Awaiting solutions

Though still in her early twenties, the hardships of living in an impoverished informal area with little or no access to water or other services has left their mark on Samahs pale face and thin body.

Samah left primary school to work as a maid. Working in homes where she could at least enjoy putting her hands in water and having a nourishing meal seemed like heaven. At least I could have a better life there, she said.

Her words bespeak the hardship of living in the informal area of Ezbet Al-Hagganna on the outskirts of Nasr City, where there is little security and crime is rife. Samah lives with her family in a small flat in a shabby building with no private bathroom. She shares a small childs bedroom with her three sisters and a brother.

I was hardly allowed to play in a park when I was little, simply because we didnt have one in our area, and I have only ever seen the sea on TV, Samah said. We rarely have water at home, and I have to spend my only day off work filling and carrying water buckets from a nearby area.

Has life become any better after two revolutions? What are you talking about? Samah asked incredulously. Life has become worse due to the price hikes, unemployment, and the absence of security. We do not trust the governments promises or that anyone will ever care for the poor.

Samah is, however, luckier than many other residents of such areas. In an earlier report on informal areas in Cairo and Giza, I was told heartbreaking stories of the inhumane conditions people are forced to live in.

Some families shared a mattress on the floor of a tin kiosk with a cardboard ceiling that gave them little protection from the winter rains. Many reported the prevalence of crime, disease and dangerous insects and snakes. Sewage had leaked into the Saft Al-Laban, a waterway in the Giza governorate, and some schools were located close to sewage ponds.

Despite such hardships, however, almost everyone who talked to Al-AhramWeekly still insisted they would not move away from the places where they live. They hoped to be either relocated to safe buildings in the same neighbourhood or provided with services that would make their living conditions more tolerable.

ALARMING FIGURES: In his book Understanding Cairo: The Logic of a City Out of Control,the American author David Sims, an economist and urban planner, paints a bleak picture. Egypt seems by far to have the most extensive informal urban development of any Arab country, said Sims, adding that such developments are increasing at a very rapid rate.

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Awaiting solutions