Preliminary investigations into the case of the seven Egyptian workers who drowned in a pool of animal blood in a Jordanian slaughterhouse revealed no "malicious intent". Sana Abdallah reports from Amman Seven Egyptian men, aged between 18 and 41, drowned on 12 August at a slaughterhouse belonging to Ghosheh and Hijazi Company in Quweira, 50 kilometres northeast of the southern Red Sea port city of Aqaba. The men all drowned in a 3-metre deep, 2-metre wide pool of livestock blood as they tried to save each other. The pool served as a collection point for the blood from slaughtered livestock, and was reportedly full on the day the tragedy took place. The pump that usually helps in disposing the blood from the pool was out of order. As a result, the men were manually emptying the blood, when one of them apparently fainted from the stench and fell in. One after the other, the seven men ended up drowning in the pool of blood as they tried to save their fallen colleagues. Government officials in Aqaba said that the slaughterhouse's supervisor and chief machinery engineer were detained for questioning, and could face charges of negligence. The men's bodies were flown to Egypt for burial on 16 August. One senior official told Al-Ahram Weekly on condition of anonymity, that the "issue has been resolved and is now in the hands of the courts". Judicial sources said investigations have so far revealed that there was no "malicious intent", and that the incident was a "tragic accident", a description with which the Egyptian Embassy in the Jordanian capital, Amman, agreed. However, there were discrepancies in the testimonies made during the investigation. Some said the seven men were ordered to manually empty the pool of blood, and had been threatened with dismissal had they refused. Others sought to place the blame on the victims themselves, saying they chose to do the job without being asked. According to Ali El-Halawani, first secretary and consul at the Egyptian Embassy in Amman, the owners of the slaughterhouse have expressed their willingness to compensate the workers' families. No one at Ghosheh and Hijazi, major meat produce investors in both Egypt and Jordan, could be reached for comment. "There is no doubt it was a terrible accident, and these men were not targeted in any way," El-Halawani told the Weekly. "But we are also keen on seeing a substantial improvement in work safety conditions, which should not differentiate between Egyptian, Jordanian or any other worker." He added that around 750 Egyptians were employed by the slaughterhouse on a contractual basis, with an average monthly salary of 130 dinars (approximately $180) per employee. The diplomat said the Egyptian Embassy, which looks after the interests of an estimated 250,000 Egyptian workers in the kingdom, was satisfied with the way the investigations were being handled, and trusted "whatever the Jordanian authorities and judiciary finds". He said the embassy was following the investigations closely and that the Jordanian authorities were "very cooperative in sharing information and developments". El-Halawani said that, "we want the rights of the seven victims to be met in terms of compensation, to guarantee that safety is secured, and that other places of work have better safety conditions." He said the fact that there were so many Egyptian workers in Jordan with "difficult jobs" made the risk of such occupational accidents higher. He said there were between 110,000 to 140,000 Egyptians working in Jordan with legal permits, with roughly the same number working "illegally". Egyptians often take jobs in the agriculture and construction industries. El-Halawani, who has been in his post in Amman for a year, said he often receives calls from Jordanian authorities regarding industrial or work-related accidents involving Egyptians. "Every single problem regarding an Egyptian worker's accident or death has been resolved smoothly, mostly over the telephone," El- Halawani said. "The Jordanian authorities have always been cooperative, and every single victim has received compensation rights, except in one case, when a company turned out to be bogus and unregistered, with its owner having fled the country." At the expence of sounding "too diplomatic", as he put it, El-Halawani -- who previously served in his country's embassies in Greece and an Arab Gulf country -- said Jordan "sees and believes the Egyptian labour force as one contributing to the building of the country. We don't see that in many other countries, where, for example, a small problem is blown out of proportion and there is clear discrimination. But in Jordan, huge problems (involving Egyptians) are resolved easily and smoothly, in the same manner that problems involving Jordanians are dealt with."
