandria, etc...?

i have decided not to write a post untill i read the other posts , as an answers for the question...

How are black americans treated in Cairo Egypt?

egypt is a toursim country
americans still americans whatever there skin colour , and also all nationalities when its about living or visiting egypt,

the egyptian human race includes many skin types  , from  black to  blonde , its all about the majority , which tends to dark skin .

and as this is a fact , so you don't have to worry about the race racism  because it doesn't exist , so if there is no rascism upon colour , dont ask about it  upon colour + nationalities.

Sorry I don't live in Alex

As for the comment that there is no racism. I'm sorry to say but that's absolutely not true. If you just read the other posts here you can see how true it is.

Rode the bus with a friend if myne from Canada ( he's black) bus driver kept calling him ya afriki ( African). Anytime I speak to employees about jobs for my friends the question usually comes up if they're black or white. However i cant say that i ever seen anyone not get because he was black.

If you have childn you will definitely face problems with them and racism. All my black friends with kids face this problem.

Usually once people realize you're American they start to kiss your ass.

Usually straight up racism is from lower class people. Other lesser types of racism exist among the higher classes as well. Such as a light skin woman marrying a dark skin woman is a controversy.

Of course there is a lot of Egyptians who are not racist.

ExpatEnglishTeacher wrote:

Sorry I don't live in Alex

As for the comment that there is no racism. I'm sorry to say but that's absolutely not true. If you just read the other posts here you can see how true it is.

Rode the bus with a friend if myne from Canada ( he's black) bus driver kept calling him ya afriki ( African). Anytime I speak to employees about jobs for my friends the question usually comes up if they're black or white. However i cant say that i ever seen anyone not get because he was black.


Usually straight up racism is from lower class people. Other lesser types of racism exist among the higher classes as well. Such as a light skin woman marrying a dark skin woman is a controversy.

i respect your point of view and as we are here not for argument , but just for discussion ,so i am agree with you in some points and some not

about the post and the quote , the 1st paragraph may carry a genralizing for the topic , and as i guess you are not egyptian so there is something different you didn't notice and sure no problem with this , am gonna go with you  through your example

but the main idea about the defenation of rasicm as its  a beleiving  by itself in which the humanity divided into races and origins , and what based upon this beleive , deprivation from rights and the equality for the rest of community .

this theory doesnt exist in egypt 100 % .



- for the bus driver example sure he is not going to apply a histroic beleives on the man and the whole thoery by calling him what he tought about his nationality , and what if the he is really african one ???  , its a common word for calling someone , by the nationality , it carries no fun or offence , and that sounds logic the word it self means the african man .

because we call all the non-egyptian black skin ppl african ppl as a describe for there origin  , so you get it in wrong way , and i admit if i were you i would do , but i think you got it now

among egyptians we have expressions used in calling others without bad intentions ,and although this fact ,the word it self you deal as if it  represent racism behaviour and the man is just calling.
the woord it self  sounds like you say ( the african man ) or ( the american guy ) ( EL africi ) ( EL amrekky ) ( EL masry )

and add to this,there is already ppl there last name are( el africi )

in egypt when we call someone by his or her describe its ok and doesnt mean anything more than getting his or her attention we all have black skin friends and memebrs in families.

the 2nd example : when you ask about a job for a friend and you the question if he is black or white , honestly i never met a situation like that , and you mentioned you didn't know the purpose of question so you just assumed that kind of racism , and that the problem of generalizing , you have many probailities for such a question :

-they may need the black employee , to social connections or tasks .

