CAIRO: Firmly stuck at the bottom of the pecking order, Egyptian microbus drivers are forced by the police to transport investigation teams to security missions on a daily basis. In addition to the social stigma attached to being a microbus drivers in Egypt, drivers at the Ataba-Helwan (Downtown Cairo) line have been ousted from their bus station by the local authorities, who now have no alternative but to pick up patrons from Port Said Street. Drivers are threatening to go on strike due to a hectic situation where they have no protection from police harassment or even space where they can pick up commuters. "We now stand in the middle of the road, which makes us vulnerable to traffic police officers who confiscate licenses for any reason, microbus owner, Mohamed Negima told Daily News Egypt. When the buses were removed, street vendors invaded the space where only a week ago microbus drivers used to pick up patrons, turning it into a miniature market area. "There are more than a 100 buses on this line, which means that it supports at least 300 families, said Negima. Most of the commuters are either lawyers from Helwan that come to Baab El Khalq court house or Helwan residents who sell merchandise in Ataba. "This line in particular is a major transport artery because it moves thousands of people everyday, Negima explained. A similar scenario took place three years ago when the buses were removed from the area previously known as the Gaza market. "We went on strike and they reacted by impounding a number of buses and detaining drivers. When they saw that things were getting out of hand, they provided us with space beneath the intersection of Azhar Bridge. This is the space they removed us from a week ago, Negima said. Negima also complains that on a daily basis, security personnel from the Gamalia police station force drivers to transport them on their raids, denying them a full working day's income. "We have a system set in place where we collect a donation from each microbus. The money goes to the driver who is forced by the police to go on raids and therefore makes no money, Negima explained. According to Negima the decision to remove the microbuses was made by General Mohamed Saeed, the Head of the East Cairo District, who did not explain to the drivers why it was a necessity to remove them from their original space. The negative media coverage and unfavorable social attitudes towards microbus drivers, who are stereotyped as reckless and unruly thugs, is another angle of their plight. "People should first look at the daily routine of a microbus driver and then ask themselves why they seem so tense. They are constantly harassed by the police as they toil through ingested traffic. Look at the culture on the street right now; violence has become a ubiquitous aspect of this society, said Negima. With no assistance from the Highway Transportation worker's syndicate on the case, the Ataba line microbus drivers and owners offered to rent a piece of land from the authorities who did not respond to their request. "We will utilize all possible legal channels before we make a decision to go on strike, Negima said. Twenty-seven-year-old microbus driver Moataz Mustafa was returning from the Moqatam mountain area to Ataba last Sunday when he was approached by Gamaliya police station personnel, who ordered him to take them on a round of arrests. "I said Sir please don't force me to go on the rounds. I haven't worked since yesterday and I'm sick. He said that I was lying and wanted to confiscate my license, Mustafa alleged. After a number of bus drivers intervened and told Mustafa that the officer who would be leading the mission was a decent person, he accepted the task. "When the officer asked them why they were late, the investigators told him that I gave them a hard time. He asked me why, I said that I had no business making the rounds with them, at which point one of the people sitting behind me told me I shouldn't speak this way to a State Security Officer and he struck me four times on the back of the head, Mustafa told Daily News Egypt. Former microbus driver, 63-year-old Mohamed Shaaban, was asked by the Ataba-Helwan line's bus owners to help monitor and organize the bus station and to collect donations for the families of deceased bus drivers. "It wouldn't be right to see the wife of a deceased co-worker begging on the street. That is why we started collecting donations for these 10 families, Shaaban told Daily News Egypt. According to Shaaban, when local police personnel found the donations on him they beat and arrested him for "using his position for personal gain. "This is a humane project on the part of the bus owners for families that have nothing; but for taking part I am beaten and humiliated, Shaaban lamented. Next November the ruling in a recent torture case, where microbus driver Emad El Kabir was allegedly sodomized by police officer Islam Nabih and investigator Rida Fathi from the Boulaq El Dakrour police station, will be passed down. El Kabir's case was exceedingly shocking because it was filmed by a phone camera and posted on the internet for all to see. Since adopting El Kabir's case, Nasser Amin, who runs the Arab Center for Judicial Independence has also filed a case at the Higher Administrative Court against what he believes are unconstitutional fees which microbus drivers are forced to pay. "These fees are both illegal and unconstitutional. Microbus drivers have been made to pay this masked bribe for more than 10 years now and to this day they are subjected to abuses by the so-called microbus service investigations department of the Cairo governorate, Amin told Daily News Egypt. According to Amin the absence of a strong Union or Syndicate body for microbus drivers and owners is one of the main reasons why they are vulnerable to abuse. "That is part of the reason why police personnel manipulate them and use their vehicles to run personal errands or conduct security missions, Amin said.
