LA REVUE GAUCHE - Left Comment

Saturday, July 30, 2022

A tribute to Egypt’s demolished houseboats

Fatemah Farag , Tuesday 12 Jul 2022

New concepts of urban development will claim the Nile bank in Imbaba after the removal of what remained of Cairo’s houseboats last week.

Photo credit Yasmine ElRashidi

“Love is an old and worn-out game, but it is a sport on the houseboat [..] And the moon is a satellite, dead and cold, but on the houseboat, it is poetry”

- Adrift on the Nile, Naguib Mahfouz

Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz lived on a houseboat for some 25 years. His elder daughter was born on one, and it was from his home on the Nile that he wrote Adrift on the Nile, which is considered one of his most important novels.

On 18 June, I received alarming video coverage taken by a friend from Zamalek across the Nile from the KitKat, which was where the houseboats had been moored since the mid-1960s.

The video showed the demolition of a houseboat, and it was the beginning of a flurry of frantic messages. These included over the coming days a copy of the letter dated 22 June from the General Manager of the General Administration for Nile Protection in Greater Cairo to 50 houseboat owners informing them of demolitions that would take place on 28 June and the frantic voice note of one houseboat owner saying: “Help! They are outside pulling all of these lovely boats down!”

For days, talk show hosts reminded us of the history of the boats, international media outlets descended on the Nile to cover the story, and petitions made their rounds. The government responded and informed the public that the houseboats were dilapidated beyond repair and an environmental hazard.

Ayman Nour, the head of the General Administration for Nile Protection in Greater Cairo — a government body responsible for removing any encroachments on the river — told the press that a government decision had in fact been made as far back as 2020 to ban the registration of any residential houseboats.

This would explain what the houseboat owners described as obstacles in recent years, including a decision to increase the fees they pay by 20-fold and the refusal of authorities to accept money from them. While the houseboats were private properties, owners paid rental fees for the land and the docks in which they were moored.

Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation Mohamed Abdel-Ati stated that the ministry will continue the campaign to remove homes moored along the river that are “in clear violation of the law… A clear message to those who transgress on the Nile.” He made this statement as residents were being informed that they could stay if they became commercial entities.

Today, the poetic nature of Cairo’s houseboats that was so aptly described by Mahfouz is no more. In the wake of these demolitions, a small community of families and small businesses have been left in disarray and without compensation to date.

And you did not have to live in a houseboat to feel the loss. Those of us who grew up watching popular films — now labelled classics — who heard the stories and lore of their colourful past, many of which are enshrined in contemporary Arabic literature and history, feel the angst of this loss.

Our connection to the Nile and these boats goes far back. In pharaonic times, boats were designed for long recreational trips, the dahabiiya is perhaps the sailing form of the houseboat, and the ones we have just lost were built on floating metal containers held together by wooden or metal beams and meant to be stationary.

The rich from as far back as the Ottomans often took houseboats as a second residence and a place to entertain guest. During the second World War, British officers lived on houseboats, and the awamat were home to celebrities and power couples such as singer and cabaret owner Badiya Masabny and her husband famous actor Naguib El-Riyhani. It was also where government officials and policy influencers came to be entertained and discuss the state’s affairs.

It is a history that has suffered neglect; the only study to be found is one that was published online in 2010 by Islam Nabil in Arabic and disparate pieces here and there.

There are only the images that were enshrined in movies such as Ayam wi Liyali, where Abdel-Halim Hafez sang the heart rendering I Am With you Forever, which was composed by Mohamed Abdel-Wahab.

The date 1966 signals the beginning of the demise of houseboats, when a decision by the prime minister at the time moved them from shores of Zamalek and Dokki to Imbaba; a move protested by their owners at the time, who argued that the value of their properties would depreciate by moving them to a more populated quarter of town.

Many owners sold or left their houseboats at the time, leaving them to fall into disrepair. A tragic example is that of Farid El-Atrash’s famously ornate houseboat, which could have become a museum but instead was left derelict until it was demolished years ago. And a community of several hundred houseboats dwindled to the more than 30 that were removed recently.

In his study, Nabil tells us that houseboat 20 was owned by actor Salah El-Saadany, and it has been featured in many prominent Egyptian films. It also says that poet Hafez Ibrahim was called the ‘Poet of the Nile’ because he was born on one in 1872, and that during World War II, dancer and spy Hekmat Fahmy used her home on a houseboat to lure drunk senior officers to extract information.

