CAIRO – “Will the polls be properly organised? Will the candidates provide voters with money or food bags? This time we will only vote for those who serve Egypt.” These were questions and statements by residents of Ezbet el-Hagana, a shantytown in Nasr City, east Cairo. They had no idea about the parliamentary elections due to be held next month, although the registration for nominations already started on October12. Shantytown inhabitants reach nearly 12 million. They care above all about safety and making a living. Many of them suffer from unemployment. El-Hagana has no access to mains facilities and people live in very bad conditions, but they still hope that the revolution will lead to an improvement of their appalling conditions. In past elections, candidates and political parties distributed food bags in shantytowns or gave LE20 ($4) or LE50 to each person, if they promised to vote for this particular candidate. The question is whether this is going to change. Those concerned with public work have gone to shantytowns to raise the awareness on how to choose candidates. Nagwa Raof, a representative of Al-Baraka Association, a NGO, told Al-Ahram newspaper that a number of professors and students at the Faculty of Economy and Political Sciences went to el-Hagana after the revolution. They held a number of meetings, but only a small number of people came, according to Raof, who stressed that many citizens needed to further their political awareness. Amal Mahmoud, a resident of el-Hagana, attended some of these meetings. She noted that her family suffered from terrible living conditions and she decided to vote for a candidate, who would secure her children's future, she told activists. Umm Salsabil, a housewife, said that all people there wanted to improve their economic conditions, so they would vote for whoever gave them food or money. “How can poor people be made aware that it would be better to vote for candidates who really will do something for them? By raising political awareness,” said Raof. That could be achieved through seminars and regular meetings also attended by candidates. For the latter it would be an opportunity to meet with people, get acquainted and present their programmes. Umm Mohamed noted that many candidates made beautiful promises before the polls, and later everything was forgotten and nothing happened. “Who will guarantee that my sons can find work after they finish their studies?” she asked. ”Not a single candidate came to us during the previous elections. They only sent their assistants to give voters money if they promised to vote for them,” she added. The fact is that people need more than money or food bags. They need proper housing and a dignified life. Poor people want permanent jobs for their sons and daughters who finish their studies and can't find a job. “Whether people are bribed with money, food or put under religious pressure, what they really need is to raise their political awareness,” said Eman, an activist of the El-Baraka Association.
