EGYPT: Inshallah

Before moving to Cairo this summer, I was warned about less-than-reliable landlords, those conveniently punctual characters when it comes to collecting rent who are less prudent when it involves fixing leaks, damaged roofs and other curious mishaps that can befall an Egyptian flat. So it was with skepticism that I called my landlord, hoping, praying that he would do something about the fridge, which rattled a lot but never got any frostier than warm.

"Someone will be right over." Click.

I thought, "Sure they will." Minutes later, a small cadre of men in overalls, one carrying a tool box, knocked and filed into the kitchen with a spooky degree of seriousness. They screwed and unscrewed, did things with wires and said: "It is fixed. Inshallah."

Inshallah means "God willing." Everything in Egypt runs on Inshallah. It is an Inshallah country.

I stuck my hand in and felt a slight chill. I smiled; they vanished. That night, the fridge murmured and whined, gasped, shook and died. I called the landlord in the morning. Something has to be done. Inshallah.

"Someone will be right over. One hour maximum."

Fifty-nine minutes later, another cadre of men knocked. I opened the door. No one was holding a tool box. But three of them were straining under the weight on a brand new, deluxe, multiple-shelf, self-defrosting fridge. They slid it into place and hauled away the old one, happily grunting and disappearing down the steps. What's not to like about Cairo? I was emboldened. After waiting a requisite three days, so as not to appear as a pain in the you know where, I called the landlord to inquire about replacing a bathtub that I'm sure the British must have bathed in during colonial rule.

There was a pause; that kind of silence you know will not be followed by the hasty-appearance fix-it men, or even by a polite Inshallah.

— Jeffrey Fleishman in Cairo

Comments

[glo]

I lived there for 6 years, so tell me about it....

[Amira Nour]

Sir, beside the new fridge and old bathtub, are there any good things about Egypt you could write about. Yes, it is an inshallah country, because the rhythm of life is different to other countries, the people are poor, and if God wills it, maybe one day they will be rich, to Egyptians, it is their faith in God that keeps them alive. So, inshallah you might try to write about the good side of Egyptians.

[Another Egyptian]

Although it is difficult to deny what the writer said, I see that to descripe a country with almost 80 million based on single experience with the landlord is not very wise approach. I agree with Labiba comment above.

[An Egyptian]

I guess the guy is saying exactly what happened to him in Egypt. I am an egyptian lived there all my life and i am saying after 30 years of experience it is an Inshallah Country, that you can never get anything done regardless of what the reasons behind that, Egypt is known for its worst service, support and labor.

[Yasmin]

I like this post. Very true!

[Labiba Boyd]

Mr. Fleishman, did you report that your flat is in a very old building and that there are luxurious apartment buildings in Cairo? Did you report that living
in one of those ancient buildings in Cairo is like living in a rent controlled building in New York?
The LA Times trusts you to cover a country with a tremendous culture and history. It's been four months since you arrived in Cairo, so I am surprised that you still have nothing more to write about other than your fridge and meditations about who used the ancient bath tub in your very old apartment.