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Editorial

By

Nahed Elbanhawy
Founder & Editor
The Egyptian Castle - since 1997

25 years later and still lining up:   Sad .. Sad .. Sad!!  Who to blame though?

I remember before leaving Egypt, almost 25 years ago, it was common to see line ups for buying chicken, sugar and cooking oil on a daily basis.   This was mainly at government operated mini supermarkets known in Arabic as "Gameya".  

If you were not rich, this was the only way to buy these products among others, at affordable prices.  Middle class people simply could not afford buying their basic food supplies from a butcher or a supermarket at exorbitant costs.  They did not mind hours of wait in a line up, being shoved and pushed to put their hands on a pair of chicken (if they were lucky enough to find any left when their turn came).

Back then, you might have found an excuse for this, putting aside corruption, you could have blamed it on the economy suffering because of war times.

25 years later and to my sad discovery, I came across one of those line ups and once again this was not in a poor neighborhood, but a city, once used to be a pick of the crop city (Dokki/ Mohandessien area). 

What happened or let's say what didn't happen .. We are not at war anymore .. the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer with the middle class almost non existent. How could people endure so much suffering day after day and year after year without doing anything about it.  But what can they do!   

You see the misery in people's eyes wherever you go and I am talking about the people in the streets not the rich and famous or government officials who are enjoying the country's wealth for over 23 years.  Did most of the people, really say yes to this government, electing them term after term for over 23 years?!

Unfortunately, many don't think of these issues as their basic right and their right to live with dignity and their government duty to deliver or simply get out and give a chance to someone else to better these people's lives.      Could that ever be a reality or will it always be nothing more than a fantasy.  Dream on while listening to an Arabic song filled with heart aching lyrics.   

Egyptians deserve better and should get better and maybe one day they will shout " Lel Sabr Hedoud"  basic translation "Enough is enough".  Enough Lies, enough deception, enough corruption, enough fear, enough pain, enough misery and the list goes on...


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