Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
'The word
Copt
means
Egyptian
,' Ibrahim explained as he led me into the shanty's
winding roads. 'It was an Ancient Egyptian word for the temple at Memphis, Het-Ka-Ptah,
the “place of the soul of the creator God” - but it got bastardised by the Ancient Greeks in-
to
Aigyptos
. Hence, Copt. And, of course, until the Arabs invaded, Egypt had been Chris-
tian for three hundred years. Mary and Joseph took the baby Jesus on a grand tour of the
Nile. I bet you didn't know that! They probably saw Memphis and the Pyramids, Alexan-
dria . . .'
We walked on, deeper into the shanties.
'In Egypt, the Christians have to stick together - for protection. With all the violence
against us in the last sixty years, Christians from all across Upper and Middle Egypt have
come to places like this to live together. Not that it's stopped the violence. Last year alone,
eighty-five churches were burnt down by Muslim gangs, and all because we didn't support
that terrorist Morsi. So . . . now look what terrible conditions these garbage-collectors are
forced to live in. Me, I'm lucky - I have a little money - but these people, they have noth-
ing.'
The reason Ibrahim had called this Garbage City quickly became clear. As we ventured
deeper into the shanties, I could see the streets marked by piles and piles of rubbish. Men
were flitting between the heaps, sifting through the detritus and taking barrows of it back to
their houses. Children as young as three were joining them, picking up bottles and bottle-
tops and collecting them in different piles. Old women were bent double, sorting out card-
board into small bales.
'What are they doing?' I asked.
'They're doing what they must to survive, Lev. These people are recycling. The whole
community takes part. Plastic in one bag, metal in another. It's how the Coptic Christians
keep going. The government pays them one dollar for every twenty kilograms of sifted
plastic. Cardboard's even less.'
'It's a shame nobody thinks about the organic waste, too,' I said, holding my breath
against the stench.
'It didn't used to be so filthy here. The Christians used to keep pigs here. They'd keep
the streets clean of all the waste, just by eating it away. But then the government came
along and told them they all had to be killed. Swine flu, they said, but the real reason . .
.? Well, because the Muslim neighbours complained. So now Cairo is filthy again - and
all because they won't let Christians keep pigs. Now, all the shit just gets thrown into the
Nile. Your beautiful Nile, Lev. These people are killing it for their religion.'
We stood in silence for some time, watching the locals work.
'Come on,' said Ibrahim, threatening to shed another tear. 'There's someone I'd like you
to meet.'
