Flood? What flood?

By Mariz Tadros

But the situation in the Garf Hussein area, which is close to Lake Nasser, is different as it has been severely hit by the floods. Residents of Aswan say this is where the tomatoes used to be grown, which explains why they are so expensive now because they have to be brought in from Minya.

Situated in the middle of the desert, 110 kilometres from Aswan, Garf Hussein is a luscious patch of green land that has been reclaimed in a joint project by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Egyptian government. The project was designed to help impoverished farmers by giving them an opportunity to grow fruit and vegetables.

There was no way of verifying the state of the area, however, since government officials in charge of overseeing the project, which is affiliated to the Development of Lake Nasser Authority, could not be reached "because of the state of emergency". One source at the Aswan governorate irrigation department said that "nobody has been affected by the floods and no land has been lost" at Garf Hussein.

It was impossible to reach the people to inquire about their land because they were cut off by the floods. Photography was prohibited because "there are public works going on" in the area.

Two agronomists who wished to remain anonymous volunteered to explain that the water did not come from the Nile flood but was the work of vandals. They said foundations laid in place to protect the land from being flooded were destroyed by some people who are locked in a land dispute with the Development of Lake Nasser Authority.

The agronomists insisted that no agricultural land was destroyed because the farmers, repeatedly warned never to farm the land until the beginning of November when the water level goes down, know that floods occur around this time every year -- "except for those greedy few who want to make money on certain vegetables and fruits which are highly priced during this season," scoffed one of the agronomists. He added that no houses were destroyed because they were all built on high ground. Verifying these allegations was impossible because the dry land, where the farmers of Garf Hussein live, was inaccessible.

Fahmi Tawodrous, head of the High Dam Authority, insisted that floods in Aswan are normal this time of year and especially around Lake Nasser. The claim that the water at Garf Hussein is the work of vandals was dismissed by Tawodrous as "sheer nonsense".

Tawodrous said that since there are vast stretches of desert land that could have been reclaimed, "it seems rather ridiculous that, of all places, a site so close to Lake Nasser is chosen which will inevitably be flooded every year." Tawodrous added that since the High Dam was built, a warning was issued that all surrounding lands will be flooded. "What happened at Garf Hussein was not our fault. It is the rhythm of nature," he said.

Tawodrous argued that there was nothing the government could have done to prevent the flooding of Garf Hussein.

Tut Amoun, a tourist village near Lake Nasser, was also flooded and shut down.

Meanwhile, residents of many hamlets in Nubia complain that while the government is preoccupied with preventing widespread flooding, they have suffered from heavy rains and their aftermath. It has been a month since the rains had fallen, but inhabitants are still in the process of repairing their homes.

"Officials come and go, they check out the place, make lots of promises and we wait," said Said Shehata, an area resident.

A father of 10, Shehata asserted that with his meager resources, he is unable to rebuild his home which has collapsed with the rains that have also swept away many of his possessions. "If the situation is under control in the areas which they feared would be flooded, then why aren't they bothering about us?" he asked.

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