Fatima's Cafe: An Alexandrian Adventure

Alexandria at night. Photo Credit, the author.

 
Article first published as A Meeting at Fatima's Cafe in Alexandria, Egypt on Blogcritics.

I went on an amazing research trip to Alexandria with some colleagues the first week of July,2011. Egypt has 80 million people, and only 20 million of them live in Cairo. A good many of them, at least four million in the city itself, live in or near Alexandria. Alexandria is named after Alexander the Great, who founded the city around 300 BC. Alexandria is Egypt's northernmost port, and it defines the place where the Nile delta flows into the sea. Alexandria lies on the southern shore of the Mediterranean Ocean, and its people are a mixture of Turks, Arabs, African tribes of Upper Egypt, Greeks, Bedouins, Berbers, Spaniards, and traders of various stripes and shades. 

The train ride to Alexandria takes approximately four hours, and is comfortable and scenic. As the Nile Valley turned into the Nile Delta, high rises gave way to rice farms and palm trees. Cairo is notable for its incredible overbuilding. This is to be expected in a city, which at twenty million, rivals Mexico City and Los Angeles as one of the largest metropolises in the world in terms of population. As a result, overbuilding is rampant. As the train moved out of Cairo, one of the most notable changes was less building and more farms. Because Egypt is so dry, receiving less than five inches of precipitation a year, the only farming that occurs in the country is on areas located on the Nile. 

A beautiful building in Alexandria in need of renovation

Alexandria is an old city of the European type. Belle Epoque architecture characterizes the main square. The old neighborhoods could all use a coat of paint, but are nonetheless charming. One of the highlights of our trip was visiting an elderly relative of my colleague John. Tante Blanche. In Egypt, as in many Middle Eastern Nations, different streets or neighborhoods have different specialties in terms of business. Some streets sell jewelry, some streets sell wedding gowns, and some streets are full of bakeries selling the sweet delicate pastries that Egyptians favor.  These business areas are referred to as “souks,” meaning markets, or bazaars. John’s Tante Blanche lived in the car repair souk. We saw a sign for a garage that said "North East African Trading Company Overland and Willys." Parked in front of Tante Blanche's house on the street was a vintage black Packard limousine from the 1930s, in mint condition. She explained that the car is rented out for special occasions, like weddings or parties. The buildings in Blanche’s neighborhood are close together, and all have balconies. We enjoyed the evening breeze on her porch. The houses across the street were not quite within reaching distance, but they were no further than 15 feet away. It struck me as a scene out of The Time and the Place by Naguib Mahfouz. 

A typical Alexandrian working class neighborhood. Photo Credit, the author.

Our research was on the popular civil militias which were created in the cities to protect neighborhoods during Egypt’s January 25th Revolution. In an effort to thwart the people’s efforts and throw the country into chaos, deposed President Mubarak released thousands of prisoners from jail, and withdrew the police. These civilian defense forces emerged from the grassroots through the country, and by January 28th, the entire country was safer than it ever had been, protected by every able bodied man, and sometimes woman, in each building.  The defense forces worked on shifts and used secret passwords, and special signals, like raised windshield wipers. One major group in Alexandria was led by a gentleman of the name of Engineer S. We had not met him, we just knew of him by reputation. 

He told us to go sit at a place called Hotel Nobel on the Corniche. The Corniche, from the French word cornice, is the word Egyptians use to describe the waterfront, whether on the Nile, or the Mediterranean.  The Hotel Nobel was undistinguished, and we wondered why Engineer S. had selected it.  As we sipped our tea we got a call. We were instructed to cross over to the ocean side by means of the underground tunnels, and meet him at a place called Fatima's Café, where the sea meets the Corniche. We seated ourselves in the plastic chairs while we watched the sun set red over the Mediterranean Ocean, as the waves smashed against the rocks. As my colleague Jennifer pointed out, it was all very cloak and dagger: "meet me on the Corniche, around sunset, at Fatima's Cafe." 

Sunset on the Corniche

About forty minutes later, Engineer S. arrived with an entourage: Fatima herself; Islam, the Bedouin from Sinai; Ahmed, a Black Arab from Upper Egypt; and Khaled, a fellow who seemed to have ties to the previous government. We feasted on fu'll and t'aamaiya (soaked beans), which are delicious and somehow addictive with a bit of salt. Engineer S. was the real deal: brilliant, brave, organized, handsome, political, and a protector of the family of Khaled Sayeed's—one of the martyrs whose memory started the Revolution. We had a fascinating and long discussion with all of them, full of informative facts about politics, religion, culture and security. As we left from Fatima's Cafe around midnight, we were exhausted, but happy.

Meeting with Popular Defense Forces

After a long day of walking around Alexandria, we had to catch our train back to Cairo. We debated for a few minutes about where we should eat our last meal. We arrived at the rooftop restaurant of the Victorian era Windsor Palace Hotel, which could not have been a better ending to a wonderful weekend. From the rooftop, we had a panoramic view of the entire city. Alexandria stretched out in front of us in a perfect crescent, as the waves crashed on the Corniche. Alexandria had been a kind hostess. We would return.   

Labor Issues in Egypt seen through the lens of the revolution

These represent partial notes taken by me at a conference. The conference was called From Tahrir: Revolution or Democratic Transition? June 4-6, 2011. Oriental Hall, AUC Tahrir Square.

These notes were from a 12:00 a.m. panel called How to Understand the Current Uprisings: The Role of Labor and the Subaltern. The panel was in both English and Arabic. The speakers were Rabab El-Mahdi, the American University in Cairo, Saber Barakat, Labor Organizers-Land Center, May AbdelRazik, Popular Defense Committees.

