One year on and the injured in the January Revolution are still hurting, Sarah Eissa listens to their woes Ten days after getting married, Gharib Attia, 32, lost sight in both eyes last 26 January in Al-Arbein Square in Suez governorate. He used to work in Sharm El-Sheikh but lost his job after the injury. A man called El-Sheikh Hafez from Suez helped him to do his first surgery, then he travelled to Cairo and foreigners from Austria helped him do another one. He received a decree to be treated on the state expense and to travel abroad for a surgery, but nothing has happened until now. All Attia demands, is getting his medication, since he has no income except the LE15,000 compensation he received from the state, before the prime minister cabinet fund was established. But money is running out due to life expenses and the price of medications, leaving him worried about the future, especially with his unborn child coming into the world soon. On 25 January 2011, Mahmoud El-Said, 23, sustained injuries in his leg and back in Mansoura governorate. El-Said is a blogger and the general coordinator of the 25 January Revolution Injured Union, and was also a member of the board of trustees of the Revolution's Injured Association that was created by the prime minister cabinet before the injured fund was established. He went through an operation and will travel to Germany for three more. He says all his financial aid is from civil society and donors. He used to work in computers but after the injury, he lost his job. Another injured is Adel Hassan, 49, who lost the sight of one of his eyes after being shot on 25 January, like Attia, in Al-Arbein Square. Hassan has had to live with the bullet in his eye since then because he can't travel abroad to get it removed. As a wall painter, he couldn't keep his job and has difficulty buying eye drops. Hassan was responsible for the injured committee in Suez, but according to him he is not anymore because he used to criticise officials who were unable to make sure that the injured receive their demands and rights. Some people even told the governor he is not injured. His compensation was cut, although he had all his documents and medical reports from public and private hospitals saying he has a disability. After two months he was finally compensated LE15,000. A year on, he says he paid more than this to cover his debts. He adds that in July, a committee of the army went to Suez promising them treatment inside Egypt and abroad but nothing happened. They further told citizens to hand them the bills of their medications so that the state could pay them, but Hassan got nothing in return. He explains that only civil society helped him pay for surgeries. Suez government and the army offered them jobs in petroleum companies; some people received designation letters but are not yet assigned while others didn't get anything. Hassan and Attia explained that Suez governor gave the youth 12 apartments consisting of two rooms but each one had to pay LE660 to get them. Hassan adds that three of the injured cannot receive the apartment because thugs are living there, and one was denied an apartment because he was still living with his parents. El-Said also explains that the Mansoura governor gave him jobs he couldn't do with his injuries. He further added that the salary is only LE200. Mohamed Abdel-Fattah, 40, was injured on 28 January when the central security cars drove over him. He suffers from a slip disk, a weakened cruciate ligament, and a cut in the ligaments of the ankle so he cannot do major lifting. He is working with Takreem NGO, which supports the families of revolution heroes, to help other injured. He was treated at his own expense in private hospitals, then went to Al-Nadim Centre for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and to volunteer doctors in public hospitals. He spent four months in the polio centre in Imbaba. "Cockroaches and cats were moving around us," he states. Explaining that the injured were transferred to another administrative floor with a sign saying Injured People of 25 January. "It was for media show. The situation wasn't better." El-Said assures that when Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri added Mohamed Mahmoud and Maspero martyrs and injured to the revolution ones, they were transferred from Al-Qasr Al-Aini to Agouza hospital and paid LE5,000 for hospital expenses. Professor Shahira Mehrez, Takreem NGO board of director president, folklore researcher, and lecturer on heritage, traditional clothing and architecture, explained that Takreem started to aid the wounded since 29 January in the square and were officially registered in August. Takreem is responsible for aiding the injured financially and sends cases that need medical help to volunteer doctors or other NGOs. Mehrez, Abdel-Fattah, Zeinab Ramadan, the general and executive director have aided around 450 injured. Mehrez explains that after the fund was created people donating to Takreem thought problems were solved, and stopped their donations, yet family and friends still donate money. She added that they had a meeting in the fund when it was established where NGOs were asked to give them the injured data then were told their role will be consultancy. Ramadan adds that the fund was created to treat the injured and find them jobs but that did not happen, as it only compensated some people. According to Mehrez, the fund mechanism was negative. "If Essmat Pansee, the head of the fund, suggested something that the injured youth disagree with, she blacklists them and delays their files." Pansee could not be reached for comment. Mehrez adds that the fund promised NGOs they will reach an agreement with the Social Fund for Development (SFD) to allow benefits for the injured and help with micro projects. The fund also promised interest-free loans without collateral up to LE50,000, and having representatives working with the SFD to simplify routine procedures. But so far all promises have been broken. She adds that the injured spent all summer collecting routine documents and then were told by the SFD that the deadline is over despite the fact that they applied in July and the deadline was in September. Another foundation aiding the injured is 25 January Heroes Support Foundation (JHSF), headed by Mohamed Sharaf, professor of science and engineering of nanotechnology. He says the foundation started after Mubarak's resignation and was officially registered two months ago. It was created by 50 founding members who donated money, time, and effort, with 15 volunteers in different organisations. The foundation aids the injured through its volunteer doctors, transferring cases to some hospitals, or sending them abroad for treatment. They also support them financially and help them through minor projects. According to Sharaf, they have managed around 20 minor projects costing between LE2,000 and LE7,000. They offer housing to the injured who were evicted or threatened with eviction. They further provide the families of the injured and martyrs with legal support, and have helped more than 2,500. JHSF announced that they will currently stop receiving more injured applicants and asked them to go to official entities until further notice. It added that they are ready to take their direct role back if official entities neglect the injured. "We can't give up on the injured and will not stop." He highly criticises the fund for the injured, claiming that it doesn't serve the injured but rather makes them look bad in the media. After the fund was criticised by most of the injured and NGOs it was finally transferred to the Injured National Council (INC). Sharaf says that he trusts Hosni Saber, the secretary of the INC, personally since he has operated on the injured before. He further believes that if Saber has state support, he will solve the problems. But Sharaf demands Saber sets a timetable to solve the crisis. El-Said explains that they started a campaign in the union to bring electric wheel chairs to hemiplegia injured, succeeding in delivering five. Saber said it's the state's responsibility but the council did not help: "NGOs are still treating the injured." Mehrez also says until now the council is not effective. "Two of the injured received a letter to go to Ahmed Maher and Al-Qasr Al-Aini hospitals, but there the hospitals weren't aware of the council's letters. Also 10 cases need to travel abroad or they will be physically challenged for the rest of their lives and the council hasn't acted yet." She realises that the injured's problems can't be solved overnight, but she hopes for quick procedures to reassure them and the NGOs as well. I won't ask to solve all the injureds' problems right away. Mehrez argues that those who were blinded or paralysed should receive immediate pensions, starting with those at Agouza hospital as they are officially recognised. Mehrez denounced the fact that the council is asking the injured to re-register their names, since they have their original documents. Takreem's Abdel-Fattah thinks Saber is doing a great effort and explained that the first day he was assigned, the television broadcast two contradictory announcements: the first, registering the wounded of Mohamed Mahmoud, Maspero, and the Cabinet, and the second that the first group of the revolutionary injured will receive their dues. "This caused chaos and I believe it was intended by the previous fund management that want INC to fail." El-Said hopes that the INC is strong enough, although he believes some people in the previous management of the fund are stronger than the state, since they hold the injured's data and won't disseminate all their information.