It was a mixed history bringing together intrigue, glamour, intellectual, and not-so-intellectual pursuits. It also brought together those who looked to escape the bustle of the city yet remain within it. Crossing the small bridges between the main streets of the KitKat District and the houseboats transported you from the noise and bustle to a tranquil world. A world many people like the now famous 88-year-old Ikhlas — who remains in the only houseboat left standing, as the government has pledged to relocate her — chose to embrace as a home.

And so, we are left with the fleeting tokens of memory. Like the voice of Hafez as he sang to his lover on the terrace of a houseboat many years ago: “The Nile, the night, love, and longing sent to me, and I came to ask about you; I miss you and miss your eyes and do not know how to escape from you…” And miss you — no doubt — we will.

'New Cold War': Russia and West vie for influence in Africa: AP report

AP , Saturday 30 Jul 2022

Russian, French and American leaders are crisscrossing Africa to win support for their positions on the war in Ukraine, waging what some say is the most intense competition for influence on the continent since the Cold War.

In this file photo local residents are carrying boxes and sacks of food distributed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in Kachoda, Turkana area, northern Kenya, July 23, 2022. Russian, French and American leaders are crisscrossing Africa to win support for their positions on the war in Ukraine. AP

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and French President Emmanuel Macron are each visiting several African countries this week. Samantha Power, head of the U.S. Agency for International Development, went to Kenya and Somalia last week. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, will go to Ghana and Uganda next week.

``It's like a new Cold War is playing out in Africa, where the rival sides are trying to gain influence,'' said William Gumede, director of Democracy Works, a foundation promoting good governance.

Lavrov, in his travels across the continent where many countries are suffering drought and hunger, has sought to portray the West as the villain, blaming it for rising food prices, while the Western leaders have accused the Kremlin of cynically using food as a weapon and waging an imperial-style war of conquest, words calculated to appeal to listeners in post-colonial Africa.

Under President Vladimir Putin, Russia has been working to win support in Africa for several years, reinvigorating friendships that date back a half-century, when the Soviet Union backed many African movements fighting to end colonial rule.

``Now that campaign has gone into high gear,'' Gumede said.

Moscow's influence in Africa was on display in March during the U.N. vote to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine. While 28 African nations voted in favor of the resolution, a significant minority of countries on the continent, 25, either voted to abstain or did not vote at all.

Russia's top diplomat this week visited Egypt, Congo, Uganda and Ethiopia, pledging friendship and charging the U.S. and European countries with driving up food prices by pursuing ``reckless'' environmental policies. He also accused them of hoarding food during the COVID-19 pandemic.

``The situation in Ukraine did additionally negatively affect food markets, but not due to the Russian special operation, rather due to the absolutely inadequate reaction of the West, which announced sanctions,'' Lavrov said in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital.

Lavrov was warmly received in Uganda by President Yoweri Museveni, who for years has been a U.S. ally but has refused to criticize Russia over the invasion. Museveni even suggested at the outbreak of the war that Putin's actions might be understandable because Ukraine is in Russia's sphere of influence.

Lavrov voiced support for reform of the U.N. Security Council to give African countries permanent seats and greater influence.

Appearing with Lavrov, the Ugandan leader spoke fondly of old ties with Russia, asking how he could spurn Moscow when he has good relations with countries that participated in slavery.

Museveni, an opinion leader on the continent who has held power for three decades, is an obvious choice for Russia as someone to strengthen ties with, said Ugandan political analyst Asuman Bisiika.

``Uganda is the center of gravity in East Africa,'' Bisiika said.

Museveni, 77, has been strictly wearing a mask in public since the COVID-19 outbreak. But he did not have one on when greeting Lavrov in front of photographers, apparently wanting to show warmth to the Russian. Museveni had a mask back on in his next public appearance a day later.

Russia is also courting African public opinion through its state television network, RT, formerly known as Russia Today. RT has announced that it will open a new bureau in Johannesburg.

RT was abruptly removed from Africa's biggest pay-TV platform in Africa, Johannesburg-based Multichoice, in March after the European Union and Britain imposed sanctions against Russia. It is not clear whether establishing the new bureau will enable RT to resume broadcasts to Africa through Multichoice, which claims nearly 22 million subscribers on the continent.

``For Russia, it is the battle to be heard in Africa. It is not important for the actual war effort but for their long-term political influence,`` Anton Harber, professor of journalism at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. ``They see it as fertile ground to cultivate their influence, and, of course, votes in the U.N. are important.``

On his tour of Africa, France's Macron accused the Kremlin of using TV channels like RT to spread propaganda in support of the war. And he charged the Kremlin with blackmailing the world by thwarting the export of grain from Ukraine.

``They are blackmailing because they are the ones who blocked cereals in Ukraine. They are the ones who regulate their cereals,'' he said in Benin. His itinerary also included Cameroon and Guinea-Bissau.

