Steering Committee Director Prof. Ibrahim ElNur Prof. AbdelAziz EzzelArab Prof. Mahmoud Farag Founding Editor Prof. Walid Kazziha Dina Khalifa Prof. Hani Sayed Prof. Jayme Spencer Editor Lina Attalah Prof. Herbert Thompson
Contributors Founding Scholars Mohamed Abdel Gawad Prof. Ellis Goldberg Amr Abdel Rahman Hoda Baraka Prof. Roger Owen Dina Bishara Prof. Robert Tignor Jano Charbel Prof. Robert Vitalis Ahmad Diaa Ahmad Eid Muhammad Eid Founding Crew Kismet el-Husseiny Omar Cheta Fouad Halbouni Karim el-Sayed Fady Ishak Mustafa Hefny Wael Ismail Mohamed Menza Dina Khalifa Ahmad Metwally Wael Ismail Alia Mossallam Dina Waked Amr Nasr el-Din Roberto Pitea SaifAllah Rabie Supporting Institutes Yara Sallam Center for Middle Eastern Studies, Harvard Nader Shenouda University (In consortium with AUC) Andrew Wilcox Near East Studies Program, Layout and Design Princeton University Omar Mostafa Middle East Center, University of Pennsylvania Logo Design Middle East Center, Nadine Kenawy University of Washington EHBRC Crew Global Business Center, Eman Khairy, administrative manager University of Washington Naguib Megally, transcriber Princeton Institute for International and Tamr Rizkallah, associate director Regional Studies, Board Princeton University Dr. Adel Gazarin Office of Provost, AUC Mr. Samir Allam Office of Dean of the School of Business, Prof. AbdelAziz EzzelArab Prof. Roger Owen Economics and Communication, AUC Provost Tim Sullivan Economics Department, AUC FALL 2007 FALL 2 The Chronicles From the Editor 4 Networks of Support 5
Historical Perspectives Documenting Today: Da’m Initiative; the Business of Disseminating Knowledge 7 The Chronicles Sounding Board:Egypt’s Private Bankers in the 19th Century 10
From Our Archives From Steam to Diesel: The Revamping of Egypt’s Railways 14 Table of Content 100 Years of Cafe Riche: A Memory of the City 17
History in the Making In the Guise of Economic Reform: The Privatization of Banque du Caire 22 And Who Will Speak for the Youth: Emerging Youth Movements 27 Expanding to Suburbia: Cairo’s News Suburbs 32 Selling Healthcare: The Privatization of the Health Insurance Sector 36 On the Fringes of a City: A Visit to Ain al-Sira 40 Consumers’ Benevolence: Rise of Consumer Activism 42 Defying Government Intervention: Egypt’s Workers Rise to the Forefront of Dissent 44 Wadna Ne’ish: Experiencing the Bedouins’ Plea 48 Egypt’s Thirst Revolution: Water Shortage Raises Temper Across the Nation 51 For the Sake of a “Clean Development”: New Approach to Realize Sustainable Development 54
Across the Region Drugs for Development: the Qat Industry and Yemen’s Economic Development 58 More than Just Zeal: Hizbullah as a Resource Distributor in Shiite Areas of Lebanon 61
Business Not As Usual Glimpses of Life: Interview with Adel Gazarin on his Interest in Photography 64 Visual Alternatives: The Rise of Independent Cinema in Egypt 67 Spontaneous Art from the Deep South: Hassan al-Sharq’s Struggle to Let His Art Speak 71
In the Pipeline The Economic Participation of Women in Egypt: Evidence from a Segmented Labor Market 75 Slum Politics: Cairo’s New Modes of Informal Politics and the Lesser Notables 82 Speaking in the Language of Loss: Stories about the Everyday and its Burdens among Ce- ment Carriers in Saft al-Laban 86 Those are Liberated Territories: Ruminations on Everyday Forms of Resistance in Contem- porary Egypt 91
Reviews First Time on the Margins: A Commercial Film Sheds Lights on Life in the Slums 98 Egypt’s Amateur Historian: A Reading in Ahmad Sadiq Saad’s Work 100
Archives 103 FALL 2007 FALL
The Chronicles 3 From the Editor
When we gathered last summer to discuss the provisional substantial build-up for the fall issue of the Chronicles, we were sound surround by strikes. These strikes weren’t taken from their traditional Cairene hotspots, but from elsewhere, in the country side and in governorates other than Cairo. Next to Egypt’s eastern gate, Bedouin communities were protesting their marginalization. In different in- dustrial lots, the workers were protesting their dire living conditions. And in scattered quarters of the nation, regular citizens gathered to protest the shortage in running water, in what was later referred to in the media as “the revolution of the thirsty”. During an oral history session with Saad Zaghloul, a long time militant whose struggle dates back to fighting the British occupiers in the 1940s, he ended his nar- rative by a catching observation. “Today, Egypt is pregnant with a revolution,” he told us.
While we are in no position to claim that we are witnessing the naissance of a fully-fledged revolution, those dispersed acts of rebellion provided us with a thrust to closely observe today’s trends of dissi- dence. Dissidence became the keyword of this issue of the Chronicles and an umbrella, under which we found ourselves looking for a wide array of articles, from the workers and the Bedouin strikes, to consumers’ activism and reaching out to young filmmakers on the margins of mainstream cinema. Ac- cordingly, the issue gave weight to the History in the Making section, which was created by the found- ers of the Chronicles to stop at current events and examine how they can be placed in a historic context and what connotations they might have for the future.
In the meantime, we also kept on revisiting the past with the Historic Perspectives section, where we propose thorough studies on the careers of foreign resident private bankers who settled in Egypt in the 19th century. Through the section In the Pipeline, the Chronicles continue to offer a forum where young scholars share their MA and PhD work in progress. In this issue, we learn about women eco- nomic participation, informal polities, modes of resistance, and the every day life of cement workers. We took our observations beyond the Egyptian landscape through the new section, Across the Region, from which we brought two stories, one from Lebanon and the other from Yemen.
This issue came to light following the full departure of its founding crew to the academic and corporate worlds. However, the essence of its continuation stems from the outlet that this crew has created to cater to the imagination of tens of fellow young and senior scholars.
Call for Contributions
The Chronicles welcomes contributing writers for its up-coming issue, to come out in March 2008. EBHRC adopts a multi-disciplinary approach to the studying and reading of history. We accept articles ranging from 1500 to 3000 words, dealing with a wide array of Middle East issues, from development, to socio-economic history, to political economy. We are particularly interested in enterprise history, institutional history, labor history, biographic pieces on policy makers, businessmen, entrepreneurs, family businesses and small businesses. We are also interested in articles touching on the dynamic rela- tionship between business and culture as well as sectoral topics such as the textile or the railroad indus- try. We equally care about any topics that use oral history as a tool for collection of primary historical records. FALL 2007 FALL 4 The Chronicles Networks of Support Harvard Signs Consortium Agreement in Support of EBHRC
Wa e l Is m a i l MA i n Mi d d l e Ea s t St u d i e s , t h e Am e r i c a n Un i v e r s i t y i n Ca i r o
Some of the attendees have been part of the cen- he Fourth annual AUC Fo- tre’s first set of interviews such as former Prime rum on the economic and Minister Dr. Aziz Sidqi and the current Chair- T man of the Egyptian Businessmen Association business history of Egypt held by Dr. Adel Gazarin. The ceremony was also -wit nessed by members of the Egyptian business the Economic and Business His- community and public officials, some of whom tory Research Centre (EBHRC) have already given their accounts to the centre, such as Mr. Fouad Sultan, Mr. Mansour Hasan, witnessed the signing of a consor- Mr. Samir Allam, Dr. Ibrahim Fawzy, Dr. Mostafa tium agreement between AUC Kamal Tolba, Mr. Ali Negm and Dr. Abdel Aziz Hegazy. Mr. Saad Hagras and Mr. Hazem Sherif and Harvard University on 8 May were also present, as well as a clique of academ- 2007 that governs the operations ics from both inside and outside the AUC com- munity. The presence of these figures and oth- of EBHRC. The agreement was ers shows interest by some of the country’s well signed by Provost Tim Sullivan respected names in the private sector as well as current and former public officials to lend their of AUC and Professor Roger narratives of the past to the centre. Owen on behalf of Harvard Uni- Article (1) of the agreement states that the versity’s Center for Middle East centre’s primary function, “is the creation of a repository of primary sources and rare publi- Studies. The signing ceremony cations related to the economic and business was attended by academic schol- history of Egypt and the Middle East, and the dissemination of such information, including ars from AUC and other univer- without limitation through various occasional sities as well as a number of busi- and periodic publications wherever appropri- ate. The centre shall strive to enhance research, nessmen and public officials who particularly among young scholars, in the social have been part of the centre’s oral and economic history of Egypt, with emphasis on the business history in Egypt.” history activities. FALL 2007 FALL
The Chronicles 5 This broad mandate allows EBHRC to explore Furthermore, the agreement allows AUC and Har- various means of documenting and archiving vard to search for means of institutional collabora- Egypt and the Middle East’s economic and busi- tion to achieve such a target by reaching out to other ness history. EBHRC in the past four years has universities. been able to create an archive of primary materi- al that should act as a nucleus for more research The signing of the Consortium agreement has also and documentation. The material collected has added a new thrust to pursue a set of new ideas indicated the virgin territory that has been dis- pertaining to the collection of oral history narra- covered and the rich history of this region that tives and archival materials and to conducting case is yet to be unveiled. The consortium agreement studies on leading Egyptian business corporations will give further momentum to the centre to act among many other endeavors. accordingly in finding news ways of documenta- tion as well as new topics for research through the framework set out by the consortium.
As this piece was in the process of being published, its writer, Wael Ismail, was getting ready to move to Beirut to join the British American Tobacco Corporate and Regulatory Affairs team. Wael’s distinctive contribution to EBHRC is beyond enumeration, and it dates back to when the centre was no more than a newborn idea. Wael continued to support the Chroni- cles after his departure, by answering endless questions, editing copies, doing its photography work and instilling constant encouragement to the overall process. The Chronicles will remain an outlet for his continuous contribution to EBHRC as it is our linking venue to all our founding and affiliated scholars and colleagues. FALL 2007 FALL 6 The Chronicles Documenting Today Historical Perspectives Da’m Initiative: the Business of Disseminating Knowledge Li n a At t a l a h Pr o j e c t Of f i c e r , EBHRC hile the richness of In this environment, an initiative like Da’m (Ara- bic for support) is worth noticing. In their mis- Egypt’s history is sion statement, the team of Da’m says, “… an at- uncontested, infor- tempt to break the prevailing gloominess in the W information world in Egypt, with the lack of a mation and documents pertain- culture of information sharing and the lack of a ing to this history and access law regulating it. [An attempt at] helping infor- mation seekers and fetchers for the truth to pur- to it remain a matter of conten- sue their roles…”1 The operation’s main activity tion. Deliberate control over the is manifest in al-daftarkhana, a web portal which receives tens of journalistic feeds everyday, each free flow of information and classified according to its subject matter. In other the shortage of access continue words, the website comprises the daily and week- to hold such a rich history hos- ly content of some 45 Arabic-speaking regular newspapers and magazines, which is classified tage behind closed doors. Yet under broad rubrics, followed by more specific more broadly, the general ne- issues or topics glect in documentation under- In their busy office located in Downtown Cairo, takings has left a plethora of Khalid Abdul Hamid and Ahmad Bahgat spoke about their project, which they started almost a stories untold and in the dark. year ago. While the former is an activist and FALL 2007 FALL
The Chronicles 7 spoke of the importance of a free and fair flow showed how the number has shrunk to 26.2 Various of information, the latter is an information estimates attempting to update this number account technology specialist and he spoke about the for five to 10 corporations controlling the media in importance of the technical facilitation for this America today. process. In the meantime, they both, along with their third partner, spoke the same language By being aware of this discourse, the initiative of with regards to the raison d’etre of their opera- Da’m works on two levels simultaneously.3 On one tion: breaking the monopoly over access to in- hand, the portal disseminates classified information formation. for research use and on the other it works on spread- ing a culture of using open-source programming The initiative aims at using software technolo- which is an important entry-point to information gies along lines with human efforts to put an access. end to the monopoly and centralization over in- formation sources and to support the dissemi- Tthe team gets commissions from research centers nation and storage of this information. and individual researchers to create electronic files and databases around certain issues, which they de- Despite the fact that information monopoly has liver on compressed discs. The process entails both a been compromised by global information net- research and a digitization component and is an im- works such as the Internet and other numerous portant source of income for the operation, which media outlets, constraints to a free flow are still is taken on the condition of making files available to lingering. The commercialization of information the general public once done. and its ill-treatment as a commodity represent one of those constraints, where the fairly free On a par stream, Da’m promotes the use of open- and easy access to information is slowly trans- source programming. The open source program- Historical Perspectives formed into a consumerist process, where better ming refers to the development of software through and more appealing services are continuously access to the source code and the free distribution introduced and re-introduced at a cost. On the of this software with no discrimination against the other hand, institutions’ censorship or control field of use or any group of people.4 In 1989, a gen- over disseminated information as a means of eral public license was generated by the Free Soft- self-preservation and survival is another obsta- ware Foundation, a foundation promoting com- cle in the face of free-flowing knowledge. Gov- puter users’ rights to use, study, copy, modify and ernments’ censorship of web traffic and media redistribute computer programs. The Open Source gatekeepers who influence the decision-making Initiative, a non-profit corporation, advocates the li- in a news operation are constant obstacles to cense as part of its general promotion of open source a full and uncompromised access for informa- programming. The license aims at “guarantee[ing] tion. freedom to share and change free software--to make sure the software is free for all its users.”5 The license In his on-going research on global media, Ben provides for a framework regulating the cooperation Bagdikian, journalist and former dean of the between developers, users, corporations and gov- Graduate School of Journalism at the University ernment, while avoiding products’ deadlock by mo- of California, he indicated that media owner- nopolies. ship was being monopolized by a small circle of American firms. In his book published in 1982, Da’m works with Linux, a free operating system, The Media Monopoly, he wrote that 50 compa- which source code is available for anyone and hence nies owned more than half of the media busi- can be freely downloaded, while it promotes the use ness. Four years later, the second edition of the of similar operating systems as opposed to the tra- book witnessed a fall in the number 50 to 29. ditional ones. “Microsoft has not only monopolized Shortly after, he published an article where he the software, but it has also monopolized the tools FALL 2007 FALL needed for making the software work,” says Bahgat, 8 TheThe Chronicles Chronicles the founding partner of Da’m. Microsoft’s monop- n his work, The Bias of Communication, oly, like any other monopoly, has negatively affect- political economist Harold Innis expound- ed the environment by overwhelming the market ed on how monopolies of knowledge stifle with its products, hence leading to a stagnation of Icompetition of ideas, hinder development and progress and an unquestionable rise in prices.6 eventually lead to the establishment of power in the hands of the few. The case is also appli- ith this rationale in mind, cable to the sources of knowledge like software development, which is the brainchild of myriad Da’m’s founding team was of creative processes. While the destiny and the adamantW on pursuing its initiative outreach of those processes remain determined to a great extent by the monopolies that rule the Historical Perspectives despite funding difficulties. The market, the promotion of its use at a grass-root initiative is registered as a company level might affect the rules of the game. and hence does not have access to Da’m’s website is: regular funding directed to non- http://www.id3m.com governmental organizations. How- ever, the Arab Education Initiative, a British charity interested in promot- ing social change in the region, has provided Da’m with primary funds End Notes to get established. The Westminster 1 Ben Bagdikian. “The 50, 26, 20... Corporations That Foundation for Democracy, a Brit- Own Our Media” Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) ish entity working towards support-
The Chronicles 9 The Chronicles’ Sounding Board! Egypt’s Private Bankers in the 19th Cen- tury: A Nascent Domestic Bourgeoisie?
Ab d e l Az i z Ez z e l Ar a b Di r e c t o r , EBHRC, As s o c i a t e Pr o f e s s o r o f Ec o n o m i c s , t h e Am e r i c a n Un i v e r s i t y i n Ca i r o
Historical Perspectives n his seminal Bankers and Pashas, David This brief account is an attempt to identify some Landes makes the following remark areas of relevant knowledge and others where such about the ‘Near East’ —mainly Egypt knowledge lacks.2 Like other accounts of this na- Iand Ottoman Turkey—around the mid-19- ture, it is written in a rather rough and highly ten- th century: “Here, as in England itself, things tative vein, and it makes use of the platform that began quietly and the finance company came The Chronicles allows as an early sounding board. late. The early response to the growing - de As our Editor, Lina Attalah, puts it, “the question- mand for credit facilities was an increase in ing phase is very critical for any truthful research endeavor and is very worthy of publishing too, un- the number of private banking houses. As like the traditional thought of publishing as a stage in western Europe before, numbers of mer- where a piece of work is completed or has answers chants - Greeks, Jews, Syrians, and Europeans to all questions. Actually, in the process of research, - found that trade was the gateway to finance.”1 raising preliminary questions seem to be one of the magic moments to the mind, perhaps as magic as Although it does not go as far as suggesting that finding authentic answers, which are a little harder the Near East could have embarked on a capi- to get.”3 talist experience similar to England, it could be taken to make this suggestion, at least partly, for Capitalizing on the advantage of sharing such ideas a group of business people operating in these loudly at early stages of thinking, I will take the free- economies. Who were those individuals? What dom of being much less cautious here while making do we know about them? Did they constitute a some suggestions than would be the case in other nucleus for a class of nascent domestic capital- ists? How far was their trajectory influenced by venues or at later stages of research. the impact of incoming capital? FALL 2007 FALL 10 The Chronicles Let us start by defining the subject group. Our con- These two waves are easily reconcilable to the cern here is focused on long-term settlers in Egypt. initial expansion in trade under Muhammad This eliminates two categories of private bankers ‘Ali in the first period, and the aftermath of who operated in the country at the time covered in the cotton boom (American Civil War) with Landes’ remark. It eliminates, first, Europeans who the resulting attraction of Egyptian finances in passed by or established a very tentative presence the latter. Most of these business families had in Egypt during the 1860s and 1870s when the a commercial business next to, and sometimes field of Egyptian finance appeared to offer lucra- before, delving into banking. This opens up the tive business opportunities. This category includes question of original accumulation. The proposi- bankers like Dervieu, whose career in Egypt is cov- tion by Landes quoted at the outset attributes ered extensively by Landes in Bankers and Pashas. this to commercial enterprise. Some studies It also eliminates European private banking firms, distinguish between two general patterns: one Historical Perspectives like Oppenheim, who were active in the Egyptian where financial services were funded by sur- market as an overseas market for operationshead- plus generated through commercial enterprise quartered in some European capital, mainly Lon- and another where it was funded by virtue of don or Paris. blood connection with some global firms. The distinction is made in parallel to the ethnic or What does this leave us? religious origin of the banking family: Greeks A group consisting of individuals from various through commerce, Jews through connections minorities, ethnic and religious—Greeks, Egyp- with firms like Rothschild.5 tian Jews, Syrians, and some Europeans—who, at various points of time in the 19th century began Second, at least some of the domestic firms offering financial services and eventually owned seem to have operated within and for the ac- family-based ‘private banking’ houses that were count of the global financial network. Their role, mostly headquartered in Alexandria.4 The more therefore, wavered between providers of funds famous families include Sinadino, Zervudachi, and and agents offering non-funded services. This Salvago (Greeks); Cattaui, Menasce, Harari, Mos- variation may explain, at least partly, the appar- seri, and Suarès (Jews); Sursuq (Syrian); and the ently mixed reactions we find towards the - ar Pastré family (European). Generally speaking, that rival of large European banking capital from the differed from this general rule (the Pastrés were mid-19th century, as we learn from an anecdote European but early settlers and Salvagos Greek but of the attempt by some bankers to resist the es- late). There were others whose names were men- tablishment of Bank of Egypt in the mid 1850s.6 tioned in the earlier part of the century but seem to For all, however, survival necessitated adjust- have disappeared by the later decades, like Tossiga ment to the new reality. We already know some and Anistassi, on whose efforts Muhammad ‘Ali of the ways by which established domestic firms seems to have relied at one point of time in a brief adjusted. Three of these means were: merging attempt to establish a state bank. into the new structures (as in the case of Sinadi- no & Pastré with the Anglo Egyptian Bank), We have some scattered information about the combining to form a new joint-stock bank (as origination of these business families, their earlier in the case when Salvago and Zervudachi jointly banking operations, their early adjustment to the founded the Alexandria Commercial Bank in arrival of European banking capital, and their even- the mid 1860s), and accepting a change in role tual significance in Egyptian business. by acting as solicitors of funds rather than lend- ers (as in the creation of Crédit Foncier through First, the constituents of this group appeared the efforts of Suarès, Harari, and Cattaui). mostly in waves, with apparent concentration in the 1820s-1830s, and the 1860s-1870s. FALL 2007 FALL
The Chronicles 11 Third, by the 1880s, some of these families had In larger investments, capital was raised from Euro- already developed into a major domestic entre- pean banking institutions in some cases, as CFE and preneurial group that promoted and participated Banque Générale (both in 1880). Later in the cen- in business enterprise in various directions of eco- tury, large enterprise like NBE and the Da’ira Sani- nomic activity. Through the efforts of Suarès, -Me yyah Co. (both in 1898) was established with metro- nasce, Cattaui, Salvago, Sinadino, and others, major politan and official British support, to the extent that ventures were developed in banking, irrigation, land Roger Owen notes that although the original conces- reclamation, estate management, cotton industries, sions of the latter two projects were given in the name light agricultural railways, and sugar refining. We get of Raphael Suarès, “their actual foundation had only a sense of the extent and continuity of their entre- been made possible as a result of the financial assist- preneurial activity through the early 20th century ance of Sir Ernest Cassel and some of his British busi- by glancing over the names of some of the more ness acquaintances.”7 famous among them and the dates of their estab- lishment where available: Crédit Foncier Egyptien By the early 20th century, however, there are signs (CFE, 1880), Hawamdiyya sugar refinery (1881), that this group, or families or individuals in it, had be- Sheikh Fadl sugar refinery (1891), Société Foncière come more assimilated into a broader community of d’Egypte (1896), Société Egyptienne d’Irrigation economic and business elites in Egypt as evident in at Naj‘ Hamadi (1896), National Bank of Egypt their participation in some forums and associations (NBE, 1898), the Land Bank (1905), as well as Un- that represented broad economic interests, like the ion Foncière d’Egypte, the Anglo-Egyptian Spin- Association for Property Owners and the First Na- ning and Weaving Company, the Qina-Aswan Rail- tional Egyptian Conference (both in 1911) and the ways, Kum Umbu sugar refinery, and Kafr al-Zayyat Commission on Commerce and Industry (1916). Cotton Company. Around that time as well, a prominent figure in one of the leading families, Yusuf Aslan Cattaui, joins ranks Historical Perspectives In most of those ventures, these business houses with the Egyptian National Conference and Tal’at acted in consortia, formed in many cases along Harb in the early calls to establish Bank Misr. Also ethnic lines. Some combinations emerge from one around that time or a bit later, some of these bank- case to the other, as with the consortium of Suarès, ing houses—like Suarès and Mosseri—converted Menasce, and Cattaui (Hawamdiyya sugar refinery, themselves into joint-stock banks that survived in the Société Foncière d’Egypte and Société Egyptienne Egyptian market until the mid-20th century.8 d’Irrigation), which expanded in other cases to in- clude Salvago and Zervudachi as well (Anglo-Egyp- What do these snap shots tell us? We have here busi- tian Spinning and Weaving Company). The latter ness entities that accumulated funds or connections, two, on the other hand, solicited the participation or both, to eventually venture into financing services. of European banks in the Land Bank (together with They preceded the entry of modern banks, even if Aghion), and had joint financial interests in mort- they were smaller in size and more limited in activity. gage banks, cotton-pressing concerns, and land They considered themselves a community and acted companies like the Union Foncière d’Egypte, which in that manner, as evident in various business com- Zervudachi chaired. Other combinations included binations, reinforced by marriages. While they might Suarès with Harari (Sheikh Fadl and Kum Umbu have existed before the arrival of large and modern sugar refineries), or both of them with Salvago on European banking capital in Egypt, this arrival does one occasion (NBE) or Cattaui on another (CFE). not seem to have adversely affected their existence on the whole: some may have disappeared—we do not In some cases, these groups resorted to foreign seem to have specific information on this yet—but capital of various sizes and origins. In medium there were others that adjusted, survived, and were size companies, like the Sugar Refineries and the able to consolidate, expand, and emerge as a leading Buhayra Lands, they were invariably local Euro- entrepreneurial group in the presence of European peans: engineers, merchants, bankers and others. capital and occasionally in collaboration with it. FALL 2007 FALL 12 The Chronicles How did this occur? Vitalis, Robert. When Capitalists Collide: Business Conflict We do not yet have a complete study of the trajectory and the End of Empire in Egypt (1995), p. 32-41. Samir Saul offers what is probably the most extensive discussion of a par- of this group or of leading houses in it. To do so, we ticular phase in the trajectory of two leading banking families, need more detailed information about the processes Sinadino and Pastré, in part of Saul, Samir “From the Anglo- that underlined the movement between different mo- Egyptian Bank to Barclays (DCO): A Century of Overseas Banking,” in Mila Davids, Ferry de Goey, and Dirk de Wit, ments in their histories, their life stories and genesis, Proceedings of the Conference on Business History (1995). Apart rather than only the dramatic moments in it. There are from this, there is useful information in the brief and mostly at least four processes where more complete informa- scattered allusions to this group, or to constituents within it, in some other works on 19th and 20th century Egypt. See par- tion is needed. ticularly the various allusions in Landes, Bankers and Pashas; Owen, Roger. Cotton and the Egyptian Economy 1820-1914 How and when did they begin to build their initial (1969); Tignor, Robert. State, Private Enterprise, and Economic Historical Perspectives accumulation? How and when did they delve into fi- Change in Egypt, 1918-1952 (1984); Berque, Jacques. Egypt: Imperialism and Revolution (1972); Crouchley, A.E. The Eco- nancial services? How did they respond to the arrival nomic Development of Modern Egypt (1938); ‘Abd al-Rasul, of large European capital? And, finally, how did they ‘Ali. al-Bunuk al-Tijariyaa fi Misr(1961); Mutawalli, Mahmud. consolidate their presence, in business and society, al-Usul al-Tarikhiyya lil-Ra’smaliyya al-Misriyya wa Tatawwu- ruha (1974). I have touched on the entrepreneurial activities from the late 1870s onwards? The answers to these of this group in the late 1870s and early 1880s in EzzelArab, questions may vary widely from case to case. A proper AbdelAziz. European Control and Egypt’s Traditional Elites study must begin by closer investigation into individual (2002). p. 18-20, 160-166. Finally, Samir Rafaat has written cases to attempt to answer these questions for specific extensively on such leading families as Cattaui, Suarès, and others in publications addressing the general reader, including firms or situations. Generalization will be possible as a Cairo Times and Egyptian Mail. This article is a partial digest subsequent product of such detailed studies. of the information contained in these various works. 3 E-mail exchange with Lina Attalah, 21 Oct., 2007. 4 While the term ‘private bankers’ is generally accepted and Is the material for such studies available? In the ab- used to describe this group, some scholars have their reserva- sence of private company archives, how could it be tions against this designation. Bob Tignor particularly argues located and accessed? Could documents still be found that these were “Egyptian-based moneylenders who had prospered as extenders of credit and who were emboldened with successors? Is there enough interest among these [emphasis mine] to establish local banks.... Although one can successors to provide such material to the academic call their establishments banks, the individuals running them community to begin a tradition of writing the history were little more than moneylenders operating on a large scale of these one-time flourished businesses? In a recent or merchants who extended commercial credit to the wealthy and influential of Egypt.” See Tignor, Robert. “The Introduc- search for clues to the successors of some of these fami- tion of Modern Banking into Egypt, 1855-1920,” in Asian and lies I found the name of Dennis Zervudacki, with the African Studies 15(1981). p. 106-107, cf. Crouchley, A.E. The title ‘président-directeur général’ among participants in Investment of Foreign Capital in Egyptian Companies and Public Debt (1936). p. 8. I have touched briefly on this controversy in a European 2006 conference on investment in Egypt.9 European Control. p. 18-19 and notes. Do the Zervudackis, and others, perceive of a possible 5 Al-Jiritli in particular makes this distinction. return? 6 See Baster, “Origins,” p. 79. The same anecdote is mentioned in al-Jiritli. p. 220, on the authority of Nassau Senior. 7 Owen. p. 290. End Notes 8 See EzzelArab. p. 177-179. 9 See
The Chronicles 13 From Steam to Diesel
The Revamping of Egypt’s Railways From our Archives
Am r Na s r e l -Di n MA Candidate in International Relations, the American University in Cairo
On the fine early morning of 8 July 1952, at around 6:55 a.m., at al-Zaytoun railway station (now part of Cairo’s first metro line); a small train consisting of mainly old third class passenger carriages hauled by small tank steam locomotive pushed in slowly. That was the first scene of the Egyptian railroads that Mah- moud Kurayyim saw on his first working day on the eve of his long carrier in the Egyptian State Railroads (ESR). FALL 2007 FALL 14 The Chronicles Muhammad Kurayyim, the great grandfather of who were working in this unique institution. The Mahmoud Kurayyim, was destined to witness the availability of stories about the sector along with landing of the French forces in Alexandria during tellers of those stories as first hand witnesses to the early days of Napoleon Bonaparte’s expedition them, as well as people willing to listen and to on Egypt. Decades later, a mere historical coinci- create transcripts, can possibly bridge this gap. dence led his great grandson to witness the major transformation of the Egyptian railroads during the Like a time machine, the oral history session bustling years of the 1950s and 1960s. Kurayyim conducted with Kurayyim takes us long back represents a special stratum of the Egyptian Na- in history. He started his career in the massive tional Railroads cadre; one of many middle rank- Abou-Za’bal Locomotive Works which were in ing managers and officials who implement and -su charge of overhauling Egypt’s fleet of steam lo- From our Archives pervise not only the daily operations but also the comotives. From there, he witnessed the trans- execution of major upgrading programs. formation of the Egyptian motive power from steam locomotive to diesel. During the early and Less than two weeks after Kurayyim attained his mid 1950s, the Egyptian railroads were depend- post at the ESR, the 1952 revolution broke out. ent on steam and oil-fired steam locomotives, in This new born coup heavily affected every aspect addition to a small number of diesel locomotives of the Egyptian life; the railroads were no excep- that were also active though in limited numbers. tion. The new regime brought huge changes to the The new Egyptian regime decided to revamp railroads, starting with renaming the sector to the the Egyptian motive power by initiating a mas- Railroads of the Egyptian Republic, then the Egyp- sive process of dieselization. Large numbers of tian National Railroads (ENR), and reaching to the new diesel locomotives were purchased from total transformation of the motive power used. the United States and the former West Germany. In addition, 350 diesel rail buses were imported When the Economic and Business History Re- from Japan for the use on the short suburban search Centre decided to conduct an oral history lines. These units were augmented by six high session with a retired Egyptian railways official, I speed diesel train sets to provide a high speed could not hide my excitement. That stemmed not first class passenger service on the Cairo-Alexan- only from my deep passion about railways and its dria line; those were the famed magary trains. history but also from the fact that there is a general shortage in sources about the history of Egyptian The dieselization process was only one of a long railways; particularly ones by those list of projects that Kurayyim witnessed. Oth- ers included the electrification of the Helwan railroad (now part of Cairo’s Metro first line) to cope with the increasing workers traffic to the busy and – what was at the time – expand- ing industrial zone in Helwan.Most of the newly bought equipment for this line was plagued by several problems that had to be solved by both the ENR’s indigenous capabilities and with the help of foreign countries.
