The obsession of comparison haunts the expatriate in his solution and travels, from the biggest things and situations to the smallest, in search of a space that might convince him within himself that he did not go far from the homeland. I was asked this question from time to time: Is there a similarity between Egypt and America? Forget about politics and its endless complications.. Focus on people and society. Egypt is a big country and so is America, both are open societies what happens in it resonates in their surroundings, art is a soft force for Egypt over the years and needless to say what Hollywood and American dramas are doing in the world, oddly enough I was like Adams Morga in the capital Washington on Haram Street in Egypt, where the nights are and other things (don't get me wrong ). But these permanent comparisons may cause a loss of compass and not paying attention to what is distinct in each society, or rather the other side of this society away from the stereotyped images drawn by the media or the headlines of bulletins. As in the case of America, which some like to describe as the Great Satan and the cause of problems in this world. Trust.. a real reality I experienced in America, a society based on it in its daily dealings and its betrayal is like a shame that haunts its owner for life. After three years of living in a rented apartment, I moved into a house, or as it is called, a townhouse, in a residential neighborhood not far from my workplace. I noticed that parcels of mail (especially purchases and gifts that are too large to fit in a regular mail box) can be left by the postman in front of the house and go away. Hours pass, perhaps the whole day, and the eviction is as it is in front of the house until its owner returns and receives it. We had a neighbor who did not even greet the morning on our first days in the neighborhood. After a while, this barrier was broken and we began to exchange greetings shyly, and we were surprised one day by her knocking on the door of the house asking us to receive her daily mail and save it, and no parcels arrive because she will be away from the house for a few days. And even left the key to her house with us in case of necessity. Nor can I forget our first day in this neighbourhood, when a neighbor, Mr. Ower, came to us and welcomed us, introduced us to himself, and gave me the phones of the Neighborhood Management Committee. There is also humanity in its highest sense. We got to know an American family from the daily school commute to take the children on foot and exchange quick conversations in front of the school at the time of leaving... A family with three children decided to adopt a girl from China who was born with a congenital deformity in the face, another woman told her While she was carrying the child on her shoulder in front of the school: She must be a lucky child? The mother replied: No, we are the ones who have been blessed since this little angel came to our house. The Egyptian folk proverb says: You know so-and-so: Ah, you slept with him: No, you don't know each other.

Mohamed Hamdy - journalist

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