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     3rabiet elsa3ada     Cairo, Egypt 2003
 
 

Collaborative project with Marwa Zakaria
in the Goethe Institute´s series "Dar el-Hiwar".


With our "3rabiet elsa3ada" (happy car) that we built according to Egyptian pick up design we drive into different parts of Cairo and ask people for a sentence beginning with the words: "I am happy because..."

"I am happy because I can actually go to school again after I have not been able to go there for a long time! And because I want to go to university. That´s why I am happy."

"I am happy. The weather is so nice and thank God, everything is okay. I am happy about everything. Everything is so cheep...everything is okay...the weather is nice...we have plenty of rice...the bread is of very good quality...."

"I am happy because I love Egypt and God."

" I am happy because my son has passed his final school exams, but I am also sad because he is not going to go to university...that´s it!"

"I am happy because I met Bush and Arafat, and because I tried to change the bad situation in Iraq somehow...To be honest, I did everything I could...As soon as I had calmed down one side, the others stood up again...and as soon I had calmed them down again, the first ones stood up again...In any case it is very good that the Americans have not found any nuclear weapons...We have organized conferences and I did everything I had to do...."

" I am happy because we will be organizing the soccer world cup 2010 and because our country, inschaallah, will become clean again."

" Me, I am very happy, because I am writing poems and I am glad when people like my poetry...To be honest, I am scared, I will not finish reading the poem...I will say something different now...."

" I am happy because I live...to me happiness is living with people you love...and I am living with people I love...."

" We need a working sewage system in our district, we want running water...we want money and a school...and a hospital...."

" I am happy because I am being filmed in this very moment and I am going to sing a song...Apart from that there is nothing that makes me happy...Can I sing a song now?"