A new Henschel A22 diesel locomotive loaded on a ship to be delivered to Egypt. Courtesy Amr Nasr el-Din FALL 2007 FALL
The Chronicles 15 t the time, the Egyptian government was inside Egypt to privately owned trucks which, Aimplementing a massive industrialization in turn, increased in numbers and capabilities. program that aimed at establishing a modern and solid industrial base. The sector of railroad- Additionally, the Egyptian railroads started to related industries was explored through the purchase huge numbers of equipments (namely establishment of the Société Générale Egypti- locomotives and passenger coaches). These enne de Matériel de Chemins de Fer (SEMAF) major purchases were mainly financed by huge which pioneered the efforts to create an Egyp- loans that heavily indebted the institution. The tian railroad industry. From their massive ‘Ein- situation was further aggravated by the lack of administrative reform or major infrastructural Helwan facility, the company started building upgrades to cope with the inflow of new equip- freight wagons with Belgian assistance and, later ment. The case of the gas turbo trains (known on, passenger coaches with Japanese technical publicly as al-torbiny) is a clear example of newly assistance. Kurayyim indicated that the Egyp- incoming mismanaged equipment. These trains tian railroads were planning to build a totally in- need tracks especially modified to cope with its digenous steam locomotive and that most of the high speeds; an upgrade that was clearly not de- needed equipment was bought and stored in the veloped in the Egyptian network. Additionally, Abou-Za’bal locomotive works. The project was no efforts were spared to develop the technical then cancelled due to the decision to change the base to conduct the regular maintenance and/ Egyptian motive power to diesel. or overhauls for the gas turbines – the most crit- ical part of the train’s engine. Consequently, the From our Archives The engineering skills of the ENR were fully ex- trains were running huge losses from their first ploited to modernize scores of machines used day in service and turning into major economic by the railroads. After the 1967 war, the ENR blunders rather than pearls of profit. participated actively in the nation’s military endeavors. This contribution was not limited Our three sessions spent with Kurayyim ended fast and yet opened scores of questions. Most to transporting troops and equipment but also importantly, the rich pool of information and consisted of using the outstanding indigenous insights he gave us consisted a certain thrust engineering skills to support Egypt’s military to follow the history of the Egyptian railroads activities. Railroad engineers used their exper- more closely, perhaps through the collection of tise with moving objects to design and build more narratives. Other than learning about this large movable doors to protect the entrances of special establishment, such history can equally the Hardened Aircraft Shelters(HAS) that were give us insights about the overall urge for indus- built at the Egyptian air force base, but where trialization that was once at the forefront of the barely used as they were parked on the ground. regime’s agenda. Furthermore, the railroad engineers modified regular flat freight wagons with extra iron rods so they could handle heavy loads for the army, particularly tanks.
Kurayyim also gave us a unique insight into the reasons behind the current decline of the Egyp- tian railroads. Today’s poor status of Egypt’s rail- road network dates back to the late 1970s and early 1980s. At the time, the railroads started to lose its control on the movement of freight and goods – a major source of income – FALL 2007 FALL 16 The Chronicles 100 Years of History From our Archives 100 Years of Cafe Riche A Memory of the City
In their paper presented at the EBHRC 2005 annual Forum on the Economic and Business History of Egypt and later at the Middle East Studies Association annual conference in Washington DC, Dina Waked and Karim al-Sayed, wrote about their reasons for choosing to study Café Riche: ver since our college days, when we first stumbled upon Café Riche in our search for a more interest- ing alternative to the lunch queue at the university Ecafeteria, we have been intrigued by this old place in which time seems to have stopped decades ago; …We were, just as much, intrigued by the photographs of tens of Egyp- tian and Arab artists, journalists, poets, writers and intel- lectuals, and wondered if they all really frequented this place. Its long history, more than 90 years, is another one of the reasons why we preferred Café Riche to other down- town businesses; this long history, we thought, would give us more chances to extrapolate about the effects of
the changes in the external environment on the business.” 2007 FALL
The Chronicles 17 What was then more than 90 years of history is today nearing the completion of 100 years, with The City Lights Were Amazing… 2008 being marked as the official one hundredth It was my first time in Cairo. I remember we reached year in the life of Café Riche. And what was then Mahattet Masr (Cairo Railway Station). The city a paper exploring the business history of the lights were amazing. We never had such lights in place and the dynamic relationship between the our Nubian village. There, they used to tell us that enterprise and the surrounding macro-econom- going to Cairo is like going to al-Hijaz to perform ic, social and political landscape gave the seeds pilgrimage. I went to my late uncle’s house in Mani- to a bigger endeavor. al. He bought me new cloths and then brought me to Café Riche. There was a Greek Khawaja there In the words of Galal Amin, the main discussant who owned the café and who used to be a waiter of the afore-mentioned paper, “you can really tell at the British Embassy that was located in Qasr al- the entire history of Egypt through the story of Nil. My uncle spoke Greek as he lived in Alexan- Café Riche and it is a whole one hundred years dria for a while. He spoke to the Khawaja about me of History.” EBHRC is also celebrating the cen- working for Riche. I was very happy when I learnt tennial of this significant public space through that I will start work the following day. I was very an edited book that tries to closely look at major curious to frequent this new environment. I kept transformations in Egypt’s modern landscape telling myself all day, when would tomorrow come through the lens of Café Riche. Articles of the for me to take my new job. It was a big thing for book are departing from the analysis of the me. The first salary I got was 30 piasters a month. space, as a point of passage and as a physically With time, it was raised to 45 piasters, with tips From our Archives immobile element that witnessed those trans- from hosts. I started by getting stuff for hosts, such formations throughout the 20th century, hence as packs of cigarettes or two croissants and two making its occupancy, value and perception in pates from the nearby patisserie called Luke. I also constant change. The articles are also studying started with cleaning up tables and serving water. how a shared public space can play a role in cer- Later on, I started serving hosts more directly. I was tain political, economic, social and cultural pro- taught how to prepare proper Turkish coffee, tea ductions. Historians, economists, anthropolo- and French café au lait. At that time, there was not gists, sociologists, political scientists and artists yet cappuccino, expresso or Nescafe. I also served among others are taking part in this production, spiritual drinks, such as Stella beer; there was also looking at an array of elements of analysis from a dark beer called Marzeen that used to be distrib- the menus, to the clientele, to the interior deco, uted in March. There were cans of German beer. to pricing and management policies, and taking The modest host would go for Brandy for seven pi- out to the street, to look at the changing urban asters. Better off clients would drink Whiskey, for landscape of Downtown Cairo. This assortment 20 piasters or expensive Cognac branded Corfoi- of articles covering 100 years of history through sie, for 20 piasters also. Taste would be determined the eyes of Café Riche will give our manuscript by how well off was the client. a much desired multi-disciplinary flavor. ‘Am Filfil, Riche’s waiter since 1943
As the process is developing, we have been col- lecting tens of accounts from people who share different relationships with Café Riche, either as clients, or observers or even as an “organic” part of the establishment, such as ‘Am Filfil, who was the Café’s waiter since 1943. Hereinafter, we put forward some snapshots of our interviews which will be fully integrated in the manuscript in the form of articles and transcripts. FALL 2007 FALL 18 The Chronicles A Home … Away From Home “One of my earliest memories of childhood is Café Riche. Ever since I was three, I became at- tached to this place. At the age of 16, I was an apprentice in Sabah al-Kheir. Riche was like my home away from home. I used to sit here with Naguib Sorour and the so-called radicals of that time. We weren’t really radical, we were just loud. Then the real motivators of society and the Left used to sit in the other corner with Naguib Mah-
fouz and Abbas al-Aswany. The place has so many From our Archives traces and it has left its grip on me. It helped me to formulate a trend of thought, it helped to mix with a bunch of people, with whom I didn’t nec- essarily agree on everything, but from whom I learnt a lot. I cannot deny that they influenced the way I write, they influenced the way I live. This is Not a Place….A Case! home. Whenever, I come to Cairo, the first place “My generation was quite unlucky. I belong to I come to is Riche. It was the first place where I the generation that joined universities in the had a scuffle with the law. I was arrested just out- 1980s. At that time, the political life was quite side Café Riche in 1977 for having taken part in different from before. Until the late 1960s, the uprising against Sadat’s decision to lift subsi- people shared a certain dream and there were dies. It was the happiest time of my life because taken by a revolutionary realm. Many people I was imprisoned with la crème de la crème of took part in political organizations. The 1970s the Egyptian society. After I got released I didn’t was a strange era, along with the victory, there even go home, I came to Café Riche.” were so many changes, starting with the infitah Hassan Ibrahim, Journalist and reaching to Camp David. Few people ques- tioned the value of a victory that is conductive to the signing of those accords. When our time came, political activism was not tolerated on campus, nor were artistic expressions. Many theatres were removed from universities, when those theatres were the source of many creative expressions in the past. Political Islam groups were the ones flourishing. The situation further worsened in the 1990s, when I became a uni- versity professor. The lack of such activism on campus did not help us learn basic things such as teamwork. That’s why you can hardly find a group of people today convening around an idea. There’s lack of harmony….Riche is not a place. Riche is a case. You can’t consider it only a café or only a place where people can meet. The place is much more than that. This is a feel- ing shared by everyone who comes here. You listen a lot and you learn a lot.” Mahmoud al-Alaily, Dentist
Wael Ismail 2007 FALL
The Chronicles 19 I followed him! “I read once, in 1960, that Naguib Mahfouz goes to Casino Opera. I followed him. In 1964, he left the Casino and came to Café Riche. Riche and another place next to the Military Industries site called Izavitch had long histories. Izavitch was owned by Yugoslavs. All communists used to go there. I fol- lowed Mahfouz to Café Riche. Here you found everyone, the liberals, the remaining of the Wafdists, as well as some pashas…Everyone… All the writers known today by the generation of the 1960s came out of here. Naguib Mahfouz used to come here every Friday at 6:00 p.m. If he gets here at 5:55 p.m., he would walk to the nearby Madbouly bookshop and come back at 6:00. He used to leave at 8:30 p.m. sharp, even if they tell him that Gamal Abdul Nasser is coming to visit him in Riche tonight. Through this gathering, I came to know all writers at their early times, Gamal al-Ghitany was still working in the Cooperative for Carpet Making in Khan al-Khalili; Gamil Atteya was a fresh employee; Bahaa Taher was working in the radio with al-Birnamej al-Thani; Ibrahim Mansour was a communist who gave all his time to public affairs; Yehia al-Taher Abdullah, Amal Donqol and Abdul Rahman al-Abnoudy had just come from their villages in the south.” Azer Farag Azer, Businessman From our Archives
Wael Ismail
He Was Very Carefully Listening… “When Gamal Abdul Nasser died in September 1970, I noticed that Naguib Mahfouz started spend- ing all his time in Café Riche. He changed his system completely. He used to go to Riche from morn- ing to night. He used to come in the morning, spend a few hours, then leave for two hours, perhaps to get lunch or to change, and then he would come back in the afternoon. I learnt that he similarly changed his system in 1967. Abdul Nasser died on a Sunday and the funeral was supposed to take place on the following Thursday. We used to go to Riche. I used to go with Ibrahim Mansour and Amal Donqol. We were looking for a high place from which we can follow the funeral. We rented a room in a hotel called Everest in Ramses Square, because it seemed to be the highest available place from which we can watch the day. We saw the plane that carried Nasser’s body flying over Cairo and landing. The funeral started by being very organized until it reached Qasr al-Nil Bridge. In Tahrir Square, people got hold of Nasser’s body. After all that, we returned to Café Riche. I found Naguib Mahfouz there. He called me. I started telling him what I saw and he was very carefully listening. I think I heard the most truthful comment from Mahfouz about Nasser. He told me King Fouad died in 1936; he was a dictator; and still, people took to the streets to mourn him.” Farouq Abdul Qadir, Critic FALL 2007 FALL 20 The Chronicles From our Archives
Courtesy Mona Abaza
Finally, Adly Rizkallah Said Something! At that time, I was almost totally silent. I used to listen to my surrounds and dialogue with myself over what I hear. One evening, Ibrahim Mansour made a joke about me and repeated it the whole time. He was very funny, although he could get aggressive. So that evening, he said “Finally Adly Rizkallah said something! And it’s a full sentence, with a noun, a verb and an adjective”. Actually silence was very useful for me in Riche. This is how I came to learn about the positives and the negatives of the 1960s generation. First thing I realized is the importance of being exposed to the culture of the West and not to close down on one culture or one realm of creativity. This, I learnt in Riche and I saw in Riche. Riche played this role in our life throughout the 1960s and until a good part of the 1970s. Our colleagues who did not have permanent addresses in Cairo like Yehia al-Taher Abdullah, used to get their mails in Café Riche. Any one who wanted to get to know us would come and meet us in Riche, like the poet Abdul Wahab al-Bayati, or al-Fitoury or the Sudanese writer al-Tayeb Saleh. Adly Rizkallah, Painter FALL 2007 FALL
The Chronicles 21 In The Guise of Economic Reform The Privatization of Banque Du Caire
History in The Making Se i f Al l a h Ra bi e Undergraduate St u d e n t i n Po l i t i c a l Sc i e n c e , t h e Am e r i c a n Un i v e r s i t y i n Ca i r o
anque Du Caire, the third largest, oldest national bank in Egypt, triggered wide responses from the Egyptian financial sector during the past three years. In 2005- 2006, the government announced the merger of Banque Misr with Banque Du BCaire, however the merger proved to be an unsuccessful idea due to the loans of the bank that reached LE 12 billion. The government has reached the conclusion of the sale of 80 percent of Banque Du Caire to a strategic investor; the sale to be completed within six to eight months. The final bid is scheduled to take place by the end of 2007 or the beginning of 2008. 15 percent of the bank will be subscribed in the stock market and 5 percent will be sold to workers. Observers have raised a number of concerns over the sales, most importantly the lack of transparency in the privatization procedures, the lack of impartiality from the government, the large number of bank employees who will be laid off after the sale, and the impact of this whole banking privatization trend on the Egyptian financial and monetary sector. Banque Du Caire is not an isolated privatiza- tion incident, it’s a general public policy pursued by the Egyptian political cabinets in the aftermath of the economic reform and structural adjustment program in 1991.1 In the meantime, banks privatizations have been problematic on many levels, as they do not offer a cure to pending malaises in the sector and as the process is not conducted
FALL 2007 FALL with the due amount of transparency. 22 The Chronicles Economic Reform and International Le- 12-fold between 2001 and 2006. They reached gitimacy $ 9 billion in the first three-quarters of its 2007 The economic reform and structural adjustment fiscal year, up from just over half-a-billion in program marked the beginning of a new era in the 2001.”5 The reports issued by the American Egyptian economy that relies on privatization and Embassy in Egypt state that the ministry of foreign direct investment as the pillars of econom- investment has achieved unexpected leaps in ic growth and development. In her account to the privatization; in 2003-2004, the total revenues Economic and Business History Research Centre, from privatization were LE 554 million while Heba Handoussa, who sat on the negotiations table in 2004-2005, this figure reached LE 5640 mil- during Egypt’s signing of the structural adjustment lion, which is an almost 10 times increase. The program with the World Bank, she said, “I was to- International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued its History in the Making History tally against privatization then because we were annual consultation report on Egypt stating not ready for it.”2 According to Handoussa, privati- that “economic growth has gathered an addi- zation was one of five elements of the reform pro- tional momentum and investment has picked gram, and which could be excluded in the negotia- up. The financial sector reforms are proceeding tions. This arrangement lasted from 1986 to 1991. at a steady pace. A number of important priva- In 1991, Law 203 was the first legislation organiz- tization projects, including the Bank of Alexan- ing privatization, which according to Handoussa dria, were concluded, and FDI flows in recent was a good regulator that did not abuse of the pub- months have exceeded expectations.”6 lic sector, yet the problem resided in overpricing of company assets that led to major losses. All these assertions reflect the general positive assessment of the international financial insti- In the meantime and ever since, the faster the pace tutions of the current Egyptian public policy, of privatization became, the better the economic which adds legitimacy to the decision-making performance of the state and the cabinet was per- process, regardless of the consent of the general ceived to be. Fouad Sultan, chairperson of al-Ahly public, which is mostly considered to be based Bank for Development and Investment stated on sentiments, rather than the pragmatic and clearly that “the new government is convinced that scientific economic speculations. While the privatization can solve the economic problems general public policy of the Egyptian financial in Egypt.” Privatization stood as the only way to sector is out of the scope of this article, after re- convince international donors that the country is searching the case study of Banque Du Caire, taking their proposed reforms seriously.3 This was it became clear that there are many factors that clearly reflected in the 2003 Economic Research were not taken into consideration while plan- Forum (ERF) Report prepared by Mahmoud Mo- ning for the privatization. heyeddin, the current minister of investment and Sahar Nasr, senior financial economist. The report The ‘Right’ Privatization Process celebrates the government’s privatization efforts Privatization is a process that relies to a very that were capable of generating LE 20 billion of large extent on the social contract between the the public sector debt (ERF). Egypt during the last government and the people. In this respect, re- decade has definitely caught the attention of in- nowned Economist Hazim al-Biblawy draws ternational investors, its economy is relatively sta- the attention in his book The State’s Role in the ble with a gross domestic product growing at 4.7 Economy to the distinction between legality percent, and the deficit has dropped by more than and legitimacy, which are the two main pillars 10 percent compared to the deficit in 1991.4 The for a successful privatization process. Legality Organization of Economic Cooperation and De- is merely abiding by the laws of privatization, velopment (OECD) gave Egypt’s investment envi- which have developed, yet still in need of more ronment a glowing report in October 2007 stating developments to ensure the fairness of the proc- that “foreign direct investment inflows increased ess, while legitimacy is the society’s consensus FALL 2007 FALL
The Chronicles 23 on the overall process. The lack of one of those domestic savings and needs to be complemented pillars creates a lack of confidence, which is the with foreign investment to fill such a gap.11 Eco- nucleus of economic development.7 Economist nomic Experts show clearly the advantages of foreign Abdul Hamid al-Ghazaly further states that the banks, when it comes to management and technol- main pillars for a successful privatization proc- ogy, and further states that there would be no need ess is to ensure that production schemes that for national security concerns when we have a strong will be privatized are specified, the selling price central bank and an efficient regulatory system.12 In should be fair, the entities responsible for the his ERF report, Moheyeddin adds that countries evaluation of the price should be autonomous like England and France do not possess national and independent from the executive and the banks in the first place, while Prime Minister Ahmad revenue or the outcome of the privatization Nazif claims that al-Ahli Bank and Banque Misr will should be allocated towards other production never be sold to ensure the availability of funds for schemes.8 national development projects.13 This would mean that Banque Misr and al-Ahli Bank will represent 43 Privatization of banks would further entail add- percent of the banking sector in Egypt creating a suf- ing a very important aspect; which is the extent ficient safeguard for the country’s national concerns. by which the privatization of the bank would This entails that foreign direct investment in total raise the efficiency of both the monetary and the won’t exceed 15 percent, the Egyptian investment financial system. This is particularly important consist of 73 percent, and finally Arab investment in in the context of Egypt where the banking and Egypt will be at 12 percent.14 financial sector suffers from three main prob- lems; the weakness of the financial structures, We may also claim that public subscription, which the insufficiency of collaterals and the increase
History in The Making had been advocated by political opposition par- in doubtful loans, and the reliance upon the ties, may lead to inefficient governance for the bank stock market to cover the banking failures.9 Fi- which might be conductive to a catastrophe in the nally, and most importantly, national security is Egyptian financial sector.15 Al-Biblawy, one of the a very important aspect that should be put into opponents for the bank’s privatization, mentions consideration especially that colonization in the the risks associated with public subscription and specific context of Egyptian history has started gives several examples of failures that happened in by the control of the financial sector. France’s industries.16 The Privatization of the Bank In each privatization process pursued by the govern- The privatization of Banque Du Caire was con- ment, there are astutely articulated arguments as sidered by the public as a move towards foreign the ones previously mentioned here. However, ar- dominance over the Egyptian financial sector, guments pertaining to legitimacy, transparency, na- which is one of the most dangerous forms of tional security, unemployment, and fairness are still dominance that may have irreversible impacts. left unanswered by the government. The loopholes However we should first review all facts and in the government’s declarations are quite appar- deliberations pertaining to the privatization to judge it objectively. The deficits of the bank ent, which affects the crucial element of legitimacy reached LE 12 billion, and we may claim that required for the process to be properly pursued. The fulfilling such a deficit by governmental bail- government has claimed to have sold 317 compa- outs is impossible, especially when these re- nies with a minimum price of LE 100 billion, and sources are rather needed to fund development a maximum of LE 500 billion, to state the official and infrastructure projects.10 The bank needed numbers given by the ministry of investment. In the better management and technology to sustain, meantime, the government also claims that the rev- and a foreign investor would be needed to fulfill enues of privatization are LE 35 billion, leaving a lot such a role, especially that the Egyptian finan- of speculations about the true gains of the process.17 In addition, alternatives to privatization are never
FALL 2007 FALL cial sector is suffering from the lack of taken into consideration, which was the case with 24 The Chronicles Omar Effendi, Bank of Alexandria, and finally Who Carries the Responsibility? Banque Du Caire. Nazif claimed before that the The decision to privatize the bank raises many Bank of Alexandria would be the last one to be pri- questions on who bears the responsibility for vatized amid national banks. Now he claims that the deterioration of its status and its mounting Banque Du Caire would be the last, which is nega- debts. Who gave loans without collaterals creat- tively affecting the credibility of his cabinet.18 ing this large number of doubtful loans? Who designated the management in those banks? On Banque Du Caire and Problems of Public what basis was the bank evaluated to be worth Policy of LE 15 billion? How impartial was the entity The Privatization of Banque Du Caire encountered evaluating the price of the sale? Why has the gov- major problems. The first problem aroused from ernment decided on the sale of 80 percent and History in The Making History the lack of public planning, which became clear not a lower percentage? Why is the government after government decided to merge the bank with confining such a transaction to foreign invest- Banque Misr in September 2005, and then instantly ment? Why is the government moving with the changed track and offered the bank for sale in a pe- procedures of the sale at a fast pace despite all riod that does not exceed six to eight months. This oppositions? Finally, why is the privatization of period gave no opportunity for domestic investors the bank taking place now? to look up their opportunities and left the entire Is it a mere coincidence that the declaration of room for foreign investors. The privatization proc- Banque du Caire’s sale coincided with the trip of ess has also witnessed a swap of responsibilities, Omar Soliman, head of the Egyptian intelligence with the Central Bank assuming a leading role in and Ahmad Abou El-Gheit’s, minister of foreign the sale of the bank, while the government should affairs to Washington? Is it also a coincidence have taken this role leaving the Central Bank for that the privatization of the bank is taking place regulatory and supervisory matters. In addition, at the same time of the ongoing debate concern- Moheyeddin’s statement about the reasons behind ing the $ 200 million of foreign aid dedicated to the privatization being the lack of domestic savings Egypt?22 and the need of foreign direct investment are unau- thenticated. The need for domestic savings should The banks’ privatizations trend taking place in Egypt is part of a plan drawn by the World Bank, be the main source of investment in any domestic the IMF, the African Development Bank and bank, even if foreign direct investment is needed.19 the US Agency for International Development Evidence for lack of transparency further com- within the framework of a financial sector reform plicated the problem, especially that it has been program worth of $ 8.7 billion. According to the proven that the decision to sell the bank was taken World Bank’s Project Information Document for before announcing it publicly. According to a sen- its financial sector reform loan, the original plan ior manager who refused to mention his name, the was to privatize the Bank of Alexandria, merge administration had released the early pensions for Banque du Caire and Bank Misr and restructure those wishing to take it, two months prior to pub- the newly merged institution as well as al-Ahli licizing for the decision to sell the bank.20 The lack Bank. The government sold the Bank of Alexan- of such checks have raised the tempers of the po- dria in October 2006 according to plan, but then litical opposition to the government which culmi- changed course to privatize Banque du Caire. It nated in the movement “No for the Sale of Banque has also been proven that the IMF has closely du Caire,” a loose coalition involving the Egyptian followed Egypt’s bank privatizations, but the ex- Movement for Change known as Kifaya and other tent of its influence on the process is unknown. opposition parties. The Muslim Brotherhood, al- In the conclusion of the IMF’s 2006 Article IV Wafd Party, the Nasserite Party, al-Tagammu Party, Consultation with the Arab Republic of Egypt, it al-Karama Party and the newly established Demo- encouraged the Egyptian authorities to develop cratic Front Party all united in their opposition to a clear medium-term plan for the privatization of the privatization.21 the remaining major state banks. Finally, the 2007 FALL The Chronicles 25 International Finance Corporation has priori- This entails that privatization may not be the only tized lending to commercial rather than nation- prescription. Most of those problems are related to al banks, stating the importance of commercial corruption. The doubtful loans issued for more than banks in the Middle East and North Africa re- 10 years and never questioned, clearly entail a prob- gion.23 lem of power corruption. Finally, many questions remain unanswered; how effective will the foreign In Conclusion investor be? What is the fate of the Egyptian finan- The privatization of Banque Du Caire reflects cial sector under the series of privatizations? Will a general public policy that adheres to formal the government nationalize Banque Misr, and al- legality but lacks the legitimacy. The problems Ahli Bank ending up with no national banks? Those encountered by the privatization of the bank do questions leave the wide public with many uncer- not merely threaten the Egyptian economic and tainties about the nation’s economic future. public policy; they may also threaten the Egyp- tian national security and pose a real menace to End Notes: the independence of the state. The main prob- lem is the corruption that might intertwine with 1 Gauch, Sarah. “Egypt’s Privatization Plans May Finally be For the privatization process. The United States, the Real.” Christian Science Monitor 88, no. 97. 1996: 8 largest capitalist country and the predominant History in The Making Banks Arouses Controversy.” Bank Information Center. FALL 2007 FALL domestic savings, and a weak financial sector. 23 IMF 26 The Chronicles And Who Will Speak for theEmerging YouthYouth?? Movements in Egypt: Between Real and Symbolic Participation Amr Abdul Rahman History in The Making History MA in Human Rights and Democratization Studies, University of Malta For example, the concept of change was per- lowers to the Parks ceived as a positive process that aims at mak- Reg’o al-talamza, ward al-ganayen (the stu- ing Egypt join the modern world, which would dents are back, flowers to the parks) are the require the removal of the corrupt ruling elite Fmagic words with which Ahmad Fouad Negm and from the ranks of authority. This understanding Sheikh Imam, pioneers of vernacular expressions evolves from the conscious of the social middle of resistance at that time, described the students’ class which was fed by the values of self-perfec- intifada in 1972 which called for the liberation of tion, education and skill development as the sole the occupied Egyptian territories. This genuine and means for achievement. This understanding de- romantic description of the resistance movement veloped into a strong social critique against the was not well digested by active parties to bridge the ruling regime and was conductive to experience gaps between them and the thousands of protest- civil work as a means for change. In the mean- ing youth. The intifada ended, and a historic chance time, a reproduction and introduction of new for the crystallization of a new political resistance ended along, with the hope for a true democratic blood into big ideologies espoused by the politi- transformation. 30 years later, the political elites cal opposition such as Leninist Marxism, Arab came back to sing for “the flowers to the parks”, nationalism and Islamic nationalism occurred. without looking deeply into the lives of those flow- This revisiting exercise made the youth - affili ers and what are their motives behind demonstrat- ated to political entities regains their belief in the ing and shouting anti-Mubarak slogans. centrality of their parties as a major means for change. A third resulting tradition is the nascent This article tried to establish this understanding synonymic relation between change, democra- and reached the fact that Kifaya is only a transi- tization and rebellion against traditional values tion, followed by many other transitions, through life, which has been spelt out particularly among which a surplus of individual identities is produced bloggers and informal gatherings of youth. and reproduced. In the process, an increasing con- sciousness unfolded with regards to such issues as What the Theory Says democracy and change. There is a rich pool of theoretic framework for “nascent social movements” that help under- standing the notion while deconstructing it. The concept refers to communities that are not based on race or class, but rather on a common and moving identity, that surpasses class and race as a showcase of its uniqueness and strong presence in the public sphere. Those groups do not look forward to making political demands per se for From the Archive of Misrdigital; Wael Abbas better social interests, 2007 FALL The Chronicles 27 as they are not seeking political representation, perceived the president as “an old dictator” who is a task traditionally reserved to formalized par- incapable of representing the realities of “Egypt’s ties. They rather seek sharing their agenda with youth” or guiding Egypt to “the future”. The move- all political players, which is a strategy to enlarge ment blamed the ruling elite for being unable to the public sphere. As they pursue this agenda join many other nations who successfully left their sharing, the youth of these groups do not work backward regimes behind. The last parliamentary through traditional rigid hierarchies or member- election, which took place amid increased calls for ship regulations but rather through open struc- change, was a hope for the opposition parties to tures, and also without being bound by certain strengthen their position through a strong parlia- ideological demagogies, which manifest their mentary presence, yet it was also a manifestation of afore-mentioned uniqueness. For example, they the inability of those parties to join the fast-growing might break up once their goals are achieved. movement for change. The blame was put on the old Examples of those groups are green movements guards of the opposition parties’ clique, just like it and anti-nuclear campaigns, known to Western was put on the old guards of the ruling regime, in Europe in the 1960s as well as labor and femi- what has become a generational issue. In the mean- nist movements experienced by Latin America time, the most visible group in popular protests held and Asia in their process of democratization.1 in the street was the youth. There are two attributes presented by the availa- Many questions are to be raised before accepting an ble theoretical coverage of nascent social move- inalienable truth about the pivotal role of the youth ments that help understanding their adopted as the saviors of a potential change movement. Is mechanisms of mobilization and hence their youth participation in change movements really History in the Making future. For one, studies stress on the centrality injecting new blood into Egypt’s political life? Are of individual identity to the choice of joining the new calibers really able to stand in front of the those movements, and the thirst for self-explo- traditional leadership of established parties and to ration and a complete life experience. Accord- form new ones? Can the newborn youth actions be ingly, members of those groups are moved by characterized as radical and rebellious enough as it their self-exploration endeavors rather than by a is aspired for them to be? What are the potentials pre-determined collective identity, which taints of the institutionalization of this youth activism the whole movement by a search for its own and participation in the movements for change? A identity. Another important attribute expressed dialogue with the youth, the actual players, is indis- by studies of social change is networks through pensable in order to answer those questions and to which interactions are born to form a move- replace distant theorization in trying to understand ment. Those networks are extended through the depth of the movement. time and space and are present before the birth of the movement itself. They include a mish- A dialogue with the youth also raises questions per- mash of individuals and institutions, as well as taining to the effect of activism on their lives. What ad hoc groups of people and remnants of old does a young man or woman want to pursue through establishments, the interactions between which joining an opposition movement? How does this result in the development of a movement across experience affect his or her future? By touching on their ranks. 2 those questions, we can perhaps understand the meaning of youth participation in today’s movement The generational issue was one of those highly for change, as well as its prospects for the future and debated in the course of the unprecedented talk means to develop it and better integrate it in the po- about change that took place in the last three litical establishment. years. The large opposition movement that was born targeted the Mubarak regime and FALL 2007 FALL 28 The Chronicles What the Youth Do? which has left the movement with certain traits Through numerous interviews conducted with and symbols. On the other hand, this youth young activists and a close observation of the nas- presence has created an unprecedented opposi- cent movement for change and the media percep- tion discourse that surpassed the regular ceiling tion to it, the following has been noticed: and that showed opposition to the state of po- 1-It is important to discern between two groups of litical bankruptcy in general, thus putting formal youth that have been active in the movement for parties in an impasse in front of non-formalized change. There is a group of youth that has political movements such as the Muslim Brotherhood, affiliation to certain parties and their presence in Kifaya and many other leftist groups. 