CAIRO - Egypt is full of shantytowns. One of the most well known is el-Doweiqa, which, like all shantytowns, is very poor and lacks many essential services. In September 2008, the local and international media rushed to el-Doweiqa on the outskirts of Cairo, when a rock fell from the Moqattam Hills flattened much of it, killing hundreds of its residents. Mohamed Mahmoud, a carpenter, moved to the slum area with his family after their home in el-Khalifa, southern Cairo, was destroyed in the earthquake that hit Egypt in October 1992. They and three other families live in a couple of rooms; each family pays LE150 (around 25 US dollars) per month in rent. “One of our biggest problems is the lack of drinking water. Every day, women and children have to bring us water from faraway places in plastic containers. Sometimes trucks come and sell us water for LE1 per container,” says Mohamed, adding that they also have problems with sewage. Mohamed Sayyed, a blacksmith, works in Al-Nahda, a shantytown in northern Cairo. He earns LE40 (about $6.50) per day, LE15 of which he spends on transport, while his monthly rent comes to LE200. “People are fed up, because we have no drinking water, electricity, healthcare or schools. Bullying is widespread and several children have been fatally electrocuted by the live wires everywhere,” he says. “A representative from the local council came to see us after the revolution and told us the Government would demolish our homes and provide us with flats elsewhere.” Some citizens agreed to this, but others refused to move. They also refused to let their homes be demolished, until they were offered new homes in a housing project named after former First Lady Suzanne Mubarak in el-Doweiqa, which meant they would still be near their workplaces. Sayyed complains that many families have obtained new flats in the Suzanne Mubarak housing project, even though they weren't even living in el-Doweiqa. Horriya el-Sayyed, her husband and their seven children live in a two-bedroom flat, which also has a tiny bathroom and kitchen. “My husband gives people lifts round el-Doweiqa in his unlicensed car. The little he earns we spend on food; he can't afford to send our children to school. Education costs a lot of money,“ Horriya explains. Meanwhile, Sahar Ahmed, who has a son and two daughters, told Radio and Television magazine that bullying had been on the increase in el-Doweiqa since the January 25 revolution erupted. People have to pay the thugs, so they don't beat up their sons and rape their daughters. “Our home is very small. When the revolution erupted, we thought we'd get a proper home to live in,” she said. Local council officials told citizens that they would provide them with flats in 6th October City, but it's a very long way from el-Doweiqa, where most of them work. “Some people got flats in 6th October City, but then sold them and returned to el-Doweiqa, using the money to build new homes here,” added Sahar, whose husband left them three years ago, because he could no longer afford to feed them. “In fact, most of the housewives here are widowed or divorced,” she explained. As for Maha Farouq, another housewife living in el-Doweiqa, her husband was sent to prison three years ago. She lives with her mother in a small room. They have no income and dearly hope that they can be given a proper flat “where they can live like humans”.
