The Seventy-Pound Life

Salma Ahmed 

Managing English Editor 

Last week, two men were forced to jump off a train going from Alexandria to Luxor by the conductor for not having tickets.

One of them, Mohammed Eid, was killed and the other severely injured.

A man lost his life because of the price of a train ticket.

Seventy Egyptian Pounds. That’s the price of a man’s life in this country.

Egypt has always been known as the land of the people, as the loving and protective “mother” of its citizens. What mother sacrifices the life of her sons for the price of a train ticket?

The train conductor was detained for his criminal actions. I fully believe he is not totally at fault. He’s probably been criticised by his superiors in the past and had his salary deducted for letting commuters continue their trips without having paid for a ticket. So he likely acted out of fear of losing his job and the fear of no longer being a provider for his family.

Thus fear drowned out all common sense.

The Ministry of Transportation came out with the youtuber-inspired apology, saying that the lives of the citizens are always a priority. This isn’t very convincing as the trains themselves appear to be a safety hazard.

I’m by no means implying the victim’s innocence, he broke the law by taking up space on a bus he hadn’t paid for. But does death seem like a reasonable punishment for his crime?

The Ministry of Transportation must ensure that this crime never happens again. In statements made to the press, it appeared to be as shocked as most people by the callousness of the tragedy, but it must not deter itself from its responsibility to the commuters; the onus is on its cadres to put in place measures and procedures which safeguard commuters and ensure their rights.

In a country where crime occurs in front of the general public – such as the fatal stabbing of a teen trying to prevent sexual harassment, and some of which happens in the shadows (under the tables, as the popular Arabic saying goes), we decide to punish the two men who didn’t have the cash required for a train ticket.

This is only a scratch of the surface of the injustices that the less privileged face on a regular basis. They’re the majority yet treated with disdain. They’re looked down upon and scolded for not working hard enough to achieve better than what they currently have.

As those who are privileged, we have it fairly easy yet we are still full of complaints about how we could have it better, while having the money to pay our way out of any run-ins with the law.

From bribery to tax evasion, those who possess the money will pay millions to avoid getting in trouble.

Ironically, this incident got the media attention it deserves, yet not much has been done in terms of justice for the lost life of Mohamed Eid.

The Ministry of Social Solidarity issued the family of the late Eid an amount of a EGP 100,000. An absurd amount for the life of a once loved son and friend. I don’t mean that they should’ve given them more but this amount is next to nothing for a lost life.

Eid belonged to the lower class. So his family would’ve been satisfied with whatever the amount given to them, the thinking goes, and society (read: the privileged) will sleep better at night because of that measly payout.

The life of Eid was not lost in vain. His death ushered a discussion which will soon die out like it never happened. It was on the front page of many newspapers and on social media timelines of most  Egyptians, but will soon be washed away with whatever viral meme of the week.

But he will remain remembered as another lost soul who fell victim to this flawed social system.

Slowly, but surely we are growing desensitized to all the outrageous acts taking place, from killings to rape to violence and harassment. The Egyptian streets are anything but lacking in these transgressions.

This tragedy reminded me of why I hear of people my age wanting to leave.

And I’m not saying that’s what people should do, but just consider that love and loyalty for the country is rooted in love and loyalty for its people, yes, even the underprivileged.