A girl sits atop rubbish in Manshier Nasr, a garbage community in Mokattam.
Among Egypt’s most impoverished people are Coptic Christians living in the garbage districts of Cairo. Entire families live off less than $2.00 a day which is earned by collecting recyclables from the city’s refuse. Most disturbing of all is that the cycle of poverty has been near impossible to break. The craft of trash sifting, which has been passed down from generation to generation, is the only ‘skill’ these communities know. Any bid to help these families establish an alternative business – which ICC proposed – is quickly rejected. Though poor, these families stick to what they know, afraid that a new vocation might leave them penniless.
Sadly, this attitude is passed onto their children. Kids as young as five are encouraged to begin collecting trash to contribute to the family’s income. Being the case, the child’s education is often overlooked or ignored. Without it, a child’s opportunity for a better life vanishes and the cycle of poverty continues. Click here to learn more about education in the garbage slums of Cairo.
ICC recently visited nine families whose loved ones were killed in a March 8th attack on Coptic protestors in the garbage district of Mokattam. When approaching their homes, the mothers, wives and children of the young men killed sat among heaps of trash; their hands and feet covered in the gunk of rotting food, their shirts stained by putrid waste. These families were still in mourning two months after the death of their household’s primary caretaker. Now, they must work twice as hard to buy food and pay rent. The prospect of sending their children to school has faded. Every hand is needed if the bills are to be paid.
Mihani Ezzad Farouk's wife, mother, brother and daughter
I found the wife, mother and daughter (right) of Mihani Ezzad Farouk, a Coptic Christian killed in the protests, digging through a heap of trash (pictured below) to find recyclable plastics. When extending my hand to shake theirs, it was met by the slimy leftovers of someone’s decomposing dinner that was thrown out a week before. Their hands were stained and calloused. Their feet were black from dirt and filth.
My heart mourned for these families. We sat in their homes, prayed with them, offered financial assistance, and connected them to a local Christian group who made a commitment to visit them once a month to bring both spiritual and physical relief. Their situations appeared utterly desperate and helpless, yet we looked to the Lord to heal and provide. Please pray for the families of Mokattam and the other garbage communities spread across the suburbs of Cairo.
ICC is developing projects in these communities with local ministries that will educate their children and provide sustainable incomes. To learn how you can get involved, please contact ICC at icc@persecution.org
Recyclables are pulled from this heap of trash to provide Mihani’s family with their only source of income.