Videos are available at www.youtube.com/user/AUC, but many of the comments are in Arabic, so if you do not speak Arabic, you will have to rely on my notes regarding the translation, until you get someone to translate for you. 

Saber Barakat: Land Center

Until the 25th of January, the call came. It was a banking holiday, a police holiday, and a full paid leave day. Many workers came to Tahrir just to see what would happen. There is a tradition of labor organizers going into the streets with flowers and sweets. The riot police would chase us and kick us badly, and close off downtown Cairo.

We saw dissension in the ranks of the unions, particularly those affiliated with Al ikhwan. They would not go to Tahrir.

The hooligans, ultras [author's note: fanatic, somewhat violent football fans] came, unionist workers decided to strike back. The government made a fatal error of closing all its plants. The workers went to Tahrir en masse. The factories were closed from January 28th to February 6th.From the 6th of February to the 10th of February 280 locations of factories were on strike. Teachers, engineers, doctors were all on strike. This was the breaking point. On the 11th of February, the SCAF convinced the president to step down. SCAF asked the workers to stop striking, but the workers kept striking.


May AbdelRazik: Peoples' Defense Councils (Lagaan Shabaaya)

People started protecting their buildings. People thought people from poorer districts would invade them. This was a misconception. The risk was the bandits. People started to distribute walkie talkies. Some used knives or swords. Some people had firearms. It had a spontaneous beginning. It was a tactic to respond to lawlessness. From Saturday to Tuesday. The popular committees were sympathetic to the revolution. After Mubarak;s address, things took off. Another turn [occurred] after the Camel Raids.

So we did not have a standard behavior, The most common characteristic of this phase was common protection. Judge's were shoulder to shoulder with mechanics. The goal was to stop lawlessness. The old regime wanted to prevent the Revolution by unleashing lawlessness.

The people wanted to plug the gap and interpret the slogans from the Square. Live with integrity. People gathered to clean the square. Governing civil society. In the post Revolution period, the councils have tried to deal with the individualizing problems of each district. The lack of LNP gas pipes. Flour is stolen from community bakeries and re-channeled to make sweets and pastries. The social committees in some districts have stolen flour. People's behavior changes according to the district.

The Butane gas pipes. Some of the social committees were able to contract services from butane gas pipes. The social committees started to distribute the canisters. Also, social committees, there was an effort to coordinate the efforts of such committees. It is a nationwide request. We do not know about the continuity or future of such kinds of committees. We have to polarize and galvanize. We do not know if they will discontinue their contributions to their committees. Funding is a problem. Some committees are against any funding. Some want to publish bulletins. That publishing may take a little money.

The tails of the regime are fighting the committees. Municipalities and the NDP are fighting committees both tooth and nail. The municipalities file a report against those working in committees. Service can be hijacked by NDP members. The NDP has a lot of financial resources. Political experience is lacking in committees. How can they control the work of municipalities. However, the lack of experience can be a plus because there are no ties to the old regime.

End formal talk. [Question and Answer session to follow]

Questions from the Audience 

1) What is the future of defense committees? By the way, they cannot substitute for police.
2) It is not about economic incentives. The Egyptian people went to the street for a dream. It is not about labor strikes. The strike started with the Tunisian suicide of an unemployed university graduate.
3) You said something interesting in your speech. You said that the Palestinian uprising and Iraqi invasion could incite you to go to the street. What about your own life and local interests? Did they not incite you? Also, what is the role of the trade unions.
4) I am really happy with the community committees. In summer vacation, the youth could work in the community committees (lagaan shabaaya). As a worker, my main conviction is working. Why don't the tails of the former regime withdraw themselves?

Answers to Audience Questions

Barakat

Well, before trade union membership was obligatory. It was mandated by the government. Not all members of trade unions were there voluntarily. The subscription to trade unions were used by Egypt for their membership in the ILP. Why did the workers demonstrate? Some big protests occurred. There were more than 6000 protests by labor unions. Some protests were made about the rigged parliamentary elections. In addition, the public budget was usually followed by worker demonstrations. I remember there were several aviation stikes. The strike about the Iraqi invasion had a large contingent of workers. During the revolution, one motto was "freedom, integrity and social justice." Social justice was for the workers.

May Abdel Razik

We are not trying to come up with alternatives for the police. When the community committees were formed, it was force majeure. [What we want is inspection. The community committees should help enhance the accountability of the police] We need a police force, but we also need supervision. Concerning the students, we are trying to expand our services.

Question: How was the proletariat affected by the closure of the plants. On facebook, there is not enough public coverage of the people's defense counsels. People need to know how to join in and join the PDC.
Question: It is easy to play a positive role when there is consensus. There have always been community committees in rural areas. What about the informal workers?
Question:  The other problem is the establishment of independent trade unions.

Rabab El-Mahdi: 

Lumpen, are those who have access to the center of the empire. Does not include all workers.

Barakat: 

What is the labor movement and the syndicates? In the last few months, labor has been in good heath. Trade unions since the 1950s were formulated at gunpoint by the regime. I have been prevented for 12 years from joining a labor union. They say I am instigating laborers to ask for their rights! I have filed many lawsuits. I was running against one of the candidates closely connected to the Prime Minister. He was able to disqualify me 12 times. I went to prison for running against regime candidates. This is autocracy. The people are like a baby who has not been weaned.

Maya AbdelRazik: 

The mandate of the PDC is not an anomoly of residential areas. Legitimacy comes from the neighborhood. We do not want institutionalization. We do not want to be supervised by the government. We do not have bureaucratic procedures. PDC is trying to go against the hierarchical structures. This is a teamwork task force. This is a kind of democratic procedure trying as much as possible to make committees a supervisory or regulatory force. You can be illiterate, but have high political awareness. It is your right. 

[End Panel]