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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 March 2000 Issue No. 471 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 2 - 8 March 2000 Issue No. 471
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Interview Features Focus Heritage Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters I smell a rat
By Fayza Hassan
A couple of weeks ago, as I turned on the faucet in my bathroom, I was hit by the unpleasant smell of the water, a smell I immediately associated with insecticides of the DDT family. It was much more noticeable when I turned the hot water on. How had pesticides found their way into the city's drinking water supplies? Alarmed, I dashed to the kitchen, where a simple experiment confirmed that the whole system was infected. My daughter, aroused by my screams, shook her head imperceptibly, convinced, I knew, that this was one more crazy idea that had taken root in my head while I was sleeping. Nevertheless, she reluctantly accepted to bend over the basin and sniff as I turned the water on once more. She had to admit that this time it was not all "in my head", but offered no practical advice.
I telephoned my best friend. Had she smelled the water ? "It reeks of DDT," I told her breathlessly. She had not noticed anything unusual, but her husband, who had been listening in on our conversation, expressed the opinion that we probably had a dead rat in the water tank on the roof of the building. Her husband belongs to the common variety of men who never listen yet want to sound informed, no matter what the topic at hand. "We don't have a water tank and the water smells of pesticide, not of dead rodents," I attempted to explain. "Calm down and smell again, you will see that I am right. You can call someone to clean your tank," he said authoritatively. Not wishing to start a fight, I silently hissed once more that we did not have a tank and hung up as soon as was politely possible.
Next I called the water company and got through to them at the third attempt. The man on the other end of the line readily acknowledged that Maadi residents had been calling and yes, there was a problem: too much disinfectant had been added by mistake to the drinking water. "Today is Friday," he added, "but I'll take note and send someone in first thing tomorrow morning to analyse the water." He warned against using tap water until the problem was corrected. Under the circumstances, I could not ask for more. Partially reassured, I thanked him and inquired about his name. He hesitated, then informed me that he would not be on duty the following day. I ordered several crates of mineral water. No one came on Saturday, so I called the company again. This time it took me half an hour to get through. Eventually I was able to tell someone about the smell and the promised remedy. "Who did you talk to?" he asked. I couldn't tell him, so he proceeded to explained that the testing was not done in houses, as I had been led to believe, but at the company. Hadn't the problem already been corrected? It would be soon anyway. He advised me not to drink tap water meanwhile. He was not going to be on duty the following day, and therefore there was no need for me to know his name. When I insisted, he claimed to be called Mohamed Mohamed. I bought more cases of mineral water. On Sunday, nothing happened. The water reeked of cheap disinfectant. The cleaning lady told me not to worry, it only smelled of "the powder they spray the cotton fields with". I called the company on Monday. The employee I spoke to informed me that a factory in Helwan had dumped several barrels of pesticide in the Nile and polluted the water. Helwan, Maadi and Sayeda Zeinab were affected. He too was called Mohamed Mohamed, and helpfully suggested that I refrain from drinking tap water. When I insinuated that someone had to come and take samples, he laughed heartily. "We cannot clean the Nile for you, lady. There is nothing we can do."
On Tuesday morning, two men from the water company did come by, claiming that there had been a complaint and that they had been sent to change the pipes near the building. They were not too clear about what was expected of them -- only about what they expected of us, like a couple of pounds to reward them for their efforts.
By Thursday, the smell had reached the other side of town. My best friend called to tell me that the water in the kitchen smelled of insecticide. It was most noticeable when she turned the hot water on. "What did you do when it happened?" she asked innocently. "I listened to your husband's advice and had the water tank cleaned," I told her spitefully. "We found an enormous dead rat. Once it was removed, the water was as sweet as a mountain spring. I strongly advise you to do the same."
