SnapShot: tchipsee grave

Disproportionate amount of empty chip bags here. A school must be close by.

Day walk from Dokki to Mounira

Calle 13 really puts Cairo streets in perspective.

Crates of new sidewalk pavements. From "Arab Contractors".  

They were breaking up this sidewalk in order to instal the new tiles. It was really quite fine, no need to destroy them all. 

Lights were on all over the bridge. At first I thought it was just poor management, but then...

...it was actually because someone was fixing them!
At night this bridge is just a huge party, and it looks really good with the lights and the flags. 

Ugly imposing USA embassy, right in the middle of downtown.

Some art center in GC off of Qasr al-Einy

Poor man digging through the garbage bins. Broken sewer systems. Mounira

And the evening ended around 11 with Yemeni. Mashuiyat, farakh mandi, etc... Great end of the evening :-) with good food, new names, and adopted cats...

separate your garbage campaign

Separate your trash to deal with the garbage problem.
Food in one bag and the rest in another bag.

Thoughts on: Garbage problems around Soliman Gohar square, Dokki

So, lately, I have once again been baffled by something which is total normal in Egypt. 

Consistently for the past few weeks, everyday that I go out around 8am, I see at least three garbage trucks picking up the garbage at Soliman Gohar (SG) Square. 

SG square is a place where all the garbage gets deposited (not in bins, on the floor, taking up two or three parking spots) from the surrounding market place and businesses. Usually there is a bit of a lag between the accumulation and the pick up. Not so anymore! But now, we have not one company cleaning up, we have TWO!

From what I've gather based on different local nearby merchants, one company is the government entity (or governorate, not sure) where the workers get paid peanuts (300 EGP/month?). this money gets collected as part of the water bill (which for our 5-story building is about 250 LE per month (including both) according to my cheap-o landlady). 

The private company that picks up the garbage and does a good job is the one were each apartment unit or business has to pay about 15 LE per month for their private services. That's the service traditionally associated with the zabaleen in manshiet nassr (I went to see an exorcism there in 2011). They are also generally considered very efficient. This has been extensively covered by Western media.

Anyway, the point being, we went from having not enough garbage pick up, to TOO much garbage collection. And still no garbage bin. 

Finally, a nice quote from my favorite NGO operating in Egypt, GIZ:

"The institutions responsible for waste collection and disposal are unable to cope with the complexity of the task in hand despite international support. There is no legal framework or strategic planning and responsibilities and tasks are not clearly allocated. The sector is significantly underfinanced and has an enormous need for long-term investments and services."

That's the zabaleen truck. pilled high. probably super dangerous for the roads too. and therefore perhaps TOO "efficient". 

Here, we have a view of the square, with one truck on the left, and two on the right, and one behind us (above). Normally the garbage is piled up in the center of the photo where the three men are standing side by side.  

This is from a different date than the two photos above. same location. "The truck has become the bin..." I like the tree/shrub sticking out of the back of the truck. 

Photo: I am the Government... of coffee and mess

Thought this photo is funny and was worth a share:

It's from a commons area at Cairo University and it basically says "eating and beverages on these tables will be banned if you keep on leaving your garbage around" 

It's signed by "the director" and next to that, someone wrote "I am the government" in Arabic. I'm not quite sure if they meant that the director is the government or if the writer is.

Also notable that there are coffee marks on the paper, a blatant provocation... ahh... youth these days...

I guess the "I am the government" addition is funny, but it also exemplifies the I'm-a-rich-Egyptian-and-there-are-poor-people-around-to-clean-up-after-my-shit syndrome.

"I am the Government" of coffee and mess. 

Soon, I'll probably write another post going into more detail about this syndrome and other things that illustrate some of this country's underlying problems.

Photo: Garbage Caterpillar

Ahh, yes, yet another expat ever so fascinated by the effects of a poorly managed waste management system in the developing world...

Might I add, that, as I was taking this photo, a friendly but quite concerned and upset lady exclaimed to me: "Why are you taking photos of GARBAGE!? Why do you have to show the UGLINESS of our country!?"
I quelled her concerns with something along the lines of: "Egypt has beautiful things and ugly things, and it's good to show both. Don't worry, we're going to go to Ibn Tulun mosque after this and take lots of beautiful photos too." She was okay with that. :-)

Here is a pretty much failed attempt of me harnessing the powers of photoshop:

Garbage management in Saida Zeinab, Cairo, Egypt

Here's what the original looked like: