By Samia Farid Shihata Anyone living or working in Zamalek is probably sadly aware that the tree-cutting brigade has been having a regular shindig in the area over the past few weeks. An "official" ragtag band of men has been picking its way through the island's streets, frenziedly chopping at one tree after another, until all that is left are rows of naked tree trunks that bear no resemblance to what people normally call trees. What exactly is going on? "We're trimming the trees to protect people from getting hurt!" is the answer the busy municipal "do-gooders" have been giving anyone who dared to ask such a naïve question. Trimming? More like going to the barber for a trim and having your head chopped off. That is really what comes to mind when one observes the trimmers at work. It also makes your blood boil! Why is it that our municipal authorities never seem to remember the trees until their branches start to wither and dry up for lack of water? Why is it that we rarely, if at all, see anyone watering these trees? And where is civic responsibility when the trees are having the life choked out of them by the perpetually -- and senselessly -- re-paved sidewalks. Can we really expect a tree to thrive under these conditions? And I strongly suspect that the same scenario is playing itself out in other parts of the city. Who exactly is behind the tree cutting frenzy currently underway in Zamalek and elsewhere, and how can we stop him/her/them? All of which brings us to the question of accountability. People must be held accountable. There are too many faceless bureaucrats, accountable to no one, wreaking havoc with our lives in so many ways, either due to ignorance, laziness or corruption. We cannot allow this to go on. It is time that we took back control of our lives, our neighbourhoods, our roads, and, yes, our trees. Saving the trees means saving ourselves. This week's Soapbox speaker is former adviser to the Middle East executive director at the International Monetary Fund.
