dawyomeldonya

Native Deen

2006-12-26T21:26:00.000-08:00

Is a group of three Muslim american rappers; Joshua Salaam, Naeem Muhammad, and Abdul-Malik who met in the Washington, D.C.
They simply want to use their talents to inspire other young people to keep the faith amid the pressures and temptations of modern life.
"Our songs encourage individuals to reflect on their true purpose in life. We try to remind our selves and all of humanity about the Creator. So it's cool to be able to groove to it."

Small Deeds
Ever been on a drive?
Inside in your ride And your looking through the glass, see a car on the side
The engine's broken and the car is smoking
And the dude is shaking cause the heat is baking
Or this cat's (guy) gotta flat, and the spare's all whack
No jack in the back, and no clue where he's at
There ain't no real rush, but you roll right by
Not even asking the guy if he needs a supply.
He might be alright, and to pass ain't a sin
But within you feel bad the state that he's in
How hard would it been, just to ask “you ok”?
That might be the deed that you need to succeed
That might be the deed that will so please Allah
That your forgiven the sinning you did when you was living
It's a small little thing, that can cling and just ring
And will bring the blessing from Allah Who's the King
We pass on the deeds cause they seem all small
But it might be the deed that's the best of them all
Mad when see all the passes I took On these small little deeds I just overlook

Chorus: I just can't believe Small little deeds that I overlook, can you see?
Little deeds that I overlook, and you read I read about it in my holy book, it says Small deeds never overlook

Picking up trash on the path in a flash
Taking glass from the grass, as you pass to your class
A smile goes a mile and is sure worthwhile
When a brother's hostile, and has been for awhile
Put a dollar every day in the sadaqah (charity)
It may be small but you do it for the baraka (blessing)
I know you're saving for the Polo and the Nautica
A poor student but you do it just to please Allah
Things like praying for an ailing brother, under the weather
Obeying yo your lovely mother, it's for the better
Stay and help your baby brother, put on a sweater
Even saying good to one another when you're together
Advice to another sister about a mister
Your wife always go and kiss her, tell her you miss her
At night do quiet dikhr (mentioning God), and pray the witr
Invite a guy who wants to bicker,
to share a snicker
Grand plans expand in our small little hands
But we overlook demands that just seem like strands
We get jammed on exams, cause we skip the small things
Small baby deeds come, bring the blessings!

3al ma7atta

2006-11-21T21:45:00.000-08:00

In this post, I'm trying to investigate what is al me7atta, in Cairo.

In general, what is a bus stop?
A bus stop is a designated place where a public transport bus stops for the purpose of allowing passengers to board or leave the bus. The simplest kind can be just a sign saying "bus stop", or it can be a post with special colouring or other marks identifying it as a bus stop.The bus stop provides you with the weekly timetable, and a map of the bus lines.
On the other hand, a street is a road where vehicles and pedestrians pass and that at least should have a sidewalk, lanes, a firelight and if necessary signs and/or traffic officers.

In Cairo
What is el me7atta?
It's a about 10 meters or more where people congregate to take the bus. Sometimes el me7atta can extend between el me7atta and the previous me7atta but with low density in the middle and a higher one in the extremes.
mm..no.. not clear eh heyya el me7atta?

Before continuing, let me identify two main types of buses:
1- What we call the "red" bus with 25 piasters ticket.
2- The CTA, the "used to be" airconditioned bus, with 2 pounds ticket.
I will ignore then the mini buses for simplicity.

Returning then to al ma7atta:
In most cases in Cairo, the bus stop is supposed to be allocated for the different kinds of buses, but with no specification about the spot assigned for each. When people see the bus they want to take, they just head towards it and throw themselves, and then it will all depend on the driver mood; whether he stops aside or in the middle of the street or simply doesn't stop! but this doesn't mean that passengers will not board; they will anyways.

If you're not sure about the appropriate bus you should take for your objective destination, you will have three choices:
1- Try to read an illegible sign -if it exists-on the bus, then you will discover that there are too many neighborhoods you've never heard about in Cairo, i.e "el kablat", "shobra el mazallat", Saft el laban"...etc
2-Ask people 3al ma7atta, and then you may have a different answer from each one you ask.
3- Take the bus, ask the driver and try to get off if you' re in the wrong one.

Other than the high density spots, a me7atta can always exist:
In the case of the CTA, it has doors that open and close, (sounds weired! but this is not the case in other buses), so all attempts of runnig and "hanging off-sha3la2a" is in vain!
However, you can consider that anywhere you stop and wave your hand asking the bus to stop, it will and that is a me7atta...and this is true in the reverse way; anywhere you want to get off , just shout telling the driver the famous statement:"3ala yminak yasta." and then it's a me7atta.

In the case of the red bus, the doors are always open so the "waving -meshawra- act" is not necessary...passengers just run and try to jump in or catch the hand of one of the passengers squeezed on the steps.
If you want to get off, wait until the bus slows down and jump..but make sure if you do it in the middle of the street that there is no upcoming car from the behind to take your life away!

So...do you still want to know what is a me7atta? I simply don't aknowledge having me7atta with its appropriate meaning.

While I was writing these words, I was asking myself again and again...WHY?!!and HOW?!!
Why are we still living in chaos? in lawless streets without firelights and signs?
How do we experience that our friends and relatives die in horrible road accidents and we're still watching? why are we supposed to pay a fine for having parked in a forbidden spot while there was NO sign indicating this?
Is is sooo hard to have organised bus stops where people line up to take the public bus?
Is it sooo hard to install firelights and respect them? Is it soo hard that vehicles stop at the green light so that pedestrians cross the road safely?
Do we addict beeping? driving in the opposite direction? paying bribes?!

I wish that day will come when our traffic problems will be solved, and then a trickle down effect will surely take place.

Listen to 3Al mahatta
ع المحطه
للشاعر: أحمد فؤاد نجم

ع المحطه ع المحطه
واللى شفته ع المحطه
طلعت الخفه ام شنطه
سلم الاوتوبيس بنطة
حته ملعب والاكاده فى القوام والحسن بطه
هى خشت درجه اولي والكراسي بقت منطه
سابوا تاتيه وغلب تانيه والقطيع على اولى خطي
اللي يهبش في الجونله واللي يعلى واللي يوطى
بص واحد م اللى هما دمهم فلفل وشطه
شاف صنايعي فى البريمو قال لة خش هنا يا اسطي
تانيه انسب للى زيك دى الحقيقة بلاش مغالطه
لاسطى قال له ياعم روق دى الحياة تحب المباسطه
وانت شايف مش مغمض حاجه ملبن حاجه قشطة
ولايعنى الكون ح يخرب لو فقير يلهط له لهطه

Cairo contrast

2006-10-29T20:19:00.000-08:00

I found this video very relevant to the following article

Watch it on youtube!

In describing Om el Donya

2006-10-19T18:56:00.000-07:00

When people ask me where are you from? I say Egyptian, they get fascinated. When they ask me to describe it, I get confused..Describing Egypt is a real dilemma you will go through. In Egypt, there is anything and everything you can find in other societies. But the fact we can have a concensus upon is that there is a huge gap between regions, social classes and this latter is getting wider; rich are getting richer and poor are getting poorer and more miserable.

So if I describe Egypt with some pictures, can I say that Om el Donya :

Is this beautiful country where tourists come from all over the world? or this 24/7 crowded country where no firelights are yet settled ?

Is it the country of subsequent civilizations ? or the country where civilized manners, ethics are missed concepts?

Is a country where we have acess to modern cars, technology..? or still a third world country?

A country where people live in beautifull appartments,villas and houses with gardens and swimming pools ? or where they still live in ghettos where they have no access to water and electricity?

Is shopping on sidewalks under the hot sun of Egypt? or in ultra modern malls in air conditioned climat ?

How about nutrition?

Is Egypt the country of tolerance, peace and love? or oppression, torture and hatred?

Is it the country of patriotic devoted people with hot blood who defend their country against opponents? or the country of unfaithful, wicked cheaters?

Is it the heart of beautiful arts where talented artists come from all over the arab world? or is it the manufacture of commercial art??

....and......A lot of contrast are still there..............

So can you please help me describe Om el Donya?

"Bass bassbasa" Campain

2006-09-16T14:52:00.000-07:00

If you are among these girls who suffer from flirting/bassbasa/mo3akasat, or even sexual harassment..or if you are among those guys who disdain these behaviors, put your hands with ours to stop this gross behaviour.

Egyptian men are known to flirt with anything that ends with "teh marboota". Regardless if you are beautiful or not, covered totally or partially, behave respectfully or not... anyways they will stare at you ,comment, give you a flying kiss (with that weired sound mmpo2!) ...and sometimes try to touch you.
We,GIRLS,WOMEN are fed up...we can't walk in the streets tranquilly anymore..nor can we take the bus without staying aware of hands crawling from the seat behind..nor can we shop in the mall without hearing stupid comments...nor can we...nor can we...

That's why I decided to make a summary of some good ideas people came up with regarding how to prevent men from "bassbassa w akhawatha"

Al tagriss:
Don' t let some 1 stares/bassbas at you without making a scandle for him, don't hesitate, It's easy and safe, the ball will be in your filed, be sure that he will get embarrssed. He will try to defend himslef...don't give him a chance and keep on yelling, "E7terem Nafsak, 3ib 3alik danta add geddi, ette2i Allah...etc"and be innovative in your phrases in order to irritate him. People will then gather around and he may be beaten....l mohem...try to make this day unforgettable for him.

We were in the egyptian musem and made up our mind that we will "negarrass" or make a scandle for the first one who will try 2 flirt. Honestly they were "aktar mel hamm 3al alb" but somtimes it happened while crossing the street, or tahrir Square"wa ma adraka ma al tahrir Square" so we couldn't react, L mohem...It happened when we were getting out of the musem...a "3asskari" told my friend Hoda "ih el gamal da while moving his eyebrows", and he was the victim!!...wasla men el ze3iiii2 wel bahdala:" e7terem nafsak,..ma3andaksh ekhwat banat..elakh elakh". After, Hoda told the 3aqiid (the boss of he 3asskari) about him...he called him shouting "come here shoes,-Ta3ala hena ya gazma! mesh zayy ekhwatak dool!?", and all of sudden, slapped him in his face (man, it was very strong!)
We were sorry for the 3assakari who was humiliated in front of all his collegues and tourists who were stopping to watch us...but we hoped that it would be a lesson for him.

High tech Tagriss
In Abu dhabi, there is "shortett al Tagriss": the one who will be caught flirting or annoying a girl for the second time, will be scandeled. They will publish his name, pictures and personal info in the newspapers and on the internet hopefully that this metgarras guy will never flirt again.

Here is an extract from the article published in 20at
أما "التجريس" الجديد الذي توعدت به شرطة أبو ظبي كل من يتم ضبطه للمرة الثانية وهو يعاكس الفتيات، فهو مختلف تماماً، هو تجريس" عصري تستخدم فيه وسائل الإتصال والفضائيات والتكنولوجيا الحديثة.حيث يتم نشر صورة المعاكس وبياناته الشخصية في جميع وسائل الإعلام المختلفة، كالفضائيات والصحف والإنترنت، وذلك لتحذير الفتيات من ذلك الشاب (الألعُبان) إذا قابلوه في أحد الشوارع أو المراكز التجارية أو الحدائق العامة
وقد نشرت الشرطة مؤخراً بياناً يحذر كل من تسول له نفسه بالإقدام على معاكسة الفتيات أو التحرش بهن، بتوقيع تلك العقوبة عليه ليكون عبرة وعظة لكل المعاكسين أمثاله.
Moreover,
ذكر تقرير إخباري أن وزارة الداخلية في دولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة تتجه إلى تشديد العقوبات على المعاكسين في
محاولة للتصدي لهذه الظاهرة. وقالت صحيفة (البيان) إن العقوبات الجديدة تتضمن سجن المعاكسين من المواطنين والمقيمين شهرا كاملافي حالة المعاكسة للمرة الاولى، وفي حال تكرارها تفرض غرامة قدرها 60 ألف درهم مع السجن لمدةعام

Kefaya Bassbasa, كفايه بصبصه
Another reaction to be mentioned, is this logo published by Tantawi, another outraged... If u like it, print it and post it everywhere.

A final idea I would like to present is that suggested by Alaa. Eventhough I'm not with these kinds of rude reactions, I will copy paste a part of the idea( I appologize for some gross words)

لو كل واحدة فينا أول ما راجل يتحرش بيها تقوم تخصيه

و نفضل نعمل الموضوع ده بانتظام و مين غير ما نفوت ولا فرصة، بعد شوية الخبر هينتشر و الرجالة هتحرص على نفسها و اللي مش هيحرص على نفسه مش هيقدر يخلف. و بعدين بما أننا في عصر ما بعد الحداثة بقترح أنك..بابرة تريكوه مسنونة، أصلك لو استخدمتي خنجر مثلا هيقوللك الستات استرجلت و الكلام الحقير ده كله، انما لما نستخدم واحدة من رموز الأنوثة التقليدية، التريكوه اللي البنت المؤدبة اللي بتلبس فساتين بكرانيش و تقعد ضامة رجليها بتتدرب عليه، التريكوه اللي الواحدة بتعمله و هي مستنية يجيلها العيل، التريكوه اللي هو مصير الست اللي خلاص بطلت تخلف، التريكوه اللي محتاج وقت كتييييير لدرجة أنك لازم تبقى ست بيت.
بالذمة مش تبقى تفكيكية صايعة لما تستخدمي ابرة التريكوه بتاع ست البيت، في أنك .. أي حيوان يفكر يتحرش بيكي. و هيبقى التحرش الجنسي حاجة كده تاريخية بيحكوا عنها زي وأد البنات و الزايدة الدودية. و بعد كام جيل كمان هتنتقل من التاريخ لقصص الخيال العلمي.

Eventhough this could be an exaggerated idea, it may inspire you. Personnaly, it reminded me when I was in school and I used to walk to my home, I always had a stone in my bag, and I was deciding with myslef that if someone attemps to offense me, I will threaten him by the stone or furthermore I will beat him with it ( but nothing ever happened!!)

So it is a call for "boys/men" to stop bassbasa or I can name it formally "ghad al basar", and for girls/women ,to defend themselves against any sexual assault.

Relation between Star CAR and CAIRO stars

2006-09-15T21:55:00.000-07:00

During my trip to Egypt, I went to take driving lessons at the nearest school to my home called "star car"
First lesson: at 1:00
me:good morning, I have an appointment at 1:00
Eman (the secratary): etfaddali esterayya7i
At 1:10 :
me:will he be late
Eman:Sabri is coming soon
After a while Sabri came
Sabri to Eman :call Ebrahim , tell him to hurry up
me: where is he?
Sabri:ra7 meshwar
me:should I come later
Sabri: ya mama esbori

Sabri on the phone with Ebrahim: where r u-Enta fein? ....bla bla..and hanged up.
Sabri to me :asl Ebrahim wa7'ed el 3arabeyya beyshteri shwayyet 7agat we gayy 3ala tool
me:where is he now?
Sabri:el Abbaseyya (15 min from Star Car location and 45 min fel za7ma!)
me:but my appoitment is supposed to be at 1:00
Sabri:we weren't sure that you are coming!!

And finally arrives the STAR CAR
A 128 car, bass ih...very high equipped . The seat is removable...how did I know? I'am a little bit short...so what they do so that I can drive properly is to move the seat , put a couple of squarred ceramic (or kind of balat) in order to move the seat (and myself) up and to the front...but lately they brought a thick pillow"shalta" behind my back...

No seat belt, and the hand (l okra) is also removable.

First advice
In intersections, when u want to bypass a car, when a car comes near to you..when you change your lane...when when when...3ala tool "KALKESSI".

Second lesson
me:good morning eman, where is Sabri?
Eman: he just called and said he is not coming because his father is soo tired.
me:why didn't you call me?
Eman:we lost your number.

Second lesson(klaket tani marra)
Oh! Sabri is here...smoking a cigarette, waiting for me.

During the lesson, the cigarette doesn't leave his mouth.
me:can you stop smoking, I'm suffocating.
Sabri: I will smoke only this last one.
me: why do you throw it (betetffiha) in the street?
Sabri: Where do you want me to throw?
me: here in the taffaya!!

Later:
Sabri to me :kalkesi! kalkesi!
me:what's wrong
Sabri:kalkesi bass
me:ppppppppppiiiippp

AH!!! king car was in front of us( king car is another driving shool ) and the driving teacher seems to be a friend of Sabri.
Sabri: erkeni hena ( by a Square , at 2:00 pm in the hot summer of Egypt)

King car stopped too, Sabri and the other teacher hugged each other and talked for 10 min during which I didn't stop "kalkasa" to call him!

When back:
me : aren't you supposed to be in your work hours? I'm paying for 1 hour not 50 min!
Sabri (nervous): it's been a long time I didn't see my friend,...look at the other guy (who was learning on king car), he is not shouting like you!!....

Third lesson: 1:00
me: how are you eman, where is Sabri?
Eman: etfadali erta7i
me: (etfadali erta7i di mesh metamenani) where is Sabri?
Eman: he is buying something and will be coming shortly.

10 min, 15 min..
me: honestly eman, tell me where is he? (at that time, Eman and I became more friends)
Eman: honestly, he was here, but one of his friends called him because he made an accident and Sabri went to help !
me: Wana mali!!! it's out of my business!! I called you before coming and you have my phone number why didn't you call me?!!!!
Eman: Sabri told me it won't be long, let her (3allaya) wait.
me: Ahhh!oh!! no!!! I won't come here again, give my money back!
Eman: sorry, ok. And she gave it to me.

me:where are you going?
Eman: I will buy some food from the grocery
me (to myslef): isn't she supposed to be on her work time?

