But there’s an underside, too. And the country’s weaknesses are evident. Egypt has grown rapidly, with a disproportionate distribution of wealth concentrated in Cairo and Alexandria. There is woeful poverty and a quiet but obvious acceptance of class distinctions. Take the Zabbaleen, a minority people in inner-city Cairo who basically pick up more than ¾ of the garbage in the capital city. Despite their historical presence (they’ve been living this way since about the 1930’s,) as an urban asset, they have been overlooked in recent years when Mubarak’s administration awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to Italian contractors to pick up Cairo’s trash. Guess what? The Zabbaleen are better at it. They have found ways to recycle and/or repurpose up to 80 percent of Egypt’s waste, when nine figures of government capital investment can only manage about 20-25%.
And what of Mr. Mubarak’s NDP (National Democratic Party?) How is it that they’ve managed to stay in power for more than 30 years? Another major weakness in Egypt: the beloved dance of apathy and system-wide corruption. Interestingly, Mr. Mubarak’s “term,” which has been won with either unanimous referendums or lame turnout is due up this September.
But there’s an underside, too. And the country’s weaknesses are evident. Egypt has grown rapidly, with a disproportionate distribution of wealth concentrated in Cairo and Alexandria. There is woeful poverty and a quiet but obvious acceptance of class distinctions. Take the Zabbaleen, a minority people in inner-city Cairo who basically pick up more than ¾ of the garbage in the capital city. Despite their historical presence (they’ve been living this way since about the 1930’s,) as an urban asset, they have been overlooked in recent years when Mubarak’s administration awarded hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts to Italian contractors to pick up Cairo’s trash. Guess what? The Zabbaleen are better at it. They have found ways to recycle and/or repurpose up to 80 percent of Egypt’s waste, when nine figures of government capital investment can only manage about 20-25%.And what of Mr. Mubarak’s NDP (National Democratic Party?) How is it that they’ve managed to stay in power for more than 30 years? Another major weakness in Egypt: the beloved dance of apathy and system-wide corruption. Interestingly, Mr. Mubarak’s “term,” which has been won with either unanimous referendums or lame turnout is due up this September.
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