CAIRO - "Hey everyone! First say peace be upon the Prophet," starts a vendor, carrying a frayed bag, as he steps aboard the Cairo Underground. "I have a four-in-one set coming from China to our smart customers in Cairo," adds the seller, displaying a flat gadget to heat-weary commuters. "This device peels potatoes for making chips, squeezes tomatoes, cuts off onion and can even gouge the eggplant for mahshi (a popular local dish)," he says, dripping in sweat as he strains to capture the attention of passengers. Despite the overcrowding inside the train carriage, the vendor in his thirties embarks on giving a demonstration with a piece of potato. "I wouldn't sell this magical set for 10 or even five (Egyptian) pounds. Anyone who has 2.5 pounds will get one to make his women folk happy," says the man, nimbly holding both the gadget and the potato. "Here's one for this gentleman!" he says in an accent characteristic of Upper Egypt 's natives. As he threads his way towards the seated customer who has placed the order, the seller continues to whip up the enthusiasm of the other commuters. "It's a big sale, hurry up before it's too late!" shouts the man while introducing more of the Chinese gadget to the eager customers. Hardly has the hawker left the train, another colleague slips aboard, touting his wares: Chinese-made emergency torchlights. "Look, you effendi or bey to this wonderful torchlight, which has 11 lamps," he cries out with a husky voice. "Ask for this torchlight at any store and they'll tell you it sells for 25 pounds. I don't sell it for this sum or 20 or even 15. Pay 10 pounds only and get one to light up the dark days ahead!" he adds, as his smile reveals decayed teeth. Power outages have become a frequent problem in Egypt in recent weeks amid pleas from the Government for the public to cut their electricity consumption rates in summer. "The price of one torchlight is lower than the price of a candle or a battery these days," says the vendor, turning off and on the device to assure potential clients that the item is in good condition. "Check it before you pay!" Scooping nearly three million passengers daily off Cairo's notoriously traffic-clogged streets, the Underground system has in the past two years become an attraction for unlicensed vendors who sell goods ranging from Chinese copycats to pre-paid mobile phone cards. Professional beggars have recently emerged as rivals. Since the 2011 revolt that deposed Hosni Mubarak, the police presence has decreased in many areas of the country, including the stations of the Cairo Underground. The police's inexplicable absence has emboldened unlicensed sellers to swarm the nation's roads, virtually blocking entire streets in central Cairo. Repeated bids by local authorities to bring the phenomenon under control have proved short-lived. With many Egyptians laid off due to economic decline, they have been forced to become street peddlers. "What else can we do to earn a living?" said one vendor the other day on an Underground train when a passenger berated him for incidentally elbowing him. "We have children like yours who also need to be fed and clothed. Should we become thieves or robbers instead?" he shouted as silence mixed with sympathy reigned in the carriage.
