Around a month ago I went to see the movie “7en maysra” with a couple of friends. In my opinion it is a very good movie that portrays a harsh truth about this country that we all tend to deny.
After we left the movies a friend of mine asked “Ho fe kda?!”
I assured her that the kinds of stories the movie is trying to tell do exist. Then she asked another question” Yasllam! Y3ny enty shofty be3eneky?!”
I knew for certain that these people and these living conditions exist in Egypt but to answer my friend with all honesty I had to say No! I was quite ashamed of myself actually. I mean I ask the people I know to be more aware of the problem of “el 3ashw2yat” while I have never been to one! To tell you the truth I felt like such a phony.
That’s why as soon as I got the chance to go to one of “el masaken el 3ashw2ya” in Cairo I took it eagerly. A friend of mine was going to “Manshyet Naser”_mante2a 3ashw2ya_for a project she had to do. So I tagged along.
Of course people scared us because we are girls and going to a dangerous area. Well I don’t consider my self exactly “farfora” but I have never been to such places before and I say it shamefully. People portrayed the citizens of Manshyet Naser as if they are “el Maghoul” or something. Scary human like creatures who will eat us alive once they see us. Eventually I became somewhat scared. We dressed in the most conservative way we can, we even considered wearing “3abayat” but we didn’t. For protection we took a couple of guys with us who I could tell wouldn’t even be able to protect themselves.
To my surprise it was actually a good day. At first we had a small encounter with a couple of guys who were very aggravated by the fact that we were taking pictures. But after talking some sense into them with decency they actually accompanied us, showing us around playing the role of the tour guide.
The people were very very kind as well as very very very poor. Smiling faces every where, people greeting you _although they don’t even know us_ and offering us tea as “el wageb”.
They started telling us about their problems. I don’t know where to begin; the living conditions are horrible. People are practically living in Cans and the best place is a falling down cottage. No hygiene whatsoever, the kids look filthy but you can tell that their mothers did everything they could to keep them clean. It is as if you left Egypt and stepped into Somalia.
They told us that many Egyptian researches came and took photos, heard their complaint but nothing was done. They asked us whether or not we know when they were going to remove “yezelo” this area. They asked us a lot of questions but unfortunately we didn’t have any answers.
Some people were very offended that we were taking pictures and felt that we were being condescending_ although we treated them with respect _and they were very aggressive but no one hurt us. Not a bad word not even a look. We laughed with them, the guys smoked “shesha” on the house because they insisted. We played with the kids, took pictures with some people and I actually felt very safe.
Since that day I have been thinking about these kind helpless people. Thinking about ways to help and I don’t mean bringing them food or giving them some money, I am talking about real solutions. These people deserve better, so much better. Better life, better housing, better food, better health, better education, better governance.
And needless to tell you that now my problems seem meaningless when compared.
This is just one area of the infamous”3ashw2yat” imagine that there are about 13 million people in Cairo living in such areas!
Meanwhile we are turning a blind eye. But I have seen with my own eyes and with confidence after I went home I called my friend and said “Ayoa ana Shoft be3enya”!
After we left the movies a friend of mine asked “Ho fe kda?!”
I assured her that the kinds of stories the movie is trying to tell do exist. Then she asked another question” Yasllam! Y3ny enty shofty be3eneky?!”
I knew for certain that these people and these living conditions exist in Egypt but to answer my friend with all honesty I had to say No! I was quite ashamed of myself actually. I mean I ask the people I know to be more aware of the problem of “el 3ashw2yat” while I have never been to one! To tell you the truth I felt like such a phony.
That’s why as soon as I got the chance to go to one of “el masaken el 3ashw2ya” in Cairo I took it eagerly. A friend of mine was going to “Manshyet Naser”_mante2a 3ashw2ya_for a project she had to do. So I tagged along.
Of course people scared us because we are girls and going to a dangerous area. Well I don’t consider my self exactly “farfora” but I have never been to such places before and I say it shamefully. People portrayed the citizens of Manshyet Naser as if they are “el Maghoul” or something. Scary human like creatures who will eat us alive once they see us. Eventually I became somewhat scared. We dressed in the most conservative way we can, we even considered wearing “3abayat” but we didn’t. For protection we took a couple of guys with us who I could tell wouldn’t even be able to protect themselves.
To my surprise it was actually a good day. At first we had a small encounter with a couple of guys who were very aggravated by the fact that we were taking pictures. But after talking some sense into them with decency they actually accompanied us, showing us around playing the role of the tour guide.
The people were very very kind as well as very very very poor. Smiling faces every where, people greeting you _although they don’t even know us_ and offering us tea as “el wageb”.
They started telling us about their problems. I don’t know where to begin; the living conditions are horrible. People are practically living in Cans and the best place is a falling down cottage. No hygiene whatsoever, the kids look filthy but you can tell that their mothers did everything they could to keep them clean. It is as if you left Egypt and stepped into Somalia.
They told us that many Egyptian researches came and took photos, heard their complaint but nothing was done. They asked us whether or not we know when they were going to remove “yezelo” this area. They asked us a lot of questions but unfortunately we didn’t have any answers.
Some people were very offended that we were taking pictures and felt that we were being condescending_ although we treated them with respect _and they were very aggressive but no one hurt us. Not a bad word not even a look. We laughed with them, the guys smoked “shesha” on the house because they insisted. We played with the kids, took pictures with some people and I actually felt very safe.
Since that day I have been thinking about these kind helpless people. Thinking about ways to help and I don’t mean bringing them food or giving them some money, I am talking about real solutions. These people deserve better, so much better. Better life, better housing, better food, better health, better education, better governance.
And needless to tell you that now my problems seem meaningless when compared.
This is just one area of the infamous”3ashw2yat” imagine that there are about 13 million people in Cairo living in such areas!
Meanwhile we are turning a blind eye. But I have seen with my own eyes and with confidence after I went home I called my friend and said “Ayoa ana Shoft be3enya”!
No comments:
Post a Comment