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Al-Ahram Weekly 23 - 29 September 1999 Issue No. 448 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 23 - 29 September 1999 Issue No. 448
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Comment Focus Special Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters The word on the street
By Nadia Abou El-Magd"We will never find a man like him, with his wise local and international policies. May God bless him with good health and long life," Mohamed Yassin, a 73-year-old doorman, told Al-Ahram Weekly. Although Yassin is not going to participate in the referendum because he is not registered as a voter, he says that he is saying 'yes' by "my heart".
For the man and woman in the street, Sunday's presidential referendum should be the gateway to a better life.
Many of the people interviewed by the Weekly voiced complaints about everyday life and expressed hope for a better future. They believed Mubarak is the leader capable of solving their problems and turning their dreams into reality.
Sahar Hassan, 20, wants to vote for Mubarak but does not know how to get herself registered as a voter.
"Frankly speaking, I'm not a politicised person, but I want President Mubarak. Since I was born, I have known no other president and I can't imagine anybody else," she said.
Hassan, who sells bedsheets in a shopping mall, hopes that Mubarak's new government will pay greater attention to slum areas. "Where I live, the streets are not paved; taxis refuse to go there. Also there are not enough lights on the streets," she said. Hassan wants more public buses to be put in service because transport costs her a major part of her salary.
Zahra Salaheddin, 21, who was looking at the bedsheets in the shop, complained that the prices were too high and that many shops catered now to the affluent only. "I work as a secretary in a bank in the morning, and as a secretary in an office in the evening. However, there are a lot of things I can't afford." Salaheddin is engaged, but her fiancé is still struggling to get the apartment he had reserved some time ago. "Mubarak is good, but the problem is that the apartments in the youth project [carrying his name] are beyond the reach of middle-class youths and are being sold to those who can afford to pay more," she said.
Mahmoud Hassan and Sayed Ali Sayed hope that workers will gain greater rights in Mubarak's new term. Both men used to work in a hotel but lost their jobs six months ago. They blame it on privatisation. Hassan, 32, and Sayed, 46, sipping tea and smoking a shisha in a downtown café, are so engrossed with their problem that they say they cannot think of anything else. "President Mubarak is doing a lot. But it is government bureaucracy that is not changing. The labour law has not been modified to protect us from arbitrary dismissal," Hassan said.
Zeinab Mutawie, 34, an English-language teacher, wants the education system revamped. "From my experience, the educational system needs to be upgraded, and has to be modernised and teachers have to be better trained and paid," she said.
Mutawie also wants to see younger people in the government. She says that "economically, we are doing okay. I hope that the government will continue to improve the infrastructure."
Hassan Said, 19, a commerce student at Cairo University, says that the educational system has to change. Said wanted to join the English literature section at the Faculty of Arts, but his high school marks sent him to the Faculty of Commerce, which he did not want. "It's not fair that the rich can choose the faculty they want with their money in the new private universities. I really hope President Mubarak will do something about that," he said.
Said added that he is not used to taking part in elections or referendums. "Frankly speaking, my father never told me 'let's go and vote'," he said.
"Of course, I'll vote for the president; he has many achievements like the underground and the bridges which have made transport much easier," Salwa Mohamed, a 55-year-old housewife, told the Weekly as she bought vegetables.
Mohamed hopes that Mubarak will instruct the concerned officials to do something about what she describes as the chaos in the streets. "As a mother, I've been scared by car accidents; now I'm scared by thugs as well," she said.
Adli Ayyad, a 67-year-old owner of a jewellery shop, says he hopes that there will be less bureaucracy under the new government. "I'll say 'yes' to Mubarak because nobody has done as much as he has. I want him to carry on. He is an excellent president. I don't mind having him as president for life," he said.
