Egyptian men marrying foreign women for money
Trackback
RSS FeedI just read an interesting article from Egypt’s Daily Star (nothing like the UK one!). It is about men looking for foreign (note they actually use the word ‘blonde’) wives to finance them. I have seen this sort of thing time and time again here, with the foreign woman usually being a tourist when she ‘falls in love’ and not understanding that her beau could actually have ulterior motives. Why should she? He says such beautiful things to her, makes her feel so special, so wanted. He is so romantic (it’s a shame she doesn’t understand Arabic or she’d realise when song lyrics are being translated). Later comes the demonstrations that ‘he’s not like that’. Frequently divorce is on the horizon. Soon after that, I don’t know what happens with her, but he remarries: IT’S BUSINESS.
So, here it is, at last, in English and straight out of the horses’ mouth so to speak.
“Look at this plush block of flats,” said Mahbub, a taxi driver from Luxor, as he pointed to a white building shining across a field in the heart of Al Buaarat village in Luxor.
“It belongs to Redah, a friend of mine who has been married for the last few years to a Dutch woman. They bought the land from one of the villagers and they are likely to gain much out of selling the flats to the khawagas [foreigners],” said Mahbub.
“Why are you raising your eyebrows in surprise?” asked Mahbub. “The taxi I am working on was gifted to my brother by his French wife. She is 10 years older than my brother Alam who is 19.
“She goes back to her country for six weeks and comes here for a fresh honeymoon before she leaves again. My family owns a small plot of green land on which we are planning to build a block of flats with the help of my brother’s wife. She’s also got us a boat that we operate between the east and west banks,” said Mahbub…“There is no future here other than tying the knot with a blonde woman,” stressed Mahbub. “My diploma in agriculture is useless and I can’t keep driving a vehicle owned by my brother. You know the way out so why wait? One is already falling for me but I won’t give her the time of day until I am sure she’s ready to meet all my requirements.”
From Daily Star January 7th: Influx of Foreign Residents is Changing Upper Egyptian Ways.
In fairness, it also works the other way round: girls looking for a blonde husband. And this I’ve seen too, far less frequently. And I have to add that one of the most difficult things to watch is a friend being taken advantage of, especially one who refuses to see what everybody is pointing at.
While I understand life in Egypt is tougher by the day, it surely can’t be fair to enter a marriage you believe is for love, when the reality is that an entire family is plotting how to cajole you out of your money.
Words, beautiful or not, are cheap.
6 Comments
1.
Lynda commented on January 17, 2008 at 7:20 am
Well, very very happy that I am not blonde… sort of lets me off the hook… silly men, to think that only blondes have money! LOL
Oh and I suppose there is the small matter… I am already married
2.
insteadi commented on January 17, 2008 at 7:48 am
Aha, but I can see your hair in the picture and you almost are – by Egyptian standards anyway. Blonde just means not really, really dark, and more generally, it just means white-skinned and foreign.
So it seems, my dear, you’re halfway there!
3.
Trailing Grouse » Foreign women and orfi marriages in Egypt commented on November 05, 2008 at 9:05 am
[...] wrote a while ago about foreign women marrying Egyptian men. It led to full inbox of questions. I thought I’d take it a step further and explain that [...]
4.
heidi commented on December 19, 2008 at 4:39 am
recently i have become involved in a cyber-relationship with an egyptain man ( 2 months). he professes his passion for me, i am blonde caucasian but tells me he is already married to an american woman. what might be going on here other than the age-old cheating on one’s wife?
5.
trailing grouse commented on December 21, 2008 at 5:12 pm
Hi Heidi. It’s difficult to say not knowing anything else. I would suspect though, that there’s probably very little more going on other than the age-old cheating. A key reason for marrying a foreign women who comes (usually) from a higher economic income and educational background than the man is for strengthening the husband’s finances. Not always, but extremely often. In this case, he would be likely to put a fair amount of attention into his wife. If he is in this category and is in romantic contact with you, it is likely that he is looking for the ‘thrill of the chase’ or something outside his marriage, in a fairly standard way.
If he is of the same/or higher (and you have concrete proof) educational and financial level than you, then it sounds fairly definitely that he wants fun outside his marriage.
However, it is also possible that he has said he has an American wife, just to make you feel more comfortable talking to him, particularly in the first instance. You haven’t said much, so I don’t know how things began, but it’s not an unheard of technique. This would mean that he’s not married, however, perhaps not the best person to trust.
I hope this doesn’t sound too callous. Take care of yourself. Chances are, you deserve better than someone who is cheating, even if he’s admitted it.
6.
Heidi commented on May 27, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Well TG, thank you for your helpful clarifications. After almost 6 months we are still in communication. We met in person for the second time for a period of two weeks early this year. Now that I am regaining my rationality after being wooed and seduced by the best, would you be able to help me by providing the name and contact information for a good reputable private investigator in the Cairo area who has a rapport with westerners as well? i need to assess my friend’s background and reputation ( admittedly tardy) in deciding what direction to take in the future. Many thanks for any help you can give. Heidi