Comments on: Voices from Post-Revolutionary Egypt 3: The Future Soldier

By: Theodora

Theodora — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 11:03:17 +0000

In reply to Moha. Really?! Thank you, Moha. I thought if there were multiple brothers, the oldest one got a free pass to stay home on the farm, or whatever...

By: Moha

Moha — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 12:47:06 +0000

In reply to Theodora. No. Unfortunately you are still stuck with going to the army.

By: Theodora

Theodora — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:12:52 +0000

In reply to Someday I’ll Be There – Mina.

Yes! And the oldest brother is always excused as well, isn’t that right?

By: Someday I'll Be There - Mina

Someday I'll Be There - Mina — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:54:41 +0000

I am always thankful for having one girl sister, this actually exempts you from going to the Egyptian army, you only go if you have brothers.

By: Theodora

Theodora — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 19:10:46 +0000

In reply to Catherine. I've met a few who've managed to avoid it. It helps if you have family in the army, to get you out of it. But, if you're doing a degree like engineering, which gives you practical skills, you're almost certain to get called. I think most countries that have military service have systems for getting out of it. A la Dubya in Vietnam.

By: Catherine

Catherine — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 06:53:46 +0000

I met a guy in Jordan who had been there for 11 years avoiding military service in Egypt. During this time his brother had married his girlfriend which made him even less likely to go back. Also met wealthy people with elaborate scams for getting out of miltary service, ie, paying doctors to invent fake medical conditions adn that type of thing. This wasn’t just in Egypt but also in Turkey. I didn’t really talk to anyone about it in Jordan or Syria or Israel.

By: Theodora

Theodora — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 10:39:11 +0000

In reply to Heidi @ Great Family Escape.

Many of the armies in the region — if not all — contain a lot of conscripts doing their military service, and a lot of young people leave the army with a vast sense of collective guilt. The other point, of course, is that even as a conscript, especially as a conscript, you can’t refuse to obey orders.

By: Heidi @ Great Family Escape

Heidi @ Great Family Escape — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 09:25:09 +0000

Makes you think about the crowd syndrome. I’m sure there are many more like A in the army, kind young men doing their required service, and yet collectively look what they’ve done?

By: Theodora

Theodora — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:24:35 +0000

In reply to Dalene. And me in the UK! Israelis, also, often take time to get over their military service, as you can imagine, if they don't manage to fake their way out of it, an option that the liberally-minded often go for.

By: Theodora

Theodora — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 15:23:34 +0000

In reply to Laura. Thanks to you too, Laura.