3 the movement can even be considered a commis- sion by those parties to learn about the new move- Who is Mobilized? ment. In the meantime, there is another group of A close observation to youth gatherings that in the Making History youth who do not belong to any political entity made for the movement for change show how and who joined the movement at different times active members are far from each other in terms and expressed their activism in different ways. This of life paths and backgrounds in a way that can- group persisted to be free of any institutional po- cels out a collective consciousness for a gen- litical affiliation even after joining the movement, erational identity. A good percentage of early while it represented the majority of youth activ- participants in Kifaya for example learnt about ists. the movement through the internet or through 2-Joining the movement for change does not ema- newspapers, which is a personalized introduc- nate from a mere desire to rebel against traditional tion to it and not based on deliberate mobiliza- forms of authority, but is rather a desire to make tion through dialogue for example. This is dif- a step closer to the distant political process and to ferent from modes of mobilization followed by observe it from proximity. This could be an indica- traditional political entities that try to spread tion to the fact that this is only a step on the road, through university campuses for example. Those indeed a step rich in experiences and emotions, traditional entities base themselves on a major but which would not necessarily be conductive to ideology that organizes the relationship between an overall inclination towards permanent political the individual and the surrounding world, and activism. In many interviews, the youth expressed hence membership is dependent on a compre- their intention to pursue “change” through being hensive realization of this ideology. Those who positive on a personal level and without practically joined Kifaya through the individual exercise of delving into the political life. checking it out through a computer screen were 3-There is a certain stereotype about young activ- exposed to previous attempts of recruitment by ists being libertarians with quite a flexible system traditional political groups and expressed their of values. However, this is not reflective of young discontent as they think that “major ideological activists that are born to petty bourgeoisies or statements prevent those groups from achieving whose parents are civil servants or have worked in their goals.” As for their own understanding of the Gulf, and hence have developed a value system achievement, their comments came to be quite that is somewhat conservative. vague, “I want to feel that I am positive… I want 4-The presence of a certain conflict between young to feel that I am changing something everyday… activists and outlets of dissent is a manifestation I want to combat the surrounding oppression…” of a generational problem, whereby the traditional This clearly puts us in front of a certain vague leaders lack the necessary pragmatism and com- search for a meaning for life, rather than a state mitment to consistent institutional principles, un- of rebellion, which is conductive to an individ- like younger leaders. ual pursuance. “I was watching everything until The relationship between movements for change I came across Kifaya,” was a comment made by and the youth is unique. On one hand, there is a many young men and women interviewed. The large participation in those movements mainly by previous statement also shows how they were the youth, 2007 FALL The Chronicles 29 observers of the political scene and decided to on behalf of the movement as they formed the Youth become active participants only when such ad- for Change splinter (Shabab Min Ajl al-Taghyeer), herence did not require a rigid espouse of a cer- which takes upon itself the responsibility of coordi- tain ideology. nating the participation of youth belonging to secret parties. Here, participation is linked to a desire to There is also the positive participation of the reach out to public opinion through demands for youth affiliated to political parties outside of political and constitutional reforms and through Cairo. Those youth approached the movement breaking the isolation surrounding those secret on individual basis, approved at a party level, in parties. Again, this participation does not reflect a an attempt to extend the outreach of their parties consciousness of a certain collective generational and to recollect their dispersed memberships. It identity. is an overstatement, to say that Kifaya’s spread outside of Cairo was achieved through the ac- No Homogeneity tivists of formal parties, while they developed a Activities conducted by Kifaya’s young participants desire to be associated with a movement com- are as numerous as the various networks they came ing from Cairo, the shimmering center amid the from. However, their meeting point in Kifaya did rural or quasi-rural environment they live in. not lead to the formation of a homogenous pole, as they remained dispersed in smaller clusters, distant There is another group of activists, more limited from each other, within the movement, while they in numbers and who are more exposed to West- would only be brought together through the con- ern cultural expressions manifest for example tinuous protests that took place almost on a weekly in special interest in arts, including music and basis back in 2005. Many young people interviewed History in the Making filmmaking and in different lifestyles than those expressed how they know too little about fellow par- conducted by the offspring of conservative mid- ticipants, especially those belonging to other politi- dle classes and rural communities. One of Ki- cal affiliations. Those groupings, apparent in sit-ins faya’s participants who knew it through the in- and food strikes became outlets for endless discus- ternet said, “many of our female colleagues were sions and interactions about politics, football and sitting on the laps of our male colleagues in the life experiences at large. Establishing friendships movement. Both the girls and boys shared the and relationships was both a result and a motivator same covers during the protests in front of the for those groupings. Blogging emerged from such Syndicate of Journalists.” The attraction to -Ki interactions and was quickly considered an ideal faya amid this group emanated from the similar- way for free self expression and constant exchange ity to the styles of youth mobilization conduct- with fellow youth, without any necessary organiza- ed in Western Europe in groups protesting the tional umbrella. Blogs immediately became an im- war on terrorism or globalization. Those groups portant means to publicize for Kifaya’s activities and are characterized by organizational flexibility, discussions. Those outlets also became a generator constant presence in the streets, creative means of the unspoken conflicts between the youth who of protesting that use music, dance and puppet have come with different cultural baggage and life- making. Kifaya provided for a space to conduct styles. The most classic conflict is the one between a special lifestyle rather than an expression of a conservative members and liberal ones who usually generational consciousness. have a leftist background and who were a source of shock with their open relations and alcohol drink- Finally, there is a group of youth affiliated to ing practices. Again, the idea of a collective identity parties that are not granted official permissions, seems to be more and more distant. such as al-Karama Party, the Revolutionary So- cialists and the Labor Party. This group repre- sents a miniature of Kifaya’s participants. How- ever, they managed to monopolize the speech FALL 2007 FALL 30 The Chronicles Many of the participating youth directed their con- For the youth of governorates else than Cairo, tribution to the movement towards publicizing for the experience of Kifaya made them revisit the it through developing its website, reaching out to concept of reviving partisan life and open up more youth through the Internet and even contact- more to the wider public, outside the constraints ing international organizations with many of them of traditional politics of clientelism. For others, fluently speaking foreign languages. They also sug- the experience was inspiring enough to start the gested artistic activities such as cinema clubs and seeds of new parties such as the Egyptian Leftist photo exhibits, as well as community service activ- Union and the Social Democratic Party. ities. However, all those initiatives were coldly met by the older leadership of the movement. In the In other words, Kifaya was a transition for self- meantime, many activities could be pursed through discovery and for the crystallization of certain in the Making History the individual circles within the movement, while ideas, rather than a dramatic experience which developing a certain distance with Kifaya as a radically transformed the belief system of its whole. The birth of blogs increased this distance participating youth. Can the resulting interac- with many resorting to a wider space of interaction tions of those discourses be conductive to a fu- and dialogue provided by the Internet. Blogs were ture democratic transformation? The question is later used as a means of mobilization, such as calls compound, but can only be raised through a crit- to protest the recent constitutional changes. Other ical review of the discourse made by the political youth reverted to civil society organizations, which elites and their idealistic visions for change, at provided for more suitable outlets to act positively the heart of which, lies a radical role to be played and pursue achievements. by the youth some day. From the Archive of Misrdigital; Wael Abbas End Notes : 1 Donatella, Della Porta, Di Mario, Diani. Social Movements: An introduction (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers Ltd, 1999) 2 Ibid p. 14. 3 Shaaban, Ahmad Bahaa. Riqat al-Farasha: Kayfa Ghayart Kifaya al-Siyassa al-Masriya. (Cairo: Kifaya, 2006). See also: Syam, Emad. “Kifaya: Namouzag lil Harakat al-Ijtima’eyya al-Jadida” paper presented in seminar by The Center of Political Studies and Research, Faculty of Economics and Political Science, Cairo University. April 2006. See also writings about Kifaya by Abdul Halim Qandil, one of Kifaya’s spokesmen. FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 31 Expanding to Suburbia Cairo’s New Suburbs: A Novel Reality to Urban Development Ki s m e t El Hu s s e i n y History in the Making Undergraduate St u d e n t i n Ec o n o m i c s , Th e Am e r i c a n Un i v e r s i t y i n Ca i r o ith a population of approximately 17 million, Cairo can comfortably be named the most densely populated city in all of Africa. It also has one of the highest population densi- Wties in the region as most of its citizens are clustered in the narrow strip of land closest to the Nile. The city is home to 22 percent of Egyptian citizens, among which are 43 percent of Egypt’s urban residents.1 The rate of population growth is also rather high standing at 2.1 percent per year. In short, the city of Cairo is practically bursting at the seams, and is in dire need for solutions. According to Ahmad al-Maghrabi, minister of housing and public utilities, if the situation is left as it is “...in the year 2022 we will probably be living in a city of 28 million people. We have to do something, this is not a choice, we must act now...”2 This explod- ing populace contains a large percentage of young professionals, who have greater purchasing power, and thus increased demand for hous- ing. Also, economic reforms carried out by the government, especially in the financial sector, as well as increased liquidity, have allowed for further development in real estate. FALL 2007 FALL 32 The Chronicles This phenomenon is mirrored in the stock offer- take into consideration the services that must ings by real estate and construction companies, as be provided to it. Borj al-Arab, al-Sadat city, and they have become among the most attractive in the the 10th of Ramadan city all conformed to these market. On the other hand, many say that these regulations. However, the 6th of October city facts only prove that Cairo is experiencing a “spec- did not.4 ulative” market in luxury housing that absorbs a large portion of capital without contributing to the 6th of October: Starting Off on the demand for middle and low income housing.3 The Wrong Foot above-mentioned luxury housing is located mostly In order to plan this city, Othman had originally in the suburbs of Cairo, which are being used as a intended to hold an international competition in second residential zone in order to relieve some of order to choose a firm to handle this enormous History in the Making History the pressure from the overpopulated downtown task. However, when Othman left his post as minister of housing and development, he was area of the city. However, at the time they were replaced by Hassaballah al-Kafrawy, who saw established, luxury residence was not the original no point in holding such a competition, and as- purpose for the cities in the suburbs. signed the job of planning 6th of October city to a ministerial body. Al-Kafrawy later realized that The Origins of Suburbia they were working at an exceedingly slow rate, After the 1952 revolution, many industrial activi- and therefore handed the project over to a local ties were introduced to the country, but were not firm that was run by Sabbour. properly planned. As a result of this poor planning, factories were set up to operate in various places Planning the city proved very difficult as a- re within the capital, which caused the level of pollu- sult of the location’s non-conformity to regula- tion in Cairo to rise to dangerous levels. This envi- tions, with numerous geographic problems. The ronmental destruction caused by industrialization city would need to pass over the Somed petrol made finding solutions an urgent matter. Othman pipelines. It would also lie in a high voltage area, Ahmad Othman, founder of the Arab Contractors which makes it very dangerous for anyone to live Company who was also the minister of housing near these cables. The land is not suitable for con- and development at the time of President Anwar struction either. And to top it all, the city is not al-Sadat, saw that it was necessary to build new far enough from downtown Cairo, thus turning cities away from agricultural lands, to specialize in it into a suburb. It was intended to include set- industrial production. Four locations were chosen tlements for the workers who were employed in where the new industrial cities were to be built; the establishments there, however as a result of the 10th of Ramadan city (which lies between Cairo relatively short distance; many of those workers and Suez), al-Sadat city (which lies between Cai- still reside in downtown Cairo. Also, the new city ro and Alexandria), Borj al-Arab city (which lies began to attract richer families who wished to southwest of Alexandria), and 6th of October city live in somewhat luxurious villas in the area, flee- (which lies southwest of Cairo). ing from the crowded capital center. One of the high profile real estate developers According to Hussein Sabbour, head of al-Ahly that cater to this demand is SODIC, which be- Real Estate Development Company and one of the gan its operations in 1996. It is one of the larg- biggest consultants in the field of construction and est public listed companies with a capital market urban planning, there are many criteria that must equivalent to LE 3 billion. It currently has two be considered when choosing the location of a new major residential projects under construction in city. Mainly that it must not lie on agricultural land, the area. The first is Allegria which will occupy 4 the land must be suitable for construction, it must million square meters of land, and is scheduled be located at a suitable distance from Cairo in or- for completion in 2010. Another major project is der for it not to become a suburb, it should not be “Solidere” which is to occupy 1.2 million square proximal to any military base, and it should 5 meters also to be completed in 2010. 2007 FALL The Chronicles 33 Other institutions began to spring up in the area The group is the owner of one of the largest projects as well, such as universities, studios, and hos- in the area, Al-Rehab city, which was developed as pitals in what was intended to be an industrial an integrated city with a total land area of 9.8 million city. However, since the area was not designed square meters. It contains 46,000 housing units that to be a residential one, the need for public trans- are intended to house 220,000 residents.6 Another portation was not largely taken into account; massive project of the Talaat Moustafa Group, Mad- therefore there arises a problem with very few inaty, will occupy a total land area of 8000 feddans. methods of commuting between 6th of Octo- This area is to comprise 1 million units including ber city and downtown Cairo. These problems sports facilities, schools, universities, and a financial arose because the city is being used for purposes district. This major project is intended to cater to other than that which was intended. Currently 600,000 residents.7 the estimated population of the city as well as al-Sheikh Zayed city is approximately 500,000 Gulf Investments people. Local investors have not been the only ones to take advantage of the booming demand for real estate New Cairo City: A Drastic Change of Plans in suburbia; the amount of Gulf investment in the The 6th of October city is not the only city that Egyptian real estate market is increasing at a notice- experienced a change in function. When al- able pace. Over the past few years, oil prices have Kafrawy decided to build 12 districts surround- been escalating, increasing the income of the Gulf ing the ring road that was then to be built, the Cooperation Council countries to reach $ 230 bil- housing units were intended to cater to middle lion in account surplus for 2006. With investment and low-income segments of the society. Each in mind, the Gulf countries, benefiting Egypt from History in the Making district was estimated to provide housing for this capital spillover, have spent over $ 14 billion on 200,000 people, which means a total of 2.5 mil- outward Foreign Direct Investment. lion citizens in the New Cairo city as a whole. Alas, with the change of the cabinet came a new The current government of Ahmad Nazif, which minister of housing, Ibrahim Soliman, to take has been in office since 2004, has been taking ample al-Kafrawy’s place. Soliman saw that extending measures to attract foreign investors. The ministry services and infrastructure to these districts of investment sees that FDIs are extremely benefi- would be expensive and beyond the govern- cial to the country’s growth, keeping in mind that ment’s budget. Therefore he claimed that hav- they need a suitable business climate. Therefore “a ing low-income housing in this area to be highly new set of government policies, investment laws and unfeasible, a claim to which the government guarantees have been introduced with the purpose agreed. of fortifying and revitalizing the investment envi- ronment in Egypt.”8 Another reason for the attrac- At the same time, Soliman felt that there was a tiveness of Egyptian land to Gulf investors is the fact large demand by the upper classes to purchase that the price of land in Egypt is not as expensive as land in the New Cairo area, and thus the pur- in other places around the world. pose of the land was changed drastically from low-income to lavish housing. The government The largest Gulf investor in the Egyptian real estate began selling the land to private investors and landowners, who used the land to build large market is Emaar, whose subsidiary, Emaar Misr, owns luxury residential compounds. When an in- six large plots of land. The largest of the projects to creased interest in this land was observed, the be built on these plots is Uptown Cairo, a residential government expanded the area of land for sale, compound to be built over 4 million square meters thus accumulating massive profits. One of the of land in the Moqattam Hills, and is worth $ 2.1 bil- largest contractors who were brought into the lion in investments. Another extremely large invest- real estate market of New Cairo city is the Talaat ment by Emaar, $ 700 million, is the Cairo Gate Moustafa Group. FALL 2007 FALL 34 The Chronicles Project that is to be built on 670,000 square meters within society thus setting off a great multiplier on the Cairo Alexandria desert road. effect. The real estate market has also a positive impact on those industries that feed into it, such There are some concerns that the appearance of as ceramics, steel, cement, as well as other indus- Emaar in the Egyptian real estate market can be tries, and has helped them flourish. For example, harmful to local developers. Mohamed al-Abaar, the National Cement Company is expanding its chairman of Emaar UAE, had stated that the com- operations, and has also reduced exports by half pany plans to take over 40 percent of the Egyptian during 2006 and 2007 due to the large increase property development market. Conversely, there is in local demand.12 The development of these in- a view that the presence of Emaar will trigger an dustries will no doubt benefit those who work increase in the quality of real estate supplied. Ma- within them, supporting a trickle down effect. History in the Making History her Maqsoud, chairman of SODIC, believes that “The Gulf investors…have made everyone look at End Notes themselves carefully in the mirror and reposition and restructure themselves to be able to compete.”9 1 “Cairo: 2050.” American Chamber of Commerce. 13 Oct. On a similar note, Sabbour of al-Ahly Real Estate 2007 various consumption items, passing it on to others 2007 FALL The Chronicles 35 Selling Healthcare The Privatization of the Health Insurance Sector in Egypt and the Nascent Resistance1 Ah m a d Me t w a l l y MA i n Co m m u n i t y Me d i c i n e a n d Pu b l i c He a l t h , Ca i r o Un i v e r s i t y n the mid-1970s, a certain new Globalization and Privatization Poli- project has started to unfold at cies History in the Making a government-level, which was The essence of economic globalization is the open- Inot quite in compliance with the na- ing of markets for free trade, investments and capi- tal transfer. The economic rationale of the process tional project that has been in place is that trade lies at the heart of development and its for the previous three decades. That liberalization is conductive to better resources allo- new project has particularly flour- cation and a flourishing national economy. Another ished given the momentous weak- pillar of globalization is that economic planning ness of the main players of Egypt’s needs to shift from being centrally-planned to being market-driven, while the state’s role in the process post-1952 state-building process constantly changes to being increasingly less-in- and the divergence of their views volved. One of the products of this new reality is the to state development. Nowadays, decreasing government expenditure on services and this national project is on its way for the diminishing subsidies. complete vanishing with new en- deavors replacing it and which seeds Those general policy lines are applicable to the health sector, where the current tendency is towards have been carefully planted during privatizing health services at large and health insur- the past three decades. This article ance services in particular. In practice, the move to- touches on international regimes of wards these changes has rather been gradual and dif- privatization and their particular ef- ferently performed in various economic contexts. In fect on the health sector, and then Egypt, two elements should be taken into account before delving into the process of health privatiza- it brings this scene home where it tion. For one, the process of privatization in Egypt tries to study the status of health in- cannot be separated from the global context of pri- surance in Egypt in the current eco- vatization, especially in the service sector. Secondly, the health insurance regime in Egypt is a critical FALL 2007 FALL nomic environment.2 36 The Chronicles entry point to health services at large, for it is the Based on achieving this targeted quality by fol- area that was first tackled by the government in its lowing pre-designed policies, medical institu- move towards privatization as a means to improve tions receive a certificate of recognition. Upon the health sector. Traditionally, an intervention this certificate, institutions can adhere to cost aiming at affecting the status of health services be- recovery schemes. Finally those institutions are gins with the health insurance regime. encouraged to participate in the Data for Deci- sion Making program, which includes data col- Health Privatization in Egypt3 lection from rural areas as a step towards con- In its quest to achieve a structural change in the fronting overpopulation and designing family health regime, Egypt, under global influences, has planning schemes. In the 1990s, more studies moved into two main directions. One direction is were made and amounted in a comprehensive History in the Making History the privatization of general health services as a step vision for reforms in the health sector. Accord- towards separating subsidies and state funding ing to those studies, heath services should be from services and selling public insurance institu- limited to primary healthcare in the first 15 years tions. Manifestations of this direction are the de- (as opposed to secondary and tertiary health- creased free treatment units in public hospitals and care). Providing this service would respond to the application of cost recovery policies. Moreover, 80 percent of people’s health problems. In the there are systems of economic treatment for those meantime, limiting health services to primary who are not covered by health insurance, whereby healthcare would guarantee its sustainability. a physician gets paid for his work from a patient Insurance membership fees would form a fund in his private clinic and in return he provides him with services offered by public hospitals such as The principles of the privatization of the health bed space and nursing. Another manifestation sector in Egypt hence consist of changing prop- of the state’s direction towards privatizing health erty structure, passing the responsibility of pri- services is the treatment on the government’s ex- mary health care on to the Family Health Fund, penses. The returns of this system have encouraged while passing clinical care in hospitals to hold- physicians to develop their skills as businessmen ing companies. In the meantime, a ministerial to attract more cases, while it became a clear sign decision (637/2007) was issued to establish the of the government’s intention to cover-up for re- Egyptian Holding Company for Healthcare. fraining from providing health services. All those The decision included the separation of -subsi changes are being made under a broad rubric up- dies from services, while services are provided by profit-making entities. The decision also en- held by the government, namely the decentraliza- tailed the decentralization of the sector and im- tion of services posed a work ethic based on competition since the delivery of good quality is its driving force. The second direction for achieving structural changes is privatization in the context of infitah From its side, the government has pushed for (open door) policies and health reforms. In the a new health insurance legislation using two 1970s, some international financial institutions main arguments. One argument is the defects including USAID and the World Bank have de- of the current regime, represented by low qual- signed cost recovery programs whereby hospitals ity services, centralization and hence lack of spe- can get back treatment expenses from patients cialization as well as lack of funds due to poor who are not protected by an insurance package community participation, as membership fees are not enough and have to be supplemented Laws governing those policies kept changing with- by coverage of one third of treatment expenses. out exposure and close checks by parliament. In The lack of funds cannot be authenticated since the 1980s and after strenuous studies, USAID the budget for health insurance in the last five identified four main steps for preliminary and par- years had a surplus of LE 800 million which has tial health reforms. The first step is represented balanced previous budget deficits. The other -ar by quality improvement of services provided. gument used by the to promote the new health 2007 FALL insurance The Chronicles 37 legislation is the element of choice, as with the insurance legislation is the element of choice, as new reforms, patients will have the luxury to with the new reforms, patients will have the luxu- choose which hospital they want to get their ry to choose which hospital they want to get their treatment in, while quality would be improved treatment in, while quality would be improved eve- everywhere.from which employees’ wages are rywhere. drawn and part of the medical service is paid. Additional compensations to doctors are pro- A Story of Resistance vided through supplementary fees paid by Some view the resistance to the privatization of patients as they receive the service. The fund, the health sector as only an extension to the reac- called the Family Health Fund, will be struc- tionary stance that was born following the inter- tured throughout the 15 years. Once the 15 national wave of privatization. On the other hand, years have elapsed, healthcare becomes reduced this resistance could also be seen as an extension to a service fund, while public hospitals and to a national project that started back in the 1930s, health units are sold out to holding companies when a clique of physicians called for a consistent and eventually the private sector. With initial healthcare regime as part of the building of a strong support from USAID, the European Union and nation keen for development. Under this regime, the World Bank, the first phase of the health re- all citizens should have an equal right to healthcare, form program has been put in place in 1998 to which should be ruled by mechanisms that guaran- be implemented in three governorates with the tee its continuation and development. When those ministry of health playing the role of the execu- physicians examined the status of health in rural ar- tive agent. eas, they realized that a healthcare system that does not include those large segments of society, would The principles of the privatization of the health quickly fail. sector in Egypt hence consist of changing prop- History in the Making erty structure, passing the responsibility of pri- In the meantime, the current campaign held against mary healthcare on to the Family Health Fund, the privatization of the health sector, has gone while passing clinical care in hospitals to hold- through three stages thus far. The first stage began ing companies. In the meantime, a ministerial in December 2005, when some grass-roots organi- decision (637/2007) was issued to establish zations including Kifaya, Workers for Change and the Egyptian Holding Company for Healthcare. The decision included the separation of subsi- the Association for Health and Environmental De- dies from services, while services are provided velopment (AHED) organized a panel to discuss the by profit-making entities. The decision also -en dangers of the privatization of healthcare. The panel tailed the decentralization of the sector and im- was based on studies that were made alongside with posed a work ethic based on competition since the making of the new legislation. Other panels were the delivery of good quality is its driving force. organized in different governorates in Egypt, while the AHED’s website was used to disseminate both From its side, the government has pushed for the studies and the events. The law project has been a new health insurance legislation using two published as well as a situational analysis of the sec- main arguments. One argument is the defects tor in Egypt. The campaign has attracted some -me of the current regime, represented by low quali- dia attention, while its main players have worked ty services, centralization and hence lack of spe- on weaving some relations with members of parlia- cialization as well as lack of funds due to poor ment. As a result, the law project was removed, while community participation, as membership fees a new pole of resistance started crystallizing, namely are not enough and have to be supplemented a resistance to the resistance. by coverage of one third of treatment expenses. The lack of funds cannot be authenticated since A second phase to the nascent resistance movement the budget for health insurance in the last five to the privatization of healthcare started in Septem- years had a surplus of LE 800 million which has ber 2006. balanced previous budget deficits. The other -ar FALL 2007 FALL gument used by the to promote the new health 38 The Chronicles This phase was characterized by a certain level of With many weaknesses embedded in the move- intellectual maturity with regards to the desired ment countering the privatization of healthcare, form of healthcare. The rationale of the campaign there are also pending challenges. People’s in- was not limited to being a reactionary stance to the creasing mistrust in the current healthcare sys- privatizations, but also included suggestions for tem which has extensively declined in quality the needed reforms for the sector. However, the is one of those challenges, which has also been messages of the campaign, disseminated through used by the government as an excuse to push for its own agenda for reforms. Government-backed the media and conferences, remained to focus on media has been echoing the government’s ar- the defects of the new reforms suggested by the gument, while the larger base of people, who government, without expounding on a vision for should be the beneficiaries of healthcare, remain alternatives. out of the movement’s reach. in the Making History In April 2007, a new phase has begun with the End Notes prime minister’s decision to establish a holding company for health services. At the same time, a 1 The article is based on a paper presented in the workshop committee for the Citizen’s Right to Healthcare on “the Privatization of Main Services in the Arab World” was formed, with the participation of some 14 or- , organized by the Support Center for Development and ganizations from civil society and political parties, Consultancy. to design a fully-fledged strategy. One of the com- 2 See also: Siyassat al-Islah wal Ta’min al-Sihi fi-Misr (Cairo: mittee’s interventions has a legal arm, which stud- Support Center for Development and Consultancy); “al-Ta- ies the constitutionality of laws related to health- hadeyyat allati Touwagih Qita’ al-Siha fi-Misr” Information care as they are passed by the parliament. The and Decision Making Center. The Cabinet, March 2005; Al- Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, one of the Tawila, Sahar “Istitla’ Ra’y al-Muwatenin fil-Ta’min al-Sihi member organizations of the committee, is follow- al-Hokoumi”; “Derassat Mouqtarah Shira’ al-Hokouma lil ing up a case in court, filed against the 2007 min- Khedmat al-Seheyya min al-Qita’ al-Khas”, Information and isterial decision to establish the Egyptian Holding Decision Making Center, The Cabinet, April 2005. See also Company for Healthcare, and the transformation the work of Hassan Abdul Fattah on social health insurance, of all health-insurance clinics and hospitals as sub- presented to the Specialized Medical Councils in 2005. In- sidiaries to it. Until press time, there was no news formation was also drawn from the papers on healthcare about the outcome of the case, the hearing for presented by the National Democratic Party in its annual which was scheduled for 13 November. However, conference in 2003 and 2004, as well as a paper presented the limitation to legal work is that no cases can be by the Policies Committee of the party in its meeting with filed against policies in the making, and lawsuits the Federation of Egyptian Industries in July 2006. can only be pursued when laws are already passed 3 Most of the information contained in this section is based and decisions are made. on the works of Dr. Muhammad Hassan Khalil and Dr. Ab- dul Moneim Ebeid, as well as studies published by the Sup- Another intervention by the committee is a me- port Center for Development and Consultancy. dia plan, which targets a larger segment of society through the press and irregular publications to render people aware of their rights to healthcare and of the current reforms undergone by the sec- tor. The committee also works on mobilization through organizing popular conferences and pro- tests, while spreading the movement across the country and not only centralizing it in Cairo. In the meantime, the committee is still facing internal problems such as the lack of volunteerism that is pivotal to its work and the engagement of only an intellectual clique in its undertakings, rather than a large base of public support, which is also a mani- festation of today’s state of activism and political life in Egypt. FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 39 On t h e Fr i n g e s of a Ci t y A Visit to Ain al-Sira Roberto Pitea BA in International Economics and Development, Bocconi University, Milan s we drove past the Mameluk Aqueduct,my values, buildings and infrastructure started being attention was caught by the fact that part of neglected. itA was buried down in the ground. The ground level had risen ever since its construction; an Political and social decline breads further neglect indication of the stratification of human settle- and eventually thriving areas become isolated, run- ments in the area known as Masr al-Qadima. down and forgotten. What we could see when we I was part of a group visiting the facilities of got to Ain al-Sira did not contradict this theory. It Ashanak Ya Baladi (AYB), a non-governmental is perhaps quite ironic that Ain al-Sira is the site organization that operates in Masr al-Qadima where the new National Museum of Egyptian Civi- and that has been recently set up by alumni of lisation, a project of LE 565 million overseen by the the American University in Cairo. AYB, vernac- UNESCO, will open in 2008. One is left to won- History in the Making ular for My Country’s Sake, has started projects der whether this project will be able to reverse the in the part of Masr al-Qadima called Ain al- course of history by bringing about a highly unlikely Sira, a tannery district particularly stricken by gentrification of Ain al-Sira. urban poverty. As in many other parts of Cairo, the residents of Masr Many neighbourhoods in Cairo suffer from al-Qadima tend to spend most of their time in their widespread poverty and lack of resources, but neighbourhood, both because of a sense of belonging the phenomenon is even more striking in his- and because of the lack of opportunities to find a job toric parts of Cairo. The dynamics of indigence elsewhere. These structural barriers lock the inhab- in most of the older parts of the city share some itants in a vicious circle: their potential is not fully commonalities. As Cairo developed over the developed because of the lack of infrastructure and span of several centuries, its focal point shifted public services, leading to poverty and low human according to where the ruling dynasty decided capital accumulation,which in turn prevents them to settle down. For this reason, old Cairo and from taking advantage of opportunities outside. This its bustling port built around al-Fustat declined has been confirmed by one of the volunteers of AYB as the Fatimid Caliphs moved the heart of the who explained how kids in the Children Develop- city north. The same process took place when ment Programme were so excited to see our group Muhammad Ali ordered the construction of a of ‘foreigners’ (including Egyptians from a different European-looking central district. The depar- social background), who represent a window to the ture of the ruling elite triggered a slow down in outside world and they could not eventually go back economic activity, as the most profitable busi- to their scheduled activities within the NGO. Placed nesses tended to relocate elsewhere. The socio- not only at the geographical but also at the social pe- economic landscape of the neighbourhood riphery of Cairo, Masr al-Qadima is, in fact, a very changed: only those businesses that were es- segregated environment in that the changes happen- sential for the daily activities of the locals stayed ing in the rest of the city only marginally reach this and, as landlords saw a decline in property neighbourhood. Recently FALL 2007 FALL 40 The Chronicles a scheme has been added to the vocational train- accommodate more than a dozen people. Their ing project, whereby the NGO works as a ‘recruit- funds mostly come from private donations ment agency’ that screens resumes of some resi- which, however, are not a reliable form of sup- dents and forwards them to employees outside the port as they tend to be volatile, which does not neighbourhood, thus ‘linking’ the reality of Masr allow for medium or long term planning. Some al-Qadima to that of Cairo. Moreover, the organi- funds also come from Corporate Social Respon- sation acts as an intermediary that distributes the sibility allocations provided by certain compa- handicrafts produced by the women to up-market nies. The proceeds from the sale of the - handi shops in Zamalek or Heliopolis. crafts produced by the women are not sufficient to make AYB self-sustainable, especially because On top of external structural difficulties, internal up to 90 percent of the profits are distributed to structural difficulties also persist and which AYB the women as they can represent a complement History in the Making History has been trying to address. First, the environment to, if not the main source, of income for their they operate in is not conducive to the develop- families. mental path they are aiming at: most women in the vocational or literacy programs are the sole AYB is taking upon itself to fill the gap of public providers for their family, usually because of their service provision that the government cannot husbands’ chronic unemployment due to physi- (or does not want) to take care of. They provide cal disabilities and diseases developed on the job. literacy classes to older women, health and hy- Hence, women can only spend a limited amount giene education to kids, and vocational training, of time at the NGO and they are obliged to take which are all initiatives that fall under the scope their younger children to the workshop, which of government intervention. The retrenchment substantially diminishes their productivity. Some- of the socialist welfare context with the infi- times, parents do not seem to understand the ap- tah and liberalisation policies predicated by the proach that the volunteers are trying to adopt. For Structural Adjustments Policies in the late 1990s instance, they would pay more attention to the have shrank the network of public services that little rewards their children get (such as sweets) used to compensate the low income of workers. and less attention to the activities that are taking Moreover AYB’s programmes aim at instilling a place. One volunteer lamented erratic attendance sense of self-worth into the residents of Masr al- by some of the kids in the program. Because of the Qadima, giving them a chance to improve their uncertainty families are exposed to, immediate own potential and decrease their dependence gratification ranks higher in their preferences than on other family members. As one of the volun- activities which benefits will only be reaped in the teers explained, some of the women come to the future and, arguably, the success of AYB will hinge workshop session just to take a break from the on their achieving a major attitude shift which is a commitments they face at home and to feel like necessary trigger of development. For this reason their contribution is rewarded, not just in pecu- the volunteers have dedicated the first semester of niary terms, rather than just taken for granted. their activity in 2006 to a major research: their aim was to assess the necessities of the community by Analyzing the potential for NGOs’ intervention interviewing the families so that the second part of in neighbourhoods such as Ain al-Sira raises a their program could be tailored to meet their most few questions. Generally, these organizations urgent needs in what could be a manifestation of adopt a grass-root approach that can easily be in- participatory development. tegrated within the social structure of close-knit communities where mutual trust plays a key role. AYB also suffers from some organisational -con However, NGOs cannot embark on projects that straints. Being a recent start-up, the NGO has lim- would build the capacity to trigger the virtuous ited funds, which they decided to put in use with circles at the base of any development strategy. a smaller number of projects rather than spread The real challenge that remains is streamlining them too thin across a wider number of recipients. these NGOs into the policy making of national For instance, the room where the women work- and international institutions, hence leveraging shop takes place has been rented at market rate and on their expertise and pervasiveness, without cannot, in fact, neglecting the critical mass that is required for any effective development intervention. 