HANDICRAFTS are popular worldwide, because people take a pride in their national heritage. In Egypt, many handicrafts are endangered by the dumping of Chinese goods. Copper, silver, leather, arabesque, glass and cloth products are all made in el- Hussein district, Islamic Cairo, by skilled Egyptian workers. These handicrafts are then sold in the famous Khan el-Kalili bazaar, adjacent to el-Hussein Mosque. Because of the invasion of Chinese products, this area may lose the countless tourists who flock here from around the world to buy traditional goods manufactured by Egyptian artisans. Some artisans have already been forced to close down their workshops because of the fierce competition. They are now working as importers or in other activities. Hani el-Turki, a bazaar owner, says that 90 per cent of the goods sold in Khan el-Khalili these days are Chinese. “Only five per cent are Egyptian,” he adds. “The Chinese have become very good at imitating our copper and silver handicrafts, embroidery, leather products and Pharaonic-style statues,” he said. “As well as Chinese products, goods from Malaysia and Singapore are also constantly dumped in the bazaar. They're cheaper than the Egyptian products, but many tourists still want the real McCoy.” Hajj Mohamed, another bazaar owner, told October magazine thattheChinese invasion will lead to the demise of all Egyptian products in Khan el-Khalili, regretting that a lot of workshops have closed and many skilled craftsmen have lost their jobs. Hajj Sayyed, who weaves tent cloth, fears that this skill may die out, because of machine prints replacing hand prints and because of the Chinese imports. “Khaimia [tent making] is an important Egyptian and Islamic tradition,” he says. “Copper and silver engraving could also die out – there are very few artisans left working in this field,” according to Hussein Ibrahim, another artisan. Meanwhile, Hajj Hassan is proud of the fact that the Chinese have failed to make good imitations of arabesque products. “Arabesque is very intricate work and we use pearl, not plastic, unlikethe Chinese, who also lack our accuracy,” he says, adding that another problem that the shops in Khan el-Khalili is that the raw materials have become very expensive. Hajj Hassan argues that the Government should help them, as Khane -Khaili is an historic market that tourists love and a vital part of the nation's Islamic heritage.
