There is currently a bread crisis in Egypt. Bread here is subsidized, but as corruption eats away the system from the top down (there's Reagan economics for you) at the end of the line and at the end of the day, there is often not enough bread to go around. Adding to the tinder box of missing bread are the increasing food prices. Protests and demonstrations are crowding the streets and newspapers, as Egyptians are not able to match these increasing prices with their ever dismal wages.
Even doctors are taking to the streets, striking for one hour each day to protest their sobering salaries. Hamdy al-Sayyed states that"the average salary for a graduating doctor now is LE 220 ($40) per month, which doesn't buy much."
I don't even want to tell you how much Fulbright is paying me, its sickening in comparison to what these men and women with medical degrees are making. They save lives, and they barely have enough to get by. And remember, this is the profession that Egyptians look to as the key out of poverty. Doctors and Engineers, doctors and engineers, this is the mantra that is repeated over and over. Egyptian parents want their children to take on these two traditionally prestigious professions that will supposedly bring them a better life. But for now they are working on just getting enough bread.
Patience grows thin as the bread lines grow long. The corruption that the state uses to stay in power is now its greatest threat, as it eats away at the scaffolding of this teetering structure. I realize I am watching this from the sidelines, that I am not really affected by the frustration and the crisis that is building. I am no Egyptian, and I am no economist. But I still can't help but wonder, is Mr. Mubarak really not that familiar with the story of Marie Antoinette?
See http://www.dailystaregypt.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=12562
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2 comments:
I have another friend of mine who happened to study in Egypt. She recently told me that the Egyptian diet on average contains as many calories as the American diet. The catch is that a larger proportion of calories come from carbohydrates as opposed to the meats and cheeses Americans hold dearly.
Pauline, have you witnessed the same thing? And if so, is the Egyptian diet carb-heavy because of tradition and typical availability of veggies/meat OR does this have more to do with low wages preventing people from affording other sources of calories in their diet? That's a large question, but the blog wails, so its not out of place.
The diet is carb heavy because the cheapest staple foods are carb heavy - while meat remains something of a luxury. As an example, most of the "cheap" restaurants are sandwich places. You select your choice of filling (fuul/beans, falafel, eggplant, etc.) and it gets put into a piece of pocket bread. So, lots of bread. These sandwiches cost between 50 piastres and a pound, depending on the content (8-17 cents).
Another inexpensive staple food is kushari, which is essentially a bowl of pasta, rice, lentils, and chickpeas covered with tomato sauce. Pretty much 100% carbs but only 3 pounds (50 cents) for a big bowl of it.
The lower you go in the price range, the greater the percentage of it is rice/bread/pasta. Add to this the fact that a vast number egyptians live in the lowest of the low price brackets, and you get a high carb diet.
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