I went with her to not less than 5 stores...: bta3 el 3esh, el ba22al, bta3 el sogo2..and others I dunno what are they selling
Then she came with me to the taylor to pick my skirts up.

me to the taylor : I have two skirts that are supposed to be ready today (and I paid for them)
The taylor: oh sorry, they are not ready...I forgot them.
me, screaming:why?? I brought them one week ago..how do you forget them?
The taylor:khalas , olt le 7adretek asef!!

I'm telling these stories not for the sake of ruinig "Star Car "reputation (btw Sabri is a good teacher), but it is a sample...a reflection of what really happens in other larger institutions. I found in it an institution where the employees are not disciplined, are not punctuel, aren't devoted to clients..the service is not well offered or is always in lag..and thus its reputation gets ruined. The client whether moves to another if he has an alterntive, or has to be patient if he doesn't have the choice, and the governemental institutions are the famous pattern... with the famous statments"3addi 3alina bokra...el khazna afla...fi tabe3 na2ess...etc"

And that is the lack of ethics that is needed to exercice a job...These ethics are-unfortunatly- missed in Egypt: from the teacher who doesn't explain well so that students ask him for private lessons, to the grocer whom you ask for your change and he replies, we don't have anymore, take chewing gum or sweets with it...to the policeman who takes bribe (cigarettes or money) to not give u a ticket...and with all pride our society is rich with examples!!

And that was the relation between Star Car and Cairo Stars.

يا حلاوه الناوة كوا الناوة يا بلدنا يا اخر فتاكات

2006-09-10T20:05:00.000-07:00

جامعة أون لاين - بتاريخ: 7/9/2006
كتب / أمجد نصار

انها حقا حكومة ... محترمة

نستطيع أن نصف الحكومة الحالية بأنها الحكومة المصرية الأسوأ حظا أو الحكومة الأنحس أو الحكومة الأفشل أو كما يسميها البعض ... حكومة الكوارث الوطنية

الحكومة الحالية تتميز عن الحكومات السابقة بانها حكومة تكنو قراط ... بمعنى أنها حكومة متخصصة .. المفروض أن يتولى مناصبها دائما الأكفأ وليس الأكثر مالا أو نفوذا أو فسادا .. فكل وزير لابد أن يكون عالما ببواطن وزارته ومحترفا و متخصصا فى مجاله

وعلى عكس المتوقع بدلا من أن تؤدى فكرة التخصص هذه لرفع مستوى الاداء وتطوير العمل والتغلب على المشاكل و المعوقات على أساس أن أهل مكة أدرى بشعابها ... الا أن حكومة التكنو تحولت الى حكومة رجال أعمال أو حكومة البيزنس .. وبدلا من التخطيط و التطوير تفرغ كل وزير لتسخير كل امكانيات وزارته لتسهيل عمل شركاته الخاصة لتحقق أرباح خيالية فى فترة وجيزة ليصبح الحال كما يقول المثل ... حاميها حراميها

وبالرغم من عمر الوزارة القصير نسبيا ألا أن سلسلة من الكوارث والفضائح لاحقت وزراء التكنوقراط لتثبت بما لا يدع مجالا للشك فشلهم الذريع فى ادارة الأمور أو بالأصح فشل من اختارهم لهذه المناصب .. ليلقى هذا الفشل بظلال من الحيرة و التساؤلات ... هل العيب فى الوزراء أم فى التكنو أم فى القراط نفسه

وعلى طريقة يا رايح كتر من الفضايح فسوف نستعرض فى السطور التالية وزراء التكنو الجدد و أبرز انجازاتهم فى مجال تطوير و تحديث المصائب و الكوارث و الفضائح

أحمد نظيف رئيس الوزراء
لا يمتلك الرجل أى مؤ هلات على الاطلاق لهذا المنصب الرفيع اللهم اذا كان الطول احد مقومات هذا المنصب
تصريحاته الصحفية مضحكة الى أقصى حد و تنم عن جهل سياسى بدءا من حكاية أن الشعب المصرى غير مؤهل للديمقراطيةو يحتاج الى قطارة لتنقيط الديمقراطية كذلك بأن الحكومة ليست ما ما و لا بابا وبالطبع ليست أنور وجدى .. ولم تفلح القرية الذكية و الحكومة الذكية و الوزارة الذكية فى محو أثر هذه التصريحات .... الغير الذكية
يسرى الجمل .. وزير التربية والتعليم
كانت تصريحاته فى البداية تبشر ببعض الخير ولكن .. يوم الامتحان يكرم المرء أو يهان ... فقد فشلت وزارته و أهينت فى أول امتحان لها وتوالت الفضائح بدءا من أزمة الكادر الخاص و مرورا بالاء التى عبرت عن رأيها بحرية فكان نصيبها السقوط ثم فضيحة الغش الجماعى ثم الفضيحة الكبرى فى امتحانات الثانوية العامة التى و صفت بأنها الاسوء على الاطلاق ولأول مرة نسمع عن حالات انتحار و هستريا و تقطيع ورق الأسئلة و الاجابة ثم تظهر النتيجة العجيبة بمجاميع خرافية لا يجد أصحابها أى مكان لهم لا فى كليات القمة و لا فى كليات القاعدة
وعلى الرغم من تصاعد موجة الغضب ضده من المدرسين و الطلبة و أهالى الطلبة .. يعنى الشعب كله ..
الا أنه مازال حتى الان مستمرا فى منصبه

محمد منصور وزير الكوارث ... عفوا وزير النقل
محمد منصور أو منصور شيفروليه هو الأنحس على الأطلاق .. فعهده شهد أسوأ اهمال فى تاريخ البشرية بدءا بحادثة العبارة التى أودت بحياة الاف الأبرياء ومرورا بقطارى قليوب و قطار كفر الدوار المحترق ثم أخيرا قطار شبين القناطر ... و مازال العرض مستمرا
يظهر فى التلفاز بعد كل كارثة وبراءة الأطفال فى عينيه و تشعر أنه يريد أن يبكى و يلعن سلسفيل اليوم الذى تولى فيه الوزارة .. ولكن و انصافا للرجل فعلى الرغم من هذا الاخفاق المستمر الا انه نجح فى تطوير و تحديث وسائل النقل المريح و السريع ... الى الاخرة
وما زال الوزير حتى الان مستمرا فى منصبه

حاتم الجبلى وزير الصحة
تخصصه كأستاذ أشعة يجعله بعيدا تماما عن مشاكل الأطباء الحقيقية.. وعمله فى البيزنس و ادارته لمستشفى دار الفؤاد تجعل الشبهات تحوم حوله .. بدء الرجل فترته الوزارية بتصفية الحسابات القديمة و اقالة رجال الوزير السابق و تصفية جميع المستشفيات المنافسة لدار الفؤاد و تعيين رجاله و أقاربه فى مناصب هامة .. وعلى الرغم من وعوده بزيادة أجور الأطباء و تطوير التأمين الصحى الا انه حتى الان لا نسمع منه سوى كلام
ومازال الوزير حتى الان مستمرا فى منصبه

أمين أباظه وزير الزراعة
فشلت وزارته بجميع المقاييس فى التعامل مع أزمة انفلونزا الطيور مما أدى لخسارة مصر ثروتها الداجنة و التى تقدر بالملايين .. وما زال تصدير أجود أنواع القطن و القمح و الأرز المصرى للخارج مستمرا .. أما المواطن المصرى الجربوع فيستوردون له أردأ أنواع القطن و القمح و الأرز الأجنبى
وما زال الوزير حتى الان مستمرا فى الوزارة
على الرغم من أن هذا المنصب يحتاج الى أعلى قدر من اللباقة و السياسة و الكياسة الا أنك تضع يدك على قلبك عندما يتحدث أبو الغيط .. فأخطاؤه كثيرة و سقطاته أكثر و زلات لسانه لا تغتفر وعندما يتحدث لا يجعلك أبدا كمصرى أن تشعر بأى فخر أو اعتزاز بل على العكس تطأطىء رأسك و أنت تراه يتحدث بذل و خنوع ربما يستمدها من مواقف الحكومة المهينة المخزية ..
وما زال الوزير حتى الان مستمرا فى منصبه

محمود محى الدين وزير الاستثمار
صفقاته كلها مشبوهة وتفوح منها رائحة البيزنس و أشهرها على الأطلاق صفقة بيع عمر أفندى التى فضحها المهندس يحيى حسين و أعلن أن الوزير متواطئ و يضغط لاتمام الصفقة بأقل من ثلث سعرها الحقيقى .. هذا ما نعرفه .. و ما خفى كان أعظم
وما زال الوزير حتى الان مستمرا فى منصبه

ربما كان بعض وزراء التكنو أسعد حظا من الاخرين وسلموا من الفضائح حتى الان .. الا أن حظ الحكومة الدكر لا يمكن أن يتخلى عنهم كثيرا , وعلى رأى المثل ..