2007 FALL The Chronicles 41 Consumers’ Benevolence Rise of Consumer Activism in Egypt Na d e r Sh e n o u d a MBA i n Fi n a n c e , Sa n Fr a n c i s c o St a t e Un i v e r s i t y hroughout the last In a world where consumers are bombarded with a diversity of marketing tools from television, radio, Tdecade, the Egyptian print, outdoor banners, even in the men’s room, so as not to miss a moment or an opportunity of a few consumer behavior has seconds of undivided attention, human beings tend to create shortcuts to simplify their purchase deci- been evolving at interest- sions. People use shortcuts to save time and energy, ing and unprecedented with an aim for an acceptable decision rather than an optimum one. Some shortcuts are demonstrated History in the Making rates. The emergence of in techniques like brand loyalty, brand familiarity, country of origin, price-related strategies and avoid- the “mall culture” mani- ing-regret strategy. Other classic theories of motiva- tion would include Freud’s theory that dissects the fest in such establish- self and its behavior into three levels; the ego, the ments as City Stars and id and the superego; Jung’s archetypes that reflect deep elements in one’s psyche; Murray’s five con- Maadi City Center, and sumer motives, which include achievement, power, uniqueness/novelty, affiliation and self-esteem; and mega-stores such as Hy- Abraham Maslow’s pyramid of needs, at the basis of which lie physiological, safety and security, social per One and Carrefour and esteem needs, while the apex of the pyramid is is a point in case. Before self -actualization. embarking on the analy- For Egyptian consumers, there are specific traits that distinguish them from other consumers world- sis of this changing and wide. The most notable of those traits is Oqdat al- Khawaga (Arabic for the foreigner’s complex). “All somewhat emerging and what is foreign is better” lies at the heart of this knot. developing behavior, a It might have been justifiable before it is doubtful that this premise holds with the development of the brief presentation of con- Egyptian economy on a public policy level (from socialist-oriented policies, to open door, to compre- sumer motivation should hensive liberalization). Moreover, the “offer seeking culture” suggests that Egyptians are constantly look- be set out as the founda- ing for bargains; sometimes this obsession to achieve tion of this article. a bargain overshadows other elements of the buying process such as quality. FALL 2007 FALL 42 The Chronicles In a country where most of the population suffers Areas of focus cover both private and public from poverty, myopic purchase decisions are cus- schools. It is important to highlight that Citadel tomary. Physiological needs drive consumption Capital and Wadi Food are not under pressure patterns. A close observation of the Egyptian so- from the market nor are they coping with com- ciety nowadays would not hide the emergence of petitions by taking such initiatives. A growing activism that took up a variety of forms; political number of consumers support organizations dissidence, workers’ strikes and civil disobedience with genuine corporate social responsibility ini- at times. Consumer activism is on the rise too. tiatives. This market segment is educated, and Trends of boycotts started rising following major enjoys a considerable amount of wealth, relative religious or political discontent. A most recent and to the average Egyptian. They are not cost sensi- famous example is the boycott campaign of Dan- tive, and they even sometimes create artificial de- ish products that erupted after the publication of mand by stocking up products or offering them as in the Making History cartoons mis-portraying the Prophet Muhammad gifts. Professionally, they are key decision makers in Denmark. Other campaigns were less effective in their organization, again altering the course of and lost steam with time. Marketers are increas- decision in selecting their business partners- an ingly monitoring this trend and hedging their of- increasingly important factor in corporate social fering. With the increasing anti-American senti- responsibility. As early adopters, and influential ment, the Americana Corporation – franchise of figures in their community, they are more likely Pizza Hut, KFC and many other American food to lead this new trend. Unlike their parents who chains- started labeling its products as 100 percent still carry the “memory of scarcity” as Mona Arabic. Coca Cola added the label “manufactured Abaza labels it, this younger group lived in rela- by Egyptian Hands” on its bottles and marketing tive prosperity and a totally different level of me- material. Advertizing allusions were constantly dia exposure which might have pushed people at made to the many households that those foreign times to be savvy and skeptical consumers. outlets are supporting by giving employment op- portunities to Egyptian labor. Determining the motives or the degree of genu- ineness of a corporate social responsibility initia- In the meantime, the more proactive consumer tive is quite challenging. In other industries such activism in Egypt is in its nascent phase. Proac- as telecommunication it is competition – could tive consumer activism would be the significant be single handed or among other things - that economic buying power adding leverage on the drives operators to engage in “socially responsi- suppliers to alter their offering. It was hard a few ble” activities. Nevertheless, when an operator years ago to argue that Egyptian consumers would donates all its corporate social responsibility be buying Fair Trade products, organic food or en- yearly budget for a government initiative spon- couraging Corporate Social Responsibility busi- sored by a key person in the ruling regime and ness. However, this situation has changed. partially funded by the government, we would be skeptical of its belief in the mission of corporate This trend of proactive consumer activism is the social responsibility, or its understanding of it in most interesting behavior. It is not driven by poli- the first place, as a political tool or a poor mar- tics or religious tendencies and is not a reaction to keting strategy. In the meantime, local NGOs the malpractice of any supplier. However, this strat- and development organizations that are serious egy steams from the belief that these corporations about their mandate in Egypt should seize the owe it to society; corporations ought genuinely – opportunity of available funds to try to make or not – to give back. Some pioneering companies a difference in their community; the effective- would be Citadel Capital and Wadi Foods. Citadel ness of the NGOs is what would really count. It Capital foundation is less than two-years old. Yet, would be interesting to see the rise of corporate it managed – among other things – to sponsor social responsibility in Egypt even though the more than 20 students to pursue their postgradu- Egyptian government does not match the incen- ate studies abroad. Wadi Food established WESC, tives offered by other Western governments such a non conventional non-governmental organi- as tax exemptions and other benefits. Consumers zation that conveys environmental messages to seem to be the real driver of change rather than school children through hands-on, interactive and public policy. in most cases science-based activities. 2007 FALL The Chronicles 43 Defying Government Intervention, Confronting Exploitation and Neglect Eg y p t 's Wo r k e r s Ri s e t o t h e Fo r ef r o n t o f Di s s e n t History in the Making Jano Charbel MA in International Human Rights Law, the American University in Cairo Since the beginning of 2007, “Egypt has witnessed gypt’s striking workers an unprecedented number of strikes. So far over 300 have risen to promi- labor strikes, sit-ins, workers’ protests and demon- E strations, have taken place throughout Egypt, in the nence over the course of course of this year alone,” said the Director of the Land Center for Human Rights, Karam Saber. He this year - to the extent that added, “these incidents of labor unrest in 2007 have markedly increased in comparison to their recorded they may be considered frequency over the past few years. In 2006 a total the country’s most power- of around 200 such incidents were recorded; and in 2005 the total recorded number of labor strikes and ful, effective, and popular protests in Egypt totaled approximately 150.” Saber attributed this increase in strikes and labor protests voice of dissent. Estimates in 2007 to “inadequate wages, poor incentive pay, the privatization of companies, the closures of other suggest that over 400,000 companies, hazardous working conditions, decreas- Egyptian workers took part ing real wages, declining living standards, and the rapid increase in the prices of nearly all consumer in labor strikes and work- goods.” ers’ protests this year. These factors behind the increasing labor unrest are FALL 2007 FALL clear in the demands of discontented workers, and 44 The Chronicles in the slogans they raise. For example, at the Ma- Further strikes spread from the cities of the Nile halla Textile Company1, the slogan “el-edrabb Delta, were these massive textile companies are mashrou’ mashrou’ ded el-faqr wa ded el-gou’,” was located, to other commonly chanted - meaning “the [right to] strike textile companies is legitimate, legitimate, to confront poverty and in Greater Cairo hunger.” and its industrial satellite cities, to Researchers and analysts have associated the in- further governo- crease in strikes with the fact that Egypt’s garment rates, and beyond and textile workers are amongst the lowest paid the textile indus- in the world,2 while even members of the ruling try – from work- regime have admitted that the widespread occur- ers at the Torah in the Making History rence of strikes is partially attributable to adminis- and Helwan Ce- trative corruption.3 ment Factories to railway and sub- By law, the right to strike is guaranteed in the pro- way workers, from visions of Egypt’s unified labor law, its trade union Cairo’s specialized Jano Charbel legislation, and also by the international labor and gardeners to Giza’s garbage disposal workers and human rights conventions - which the Egyptian from protesting garment workers in Mansoura State has voluntarily ratified; yet in reality it is to protesting telephone workers in al-Ma’asara. virtually impossible to receive the authorization The effects of these strikes reached even beyond needed for conducting a “legal” strike. Not a sin- the labor movement. In the summer of 2007, the gle strike has ever been authorized by any of the professional syndicates engaged in the strikes, state-controlled general unions – the only entities with members of the Teachers’ General Syndi- empowered to authorize such strike action.4 cate and General Physicians’ Syndicate threaten- ing to stage strikes of their own if their systems of The country’s only trade union federation allowed salaries and benefits were not updated. for by law, the Egyptian Trade Union Federation along with its 23 constituent general unions, is di- On 21 October, 55.000 real estate tax employ- rectly state-controlled from above – via indirect ees launched coordinated strikes in nearly all and unrepresentative union elections. This state of Egypt’s governorates. These employees were intervention, however, has not stopped workers demanding parity with their fellow civil servants from striking. Egyptian workers have always gone in the customs sales and general tax employees. on strike without the consent of their respective During the first day of the strike, Giza tax worker general unions; while these same workers have and labor activist Kamal Abu Eita said, “we tax conducted their strikes with or without the con- workers have served as the club in the govern- sent of their local union committees.5 ment’s hands. As tax workers, we have enforced the government’s regulations regarding the im- Nearly all the incidents of labor unrest over the prisonment of tax dodgers. Today, however, we course of this year have drawn their inspiration have turned the club against the government from the successful examples set by the strikes which is treating us unequally and is exploiting launched at the state-owned Mahalla Textile Com- us. “ pany on 7 December 2006 and again on 23 Sep- tember 2007, the second strike at the company The massive strikes launched in Egypt’s largest in 10 months.6 This first strike quickly spread to textile companies have encouraged workers and other major textile complexes, including the state- employees, beyond the textile sector, to demand owned Kafr al-Dawwar Textile Company and their social and economic rights – public and pri- the privatized Shebine al-Kom Textile Company vate sector employees, where workers raised demands similar to those of the Mahalla workers. 2007 FALL The Chronicles 45 industrial laborers and service workers, both These demands for democratic rights and organi- unionized and non-unionized workers, and zational freedoms have been raised namely by the from blue collar workers to white collar profes- workers at the massive textile companies of Mahalla, sionals. Kafr al-Dawwar, and Shebine al-Kom. The work- ers at these three textile companies have raised de- The ministries of labor and investment along mands for the recall of their union committees9 call- with the leadership of the Egyptian Trade Un- ing on the state-controlled General Union of Textile ion Federation have repeatedly accused the Workers’ to accept the vote of no-confidence issued Muslim Brotherhood, communist groupings, against their local union committees.10 opposition parties, and the Center for Trade Union and Workers’ Services, an independent This is not the first time in which Egyptian workers labor rights center, of instigating these strikes have sought to recall their local union committee, and labor protests. In reality, however, these ac- however. Labor lawyer Rahma Refaat of CTUWS tors played negligible roles in organizing these said, “the first incident in which workers sought to acts of labor unrest, usually limited to issuing recall their local union committee was during the announcements of support and solidarity with Helwan Iron and Steel Company Strike of 1989. certain strikes, and sit-ins. The general union, to which the Helwan Company’s local union committee is affiliated, kept on- drag The workers who have partaken in these strikes ging its feet and nothing came out of the workers’ and protests are mostly non-politicized. Only a demands for the recall of their union committee. minority of the workers involved in these acts of The General Union of Textile Workers is now doing labor unrest are members of opposition currents the same - dragging its feet and making excuses re- or political parties, while an untold number of garding the demands put forward by the workers at these workers are actually members of the rul- the Mahalla, Kafr al-Dawwar, and Shebine al-Kom History in the Making ing National Democratic Party. 7 Textile Companies for the recall of their union rep- resentatives.” In reaction to this outburst of labor unrest the Egyptian government, acting in coordination Muhammad al-Attar, a strike leader at the Mahalla with the security apparatuses, ordered the clo- Textile Company explained that “the General Union sure of three offices belonging to the Center of Textile Workers will not accept our vote of no- for Trade Union and Workers’ Services - on the confidence against the company’s local union com- pretext that this labor rights center was insti- mittee, because if it does so then other segments of gating strikes across the country. The CTUWS society would be encouraged to demand the recall was in fact the government’s scapegoat for these of certain parliamentarians, for example. This could strikes. Despite these closures8 the strikes have lead to demands for the withdrawal of confidence not lost momentum – a direct indicator that the from the ruling government. The NDP does not CTUWS was not in fact the motivating force want our demands for accountability to result in a behind these strikes. spill-over effect whereby the Egyptian people begin to question their representatives, it fears that people Workers Demand Democracy and Or- will begin to hold the authorities accountable for ganizational Freedoms their actions.” While the grievances of discontented Egyptian workers have primarily focused on economic With the beginning of 2007, workers at these three demands, workers at a number of enterprises textile companies initially declared their intention of have also demanded the increase of democratic establishing independent, or parallel, unions outside mechanisms and greater accountability within the structure of the government-manipulated Egyp- the labor movement – including demands for tian Trade Union Federation if their local union the accountability of trade union representa- committees were not recalled. In response to these tives, for organizational independence and for declarations both the Labor Minister, Aisha Abdul trade union autonomy. Hadi, and the President of the ETUF, Hussein Meg- FALL 2007 FALL awer, 46 The Chronicles reiterated their zero-tolerance policy for such plans. End Notes Both of these officials threateningly announced that 1 This company is Egypt’s largest public-sector textile enter- any workers attempting to establish independent prise; it employs a workforce of 26,000 laborers. unions outside the official framework of the ETUF 2 Middle East Historian and Labor Analyst Dr. Joel Beinin has would be “subjected to legal measures.” Abdul Hadi, pointed to a steady decline of these workers’ real wages since and her predecessor Ahmad al-Amawi argued that the mid-1970s (see al-Dustour Newspaper – 24 Jan., 2007.) “Egyptian garment workers earn the lowest wages internation- the creation of such independent/parallel unions ally; earning 85 percent less than their Pakistani counterparts, would “weaken the unity of Egypt’s trade union and 60 percent less than their counterparts in India.” movement.” In fact the establishment of such par- 3 On 19 Feb., the Industrial Committee of Egypt’s Consulta- allel unions would only weaken the Egyptian state’s tive House of Parliament, the Shura Council, issued its findings regarding labor unrest in the textile industry – it found that “a stranglehold over workers and their organizations; number of cases involving administrative and monetary cor- History in the Making History while the establishment of freely organized trade ruption were attributable to individuals on company boards in unions could lead to the emergence of an active the textile industry.” The Industrial Committee concluded that and independent union movement. “these individuals have not been held accountable, and that this is a driving force behind labor unrest in the textile industry.” (See al-Ahram Newspaper – 20 Feb. 2007.) Confronted with the threats of Abdul Hadi and 4 According to domestic Egyptian laws each and every strike Megawer regarding the establishment of free trade ever conducted in the country may be considered illegal – since unions, workers from the Mahalla and Kafr al- none of the strikes was authorized by a two third majority from their respective general union. Historically, no strike has been Dawwar Textile Companies have, more recently, authorized since the establishment of Egypt’s sole trade union proposed the establishment of independent work- confederation, the state-controlled Egyptian Workers’ Federa- ers’ leagues and federations of these leagues – to tion in 1957; nor by its successor the Egyptian Trade Union be organized regionally and according to industry/ Federation, since 1961. 5 There are approximately 1,900 such local union committees service in order to coordinate action amongst dif- nationwide. ferent sectors of workers in different parts of the 6 The workers insist that their company’s administration, to- country. Workers at the Mahalla Textile Company gether with the ministries of investment and labor had not ful- are attempting to move towards this direction of a filled the promises they had made following the conclusion of the strike in December 2006. league-based organization, with over 9,000 workers 7 Muhammad al-Gohari Shaaban, a striking worker at the Ma- from the company having submitted their requests halla Textile Company, displayed his NDP membership card of withdrawal from the General Union of Textile during an interview on 28 Sept. 2007. He argued that “opposi- Workers – yet none of these requests has been ac- tion parties have nothing to do with this strike. I am a member of the National Democratic Party, I am for the NDP but I am cepted, and the General Union’s dues continue to also for this strike which is organized solely by the Mahalla be deducted from their wages each month. workers.” Amongst the most prominent strike leaders were an- other two members of the NDP. Most recently, other plans posited by free-thinking 8 Authorities (namely the State Security apparatus and the Ministry of Social Solidarity) first moved against the CTUWS workers, not only in the textile industry, but also on 29 March by shutting down this center’s branch office in the amongst the steel and cement workers, include the Upper Egyptian Town of Naga’ Hammadi, then on 11 April establishment of independent emergency funds and by shutting down another branch office in the northern Nile strike funds – which are beyond the control of the Delta City of al-Mahalla al-Kobra. The authorities finally shut down the CTUWS headquarters in southern Cairo’s industrial Labor Ministry and the ETUF. Numerous work- district of Helwan, on 25 April. ers have also proposed the formation of a work- 9 Workers at these three textile companies, amongst those of ers’ party in order to champion their causes, and other companies as well as independent election monitors, address their labor-related grievances. Meanwhile, have described the trade union elections of November 2006 as being neither free nor fair. The CTUWS described these elec- the workers at Mahalla Textile Company,who have tions as being “the foulest trade union elections that Egypt has spearheaded the strike movement this year, have ever witnessed.” pledged to resume strike action if the authorities do 10 On February 2007, a delegation of around 100 workers not fulfill the promises they made regarding these from the Mahalla Textile Company traveled to their respective General Union of Textile Workers, in Shobra al-Mazzalat, with workers’ demands. Egypt’s workers have become the signatures of over 13,000 workers (out of a total of 26,000 increasingly vocal regarding their poor working workers) from the company demanding the General Union’s and living conditions. They are clearly determined approval for the recall of their local union committee – these in demanding their rights, including their right to signatures represent the consent of more than 50 percent of the workforce which is required, as is stipulated by law, for the re- strike and their right to freely organize themselves. call a local union committee. 2007 FALL The Chronicles 47 WADNA NE’ISH We Want to Live Experiencing the Bedouins Plea1 Mu h a m m a d Ei d , BS i n En g i n e e r i n g , He l w a n Un i v e r s i t y Ah m a d Ei d , BS i n Bu s i n e s s Ad m i n i s t r at i o n , He l w a n Un i v e r s i t y The media has played an important role in blocking out the nascent opposition movement in Sinai by adna Ne’ish is the the Bedouin communities. Moreover, the media has Bedouin slang twist left the public with a stereotype about the Bedouin onW the standard Egyptian man being a drug dealer or a spy, a recurrent image particularly in cinema. The Bedouin communities History in the Making Arabic for We Want to Live. did not develop enough consciousness to counter It is also the call made by those stereotypes and deconstruct them and had to wait until a major event changed the course of their some 280.000 from the lives. Bedouin communities re- The 2003 Taba bombs which killed some 30 holi- siding in the Sinai Penin- day makers and injured scores was a historic turning sula, who experienced the point for Bedouins, as they were followed by mas- sive arbitrary arrests by the police in their attempt to feeling of estrangement in identify the authors of the bombs. Police violations their own country, as many were extended to reach Bedouin women, which was of their rights were consist- a major source of discontent in Sinai. This state of violations persisted, with those arrested neither ently violated. The issue of convicted nor released, while many of them died in the Bedouin strikes is quite custody and their dead bodies were not even freed. Those conditions created a dire need for action a complex one, largely due among Bedouin communities who rose up to the to the geographic posi- necessity of presenting their case to the large public tion of the Sinai Peninsula, opinion and of pursuing their demands adamantly. which shares borders with The new born activist communities amid the Israel and Gaza, a position Bedouins worked on mobilizing support from the ranks of political parties. They also worked on estab- that has been conductive to lishing close connections with the media in order to many misperceptions. reach out to the largest numbers of people who have FALL 2007 FALL been blinded by the forces of disconnection. 48 The Chronicles Early this year, a few leaders of the Bedouins joined a university for the past seven years. Hos- striking in Sinai, came to Cairo to hold their first pitals lacked the most standard units of primary press conference at the Syndicate of Journalists, healthcare, only to leave a question mark around in what has been a first major step to publicize for their being called hospitals. their case through the country’s capital. Accounts about consistent marginalization and major rights’ The Bedouins have learnt to adapt to those basic violations were both shocking and informing to conditions. However, what raised their temper- the public. This was our first encounter with the was the inhumane and degrading treatment by Bedouins and exposure to their plea. While we the police forces to detainees. This treatment heard their voices, we felt that we wanted to listen was manifest in a plethora of ways, ranging from more, perhaps to authenticate their accounts about arbi trary arrests and reaching random shoot- in the Making History the poor standards they live in. Later, the activists ing and constant terrorizing to families. Some of the Bedouins organized a popular conference at young people were killed during the shootouts, home, in the border town of Rafah, where they ad- while many women were arrested and intimated dressed a crowd of reporters and fellow activists, in police stations, which is considered a grave as well as supporters about their plea, their move- offense in Bedouin traditional culture. The ment and their aspirations. This was our chance to Bedouins who witnessed the treatment of the learn more about one of Egypt’s critical cases. The Israeli occupiers did not find much difference conference was held on a desert terrain close to the in treatment with the Egyptian police forces, as borders, a choice that came from a fear that the po- they recounted. All those developments have lice forces would prevent organizers from holding increased their sense of estrangement. their event and that this location would deter at- tempts at random shootouts, which they have ex- In the meantime, living conditions, as retold perienced since the Sinai bombings took place and by the Bedouins were also a source of astonish- cost them the lives of a few. Rafah, the hosting city, ment at how marginalized those communities remains too far from the forces of modernization, are. Many have resorted to arms and drugs trade with basic housing scattered around the desert and as a result of the deteriorating economic condi- that doesn’t exceed two floors. During the confer- tions. They did not deny those activities and ex- ence, Bedouin youth were keen to address all at- pressed willingness to give them up once a com- tendants and inform them about their problems, in prehensive development scheme is adopted in what seemed to be an unprecedented opening. The Sinai. same concerns were spelt out across different gen- erations of the Bedouin communities. Most of the youth are unemployed, while a few of them are en- gaged in the cultivation of peach. There is no indus- trialization in the city, and hence fewer employment opportunities. Health and education services have been in constant decline, according to families’ ac- counts. One Bedouin la- mented how none of the youth has Marium Chaudhry FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 49 The population size in Sinai is estimated at ap- while discriminating against the local populations in proximately 360,000, a minority of which is jobs and housing in the north and in the rapid de- of Palestinian origins, while the majority is velopment of tourist enclaves (for Egyptians as well Bedouin, with very few tent-dwelling nomads. as internationals) in the south. These developments The Bedouins are conscious of their Arabic have offered scant opportunities to locals and often origins and their tribal affiliations, which have have been at their expense (notably with regard to made them more “oriented eastward” rather land rights), provoking deep resent ment. The gov- than to the center of Egypt. However, according ernment has done little or nothing to encourage to the recent report filed by the International participation of Sinai residents in national political Crisis Group, the state of economic marginali- life, used divide and rule tactics in orchestrating the zation is what has aggravated the problem. meager local representation allowed, and promot- ed the Pharaonic heritage at the expense of Sinai’s “These identity differences have been aggravat- Bedouin traditions.”2 ed by socio-economic development promoted by the authorities since 1982. The government The reasons behind the persistence of this margin- has not sought to integrate Sinai’s populations alization remain an important question mark, given into the nation through a far-sighted program the strategic significance of the area and its geo-po- responding to their needs and mobilizing their litical relevance to Egypt. Perhaps a consciousness active involvement. Instead, it has promoted the of the problem’s gravity will be born out of the nas- settlement of Nile Valley migrants, whom it has cent consciousness amid the Bedouin communities systematically favored, of their need to confront the realities and oppose the authorities. This consciousness is intertwined History in the Making with the geopolitical relevance of the area, with the Bedouins identifying themselves in the recent surge of dissent as “the guardians of the Egyptian Eastern gate”. The response, however, remains unknown. In the meantime, the on-going dissidence on the Eastern gate of Egypt provides for a thrust to learn more about its initiators, the region and the poten- tials for its integration and development. This should be on both the national and the international agenda of development and should also be advocated at a grass-root level. End Notes 1 The authors of this article have witnessed the recent Bedouin strikes in Sinai, where they spent a period of time in solidarity with the communities. In this artcile, they offer their observa- tions as eye-witnesses about their experience there. 2 “Egypt’s Sinai Question” The International Crisis Group. Jan. 2007. farmers held extended protests lamenting 2007 FALL The Chronicles 51 shortages that ruined 1200 feddans worth of The report adds that deterioration of water quality crops and some threatened to sue the drinking and poor rural sanitation are also major challenges.”6 water company for collecting bills despite con- Indeed, hundreds of citizens in Daqahliya, Giza, and tinued shortages. By early September, residents Sohaj have been diagnosed with kidney failure and of six villages in Daqahliya demanded the out- other diseases as a result of consuming polluted wa- posting of the governor, blaming him for the ter. worsening of the crisis. Amid an increasing number of protests, the Egyp- Around the same time, an estimated 200,000 tian government’s response evolved from denial to citizens in Mahalla had not had water for four a face-saving effort to assuage protestors’ concern. months and had to travel 5 kms to get water. In mid-July, Housing and Public Utilities Minister When their efforts to petition their parliamen- Ahmad al-Maghrabi remarked that water shortages tary representative resulted in no concrete took place in “remote” areas and that “every one progress, hundreds went to Tanta to meet the knows that water reaches more densely populated governor. Met with resistance from the riot areas.”7 On 25 July, at Mubarak’s request, the cabinet police, they started a sit-in until the governor announced its decision to earmark an urgent sum of promised them that steps would be taken to LE 1 billion to solve the problem of drinking water.8 resolve the issue. Residents of an Isma`iliya In subsequent weeks, Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif village held a protest in front of the governor’s asserted that the government would spend LE 10.7 billion to build new drinking and sewage water sta- office for three consecutive days to complain tions.9 In an interview with television show Hadith about repeated water cuts. al-Madina, Nazif asserted that Mubarak’s decision to allocate LE 20 billion addition appropriations for There are several reasons for the shortages, in- drinking water and sewage is further evidence of the cluding deteriorating infrastructure, stalled or HistoryMaking the in government’s proactive outlook.10 The local media delayed projects for building fresh water sta- reported on 10 August that the ministry of housing tions, and discriminatory distribution of water. had started to implement an urgent plan to connect According to a study by the Cairo-based Cent- water to towns, with priority given to areas with larg- er for Rural Studies, 6.8 percent of Egypt’s 80 er populations and a target completion date of April million citizens, lack sufficient access to clean 2008. The immediate response consisted in sending drinking water.3 In early August, the leading in- water tanks to affected areas. dependent daily al-Masry al-Youm cited a study by the state-run National Research Center, ac- That government officials initially downplayed the cording to which 85 percent of Egypt’s total significance of the issue is not a surprising response potable water production was wasted due to the from a semi-authoritarian government. What is poor state of distribution systems. Mohamed striking, however, is the tone underlying the state- Nagi, head of the Cairo-based Habi Center for ments of some government officials. In a speech to Environmental Rights, attributes the shortages parliament on 26 July, Magrhabi made it clear that “I to provincial corruption and insufficient plan- do not see a reason why a citizen should suffer from ning.4 water shortages, but at the same time I do not see a problem with the crisis arising in some villages.”11 In addition to these structural issues, Egypt Unapologetically, he added that no government in risks widespread water shortages, or even a the world can be expected to provide water to 100 complete drought, around 2025, due mainly percent of its citizens. to an ongoing population explosion,warns the National Water Research Center.5 According to These statements reveal a very troubling attitude. the 2005 United Nations Human Development Not only do they exhibit a great insensitivity to Report,the per capita availability of water has citizens’ suffering, but they also point to irrespon- decreased over the past decades; Egypt reached sible governance. Ironically, al-Masry al-Youm ran a the threshold of water scarcity in 1997, and is photo of al-Maghrabi delivering his speech in parlia- expected to reach a “high level of scarcity” in ment with a glass of water in front of him.Symbolic as it may be, FALL 2007 FALL 2017. 52 The Chronicles the metaphor was still poignant. The question was including children, severely injured. On the other no longer whether the state was capable of ad- hand, however, citizens have started to realize that dressing the crisis. It was rather about the degree to only through collective action can they begin to which it acknowledged and seemed sympathetic to achieve their goals. In village 49 in Daqahliya, citizens’ suffering. Given the scope of recent water water fights led residents to reach a “gentleman shortages, al-Maghrabi’s earlier assertion that the agreement” delegating to 20 representatives the crisis was limited to “remote” areas could either responsibility of equitably distributing water. suggest that he was trying to undermine the scope In Beni Suef, citizens prepared what they called of the crisis, or to imply that the issue concerned a “thirst document” to present to the speaker of politically marginalized citizens, which would jus- parliament, Muhammad Fathi Sorour. Beyond the tify the slow response. There is some truth to both initial fighting then, were concerted efforts to -ad explanations. dress the issue collectively. in the Making History It is no coincidence that those who suffered the The most recent wave of protests is by no means most from the shortages are those of the lower-in- the beginning of a social awakening in Egypt. come classes. The protestors’ common grievances Perhaps, however, they have shown that ordi- speak volumes about the public perception of the nary Egyptian citizens are willing to stretch the state, one that is increasingly characterized by a mix limits for public action imposed by the Mubarak of cynicism and distrust. Citizens in Isma`iliya, regime. Riot police were ever present in the most Behera, Alexandria, and Daqahliya among others, recent protests, but their presence did not seem lamented the irresponsiveness and carelessness of to deter protesters. The Egyptian government’s local government officials. In Daqahliya, only after handling of the issue points to the challenges residents held sit-ins for 12 consecutive days in front faced by a state that is economically crippled and of the governor’s office, did the governor finally agree to meet with them and discuss their grievances. In politically vulnerable. To be sure, the Egyptian other areas, such as Burj al-Burulus and Giza, many state cannot be expected to provide magic solu- residents charged that those in power are favoring tions, especially when many citizens continue to wealthier neighborhoods, such as Dokki. Some went use water wastefully. At the same time, however, as far as suggesting that neighborhoods inhabited by it risks alienating a large number of citizens if it some members of the ruling National Democratic fails to become more responsive to people’s de- Party were getting preferential treatment. Regard- mands. The breadth of the recent protests seemed less of their validity, such claims are clear indications to have taken the government by surprise; it was that ordinary citizens are increasingly questioning clear that it was straddling a delicate line between the government’s sincerity and commitment to im- restoring its legitimacy and maintaining order. proving their lot. End Notes Discriminatory distribution, however, is not simply 1 For detailed developments of the “thirst revolution” in summer a matter of popular imagination. In Daqahilya, Engi- 2007, see al-Masry al-Youm. 8, 19, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 July; 9, 10, 11 neer Abdul Qawi Khalifa, head of the holding water August; 1, 4 Sept.; 27 Oct company acknowledged that structural issues aside, 2 Morrow, Adam and al-Omrani, Khaled Moussa “Egypt: After some areas are getting more water than they need. Summer Shortages, Promise of Water Runs Dry,” Inter Press Service News Agency, 11 Oct. 2007 3 Akhbar al-Barlaman, 1 Sept. 2007 One of the most remarkable aspects of this sum- 4 Morrow and al-Omrani mer’s popular protests is the ways in which they 5 “Egyptian Villages Fight Water War” Agence France Presse. 