266 CultureShock! Egypt
checked through friends and relatives! And, almost all new
jobs are found by networking!
No matter how you personally feel about nepotism as a
custom, from a pragmatic perspective, Egypt’s nepotistic
practices can work to your benefi t in business. Once you have
established the trust needed with one person, other doors
seem to open magically. It seems that everyone you talk to
has a relative doing exactly what you need. Not uncommonly,
members of a family will have a brother or cousin or father
or uncle or in-law in just the position desperately needed to
help with your project.Bribes
Only a very fi ne line of distinction separates bribes from
gifts from baksheesh. Is a little ‘tip’ given to an offi cial who
has helped you get some paper signed a bribe or baksheesh?
Depends on your perspective, doesn’t it? (See the section on
‘Baksheesh and Tipping’ in Chapter Four: Social Interactions,
page 117.) Some refer to it as the informal cost of doing