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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 July - 4 August 1999 Issue No. 440 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 July - 4 August 1999 Issue No. 440
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters Everyday tragedies
The most recent accident to occur on the road linking Cairo to Upper Egypt brutally claimed the lives of 31 young men and women last week, bringing to 70 the number of people killed in four similar tragedies during this month alone. All four accidents took place on the three "highways" linking the capital to this neglected part of the country, which is sorely deprived of resources and infrastructure. The accidents that take place every day on dark, narrow, unpaved roads linking thousands of Egyptian villages, towns and cities killed a frightening total of 5,000 people and injured 22,000 in 1998 alone.Apart from a few privileged highways used by the elite to go to their sea-side summer resorts, the country's main roads are a breeding ground for pile-ups. The only law that prevails is that of the jungle. Police patrols do not exist; hospitals and emergency services are inefficient and under-equipped. Those who are maimed or lose family and friends in horrific accidents are told only that this is fate, that they should bow to God's will.
The government is usually prompted to act by a disaster, but even this rule does not seem to apply to road accidents. People are killed every day, lives are shattered, but no measures have been taken to make our roads safer.
In Friday's accident, which took place near Beni Suef, police blamed the driver for not attaching the trailer to his truck properly. But is there anybody to assess the safety and efficiency of vehicles? In Upper Egypt and rural areas, children of 12 and 13 are allowed to drive trucks and microbuses. Most vehicles are not even fit to be on the road in the first place. This situation is unacceptable. An immediate plan to protect the lives of the people, poor and rich alike, must be devised and implemented immediately.