16 influenced social interaction. On the one hand, the Aug. 2007 6 “Egypt Human Development Report 2005” United Nations De- crisis and the state’s inadequate response, forced velopment Program. p.170 citizens, 2007 FALL 11 Quoted in al-Masry al-Youm, 27 July 2007 The Chronicles 53 For the Sake of a ‘Clean Development’ New Approach to Realizing Sus- tainable Development in Developing Countries Ho d a Ba r a k a MSc i n Po l i t i c s o f t h e Wo r l d Ec o n o m y , Lo n d o n Sc h o o l o f Ec o n o m i c s HistoryMaking the in n recent times, environmental issues have been slowly moving towards becom- ing the center of attention. This can be noticed through the rise in the number Iof Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) negotiated by states in recent years1 and the increased media coverage of environmental awareness cam- paigns. This is also apparent in the day-to-day conversations by people where the rising consciousness concerning environmental problems is evident. But with this in mind, we are still lagging behind on what would be needed for our living con- ditions to improve substantially from an environmental point of view. We remain confused about our perceptions of time and space. We continue to believe that the planet must work on some other timescale; one that can always accommodate and maintain our current way of living without forcing us to reassess the decisions that we make. We must rise up to the fact that it is no longer true for the world to be big and for us to be small beings living in it. We are big enough to have a huge impact on it. A global environmental phenomenon, which has brought this issue to the forefront, is climate change. More and more, the evidence supports the claim that there is a “discernible human influence on global climate”2, thus high- lighting the stark contrast between the two speeds at which we seem to be func- tioning: the pace at which the physical world is changing and the pace at which human society is reacting to this change. Unless measures are undertaken to ad- dress the challenges of environmental sustainability, major problems with serious economic and social consequences are likely in the future.3 This article aims to discuss an instrument currently in place which was set up to address the threat of climate change while also aimed to positively affect the developmental agenda of developing countries. This mechanism is known as the Clean Development FALL 2007 FALL Mechanism which was introduced under the Kyoto Protocol for Climate Change. 54 The Chronicles Introduction to Kyoto of the world’s carbon dioxide. Its withdrawal au- In response to the recognized threat of global tomatically foreshadows the prospect of reach- warming, the United Nations convened the Frame- ing the needed levels of emissions reduction. work Convention on Climate Change with the aim Despite these shortcomings, the mechanisms to agree on steps that could be taken in order to introduced under the protocol represent an in- curtail the threat from the emission of greenhouse novative means to address environmental issues gases. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol to the Conven- while also aiming to support the agenda for sus- tion was negotiated and then ratified in 2001 but tainable development among developing coun- only came into force in February 2005 following tries. the ratification of the treaty by Russia. The Kyoto Protocol is a legally binding treaty containing spe- Kyoto Mechanisms History in the Making History cific mechanisms that directly reduce the emis- sions of greenhouse gases. Kyoto imposes targets Kyoto provides three mech- on industrialized countries, which are referred to as Annex 1 countries in the Protocol. This group is anisms to encourage the expected to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions funding of more cost-effec- by a collective average of 5 percent below their 1990 level of emissions. Such target will have to be tive emissions reduction as met between 2008 and 2012. Although the proto- col is yet to enter its implementation phase, there the cost of substantially re- are already certain issues that have been brought forward by skeptics who argue that the treaty is ducing emissions in Annex 1 not good enough. The main concern is the belief countries is now potentially that the protocol does not go far enough since the percent of emission cuts currently is required of all prohibitive. These volun- developed countries whilst no emission cuts are required from developing countries. On one hand, tary mechanisms provide a the protocol seeks to institutionalize the concept of way for both the public and ‘shared but differentiated’ responsibility which was agreed upon among nations in recognition of the private sectors in the devel- fact that developing countries should not carry a similar burden in addressing global environmental oped world to fund these re- issues as they still seek to realize their developmen- tal goals. On the other hand, with climate change ductions while encouraging being specifically the issue at hand, the concern is developing countries to use that if countries such as China or India are not re- quired to meet certain emission cuts as well, then cleaner technologies as they the overall 60 percent emission cut suggested by scientists as necessary in order to prevent major in turn gradually raise their climate change will never be met.4 Another issue raised by skeptics regarding the effect of the Kyoto global share of industrial Protocol is the fact that the United States chose and power generation out- not to ratify the treaty and subsequently withdrew from the negotiations concerning climate change.5 put. The three Kyoto mech- The inclusion of the U.S. in such an instrument is seen by many as being of pivotal importance for anisms are: the success of the climate change regime due to the fact that alone, the U.S. produces a quarter FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 55 International Emissions Trading: Industrial- strives to promote sustainable development in ized countries are allowed to meet their com- developing countries by promoting environ- mitments by buying and selling excess emis- mentally friendly investment while allowing sion allowances among themselves, or buying developed countries to contribute to the goal of emission reduction credits, known as Carbon reducing atmospheric concentrations of green- Credits, produced in developing countries. This house gases. The basic principle of the CDM is provides a financial incentive for countries that quite simple: developed countries are allowed can reduce emissions cheaply to adopt cleaner to invest in low-cost abatement opportunities technologies. in developing countries and would in return receive credit for the resulting emissions reduc- Joint Implementation (JI): JI permits two or tions. While the CDM lowers the cost of com- more Annex 1 countries to cooperatively imple- pliance for developed countries, developing ment projects to reduce green house gas emis- countries would stand to benefit as well from sions. In the case of such projects, industrial- the increased investment flows and also from ized countries are allowed to meet part of their the requirement that these investments advance required cuts by financing projects that aim to sustainable development goals.6 This is because reduce emissions in other industrialized coun- the CDM encourages developing countries to tries, namely in Eastern Europe and the former participate by promising that development pri- Soviet Union. orities and initiatives will be addressed as part of the package. Thus from the viewpoint of de- Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): veloping countries, the CDM allows for benefits CDM projects are implemented only in non- such as: attracting capital for projects that assist 1 HistoryMaking the in Annex countries by governments or private en- in the shift to a less carbon-intensive economy, tities from industrialized countries. Once these encouraging the active participation of both pri- projects are validated, verified and certified by vate and public sectors, allowing for technology the UN-based CDM Executive Board, they cre- transfer, and, helping to define investment pri- ate additional Certified Emission Reductions orities in projects that meet sustainable devel- (CERs), which they may count as part of their opment goals.7 Thus, in addition to catalyzing national reduction targets. green investment in developing countries, the CDM offers an opportunity to make simultane- Many view the Clean Development Mechanism ous progress on local environmental issues and as an innovative and creative means to provide their pursuance of the developmental agenda. incentives for developed countries to fund such “For developing countries that might other- projects while getting developing countries on wise be preoccupied with immediate economic board without expecting them to carry any of and social needs, the prospect of such benefits the necessary financial burdens. Developed should provide a strong incentive to participate countries are then able to meet their targets in the CDM.”8 while developing countries are introduced to clean technologies and a more environmentally It would be difficult to forecast the full extent of conscious way of running their businesses. potential benefits available to developing coun- tries under the CDM; but its enormous poten- Clean Development Mechanism tial to promote sustainable development and The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), increase foreign investment flows with an eye to contained in Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol, solving local and regional environmental prob- lems is clear. In the case of climate change con- cerns in particular, the CDM allows developing countries to participate in the global effort to combat climate change at a time when FALL 2007 FALL 56 The Chronicles other development priorities may limit the funding available for activities related to the reduction of green house gas emissions. “The CDM’s objective of advancing the development goals of developing countries recognizes that only through long-term sustainable development will all countries be able to play a role in climate protection.”9 Although we have been witnessing a positive change in environmental politics within the last few decades as seen by the noticeable increase in History in the Making History MEAs alongside developing countries taking on a more proactive role in the context of environmen- tal politics with mechanisms such as the CDM be- ing agreed upon thus giving them a helping hand to address environmental problems, there still remains much to be done in order to give envi- ronmental problems the proper political impetus it still requires in order for these concerns to take centre stage. Otherwise we are only helping to real- ize the bleakest possible future imaginable. End Notes 1 Conca, Ken and Geoffrey D. Dabelko. Green Planet Blues: Environmental Politics from Stockholm to Johannesburg. (Lon- don: Westview Press, 2004) 2 United Nations Environmental Program and World Mete- orological Organization. 3 Bill McKibben. “This Overheating World”Granta: The Mag- Marium Chaudhry azine of New Writing. 2003. 4 Jacob Werksman and James Cameron. Climate Change and Development. (UNDP Regional Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmen- tal Studies, 2000) 5 Ibid 6 CDM Information and Guide Book. (United Nations Envi- ronmental Program, 2004) 7 Ibid 8 Ibid. 9 Ibid FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 57 Drugs for Development! The Qat Industry and Yemen’s Economic Development An d r e w Wi l c o x Undergraduate i n Mi d d l e Ea s t St u d i e s a n d Ar a bi c , Un i v e r s i t y o f Ex e t e r with 83 percent3 of its cultivatable land dependent mongst intellectuals in Yemen and those on rainfall for irrigation, the majority of productive concerned with Yemen’s economic farmland is located in the central highlands where development, qat has many critics. In traditional terrace farming techniques are required. A1972 Prime Minister Mohsin al-Aini abortively Agriculture is thus largely un-mechanized and made attempted a partial ban of qat, while in 1973 a up of small family holdings historically focused on whole issue of Al-Yemen al-Jedid was devoted to subsistence farming, the archetypal elements of articles criticising qat, for its negative impact on which are the cow, providing field labor and milk, economic development. For many others, how- and sorghum, providing grain for subsistence and ever, qat is an economic blessing, ‘Yemeni oil’, fodder for the cow in an environment where pas- a source of wealth and joy. So what is qat and ture is unavailable. Other grains, largely maize and what is the truth of its economic merit? This barley along with the ubiquitous goat, supplement article discusses the main criticisms of the qat this diet. In addition farmers have traditionally com- Across the Region industry and evaluates its role in Yemen’s eco- plemented this with a modest cash crop, commonly nomic development. Meanwhile, it is necessary cotton, coffee, qat or fruit and vegetables. Nonethe- to explain what qat is and to outline the two ma- less, grain production even after the boom years of jor factors affecting the industry’s development; the 1970s still takes up 90 percent of Yemen’s culti- the traditional agriculture of Yemen and the la- vated land.4 bor migration of the 1970s’ oil boom. Although labor migration from Yemen has a long Qat (catha edulis) is a flowering evergreen shrub history, it was only with the oil boom of the 1970s or small tree, containing the alkaloid cathinone, that it reached proportions which significantly af- a stimulant and euphoric. Authors disagree fected the country’s economy. In 1975, a national upon where and when the cultivation of qat census revealed that 1.23 million Yemenis, or 19 per- originated but what is certain is that qat has cent of its total population, were working abroad.5 been a part of Yemeni culture and agriculture Given that the overwhelming majority adopted a for hundreds of years.1 The fresh leaves of the strategy of minimizing their costs while abroad in qat plant are chewed to derive its effect in one order to maximize the sum brought back, Yemen of two contexts: either to augment working abil- suddenly acquired a massive labor export which ity; qat increases wakefulness and reduces appe- seen as a percentage of all merchandise exports tite; or in the important social phenomenon of from the country in 1978-9 constituted a stagger- the qat party. While qat chewing used to be the ing 7,091 percent.6 In other words, the amount of prerogative of the wealthy elite, in more recent labor remittances obtained by Yemeni labor abroad times it has become a truly ubiquitous activity. was almost 7000 times more than the revenue of all Kennedy estimates that as many as 80 percent of other merchandise exports. The problem, in relation the population may indulge on a regular basis.2 to the economic development of the country, is that the spending patterns of returnees failed to generate Yemen remains a predominately agricultural industries which either reduce dependence upon economy with 90 percent of its population resi- foreign imports or create a sustainable export com- dent inthe countryside and 75 percent of the modity.7 In fact the trend in remittance spending population directly dependent on agriculture took the form of conspicuous consumption through, for employment. Furthermore, FALL 2007 FALL flamboyant housing, 58 The Chronicles imported consumer goods and qat. Additionally, In his research, Kennedy found no empirical evi- labor migration led to a depopulation of rural areas dence to suggest that coffee had been uprooted which in turn has caused wage rises making local in order to plant qat. Indeed there are good rea- produce uncompetitive with imports and causing sons why farmers would not replace coffee with the neglect of terrace maintenance. Finally, the in- qat. First, there is a cultural prestige associated flux of remittances led to inflation which disadvan- with the production of coffee. Second, as pre- taged those who had remained and so necessitated viously mentioned Yemeni farmers are aware more migration. 8 of the advantages of diversification and hence are actively engaged in it.9 Thirdly, although it Having discussed the background to the debate on is often assumed that coffee and qat thrive in qat it is now possible to analyze the main criticisms the same environmental conditions, this is not of the industry. For one, it is often claimed that in- strictly true. An alternative reason for the decline Across the Region creased production of qat is destroying subsistence of coffee production relates to world markets as agriculture. Although it is reasonable to suppose el-Mallakh notes that some experts argue, “that that a farmer would choose to cultivate qat which changes in market conditions and distribution can generate huge cash revenues in preference to patterns have adversely affected coffee cultiva- subsistence crops, historically Yemeni farmers tion in North Yemen.”10 It should also be noted have always chosen to diversify as a defense against that coffee cultivation is highly labor intensive an unpredictable environment and cash crops in- and in an economy of inflating wages its produc- cluding qat have always been components of this tion, for an almost exclusively export market diversification. In the meantime, the Government where overseas competition has increased, has of Yemen and other critics of the qat industry have become less viable. pointed out that production of sorghum and other grains has been in decline since the 1970s and that A third criticism of the qat industry is that it qat production has risen during the same period exacerbates poverty. In 2003, the World Health in an assumption of a consequential relationship Organization estimated that, “up to 50 percent between the two facts. The decline of sorghum, a of household incomes may be allocated to the labor intensive crop, can more reasonably be at- daily qat needs of the household head, who, tributed to the availability of cheaper alternatives on average, wastes 1460 hours annually on qat and the rising cost of local labor, both of which consumption.”11 Kennedy argues that qat us- are the result of labor migration. With the influx ers allocate only as much money as they can of remittances from the OPEC countries, a lively afford on the drug and that its institutionalized import industry has immerged for goods such as use has important social functions such as net- canned milk and cheap grains. In addition, im- workingand community building.12 Even if this provements in infrastructure, enabling animal fod- were uniformly true of all individuals, it would der and firewood to be cheaply andeasily available, effectively eliminate any possibility of the- per have made the cultivation of sorghum and other sonal savings necessary for sustained economic grains unattractive. Conversely, qat has resisted growth. Weir states that statistical comparisons these pressures because it has no cheap imported of expenditure can be misleading as one could competition and requires minimal labor input in choose to buy cheap but nourishing food and its cultivation. So, although grain production has thus compare badly to someone who buys ex- reduced at the same time when qat production has pensive but no more nourishing food; a respon- increased, the decline of grain was not caused by sible individual may invest in qat consumption in the rise of qat. the interests of networking and social mobility.13 These arguments are unpersuasive in mitigating A second criticism of qat is that it has destroyed the negative economic aspects of qat consump- export agriculture, notably coffee. There is an tion in a country whichhas a significant problem agreement on the fact that the replacement of cof- with malnutrition and poverty. In such an envi- fee, which brings in export revenues, by qat, which ronment the expenditure of half the average fam- does not, would be a disaster for the economic de- ily budget on an unproductive recreation seems velopment of Yemen. indefensible and likely to exacerbate poverty. 2007 FALL The Chronicles 59 A further criticism of the use of qat is its im- employment. The problem, however, is that the qat pact on health. Indirect effects of habitual qat industry did not create this wealth; it merely distrib- use are related to malnutrition: a poor diet is uted it making it entirely dependant on continued of course exacerbated by reduction in the food OPEC oil wealth and consequently forcing Yemen budget caused by habitual qat use. The appetite to share the OPEC countries rentier state’s vulner- suppressant quality of the drug will equally ag- abilities. gravate existing malnutrition. Hirdman brings the issue into focus from her experiences as a In conclusion, while some of the allegations as to midwife in Yemen in the 1970s, “the effect of qat the deleterious nature of the qat industry, causing on birth weight has been studied. It was found the demise of subsistence and export agricultures, that healthy full-term singletons, born after un- are unfounded; others, exacerbation of poverty and eventful pregnancies and deliveries, had signifi- health risks, appear to be justified. What seems to cant lower average birth-weight when the moth- be understood, however, is how the qat industry has ers were qat chewers.”14 These considerations acted as a mechanism in minimizing the destruc- aside, there exist a number of health risks, the tive effects of labor migration. In the meantime, Qat validity of which some experts dispute. WHO, consumption can only be seen as a holding action however, is unequivocal, “daily qat use has sig- because the industry does not generate exogenous nificant health implications as it increases the capital and is utterly reliant upon the wealth of the risk of stomach ulcer, colon cancer, intestinal remittance boom for its survival. Even ignoring infections, tumors, high blood pressure, insecti- its other negative characteristics and its tendency cide poisoning and renal implications.”15 to eliminate personal saving, this fact alone can only spell long-term disaster for Yemen by tying it Across the Region In the meantime, some attention should be further into the rentier state vulnerabilities of the given to the qat’s economically positive aspects. OPEC countries and stifling Yemeni economic self- In his study of Yemeni labor migration, Swan- sufficiency. son shows that returnees found few investment opportunities and instead spent their remit- End Notes tances on various forms of socially-orientated consumption, such as qat.16 Rapidly escalating 1 Kennedy. G.K. The flower of Paradise: the Institutionalized Use of the Drug Qat in North Yemen (Boston: D. Reidel Pub. Co., 1987) p. 62. revenues from qat sales were in turn reinvested 2 Ibid. back into agriculture which enabled the main- 3 El Mallakh. R. The Economic Development of the Yemen Arab Republic. tenance of rural populations. In qat growing (London: Croom Helm, 1986) p. 92-120. 4 Ibid. regions, qat revenues enabled the maintenance 5 Swanson. J. C. Emigration and Economic Development: The Case of the Yemen of terraces, improvements in irrigation and the Arab Republic. (Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1989) p.55 building of roads to market the produce quickly. 6 Katouzian. H. “Oil and Economic Development of the Middle East in its World Context” In Georges. S. (ed.), The Modern Economic and Social His- Furthermore, levels of migration in qat growing tory of the Middle East in its World Context. (Cambridge: Cambridge Univer- regions remained lower than other regions and sity Press, 1989) p.59 7 Swanson concludes the dangers of Yemen’s dependence on remittances: qat growers were able to afford to pay the higher “there can be no doubt that this economic boom has had positive conse- wages required to cultivate other more labor in- quences for the standard of living of many Yemenis…however…it has con- tensive crops. Additionally, remittance spending tributed little to the economic development of YAR. To the contrary, Yemen has become little more than a conduit for petro-dollars returning to the West on qat, which is a locally produced commodity, from oil rich nations in other parts of the Peninsula.” (Swanson, 1979: 59) has reduced the spending on imported con- 8 Swanson, p. 21. 9 Weir. S. “Economic Aspects of the Qat Industry in North-West Yemen” sumer goods thus minimizing the flow of capital In Pridham. B. R (ed.), Economy, Society & Culture in Contemporary Yemen. out of the country. The qat industry hence has (London: Croom Helm and Centre for Arab Gulf Studies, 1985b) p. 74. significantly minimized two of the typical nega- 10 El Mallakh, p. 100. 11 W.H.O Country Cooperation Srategy for WHO and Yemen. (Cairo: Re- tiveeffects of labor migration, namely rural-ur- gional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean, 2003) p. 11 ban drift with its concomitant abandonment of 12 Kennedy, p. 67-70. 13 Weir, p. 101-108. agriculture and the loss of newly acquired capital 14 Hirdman. V. “Qat – Harmless Social Drug or an Economic and Social on imported consumer goods. The qat industry Saboteur?” In Bengt. K. Viking. M. Magnus .P. (eds), Yemen – Present and has served to redistribute newfound remittance Past (Lund: Lund University Press, 1994) p. 53. 15 W.H.O, p. 4. FALL 2007 FALL wealth and preserve agriculture and rural 16 Swanson. 60 The Chronicles More than Just Zeal Hizbullah as a Resource Distributor in Shiite Areas in Lebanon Across the Region Ah m e d Di a a Da r d i r Po s t -Gr a d u a t e St u d e n t i n Po l i t i c a l Th e o r y , t h e Am e r i c a n Un i v e r s i t y o f Be i r u t feature that is hard to ignore when one is al-Biqaa Valley and south Lebanon, distal both observing the Lebanese political scene is in terms of geography (far from the capital) or in the relative independence of certain lo- terms of political deliberations and planning in Acal groups that are sometimes lamented as a “state a new-born state.3 Furthermore, the economy of within the state”. The most cited example, and these villages depended in part on trade with the perhaps the most successful in creating its inde- Syrian hinterland, from which they were separat- pendent power sphere, is Hizbullah. Hizbullah is ed through borders when the Lebanese state was generally accused of escaping the authority of the created.4 This rural poverty was translated into state and creating its own power zone in Beirut’s urban poverty when large groups of the Shiite southern suburb, usually referred to as al-dahye or population migrated to Beirut’s southern suburb “the Suburb” and in loyal villages in south Leba- either in search for jobs in the capital or fleeing non. Supporters of the party make the argument Israeli aggressions on their villages in the South that this autonomy is necessary for maintaining the and Western-Biqaa. Eventually al-dahye became resistance against Israel in the South and protect- synonymous with Shiite, urban poverty, lack of ing the Lebanese territories especially in the criti- planning, and bad services. cal border area. However, a factor usually slipping from this debate is that Hizbullah is able to achieve With the exception of the era of President Fouad this autonomy because it has been playing a role Shihab5, the Lebanese state has failed to pro- that the Lebanese state has failed to fulfill ever vide any substantial planning program for the since its creation and that is resource distribution development of Shiite areas. Accordingly, the in impoverished Shiite areas. first Shiite political organization had the name The Shiites of Lebanon have had a historic feeling of “The Movement of the Deprived” (Haraket al- of being neglected, and were and still are accused Mahrumeen), later to be known as Amal. of not identifying with the Lebanese entity, which is a reflection of the historic marginalization of this However, even Amal failed to provide for the group by the central government. In fact, Lebanon impoverished Shiite areas. With the unfolding of as a contract was a mutual-concession between the the various episodes of the 1975 Civil War, Amal Sunnis (representing Muslims) and the Maronites proved itself to be a typical militia, interested in (representing Christians)1, leaving other groups consolidating its “horrific” picture and in provid- with a feeling of being left out.2 ing for itself –even through forcefully collecting tolls- rather than working on the development of For the Shiites precisely, this feeling was augment- the areas it commands6. However, the situation ed by chronic poverty that the state was able to do has changed with the rise of another Shiite com- very little about. Traditionally the large mass of the petitor, Hizbullah and with Hizbullah overtaking Shiite sect belonged to distal agricultural areas in most of the Shiite areas from Amal. 7 2007 FALL The Chronicles 61 With important connections reaching until the replacement of the state was when it promised to re- government of Iran and an Islamic modeled build the destroyed areas after the Israeli invasion in welfare network, Hizbullah managed to con- July 2006. Both the state and Hizbullah gave prom- struct its own image as the state’s replacement in ises to rebuild and both have failed to fully rehabili- providing social welfare and services in its zones tate the destroyed areas so far, although Hizbullah of control. Hizbullah successfully took up state started working on the rebuilding before the state. functions to rescue missions8 and water distri- The discourse between the state and Hizbullah is on bution9. Eventually it created its own service who is responsible for rebuilding these areas. While institutions that replaced and competed with the state officially says it would, government-loyalist those of the state.10 According to Elizabeth media accuse Hizbullah of failing to fulfill its prom- Picard, “Hizbullah owed the rapid growth of its ises. Hizbullah, on the other hand, never went back legitimacy within Shiite areas to the expansion on its promise to rebuild, but its affiliated media still of its charitable, medical, and educational activi- accuse the state of not doing its job. While no official ties…To solidify its popular appeal, Hizbullah sources exist to show to what extent Hizbullah is suc- established local branches of numerous Iranian cessful in rebuilding and to what extent the state is; foundations created during the Iran-Iraq War casual observa- to provide aid to various groups of the injured tion suggests (orphans and wounded) and for reconstruc- that Hizbul- tion, or for the support of social services such lah rebuilt the as the Imam al-Uzma hospital and many profes- Suburb with sional schools founded after 1987 in deprived great success, Across the Region areas such as al-Beqaa and Beirut’s southern and was less suburbs.”11 successful in certain South- Making use of the state’s “absence”, and the ern villages, state’s failure to play its role as a resource dis- while the state tributor, Hizbullah managed to stress itself as a lags behind. local power in the Suburb and southern villages This however sometimes replacing the state and other times is to be taken forcefully carving out services from the state. with caution Lina Attalah For example, it is no secret that no one in the since it is not supported by systematic research. southern suburb pays the government for elec- The same goes for compensation schemes. It is re- tricity, which is one of the many features people markable that Hizbullah Secretary General Has- like to use when they want to illustrate how the sanNasrallah dedicated a significant part of the first Suburb escapes state authority. From one side speech he made right after the war to compensation using the state’s electricity without paying is one schemes, specifying what amounts would be paid in feature of escaping state authority, but it is also each case. Again no solid sources exist on the matter, a demonstration of how the political power of but the word going on in Lebanon have it that Hiz- Hizbullah forcefully got from the government bullah paid compensations, giving higher amounts a (free) service to the inhabitants of the area.12 to its supporters, and that the state also lags behind. This reflects the role of Hizbullah as a resource In all cases, regardless of what the truth is, the fact distributor and the power it exerts on the state. that Hizbullah appears in the discourse on a par level In fact, it could be argued that the resource dis- with the state, in a state function, shows how much it tribution role played by Hizbullah acted as an has secured for itself the role of the state replacement economic sub-structure for its power vis-à-vis in resource distribution and post-war restoration. the state. In a clientele system like Lebanon, this dynamic The most prominent development in Hizbul- relation with the populace can surely translate into FALL 2007 FALL lah’s political allegiance. 62 The Chronicles On a parallel stream, Sunnis pay allegiance to al- 2 See Ussama Makdisi, “Reconstructing the Nation-State: Harriry family after the late ex-Prime Minister and The Modernity of Sectarianism in Lebanon” Middle East Report (Jul-Sep 1996), 25 and Nazih Richani, Dilemmas MP Rafiq al-Harriry provided for the rise of a Sunni of Democracy and Political parties in Sectarian Societies: The bourgeoisie and a Sunni upper middle class with a Case of the Progressive Socialist Party in Lebanon 1949-1996. limited trickle down to Sunni lower classes. Al-Har- (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1998), 77. riri’s also set a charity program whose beneficiaries 3 There is no record of deliberations among Shiite notables were not only Sunnis, hence creating a large base similar to the one that took place among the Sunni sect pri- or to the creation of Lebanon, perhaps because the Shiites of support from Sunni communities. In Zgharta, were not organized as a sect until the 1970s. a village northern Lebanon, the masses’ support 4 This explains why those villagers were opposed to “Great- goes to Sulayman Franjeyyeh who has acted as a er Lebanon” when it was created and preferred a unity with main service provider. Hizbullah is no exception in Syria. A devout Marxian analysis might also use this to ex- plain why Shiite political groups in Lebanon are friendly to Across the Region that regards. The main difference perhaps, is that Syria. other “service providers” and “resource distribu- 5 See Hanf, Theodor. Coexistence in Wartime Lebanon. tors” lack the ideological zeal of Hizbullah and (London: The Center of Lebanese Studies, 1993) p. 99, that the groups supporting other service distribu- 102-107 tors do not share with the Shiites their heritage of 6 Makdisi 7 On the difference between Amal’s intimidating practices self-perception of being marginalized; for example, and Hizbullah’s welfare practices, see ibid and Judith Palm- an impoverished group of Sunnis living around er Harik, “Between Islam and the System: Source and Im- Tripoli are supporters of al- Harriry, but we do not plications of Popular Support for Lebanon’s Hizbullah,” The speak of an overall impoverished Sunni supporters Journal of Conflict Resolution, 40.1,1996. p. 51. 