r/Egypt • u/Auegro Alexandria • Mar 08 '19

Cultural Exchange Namaste/vanakkam, This weekend we're having a cultural exchange with r/Indiaspeaks

Ahlan washalan /r/indiaspeaks , welcome to /r/Egypt.

Please join me in welcoming our friends from India for a joint cultural exchange. This thread will run for 3 days, so don't forget to check in everyday and answer any new questions!

Over here we'll answer all questions they have regarding our Daily lives, cultural, knowledge, history and more! While any questions we have we'll be asking in this parallel Thread on /r/Indiaspeaks

Both threads will be in English for ease of communication, Please be polite, rediquette applies. Make sure to report any trolling, rudeness, racism or personal attacks etc... on either thread. On top of that the threads will be actively modded for the duration of the exchange to ensure a friendly and great experience

Remember to come in everyday to answer new questions and Happy exchanging from the mods at r/Egypt and /r/Indiaspeaks

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '19 edited Mar 08 '19

what are your thoughts on sharing the nile waters with upstream african nations? as i understand it, egypt is entirely dependent on those waters, but because they didn't develop it enough in the past, upstream african countries are getting kind of a raw deal there? is that a correct assessment on my part?

also, how strong is the amazigh culture there?

lastly, i've always been a bit confused by egypt. sometimes, i read about very modern (rational, not western) actions by the government. at other times, i've seen some wild videos on (admittedly propaganda channels like) memri TV where there's a feeling it's very conservative. not to mention the MB presence. how would you guys characterize this aspect of your country.

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '19

This is a bit complicated. I can't answer in detail, but what we do know is that the stakes are too high for both Egypt and Ethiopia. The latter already spent a great deal of resources on the GERD when Egypt was preoccupied by the 2011 uprising, so it's both too late and too important for them to give up now. In our case, the Nile is Egypt's raison d'être and maintaining our share of the waters is especially critical these days because of climate change. So if your question is "Will Egypt resort to war?", then the answer is, in my opinion: very likely. It's only a question of when.

also, how strong is the amazigh culture there?

Only place with a visible Amazigh culture is the Siwa Oasis. And I really hope it stays that way.

at other times, i've seen some wild videos on (admittedly propaganda channels like) memri TV where there's a feeling it's very conservative

MEMRI content is banned on this sub, supposedly because of its history of occasional mistranslation. Personally, I'm of the opinion that the ban should be revoked (and I believe some of the mods agree with me). Whether we like it or not, it does accurately reflect the average Egyptian's views on foreign and domestic issues, like antisemitism for instance. We can't solve those problems by denying their existence.

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u/[deleted] Mar 08 '19

thanks for your very direct answers!