Since the bellies of those working in our government are full, they no longer care about the hungry in this country. This, however, has not held the government back from exploiting this hunger to improve its image in the public eye. After all, this is the same government that has nicknamed itself “the poor man’s government”.
My question is this: “Can we expect a government that has consistently failed to provide aid to those in need to be able to deliver Ramadan food packages to the poor?”
The fact is that 80 percent of aid in Egypt does not reach those that need it. Nonetheless, millions of Egyptian pounds are wasted on Ramadan food packages, even though the government knows quite well that these packages do not reach the homes of the needy.
I wonder when the government will finally learn from its past mistakes. Every Ramadan we hear more about the humiliation the poor are subjected to as they stand at the doors of the ruling party as if awaiting al-Qadr night (the holiest night of Ramadan), hoping that they will hand out food packages. What utter humiliation. This ruling party deliberately shames people thinking they can buy the loyalty of the Egyptian people.
This ugly scene rears its head at us at the beginning of each month of Ramadan. The Egyptian National Party, particularly its celebrity politicians, always eager to put on a show, take large quantities of these Ramadan packages to distribute to the poor within their respective constituencies under the slogan “break your fast and pray for me”.
Instead of humiliating the poor and making them stand in line, the politicians could have just as easily sent these packages to their homes and thus preserved the dignity of the head of that household in front of his or her family members. Unfortunately, this kind of discretion no longer exists and all we get is this recurring show put on by the members of our government through the media.
Every other day we hear the Minister of Social Solidarity announcing how the government’s Ramadan packages are being distributed to the poor and needy. I find this appalling. I wish they would recall how things used to be before the revolution. Back in those days, the women of the Royal Palace together with various women's associations would get together to distribute Ramadan goods to family homes at night. There was no show or media display because these associations considered this to be the right of those in need and believed that humiliating people and putting them on display was immoral.
However, these days, if the government officials could get video footage of every person who received one of these packages they would definitely do just that. All they care about is getting those extra points, even at the expense of the needy, although this aid is their right and not a gift.
A little known fact about Egypt is the amount of wealth it actually possesses, but despite this fact our image in the outside world is appalling. It is an image of a country living in famine. But in reality Egypt is not experiencing a famine, quite the opposite.
I’ve seen proof of this during the opening of the Supermarket Expo that was held at the Conference Center and in which 250 companies had their products on display. During this Expo I saw huge numbers of people from every social class, both the well-to-do and the poor. Because of the reasonable prices, the Expo was able to draw in residents from the city as well as from neighboring villages. If this is how people are stocking up before Ramadan even begins then this definitely goes to show that there is no famine in Egypt.
A report prepared by the Central Bureau of Statistics indicates that we spend nearly LE200 billion annually on food. In the month of Ramadan alone this amount is nearly LE30 billion. The tragedy is that 60 percent of our food ends up in the garbage. A sad but true reality.
You might be surprised to learn that we consume two billion seven hundred million loaves of pita bread during the first week of Ramadan alone. We also consume nearly ten thousand tons of fava beans and forty million chickens. If the outside world only knew just how generous Egyptians really are they would not have taken advantage of our internal affairs to showcase us as a starving nation. In fact, because of how generous the Egyptian people are, they continue to purchase goods even as they are complaining about rising prices.
Despite the fact that the price of sugar has increased by 33 percent and the price of fava beans, macaroni, vegetable oil and ghee have all increased, we haven’t seen a drop in sales, quite the opposite. We as a people have become used to complaining about prices while at the same time reaching into our pockets. As the saying goes “we are a food loving nation”. This in itself is not a shortcoming.
However, loving food does not give us the right to convert this holy month into a month of opulence and wastefulness, or a month of setting up lavish iftar (breakfast) or suhoor (predawn meal) banquets. This month was meant to be for worshipping our creator and not for extravagance. Having your friends over for a meal doesn’t mean you need to show off and serve countless dishes of food which no one will be able to finish. Moderation is the key and it is the shortest path to God’s love.
Countless numbers of people for instance, eat their iftar meal at one of the numerous charitable Ramadan tables set up around Cairo and feel satisfied and full even when the meal only consists of a cup of yoghurt and a piece of cheese. During the month of fasting and worship, satisfaction comes not from the extravagance of a meal but from good intentions and a good heart.
We thank Allah that he brought us together in this blessed month which gives us many opportunities to do good. Let us utilize this month as a time to fill our hearts with faith and piety and to try to get closer to God.