8 According to Elizabeth Picard, Hizbullah was responsible of al-Harriry because the Sunnis as a group do not for a rescue mission when people where trapped in a snow have the “disinherited” color of the Shiite sect, and storm. Picard, Elizabeth “The Political Economy of War in therefore as a group do not perceive themselves Lebanon” War, Institutions, and Social Change in the Mid- as a marginalized group, unlike the Shiites. Fur- dle East ed. Steven Heydemann (Berkeley: University of thermore, various geo-political, demographic, and California Press, 2000), available at The Chronicles 63 Glimpses of Life Interview with Adel Gazarin on his Interest in Business not as Usual Photography s one steps into Dr. Adel Gazarin’s office, two cer- tificates hung on the wall reveal his career as a man who has been extensively involved in Egypt’s post- A1952 industrial experience. The two documents are cer- tificates of recognition by former Presidents Gamal Abdul Nasser and Anwar al-Saddat. Dr. Gazarin talked to us at length about his experience as the CEO of al-Nasr Compa- ny for Automobiles and as the president of the Federation of Egyptian Industries in previous years as one of the first interviewees of the centre. However, in this interview we tackle other aspects of his life away from factory floors and board rooms and specifically his passion for photography, a hobby which he has cultivated over the years. FALL 2007 FALL 64 The Chronicles The Chronicles: How did your interest in pho- through words that would be closer to poetic sen- tography unfold? tences. So I made a book and called it “Journey Dr. Adel Gazarin: I got interested in photography of Life”, which departs from sunrise to sunset. when I was doing my Ph. D in Zurich. The city has beautiful scenes; so I started taking pictures. What made you use photography as a means of While there, I discovered that Agfa – manufacturer self-expression back when you were studying in of cameras and films- was offering to buy pictures Zurich? from amateurs, so I decided to send my work. I was When I was younger I used to draw and paint. In surprised when they bought two pictures. They Zurich, studying took all my time and my major paid me CHF 100 per photo, which was a big sum of studies was very hard. Photography took little at the time especially that I was a student on a low time. I could carry my camera around and when- Business not as Usual budget. I started getting attached to photography ever I’d see interesting scenery, I’d take a picture and continued taking pictures in Switzerland. Back of it. I had the talent and I started developing it. in Egypt, I joined the Camera Club of Alexandria, participated in some exhibitions and took prizes. You seem to be more delved into natural land- I organized my first solo exhibition in al-Jazeera scapes rather than portraits for example, is that Club, which was both a success and a source of en- the case? couragement. My main subject of interest is nature: greenery, flowers, sea - I love the sea since I was born in How did you find the time to pursue your hobby Alexandria. I use both close-ups and long shots. when you started working in al-Nasr? I lately started to establish a connection between I got very busy with Egypt’s industrialization men and nature. First, I used to take pictures of project and I stopped taking pictures for 15 years. natural sceneries alone. Now I started including Photography was still in my blood but I did not Men. This made much more sense; the interac- have time. However, I got back later to photogra- tion between men and nature. phy. In al-Nasr Co., I encouraged workers to take pictures and I organized exhibitions for them. I You mentioned that first, during your work in was happy I could raise interest in photography industrialization, you didn’t have time to take amid the workers and employees. I decided to pictures. Is it partly due to the fact that you form Egypt’s Salon for Photography. We were 12 weren’t surrounded by a visually stimulating members at the beginning and we later increased environment? to 30. We’ve held exhibitions, panels and we took For one, I was very busy. We were founding a lot of pictures. Later, some of us split and formed a company from scratch. We were building a al-Ruwwad Group for Photography. Pioneers in brand new factory in the desert. I used to work the field of photography in Egypt joined us. I, then, until 2:00 a.m. I had no time. At that time, the started a group of photography in al-Sayd Club general environment and the political atmos- (shooting club), as I wanted to spread the hobby phere were not encouraging for art. Perhaps that among young people. The group started with six is the reason why I got far from photography for people and today has more than 120 members. We 15 years, without sensing it. The one thing I am organized sessions where professionals came to happy with is that I managed to spread photogra- talk to the youth about the art of photography and phy as an art amid the workers and the youth. we also took them in field trips where they can take pictures. How was the workers’ responsiveness to your call to engage them in photography? How did the idea of your photography book come It was astonishing to see how many of them had a to life? talent and taste for art. They welcomed the idea. My idea was to put together my love for photogra- At the beginning, only a small number started phy and an inside will to express myself and they were joined later by many others. FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 65 We started an association for arts in general and What other activities have you associated with your we held exhibitions for paintings and photogra- interest in photography besides raising interest in it phy. It took us a lot of time to be accepted by among different groups of people? the Syndicate of Artists as members because the I used photography for charity. I give my pictures to syndicate didn’t consider photography an art for hospitals. Pictures in hospitals can raise the morale many years. But this has changed. Now it’s been of patients. I went once to an orphanage and found 10 years that photographers are admitted in the no picture hanged there. This is when I decided to syndicate as members. give them some of our photography work. Pictures create a lighter atmosphere in those environments. Is there a relationship between your career as a businessman and a captain of industry and What do you think of our photographic heritage in your strong interest in photography? Egypt? Working in the industrial sector is a tough job. I am happy that photography is growing up rapidly in You need to relax. You must find a hobby that re- Egypt. Many of our photographers are internation- laxes you and renew your energy. Also, in the in- ally acclaimed today. In an exhibit in Japan, the first dustry, there is a lot of attention to beauty. Look prize went to an Egyptian. The internet has facilitat- at the car industry. You want the car to look ed outreach and interaction and has encouraged the beautiful at the end of the process. The same youth to delve more into photography. Photogra- is applicable to all other machinery. There’s a phy has established its grounds today in Egypt. The strong connection between beauty and indus- ministry of culture has just organized an important try. Now there are design offices all around the exhibit which will take place once every two years. world, which visualize the designs of machines The ministry is also inclined toward making the next and cars. This is very important. exhibit a comprehensive venue for all visual arts in- Business not as Usual cluding sculpture, painting and photography. FALL 2007 FALL 66 The Chronicles Visual Alternatives Business not as Usual The Rise of Independent Cinema in Egypt Mu h a m m a d Ab d u l Ga w a d Undergraduate St u d e n t i n Me d i c i n e , Ai n Sh a m s Un i v e r s i t y n a downtown garage turned theatre, a group of young Egyptian artists launched Cairo’s first independent film festival in December 2006. The festival attracted a huge base of audience beside regular Ifans of alternative art in Cairo. One cannot tell if this rich attendance was due to an authentic gesture of choosing a location that spells un- derground cinema, or it was the choice to hold the festival during the same period with the Cairo International Film Festival. The festival also attracted sound media attention, from magazines to blogs to sat- ellite channels. Not surprisingly, the festival got highly acclaimed by supportive critical voices. The critics, who are mostly unhappy with Egypt’s current film scene, saw the festival as an important step to- wards developing a sort of cinema that is breaking free from what they think is one of the main reasons behind the disappointing decline in the film industry in Egypt, namely the huge production entities.1 FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 67 Since its golden era in the 1940s, Egyptian film young people are most likely to have money and production was ranked second after Hollywood time to spare on movie theatres. This tendency re- at the time as it was driven by an impulse of na- defined the cinematic year in Egypt into three main tional capitalism manifest in funding by Banque seasons, the two Islamic feasts and holidays (Eid al- Misr as well as other sources of funding. This era Fitr and Eid al-Adha) and the summer school vaca- experienced some balance between commercial tion. The product was manifest in film profits that and artistic traits and outcome even throughout the Egyptian cinema hasn’t seen before, to the point its rises and falls. The year 1997 put an end to where the industry attracted financial capitals from the heydays when a totally random film, with a outside the cinematic field. The new venture sub- full-new-young-actors cast, topped the box of- sequently resulted in mergers between production fice charts with a record never seen before in companies which led to the consolidation of two Egyptian cinema. The massive shifts in all as- main conglomerates as the main controllers of the pects of cinema following this film marked the industry. Control by those conglomerates was fur- emergence of a new wave that was known by ther stretched by the fact that they are partners with critics as the Youth or the Clean Cinema.2 The distributors and they own major movie theatres.3 wave could be considered as conforming to a prevalent political agenda since the 1980s and This form of consumerist cinema that depends on which consistently trivializes politics or pub- recycling money-making formulas and redundantly lic affairs at large and subdues activism. In the using the same filmmakers who fit the producers’ -ra Youth Cinema, a plot revolves around a come- tionale resulted in the alienation of a large number of dian actor with a simple theme that is denuded professional filmmakers whose mentality and work from any sensitive issue like sex and politics, won’t necessarily fall into the overriding commercial sometimes leading to a series of vaguely con- scheme. The patterns of the new wave which have Business not as Usual nected comic sketches. While following this been repetitively reproduced over the past decade pattern, most of these films, described by most have also been conductive to a drastic decline in ar- critics as delusional, would manage to squeeze a tistic standards and taste and the rise of new genera- patriotic scene near the end of the film, regard- tions of apathetic audiences with distorted visions less of the dramatic sequence, in an attempt to to the art of cinema. Those conditions can equally give some fake depth to superficial themes and be held as the thrust to the emergence of independ- plagiarized ideas. ent cinema. The notion of independent cinema is often a matter of debate, since some critics refuse the classic associ- ation of independent visions with low (or no)-budg- et filmmaking. One of those critics’ references is the less commercially-driven films produced on normal budgets. Whether or not independent films are pro- duced using low budgets, since their wave started in the United States in the 1970s, they were engaged in intimately reflecting societies and presenting alter- native somewhat rebel visions. They tackled issues Courtesy Ibrahim el-Batout classified as taboos by the mainstream cinema and were almost always carried out by young passionate The name Youth Cinema didn’t only refer to the directors. 4 young actors this wave presented but also the vast majority of its audience. Pictures, which In Egypt, it is not clear how independent cinema main driving force is the production entity, were started. Sometimes it is traced back to the experi- planned to be released at times when Egyptian ences of Egypt’s established directors like Yousri FALL 2007 FALL Nasrallah, Dawoud Abdul Sayyid, Khayri Bishara, 68 The Chronicles Radwan al-Kashef and Osama Fawzy, whose ideo- disheartened about the situation of cinema at logical inclinations are not quite in line with pro- home co-founded SEMAT, which initials in Ara- duction firms which prefer to deal with more flex- bic refer to Independent Filmmakers for Produc- ible directors who are prone to revisit their ideas tion and Distribution. Supported by the Ford to make commercial ends more achievable.5 The Foundation and the European Commission, the proponents of the independent wave in Egypt ini- organization provides production opportunities tiated alternative cinematic elements such as the for independent filmmakers and more impor- use of digital cameras and non-linear editing. Dig- tantly coordinates with different cinema insti- ital feature experiences like Nasrallah’s al-Madina tutes to develop training workshops for young (The City) and Muhammad Khan’s Klephty start- people interested in filmmaking. SEMAT is one ed shaping a concept around how a picture can be of a few organizations conducting this type of Business not as Usual created around vision, regardless of the amount activities. Al-Mawred al-Thaqafy, the French of financial allocations. “Nowadays, cameras that Cultural Center, The Jesuit Cultural Center and deliver broadcast quality are considerably more Goethe Institute, are all non-profit organizations affordable than they used to be, and the footage that offer support and funds for film production. can be edited digitally on a computer. Although it Some of these organizations may have their own still is a difficult field to break into, it is now rela- agendas. According to a filmmaker who pre- tively cheap to make a film, if you are resourceful. ferred to remain anonymous, her application for In a way, the option of shooting films on a digital a grant to make a film was met with an advice to camera frees up the filmmaker, allowing him or her add “a female abuse in Egypt dimension” to her to place more emphasis on the actual content of idea, so that she can maximize her chances to get the film,” says Karim Fanous, director of ‘Ala Fein support. (Where To?), a short film that was screened at the Slamdance Film Festival and the Rotterdam Inter- In the meantime, one of the most popular indie national Film Festival in 2006. films in Egypt was done, before these -institu tional grants were provided, by a total cast of am- In opposition to the rising cost of the traditional ateurs; a group of college friends. Rigal La Ta’rif 35 mm-film tape that consumes a major bulk of the al-Mustahil is a 70-minute parody of Egyptian intelligence operations’ portrayal in the Egyp- average film budget, digital cameras like any other tian cinema and television shows. With no copy- technological device, have new advanced models right limitations and an abundantly satirical tone released every year causing price reduction of the that reached out from the Israelis to the Egyp- older models. The reselling of used cameras has tian president, the film spread frantically among resulted in a constant flow of affordable cameras. computer users around the time it was released. Progressive new visual technology and equipment like high definition cameras and cinematic effects The freedom of the indie wave in going places software have been bridging the gap between the no one have been to before is best manifest in color and overall quality of traditional and digital Central (Call Center). Seated behind a counter products. Such technological progress has attract- all day switching phone calls in a public phone ed even Hollywood-established directors to ex- center in her neighborhood, the heroine of the periment digital filmmaking, like Michael Mann’s film starts spying on her neighbors’ phone calls Collateral and Miami Vice, Bryan Singer’s Super- in order to kill time. She discovers the infidel- man Returns as well as David Fincher’s Zodiac that ity, corruption and sexual frustration concealed premiered and enrolled into the 2007 Cannes film under fabricated outer shells. Muhammad Ham- festival’s main competition.6 Yet, these individual mad, the director, script writer and producer of attempts could not develop into a fully-fledged Central spares no effort to beautify the reality. movement without the essential presence of new The result is a 17-minute picture that was not alternative production entities to support it. allowed to be screened in some cultural centers because of its revealing content and the vulgarity In October 2001,six Egyptian filmmakers who got of its language. 2007 FALL The Chronicles 69 Central was chosen to be the opening of Cairo’s “What independent cinema lacks now is the proper first independent film festival. Muhammad Ab- distribution and national exposure. Once this is ful- dul Fattah, head of the festival, believes that the filled, there will be the main confrontation with the meaning of an independent wave stems from the system manifest in censorship committees and the acceptance of different visions. “Eighty percent commercial tycoons. The result of such confronta- of independent films truly express societal is- tion will determine the wave’s destiny. Either it will sues, while 10 percent of the mainstream cinema keep its artistic freedom and integrate with the main does. People are just used to the mainstream,” he production system like everywhere else in devel- says. oped countries or it will be severely suppressed and crushed.” Another characteristic of Indie cinema is the variety of genres; from personal experimental With names that appear on every cinema buff’s favorite ventures such as Ana ‘Ayiz Amawit al-Hussan (I lists like Pulp Fiction, Memento, Le Fabuleux Destin Want to Kill the Jackass) and Had Haqiqi (Real d’Amélie Poulain, Good Will Hunting, Little Miss One) to films that adopt more complex societal Sunshine, Pi, Reservoir Dogs, Caché, Lost in Trans- issues, such as Central (Call Center), al-Banat lation, Lola Rennt, Fahrenheit 911 and The Dream- Dool (Those Girls), al-Geneh al-Khamis (The ers7, independent cinema always creates a buzz by Fifth Pound) and Bayt min Lehem (A House shocking viewers, gaining a worldwide fan base, while Made of Flesh) and from light, simple films like constantly reviving art, which indicates how promis- Kaako, to films with deeper poses like Ithaki and ing this new wave can be for the Egyptian cinema. Raqam Qawmi (National ID). Another genre that is not very far from mainstream produc- tions also figures on the list. According to Abdul Business not as Usual Fattah, it explains how “independent cinema is the only outlet for young filmmakers who can- End Notes not find their way into commercial cinema. This 1 Abdul Aziz, Muhammad. “Ishte’al al-Harb Bayna Sharikat al- group of filmmakers thinks of indie as a transi- Intaj al-Cinema’eya al-Misreyya” Elaph. 2 July 2007. “Like any form of alternative existence in Egypt, independent cinema suffers from centralization,” says film critic Issam Zakaria, who believes that amid a regime that constantly applies censorship and is known to react unwisely to opposition, the indie wave is bound to clash with the system at some point. FALL 2007 FALL 70 The Chronicles Spontaneous Art from the Deep South: Documenting Traditions Through Colors Business not as Usual Hassan al-Sharq’s Struggle to Let his Art Speak Li n a At t a l a h p r o j e c t o f f i c e r , EBHRC process, namely regular ince its naissance, the non public policy makers, Economic and Busi- People on the street in jour- ness History Research S nalistic jargon, or simply Centre has been active in the populace at large! In identifying key decision fact, some historians who makers of public policy and promote the use of oral his- approaching them to col- tory have been active in lect their oral narratives as a specifically raising aware- means to account for an al- ness about “popular his- ternative history of Egypt, tory”. For them, the impor- alternative to the classic tance of popular history lies narrative. In the meantime, in the fact that traditional the founding team always history has been written thought that this alternative though the perspective of history can also be told by the elites and barely took people who were influenced any account of others who by the decision-making were also part of its making 2007 FALL The Chronicles 71 In this spirit, we started looking for stories on She recounted to him such legends as Hassan wa the margins of the traditional centers of events. Na’ima and Sitt al-Husn. “I experienced fear, love In a village situated some 11 kms to the east of and joy by listening to those stories,” he remembers. the Upper Egyptian governorate of Minya, we “I used to go to school with my grandmother’s sto- located one such story. In the heart of grave- ries in mind, and started filling the board with draw- yards and monumental remnants dating back ings before the schoolteacher would come in.” On to the Pharaonic era, and amid basic rural hous- his way back home, he would collect papers used ing scattered around cultivated lands, peacefully by his father to wrap meat and draw on it. “I began stands a small house of art. It is the place where drawing on newspapers and cement paper used to Hassan al-Sharq spends most of his time paint- wrap meat. After drawing, I would put the paper on ing, or to use his words, “documenting the vil- the window and imagine it is a frame. Later, I learnt lage through art.” We decided to follow his story that they call this ‘intuition’.” At the same time, he and read in it a myriad of meanings; urban-rural developed a special relation with radio, which was relations, the politics of arts in Egypt, rules of another magical source of inspiration, a re-teller of access, opportunities and recognition-gaining the popular heritage recounted to him by his grand- mechanisms. mother. Every Friday, after the prayer, Zakaria al- Hijawy, a popular story teller, used to recount on the Hassan al-Sharq was born in 1949 in Zawyit al- radio a popular epic. This is how he heard the epics Sultan village, 240 kms away from Cairo. He was of Adib al-Maddah and Adham al-Sharqawy. Short- the oldest of six brothers; al-Sharq says that the ly after, he located another source of story telling place was far from catering for a nascent artist, in the village whom he pursued. Haj Muhammad, especially with his father being the neighbor- was the poet of the rababa (an old string instrument hood butcher. And yet, he spoke of the “genius known as Arab fiddle, which would accompany the Business not as Usual of the place”, by saying, “I am very proud to be poet during his recitation) who used to tour the vil- born here.” For him, the genius of the place is lage on his horse with his wife. At every doorstep at spelt out in the 100,000 feddans of domes, ex- which he would stop, he would tell about the status tended in the heart of the mountains, from of the family living inside based upon the shape of five different historic eras, as well as in the Nile the outside decoration. Accordingly, he would sing River embraced by those mountains, a scenery a relevant traditional song. If the family is awaiting a not so far from the values of the village; the at- wedding, he would sing wedding songs. If the fam- tachment, the intimacy, the close involvement ily has lost a dear friend or relative, he would mourn him or her. Al-Sharq used to take his papers and in one and another’s life. colors and follow him. He drew and painted endless sketches and continued to search for a place where he could store them. Besides inheriting countless stories from his grand- mother, he also inherited her old case, a traditional post-marriage property in Egypt where the woman would put all her cosmetic belongings. “The case became a very important symbol in my art. It was a source of memory, and of documentation. And so was its key,” he says. In fact, soon the case became home to his numerous early sketches, which were Lina Attalah witnesses to the naissance of an artist. Al-Sharq rediscovered his environment through his grandmother’s story telling, an amalgama- His family and surrounding villagers used to call him tion of the village’s collective memory and and al-mamsus, a local word for a person who has been imagery of popular heritage. FALL 2007 FALL cursed by an evil spirit or a djin. “I spent a lot of 72 The Chronicles time on my own or with my grandmother’s case. Religious manifestations were a rich pool of The whole village thought I am abnormal. After symbolism reproduced in al-Sharq’s art, from in- all, it was a good reputation,” he laughs, referring to timate circles of remembrances at Sufi tariqas to one of the first impressions of distinction he gave festive mulids celebrating the birth of prophets. to himself. “Sometimes I like to think of myself as the histo- rian of Upper Egypt,” he says. By the age of 17, al-Sharq developed a desire to experience cultural spaces. He was told that there However, until 1984, al-Sharq remained operat- is a government-set art palace on the other bank ing in closed circles that would not reach out to of the Nile. “In the past there was no connection Cairo, a metropolis where a point of passage tra- between us and the other bank, except from a boat ditionally has to occur in order to regain recog- Business not as Usual that would roam across the Nile for three and a half nition at least at a national level. A German lady hours. Now I can go to Cairo in three and a half was in the process of identifying artists express- hours. The arrangement was difficult, but I did it.” ing local landscape and vernacular culture in In fact, the encounters he made there not only made their work and managed to find al-Sharq. At that him learn about basic art techniques, but also made time, he did not have an atelier yet, so he showed him appreciate his early wit and his adaptability her his grandmother’s case, from which he drew manifested in sharpening pencils with knives and his many paintings. The lady, who later became making straight lines using bars of wood. “There I his passport to international recognition, was learnt how art is such a big horizon that only starts looking for artists who did not necessarily study with cutters, rulers and paper.” arts or who were kept on the sidelines by the rules of marginalization. “She started exhibiting Al-Sharq’s early colors also have an interesting ori- our work abroad with or without our presence. gin, perhaps one more link to the brave village. His Her house, located in a German suburb, became stationary shop was the herbalist, whose collection a museum for Egyptian spontaneous artists who of local spices and powders filled al-Sharq’s palette. fought in order for their art to reach out. Her He utilized the blue powder used by village women house also became our big house,” he remem- to whiten the jalabiyye of their husbands to paint bers. The lady agreed with him to set two yearly with blue, while he used saffron for yellow, arksos exhibitions for his work, one in Cairo and the for brown, barley for white and tift, a local spice other in Europe. This presented his early oppor- added to salad for red. “My skin tone is the color tunity to simultaneously bring his art to Cairo of the land; it is the color of my people,” he says and beyond. But it also registered for him the alluding to how smooth was the process of paint- consistent lack of care from the official Egyptian ing, given how well-placed it was in his village life. art community towards self-taught artists who “I used simple things, driven from our natural en- were rather promoted by foreigners attracted to vironment, and they were the best registers docu- local arts. menting the life of the Egyptian village.” In fact, al-Sharq is quite disheartened at what After the Palace of Arts exhibited his early works, he Egypt has given him. The Syndicate of Artists became confident that the village register, his main would not accept his membership at the be- source of inspiration, is the right way to go. He went ginning, for he had studied arts independently, on fetching for vernacular symbols that spoke for without enrolling in official art schools. 18 years the popular traditional culture of Zawyit al-Sultan later, after he has built some international recog- or the Egyptian village at large. The horse’s neck, nition and after having organized five exhibitions the palm, the moustache, the fish and the eyes, the abroad, they accepted his membership. He la- gazelle and the rabbit, the cotton-made doll and the mented about how little support he got from the hand became recurrent themes in his artwork. They ministry of culture in his travels and exhibitions. all lend themselves to traditions celebrating virility, Moreover, he applied twice for the scholarship reproduction and keeping the evil spirits away. offered by the state to local artists, whereby the 2007 FALL The Chronicles 73 artist gets a monthly salary and turns in three to village. Nowadays, he has built a small art center, bit four pieces a year. In both cases, his application by bit, borrowing Hassan Fathi’s architectural style was denied. “There is politics in art. There are and respecting the modesty of the environment that connections in art and there is marginalization has given him so much. He hasn’t stopped his end- in art,” says Al-Sharq who likes to think that the less tours in the capital or elsewhere to constantly fact that he was a distant fellah (peasant), too far let his artwork speak out, although for the sake of from Cairo, stood against him at the jury. rest, he would remain in Zawyit al-Sultan. “I surprise myself a lot. Here, it is as if I live in the 18th century, His relationship with Cairo is less than perfect. amid my people and in my land. All of a sudden, I “I feel the city is like a painted doll. I don’t think find myself in Cairo amid sumptuous hotels. Then it likes me either,” he says, smilingly. At the be- also suddenly, I go to Europe and have to deal with ginning, he visited Cairo to attend the mulids of strenuous technology. I have to deal with time and Sayyida Zaynab and Sayyida Aisha. It remained place endlessly and tirelessly.” a distant city for him until, “in 1984, the Ger- man lady introduced me to another face of Cai- ro. She introduced me to the city’s monuments and historic landmarks. I saw Cairo in her eyes.” In the meantime, Cairo remained an inevitable station to prove his presence and struggle with marginalization. “When I go to Cairo, I don’t sleep at night. I tour exhibition halls and make connections. Most of the time it is through my connections with foreigners that know the Business not as usual way out there.” He adds, “I imposed myself. If I didn’t, I would have died 100 years ago.” Just as the foreign connections represented a passport of recognition to him, al-Sharq was also conscious that the spontaneity of his ex- pression is what gave him credit. He extended this spontaneity to his attire. Nowadays, he never lets go of his jalabiyye wherever he goes, while he also carries with him a genuine Upper Egyptian twist on spoken Arabic. In the West, this attitude gained him the title of “the surviv- ing pharaoh” or “the pharaoh who escaped from history.” In Cairo, he remains the genuine fellah. “Sometimes, I feel sorry when I get into an exhi- bition hall in Egypt and I find myself in France instead. I appreciate cotemporary art, but how does it speak to the regular man? Who is sup- posed to understand it? Those are ivory towers,” he says, in a clear criticism of an on-going wave to treat contemporary avant-garde art as pre- cious art at the expense of trivializing authentic and spontaneous expressions. After having toured the world with his work, he Lina Attalah FALL 2007 FALL never questioned his decision to remain in his 74 The Chronicles The Economic Participation of Women in Egypt In The Pipeline Evidence From a Segmented Labor Market1 Ro b e r t o Pi t e a BA i n In t e r n a t i o n a l Ec o n o m i c s a n d De v e l o p m e n t , Bo c c o n i Un i v e r s i t y , Mi l a n he position of women in Islamic societies and in the Arab world in particu- lar, features prominently in the current debate on the clash of civilizations. Yet, very little of this debate focuses on the mechanisms and social institu- Ttions in place in the Arab world that are not contemplated in Islam per se. The cur- rent mystification of Islam as an ossified religion seems to overshadow all other considerations, since the oppression of women is seen as a natural corollary of any Muslim society. While it can be true that Islam does not explicitly promote the so- cio-economic empowerment of women, the same could be said of Christianity and Judaism. Moreover, the experiences of women in Islamic societies span from Euro- pean contexts such as Bosnia, to Sub-Saharan African countries like Nigeria, Middle Eastern and Asian societies including Dubai and Singapore. Bundling all these expe- riences and over-focusing the debate on Islam does not enhance our understanding of the position of women in these societies, and so we should resist this temptation and dedicate our attention to the underlying social and economic factors specific to Arab culture. At the same time, one cannot neglect the fact that the contribution of women empowerment to the development of society has recently entered the main- stream of economic development theory. Many studies have underlined the posi- tive feedback mechanisms in place, whereby increasing freedoms of women result in faster socio-economic development, which in turn improves the position of women.2 FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 75 The economic participation of women in Egypt is very low. Even using an extended definition of labor participation to include all persons en- gaged in primary activities such as subsistence farming, the labor force participation stands at 46 percent.3 While women represented only 21.8 percent of the total labor force in 2002, they were four times more likely to be unemployed than men.4 The unemployment trend over 10 years shows that women exhibit remarkably higher unemployment levels, but also a more volatile participation, which seems to indicate Graph 2 investigates the relationship between GDP that they act as a buffer in case of economic re- per capita (indexed at GDP US =1) and labor force cession, entering and exiting the labor market participation. The striking fact is that Arab countries according to the conditions of the economy. constantly under-perform according to the trend, and Egypt is between the most noticeable outliers. Male Such results seem to indicate that there must be Graph 1: Unemployment rates (1991-2002) Female Total something specific to Arab countries that underpins 30,00% their performance in terms of labor participation 25,00% In The Pipeline 20,00% 15,00% In this study, we will look at the economic contribu- 10,00% tion of Egyptian women and how this is mediated by 5,00% legal and social institutions such as legislation, fam- 0,00% 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 ily values, expectations and gender roles and how Source: Author's elaboration from De Gobbi, Nesporova (2005) those come together in the overarching economic structure of society. In particular we will draw a link Compared to other Arab Countries, the rate of between the structure of the Egyptian economy and female labor participation in Egypt is still low. its implication for the distribution of resources in The theory of the U-shaped female labor force the labor market and within the family. An analysis participation predicts that in societies at very of the question of economic participation of women low levels of development women are forced that overlooks these structures risks being gender- into activities such as farming or working in blind rather than gender-neutral and policy recom- family businesses, thus exhibiting high rates of mendations that fail to factor in these assumptions participation. As societies develop, income and may implicitly reinforce the mechanisms of exclu- substitution effects of higher wages make the sion of women. possibility of work less attractive to women, so labor participation rates decrease.5 A similar Economic Participation: the Macroeco- analysis is given by Fine, who identifies a first nomic Picture period of early, laissez-faire capitalism where The field of labor economics has always been inter- women are employed as cheap labor in the ested in analysing the dynamics of labor force par- manufacturing sector, followed by a period of ticipation. Many scholars have also devoted their at- monopoly capitalism during which women and tention to the lower participation of certain groups, children withdraw from the labor force and, fi- or to the limited opportunities of other groups, but nally, the rise of the welfare state, where women whereas orthodox economic thought sees economic economic participation grows again.6 behaviour as the rational choice of atomised agents, the ‘heterodox’ school, considers it as the result of social and group interaction. FALL 2007 FALL 76 The Chronicles In the basic competitive labor models, the labor self-interest and whose effects influence their supply is the aggregate of homogenous actors that, spouses, children and social networks. View- thanks to the interplay with labor demand, are em- ing the family unit as the founding block of the ployed at an equilibrium wage. Reality is at odds economy, we will find that society reverberates with this oversimplified model. Not only workers and ossifies the family’s implicit mechanisms of are not all employed at the same wage, but the la- exclusion through entrenched social norms and bor force itself is not the sum of identical workers, political choices. with some categories being more likely to be un- employed than others. On the contrary, structural- According to dual labor market theories, ist economic theories view economic behaviour as the economy contains a high-wage sector the result of structural circumstances that produce 10 In The Pipeline a set of incentives and constraints reflected in the and a low-wage sector. The high-wage decision-making of the actor. sector offers stable employment and is associated with larger companies in the The broadening of economic decision-making proc- ‘core’ sectors of the economy, while the esses beyond forms of utility-maximising discrete low-wage sector offers insecure and less market exchanges is based on a variety of concepts. attractive employment in smaller firms Game theory showed how repeated interaction overtime may give rise to patterns of behaviour of operating at the ‘periphery’ of the econo- a cooperative nature that diverge from the dynam- my.11 One of the features of the dualist ics of single market transactions.7 Embeddedness school is the existence of structural bar- is perhaps the key methodological tool of these riers that prevent workers from the low- heterodox models: economic behaviour must be wage sector to find employment in the understood as the product of actors interacting in different social contexts such as networks of social high-wage sector; these barriers may take interaction and social, political, cognitive and cul- the form of internal-promotion mecha- tural institutions with specific norms and habits.8 nisms or class-based recruitment.12 The The overarching structure of society may give rise theory of dual labor markets has been to forms of reciprocal exchange whereby belonging developed as the extension of core and to a certain group (a family, for instance) implies periphery models of political economy, entering exchanges of resource that place impor- tance on the well-being of the group over that of but its clear-cut divide is less useful in the individual economic actor. In addition, redis- explaining the complexity of most labor tribution exchange is found when “membership in markets. Theories of labor market seg- a hierarchically organised society […] defines the mentation represent a more complex priority of communal welfare in opposition to the variation of these models: these theories urgent interests of economic actors.”9 go beyond the dichotomy high-wage ver- In our analysis of processes that underpin the eco- sus low-wage sector and conceive the la- nomic participation of Egyptian women, we made bor market as a sum of many segments, the deliberate choice of expanding our analysis whose structure differs from segment to to a broader concept of economic participation. segment. Moreover, labor can be seg- Even when women are not actively engaged in the mented vertically as well as horizontally monetised sector of the economy, they do provide economic support and do make economic choices across sectors, and the informal economy that go beyond their is considered as set of sub-sectors.13 FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 77 In the 1950s, the Egyptian state embraced The role of women in the evolution of the labor an interventionist approach in order to lead market has not been negligible. In the 1960s, young Egypt towards ‘modernity’. The participation of women started applying for government jobs and women in the economy became a key factor in kept doing so even when the number of new op- the building of the modern socialist society.14 portunities decreased. Despite the erosion of public In 1954, the Labor Law 91 guaranteed equal wages, women kept queuing for a public job in the rights and wages and made special provisions 1970s and 1980s, while men turned to the private for working women. The introduction of free sector for a job.20 It is clear that wages did not repre- universal education and the formal enactment sent the sole attractive factor of public employment of an employment guarantee in the mid 1960s, for women as other non-monetary elements were marked a turning point in the economic history taken into account. Jobs in the government were of Egypt; at the same time the provision of a job secure and the hiring process less likely to be influ- in the public sector to any graduate that com- enced by preference for male candidates than in the pleted higher or tertiary education fostered an private sector. The government allowed for mater- increase in the literacy rate and level of human nity leave, more egalitarian monetary compensation capital accumulation.15 These changes made the and shorter working days. government a model employer, both in terms of the higher wages offered and non-discriminato- It is possible to conceive the Egyptian labor market In The Pipeline ry hiring practices. As a result, throughout the as a highly segmented one. While in the 1960s the 1960s until the mid-1970s, the public sector ab- government represented the core sector, now it is sorbed most of the new graduates and expanded private companies in the formal economy that make remarkably.16 Women graduates found jobs in up the high-wage sector for men and, to a lesser the government even more attractive because of degree, women; public enterprises are the second- the shorter working hours and the provisions in best option followed by the government. According case of pregnancy. The growth of the public sec- to the World Bank21, informal employment is the tor slowed down and eventually came to a halt main source of jobs in the private sector, especially in the 1970s and 1980s, while the private sector for males, with almost 7 million workers compared boomed thanks to the open-door policy and the to 4 million in formal private establishments. In the remittances of workers in oil-rich countries.17 informal sector, approximately 1.1 million workers The demographic boom and the expansion of are female, and 93 percent is concentrated in rural the education sector meant that more and more areas. graduates entered the labor market, outpacing the growth rate of the public sector.18 Since the Adopting a segmented labor market perspective public sector could not absorb the flow of new reveals the mechanisms of self-selection into a spe- graduates, most of them found attractive em- cific occupational path for men and women that ployment in the private sector. Given the over- arise from gender and social norms, and eventually hang of demand for government jobs, public reconfirm the same norms that brought about the wages started to decline and the public/private outcome. It is not a case that, as the public sector re- wage gap began to tip in favour of the latter.19 trenched in the last decades, women were forced to Finally, the liberalisation trends of the 1990s withdraw from the labor market, mainly because the led to the emergence of a set of newly privatised private sector offered inferior working conditions enterprises (e.g. the postal service) that, despite when compared to men and schedules that were not public ownership, adopted wage-setting mecha- compatible with women’s main social responsibility nisms similar to those of the private sector as sole agents of social reproduction. FALL 2007 FALL 78 The Chronicles The higher level of unemployment of women, the consciously and unconsciously, mechanisms fact that 1.1 million of them work in informal set- that make it convenient