من جاور السعيد يسعد
الأهم من كل ذلك أنه على الرغم من هذا الفشل الا أن أحدا من الوزراء متكسفش على دمه .. بلاش نقول ينتحر لاحسن يموت كافر والعياذ بالله .... لكن على الأقل يستقيل .. بلاش .. يعتذر .. يبدى ندمه و أسفه ..
بلاش كل ده .. يسكت خالص .. يتخرس .. ميورناش وشه الفقرى بعد كل كارثة ويبتسم ويقول .. باطمنكم ان مصر بخير و هذه الكارثة اثبتت أصالة و عراقة الشعب المصرى و كله بفضل توجيهات الرئيس مبارك أبو المصريين اللى أمر بكذا و عمل كذا وسوى كذا .........الى اخر الاسطوانه المشروخه

السؤال الذى يفرض نفسه الان هو ..

اذا لم تكن الكفاءة و النجاح و التخطيط و التطوير و الانتاج و الانجاز هى معايير اختيار الوزراء و استمرارهم فى مناصبهم .. فما هو المعيار ؟؟؟
متى يستقيل الوزير و يترك منصبه لمن هو أكفا منه ؟؟؟
متى نشعر أننا شعب محترم يستطيع اقالة وزرائه ومحاسبتهم على جرائمهم ؟؟؟
من ينقذنا الان من هذه الحكومة التكنو قراط .. و التى تحولت بفعل هذه الفضائح الى .. حكومة تكنا قراط ؟؟؟؟

Pictures' source :egyptian without borders

Listen to Boutikat by Ahmad Fouad Negm, Shekh Imam Issa

http://cheikh-imam.net/Cheikh%20Imam/Boutiket%20tun.rm

الشاعر الكبير أحمد فؤاد نجم
بوتيكات
بوتيكات النات كوا النات

وشقق مفروشه وعمولات

يا حلاوه الناوة كوا الناوة يا بلدنا يا اخر فتاكات

بوتيكات النات كوا النات

شبيبيك لبيك فتح مخك لبييك شبيك غمض عنيك

حتقفل مخك ح نطخك ونلوشك لو تفتح عينك

ركب قرنين تركب مازد

وتعيش سلطان فى البراوز دا

مش عاجبك فالجبنه الفاسدة والعيش والفول والكرات

يا حلاوه الناوه كوا الناوه يا بلدنا يا اخر فتاكات

بوتيكات النات كوا النات

مين فيكوا ما يعرفش عليوه شيال المينا الكحيان

فى ثواني اتمول واتحول بقي مسيو عليوة عليان

ازاى ؟ما هى بوظه ومفتوحه

على حس ولاد المفضوحه

وارانب صاحيه ومدبوحه تتأستك تبع البنوكات

يا حلاوة الناوة كوا الناوة يا بلدنا يا اخر فتكات

بوتيكات النات كوا النات

حتقولي الفقرا ومشاكلهم دى مسائل عايزة التفانين

وانا رأيي نحلها رباني ونموت كل الجعانين

وبهذا ما حدش ح يجوع

لو نعلن هذا المشروع

و ح نقفل هذا الموضوع نهائياونعيش فى تبات

يا حلاوة الناوه كوا الناوة يا بلدنا يا اخر فتكات

بوتيكات النات كوا النات

electronic WC...

2006-09-06T14:13:00.000-07:00

Wagattouha...

"Emsek Nafsek "Campain

2006-08-31T18:16:00.000-07:00

After realising the first project of Dawy Om el Donya campain that was cleaning the streets, we were thinking about a same nature project that fights against backwarded phenomenas in our society..hmmm...we have indeed cleaned the streets from garbage but our streets are still rich with other filth...like spittle and men waste.

Have you ever :

Seen those waves and Zigzags draws on walls?or someone trying to write his name on Sour el koleyya el 7arbeyya?
Experienced being in a Taxi or travelling in a bus and suddenly the driver stops...walks towards a tree or a ditch and urinates blissfully in front of you and all passengers.
Been waiting in the za7ma....and you see a kind man beyess2i el shagara...badal maygelha gafaf.. or been walking on the sidewalk and smelt a suffocating smell coming from a man's back with a berka at his feet?

Peeing in public is a phenomena that is not unique in Egypt, but maybe it is flagrant because of the absence of public toilets and the social discrimination that will prevent a man to use restaurants', coffee's or malls' toilets if he doesn't eat(and pay)...so the question is how can we deal with this problem while these men don't feel embarassed or ashamed to urinate in public? They are not conscience of how gross and disgusting , how unhygienic and despised by the religion it is. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: Be on your guard against three things which provoke cursing: easing in the watering places and on the thoroughfares, and in the shade (of the tree).

Suggestions

Sally, Yasmina and Hoda suggested"el esha3at el kazeba":sticking posters on walls, in gardens and parking lots...where written "beware, you are watched by Cameras everywhere...you will be subjected to a scandle in your job place if you urinate here!

Doaa came up with " el toilet elma7moul":every one has his own seat (that he can keep in his vehicle or whatever..) and the government or private business (el 7okooma mesh na2sa masarif) will settle the toilets themselves in main sites,squares, stops...these toilets will have a big tank for the wastes. This project will provide a hygienic service as an alternative to the current wide spread practice and will allow a healthier environment (and will create good job opprtunties if the toilets are manufactured locally)

Mobile toilets are already in place in developed countries to serve parties, religious, cultural and other outdoor events.

Lately I read in tay al Muttasel" طَيُّ المُتَّصَلِ" blog in his 21-08-06 post about the indian's experience in preventing urinaing on walls,it says:
مشكلة: كيف تمنع الناس من التبول على الجدران؟
حل: بأن تجعل الجدران مقدسة لأتباع لجميع الديانات.
http://static.flickr.com/90/232207734_fed65bdb6b.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/93/232207731_b084ea8ec8.jpg

لاحظ أنه يجب أن تكون الشعارات المقدسة متلاصقة و متراكبة و إلا وجد شخص ما فرصة للتبول على شعارات الآخرين، و تفشل الخطة

So Here is the problem and here are some suggestions...but let's think about the ability to apply any of them or even others (such as a fine ) in egypt!!

The dilemma I always face while thinking about Egypt's problems is "el beda walla el farkha";should the people start first or the governement?
I believe that self control and conscience play a major role in preventing oneslef to do bad deeds or break rules,but there should always be a punishment to those who don't have this conscience.One the other hand , if there is no punishment, discipline will be discouraged but you cannot punish without providing all that is needed to make the right practice easy...so in our case we cannot only rely on men's conscience and say the solution is "yemseko nafsohom"...nor have we to punish one who urinates in the street, because if there is no toilet ..he will have two options (whether urinates in the garden or...u can imagine el fedi7a) ...
Portable toilet could be a good solution if it is accessible to all regions and social classes...

Finally I'm asking will this vulgar practice disappears one day from our streets and gardens...?

This is allowed ...!!!

طاطي راسك طاطي طــــاطي

2006-08-24T22:20:00.000-07:00

بقلم: أحمد فؤاد نجم
طاطي راسك طاطي طــــاطي
انت ف وطن ديمقراطـــــــي
انت بتنـــعــــم بالحــــــــــرية
بس بشرط تكون مطاطــــــي
لما تكون شغــال بذمــــــــــة
خايف على مصــلحة الأمــة
شغلك يطلع من غير لازمــة
علشان مبيعلاش غير واطي
طاطي راسك طاطي طاطـــي
انت ف وطن ديمـــــقراطي

لما حاميها يكون حراميــها
وبلاده ورا ضهره رامـيـها
طالع نازل واكل فيـــــــــها
مسنود بالبدلة الظباطــــي
طاطي راسك طاطي طاطـــي
انت ف وطن ديمـــــقراطي

لما شــقاك يصــبح مش ليك
فقرك سد السكة علــــــــــيك
تتلفّت تلــــقى حـــوالـــــــيك
إما حرامي و إما عقــــاطي
طاطي راسك طاطي طاطــــي
انت ف وطن ديمقراطـــــــي

لماتلاقي بـــــلاد الـدنـيـــــــا
فيها البني آدم حــــاجة تانية
وانت في الطبقات الـــــــدنيا
قرد مسلسل أو وطواطــــي
طاطي راسك طاطي طاطـــي
انت ف وطن ديمقراطــــــي

لما الجهلة يبــــــقوا أمــامــك
أو فوقك ماسكــين ف زمامك
ويسوقك ع الهــلكة إمامك
تشرب م السم السقـــــراطي
يطاطي راسك طاطــــي طاطي
انت ف وطن ديمقـــــــراطي

لمــــا الكلـــمة تكون بتدينـك
لما تخبي ف قلـــــــبك دينــك
لما الذل أشوفه ف عيـــــــنك
هات إحباطك على إحباطــــي
طاطي راسك طاطي طاطـــي
انت ف وطن ديمقراطــــــي
انت ف وطن ديمقراطـــــــي

