A decision to relocate the date market from the heart of the city to the outskirts of Cairo is causing an uproar, writes Salonaz Sami The famous date market, part of the larger Sahel market in the district of Shubra, became a military zone on 16 August when police forces attempted to relocate vendors to Al-Obour market, located on the Cairo-Ismailia desert road. Acting upon a decision by the former governor of Cairo, the police blocked all exits and entrances to the market with armoured vehicles while thousands of anti-riot police were deployed to prevent any date shipments from entering the market. But merchants had another idea, and protested against the decision by refusing to leave their stalls and organising a sit- in. They want the incumbent governor to reverse the decision, which also applies to bean vendors, or at least discuss the issue with them. The decree to relocate was issued by former Cairo governor Mahmoud Sherif in the early 1990s, on the grounds that the market causes traffic congestion. An argument which vendors believe is unfounded. "It just isn't fair," protested 58-year-old Naeem Nashed to Al-Ahram Weekly. Nashed, who has been in the date business for 34 years, explained that the governor's decision only applies to date sellers but not other fruit and vegetable vendors. "They are only forcing us to go," he added angrily. "If it's an issue of traffic, then the entire market should go." Nashed couldn't understand how traffic would improve by leaving hundreds of fruit and vegetable stalls in place, while removing a handful whose only real profits are made during the 15 days leading up to Ramadan. While tens of angry merchants sat in the market mulling over how best to handle the situation, police forces confiscated date deliveries coming from the south and forbade the sale of the fruit already in the market. "Who will pay for the thousands of pounds we are going to lose this season?" Nashed asked, agitated. Date vendors felt betrayed by their representatives in parliament because the latter did not attempt to help them, but merchants contested the decision at the Administrative Court. They also sent a memorandum to Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif and Minister of Interior Habib Al-Adly explaining the situation and asking for their interference. In court, they argued that the decision was unnecessary and illegal since the land on which the market stands is not the property of the government, but rather the merchants'. The court agreed and ordered the decision to be reversed; but the governorate protested against this verdict at the Higher Administrative Court, which ruled in favour of the decree. Date vendors say that the month notice to evacuate was not enough time for them to relocate, especially as they approach the season of peek sales before Ramadan. "Even if we were to move, the timing couldn't be worse," explained Nashed. But a source in the governor's office, who preferred to remain anonymous, denied the claim that time was too short. He said that merchants were notified in January that relocation will take place in August, "but they refused to comply, thus, refusing to abide by the law." He defended the decision, describing it as a step towards improving and developing the entire district of Sahel. The Sahel market was built in the early 1940s when tonnes of fruit, vegetable and bean shipments arrived to the capital from the south via the Nile. Families from the south then moved to the Sahel district, bought land and built the market, explained old timer Youssef Aziz. "We are all one big family, and we have many memories here which make us refuse to leave without a fight," Aziz asserted. Other than the claim that it is illegal to relocate them since they are owners of the land, vendors complained that the shops they were assigned at Al-Obour market were too small for their type of business. "Our business of selling beans and dates requires spacious display areas for the different goods," asserted Aziz. The move will also cause sellers to lose regular customers and leave tens of people who work and live at the market jobless, because they cannot afford a daily trip to the outskirts. "But most importantly," point out Aziz, "it will cause prices to skyrocket because of competition." Meanwhile, the situation in the once hustling and bustling Sahel market remains the same. The vendors are digging in their heels and refusing to move, while police forces are forcing a lockdown on the market and business. "Either the entire market stays, or the entire market is relocated," proposed Aziz. "It is the only fair solution."
