Befrienders Cairo opened in 1992. This article discusses the challenges of a new service offered in English & Arabic. Volunteers now represent 15 nationalities. The idea of support through non-judgmental, advice-free listening is new to Egypt, a society in which authority figures abound, the concept of disinterested help is often misunderstood, & advice-giving is expected & enthusiastically undertaken. In Egypt, suicide is widely ignored or denied. To bring it into the open risks rebuttal.