?what....لو لم أكن مصريا .. لوددت أن أكون

2006-08-15T22:33:00.000-07:00

?....لو لم أكن مصريا .. لوددت أن أكون
مصطفى كامل هو مصطفى كامل باشا ابن علي محمد، نابغة مصر في عصره، وأحد مؤسسي نهضتها الوطنية. ولد في القاهرة سنة (1291هـ)، كان أبوه ضابطًا مهندسًا، عني بتعليمه فأحرز شهادة الحقوق من جامعة "تولوز" بفرنسا قبل بلوغه العشرين. وكان فصيحًا، ساحر البيان، انصرف إلى مقاومة الاحتلال الإنجليزي بخطبه ومقالاته وكتبه، ونشر دعوته السياسية في صحف فرنسا ومجلاتها، وأنشأ في مصر جريدة "اللواء" اليومية سنة (1900م)، وأنشأ جريدتين: إحداهما بالإنجليزية، والثانية بالفرنسية وسمى كلاً منهما "اللواء" أيضًا، ودعا إلى إنشاء الحزب الوطني فانعقد أول اجتماع له سنة (1907م) بدار اللواء، وانتخب رئيسًا له طوال حياته. وله عدة كتب منها: "حياة الأمم والرق عند الرومان"، و"فتح الأندلس" قصة، و"المسألة الشرقية"، و"دفاعُ مصري عن بلاده"، و"الشمس المشرقة" في حرب اليابان وروسيا، و"مصر والاحتلال الإنجليزي"، و"رسائل
مصرية فرنسية". توفي شابًّا سنة 1908م
http://www.almoarekh.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=227"

ومن أشهر ما قال
" لا يأس مع الحياة ولا حياة مع اليأس."
"لو لم أكن مصريا لوددت أن أكون مصريا "

لو لم أكن مصريا .. لوددت أن أكون ..أى حاجة تانية
ما الذى يدفع أي إنسان أن يعتز بإنتمائه لبلده؟؟ ما الذى يجعل واحد مثل حليم يشدوا بكل فخرأحلف بسماها و بترابها..أحلف بالقمح وبالمصنع..أحلف بالمدنا و...الخهذا الإعتزاز و ذلك الفخر لابد أن يكون له سبب ..وسببه في اعتقادي هو الحب..أكيد الناس دي بتحب مصر..بتموت فيها..بتعشق سماها وهواها وترابها وناسها..والذي منه !!لكن ليه ؟؟ ليه الناس دى بتحب مصر؟؟ ليه الست كانت بتقول:مصر التى فى خاطرى و فى دمى .. أحبها من كل روحى و دمىمفيش حب كده من الباب للطاق ..متقوليش عشان اتولدت مصري يبقى لازم تحب مصر وتموت فى دباديبها..متقوليش حب من أول نظرة..لأن أكيد تاني و تالت نظرة حتخليك تغير رأيك..متقوليش حب من طرف واحد .. يعنى الطرف التانى يديك بالجزمة القديمة وانت بتصرخ .. بحبك بحبك
فى رأيي أن الحب علاقة متبادلة بين طرفين..مشاعر ماشية فى اتجاهين..يعنى لازم البلد تحبك عشان تحبها ..وبسلامتها البلد دى تحبك ازاى ؟؟؟
..أقولك!!تحبك يعنى
ترعاك .. تهتم بيك .. بالبلدى كده تعبرك .. تحسسك إنك بني آدم لك قيمة وليك رأى..تعترف أن ليك حقوق زى ما عليك واجبات من حقك تأكل لقمة نضيفة من غير مبيدات ولا مسرطنات ولا تقاوي فاسدة ..من حقك تاكل رغيف عيش من غير مسامير ولا صراصير ولا بلا أزرق

من حقك تتنفس هوا نضيف من غير هباب ولا أطران ولا دخان مصانع وكبريت ورصاص وسخام أسود منيل بستين نيله..

من حقك تلاقى مواصلة تركبها من غير بهدلة و شحططه ومرمطة وتزنيق و تلزيق وبلطجة وقلة أدب واللي مش عاجبه الباب يفوت جحش

من حقك تلاقى شغلة شريفة من غير ذل ومهانة وفوت علينا بكرة يا سيد .. من غير كوسة ومحسوبية وأبجني تجدنى وسكة أبو زيد كلها مسالك..

من حقك لو عييت تلاقى حتة تتعالج فيها بكرامتك وتتعامل كإنسان محترم مش كأنك متسول جاي تشحت من الدكتور اللي أصلاً قرفان من نفسه ونفسه يديلك حقنة هوا عشان يخلص من أمثالك الأوباش الجرابيع..

عارف أنا ابن مين يا ابن ال .... ويبقى نهار أبوك أسود لو طلع أبوه ظابط و لا وزير و لا......... واللي له ضهر مينضربش على بطنه..

من حقك لو دخلت قسم الشرطة تخش بثبات بدون رعب من غير ما تبص حواليك خوفا من قفا طاير أو شلوت ضل الطريق أوروسية تبحث عن ضحية أو شتيمة عابرة للقارات ده غير السحل و النفخ وهتك العرض و السفالة وقلة الأدب و المواطن مجرم وابن ستين ... حتى تثبت براءة اللي جابوه ... ويا ويلك يا سواد ليلك لو كانت دقنك منبته انشالله تقاوى شعر .. يبقى انت ارهابي .. واشحن على أمن الدولة لحد ما يبانلك صاحب.. وإن بانلك صاحب يبقى نهار أبوه أسود هو كمان

من حقك تتفرج على تليفزيون بلدك تحس بالفخر..تشوف مدارس بتتبنى ومصانع بتشتغل و كباري بتتفتح و مستشفيات بتتجدد و مدن بتتعمر وشباب زى الورد بيشتغل و يبني ويعمر ويضحي بعرقه ودمه.مش تشوف بلد بتتسرق..وعبارة بتتحرق..وقضاة بتنضرب..وصحفيين بتتسحل..وأسعار كل يوم بتولع..والحرامية اللي سرقوا البلد إما في أوروبا أو في مارينا..وحكومة مش فاهمة حاجة فى أي حاجة ورئيسها بيقول الشعب لازم يرضع الديمقراطية بالبزازة..ومجلس شعب دايماً موافق وهو نايم بيشخر..وأكبر راس فى البلد مرعوب وخايف يحط إيده فى بق الأسد..مستني لما الأسد يهبش ....... مش إيده..والكتكوت ننوس عين ماما متصدر فى الفاضية و المليانة ونافخ ريشه عشان يورينا إنه دكر و بيعرف يكاكي زى بابا

يا ترى بعد كل ده لسة مش فاهمين ليه الشباب بيسيب البلد و يهج؟؟ !! يا ترى لسة مش فاهمين ليه طلبة المنصورة ما صدقوا حطوا رجلهم فى أمريكا ومحدش شافهم تانى ؟؟..لسة مستغربين ليه كرم جابر و بوجي بيدوروا على الجنسية الأمريكية؟؟..لسة بتسألوا فين أحمد زويل و فاروق الباز و مجدى يعقوب..وغيرهم كتير و كتير؟؟...... يا ترى كل دول خونة و مجرمين و معندهمش و لاء وانتماء؟؟!!

جامعة أون لاين - بتاريخ: 13/8/2006

Streets children

2006-08-11T09:56:00.000-07:00

Toys, maragiii7, estoghomeyya, ghazl el banat, Barbie doll, soccer ,matchobox cars, video games...should have been the lexical field of our children...but colla, sabares, matwa,hashish, enta yala,beat, bite, el sikh el ma7mi fe sarsour wednak.....are the actual lexical field for more than one million Egyptian child.

By The Rapid Situation Assessment (RSA) of streetchildren in Cairo and Alexandria by the Office of Drug Control and Crime Prevention (ODCCP), the UNICEF, and the World Food Programme (WFP).
The emergence and development of the problem of street children in Egypt is the
manifestation of the effect of various interrelated factors leading to the existence of the problem. Poverty, ignornace,unemployment, family breakdown and child negligence and exploitation as a wage earner, seem to be the leading causes for the problem. Many Egyptian families who are economically marginalized have become seriously dysfunctional, and have placed their children in circumstances that have resulted in such youth leaving home and trying to survive in the often unprotected and hazardous street milieu.

Those million under 18 years old children :

Are ignorant about health, hygiene, and nutrition, deprived of services to protect them, malnourished. Lack of access to medical services due to the type of life they lead means that skin diseases,lacerations from fights, intestinal illnesses, and infections go untreated. .

Beg, scavenge, steal, collect items from wastes... they smoke ends of cigarettes, addict glue or some kinds of drugs like hashish or even bango and therefore are subjected to violence and harsh abuse in order to get their drugs.

Usually live in gangs from different ages.You will often see them beating each other(specially when they get drowsy under the effect of what they consume): a guy beating a younger one, a gang against another...with hands, with broken glass, with knives...and that goes for all ages...childhood and innocence play no role.

