Wrong place at the wrong time

My Driving License and Registration were taken away yesterday afternoon, by no fault of my own, but because of an overweight, insecure, corrupt police officer. When you take a minute to think about it, corruption is a very interesting thing. It can be the life-jacket that saves some people from drowning as a result of the consequences of their actions, or the shark that nibbles at your body bit by bit until you can't struggle any longer, for other people. Fortunately for me, I happened to be the former!

Driving in the opposite direction is an offense according to the new Traffic Regulations in Egypt, punishable by 4 days in jail and withholding both the car and licenses of the felon indefinitely. In my case, I knew that I had the means to manipulate the system to my own advantage, and therefore found in only a slight discomfort, having to go to the police checkpoint.

It was, in fact, a pleasant experience. The corrupt officer, who boasted a pair of 600 pound Police sunglasses, with no more than an 800 pound monthly income, was a pleasant man who joked with me on the way to the station, and assured me that I had many options to chose from. We continued to exchange pleasantries in the station, where he nevertheless began to write his report, all the while telling me to call whatever connections I may have if I wished. Unfortunately the report had already been stamped and documented by the time my uncle, a Brigadier General in the police force, had arrived. I needed not to pay the preliminary fine of 50 pounds or go to the police station, which are the official proceedings for most people in that situation. However, I found no way out of the one-thousand pound fine which the report ensured that I must pay. Before leaving the police checkpoint, the young officer called me and whispered to my ear that, if I wished, I could fabricate an application for replacement of the licenses which had been "lost" and avoid paying the fine, with the help of my uncle of course.

On the other hand, those who are not as fortunate as myself to have an influential uncle and enough income to overlook such a fine, are not as lucky.

Among the people who were taken to the checkpoint was a taxi driver, who had neither a driving license nor a car license for the taxi he was driving. Unlike me, the taxi he drove was towed, with the hand-breaks lifted, to ensure maximum damage to the wheels due to friction. The young man was insulted, shouted and cursed at, and was literally begging the officer to have mercy upon his soul. I drove both the officer and the taxi driver to the checkpoint, all the while the taxi driver was begging and pleading with the officer to look as deep as he could into his soul to find even the tiniest ounce of mercy, which he wouldn't have found, had he taken the time to look. The young driver, knowing he would be detained indefinitely without being charged for anything opened the door of my car, and jumped out as we entered an intersection, fleeing as quickly as he could. The officer, who had the drivers ID-Card, assured me that within 2 days the man would be detained and locked up for indefinitely until he is charged with evading a police officer, and ultimately locked in jail for a longer time.

Yesterday I had the pleasure to witness both sides of the struggle, my own, and that of the unfortunately unlucky taxi driver. This experience, although an overall pleasant one, made me realize how important it is to have influence and to be a respectable member of the community, Only once those two requirements are achieved will you be able to use the corrupt system to your favor.