Dr. Mustafa Mughazy

When Dr. Mustafa Mughazy came to vist us the other day, I was upset that he had such a short stay. It was really nice to have someone actually from Egypt help us out with our discussion of the excellent novel, War in the Land of Egypt. More than that, it was really beneficial I feel to have someone from the area be able to tell us what their experience was like. Dr. Mughazy called Egypt home for a long time, and I'm sure he still considers it home on many levels, despite living in the United States.
At any rate, one of the themes in War in the Land of Egypt was that of corruption, and it seems that it was not a fabricated motif; Dr. Mughazy talked about how much of Egypt's bureaucracy was corrupt, and the only way to get things done was with bribes.
This seems ridiculous to us, I'm sure, but it's not that difficult to see how a system like that could spring up in any country. Take our own, for example. We're in an awful economy right now, and it's difficult to get a job, let alone hold on to one. Enough people start to need a bit more money to make rent, and the next thing you know, they've lost your records when you go to apply for a passport. They might be able to make new copies of everything, but it'll cost a bit of money as a "service charge."
However the case, I don't think we should be quick to judge Dr. Mughazy for charging hundreds of dollars for tutoring considering the hidden fees which get mysteriously tacked on for the most basic of things. If you had to pay your boss a quota equal to your salary and still needed to keep a roof over your head and food in your stomach, I'm sure all of us would find any means to make a bit of extra money.