When the sun has set the ahwas fill up with the tired and the weary. Finding comfort in a glass of tea with many sugars, a shisha tofa’h, and a game of wa’hid-wi-talateen, the average Egyptian male catches up with his neighbours, the latest news, and the world at large. The good natured banter seems to indicate all is well with the world, a comforting conclusion to a work filled day.
A scene which could be from anywhere in Egypt for some decades now, women gathering at home for a few hours of exchanging news and gossip, the men doing the same thing, but in the local ahwa. Things have changed of late, the humorous banter is often replaced by sombre discussions and lines of worry etch the faces of a once-merry shisha-smoking crowd.
With the economic situation in our country today, simple leisure time has become more of a luxury than ever before. 1.50 LE for a glass of tea and a shisha is an expense that has to be weighed against the cost of breakfast for the family the next day. Egypt is poor, and by the looks of it, rapidly getting poorer. Since the beginning of the year, prices have risen 150%. The basic costs of living are now well beyond the means of any average family.
Mahmoud, A Government Employee by day and Taxi driver by night.
Mahmoud is married. He has 3 children, aged 6, 4 and 2. Mahmoud makes 275 LE in his government job. It does not amount to much, but it provides a steady income and it’s a guaranteed pension [used to make these jobs sought after when he was still young]. He finishes at 2.30 p.m. and drives a taxi at night to earn an extra 25 LE to 40 LE per day. He usually starts driving the taxi around 4.30 p.m. and finishes around midnight, depending on the day of the week. Not all the money he makes on fares can go into his pocket, he pays 50 LE rent to the owner of the taxi, and around 30 LE for the petrol. At the start of his cab shift his services are in demand, but it is also the worst time of day traffic-wise. It often takes 45 minutes per customer at that time, for a fare that will not exceed 15 LE. Mahmoud has had a good evening if he takes home 40 LE. But most evenings his earnings are much less. Bringing home foul and ta’meyya sandwiches for the family’s breakfast used to be a regular treat, but in recent months their prices too have gone up drastically. Where he used to spend 3 LE to provide a filling breakfast for everyone, even 10 LE could not purchase the same amount nowadays. On days where he earns less than 25 LE, he brings home only half the previous amount of food with him. Mahmoud manages to earn around 750 LE per month this way and he worries constantly if he will be able to provide for his family, the way he is supposed to.
Unfortunately Mahmoud’s story is one of many. On all levels of society people are stuck in a desperate struggle to make ends meet. Once families sacrificed luxuries to provide their children with a proper education, believing that once their children would start working the whole family would benefit. The prices of school fees, private tutoring, books, and uniforms have gone through the roof, in comparison to salaries which remain relatively the same. A college education used to be a fail-safe insurance for a wealthier future and more generous prospects. The security a college degree will provide today is no longer the same.
How much do they earn?
Teacher: 250 LE per month.
Government employed engineer: 250 LE per month.
Office-boy: 400 LE per month.
Lawyer: 400 LE per month.
Delivery-boy: 400 LE per month.
Doctor, recent graduate: 400 LE per month.
Maid: 500 LE per month.
Driver: 500 LE per month.
Office Manager: 700 LE per month.
Security Guard: 800 LE per month.
Secretary: 1500 LE per month [International Company].
Bank employee midlevel management: 2500 LE [International Company].
Marketing Manager: 3000 LE per month [International Company].
Most young Egyptians live at home and help out with family expenses or are saving up to get married. With mandatory milestones to cross first such as
; ‘the peace’ of providing a fully furnished apartment, then journeying through ‘the spiritual sanctity’ of some nice gold jewellery for wifey, to finally ‘traverse the seas of doubt’ with the secure salary that will sustain his family, all before he can pass go and collect. The average Egyptian male is well in his thirties by the time he can finally afford to start a family of his own. Providing food, shelter, clothes, medical , and education is an ever heavier burden, and the salaries don’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. But how bad is it really?
We decided to take it to the test and went shopping, buying the basic necessities to feed a family of four for one day. We counted the oil, the tea, the sugar and the milk, all in proportion, and decided the family would eat meat for dinner—the results were shocking:
Buying everything from the souq we spent 64 LE, while in one of the Western-style supermarkets for the same products we spent 90 LE. This is food for only one day. Mahmoud, working two jobs would be able to afford this less than 12 days per month on his 750 LE. It is no surprise that most families do not eat meat more than once a week, if at all, chicken and fish being a much more affordable choice.
Most families provide for growing children who need proper nutrition to become healthy adults. If the current situation does not improve, Egypt’s next generation will not only suffer from malnutrition, it will be forced to join the workforce at an early age instead of entertaining the option of obtaining an education. Since the youth are the future, the future indeed looks bleak.
|
Product |
Souq |
Supermarket |
|
1 kg Meat |
37 LE |
44 LE |
|
1 kg Fish |
12 LE |
27 LE |
|
1 kg Chicken |
15 LE |
20.95 LE |
|
1 kg Tomatoes |
3 LE |
4.95 LE |
|
1 kg Cucumbers |
2 LE |
1.95 LE |
|
1 kg Onions |
2 LE |
4.65 LE |
|
1 litre Oil |
10 LE |
11.75 LE |
|
1 kg Ghee |
10 LE |
10.15 LE |
|
1 kg Flour |
4 LE |
4.75 LE |
|
1 kg Rice |
3.50 LE |
4.50 LE |
|
1 kg Pasta |
4.50 LE |
3.45 LE |
|
1 disc Bread |
0.25 LE |
1.10 LE |
|
1 egg |
0.70 LE |
0.99 LE |
|
Milk |
4 LE |
5.90 LE |
|
Sugar |
3.25 LE |
4.50 LE |
|
Cigarettes |
2.50 LE Cleopatra |
Marlboro 8 LE |
Petrol
90 octane 1.75 /litre
92 octane 1.85/litre
95 octane 2.75/litre
Solar 1.10/litre
Published in Alter Ego June 08