for women to comply tings mainly in rural contexts, the fact that 88 per- with these structures.24 cent of women working in the private sectors are employed informally, and the significantly lower We can provide an example of this phenomenon wages they earn are not coincidences but are the by analysing the behaviour of women within result of both patriarchal social institutions and the household, taking their position in the labor myopic choices made by policy-makers (including market as an exogenous variable. Internal threat international donor agencies). point models postulate that if partner A brings money into the household, he or she will be able In The Pipeline Micro-level aspects of the economic participa- to withhold some or all of the income. Thus, tion of women are consistent with the political money gives partner A a stronger bargaining po- economy of Egypt. The fact that Egypt’s popula- sition within the household, and earnings repre- tion has always been concentrated on 5 percent of sent a source of power since the partner decides the national territory along the fertile banks of the to what extent he or she is willing to share them. Nile can be framed within the model of horticul- As a sort of corollary to internal threat point tural tribes in competitive ecologies. This model is models, exchange theory predicts that if partner predicated on marital alliances and on an elaborate A is more dependent on partner B, A is more culture centred on male and female obligations likely to be a net-giver (i.e. give more and receive and the presence of a military aristocracy ruling less) in the exchange.25 This phenomenon is over the peasantry,22 which brings resemblance strengthened if A has less access to resources, or to the social structures typical of the Ottoman and has no potential exchange partner other than B. colonial times. Despite the fact that these struc- tures have been abandoned first in favour of more The Beckerian view that household heads- be gender-egalitarian policies during the era of Arab have altruistically to maximise the utility of the nationalism, and then in favour of those family family is not inconsistent with these two views. structures based on remittances from abroad typi- While maximising the utility of the family in or- der to ‘enlarge’ the amount of resources, partners cal of the oil-boom period,23 they still have a great may also engage in a ‘partition’ of the resources impact in the mechanisms of resource distribution that ensures that both comply with their com- within the family. mitments. While women ‘barter’ access to the monetary resources of their husbands through Economic participation: the microeco- housework, the latter ‘purchase’ social reproduc- nomic picture tion from their wives. Even women that are not Our ‘deconstruction’ of the dynamics in place in ‘happy’ within their family setting may be will- Egypt has showed that the analysis of economic ing to ‘cope’ because, due to cultural reasons, the behaviour cannot (and should not) be insulated stigma, emotional and material costs attached from environmental and social interaction. The with the destruction of the family unit are much main point of our argument is that cultural factors higher than the losses incurred in the exchange. matter not because they influence directly the -be The fact that divorce in Islam can be initiated haviour of Egyptian women and men, but because only by men is consistent with the explanation they are pervasive in the economic structure of provided by England and Folbre: earnings in- society. Arab women are not ‘submissive’ and mar- crease the men’s power within the household ginalised because their men, their society or their and their propensity to divorce their wives if religion tells them to be, but because their society unhappy. In contexts where women do not have erect structural barriers that are resistant to change access to other forms of livelihood other than or enacts, employment FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 79 in the family business or their husband’s wage, they remain substantially higher than those in simi- it is not surprising that there are no or only lar Less Developed Countries.28 It is estimated that weak instruments that allow women to initiate in the decade 2005-2015 approximately 640,000 divorce. people will be entering the Egyptian labor market every year, while only 435,000 jobs will be creat- Conclusion ed.29 Moreover, the permanent political instability Access to economic resources is vital to the may result in ever-increasing limitations of participa- situation of women in Arab societies. The fact tion in public life by individuals and organisations. that women are more likely to be unemployed, Trade unions and political parties are left voiceless employed in jobs in less-paid industries, or paid in Egypt. In the past elections, women representa- less than their equal-level male colleagues trig- tion in the Egyptian Parliament has reached its nadir gers a vicious circle. According to Sen26, social even if compared with other Arab states.30 Moder- exclusion can be a constitutive part of capability ate Islamist parties, that have already filled the gaps deprivation as well as an instrumental cause of in state provision of services and philanthropy, rep- diverse capability failures. For instance, altru- resent the only significant alternative to the status In The Pipeline Iman Khairy istic parents may decide to invest scarce family quo represented by weak political institutions in resources in the education of their young boys Egypt. The political agenda of these constituencies because investment in their education yields a remains, however, unclear with respect to the eco- higher rate of returns. As a consequence, young nomic participation of women. Whether through girls will be selected into an array of low-earning the continuing limitations imposed by the current jobs, for instance, they may privilege humani- regime or through the manipulation of Islamic sym- ties and social sciences because of socialisation bols that preserve the current inequality within the or because their best earning prospects are in family, and hence society, women are not likely to clerical positions, bringing about an oversupply see any revolutionary change in their position. In the of some categories of workers and a mismatch in medium term, the responsibility of changes, albeit the labor market.27 incremental, may rest, perhaps, within the hands of the international community and international do- While the gender gaps in wages and education nor agencies. have been narrowing in Egypt, FALL 2007 FALL 80 The Chronicles End Notes: 15 Lindgren M. “Does Schooling Make Sense? A House- 1 This article is an adapatation of a BA thesis in economic hold Perspective on the Returns to Schooling in Egypt” development Lund Studies in Economic History. Lund University, Swe- 2 Handoussa, Heba. Arab Women and Economic Development. den, 2005; World Bank, 2004; Birdsall, Nancy. “Putting (Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2006); Education to Work in Egypt” Carnegie Paper No. 5, 1999. 3 Soudi, Khaled. “Poverty and Vulnerability on the labor 16 Said, Mona. “Compensating Differentials and the market: Dimensions of the Fragility of the Poor”, Economic Queue For Public Sector Jobs: Evidence from Egyptian Research Forum for the Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey, Work- Household Survey Data” SOAS Working Papers, London, ing Paper 0127, 2001; Unlocking the Employment Potential 2004. in the Middle East and North Africa, Toward a New Social 17 Redclift and Sinclair Contract, (Washington: The World Bank, 2004); Duflo, Ester, 18 World Bank, 2004 Chattopadhyay, Raghabendra. “Women as Policy Makers: 19 Said, 2004 Evidence from a Randomized Policy Experiment in India” 20 Said, Mona. “The Distribution of Gender Differen- In The Pipeline Econometrica 72(5) 2004. p.1409-1443. tials and Public Sector Wage Premia in Egypt” Economic 3 Arab Republic of Egypt: Country Gender Assessment. (Wash- Research Forum for the Arab Countries, Iran and Turkey, ington: The World Bank, 2003) Working Paper 9925, 1999. 4 De Gobbi, Maria Sabrina, Nesporova, Alena. “Towards a 21 World Bank, 2003 new balance between labor market flexibility and employ- 22 Collins, Randall, Saltzman, Chafetz Janet et. al. “An ment security for Egypt” International Labor Organisation Integrated Theory of Gender Stratification”Sociological (ILO) Employment Strategy Papers, 2005. Perspectives. Vol. 36, No. 3, 1991. p.185-216. 5 Mutari, Ellen, Boushey, Heather, Fraher, William IV. Gender 23 Karshenas and Political Economy, Incorporating diversity into Theory and 24 Redcliff and Sinclair Policy. ed. M.E. Sharpe. (New York: 1997); Golin, Claudia. 25 England, Paula, Folbre, Nancy. “Gender and Economic “The U-Shaped Female Labor Force Function in Economic Sociology” in The Handbook of Economic Sociology. Ed. Development and Economic History” National Bureau of Smelser Neil J., Swedberg Richard, 2nd edition. (Princ- Economic Research, working paper No. 4707, Cambridge, MA, eton: Princeton University Press, 2005) 1994. 26 Sen, Amartya. “Social exclusion: Concept, Application, 6 Fine, Ben. Labor Market Theory, A Constructive Reassess- and Scrutiny” Social Development Papers No.1, Office of ment. (London: Routledge, 1998) Environment and Social Development, Asian Develop- 7 Dixit, Avinash K. Games of Strategy. 2nd edition. (Norton ment Bank, June 2000. & Co, 2004) 27 Said, Mona. “Labor Market Segmentation and Insti- 8 Beckert, Jens, Zafirovski, Milan.International Encyclopaedia tutional Change: The public-Private Wage Differential of Economic Sociology. (London and New York: Routledge, in Egypt, 1960-1997” PhD Dissertation, University of 2006) p. 231 Cambridge, UK, 2000 9 Ibid. p. 232 28 Handoussa 10 Wachter, Michael L., Gordon R.A et al. “Primary and 29 De Gobbi, Nesporova Secondary Labor Markets: A Critique of the Dual Approach” 30 Handoussa Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Vol. 1974, No. 3, 1974. p. 637-693 11 Fine 12 Wachter, Gordon, Piore and Hall 13 Fine 14 Hoodfar, Homa. “Return to the Veil: Personal Strategy and Public Participation in Egypt” in Working Women, International Perspectives on Labor and Gender Ideology. Ed. Nanneke Redclift and M. Thea Sinclair. (London, New York: Routledge, 1991) FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 81 Slum Politics Cairo’s New Mode of Informal Politics and The Lesser Notables1 Mo h a m e d I. Fa h m y Me n z a PhD Ca n d i d a t e i n Po l i t i c s , Un i v e r s i t y o f Ex e t e r n the wake of the 21st century, there seems to be a trend that suggests that an alternative perspective regarding state-society relations in hu- In The Pipeline man polities at large is essential. The conventional structural/institu- tional focus on the importance of the role played by the formal in- Istitutions of the “state”, i.e. the party-system, the military…etc., is giving way to more scrutiny and analysis pertaining to the various societal actors in place and the influence they pose on the sociopolitical manifestations within the modern polity. The Middle East is no exception and in Egypt, as well as other Middle Eastern countries, the role of these societal actors has been increasingly highlighted by various analysts. Along with the ad- vent of the wave of open-door (Infitah) then liberalization policies, which have been swapping a country like Egypt since the 1970s, a continuous expansion in population and size has also been existent in most of Egypt’s urban conglomerates. This article will tackle the new changes that are witnessed by the Cairene society when it comes to the surge of informal/ popular urban quarters and the accompanying rise in the level/importance of informal politics that is associated with such surge. The role of political Islam -The Muslim Brotherhood as well as other groups- in such a scheme is also relevant to this theme. Recent statistics show that almost 50 per- cent of Cairo’s population resides within these informal/popular urban quarters, which reflects the sizeable effect and prospective role they have in shaping the sociopolitical realities of the Egyptian capital. This article will then aim at examining the role of the lesser notables, those middle po- litical agents that flourish on the lower levels of the Egyptian polity within the ranks of the National Democratic Party (NDP) and the Muslim Broth- erhood, and whose political agency seems to be comparatively discarded in the conventional literature on Middle East politics. FALL 2007 FALL 82 The Chronicles Patronage Politics “modern” era, Nazih Ayubi states that, “the ex- If we are to outline a relationship between infor- pansion of home market, the export of agri- mal networks and political action, a portrayal of cultural commodities and the distribution of the concept of ‘patronage politics’ becomes a ne- imported goods all provide a basis for a rapid cessity. In general, patronage politics could be con- increase in the ‘circulation function’ and for an sidered as an existent theme within mostly all po- economic strengthening of the role of members litical systems. Some analysts have indeed argued of the merchant class, who essentially act as ‘link- that patronage politics flourish further in those po- men’ between modes of production or divisions litical systems that are more dependent on personal of labor.”4 rule in their dynamics. Jackson and Rosberg utter, “it is a dynamic world of political will and action With gradual retreat of the state from the pub- In The Pipeline that is ordered less by institutions than by personal lic sphere, which accompanied the implementa- authorities and power…but without the assured tion of the infitah policy, the room was more or mediation and regulation of effective political in- less open for the popular forces to operate, and stitutions…At the apex of all personal regimes is a prime popular force was that of the Islamic a ruler, a paramount leader who enjoys a position movement indeed. “Mainstream Islamists such of uncontested supremacy.”2 For this aim to be as the Muslim Brotherhood have developed a achieved, a series of collaborations and alliances parallel network of Islamic institutions includ- between the ruler and several other actors has to ing private clinics, mosques, schools, banks, and take place to make this process of consolidation of investment companies. Moreover, beginning power a mutually beneficial course of action that in the 1980s, Islamists have won control of the could be advantageous to all parties involved. This executive boards of professional syndicates and is actualized through patronage, which is a com- university faculty clubs.”5 plicated web, usually consisting of several patron- client networks.3 Here, an amalgamation of mutual Informal Networks and The Rise of beneficiaries that vertically expands throughout the Lesser Notables the system in a top-bottom approach is evident Contributors such as Diane Singerman paid and, subsequently, co-option, rather than coercion, special attention to the concept of informal net- becomes more widespread as an essential medium works and the sizeable role such networks play for exercising political power. as alternative venues of political participation, especially for those within the lower-middle and Putting Patrons and Clients in Context: lower classes in the Egyptian polity. Singerman Infitah, Neoliberalism and State utters that, in actuality, little attention has been Withdrawal given to those societal forces in the conventional Assessing the structural reconfiguration that took literature tackling Egyptian politics.6 In practice, place within the Egyptian polity leading up to the such forces are also considerably influential with rise, or perhaps the reemergence, of a particular an actual role to play in the overall portrait of the typology of patrons/clients and the demise of an- Egyptian polity. other is indeed essential. The reemergence here actually refers to the fact that, despite the seeming Here, it is also noteworthy to cite that informal domination that the state had over the modes of politics are not exclusively the domain of the production in most of the Arab World in the wake lower-middle and lower classes of the Egyptian of the post-colonial era, this hasn’t been always society. In fact, the Egyptian elite also tends to the case. Over most of the Islamic dynasties that utilize the machinations of informalities, perhaps spanned with the Arab conquest of the Middle in a different fashion than the lower echelons, East, commercial agents had played an important and sometimes to penetrate the formal structure role as viable societal actors and sometimes me- of the official institutions, yet the end-result is to diators between official authorities and informal/ serve some political benefit. Therefore, it is safe FALL 2007 FALL popular groupings. Moreover, and even during the The Chronicles 83 to note that the essentiality of informal net- Less State, More Islamist Politics? works somehow transcends through the eche- Interestingly, Ben Nefissa utters that, in essence, the lons of the Egyptian polity as well. Hence, when Muslim Brotherhood had to rely upon a scheme of it comes to the lower echelons, those informal patronage politics that was quite similar to that of networks which were primarily enhanced in the Egyptian regime in order to establish its foun- the lack of formal/official avenues of political dational networks, “Islamic activists have cultivated participation are in fact open arenas for patrons ties of patronage and employees at the lower rungs and clients to flourish. “The sha’b have turned of the state bureaucracy, as well as with elected exploiting the government into a fine art. Peo- members of local municipal councils, enabling them ple in the community who had a particular tal- to bend existing rules and evade control efforts from ent for dealing with bureaucrats or wide range above.”10 of connections to elite politicians and officials were sought after and valued. Individuals re- In fact, popular classes do play a meaningful role in peatedly stated that the government was…an Egyptian politics. The socioeconomic structure of outside external force to be patronized.”7 Cairo’s haphazard (‘ashwae’yat) areas was a favora- ble medium that nurtured the development of infor- The term “lesser notables”, outlined by Hourani mal networks with these neighborhoods as a pattern and Ismail among others, refers to the fact that of effective organization and governance.11 It should these figures are actually different from the old be noted that, with a sizeable portion of its popula- In The Pipeline class of notables; which was historically com- tion residing in informal/haphazard slums, almost 50 prised of landowners and other wealthy/power- percent of the total population of Cairo according to ful figures. In a sense they are also less “notable” some estimates, Egypt’s major cities like Cairo and than their modern counterparts who are mostly Alexandria act as open venues for an array of infor- major businessmen and high-ranking officials. mal politics. The fact that the Muslim Brotherhood This typology mainly constitutes of a bundle has capitalized upon the already existing socio-eco- of “real estate contractors, workshop owners, nomic structure of such areas to further strengthen and wholesale-retail merchants. In other words its stratum is rather apparent. According to Ismail, they come from a social stratum whose ranks “the Islamists anchor themselves in oppositional have expanded with the economic liberaliza- spaces already formed or in the process of forma- tion and privatization policies. The trajectories tion. The terms of this opposition are spatial, social, of those…share some common socioeconomic cultural, economic, and political…These neighbor- features. Some belong to merchant families hoods propose a reformulation of the popular city, that have been in business for two or three recovering the social role of the street.”12 generations.”8 A good exemple of that stratagem was portrayed A considerable sample of the aforementioned post the October 1992 earthquake when a vari- societal agents formulates what Salwa Ismail ety of charitable societies (game’yat) affiliated with later describes as the biytkabrluh figures in the the Muslim Brotherhood expanded their network popular quarters of Cairo. The portrayal of Haj of beneficiaries to the popular lower classes that needed food and shelter, ultimately adding points Saleh, a strongman in Bulaq, exemplifies that, to their credibility and popularity and subtracting “as someone biytkabrluh, the haj is incorporat- quite a few from the regime and its personnel. Logi- ed by the state apparatus of coercion to mediate cally, with the relative absence of the state on the in disputes with the local population…by vir- street level, the playground for popular networking tue of their social status and their political role, was open for the Islamic movements to dominate. individuals like haj Saleh represent a notability This was reflected in the ballot box in 2005 with 88 of sorts.”9 Indeed, the profile of Haj Saleh fits Muslim Brotherhood candidates winning their seats what could be outlined as a “lesser notable”, a in the parliament. The fact that there were no major group that is described by Ismail as the political sub-patrons that belonged to the NDP or any other political party and operated on a popular level, as FALL 2007 FALL powerhouses of Cairo’s new urban quarters. 84 The Chronicles opposed to the Islamic popular movements that End Notes: dominated on the street level, gave room for the Muslim Brotherhood to score their biggest parlia- 1 This article is part of the research pursued towards a PhD thesis on the issue of informal politics in Egypt. mentary victory to date, despite an array of irregu- 2 Jackson, Robert and Rosberg, Carl G. Personal Rule In larities put forward by the regime, trying to halt the Black Africa. (Log Angeles: University of California Press, widespread electoral success of the Muslim Broth- 1981) p.12-22 erhood. 3 Ibid. p.39-42 4 Ayubi, Nazih Overstating The Arab State. (London: I. B. Tauris, 1995) p.171 Therefore, with the seeming domination of Islam- 5 Wickham, Carrie. “Beyond Democratization: Political ist politics over this scheme of patrons and clients, Change in The Arab World” Political Science & Politics. Vol. where does the NDP, Egypt’s ruling party, stand? 27, No.3. 1994. p.508 For the most part, the NDP seems to be more of an 6 Singerman, Diane. Avenues of Participation: Family, In The Pipeline elitist entity that is somewhat distant from this are- Politics, & Networks in Urban Quarters of Cairo (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1995) p.5 na. Gamal Mubarak, the president’s son and Egypt’s 7 Ibid. p. 39. prime candidate for his succession, has practically 8 Ismail, Salwa. Political Life in Cairo’s New Quarter: En- tightened his grip over the Policies Committee of countering The Everyday State. (Minneapolis: University of the party based on concrete alliances with major Minnesota Press, 2006) p.49. businessmen and entrepreneurs. Such actors dis- 9 Ibid. p.64. 10 Ibid. play the other side of the coin when it comes to 11 Ismail, Salwa. “Popular Movement Dimensions of Con- the emerging forces that swapped the country in temporary Militant Islamism: Socio-Spatial Determinants the aftermath of neo-liberalism, but could they in the Cairo Urban Setting”Comparative Studies in Society counteract the alternative patron/client stratagem and History. Vol.42, No.2, April 2000 12 Ismail, Salwa. Political Life in Cairo’s New Quarter: that is capitalized by the Muslim Brotherhood and Encountering The Everyday State. (Minneapolis: University other Islamist forces? This doesn’t seem to be the of Minnesota Press, 2006) p.379 case. Nonetheless, the current governing regime is 13 Al-Ahram.15 Jan. 2007. Vol. 131. Issue 43869 quite aware of the existential threat posed by these networks. In 2007 the state launched a massive campaign against the “financial arm” of the Muslim Brotherhood all over the country, arresting hun- dreds of people that were allegedly associated with a variety of commercial activities that funded the Muslim Brotherhood.13 Yet will this be a sufficient machination for consolidating the NDP’s power in the face of the Brotherhood? The scope and mag- nitude of the informal networks in Egypt suggest otherwise. FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 85 Speaking in a Language of Loss Stories about the Everyday and its Burdens among Cement Carriers in Saft al-Laban1 Fo u a d Ha l b o u n i In The Pipeline MA Ca n d i d a t e i n An t h r o p o l o g y , t h e Am e r i c a n Un i v e r s i t y i n Ca i r o began my visits in September 2006 with the assistance of my fellow ethnographer Ragui Moussa who belongs to the same upper Egyptian village to which a group of ce- I ment carriers periodically return every two to three weeks - the village of al-Brasha in Minya governorate of Upper Egypt. The group consists of 12 carriers of different ages who all belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church. One of the oldest members of the group, ‘Atal- lah Theophilis, arrived in the early 1980s to Saft al-Laban to the south of Cairo in order to avoid the fate of working as a day-to-day wager. Most of the older group members spoke of how they were lucky to avoid the fate of the wager back in the village. “Once you have become a wager,” ‘Am ‘Atta says, “it meant that all your children will become wagers one day… It is such a dirty job. You cannot conceive of escaping or dream about tomorrow because you are tied to the water wheel. Whatever you get only lasts for the day. You will not be able to live nor feed your children and the worst of all, your children will be like you once they grow up.” The wager wakes up in the early hours of dawn and returns by sunset only to work in the most vile and exhausting conditions and vocations. Earning from LE 15 to 20 per day, the wager is the landless peasant who is employed in farming, transporting stock and merchandise for other landowners. “And you would never believe the magnitude of humiliation and despicable treatment that one has to endure…,” adds ‘Am ‘Atta, “As the employer knows that he has caught you by the part which hurts most… you need to endure the day… and it never ends, you wake up the next morning and the toil begins all over again.” The life of the wager might only have the benefit of not having to leave the village in search for bread. ‘Am Sa’id, the oldest member of the group mentioned that he had worked as a wager for a considerable period of time in his youth when it was possible to bear the daily toil, yet he also affirmed that for the wager, the future is unthinkable. It is not only the length of the day that one feels its weight against his bones but the consequence of experiencing living “from hand to mouth” as the wager could only find work intermit- tently. FALL 2007 FALL 86 The Chronicles To work as a cement worker also meant that you Am Sa‘id use the literal word life (al-haya) when carried your own life on your shoulders as at any our conversations touched upon issues related moment you might die under the tractor wheels to cement carrying or even the more intimate just like hundreds of men have died before you. verb of a’eesh (to live) which carries multifarious Nevertheless, in the worst cases the earnings are connotations. “Life” is always employed else- much more promising for the carrier and his entire where… It is always subjected to continual rob- family (the carrier could earn up to a sum of LE bery and loss over the tractor given the fact that 800 to 1000 per month approximately. The carrier one is “carrying his own life on his palms.” Living only escapes the narrow fate of the wager through is always elsewhere, perhaps experienced back in the evasion of beggary only to re-enter another the village, in the continually renewed promise course. His course is a longer and more vicious one of returning yet “returning on one’s feet, not in In The Pipeline since the wager, in the eyes of the carrier, will only any other way” (in other words, not returning bear the humility of kin (the villagers) almost mys- in a coffin). Even the notion of chance or more tically and mutually hurtful and tolerable than be- precisely luck (al-haz) is associated with the ing humiliated by strangers, by the gazes of a multi- time one spends bantering between the “calls” plicity of others – “the soil of the earth”2, of market on the nearby coffee shop but which is yet also vendors and gossiping women, of wary neighbors the grimmest of times if it goes beyond an entire “who fear for their women in the presence of stran- day without being summoned. Here I believe gers,” of other groups of cement workers who the blindness of luck and its “unforeseen arrival” could steal “the bread from your mouth.” Most of plays its most decisive roles in understanding the the men have affirmed that cement carrying has significance of living. If al-‘omr is that which is al- perhaps prevented them from refraining to beg- ways experienced through a sense of loss, always gary yet the fate of the wager is still not completely subjected to numerous attempts of robbery, how avoided. The day might assume a different course could then one articulate the question of living in Saft al-Laban, but the carrier still depends on or speak of the experience of living (expressed in the “call” to transport and unload cement in their my eyes fleetingly in a language of loss)? In what designated sites. The day remains still “out of one’s language does the carrier articulate this and most hands”. importantly how is it to be heard? Throughout our conversations, I have noted that The notion of ‘everyday life’ in the texts of Henri one should perhaps be sensitive to the connota- Lefebvre and Michel De Certeau is embedded in tions of the word ‘omr which hold manifold sig- modernity, where everyday life itself is subjected nifications: loosely it refers to one’s life yet also to forces of mass production and consumption. it literally means one’s age; metaphorically, one’s Paradoxically, the everyday is that which denotes duration in this world. Most importantly, ‘omr also a condition of incessant recurrence yet also ‘eve- refers to the force of predestination in one’s life, rydayness’ is what remains as a supplement of the which in turn is sensitively linked to al-qada’ (des- day, lying on the margins of utility, as a by-prod- tiny, judgment, god’s command). While listening uct of corporate time (hence, the notions of fa- to ‘Am ‘Sa‘id, ‘Am ‘Atta’s cousin and one of the old- miliarity, triviality and boredom are linked to the est members of the group, I have earnestly tried to notion of everyday life)3. Hence, the everyday capture the different connotations of the word in is reduced to an intermission of events through different contexts especially when he spoke about which common people, living in temporalities the consequences of dying under the tractor for on the margins of the laws of capitalist produc- the men and their families and most importantly tion, could be sieved.4 It is in those conditions the implication of fate and god’s judgments in that De Certeau speaks of La Perruque, which those particular cases. The uses of the word would is the worker’s sharp tactic to ‘poach’ from the continue to mystically unite both connotations, as factory’s time allocated to production (yet using if both poles hung by a thin thread threatening to only ‘scraps’ of factory material and prohibiting FALL 2007 FALL shift instantaneously from one to the other: life/ the waste of its resources). In my experience, The Chronicles death, chance/predestination. I have rarely heard ‘ 87 the carriers have expressed different concep- been different “in the eyes of the young”. Yet it is al- tions of the everyday. The problem of the eve- ways that bitter analogy with the wager that ‘Atta or ryday is expressed not only in relation to the Sa‘id have brought up whenever we bantered about type of labor involved but also to the rhythms of the issue of fate and the much longed for return to the day. How does he relate the day and its ends the village. to his conception of living? More importantly, how the question of ‘toil of the everyday’ and The confrontation with the city is always shrouded in its multifarious significations is articulated or darkness, always remembered with sad longing for a experienced, perhaps lived, endured, embodied long-awaited last return to the village, which in turn and outlived. seems “to be written in the knowledge of absence, the unknown” (maktoob fi ‘elm al-gheib). The city When it comes to the decision to leave the vil- resonates with certain images and odors: the hurry- lage and work as a cement worker, it is beyond ing feet, smells of railway oil, sounds and waves of the simplistic notion of choice as the reputation crowded people in the railway station and of course and image of the cement carrier bears an infi- the dust and smoke that fills the air of the city. The nite sea of marks in the village even before he borders of the city are situated elsewhere beyond its decides to leave to the city. Those who have left own geographical border; the experience of the city the village to be carried and tainted with white begins on the train station back in Mallawi, the near- dust have recited horrific stories about men who est town to al-Barsha in Minya. Mallawy is a former In The Pipeline have died “in the age of flowers”, of those who commercial center in Upper Egypt linking trade have returned crippled to live permanently crip- between Lower Egypt and the African horn, which pled or unable to resume work again. Back in the only shadows of its grandeur remain in the present.5 village during our visit in the spring of 2007, I 5Until today, one could see the hollow high towers at have learned that the number of the dead under both ends of the streets, which the authorities have the tractor’s wheels surpasses that of those who used in order to monitor inhabitants’ movements died in the 1973 war. Death of a fellow carrier during Egypt’s bloody war on terrorism at the begin- means that his family is on its path to a similar ning of the 1990s. As in the case of most railway sta- death. tions in Egypt, the police maintains a strict presence in order to regulate the poorer passengers boarding For the older generations who are mostly illiter- the train and to keep away beggars, street vendors ate, the avoidance of the wager’s fate is of dual and pickpockets from bothering other passengers. consequence: the experience of departure is al- Most importantly, the stations have become the site ways attributed to “something beyond choice” of continual inspection during the feasts because of but necessary “for the children to live” yet also the large masses that leave or return to the city in or- which bears the experience of estrangement enfolded with the fear of leaving the village and der to spend it with their families or their spouses. living as strangers in the city (“with all the hu- It is through the investigative procedures that young miliation one bears as he steps out of the train”). men fleeing from their military service or criminals For the younger generation which includes two could be captured depending on the suspicions of young men in the group, Butros, ‘Am ‘Atta’s son the policeman. The station as site of arrival and de- and Youssif, ‘Atta’s nephew, transporting ce- parture is where the Egyptian villager becomes the ment becomes an easier way to gain easy cash in continual suspect until proven otherwise. For ‘Am a shorter period of time. Both young men have Sa‘id, the station represents the enormity of the finished a form of higher education in a techni- world as it swarms with a multitude of people “all on cal institute yet because of the relative turnover their own paths”. The station as an open world might involved in cement carrying they have joined their fathers above the tractors. Some of the allow one to hide within the swarming multitudes or older members have mentioned of course that even see other cement carriers on their way to their when they first left the village it might have contemporary settlements (some of which could be occasionally seen back in the villages, FALL 2007 FALL 88 The Chronicles especially the Muslim counterparts). Yet it is parts of town and everyone returning to the vil- outside of qashash trains that the observer sees a lage, speak about where did folks go and where multitude of bodies, some people boarding on top they come from and who died and who lived… of the train, some seated on its floor along with a despite the dust (al-‘ofar) and the smell of sweat small teapot, belongings packed in a bundle of (al-‘araq), I only think of the village and this cloth (meshana) and sometimes rations for the somehow eases all the journey’s hardships.” journey or as gifts from their loved ones. The po- liceman’s only job is to orchestrate the bodies into By the end of our journey to the village, I start- the allotted space. ed to have doubts about De Certeau’s common hero who re-appropriates factory time to his own At the railway station in Cairo last spring, before ends. In the times which I have poached from In The Pipeline our departure to the village, Ragui Moussa and I the cement workers, I could not tell if they were observed at a distance the villagers boarding the able to make ‘use’ of time or if somehow time trains and the policemen arranging and re-arrang- was making use of them. Earning their payments ing allotted spaces. Ragui moved back and forth after each shipment is unloaded in the site or in on the platform, watching the passengers’ loading the storage rooms, time makes little difference. and unloading their belongings on the train while Unloading a shipment in a site nearby, which I sat on the ground in front of one of the train’s naturally would not take them more than an doors pretending to be an unenthusiastic observer hour to finish, is equated with a shipment to be watching the policeman as he continued to board delivered in the 10th kilometre on the Cairo-Al- the passengers with great anxiety. Behind me, an exandria highway (a journey of no less than five older group of police officers were watching the to six hours with a steady but slow pace of the crowds calmly (judging from their insignias, dark tractor) in terms of payment. Although Nabeeh, glasses and observational postures)only to raise one of the younger members of the group, spoke their voices whenever the younger police officer about how they literally spent time in playing would vanish inside the train. From where I sat I their games in the nearby coffee shop between could hear the police officer shouting so that the the shipments, the infatuation with the domino passengers could allow others to get on board (I and the casting hand is always there perhaps out could hear his screams for one of the passengers to of loss (“having nothing in our hands but play- move right or left, carry his things on his lap instead ing”. Nabeeh told me with a bitter note explain- of placing them on the ground). At this point, my ing his point perhaps in terms of “wasting time”, imagination started to wander off… I imagined a perhaps “killing time before it kills you”). compartment filled with infinite limbs, flesh mesh- ing into flesh almost vanishing into one another In our conversations, I noted that ‘Am ‘Atta men- and bodies knit together so tightly so that room is tioned something about how one rises up to a re-created for more and more bodies to fill or actu- potential threat in the very heart of the day, and ally borrow, or perhaps steal from one another. Yet, yet also a latent promise which one cannot refuse I always remained outward… contemplating about because it is carved out in one’s flesh…it is fate. stolen spaces from where it is given abundantly. It Your fate could be awaiting you under the wheels now seems paradoxical to speak of stolen spaces of the tractor or in encounters which seem be- when I am contemplating the scene, when I am be- yond their own powers of patience and endur- ing given the space, the time, the energy to think ance; encounters which certain games or faith in of its so-called implications and consequences… the miraculous could never alter or affect. Usu- “Inside, you know, it’s another world,” ‘Am Sa‘ed ally those encounters are charged with the inevi- replied to my questions about the journey, “people table powers of fate; equated with the experience heat tea, children run around despite their parents of “being chosen, summoned by death”. and the passengers’ shouting…It is also time to see the other groups (of cement workers) from other FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 89 Several men had used almost the same End Notes: words when they described the near 1 This article is the product of an ethnographic study that is part death experience as one falls near the of the research pursued for the completion of an MA thesis. 2Egyptian slang for everyone tractor’s wheels or in comparison to 3 Lefebvre, Henri. Critique of Everyday Life. (New York: Verso, the moments in which an incidental 1998) 4 De Certeau, M. The Practice of Everyday Life.(Berkeley: Uni- brush with the police officers occur. versity of California Press, 1984) Usually in the last moment, when one 5 Throughout the 1990s, Mallawi became one of the major sites of conflict between governmental authorities and Islamic resur- is captured by the police during his gent groups namely, Gama’at al-Jihad and al-Gama’ al-Islamiya which started to spread vastly in Upper Egypt during the late return from the site after a long day, 1970s. A recreation of the city’s contradictions and cruelty is resembles not only the expansion of found in the Mallawy railway station. 