- some multinational companies deals with countries a race rasicm already exist in it , so they keep them away from troubles.

in egypt no place for skin colour in eduactions , occupying jobs , or social relations even like marriage , and if there is a rejection it will the same when a some one with physical appeareance the other don't interested in it .



and the main point is the big difference between making fun at someone , and racism ... if we applied your example , then there is will a rasicm against overweight ppl , against very tall ppl , against too short ppl , against skinny ppl , and etc. for hours .

you may found some make fun at another , and i agree with you about this ,as it so bad behaviour ,and again rasicm is a beleiving  by itself as the humanity divided into races and origins.

so mixing between making fun at someone for any reason , which is only related to a personal bad behaviour exist among all charachters , and it exist in egypt as it exist in america as it in all worlds .

all respects to your opinion , and sure you helped me also not to mix between the both phenomonen

Words have different meanings when applied to different contexts,ex, if i told my friend afterhe said a joke grt out of here that means one thing but if i tell my friend after he punches me in the face get out of here those same words mean something else. The context the bus driver was telling my friend was a very racist one- not a joking funny situation. He asked my friend where he was from and he told him Canada the bus driver told him not he's not he's African. It was very apparent from my friend that he was really offended and the bus driver could see he was getting angry and so he kept going on with it trying to get to my friend.

As for the employers asking I nev said I didn't know why they asked, I know why they asked, because they prefer white foreigns to blacks. Read again I said although they ask this question I cant say I know anyone who didn't get a job because he's black.

You ever even addressed the third point. My black friends with kids have lots of racism trouble. It's a reoccurring situation that I've seen many many times. So please don't tell me there's no racism.

I have been living here for 5 years. I am a mix of Indian and black. I have experienced racism here. Mostly ignorant comments from kids and adults alike. I use to take the metro every day and hear these comments every day. At first its a bit of a shock to the system, but you eventually get use to it (which is sad). I am South African and never have I experienced something like this back home, which is weird based on our countries history.

I am married to an Egyptian who's skin color is quite fair. We get our fair share of odd stares, but oh well. I've had old ladies come up to us and ask him, while giving me a sideways look, why he married me? While pregnant Ive had people say stupid things like "insh'allah the baby will be born white like his dad".

I put it down to what they've been taught in their homes and the outside world. This is proved when they ask where you're from and you say South Africa and they reply "ahhh Africa!", not realizing Egypt is in Africa! I have met awesome Egyptians who have never made any racist remarks, mostly because they are well educated and also because they understand that there is a fine line that's not to be overstepped.

On a side note, the first time my mom-in-law met me she was shocked, but she got over it. She comes from a smaller town where there are hardly any darker skinned people (I haven't seen any there, not even Nubian), where girls wear white foundation like their lives depend on it. Some Egyptians just believe that the lighter the skin the more beautiful you are.

Saying racism does not exist is plain irresponsible. People should know and prepare for these things, instead of coming here and hating themselves for ever setting foot here.

Oh and to the original poster, finding a salon here for our type of hair is like digging for gold lol. I think there is a salon in Maadi, but the reviews aren't good.

for the girl who wrote who is Puerto rican and panamenian.

I am latin and in Egypt they don't really know the difference if we are from spain or any other Spanish speaking country. So just go along with that. they actually love spaniors.

Buen dia !

i like latines in general

I'm a black male who was born in Egypt, Cairo. I moved to Canada when i was pretty young so i don't really remember anything but i do understand Arabic fairly well because we speak it at my home. My older brother told me when he was at elemantry school he used to get bullied for his colour but he was a pretty big dude so he told me he always fought the kids making fun of him and eventually become pretty popular in his class ahah.

I'm going to my Uncles wedding in Beruit, Lebanon, then coming to stay with my cousin in Cairo for the summer.. kinda iffy about it because i haven't been back home since i left. My cousin is tanned so he blends in with the crowd so he told me he gets treated well.. he told me people down there do make jokes about people being Black, Asian, ect but nothing more than that.

The thing i'm most iffy about is how will i get treated because i am indeed fairly black and only 19. I hope the language isn't a problem because although i can understand Arabic pretty well (i like to think lool) i cant speak it back because my acent is really awkward.