Macron appealed to Africans to side against Russia.

``I'm telling you here in Africa, a continent that has suffered from colonial imperialism: Russia is one of the last colonial, imperial powers. She decides to invade a neighboring country to defend her interests,'' he said. ``That's the reality.''

Power, the top U.S. AID official, was in East Africa to pledge aid to help the region's fight against hunger amid a devastating multi-year drought. She did not hold back in criticizing Russia.

``By blockading Ukraine's grain exports and restricting the trade of Russia's own fertilizer, Putin's actions have had the consequence of inflicting pain on the people of Kenya and on other countries throughout the world,`` Power said in Nairobi. ``He is hurting the people of Kenya in order to benefit his own situation.''

Will Sharks survive extinction this time?

In Marsa Alam, it was the first time that Haitham Obaid tried diving to see sharks in the flesh; needless to say, he felt scared. After some time, the diver’s feelings shifted to fascination and admiration, as he accompanied dozens of tourists who came from all over the world to see sharks in Egypt.

A shark swimming underwater in Egyptian Red Sea Marsa Alam. Photo courtesy of Mahmoud Salem.

He was assured that they were peaceful creatures as long as no one attacks them.

“I got angry when I realised that people kill them and waste their environmental and economic value to make a soup dish,” he went on to say.

A thousand years ago in China, someone came up with a shark fin soup, and since then, it has become one of the most expensive dishes in the world.

For this particular dish — and other reasons — 100 million sharks are killed every year according to recent surveys, either by hunting to harvest their components or finning them then throwing them back into the sea to bleed to death.

When you hear the word “shark”, all you think about is the image of this fierce giant creature that smells your fear and can shred you to pieces, but when you learn how this creature is followed by death in different ways, you’ll end up sympathising with it.

Sharks have existed since 450 million years ago; they were classified as cartilaginous fish. Years later, scientists discovered different species of sharks, and now they have recorded around 520 species of the marine animal, with more still being discovered every once in a while.

In the last 50 years, targeting sharks and rays has increased, leading to a decrease in their numbers by 70 percent and endangering them with extinction. How did we reach this point?

Why is the world hunting down sharks?

Basically, the world primarily trades in two shark components: the meat, which has a small economic value compared to the more profitable component, which is the fins. Currently, fins can cost up to USD 100 per kg, while their meat runs for about USD 0.1 per kg.

Fins and meat, however, are not the only parts of sharks humans are after, as they use their skin, cartilage, and liver as well.

Many Asian and Oceania countries eat shark skin after boiling it in water and removing its scales.

Shark cartilage is also used in the food industry sometimes and is a commonly used component in the manufacturing of pharmaceutical products, whereas the oils from the liver are used in a number of industries, according to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation.

Sharks at the top of the food chain

Marine life follows a precise eco system in obtaining food, and its organisms are classified according to their position in the levels of the food chain or the so-called “food pyramid”, so each species feeds on fish that are located at a lower level in this pyramid.

Sharks are at the top of this food chain, according to Mahmoud El-Hanafy, a professor of marine environment at the Suez Canal University, saying “sharks are a vital indication for marine environment balance. They prey on genetically weak or sick fish, hence keeping the balance in the lower levels of the food chain in terms of numbers and species. They also enhance the purity of genetic strength in existing fish.”

“Depletion in sharks’ numbers leads to an increase in fish lower than them in the pyramid, resulting in an imbalance in the whole food chain, as each level plays a certain designated role, thus we lose this biodiversity, and the efficiency of the ecosystem is affected.”

Why is it difficult to save shark species?

Along with endangering sharks, saving them is just as complicated and difficult, for it might take these creatures decades to repopulate.

“Sharks reproduce slowly and have low fertility levels, meaning they produce not more than tens of pups, which is nothing compared to other fishes that produce maybe a million eggs; thus, shark communities have a limited ability to repopulate and take a long period of time to recover and restore their numbers,” says El-Hanafy.

He went on to say that sharks reproduce according to their species; some we call “Ovoviviparous”, in which embryos develop inside eggs that are retained within the mother’s body until they are ready to hatch, while others lay their eggs directly into the water.

Also, there are shark species that live for decades and others that live for no more than five years.

Sharks are “tourism commodities”

Professor El-Hanafy believes that hunting sharks in Egypt is a huge economic loss, not an environmental one solely.

Sharks are tourism commodities that attract divers from all over the world and bring thousands of dollars into Egypt a year.

He added that “if a single shark lives for twenty years, its economic value in tourism may reach up to 4 million dollars, however, when it is hunted, its value decreases to around 150 to 300 dollars.”