6 Usually the workers are arrested for indefinite ‘investigative’ interior time as a result of terror but purposes (tahari). Most of the men attribute their arrest to their through their descriptive words6, the features or apparel as they return smothered with cement dust (‘our ghost-like appearance’). However, the 25-year old emer- advent of fate’s rupture with their gency law in Egypt has proven to be a tool in the hands of the sense of patience and promise. The executive power to storm many basic rights and freedom guar- anteed by the Egyptian Constitution 7 several Beys and Bashas , which the 7The various forms of addressing that the workers have used in In The Pipeline workers have met throughout their order to speak to police officers, their various employers, and members of higher social strata… the cement carriers might lives, would never yield to any form speak differently about those different entities in different con- of pleading (it is through them the texts (involving the degree and scope of superiority expressed and exercised) yet all retain the same form of superiority when mysteriously deserving or undeserv- being addressed. ing acts of punishment pass from po- tentiality to actuality, an almost godly attribute). In those encounters, one cannot express even hope or any ex- pectation of mercy, lenience or hos- pitality from the law (in comparison with the mysterious yet benevolent ways of god). It is difficult to under- stand how power isolates, individu- alizes them through its burden upon their sense of waiting and patience expressed beyond all known limits of patience? It is also difficult for me to understand how one ‘endures’, ‘sur- vives’ or ‘outlives’ the day given the gift-curse of patience? FALL 2007 FALL 90 The Chronicles These are Liberated In The Pipeline Ruminations on Territories… ‘Every-Day Forms of Resistance in Contemporary Egypt1 Al i a Mo s s a l l a m MSC in Conflict and Development, School of Oriental and Asian Studies n the last five years, almost every social manifestation of protest or contention, has involved the use of the statement ‘had- Iheehee al-aradi muharrara’ (these are liberat- ed territories). The statement has found itself on fliers, internet blogs, carved in prison cells, and often even on publications, particularly opposition papers. Although these ‘territo- ries’ were not exactly under physical captiva- tion; the term alludes to the retrieval of public space, every time contention where the possi- bility of an alternative world is expressed or experienced. 2007 FALL The Chronicles 91 If stock is to be taken of the Egyptian Movement Resistance; a subaltern narrative for Change, more popularly known as Kifaya’s2 actual accomplishments over the last five to six When the great lord passes, the wise peasant bows years, it would definitely be that it has consider- deeply, and silently farts... ably weakened the ‘infallible’ image of the obsti- Ethiopian Proverb nate and irresponsive 26-year old regime. It has provided formal spaces for informal politics and The above proverb was used in James Scotts’ Domi- a shadow where many activists and sub-move- nation and the Arts of Resistance5, where it accu- ments have grown. In its shadows, the blogs by rately coins Scott’s perspective on ‘everyday forms’ of resistance by the subaltern, and particularly peas- Egyptian youth (and workers)3 from various ants. Scott’s formulation of the notion of resistance social and political strata have flourished and at revolves around his theory on the ‘private’ and least four oppositional newspapers in critique ‘public’ transcripts, the public transcript being the (if not mock) of the regime have developed discourse and behavior engaged with in realms or and circulated widely. Most importantly, an un- spaces of hegemonic dominance, whilst the private precedented number of peasants’ and workers’4 transcript is that expressed out of hearing or sight, in movements and insurgencies have developed; social sites where the “unspoken, stifled anger, and and through the use of alternative forms of me- bitten tongues created by relations of domination dia, spread very widely. find a vehement full-throated expression.”6 In The Pipeline This research proposes the study of different The notions of resistance I intend to explore, how- modes and methods of resistance taken up by ever, engage with resistance as ‘counter-hegemony’, the ‘ordinary’ every-day Egyptian citizen in the or at times ‘alternative hegemonies’; the space where decade leading up to 2010. It deconstructs the a dominant hegemonic order is sought. Much like movement ‘to its many fragments’; and consid- Scott, the forms of resistance I explore are non-con- ers the process by which one comes to realize he frontational. For when a state is found irresponsive, or she is exploited by a dominant order. It inves- resistance often involves disengaging with the state, tigates the development of both physical and in- and creating alternative spaces where a different (of- tellectual spaces where hegemonic ideas can be ten parallel world order) can be created. acknowledged, reconsidered and contested and My perspective on resistance almost refutes such a other new ideas articulated. It considers the acts radical distinction between the ‘public’ and ‘private’ of resistance on an intellectual and behavioural realm that seems oblivious to the power-struggles in level to the movement for change resulting in a both ‘off-stage’ and ‘on-stage’ settings, as described shift in the social organization of power that we by Scott while referring to private and pubic spaces see today. Through observing the development respectively. For the power of a dominant/hegem- of new spaces for hegemonic articulation over onic order extends to private spaces as deep as one’s the decade leading to 2010, the study presents thought or ability to imagine an alternative; just as a feat to investigate the power of imagination to acts of resistance involve behaviors that shift the re- provide agency for resistance. For it is not until lationships of power in the public realm. a space to ‘imagine’ an alternative is provided, that resistance and, eventually, collective resist- It is an ideological subordination I examine and one ance or movements for change are possible. that is contingent on certain power balances that are More so, it presents a feat to retrieve the captive affected by the arts of resistance. Power is inflicted imagination, and mark it as liberated grounds. through hegemonic tools, but also mainly through the regime in power being perceived as infallible This article will look into three main areas of and obstinate. Resistance here explores a trajectory study, namely; subaltern narratives of resistance, that starts with the realization that one is exploited, or subordinate to a particular hegemonic order, and the deconstruction of the hegemonic state and develops every day a rejection to this ruling order, the sites (spaces) of hegemonic articulation. FALL 2007 FALL 92 The Chronicles resulting in the shift of the loci of power. In fact, in It is only then that a shift in the social organiza- light of this analysis, the development of ‘alterna- tion of power can be noted through rhetoric, be- tive sites for hegemonic articulation’ is necessary haviour, or even self perception. for the ‘de-mystification’, or for the lapse of the state of false consciousness, the subaltern is sub- Deconstructing the State – Hegemony jected to an account of this ideological dominance. in Silence and in Song It is only once this mystification, or subordination of consciousness is breached, that the notion of an All voices are subordinate to the voice of the alternative life-world view is attainable. battle… Gamal Abdel Nasser Furthermore, Scott’s ‘arts of resistance’ involves In The Pipeline acts such as foot-dragging and others where one cuts down on his/her productivity to adversely af- The ‘battle’ then a war for liberation – symbolized fect the ‘master’s’ development; a peasant; ‘plays a unified and unifying national project bringing fool to catch wise’.7 In the areas of my study; these the ‘populace’ into a shared national and politi- ‘infra politics of the powerless’ are defeatist, and cal consciousness. A consciousness that came to almost conducive to subordination. For the sub- signify the ‘greater good’ that all was to be sac- altern somehow reasserts this powerlessness8 by rificed for. Nasser’s romantic hegemonic order remaining within the established frameworks of planted the seeds for an imagined community power, only slowing his/her own development that brought us all together; a realm of imagina- with time. tion that emancipated and limited us at once. My analysis is closer to that of Bayat’s ‘quiet en- Without analyzing a source of hegemonic pow- croachment of the ordinary’,9 where a sense of er, how it develops, and what effect it has on the entitlement drives the subaltern to access (and not populace, it would be difficult to actually trace even merely ‘demand’) that which he/she is enti- the means and modes of resistance to it, much less the rationale behind it. Thus it is necessary to tled to.10 It is, once again, an acknowledgment of one’s entitlements and a struggle to retrieve them deconstruct the state dynamics to its many frag- ments for a better understanding of the dynam- where a state is dominant/irresponsive. ics of a particular order. It is only then that the state-societal relations and the prevailing social I intend to study the informal politics of the squat- organizations of power can be detected. ters, students, workers and peasants; those who contribute to the system in their productive capac- ities, but are marginalized in terms of their share of its social and economic generations/productions. Until a narrower identification of the particular group/agents of resistance is achieved throughout the study, I will, for the time being, refer to this group as the subaltern. 11 Different narratives of resistance will be explored throughout the study, through oral history ac- counts of activists; but also through memoirs of ac- tivists at different time periods. The ethnographies are necessary in light of the fact that few struggles outside the formal realm of politics have been documented and that the effect of such struggles, particularly ones that are still being waged, are dif- ficult to trace, unless the individual sense of agency is tapped into. 2007 FALL The Chronicles 93 To look at Egypt’s state-societal power relations pends not on the brain-washing of the masses, but now, necessitates that we delve back into the on the tendency of public discourse to make some 1950s, the beginning of Egypt’s modern history forms of experience readily available to conscious- as a ‘nation’ or republic. What tools were used ness while ignoring or suppressing others.”14 His- to construct the nation and implant it in our torical gaps, or ‘silence’ therefore, are as relevant a imaginations? How did we become a populace realm of study, as are historical glorifications through suddenly accessible to one another in mind and songs. imagination and how were we limited to this form and field of imagination and no other? It is here, in the de-construction of the state that Anderson’s notion of ‘imagined community’15 is In Roseberry’s words; “the power of the state drawn upon, on two levels. The first is on the level rests not too much on the consent of its subjects of hegemonic manipulation where the state comes but with the state’s regulative and coercive forms to being through manipulating historical discourses and agencies which define and create certain and creating a basis for collective memory and be- kinds of subjects and identities while denying, longing that serves to re-assert its social power. This ruling out, other kinds of subjects and identities. social engineering or manipulation of the collective Moreover, the state accomplishes this not sim- imagination results in an image of infallibility that ply through its police and armies, but through the state builds for itself. its offices and routines, its taxing, licensing and In The Pipeline registering procedures and papers.”13 The notion of the imagined community will also be engaged with on the level of the subaltern, or how Hegemony here would be the hegemonic idea this imaginative trance can elapse. How the imagina- of what the nation state is and how the regime tion can be viewed/studied as an area for hegemonic should operate it. The whole idea of govern- contention, and how once retrieved, can a person’s ment (governing tactics/strategies) would be vehicle be out of a particular social order? to reinforce a particular life-world view through developing institutions to re-assert that view It is only once the subject is able to ‘re-think’ the na- and prevailing relations of power to keep the re- tion or his/her role or position in the imagined social gime in place. Once a person engages in such in- network that resistance is possible. It is only once an stitutions (schools, government bureaucracies/ alternative can be imagined (the most difficult part, procedures, unions, syndicates, even television since faculties of the imagination can be paralyzed or radio programs) he/she ‘subscribes’ to the over time) that a true socio-political change can be system; adopts the imposed imagination, and brought about. speaks its rhetoric. It is not until an alternative space can be engaged in, that the trance can be For these breaches in imagination to be possible broken and that alternatives can be ‘imagined’. however, an alternative space for imagination and contention is needed. To enable one to break from Thus, such tools affect the collective imagina- the hypnotic trance, the public discourse/transcript, tion, whether it is in the forms of bureaucracy, one must escape the public spaces manipulated by school curricula or exaggerated or reduced prop- hegemonic regimes, or find a space of their own. It is aganda regarding important historical events. here that realms such as arts and popular culture, as Examples are the exaggeratedly 6 Oct. 1973 vic- a space for the imagination (beyond print capitalism tory, alternatively viewed as a military scandal; that is a tool of the state) are explored as spaces for or the diminishing of the historical significance resistance and hegemonic articulation. of ‘Urabi’s uprisal’ in the 1880s, viewed by many as a legendary movement, possibly even revolu- tion. It is through the social engineering of no- tions such as nationalism and identity that the FALL 2007 FALL state gains control. For “hegemonic culture de 94 The Chronicles Sites of Hegemonic Articulation – The The very private space of ‘memory’ (represent- Art of Resistance ing consciousness) will also be explored as a site for power struggle over prevailing histori- cal accounts. Through oral history accounts and That’s why the cabaret is the parliament of the memoirs, the study attempts to explore the ef- people! fect of state tools, such as the above mentioned Balzac – Les Paysans curricula and media propaganda imposing particular versions of history, in shaping politi- cal consciousness through affecting ‘collective A recurring theme throughout the above- In The Pipeline ‘contemplations’, as a matter of fact a notion cen- memory’. This will be compared to the effect of tral to this study, is the ‘spaces’ or ‘sites’ of hege- popular forms of art and culture such as folklore monic development or socio-political contention. stories, poetry, song and ballads, and how they These ‘spaces’ are the sites of power struggles, and have served to preserve (sometimes even propa- are explored both in their capacity to reflect latent/ gate) accounts of history as it has been experi- informal struggles and resulting shifts in power re- enced by the populace.16 This form of counter- lations; as well as their actual production as a result hegemonic struggle and resistance is particularly of such struggles. important, as the power of the state to shape our perception of history sets a precedence for what In this particular context the role that certain forms forms of change are feasible or even remotely of art and popular culture, in producing and affect- possible. It affects our perceptions of who we ing public and private spaces will be examined. Art are, where we belong, and ultimately the extent will be explored as both a tool for and manifesta- to which our imagination stretches in considera- tion of resistance. tions of the future. Primarily art will be explored in its capacity to ‘ver- nacularize’ resistance – rather than an intellectual notion, resistance becomes experiencible and ex- pressible by all. Furthermore, resistance becomes a function of the populace. One needs only to join in the songs or the poetry to engage in and propagate the intellectual implications for change. Further- more, art can be produced by any member/strata of the society. The limits can only be as to where such forms/manifestations of resistance can be displayed. In the period of study, the art movement ventures more and more into an ‘experimental’ realm, defy- ing the mainstream or merely abstaining from it. These forms are often non-commercialized and non-subject to state censorship. Furthermore, the current movement towards displaying art in public spaces will be considered in its effect of retrieving public space, and making it accessible to all. FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 95 This sparked an interest in researching the different The Streets are Ours! forms of resistance engaged in by peasants, workers and students (subjects of state-hegemony and ma- nipulation) over the last 70 years. The time parameters for this research are identified ‘al-share’e lena’, Arabic for ‘the streets are ours’17 as the decade leading up to 2010. If possible how- is the name of a campaign developed by activ- ever, I would like to be able to explore historical pe- ists in 2005 taking stock of recent protest activi- riods of change (particularly in the 1950s) insofar ties, and how they may be built upon. It was an as the current movements are contingent upon their initiative to strategize how the movement would memory. Furthermore, as mentioned above, state ‘reclaim’ Cairo’s streets. Its initiators have since, power and hegemony in Egypt, as well as state-so- demonstrated, been arrested, and continued to cietal relations would be difficult to explore, without return for the spaces they have claimed as their first looking into the development of state-hegemo- own. ny in the 1950s Though this study attempts to trace the process The subject of the study remains the ‘subaltern’. I be- by which the streets have been retrieved, and lieve it will take a significant amount of research, to false political consciousness overcome, a sig- modify my ambitions to one particular group. For nificant level of de-mystification is required to In The Pipeline the time being however, preliminary research looks proceed with the study itself. at general forms of resistance by peasants, workers and students.18 Moreover, areas which require a narrower, more accurate definition include; the particular group The forms of resistance still remain the creation of of study (above referred to as the subaltern); the alternative spaces for hegemonic contention and tools of state propaganda to be analyzed; the articulation. The spaces of particular interest are de- form of art or popular culture as a site of hege- fined as ‘arts and popular culture’ as both manifesta- monic articulation, and most importantly the tion and tools of resistance. Particular interest pre- time-period of the study. vails in song and poetry, as they seem to have been used extensively by both state and populace, and Interest in this particular field have a powerfully resonant effect on both political of research developed, upon and emotional collective consciousness in Egypt. realizing the effect the movements of the last five years have had on the lib- eration and development of new public spaces, and the consequential unprecedent- ed magnitude of the popular protests that have resulted. Courtesy Hossam al-Hamalawy FALL 2007 FALL 96 The Chronicles 4 See: Benin, Joel, Hamalawy, Hossam. “Strikes in Egypt People remember, think, re- Spread from Centre of Gravity” Middle East Report Online. 9 May, 2007. The Chronicles 97 First Time on the A Commercial Film Sheds Light on Reviews Margins! Life in the Slums Fa d y Is h a k BS i n Me c h a n i c a l En g i n e e r i n g , Ai n Sh a m s Un i v e r s i t y ust as the socio-economic landscape The movie tells the story of Amr al-Siyoufi, a rich of Egypt and the region can be stud- and spoilt playboy who spent and lost all his money ied from an academic lens, it can also on his lust for women. He becomes bankrupt and J is sentenced to jail. His sentence becomes unavoid- be observed through predominant popu- able as his rich and sick uncle refuses to offer help by lar mainstream expressions represented paying his debts for he always tried to support him, by on-going art or what likes to call itself but to no avail. Al-Siyoufi’s only way out of prison art; such as commercial cinema. As Alia is through seeking refuge in one of Cairo’s slums, Mossallam, a regular contributor to the where he would be protected by an underworld Chronicles, puts it, “it is very interesting leader, called Mawlana. In return, he would pay to watch how plays and songs play a role Mawlana a big sum of money. Throughout his stay, in propagating ideologies or obliterating he learns about real hardships of life, about what it them, in shaping a national conscious- takes to be self-dependent, while he experiences a ness in general and then resistance. In mishmash of novel feelings. the meantime, there’s something about Hamed has been writing political and social dramas, the movie industry that should be looked as well as comedies that touch on crucial issues to at in depth.” For that purpose, we ran- the Egyptian society, in a way that relatively triggered domly picked a movie showing in thea- the public’s thoughts. Yet despite the fact that he is tres those days and tried to make some one of the wittiest script-writers and documenters readings in it. Al-Awila fil Gharam of today’s Egypt’s pleas, his new work leaves much (First Time in Love) is a new script by to desire. The main failure lies in treating complex the widely acclaimed Wahid Hamed, issues related to urban poverty, current polity and starring a clique of young actors and ac- today’s class structure in Egypt in quite a superficial tresses who have come to the forefront of way. In addition, the common flaws of Egyptian cin- starhood with the advent of the youth cin- ema were not missed in this production, with many ema in Egypt throughout the last decade. illogic scenes, inconsistent characters’ development FALL 2007 FALL and major inaccuracies and lack of details. 98 The Chronicles One cannot tell if trivialization and superficiality leader. The word Mawlana itself is associated are deliberate directions in today’s scripts to guar- with kings and religious icons. antee their meeting up with the predominant cri- teria for inclusion and exclusion in the production The discourse and perception of Mawlana can be cycle. What could be obvious, however, is that this considered an insinuation of an alternative indig- direction is reflective of the populace at large and enous democracy, born in the slum and created its encouraged mounting disinterest in engaging in by simple and modest people, amid the absence “tiring” thinking processes, amid many other mate- of an institutional democracy at a macro-level. rial hardships. However, this democratic model is not denuded from traditional traits of patriarchy and patron- Nevertheless, some interesting ideas in the movie subject dynamics that have always been closely Reviews are worth some attention. associated with organizing structures in Egypt, from the family to the polity at large. One won- “We would like to thank the government for the ders if this contradiction is deliberately instilled chaos that we live in, for it is the reason we were in the text by the writer or if it is a reflection of his able to create our own system,” said Mawlana, the own distorted perception of democracy, a distor- community leader of the slum where al-Siyoufi tion that is widespread among many of Egypt’s found refuge. Like a traditional political leader, vehement callers for reforms. Mawlana spoke about the improving economic situation under his leadership. When he appears for the first time on screen, he reaches the alleys of The picture remains to be the slum in a parade of cars carrying the slum’s flag. Hamed was trying to create a twist on the notion a good exposure to the of a state within a state, an experience reproduced elsewhere than Egypt with varying degrees of suc- widening social class gap cess and failure, while it remains quite distant from a country that is highly polarized in terms of power in Egypt. It is also an ex- sharing. However, it remains interesting to see how chaos and huge class gaps in Egypt can produce posure to the barricades parallel worlds, through which, the marginalized attempt to create their own system in their strive that separate between for survival. the two worlds, particu- Mawlana himself, the symbol of that alternative larly putting the rich in system and the protector of the marginalized com- munity, is not portrayed as a criminal or an outlaw, isolationist towers and in although one of his main sources of income is pro- viding shelter for rich corrupt people, who are out- complete ignorance of the laws themselves. He is rather the widely-respected supreme ruler of the slum, in what could be an allu- existence of their others, sion to the predominance of patriarchal modes in any indigenous system in the country. Mawlana is while the poor remain in also described as democratic by his sister who said that he would never force her to marriage and that unspoken ghettos like the he would always take her opinion into account. In the meantime, he is the one who allocates jobs, ar- slum. ranges marriages, punishes criminals and forgives them. In the end, he is a supreme FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 99 Egypt’s Amateur Historian A Reading in Ahmad Sadiq Saad’s Work Ya r a Sa l l a m LLB i n Co m m e r c i a l La w , Pa r i s I Un i v e r s i t y , Pa n t h é o n So r b o n n e Ahmad Sadiq Saad (1919-1988) is an Egyptian Jew- Jewish ish Marxist intellectual; he was born to a Jewish fam- Reviews ily in the Shubra district. Throughout time, he devel- Egyptian oped as an eminent ‘amateur’ historian. In the 1940s, as a leading activist in the emerging Egyptian com- Marxist munist movement, he analyzed social and political problems using Marxist methodology. His research A activities were suspended with the dissolution of the Intellectual and his communist movement during Gamal Abdul Nasser’s regime in the late 1950s. He resumed his research in Inquiry into the the late 1970s after retiring from a state-owned elec- tric company, where he worked as an engineer after Popular Heritage”, his release from political detention in 1964. is an essay on the One of Saad’s best-known works is his study on the Asian mode of production, titled “Egypt’s Social and personal history of Economic History from the Perspective of the Asian Mode of Production”. He also wrote about popular movements and Islamic economic thought. An im- Ahmad Sadiq Saad portant work in that area is “Studies in the Economic Concepts of Islamic Scholars”. Saad’s contribution as by Eiji Nagasawa, a Marxist historian in Egyptian economic and social a Japanese profes- history is a thought provoking work. In Nagasawa’s essay, the author tried to set out the sor of modern and personal history of Saad, arguing for the impact of this special upbringing on his work and his intellec- contemporary his- tual development. Nagasawa followed closely one of Saad’s studies on Egypt’s popular heritage to trace tory of the Arabs down this intellectual development. at the University of Tokyo. FALL 2007 FALL 100 The Chronicles His entry point to the life and career of Saad tivities and tendencies of communist move- through his background and interest in popular ments across the Eastern Mediterranean. In the heritage is an interesting and witty way in under- case of Saad’s group, each phase of the war accel- standing his model of activism. erated the nationalization of the movement and accordingly the group. Saad’s parents are one of many Jewish families that settled down in Egypt and the East Mediterranean The first phase was with the outbreak of the in the later half of the 19th century. They are part of Nazi-Soviet war in 1941 which led many foreign a larger body of immigrants including Greeks, Syr- members in the Research Group to leave Egypt ians and Armenians who moved to Egypt in search in order to join the anti-Fascist struggles in their home countries. This shift led to a major change for business opportunities, given the facilitated Reviews conditions, the few privileges granted to local for- in the composition of the group, which has eign minorities and the incoming foreign capital at eventually moved to nationalizing itself within the time. Saad described his father as belonging to the confines of Egypt, unlike other communist the “artisan class”, while his mother is attributed to splinters. The second phase came with the inva- the “petite bourgeoisie”. Saad was exposed to West- sion of Egypt by the German and Italian armies ern education, joggling between French, English in 1942, which led a majority of the Research and Italian. Later, he began to study classic Ara- Group, most of whom were Jews fearing perse- bic through private lessons with a sheikh from al- cution under occupation, to take refuge in Pal- Azhar, before enrolling in university. Arabic came estine. With the absence of foreign members in hand in hand with his first encounter with Marxist the Group till 1942, the three young Egyptians ideology. had the chance of assuming the leadership of the organization as they were continuously resid- Saad’s first encounter with Marxism was when he ing in Egypt even during the hardest political was 16; when he first read The Communist Mani- turmoil. Later on, when the old members came festo. At the same time, he was greatly influenced back to Egypt, the Egyptian members declared by his teacher, a Russian Jewish communist, who independence, asserting that they were “Egyp- was also a member of the League of Pacifists (It- tians and not like the foreign and semi-foreign tihad Ansar al-Salam). The league, established in members who were dyed with French culture.” 1034 as a part of the Rassemblement Universel They were confident of being able to manage pour le Pacifisme, played an important role as an their own organization. early incubator for the nascent communist move- ment in Egypt. Through the circle of his contacts Along with his associates, Saad began to make with the members of Ittihad Ansar al-Salam, where contact with the working class in the 1940s and two Egyptian Jews were his closest comrades, Saad he developed ties with the labor movement in started to discover the Marxist theory of political 1942 by several cooperation works. In 1946, Saad economy and further studied bourgeois econom- and his comrades founded the Popular Front of ics. Liberation (al-Tali’a al-Sha’beya lil Tahrir). In the same year, they started a bi-weekly journal al- After the outbreak of World War Two in September Fajr al-Jadid (the New Dawn), to act as the voice 1939, the organization was dissolved and reorgan- of their organization. Later, they were called the ized into more than one group; one of which was New Dawn Group as they were very cautious the Research Group (Jama’at al-Buhuth) under about disclosing the original name of the Front. the leadership of the founder of the organization Jaquot Decombes. Saad and his Jewish comrades A major divide between the international move- Raymond Duweiq and Yussif Darwish joined the ment and the localized nascent communist activ- Research Group. World War Two affected the ac ism in Egypt was over the Palestinian question. One of the negative influences of the presence FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 101 of foreign leaders in Egyptian communist or- study, Saad criticized dif- ganizations was their attitude towards the issue ferent schools of histori- in general. Their supportive position to the UN ography in Egypt. In that resolution on the partition of Palestine, which sense, Nagasawa captured was an obedient stance, following the decision the essence of Saad’s activ- of the Soviet Union, provoked a deep frustra- ism, which was not simply tion among Egyptian members. After the set- built on international com- back during the Palestine War in 1948, the com- munist scholarship, litera- munist movement started once again to expand ture and affiliation, but also during the period of political crisis that brought on deeply rooting himself the military coup in Egypt in 1952. in his hosting Ahmad Sadiq Saad The unification of communist organizations Courtesy Yara Sallam was completed in January 1958 by the founda- environment, namely Egypt and delving himself in tion of the Egyptian United Communist Party, its populist basis. Reviews under the pressure of the government and other forces. But the three Jewish leaders of the New Dawn Group were excluded from the central committee of the new party, even though they all had converted to Islam. They remained in Egypt, keeping their memberships in the party, while understanding the sensitivity that might emanate from their original Jewish identities amid the Egyptian masses, who were newly in- troduced to the Arab-Israeli hostilities follow- Nagasawa, Eiji. “A Jewish Egyptian Marxist ing the declaration of the State of Israel and who Intellectual and his Inquiry into the Popular were filled with anti-Jewish sentiments. Heritage”. Memoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko. No. 62, 2004. Saad returned to his research activities and started zealous writing after his retirement in the late 1970s. He focused his interest on the popular heritage of Egypt and Islamic economic thought. Taha Saad Uthman, a leading figure of the Shubra al-Kheima Textile Mechanics Un- ion, one of the most radical and independent union at that time, described Saad as someone who “belonged to a different kind of intellectu- als; he understood the importance of traditions and customs of the popular classes in order to know the reality of the Egyptian society, he kept in touch with labor activists even in hard times of suppression.” Accordingly, Nagasawa chose to introduce and expound on Saad’s articles on the Egyptian pop- ular heritage, one of which is titled, “Spontane- ous Movements in the Historiography in Mod- ern Egypt,” which was written in 1987. In this FALL 2007 FALL 102 The Chronicles Week of October 1965 – Third Week of Septmber 1965]). Our Archives Taqrir ‘an Rihlat Mohammad AbdelAziz Zayed Ra’is he following are samples of the Majlis al-‘idara ila al-Yaban wa al-wilayat al-Mutah- Tdocuments contributed to EBHRC ida wa al-Miksik. (Report on Mohammad AbdelAziz to be part of its archival depository. Zayed’s [Chairman of the Alexandria Commercial Donors of documents vary from indi- Company] Trip to Japan, The United States and viduals to institutions. In addition, docu- Mexico [Duration: October/November 1966]). ments received vary from original to Taqrir ‘an Rihlat Mohammad AbdelAziz Zayed Ra’is copy forms and some old documents Majlis al-‘idara lil-‘aswaq al-Qutniyya fi ‘urupa were purchased from a collector of al–Gharbiyya. (Report on Mohammad AbdelAziz old papers and artifacts in Downtown Zayed’s [Chairman of the Alexandria Commercial Cairo. Archives Company] Trip to the Cotton Markets in Western Europe [Duration: June 1968]). Aziz Sidqi: Ministry of Industry Publications: Taqrir ‘an Ma’rad Suq Bari bi-Italya. (Report on The Al-Thawra al-Sina’iya fi ‘ahad ‘ashar ‘aman 1952-1963 Bari Exhibition, Italy [September 1970]). (11 years of Industrial Revolution) MINESTERIAL ORDER: The order is the permission Dalil al-Sina’a fi Misr fi Thalathin Sana 1952-1982 granted to Zayed to Attend the Bari Exhibition as (Guide to Industry in Egypt in 30 Years) Deputy Governor of the Central Bank. Dalil al-Wukala’al-Tijariyyin Bil-Iqlim al Misri, 1960 (Directory: Trade Agents in The Egyptian Province’ Banque Misr Publications Sixtieth Anniversary, 1920-1980 1960.) The directory is published by “The General Diamond Jubilee, 1920-1995 Union of Chambers of Commerce”. Golden Jubilee, 1920-1970 Part 3 of Talaat Harb’s Collection of Speeches, 1939 Purchased Documents Land Contracts: Three land contracts registered in the court of Alexandria in 1889, 1890 and 1893 Café Riche Documents – Magdi Abdel Malek Advertisement for theatre shows in Riche, 1918 – 1924 under the Khedives’ government. Auctions Sales and Sales Contracts, 1914 – 1925 Stock Certificates: Crédit Foncier Egyptien 1951, Correspondence and letters of refusal between Café Société de Bière “ Les Pyramides” 1956, Egyptian owner and Cairo Police regarding the permission to Federation for Agricultural Products 1943. hold an open-air orchestra, 1916 Receipts: Three receipts from the Piastre Project for Transfer of Management documents, 1920 – 1942 the Revival of Egyptian Industries (mashru’ il qirsh). Liquor Licenses, 1929-1933 Letter from Michel Politis to Assitant to the Chief of Reports from Tax Authorities, 2000 Police: 9 May 1916. Muhammad AbdelAziz Zayed Sayyid Abdul Qadir Muzakira bi-Sha’n ‘usus al-Tijarah al-Dakhiliya wa Correspondence between the chairman of Abu Tar- al-Kharijiya fi al-Mujtama’ al-‘ishtiraki al-dimoqrati al- ture Phosphate Project and the Ministry of Industry Ta’awuni (Memorandum on the Foundations of Internal in 2001 and External Trade in the Socialist Democratic Coopera- Correspondence between the British ambassador and tive Society, 1959) the minister of industry on the Joy Mining Machinery Bahth ‘an Wasa’il Tanmiyyat al-Tijara al-Dakhiliyya wa contract with Abu Tarture Phosphate Project Mada al-Nuhud Biha (Paper on the Means for Devel- Joint Report of the General Organization for Indus- oping Internal Trade and the Extent of Promoting it) trial and Mining Project and Joy Mining Committee 1961. World Bank Report about Egypt’s New Valley Phos- Taqrir ‘an Rihlat Mohammad AbdelAziz Zayed Ra’is phate Report, 1978 Majlis al-’idara lil-Kharij ‘an al-mudda min al-’usbu’ al-‘akhir min December Sanat 1965 (Report on Moham- mad AbdelAziz Zayed’s [Chairman of the Alexandria Commercial Company] Trip Abroad [Duration: Last FALL 2007 FALL The Chronicles 103 Dr. Rouchdy Said Ali Negm Eng. Ibrahim Salem Mohamedein Transcript of Mourning Session for Ali Negm organ- Dr. Aziz Sidqi ized by the Egyptian Association for Market Econom- Eng. Louis Beshara ics, July 2007 Eng. Munir EzzelDin Newspapers clippings of interviews conducted with Dr. Bahaa Rafaat Ali Negm Mr. Hasan Ragab Adel Gazarin BANKING, INSURANCE AND FINANCE Pre-feasibility Analysis of the Production of a Small Mr. Mahmoud Abdullah Car in Egypt Request by the Ministerial Committee Dr. Salwa el-Antari for the Egyptian Car, 1984. Mr. Mohamed el-Barbari Mr. Ali Dabbous Data for the Establishment of New Join Ventures by Mr. Hasan Hafez al-Nasr Automotive MFG. CO. Wadi – HOF / Helwan, Dr. Bahaa Helmy 1974 Mr. Ali Shahin The Establishment and Development of the Auto- Mr. Fouad Sultan motive Equipment Industry in the Arab Republic of Dr. Mohammad Taymur Archives Egypt PRIVATE ENTERPRISE AND SMALL BUSINESS Mr. Nadim Elias Mr. Henry Francis Mr. Mansour Hassan Oral History Ms. Laura Kfoury Mr. Mohamed Madbouly Ms. Magda Mekawi ur repository of oral history narra- Mr. Elhamy Naguib Otives has extended to include over Mr. Zeyad Nashef 118 hours of recorded sessions with Mr. Ashod Papazian figures of the economic and business Mr. Hasan Ragab sector of Egypt. The resulting primary Mr. Adel To’ma records in oral format and written tran- Eng. Ali Tawfiq scripts are available at the premises of EBHRC and are in the process of being RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT transformed into library holdings. The Dr. Mohamed Bahaa Fayez process leading up to the transforma- Dr. Mahmoud Barakat tion of accounts into library holdings in- Dr. Samer el-Mofti cludes providing written confidentiality Mr. Galal el-Shayeb agreements to interviewees, transcrib- Dr. Mostafa Kamal Tulba ing the colloquial record in legible writ- Dr. Mahmoud Saada ten form, giving the transcript to the interviewee for final editing and addi- MILITARY INDUSTRIES tions, obtaining a legal clearance from Dr. Hussein al-Gammal the interviewee regarding sections that Eng. Abdel Baset el-Sebaawy would be disseminated as well as archiv- Dr. Mukhtar Hallouda ing and digitizing final records for use by Eng. Sayed Younes scholars. EGYPTIAN ECONOMISTS, ACTIVISTS AND INTEL- LECTUALS INDUSTRY AND PUBLIC POLICY Dr. Galal Amin Mr. Sayed Abdel Kader Dr. Mahmoud Amin el-Allem Eng. Mohammad Abdel Wahab Mr. Youssef Darwish Dr. Shawqi el-Aqabawi Eng. Fouad Abu Zeghla Dr. Mohamed Duwaidar Dr. Mohamed Mahmoud al-Imam Dr. Heba Handoussa Mr. Samir Allam Dr. Adel Gazarin CAFÉ RICHE COLLECTION Eng. Abdel Moneim Khalifa Mr. Mohamed Hussein Sadeq (Filfil) Mr. Adly Rizkallah Eng. Mahmoud Kurayyim Mr. Bahaa Taher Dr. Ibrahim Saad el-Din FALL 2007 FALL Dr. Ismail Sabri Abdullah 104 The Chronicles