A Hundred Million and Decreasing

Salma Ahmed 

Editor-In-Chief

Tuesday, March 3, one person died and another was injured in the partial collapse of a building in Bulaq Abou El Ela, Cairo, local press reported. 

A day earlier, a building in Beirut Street, Heliopolis, partially collapsed with no reported casualties, which led the public to respond to the former event with a nonchalant ‘again?’

And these were only the recent cases which received a decent amount of media coverage. We’ve had many such incidents in the past. 

Buildings collapse for several reasons – earthquakes, wrecking balls and poor structural integrity. Some buildings in Egypt are slowly gaining a reputation for the latter.  

With our newly acquired 100 million citizens, the country cannot afford to lose any housing options but what it can afford to lose is a few citizens here and there. Which is why Egyptian life seems to have become so cheap. People die, one article is written about them, and then we all move on. 

No one cares anymore. The Egyptian empathy that once defined the country and its people has become a made up concept in today’s world. Everyone is rushing to a destination, and no one can afford to lose any time. In a country so overpopulated, no one has any time to waste. 

In this mad rush, each is fighting for their source of income, even if that means letting go of what once made them smile and the little acts of kindness that satisfied that virtuous-self.   

Capitalism has solidified its control over the country, dividing it into classes. Those with money and those who know the right people deserve the privilege of living more than those who lack the money and connections.  

This brings in the issue of the current CoronaVirus. Countries are taking safety precautions to ensure the safety of their citizens. The Egyptian Health Minister has been adamantly trying to convince people that it is nothing to worry about. But isn’t it better to take all precautions, at least for a “just in case scenario”?

The whole world is going mad over a virus, and cases have been reported of people traveling from Egypt carrying the disease. Shouldn’t we worry?

Last week, the civil aviation ministry raised its alert to the highest level at all airports after a second foreigner was found to have contracted the virus. He is currently being treated in quarantine. 

At the same time, the government launched an official website to provide information about the coronavirus and ways to take precautions against it.

China, where the outbreak began, is giving Egypt 1,000 powerful coronavirus detectors.

In the meantime, some countries in Asia and Europe are in lockdown and events are being canceled around the world. 

In Egypt, it’s business as usual, with some joking that we all have a natural immunity.

Yes, Egyptians are resilient and their humor is a form of immunity.

But do we risk cheapening Egyptian life? Alive, you’re slaving your life away to ensure the bare minimum of living needs is met; and dead, you’re one less person the country has to worry about. 

The only time you will truly be missed is if your taxes were higher than average and you paid them in full annually. 

A building collapsed. A life ended. 

But what of the consequences – who will be held responsible for the life that was ended?

Upon closer inspection of the issue, you’ll find out that it is more recurrent than one might think. 

Numerous buildings do not abide by or follow safety regulations, and this is where the government can play a serious role to apply and enforce construction codes across the board. 

This shouldn’t be a 1970s or 1980s film where a low-level official employee who hates his job would’ve probably passed the safety regulations for no return, out of pure laziness. 

By this time next week people will have gotten distracted by another death due to similar reasons and the life lost will be no more than a former statistical victim to corrupted contractors. 

Egypt is an overpopulated country. In order to protect its citizens, the country must apply vigorous family planning so as to not put those already part of the population at risk.

The death of that one person who died in Bulaq Abou El Ela should jolt awake any unobservant officials.

But what will most likely happen, and I say this with great sorrow, is for it to be discarded as quickly as it happened.   

Here’s to hoping the cycle will break and building codes and safety regulations will be imposed. And enforced.