El-Hanafy also warns against the dangers of eating shark meat, as it contains large amounts of mercury, which is a poisonous metal that causes incurable diseases if consumed in large quantities.

Looking at things from a different angle, overfishing also harms sharks indirectly, as it harvests large numbers of the fish they rely on for sustenance, leaving them to possibly starve.

Also, dumping kitchen waste in seas and oceans or throwing food to sharks has changed their behaviour and made them more hostile, leading to a rise in incidents where sharks attack humans.

Half of the shark species in Egypt have already disappeared

Mostafa Fouda, an adviser to the minister of environment for biodiversity, said that Egypt had about 50 species of sharks ranging in length from twenty centimeters to five meters, but in recent years, nearly half of them have disappeared due to several factors, such as overfishing, human interventions, pollution, and climate change.

He added that there are several laws and agreements prohibiting harming sharks, however, sharks are still hunted under the radar.

“In Egypt, according to the amended Environment Law of 2009, the possession of shark fins is punished by law. We need to continuously monitor the presence of sharks and prohibit the use of large nets in areas where they are likely to be found,” Fouda said.

Neils Klager, the spokesman for the ‘STOP Finning – STOP the Trade’ initiative, has noted that EU countries still have high percentages of shark finning despite the official ban issued in 2013.

European citizens decided to launch this initiative last year to call for an end to trading fins in the EU.

“Although finning is prohibited in the EU, shark fin trade is not. Sharks are still hunted down; there are markets to sell their meat, and fin business is conducted away from the public eye … let us leave fins naturally attached,” Klager said.

Other threats

According to David Campbell, the founder of the MarineBio Conservation Society for Marine Life, sharks managed to survive several mass extinction events, however, during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event 66 million years ago, about 90 percent of all shark species in the open ocean became extinct; and now, in his opinion, sharks are facing yet again the risk of mass extinction.

“It is not just overfishing that threatens them directly, there are many additional threats that are not fully understood such as climate change and the map of the distribution of other predators that are affected by human fishing; British research found the presence of plastic fragments in the digestive tracts of 67 percent of sharks that were examined. We know that plastic may carry toxins and pathogens, but its potential impact on sharks at this point is unknown,” Campbell explained.

He added that important nursing areas for sharks such as mangroves and estuaries have also been endangered by human activities including fishing and climate change.

The need for joint efforts

Levis Kvaje, the coordinator for ecosystems and biodiversity at the United Nations Environment Programme in Africa, said that shark hunting causes an ecological imbalance that can lead to catastrophic results, as they grow slowly, mature late, and produce very few pups, so overfishing will lead to their extinction on the medium to long term.

He also added in special statements on the sidelines of a workshop organised by Africa21 on biodiversity that preserving sharks needs cooperation between countries in order for all this work to be effective, noting that the United Nations Environment Programme — through the Convention on Migratory Species — calls for international cooperation to address the excessive exploitation of sharks.

Hadeer Elhadary, Tuesday 9 Nov 2021

Egypt’s home delivery workers: Toward integration in the formal economy?

Doaa A.Moneim , Saturday 30 Jul 2022

Tens of thousands of Egyptians who work as home delivery couriers – known in Arabic as tayareen, or pilots – face hard working conditions and enjoy minimal social protections.

Ahram Online attempted to obtain official figures from the concerned ministries, the International Labour Organisation and the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS), to determine the number of home delivery couriers operating in the country, yet the concerned authorities had no clear figures in this respect.

However, an examination of the databases of a number of home delivery applications suggests that home delivery couriers working in Egypt could exceed 500,000, which is about one-third of the country's irregular workers.

Home delivery workers usually work 12-hour shifts without health insurance or pensions and cannot rely on a stable income.

Many couriers work through registering on a database for various online home delivery platform applications without entering into a direct contractual relationship with the business owner.

These app couriers receive between 10 to 20 percent as a commission per order and rely heavily on tips, according to Sayed El-Aasmar and Mohamed El-Tayar, two couriers who spoke to Ahram Online.

They use their own motorcycles or means of transportation in their delivery work, paying for gasoline and repairs.

Many are now trying to improve their wages and living conditions, and there are initiatives to organise and integrate them into the formal economy.

Through its socio-economic development plan for the current FY2022/23, which started on 1 July, Egypt’s House of Representatives has urged the concerned bodies to implement a number of procedures that would protect the rights of non-organised and informal workers.

The House called for issuing a practice-of-profession licence for these workers, including them under the social protection umbrella, facilitating their inclusion in the formal economy, and providing them with training to develop their skills.

