Relief that victims of the Al-Salam 98 ferry tragedy would be getting one of the highest compensations in history was mixed with anger over the perceived lack of justice in the entire affair, writes Mohamed El-Sayed Gamal El-Sadat sat on a bench at the back of the room. His eyes appeared distant, unable to focus on anything in particular. Along with dozens of other equally lost souls, El-Sadat was waiting to receive his compensation check at an office on the eighth floor of the Ministry of Justice in Mounira. He couldn't help but think back to that horrific February night when Al-Salam 98 sank into the deep waters of the Red Sea. Remembering being tossed around by the cold waves in pitch darkness, swimming for over 20 hours amidst hundreds of dead bodies, and the sounds of other passengers drowning, tears welled up in his eyes. El-Sadat was one of the very few who lived through the ordeal. Although about to receive LE50,000 in compensation, El-Sadat said he had actually lost some LE200,000 in savings on that doomed trip. He had been employed for the past two decades at a Kuwaiti fishing company; that fateful trip on the Al-Salam 98 was finally taking him home. Instead, he lost everything -- the money, all of his luggage, and most importantly, his best friend. After months of dealing with the tragedy while trying to rebuild his life, El-Sadat headed for Cairo from his small village in Damietta in the wee hours of last Sunday morning. Like many others, he was responding to news that a deal had been struck between Prosecutor Gaber Rihan and the Al-Salam 98's owner to up the compensation figures for the tragedy's victims and their families. According to the deal, ferry owner Mamdouh Ismail, who furtively fled to London in the aftermath of the tragedy, had agreed to pay LE300,000 to families of the dead or missing, and LE50,000 to each survivor. Consequently, Rihan revoked an earlier decision to freeze Ismail and his family's assets, and ban them from leaving the country. The mid-sized room at the Justice Ministry was packed with victims' families; they were mostly women who, every few minutes, would burst out in sobs, crying out to God to protect the souls of their dead husbands. At one point, Intisar Abdel-Wahab, whose husband had been a truck driver in Kuwait, wailed something about "no amount of money will make up for my husband." Bitterly, Abdel-Wahab told Al-Ahram Weekly that her "pain would not go away until the ferry owner was brought to justice and sentenced to death." She has had no income since her husband's death. "He was our only breadwinner," she said, "and the compensation money is not enough to feed, educate, or help my six orphaned children get married." More importantly, "this money will never compensate them for the loss of their father." A lawyer, who maintained that Ismail "would be the only winner in this case", escorted the mother of six to the ministry. The lawyer, who preferred to remain anonymous, claimed that Ismail might receive up to LE900 million from a European insurance company. If the lawyer's assumption is correct, and Ismail hands out some LE300 million in compensation money to the victims, "this means he will pocket LE600 million," the lawyer calculated. Two reports released by parliament's fact-finding commission and the prosecutor-general noted Ismail's gross negligence. The reports said Ismail was responsible for operating the ferry without the necessary maritime safety precautions and equipment. The reports also accused the ferry owner of overloading the boat with too many passengers. A third report -- prepared by the cabinet -- softened the blow, however, blaming the accident on a variety of factors, including "fate". Abdel-Wahab's lawyer noted that the provisions of the brokered deal do not allow those who cash in to sue Ismail, thus absolving the owner of any legal responsibilities to the victims. "Eventually, Ismail will return to Egypt without ever being brought to justice," the lawyer said. "It's a ploy by the government and the owner." (Even if -- by accepting the compensation money -- the victims forfeit their right to a civil case against Ismail, the ferry owner will still have to face the government's case against him. He and six others have already been charged with a relatively light misdemeanor -- gross negligence). According to the lawyer, the government added insult to injury by making survivors and families of victims -- who mostly come from remote villages -- travel all the way to Cairo to collect their compensation money. "Most of those who came today are helpless, and know that they would not receive proper compensation if they sued the ferry owner," he said. "They had to accept this fact, and submissively take the meagre compensation." The payout does, however, signify one of the largest such compensation schemes in the nation's history. The major difference is that this time, a private citizen -- rather than the government -- is making the payment. Meanwhile, the prosecutor-general has drafted amendments to the maritime law, which aim to prevent such tragedies in the future. The amendments, which will soon be referred to the People's Assembly, force ferry owners to insure the lives of passengers, and apply international maritime safety regulations to all ferries sailing in Egyptian waters. The move to amend the law was hailed by many, but victims' families still feel the government has dealt with them unjustly. An old woman sitting on the eighth floor raised her hand in prayer: "I invoke God against all of them, the government and Ismail. Only He will do us justice." Several other widows sitting beside her echoed, "amen".
