Calamity and the economy

Israel's savage pounding of Gaza galvanised the pundits but domestic concerns were no less poignant, write Gamal Nkrumah and Mohamed El-Sayed

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Tragedy, the wanton maiming, death and destruction of the elderly and suckling children caught the undivided attention of the press. The bloody scenes broadcast from besieged Gaza provoked pundits who adopted differing opinions regarding what's happening in Palestine. The overwhelming majority of the commentators were sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, decrying the lack of tangible Arab support for the long-suffering Palestinian people whose life is being turned into a living hell.

Writing in the daily opposition Al-Wafd, Mohamed Mustafa Sherdi wondered how the Palestinians are asking for Egyptian help at a time their leaders, whether Hamas or Fatah, are fighting each other. "What's odd is that the Palestinian people call upon the Egyptians to help them by protecting them [from Israeli aggression]. What should be done, in fact, is that Hamas stop its amateurish adventures so that it can protect its people," Sherdi opines.

Sherdi was of the opinion that Hamas and Fatah undermined the long historic Palestinian struggle against occupation by fighting each other in their feverish quest for power. "Let Khaled Meshaal [head of the political bureau of Hamas] and Abu Mazen [the Palestinian president] leave office, and Palestinians shall search for a new leader who cares for them more than power," he added.

Others put the blame squarely on the brutish Israeli actions. Israeli atrocities are unforgivable and the world, including the Arab world, must not remain tongue-tied. Something must be done to stop Israeli barbarity.

Writing in the weekly independent Al-Osbou, Mustafa Bakri lamented the tragedy unfolding in Gaza due to Israeli strikes. "Gaza has turned into a pool of blood, a slaughterhouse, genocide, or to be precise a holocaust," Bakri wrote. An Egyptian girl shot dead by an Israeli border soldier last week provoked Bakri: "Let's imagine what the Egyptian reaction will be: Complete silence? Follow-up? Enquiry into the matter? Or a low-pitched statement? Definitely it will not be a condemnation of the incident," Bakri concluded.

The Egyptian government, too, came under scathing criticism. The fact that Egypt is subsiding Israeli energy was especially galling to some commentators. For instance, Magdi El-Gallad, editor- in-chief of the popular independent Al-Masry Al-Yom, criticised the Egyptian government for providing Israel with natural gas cheaply while increasing the price for local factories. "At a time when the government increases the price of gas for our Egyptian plants, it still insists on exporting gas to many countries, including Israel, at a low cost. This means that the Egyptian citizen pays from his or her own [tax] money to subsidise natural gas for the Israeli citizen," El-Gallad noted tongue-in- cheek.

"I challenge any official in Egypt to answer these questions: why do we export gas to Israel in this generous manner? And how much does an Egyptian citizen pay in support for his 'brother' citizen in Israel? And who concluded this contract? And how? Most likely, we will receive the same reply to these questions -- silence!" El-Gallad was obviously exacerbated by the behaviour of some unscrupulous officials who have no qualms about dealing with Israel when it treats defenceless Palestinians so abominably.

In the meantime, criticism of conditions at home were no less vehement. Al-Wafd ran a headline about the incredibly increasing price of steel which has affected construction. "Soaring prices take a new upturn in steel", ran the headline of the paper. While steel manufacturers refer the price hikes to the increase in raw materials in international markets, many economists believe the skyrocketing prices, which hit LE6,000 a tonne this week, is due to the monopoly practised by steel companies. "The prime minister ignores the use of anti- monopoly law [to punish steel manufacturers]", another headline read. "Every steel manufacturer now has the right to increase prices as they like while the government fails to intervene," the writer, Salah El-Saadani, noted.

In an attempt to answer the perplexing question of the supposed docility of the Egyptian people, Ibrahim El-Sayeh argued in the daily leftist Al-Badeel that Egyptians are too complacent. "Why don't Egyptians revolt against the deteriorating conditions they live in?" El-Sayeh wondered why Egyptians don't rise up against "the corrupt political life" that plagues the country. He thundered, "Everybody in Egypt knows very well that the road to parliament is paved with bribes, rigging, thuggery, and licking the boots of high-level government officials. Everybody in Egypt says that most parliamentary members accept bribes from ordinary citizens to secure employment opportunities for their sons and daughters." He added, "people in Egypt, unfortunately, have accustomed themselves to corruption... and this tragic situation is one of the main reasons behind their apathy despite all the crises that afflict them."

Opposition papers were stinging in their criticism of the government. Reflecting on the deteriorating conditions on all levels in Egypt, Galal Amer warned in Al-Badeel that the country is in danger of sliding into a quagmire unless the government stems the rapid deterioration of socio-economic conditions. "The election platform of President Mubarak and his party will cause the country to sink; and the platform of [supreme guide of the Muslim Brotherhood] Mahdi Akef will cause the country to burn. And if we do not find a third alternative, we will one day sit on the ruins of Egypt," Amer lamented.

On a less ominous note, the official daily Al-Ahram ran a feature about the soaring price of gold which has always been one of the main ornaments of women in Egypt and part of the engagement gift. "After gold prices skyrocketed, marriage now takes place without a golden [gift]", ran the headline of the feature. "Recession in gold markets as families are content with buying wedding rings instead of the complete shabka [set of golden accessories]", another headline read. "A lot of engagements are threatened because of the soaring price of gold which is part and parcel of the marriage requirements," argued Nadia Mansour, writer of the feature.