Amid challenging economic conditions brought about by the Ukraine war, 12,000 couriers working for Talabat – an online food ordering company – went on a two-day strike in April to demand higher wages.

A number of recent initiatives by the Ministry of Social Solidarity and Egyptian Trade Union Federation aim to ensure representation for this category of workers, especially since the online shopping and ecommerce market is expected to grow even larger.

According to Statista, Egypt is the second largest market for online shopping in Africa after South Africa.

Media outlets reported after the Talabaat strike that the government is considering creating a trade union to represent home delivery workers to guarantee them the rights available to other workers.

Mirvat Sabreen, the assistant to the social solidarity minister, revealed to Ahram Online that the ministry has received a proposal to cooperate with a number of online applications to promote the rights of couriers.

Sabreen also said that the ministry is set to sign a number of cooperation protocols with these applications in this regard, without providing further details.

A source at the social solidarity ministry told Ahram Online that the ministry's initiative involves putting in place a framework that governs home delivery services in Egypt, protecting workers' rights as well as holding them to a system of accountability.

“The ministry is working on an initiative that will be sponsored by a number of online shopping applications that are operating in the local market," the source said.

"This initiative includes founding an association that will be affiliated with the ministry and will represent home delivery workers, engaging them in the formal economy."

The source added that the initiative also involves supplying delivery workers with helmets and other protective gear to protect them against traffic accidents.

"It also involves issuing insurance policies against accidents in collaboration with a life insurance company in Egypt. The initiative also involves collaboration with leasing companies to enable couriers to purchase their needs in instalments,” the source explained.

The initiative, which will be implemented in phases, also involves providing couriers with training and awareness sessions, according to the source.

The delivery service Mrsool Egypt, which has 140,000 couriers registered in its system, is one of the online platforms engaged in this initiative and supports all its components.

Mrsool’s Country Manager Karim Gamal told Ahram Online that the platform aims to increase its couriers to 1 million over five years, as the home delivery market in Egypt is growing significantly.

Courtesy of elluminati website.

“As an online platform that also focuses on developing home delivery applications, Mrsool is involved in the process as a focal point between the couriers and the application's users. Recently, these workers have called for social and insurance protection in the face of the risks they encounter on a daily basis. We support creating an entity to represent them, preserve their rights and govern their relationship with business owners and consumers,” said Gamal.

Mrsool provides technical assistance to couriers around the clock, gives bonuses for peak and non-peak times, and it is currently working on fresh business verticals to increase sales, so couriers can increase their monthly income, according to Gamal.

“We support establishing an entity to represent couriers and provide them with medical and social insurance, especially since they are not employees with signed contracts. In addition, this entity will be an important reference for companies themselves with regards to accountability, and can serve as a system that can tally the number of workers, easing the process of dealing with their needs and facilitating support from formal bodies,” Gamal explained.

Ahram Online also spoke to Chairman of the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF) Hassan Shehata on the issue of establishing a trade union for these kinds of non-organised workers.

Shehata said that such a move would be complicated and that the ETUF is not the body concerned with taking such a measure.

“According to the law governing trade unions, home delivery men can submit a request to the ETUF signed by at least 50 of them to establish an administrative committee that could grow in the future into a trade union committee, then into a trade union representing them in their dealings with business owners and governmental bodies,” Shehata explained.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), through its office in Egypt, is also working on a comprehensive project to support non-organised workers in Egypt with a focus on the home delivery market.

Mahmoud Agmean, an advocate before the Egyptian Court of Cassation and legal advisor for the ILO, told Ahram Online that this segment of workers lacks an organised legal structure within which to work.

“Companies use these couriers without a clear contractual relationship. This is a great shortcoming that needs to be dealt with, especially given the fact that the home delivery market is growing rapidly,” Agmean said.

Agmean explained that a similar crisis had previously faced workers who were seeking work abroad, since there was no legal framework governing the relationship between these workers and their prospective employers. However, the country’s Labour Law has since been amended with an entire chapter regulating this process.

A legal framework, together with establishing a trade union for them, will guarantee representation for home delivery workers in dealing with business owners as well as official bodies, he added.

The total number of non-organised workers in the country is between 1.5 million and 2 million, according to the latest figures published by the Ministry of Manpower and the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS).

The only available official number for organised labour is the total number of state employees, who are estimated at 6 million, according to CAPMAS.

Courtesy of Salaryexplorer website.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Economic Development, the informal economy represents 30 percent of the country's GDP of EGP 9.2 trillion for the current fiscal year.

Also, the latest economic census released by CAPMAS in 2021 puts the number of businesses in the informal sector at 2 million, which employ millions of workers.

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