Luxor and Suzanne Mubarak, part II

I want to start this entry by apologizing in advance for anyone who has visited Egypt as part of an organized tour group. I don't mean to offend anyone...

My strongest impression of Luxor – even more than the phenomenal monuments – was the detrimental impact of tourism on this beautiful part of Egypt. Because big tour agencies dominate the area, they also control the prices. Tours are generally booked overseas (UK, US, Germany, etc) and most of the money stays there. Tour guides, drivers, etc are paid very little, and are forced to “moonlight” in often unsavory professions (frequently male prostitution). Hotels also aren’t making enough money. At the same time, because of the increase in tourists, many people who traditionally worked on family farms are leaving traditionally employment to work as beggars, in hotel housekeeping, drivers, selling tourist items, etc. This leaves their families very vulnerable, as their traditional livelihoods are disturbed.

On top of this, tourists are totally oblivious. Almost all the tourists are, predictably, from Western countries and are completely ignorant of modern Egypt and Egyptian life and culture. The most obvious example was the American girl wearing a tube top with her stomach showing, short-shorts that were much closer to underwear, and a traditional kafiyah. People show no respect for the Egyptians who serve them their $15 martinis. Despite these problems surrounding tourism, however, people are remarkably upbeat and can still find humor even in the worst of times.

My visit happened to coincide with a visit by Suzanne Mubarak, President Mubarak’s wife, who was in town opening a library. Wads of money were spent in the weeks prior to her visit in beautifying the town. This led to a lot of resentment among the people of Luxor, and prompted several conversations on people’s opinions on Mubarak and the Egyptian government. I was very surprised by people’s knowledge of the issues and by their openness in raising negative aspects of their country and government (very different from what I faced in Aswan and Cairo).

People were overwhelmingly against Mubarak, frustrated by his rule, frustrated by the lack of democracy, and angered by pandering to foreigners (in particular, the tourist sector) at the expense of their own people. Some of the more interesting comments/stories:

- One man told of his attempt to vote in the presidential election. He went to the ballot box, and had his finger stamped (to show that he voted), and was told to go home. He said that he hadn’t voted yet, and the man running the booth held up a ballot with “Mubarak” marked and said “Yes you have.”
- One woman spoke of what comes next – ie, plans for a post-Mubarak government. Conventional wisdom holds that Gamal Mubarak, his son and generally assumed to be very weak, will follow. This woman believed strongly that civil war would follow immediately, and that would probably be preferable to the Mubaraks.
- One man spoke of the corruption surrounding the building of Suzanne Mubarak’s library. The official cost of the library was $100,000, but the actual cost ran up over $1 million because of under-the-table payoffs. In a city that is desperately poor, this man was appalled by this system in which those in power get richer and more powerful while the poor suffer more.
- One man reacted angrily when I suggested that tourists be encouraged to donate to local causes, saying that Egypt is a rich country (in terms of resources and tourism income), and could provide for itself without the corruption and misplaced priorities of the Egyptian government.

Lastly, I want to talk some more about the poverty. Those of you on my email lists two years ago may remember my stories of poverty in Cambodia (or my mother’s), and the difficulty in not buying crappy postcards from everyone starving child you meet. It’s beyond depressing to see these children suffering, and the knowledge that even 10 cents would mean so much to them – and the constant refrain of “you can’t save everyone” doesn’t really help.

What does help is more knowledge of these children (and it is, overwhelmingly, children). Throughout the world, the poor children who surround tourist sites begging or selling cheap things rarely profit from the sales they make. In the worst case scenarios, these children are being controlled by older children or adults in a gang-like scenario, in which they’re forced or coerced into begging/selling things and have to turn over all the money they receive. Even in the least-exploitative situations, they are often performing the same function for their parents, who keep them out of school because they can earn more money this way. Regardless, the story is much more complex than it can appear to you as an outsider, and giving them money will not help to alleviate the situation long-term.

When faced with these dilemmas, I urge all of you to save the money to donate to organizations that work on sustainable interventions to bring these families out of poverty, through microfinance initiatives, skills trainings, formal education, medical services, etc. I’ve listed below some of my favorite international organizations that do this work, but also check out local organizations in your country of interest as they often do twice the work for half the price. I’d be more than happy to help anyone find an organization they believe in and would be willing to support financially; just leave a comment on the blog or email me.

Last note: I traveled around Luxor with an amazing travel agency, run by a British couple, which tries to work more within the communities and support Egyptians, while showing tourists the real Egypt. The Quest for the Egyptian Adventure is a fantastic organization (and their tours were some of the best I’ve had), and I highly recommend that you use them if you’re planning a trip to Egypt – http://www.questfortheegyptianadventure.com/.

International organizations:
Save the Children
CARE International
Heifer International
Doctors Without Borders
UNICEF
World Food Programme

Update (6/30): An error was brought to my attention: I neglected to mention Women for Women International, a great organization doing grassroots work worldwide.