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: Chair with a cool penchant

Keeping the parking spot with some creative means. two weeks ago, on Haroun street in Dokki

Photos: in and around Clot Bey Street

Future entrance to the attaba metro station. Probably for line 3

We originally roamed this street to find jean material from a store named "tutu" so I could get some jean pants made. (1.5 meters= 1pair of trousers=30LE)

To "fan" the  coals, they set up a ventilator. automation. 

Homemade car cover/quilt! nice!

Photos: Cuter doggies

and now.. for people to calm down a bit... I would like you to view these cute street dogs!

Photo: Maadi Buildings

I forgot the name of this street, But I was impressed how everything is so straight.

Photo: Pink Scooter

This probably belongs to a guy

Photo: Mechanic Shop

Photo: Mechanic Shop 2

Photo:

SnapShot: water crisis, eh?

The fountain on Batal Ahmed elAziz street, pumping at full blast for the stand-still traffic

Water crisis, ethiopia dam?
Doesn't show...

Photo: Taste of Zamalek

I went to the taste of zamalek yesterday with J and R. good times. lots of people watching to do. I had a decent burrito. 

a bad picture of the seating area of the food court

Photo: Attaba's Tissue Spies

nothing too special, although there's a story behind each photo

This is after closing time at the Sudanese restaurant down a shady alley. TV on.

This was this HUGE stack of tissues packages. I mean maybe 5m2 of them. so I thought it was cool enough to take a photo. And this guy in the street thought he should put his arm up and block the view, as if taking photos of kleenex is like stealing national secrets.
Tissue spies.

Photo: Going Away, Party

Sometime in February. Lots of Ballons. Good time.

Kikin' it back with stylin' boots.

Photo: Buddha Bar Cairo

Buddha bar is in the Sofitel Gezira. It's usually empty. Not sure why. But it certainly has amazing decor

scroll down a bit for the photo (click on it to fit to screen).

and a great view on the nile

keep on scrolling...

Was hanging out with VJ on his last night, took this picture. I'm always awed by giant statues of Buddha. Especially in Egypt.

Photo Essay: The Harvest

All photos and text by Ahmed Safyeldin (twitter: @ElKharouf)

It was in my town of Ahnasya-El-Khadra, in the governorate of Beni-Suef, that the subject matter of his photo essay presented itself. I went on a Friday morning to volunteer at an NGO oblivious that the countryside was being strangled by a severe gas and diesel shortage. I had to put aside my plans to return on the same day and spend the night with a relative. As my relatives made phone calls around town to fetch me gas off the black market, they expounded on the adverse effects of this crisis on their livelihood, especially since the wheat harvest is coming up and the process of harvesting is mechanized. These revelations stirred my imagination since wheat is a staple of Egyptian diets and the Nile Delta was one of the first places that domesticated wheat 9,000 years ago.

The wheat harvesting process begins in early May by reaping the wheat and leaving it out to dry for a day or two on the field. Then the wheat is bound together and put through a machine that threshes (loosens the head of the grain from the chaff) and winnows (separates the head of the grain from the chaff) it. Finally the cereal is hauled away in sacks to the town’s market or government storage centers.

I photographed two locations at different stages of the harvest. The first location was a farm owned and operated by a single family that was at the stage of binding, threshing, and winnowing the wheat. The mood was joyous, welcoming, and put me at ease right away. I sat by an old lady (a great grand-mother) making  tea in a blackened beat up pot using corn cobs as fuel. The old lady went on to tell me how easy farm life had become compared to when she was young and the harvesting process was done by hand. The most interesting stages were threshing and winnowing, which began by passing a special cart over the wheat to loosen the grain from the stalks and husks. The mixture was then winnowed by throwing it into the wind so the chaff flew away and the heavier grain fell to the ground.

The commercial farm was owned by a distant relative of mine who contracted a foreman to provide manpower during harvests. Interestingly, the group of peasants that worked for the foreman was an extended family. While sipping on a cup of sweet tea brewed over a gas stove in the middle of a reaped field, the farm owner informed me that these workers are a group of nomads that roam between farming communities providing labor and are infamous for committing petty crimes. He also went over modernity’s impact on the farmer and how it strained his resources. The advent of government provided utilities gave the farmer the opportunity to buy electrical appliances and goods that burdened them financially. In addition, farming subsidies such as seeds and pesticides are stolen by government officials and sold on the black market for higher prices to the farmers who have no choice but to buy these products.

I went to Ahnasya-El-Khadra to witness a thousand year old agricultural tradition that captured my imagination, but found reality quite different. The fact is that the Egyptian peasant’s life has been far from idyllic since the beginning of time. However, it is fair to say that materially this is the richest he has been. But what does that translate into? Does that count as improvement?

Cairo, Day 983

Today –Saturday– was a good day.

Four different girls felt the need to touch my soft short hair :-)

Dokki Metro Station. My favorite exit.

Some downtown graffiti. Notice "Gika" in the bottom right, he'll appear again further down.

I finished reading "A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian". Very fun book.

I went to book club. Today we talked about "Black Faces, White Masks" and "the Yacoubian Building" as well as the general "otherness" theme.

Yacoobian Building style. See the boy, the old lady, and the two girls?

BookClub-goers admiring the view

Then I hung out with Namaai kids at Makan for an open mic and a discussion on two short movies. All in Arabic, I could understand almost everything.

حب عميق

After that, had the regular kofta sandwich in dokki sq. Now back home, organizing photos and this week's lovely blog posts by Safy :-)

RIP Gika, whoever you are.

SnapShot: Cat Proctor

"You know you're in Cairo University when a cat is helping you proctor mid term exams" :-) Thank you E.G.

SnapShot: Baladi Street Dog... the source of sleep deprivation

Yes, finally, I present you with...

The dog that's been barking every night these past few weeks!

Things have "cooled" down lately though... not as much 2-4 am noise.

She followed me home, so I sat down on the curb and pet her for a while. Dirty little thing though: my fingers were all black afterwards. I probably should throw my clothes in the washing machine to kill any fleas...

The nicest street dog in Cairo :-)

Photo: Car Repair Shop

I liked how the cars are on progressively higher and higher stilts. High enough so that an ATV could fit underneath one.

Done with about 25 minutes of Photoshop-ing. Still getting the hang of editing images. Starting to not be so afraid to burn the heck out of the edges. Upper background still looks a little surrealist though. 

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.