KILLING PIGS AND DESTROYING A LIVELIHOOD

ahmed4321 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:43:07 +0000

The recent mass slaughter of 300,000 pigs in Egypt in response to the fears of the swine flu has brought attention to the owners of those pigs: the members of the mostly Christian community called the Zaballeen (or Zabbaleen). The Zaballeen, translated literally as the “garbage people” have, for decades, been responsible for handling Cairo’s trash. Every day, these indigenous garbage workers collect 6,000 tons of trash and bring it back home to their garbage village on the outskirts of Cairo where it is sorted for recycling. They make their living by recycling 80% of what they collect and by feeding the food waste to their livestock, specifically their pigs.
A recent New York Times story recently reported, the confiscation and slaughter of the pigs – on the grounds of protecting the Egyptian people. The article highlights the Egyptian’s authorities’ seemingly over reactive response as yet another threat to the survival of the 60,000 Zaballeen.

Indeed, this is not the only obstacle the Zaballeen have faced in these past few years. The recently released documentary Garbage Dreams, produced and directed by the Egyptian-American filmmaker Mai Iskander, follows the plight of the Zaballeen community over recent years. The film highlights how in 2003, in attempt to modernize Cairo’s waste disposal system, Egypt replaced the Zaballeen with multinational garbage disposal companies. Mai Iskander traces the story through the eyes of two Zaballeen boys, Osama, 16, Adham, 17 and the neighborhood’s community activist, Laila. When their community is suddenly faced with the globalization of its trade, each of the teenage boys is forced to make choices that will impact his future and the survival of his community.
Garbage Dreams has won numerous awards, including Al Gore’s Reel Current Award in early March for its insight into a contemporary environmental issue. Former Vice President Al Gore says of the film: “Garbage Dreams is a moving story of young men searching for a way to eke out a living for their families and facing tough choices as they try to do the right thing for the planet… Ultimately, Garbage Dreams makes a compelling case that modernization does not always equal progress.”
The Zaballeen’s livelihood is admirable and should be celebrated, so why is it always under constant threat?

Check out the film’s website at www.garbagedreams.com.

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ahmed4321 — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:38:12 +0000

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KILLING PIGS AND DESTROYING A LIVELIHOOD

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