I used to see them (from my window) after midnight climbing the wall to an empty area in front of the building where I live where they hide their stuff...I couldn't really identify what were these stuff(as I live in the 7th floor), but they probably consist of some rugs, ropes,bottles ...After, they choose the smaller guy and dump him in the huge garbage container where he picks up some food wastes while others collect cigarettes ends (Sabares in our slang) .

Hala Gorani wrote in cnn.com on Saturdays July 1 2006 about Harsh life of Egypt's neglected street kids. she says:"I first met Hussein -a14-years old boy who looked more like a thug than a poor homeless child- in something called a mobile health care unit. There are only two in the whole of Cairo, operated by a small but admirable charitable organization called Hope Village.
It's a vehicle with a doctor and a couple of social workers handing out sandwiches. The kids are given creams to treat the type of skin disease they catch from living in street slime every day.
I noticed Hussein's hands were badly burned. I asked him what happened.
"A fire," he said laughing.
"Why is that funny?"
"Ha ha ha."
Hussein was a tough cookie.
But I've always liked a challenge. As difficult as it is for boys, it's worse -- much worse -- for girls. They are exposed to the worst type of violence and abuse.
"That includes everything from rape to molestation," according to Unicef Egypt's Simon Ingram. And to numb the pain?

I asked him to tell me more about the fire that burned his hands so badly. He tells me there was a fire at his house when he was 7 years old. His mother, his aunt and two other family members died one after the other in the hospital The same year, his father was sent to jail for ten years on drug trafficking charges. He now lives with his aunt and works on the street selling trinkets.
"Do you think about it often? The fire?" I ask him.
He smiles: "It's better not to," he answers.
I've done my fair share of interviews and I know this one will stay with me for years to come. Hussein continues to smile as the memory of the fire that killed his mother creeps back into his mind. I don't want to push it. I don't want to make him cry. He forces himself to smile in the way people who hold back tears smile. It's more of a grimace. I know it took Hussein exactly four seconds to get a hold of himself because I twice counted the time down on the interview tape.
Tough Hussein doesn't allow himself to act vulnerable for more than four seconds.Today, Hussein is a bright, funny boy with a tragic past. Where will he be in ten years?"

Public perception

These children who are the victims of a whole corrupted, negligent system are contempted by the egyptian people who perceive them as pests and consequently treat them apathetically as if they have no rights or furthermore as if they are non human beings. But the most crucial issue is that they are first and foremost mistreated by police. If catched (e.g for theft in order to eat when they are hungry!!!) they get harsh, violent treatment and they are sent to "non human" institutions (al e7das) or back to their family if they exist.

This crucial problem that expands will have implacabale even fatal consequences if the roots of the problem are not cured. First, we have to understand that these kids are the victims not the criminals. The cure is NOT to send a 13 years old guy into jail because he stole a loaf of bread or had a quarrel with his peers...The solution for this problem will take much more than some suggestions I can make because there have to be long term macrosolutions that consisit of illetracy banish and all kinds of treatments of the founding cell of the society that is the family...All these treatments will require a consciount government that takes its PEOPLE's well being as a priority coupeled with a global consciousness and social solidarity .

To know more about Hope Village, visit http://www.egyhopevillage.com/indexeng.htm

We Ta3ish Mami Suzan ra3eyat el tefl el Masri we Babi Mubarak ra3i el sha3b el Masri

سيدى الرئيس لتانى مرة

2006-07-28T09:45:00.000-07:00

سيدى الرئيس لتانى مرة
بقولهالك عشتنا مرة
سيدى الرئيس مفيش مسرة
بنزين وعيش وهلم جرة
سيدى الرئيس لتانى مرة
بقولهالك عشتنا مرة
سيدى الرئيس اسمع كلامي
ولو سمحت
حس بألامي
جوه بلدنا بنحتاج محامي
وحقى ضايع وممنوع كلامي
سيدى الرئيس لتانى مرة
بقولهالك عشتنا مرة
سيدي الرئيس هو انت فاهم
ان بلدنا فيها فقر دايم
وخيرها فى سويسرا مساهم
وياخوفى لتكون ياسيدى واهم
اننا لكلا م سيادتك مصدقيين
او اننا عن حكمكم راضيينا
و اننا من ظلمكم مش مخنوقيين
سيدى الرئيس لتانى مرة بقولهالك عشتنا مرة
سيدى الرئيس الحق تاه
مش مصر بردك فيها قناهوغاز طبيعى وزيت ومياه
والشعب دايخ فين يلقاه
ومفيش ياريس فلوس وياه
سيدى الرئيس لتانى مرة بقولهالك عشتنا مرة
سيدى الرئيس لو لينا خاطر
عيشين ياريس بين المخاطر
اكل مسرطن وزيت مقاطر
والناس فقيرة وهموم كتييرة
واللى بيسرق هو اللى شاطر
سيدى الرئيس لتانى مرة بقولهالك عشتنا مرة
سيدى الرئيس الحق ضايع
وعلى القهاوي شبابنا صايع
والكل شايف والكل سامع
سيدى الرئيس لتانى مرة بقولهالك عشتنا مرة
بقلم /محمود المصريhttp://www.gam3aonline.com/

Demo in Montreal for Lebanon & Palestine

2006-07-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

A vigil called by Palestinian and Jewish Unity (PAJU)

This was the pro Israel bloc on ine side of Renez Levesque/peel street

As is written on his shirt, he is an antizionist jew standing by our bloc

A special visit to cairo

2006-07-24T20:21:00.000-07:00

Here is a garbage tank tied to the 3amood most probabably to not get robbed…but unfortunately it is open from the bottom…yan3ni termi el zebala men hena to2a3 3al ard men hena…and the result is a pill of garbage around the 3amood

This is the magic car…Whether u drive it or transform it into an apparel store…good idea for jobless youth
You will notice this sign more often at the lebb stores. But the point that I ignore is what distinguishes the lebb el super from the non subar!

Cleaning Cairo 2

2006-07-24T13:10:00.000-07:00

After Cleaning Cairo 1 pictures have been published in “e7na” magazine many people have contacted us to participate in Dawy Om el Donya projects. So we decided to go out on Mondays the 10th of July to clean Abbas El Aqqad Street in Madinet Nasr, one of the main shopping streets in Cairo similar to champs Elysee in Paris and St Catherine in Montreal (ma3 el far2 el ma3rouf tab3an).
We began the work at 8:00.We had brooms and dust pans with papers where written “ kolllena ben7eb Masr ta3alo nenadafha”, and Hoda who printed the papers added “mesh bel me2asha wel garoof …bass ermi fel sandou2” gomla nashaz but it was useful..!

We were cleaning and talking with passengers who were very happy and curious to know why we were doing so…Stores owners told us that they have put many times baskets in front of their shops but some people and especially “betoo3 el belastek (plastic)” steal them! One of the merchants who don’t have a store but only a table with the stuff on the sidewalk (el toggar elli farshin 3al rasif) told us that he sometimes put a cartoon box as a basket but some kids take it to make it a border to the goal space when playing soccer in the street! Another seller told me “take a look; it is soo clean in front of my store.” I said: “good, what are you doing?” he laughed and said: “I push dust and garbage with my broom against the sidewalk.” I commented: “is the cleanness to move filthiness to one place to another?” He laughed and said “besara7a la2…3adaki el 3eib.”
We asked so many young people if they litter, the answer was “besara7a Ahhh”…why? “3ashan et3awedt”. They got used to this.
The meaning of the public good is missed or lost in the Egyptian society; something that doesn’t belong ONLY to me is not mine so I don’t care about it: streets, public gardens, traffic means, the water and the air…etc.

Many people told me that what I was doing is useless. However,
I was convinced that if I could change 1 from every 20 persons it will be considered as a success. And indeed, all of those who participated in the cleaning of the streets don’t litter anymore even if they did it before. Honestly, I used to, my father used to too but now we stopped.
The new thing this time, that we were asking passengers if they wanted to participate (pictures 2 &3), and indeed, Mustafa a 15 years old guy joined us. Mustafa works in an electronic equipment store.
He was supposed to work that day but when he woke up late he decided to skip the work and come to wander in Abbas el Aqqad street .When he saw us he said why are you cleaning? It is not you job…it is the garbage collectors’ responsibility…and if you clean it will get dirty again….but after explaining to him our objective and motivation he took a pair of gloves and a bag and began to collect the garbage with us with an indescribable cleverness and enthusiasm, furthermore he talked to people in the streets and with merchants about our project…that was one of the concrete reactions we had. The sidewalk merchants were very impressed and encouraged us…After we were done we returned taking the same way and we noticed that some of them have put cartoon boxes as garbage baskets and others have put the garbage bags we offered to them.