Whether it happens often or not it's still RACISM, no matter how you sugar coat it, and it's not pleasant to any recipient of it!  A skunk by any other name still smells just as bad!

in Egypt there is no diff bet white and black , personally i have some friends from upper egypt and sudan , however you willcome in egypt and also be my friend .

Hey there,

Usually here in Egypt we are not racist when it comes to color, you also can be surprised that expat can be treated better than Egyptian themselves. As for the "Chocolate" compliments, you can consider them verbal harassment more than racism. Even Egyptian girls are suffering from this verbal harassment

Yes
We are not believing in racism, we are all human.
All of us love nubbean people in luxor and aswan.

But sorry,Expats in Egypt face a lot of hazel and hazards ( most of them seeks casual sex and travel outside Egypt )
Yes some expat feel love with Egyptian guys but it is not the whole case that Egyptian guys must understand.

Do you want the politically correct answer, or the real answer? The real answer is, coloureds are generally not treated well in Egypt.

Sorry
Not true
You may feel that because most of chocolates are africans and they work as cleaning and like jobs
But no bad treatment or such racism view
Sorry

Hi!

I am also a black American female. I'm currently in Istanbul, but will be in Egpyt in a little over a week, staying on until December. If you would like to chat, meet up, hang out or anything, please let me know!

Hey fellow New Yorker,

I will also be in Cairo (technically Giza) in September and in Egypt until December. If you want to chat, meet up, go sightseeing or anything similar, please let me know.

Try to enjoy

If you need any help, just contact me

Try to enjoy , and If you need any help just contact me.

Treated as bros

we donot have colour dicrimination in egypt

i don't think racism is a big issue in Egypt

I'm an African-American vegetarian from America. I hope to visit and eventually move to Egypt. How is hip hop music received in Cairo Egypt? And what is the dress code (if any) , are there any styles of dress that would be offensive or draw negative attention? And how's the food? Just curious

I don't think it will be a big problem,foreigners get attention everywhere in the world. but u r a man, so egyptians will not care that much, they stare just at girls. the type of clothes is casual, without seeing your boxers,man

food is really amazing, specially meat, yammy:)

That doesn't help much since I'm a vegetarian but thanks for the pointers...I don't plan on showing any boxers either. I am traveling with my wife though. So I wanted to know some basic etiquette as I've noticed mentioned above that men are to address men and women address women when inquiring or asking for help in public. Made me wonder what other things are culturally standard there...

They are treated well like anyone . No diffrence .

Are you still n Cairo Supergirl?? I wouldn't mind meeting up/hanging out?

The amount of skin bleach commercials on Egyptian tv should tell anyone that skin colour is one of the main factors a person is judged by in Egypt, anyone who tells you differently is saying so to make you believe racism doesn't exist here. The number of times my black american friends have been discriminated here are innumerable, literally. Don't be fooled, racism and discrimination are very much alive in Egypt

I find it funny and sad how people are still insisting there is no racism here lol

egptian people appreciate the black as the white we are not racists

i am 5ys late on this post but you had a great answer thanks for  speaking up

Being in my 6th year here I have a better view of the society now. Yes there is racism. To deny there is any is irresponsible. My children feel it at school. Kids can be cruel. However they are often defended by other kids so I guess there is a balance.

People prefer whiter skin here, just like they do in most parts of the world including Ghana where my parents are from where women bleach their skin. I guess in that respect Egypt is no different. That said, I was hired by Egyptians to run their school. Putting a black man as the face of an international school showed a lack of racism. Yes, being British was my main advantage but you cannot tell that from my face  which is in the pictures and on the website.

People will sometimes say racist things and believe they are not being racist but just "funny"  this is just ignorance. You have to tell them and then ignore it.

Again I will stand by my original statement and say that it will be verbal. Unlike western countries NOBODY is going to hit you for being black. The verbal comments hurt your feelings....and that is bad. But in parts of the UK or USA  (not many parts but still parts) a person could get physical with you because you're th wrong colour. You won't get that here.

We treat them like we treat the white americans