CAIRO: Picture this: a donkey dragging a cart mounted with layer upon layer of garbage and heavy junk; little boys kicking a helpless puppy around like a football; a college student having lunch and casually kicking a hungry stray cat for staring at their sandwich; dozens of crates lined up in a breeding farm stuffed with dogs who haven't left their cage for years. And the list goes on. Unfortunately, these are not just images, but agonizing realities that happen on a daily basis, and not just in Egypt. The Egyptian Society for the Mercy of Animals (ESMA) is one of four animal rights societies based in Egypt. Among its founders is Mona Khalil, a middle-aged Egyptian woman who, despite growing up in a country where animals are treated as inferior creatures to humans, has maintained her love for them and is currently an active advocate of their cause. Khalil's weekly schedule involves juggling two jobs along with her involvement in ESMA. "I'm like an emergency center, she says, pointing to her phone which never stops ringing. Primarily a TV anchor for the Egyptian Satellite Channel (ESC), Khalil has immense hope for change in society's perception of animal rights. Khalil grew up in a home where "having animals was a regular thing. Nobody told me to love animals. She traces her passion back to when she was a little girl growing up in her grandfather's house in Shubra, Cairo. With bowls of seeds placed in the balcony for random flocks of birds and a genuine compassion for stray cats wandering the neighborhood, Khalil had a natural instinct to nurture animals. Little by little, however, she realized that she was one in a million. Although many believe that the essence of indifferent, cruel behavior towards animals is embedded in our culture because of certain religious interpretations claiming that dogs are impure, for instance, Khalil thinks that this phenomenon is essentially a government issue. We need to put an end to illegal establishments that help perpetuate such cruelties, she said, such are pet shops, breeding farms and Souk El Gomaa (Friday Market - a popular marketplace where animals are illegally sold). "Pet shops are hell on earth for animals, explained Khalil, citing reasons such as general ignorance with regards to healthy breeding methods as well as the absence of any sort of external supervision. Similarly, back-door breeding is often the only activity for hundreds of pets crammed in cages with barely any space to walk, coupled with the absence of hygiene and minimal medical attention. Khalil believes that the sterilization of animals is a crucial step to take if Egypt is to set out on a path to fostering animal rights. "Until we have laws [protecting animals] and a society that believes in animal rights we should not breed them. In Egypt, according to Khalil, female pets are forced to breed four or five times a year, leaving their nipples sore and bodies weakened. And the question remains, who takes care of their puppies? Khalil says that it is often inexperienced individuals who are enthusiastic about owning a pet even though they know little about raising them. "Do not own a pet without knowing what responsibility it entails, she advises. In the comfort of her Heliopolis office at a public relations company - where she works as a consultant - Khalil decried government initiatives taken to erase the sight of stray animals in Cairo's. In Ramadan 2008, she recalled, donkeys were confiscated - despite being the only source of income for many - and sent to the Giza zoo or the circus, where they were left to die as a result of years of abuse and malnutrition, or even slaughtered and served as food for show tigers. And in a similar incident that brought much controversy and international attention, in May 2007, between 10 and 15 stray dogs were shot to death near Haram (one was pregnant) and all were left to rot on the street. Khalil, who owns eight rescued dogs all with disabilities, holds a bachelor's degree from the faculty of arts at Cairo University. Currently an anchor for the ESC, she hosts three different shows of which are "Likaa' Al-Gomaa (Friday Meeting) and "Sayedaty (My Lady). While Friday Meeting creates a medium for discussing contemporary Islamic thought and interpretations, the latter touches on family issues in the larger societal context. ESMA, currently sheltering 243 dogs and 182 cats, aims to promote animal welfare and include animal rights in school curricula. The shelter is built on a piece of rented land on Mariuttia Road and is presently extending its help to neighboring families in the impoverished area, with close attention to the wellbeing of working animals such as donkeys and mules. For Khalil, the most effective way to spread ESMA's vision is through religion and the media. However, the biggest challenge remains that not enough donors are willing to fund animal rights societies, and little can be done with the limited donations ESMA receives. "Not everyone who cares for humans will care for animals, but everyone who cares for animals cares for humans, she said, stressing that caring for animals is an endorsement of one's own humanity.