Since that day I came up with the impression that is the Egyptian
people is not “dirty or hamagi or back warded” from himself. It is the pressure and the oppression under which he lives that push him to behave carelessly .He wants the good but nothing helps or motivates him… he/she litters because he didn’t learn from his childhood to keep public spaces clean . When he litters no one will punish him and if he doesn’t want he probably won’t find a tank…and even he finds one he will sometimes litter, why? Because he doesn’t bother, he doesn’t have any belong or attachment to this country who leaves him jobless, every night staying in coffees or flirting on the cars in the streets. One of the young guys we met told us I don’t love Egypt (when he saw the papers we had where was written kollena ben7eb Masr ta3alo nenaddafha), she didn’t give me anything so she doesn’t deserve anything…
These merchants who come from poor and miserable regions would love to live in clean regions but the circumstances don’t allow them… We were taking photos, a man told me that he wants to appear in the television in “khalf el Asswar” program (a program that shows crimes and their criminals)…I laughed and asked why this program? He replied because most of the people in my neighbourhood (I think el Matareyya) whether drug dealers or criminals appear in this program! And in spite of this fact this same man (who works as a sayess) was very impressed with our job and showed his appreciation to what we were doing: “Wallhi Masr lessa bekhir” he said. All the merchants, the passengers even the wanderig Kleenex sellers (or in other words beggars) promised us to not litter anymore, that they will be patient to keep whatever they have in their hands hopefully that they find a garbage basket.

Sayedna al Hussein, khan el khalili & al Azhar mosque

2006-07-07T02:09:00.000-07:00

On Sundays 2nd of july, was my trip to Sayedna al Hussein mosque and khan el khalili.
On my way,
I was thinking about the enormous mix of monuments you can visit only in Cairo from the pharonic civilisation to the Coptic and Islamic civilisation. But the shame is that the number of tourists that visit Dubai –that is smaller than some egyptian neighbourhoods- becomes larger than that who visit Egypt that houses one third of the world’s monuments and where pharonic sites date from 4000 BC!
I was watching weird phenomenas that are indeed special to Egyptian society. You can notice a whole business under bridges; newspapers, sunglasses, shoes and socks, underwears, toys, food.. are sold. Kollo ta7t el kobri,"Ta7t el kobri mall".You can consider that under the bridge is also a home for some people and a public toilet for all men in need!
On the sidewalks and in the middle of the streets you see sellers of different kinds of “made in China” goods. But the new thing I saw was a man standing on the sidewalk with a huge gather around him. What is he selling I wondered ?!
Akl el 3eish ..
El ragel dah 7attet mizan tebbi 3al rassif we koll wa7ed ye2is wazno beddor weydaf3.
w 3ashan el donya dalma, ma3ah kashaf soghayyar 7atto 3al mizan..we tab3an mo3zam elli bey2iso waznohom settat rashikat. Sme3t set bet2ool le gozha : Wek7yatak 3awza 2a2is wazni ya 7ag!."

Historical hint about khan el khalili

The Mamluks ruled Egypt from 1250 to 1517. During this time Al-Qahira was an important center for trading and commerce in Africa and the East. In the year 1382 prince Jartas Al-Khalili built a "khan" that is a center of commerce and trade which is two or three story buildings containing shops and store rooms, surrounding a courtyard used for caravan stables, and this was the official start of "Khan Al-Khalili". Today, khan al khalili is a touristic shopping center .You will be fascinated by the tiny backstreets and narrow twisting alleys with little shops full of goods, like shisha, copper abari2 and masabi7 , carpets, belly dancing suits and perfume shops that sell copies of virtually international perfumes (ta2lid)…etc. You will enjoy bargaining with merchants,you will start by 45 pounds and you can end up with 15 pounds after fesal!.You can also go to drink tea in al Feshawy or eat pigeon (7amam )in fara7at

From khan al khalili to Al Hussein mosque
Al-Hussein was the son of 'Ali, the Prophet Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law and the fourth and last of the caliphs. After his father was assassinated, Hussein was urged to claim the caliphate, but he was killed at the Battle of Karbala in Iraq in 680. A head believed to be Hussein's was brought to Cairo in 1153 and a shrine was built for it on the site of the mosque. It was entirely rebuilt under the khedive Ismail in 1873.
http://archnet.org/library/sites/one-site.tcl?site_id=7422
Mesh ghariba
I was looking for some info about Al Hussein mosque.In this site:http://www.wcities.com/en/record/,194704/113/record.html, I found that the first info about the mosque is that it is : “One of the holiest mosques in Egypt, this is where the president and other dignitaries pray on special occasions..!”

I went for Maghrib prayer in Al Hussein mosque, and I noticed that inside the women’s space (more than on the entrance) stands a man who takes the shoes. Why not a woman? I don’t know, and this man can see all the women, some of them lying on the floor with their legs open or sleeping or beyrada3o…or praying tab3an.
After praying, I entered to visit Sayedna al Hussein shrine and read the fat7a upon his soul …there u see men and women around the tomb, touching and kissing it and calling out convocations from Allah…you will see also an old woman responsible for the cleaning who is repeating and insisting on saying : “ kollo yekhalli balo men7agto...law 7aga ettakhdet malish da3wa."
After that, I did some shopping in khan al khalili. I bought three ear rings for 5 pounds, I was very proud of myself for having bargain until this cheap price, but when I got back home I discovered that one of the ear rings is totally broken! I also bought a re2 a small tabla for 1 pound and a copper thing where we put bukhur.
Al Azhar Mosque
Located in al Hussein square, Al Azhar mosque was built in 969 by Jawhar al Seqelli the army commander of Al Muez le din Allah al fatemi, during his building of Cairo. It is named Al Azhar to honor Fatema Al-Zahraa the daughter of the prophet Mohammad (pbuh). It is connected to Al-Azhar university, the oldest university in the world which was essentially built to be a study place for shiite students. By the passage of time, the Shiite sect was overshadowed and nowadays Al-Azhar is considered by most Sunni Muslims to be the most prestigious school of Islamic learning, and its scholars are seen as some of the most reputable scholars in the Muslim world. Al azhar independence from the power is essential to prevent any abuse or twisting of the religion.

Al azhar today ...!

Last station…Al 3ataba
After my visits I went to take the bus from al Aataba.From el ma7atta (that doesn’t really exists but that consisits of about 3-4 meters where people gather to take the bus or to run after it) I was watching sou2 el 3ataba . Stores full of colorful clothes and fabric clustered, Carts overloaded with suff specially women clothes and veils are spread all over the sidewake.Merchants calling out disounts on their products with different phrases and different melodies and you can’t imagine that such low prices could exist…One of the merchants had an orange child’s suit in his hand in front of his wheeled vehicle and was shouting :”kollo be talata wenos .”

Just before the bus arrives, the sadist police came like sab3 el boromba and in a second and with very high professionalism all these carts disappeared and the merchants fled…the minibus arrived and we began el malahi.

2006-07-01T10:20:00.000-07:00

A discovery into Egypt
There are many touristic sites in Cairo that are, unfortunately not known by the Egyptians although they are wonderful and important ones. Without talking about the causes of this lack of knowledge, let me expose some of the monuments I’ve visited during my vacation in Egypt.
Sabil om Abbas
Om Abbas....that gives you the impression that she is om abbas el ghassala..but no, she is the Turkish Princess Bambah Qadin, the mother of Khedive Abbas I who ruled Egypt from 1848 to 1854 AD. Sabil om abbas is ottoman and was bluit in 1867 . It is situated in the Saliba street, al Sayeda Zeinab where many other monuments are located such as sabil Qaytbay, beit el kritleya and ibn Tolon mosque.
A sabil is a building that served to provide people with water that’s why sobol are usually located in main places or streets, and in most cases were surmounted with kuttab (qur’anic school)
Sabil om Abbes has an entrance leading to the fountain chamber where a well exists (until nowadays) and to the staircase of the upper floor. The upper floor rooms are occupied by a community service organization.
Other than Om Abbes, there is Sabil nafisa alBayda, an ottoman sabil that dates back to the year of 1796 and is located in the Sukkareya street. Nafisa al-Bayda was a slave and then was married to the wealthy Murad Bey who was at first a Mamluk, and then later rose to power in 1784 and became the leader of the resistance against the Napoleon Bonaparte invasion.http://touregypt.net/featurestories/sabilkuttab.htm
Some sabils date from the 14th century such as Sabil of Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qala'un (one of the earliest) that dates from 1326,Sabil of Amir Shaykhu al-'Imari (a mamluk) since 1354 and others .For more info u can check:http://archnet.org/library/images/sites.tcl?key=sabil&collection_id=-1&select=usage

Ebtasem anta fi Masr
Di 7etta men el sabil
NDP!
ana nefesi 2a3raf eih elli dakhal el 7ezb el watani el dimocraty 3and sabil Om 3abas..

el she2 el gharib enn el ard gowwa metghateyya kolaha torab.. wel ragel eli 2a3ed allena enn el rokham el ardeyya nader gedan welli na7et el sowar el qur2aneya 3ala madkhal el sabil howa nafso elli katab fel masged al nabawi (tab3an mafish brochure lel sabil..fa masdarna howa el ragel). Wamma sa2alna momken netla3 fo2 allena momken bass wezaret el thafaqa 7atta nass beyeshtaghalo anwal yadaweyya (dih el community service elli fel description)...we ablaha kano albin el sabil Madrasa 2e3dadayya.....!!

