Calls for a general strike on Sunday were neither heeded en masse nor ignored. What, then, can be said about the confusing developments, asks Dina Ezzat Sunday's strike came and went, leaving the public, government and opposition all wondering the same thing. What next? For the government the most pressing question is whether its tough security measures and promised package of economic intervention to offset the impact of inflation on the most vulnerable members of society will be enough to contain the anger increasingly being voiced by those who daily find it more difficult to make ends meet. The opposition, for its part, is asking if the security apparatus has already unleashed its worst or if more arrests are over the horizon while the public has been left to wonder whether any end is in sight to the economic hardships they face and the concomitant political tension. At best Sunday's strike sent out an ambivalent message. It was met with neither total disinterest nor overwhelming support, suggesting that both the opposition and the government has failed to convince the public that they have the right answers. Sunday's strike was planned by civil society organisations and the political opposition to protest against growing economic hardships, the spiralling cost of living in particular. Riot police took over Cairo's streets for the occasion, with a majority of Cairenes remaining indoors for much of the day, either because they were unconvinced the strike would actually achieve anything, or because they feared clashes between the security apparatus and activists. Schools, particularly those in affluent neighbourhoods, reported a fall in attendance on Sunday despite having stressed that it was a normal school day. School administrators complained that a Ministry of Interior statement issued on Saturday urging citizens to follow their normal routines had in fact had an opposite effect, compounding the anxiety of the public and leaving large numbers of parents too frightened to send their children to school. "You never know what could have happened. The police might have decided to act harshly. I could not be sure if my children would be safe," says Afaf, a 40-year- old housewife. It was a typical reaction. None of the peaceful marches announced earlier in the week actually took place apart from a small gathering at the headquarters of the Bar Association in Downtown Cairo, which sparked little interest among members of the public and was in any case completely surrounded by riot police, and protests by a couple of hundred students on university campuses, all of them under firm security control. The strike was more evident in Lower Egypt where shoppers were visibly fewer, demonstrations larger and security tactics even more heavy-handed. There are reports that more than 150 people, including Islamists and labour activists, were detained on Sunday on charges of inciting civil unrest and disturbing the peace. As the dust from Sunday began to settle tension was still high, especially in Cairo. Anxious security forces -- placed on alert for Tuesday's municipal elections -- were heavily policing potential sites of assembly and arresting activists, Islamists in particular. By Wednesday the public remained apprehensive. "Things will not improve. I can say that in full confidence," said Nadia, a housewife in her mid-40s. "Prices have been going up and up for six months now. The state has not interfered and in Egypt things change only when the state takes action," she said while pulling grocery items from the shelves of a supermarket in Heliopolis. She was doing her weekly shopping on Sunday. "I know opposition groups have called on citizens not to go out shopping today," she said, "and it's supposed to send a message to merchants to stop putting up prices. But I also know this will not happen and if I don't do my shopping today I will have to do it tomorrow." Nadia was in the majority, at least in Greater Cairo. Despite the fact that some store owners chose to shut down early for fear of disturbances, and the heavy private security presence at leading supermarket chains, it was business as usual for Cairo shoppers. The story was the same in wealthy neighbourhoods like Heliopolis, Mohandessin, Zamalek and Maadi and in less privileged areas such as Ain Shams, Helmiya and Imbaba. Stores and markets were not short of customers, and in most areas shopkeepers reported only a slight fall in the day's trade. The same merchants, though, also noted that shopping patterns have changed significantly in recent months. "This is how things work [in Egypt]," said one Nasr City grocer. As the prices of many commodities doubled and even tripled over the last six months customers have progressively eliminated items they once deemed basics. The across-the-board impression is that shopping for dairy products, especially the more expensive types of cheese and yoghurt, have fallen dramatically, while even basic commodities -- tea, sugar, rice, oil and legumes -- are being bought in smaller quantities. "Regular customers who would once buy three litres of oil now buy just one and there is little demand at all for butter products," said one Imbaba grocer. Facing reduced demand he now orders smaller quantities from the wholesalers. "And this is not a one day event. This is becoming a pattern. I think it will get worse." Salah Abdel-Aziz, chairman of the Grocery Division at Cairo Chamber of Commerce, confirms that the pattern is widespread. While he says that the business of 200,000 traders in Greater Cairo was negatively influenced by the strike, and by the sandstorm that accompanied it, shopkeepers are facing an overall downturn in demand and have been forced to announce large reductions in an attempt to combat the trend. It is time, he argues, for the government to intervene. "The government should import strategic products and ensure they reach consumers at reasonable prices," he argues. Rawiyah and her husband are both civil servants. They have three children of school age and Rawiyah is finding it difficult to manage. "For close to a year now we have been removing shopping items and entertainment expenditure. Now we've started cutting down on essentials," she says. "It has really become an issue providing the kids with three balanced meals and sandwiches for school. If I give each of my children a glass of milk in the morning it means I can give them only one sandwich to take to school," she complains. Twelve months ago Rawiyah had no problem providing her children with breakfast, morning milk, three sandwiches -- filled with cheese and cold cuts -- and a quarter litre of juice or else fruit. Rawiyah, who lives in Ain Shams, is far from being alone among parents who feel frustrated that they have to compromise on their children's diets or a more creative life style. Amer, a construction worker who has been unemployed for the past month, says the problem is not just the increase in the cost of food but in almost everything else. "High prices of cement and steel have really slowed down the construction sector and the rise in the price of fertilisers has harmed agriculture. And we all know that the salaries of civil servants are meagre." Calls for last Sunday's general strike were initiated by civil society organisations, especially Kifaya and the Muslim Brotherhood, and were broadcast via mobile phones, Facebook and word of mouth. And though the organisers were probably disappointed with the level of participation few doubt that the call itself struck a chord with the public. When the 1977 food riots swept Egypt they were in response to much less severe price rises, yet since then Egyptians have shown few similar signs of anger except in cases of outright shock over regional political developments, especially in relation to the occupied Palestinian territories and the invasion and occupation of Iraq. During the past few months, however, this image has been changing. Workers' strikes are again a reality and virtual protests are on the increase. White collar action is also becoming common. "Our patience is wearing really thin and our frustration with the dire economic conditions we face is suffocating," says Um Hashem, a housewife who is providing for a family of five young men and women. Individuals who declined to take part in the strike claimed they had refrained because they felt it would have little if any impact, telling Al-Ahram Weekly that to be effective any strike must be massive. "This is not part of our culture now," comments Mohamed, an Egyptian living in Holland who arrived on holiday on the eve of the strike. He argues that the government now needs to intervene to monitor prices and the quality of commodities and services. "Even in the most open markets the state has a role to play," he says. "After all, the job of governments everywhere is to look after the interests of the people. When governments fail the public is entitled to feel angry." And it is discontent, whether muted or vocally expressed, that was the keynote of Sunday. Additional reporting Mona El-Fiqi and Magda El-Ghitany