Ahmad Ibn tulun mosque
Ahmad ibn Ţulun (220 - 270 AH/835 - 884 AD) was the founder of the tulunid dynasty that ruled Egypt between 868 and 905 AD. Originally sent by the Abbassid caliph as governor to Egypt, ibn tulun established himself as an independent ruler. In Egypt, ibn Ţulun found that the existing capital, al-Fustat, founded by Amr ibn al 3as in 641, was too small to accommodate his armies. He founded a new city to serve as his capital, Madinat al-Qatta2i3 and built his mosque in 819.

The mosque is distinguished by the external staircase that winds around the minaret. If u look at Egyptian five pounds, you will see the picture of the two minarets and the Qubba.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmad_ibn_Tulun

This is a picture I took from the top of the minaret.It has no relation with the mosque, but the contrast between the general landscape (poor buildings) and the white roof wih arabesq windows is so flagrant

CC

2006-06-23T14:49:00.000-07:00

Here are the three bags we had after the cleaning of al Ahram st..the problem was to find an empty container where we can drop them

Men barra rokham we men gowwa sokham..
We mean by this "mathal" something that looks marvelous from outside but miserable from the inside.I recalled this statement when I was last day in the street...Imagine the sene with me ...a handsom guy in a BMW car, very modern looking..talking in his cell phone..that guy was parking (saff tani) just in front of McDonalds, in al Ahram st., heliopolis.But this is no more than the rokham appearence..This guy was eating a Mcdonald's meal in his car..but no sooner had he finished than he threw the boxes and the cup of pepsi in the middle of the street (maho safff tani) and left... This represents a sample of our actual way of life..we use the technology means that are imported, we imitate the western way of life ..but when it comes to the attitude ..it is backward...Formally : al qeshra 7adareyya wal 7ashw gaheli.

Cleaning Cairo 1, 20th of June 2006

2006-06-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

Cleaning Cairo was our first project in Dawy Om el Donya campaign .It began at 7:30 from in front of Horeyya mall. We were 6 girls:Yasmina, Hoda,Sally, Sarah,Sondos and I , and 3 boys: Omar, Shabana & Karim. we had papers on our backs and on the brooms where we have written:"kollena ben7eb Masr ..ta3alo nenaddafha"

The thing that we really enjoyed was people's comments."Masha2Allah, homma dol shabab Masr", "shoufi shoufi el banat dool..dol beynadafo el share3 benafsohom.."
People in the buses, the metro, the cars,, looked very happy while they were watching us( tab3an share3 el ahram za7ma we dayman wa2ef..fa7na mesaleyenhom).We talked to people walking in the streets, we asked them to participate in our campaign not by cleaning with the broom but by throwing garbage in the basket. We also asked the stores' owners to put a basket in front of their stores to at least prevent some people to litter just because they don't find a basket. In fact there are very fiew baskets in this streets although it is a main one where people walk for shopping, eating and cinema.

Cleaning Montreal, 28th of May 2005

Montreal Muslim association

Friday :weather forcast , 60 % risk of shower---->Many people who had the willingness to join us didn't.Saturday:the weather is sunny..no rain..SubhanAllah.We were about 20 boys and girls, divided into 3 or 4 groups each of them was responsible to clean an area in the downtown.Our objectve wasn't only to clean the city but also to show that we- Muslim youth- are concerned with the cleanness of Montreal, and that we want to show our integration and belongs to this city where we live (even if temporarily). The reaction of the street was very positive.They were asking who are you? why are you doing this? are you paid?So we were answering that we are volounteers, and we clean Montreal because we love it and we want it clean.People were impressed by our action...Some of the comments was: "Thank you, you are doing a great job"."you deserve a medal..." .."Can you come to clean my house?!!..". Many people in their cars were stopping to talk with us...the garbage collecters were very impressed with our help.

In Montreal and Cairo

Eventhough it is a one day project, and although we are sure that some people will litter again anyways( specially in Cairo), the motivation for these kind of projects is to feel positive..to act, to work in a team who share the same objective...trying to change even one person from every 20 . In Cairo, many people promised us to not litter anymore, many stores promised to put baskets in front of their stores...In Montreal, we deliver an image of enthousiastic commited muslim youth who took the initiative to clean the streets to reflect its belief in cleanness as a part of Muslim caracter (al nadafa men al Iman or cleanness is a part of faith)..their willingness to better off .. to build not to destroy as it is stereotyped.When I was going back home,I felt a deep change in the look of people at me ...in the morning they were looking at us with appreciationa and respect ..just because we were doing something useful to the society...but now I'm just an ordinary person walking in the street, so they weren't even looking at me...or even some people gave me a racist look as I wear hijab and muslims are sometimes contempted by non Muslims

Cleaning Cairo announcement

2006-06-23T14:06:00.000-07:00

20/06/2006 مي كامل – ولاد البلد

إذا كنت من سكان روكسي بمصر الجديدة فلا تتعجب إن رأيت عددا من الشباب ممسكين بأدوات نظافة ويقومون بكنس شوارع القاهرة.. هي ليست الكاميرا الخفية وليست دعابة.. فقط مجموعة من الشباب قرروا التغيير والتنمية.. خمس بنات رضوى وسندس وياسمينا وسالي وسارة.. وحين بدءوا.. بدءوا بأنفسهم أولا. الساعة السادسة مساء يوم الثلاثاء الموافق 20 يونيو ستبدأ حملة "داوي أم الدنيا" وسينطلق الشباب من أمام الحرية مول بروكسي.. ويبدأها الشباب بمشروع تنظيف شوارع القاهرة.. وهي حملة ليوم واحد فقط.
الشارع شارعنا والبلد بلدنا يقول أحد هؤلاء الشباب: "مشروعنا الأول بسيط ولكن يحمل رسالة كبيرة نتمنى أن تصل للناس حتى يبدأ كل منهم بتطبيقه في منطقته السكنية. سنقوم بتنظيف شوارع القاهرة بأنفسنا بأدوات نظافة اشتريناها بالفعل، وسنتكلم مع المارة و نحاول إيصال أول رسالة لنا وهي أن الشارع ملك لكل الناس وأن الحفاظ على نظافته مسئوليتنا نحن قبل أن تكون مسئولية الحكومة..لدينا إيمان عميق بأن المارة سيؤثر بهم رؤية بعض الشباب المتحمس للتغيير و الذي لم ينزل من بيته ليهتف و لكن ليغير فعلا" حملة داوي أم الدنيا هي حملة تهدف للتغيير والتنمية في مصر، وعن سبب تسمية الحملة بـ "داوي أم الدنيا" تقول رضوى زكي : "مصر مريضه.. مصر التي كانت أم الدنيا لم تعد كذلك وهي الآن مريضه وفي حاجة لمن يرعاها .. فلنداويها من الفساد المتفشي بها والتلوث والأمراض.. قد تكالبت عليها آلام كبرى وعلينا الإسراع بمداواتها".
ربك بيسترها أكثر ما تخشاه الفتيات الخمس حتى الآن هو رد فعل الشارع على تصرفهم.. فهم فتيات يخشون المضايقات والمعاكسات.. لذا قرروا ارتداء زي موحد ولافته تحدد أنهم تابعين لحملة "داوي أم الدنيا".. كذلك قرروا التركيز على منطقة القربة وشارع عباس العقاد وشارع الأهرام.. وسيجرون مسحا للشوارع قبل البدء في التنظيف.وعن سؤالي لرضوى فيما تتوقع من الشباب لمشاركتهم معها في الحملة فقالت : حتى الآن لا أستطيع التكهن بعدد من سيشارك ولكني أتمنى اكبر عدد ممكن .. فلو وجدت مائة شاب وفتاة ينتظرون أمام الحرية مول الساعة السادسة مساء الثلاثاء فلا شك أن المنطقة التي سنجري تنظيفها ستتسع أكثر وأكثر.. ونتمنى ذلك !!مجموعة من الشباب حلموا برؤية مصر أفضل .. فتمنوا مشاركتكم معهم.

Dawy Om el Donya

2006-06-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

Our first step in the campaign of "Dawy Om el Donya" will take place tomorrow; the 20th of June 2006 .We will go out to Cairo streets and clean them with our own brooms . Cairo streets that become more dirty than ever . We will clean garbage against the sidwalks,garbage in front of the stores, garbage explosing out of the tanks.. . I believe that the real problem is not the lack of tanks, but people's manners. We got used to litter: Cans, bags,boxes, cigarettes and matches...:"3adi di kollaha 7agat soghyyara we kaman el share3 keda keda mesh nedif...mesh ana elli hafre2!!!La2 ! That will be our message tomorrow ensha2Allah,,,"don't litter, the street belongs to all egyptians, don't litter even if it is not clean...it will get cleaner." Let's clean together to bring back to Egypt's street its cleanness.