w.en 22-5-2016

Watani
22 May 2016
14 Bashans (Pashons) 1732
15 Shaaban 1437
Issue 797
Year 16
Chairman of the Board
and
Editor-in-chief
Youssef Sidhom
Editorial
Problems on hold
To our subscribers outside Egypt:
An apology
Youssef Sidhom
The Russian plane crash over Sinai
Peninsula last October, suspected
to be a terrorist act, led to global
apprehension regarding safety
measures in Egyptian airports and
dealt a terrible blow to tourism and
to incoming and outgoing air freight.
Later
official
announcements
insisted that Egyptian and foreign
airport security experts were
working closely together to ensure
that security measures in Egyptian
airports were up to international
standards. But these appeared to
allude to the security of travellers
rather than freight or cargo. As
though to prove that point, a news
item printed on the first page of the
Cairo daily Al-Ahram Thursday 12
May announced that the German
government has finally lifted its
ban on the shipment of luggage
aboard the same flights boarded
by tourists travelling to Sharm alSheikh Airport. The ban had been
imposed last November in the wake
of the Russian plane crash.
The turbulent climate has taken
its toll on Watani’s distribution to
subscribers outside Egypt, especially
those in the US, Canada and Australia.
Ever since the Russian plane crash last
November we have been receiving an
unprecedented number of complaints
that issues of Watani, which we
airmail to subscribers, have not been
reaching them.
At first we thought the problem had
to do with some delay in the sorting
and distribution of the dispatched
mail. Watani addressed the relevant
officials at Egypt Post Authority,
hoping they would swiftly solve
the problem as they used to in the
past. Yet complaints from Watani
subscribers abroad continued to
pour in, informing that the paper
was no longer being delivered to
them. The postal authority officials
whom we contacted informed us
that the security procedures adopted
since the Russian plane crash oblige
all outgoing Egyptian post to be
rerouted through the UAE for reinspection and security check before
it is dispatched to destinations.
The officials at the postal authority
assured us that these procedures
were only temporary and were to
be lifted after the efforts at securing
Egyptian airports bear fruit. We
informed Watani's angry subscribers
accordingly, and begged for their
understanding and patience.
As the months went by, however,
the situation persisted even as Watani
continued to regularly ship its issues
to subscribers. On 20 April we filed a
new complaint to the postal authority,
urging those in charge to swiftly take
matters in hand in order to put an end
to this problem which was burdening us
with professional and financial losses.
On 12 May we received a message
from the director of external postal
traffic at Egypt Post. It read:
“Referring to the complaint you
filed regarding complaints by
subscribers abroad (in the US,
Canada and Australia): we wish to
inform you that, owing to the fact
that some airfreight companies
have halted traffic to and from the
aforementioned countries, it is not
possible for Egypt Post to dispatch
any post to these countries.
Accordingly, the [postal] service
to these countries has been
discontinued till the airfreight
companies resume their activity
in this regard. Thank you for your
cooperation.
Signed: Mr M.A. – director of
external post traffic.”
Egypt Post’s recent letter effectively
put an end to all hopes to resume
sending Watani to subscribers
outside Egypt. Even though the postal
authority made it clear that the blame
lay with the airfreight companies, a
question persists begging an answer.
Are we to understand that there is
a complete paralysis in the postal
service between Egypt and the rest of
the world? If true, why have we only
known this through our exchange of
letters with the postal authority? Why
was not the problem transparently
made public? I am sure many other
Egyptians, individuals or institutions,
suffer as a result of this postal
predicament. Should this incident go
down to the account of the notorious
lack of transparency in Egypt?
Until this odd situation is clarified,
and Watani resumes reaching its
subscribers abroad, I apologise
to all of them and urge them to
patiently wait.
Egypt on fire, culprit anonymous
A seemingly unending series of fires has struck Egypt throughout the last two weeks, and are still
Mervat Ayoub Gross negligence
ongoing even if tapering off. Fires erupted at places that appeared to have not much in common:
“It is a disaster in the full sense of the word,” Ali Shukry, first Vice-Chairman of the Cairo Chamber
Giza security directorate, the old but thriving trade districts of Rewaiei and Ghouriya in Cairo,
of Commerce, says alluding to the Rewaiei fire. “A preliminary estimate of the losses places them at
the Cairo governorate building, three factories and timbre warehouses in Dumyat (Damietta), as well as other some EGP400 million. The figure of EGP40 million pronounced by Cairo Governorate appears to take into account
factories in the industrial areas of 6 October town.
only the merchandise lost, but disregards the much worse catastrophe that has hit the entire Rewaiei district. The fire
Given that the huge fires in Rewaiei and Ghouriya devoured what is in the main part businesses and small and the copious amounts of water used to quench it have rendered many of the buildings and infrastructure nearindustries that operate outside the formal economy, there is no accurate figure of the losses. Nevertheless, collapse. The entire region will need careful restoration, and this will be at a hefty cost.”
expert estimates place them at more than half-a-billion Egyptian pounds.
Economic expert Mukhtar al-Sharif agrees that even though the losses cannot be accurately estimated,
they are staggering. “I do not believe there is anyone in specific, whether from inside or outside the country,
Who benefits?
behind these fires,” Dr Sharif says. “The main cause, as I see it, is gross negligence. Places such as Rewaiei and
A state of public concern has prevailed. The public finds it hard to believe so many incidents of fires in such Ghouriya, as well as many many other places in Egypt, are notorious for the absolute lack of industrial or civil
a short period of time are not connected; arson appears a viable cause. This would imply these incidents are safety measures. The workers in these sites are unaware of the dangers that constantly threaten them, and thus
terrorist acts and, since terrorism in Egypt is exclusively Islamist, the fires would indicate a qualitative shift in do nothing to protect themselves against any hazards. Not only are fire extinguishers almost unheard of, but the
the terrorist attacks that regularly hit the country. Yet no organisation, group, or individual claimed responsibility entire practice of producing, storing, and selling the goods is conducted in settings and methods that contradict
for the fires, a move that would have naturally followed if they were terrorist acts. And no evidence has been all safety standards. The general attitude is that ‘it will be all right and no harm will occur’.
found to point in that direction.
“The shops and warehouses are stacked into old, almost dilapidated buildings in very narrow alleys and
Egyptian business tycoon and founder of the political party al-Masriyeen al-Ahrar (The Free Egyptians) streets hard to navigate by modern vehicles.”
Naguib Sawiris ventured an opinion that it was the Muslim Brothers (MB) and their Islamist supporters who
had set the fires. He publicised his opinion in the column he writes every week for the State-owned Cairo Social and emotional loss
weekly Akhbar al-Youm. He admitted he had no solid evidence to his hypothesis and that he is no investigator;
The fires have caused enormous losses in livelihoods, Dr Sharif says, and since Egypt already suffers from a
he had formed this opinion based on strong indications. The MB, he said, have a notorious history of terrorism huge budget deficit, the State will not be able to adequately compensate them. He believes that precise studies
and arson; he called to mind the more than 64 churches and Christian institutions all over Egypt that the MB should be conducted in order to determine the cases most worthy of compensation.
set on fire on 14 August 2013 to avenge themselves on Egyptians for having overthrown the post-2011 Arab
Another economic expert, Diab Muhammad, is in perfect agreement with Dr Sharif. “The districts set on fire
Spring Islamist rule. Mr Sawiris wrote that if we look for who benefits out of these fires, we find that the only were overcrowded and narrow; they housed a lot of flammable materials and chemicals; and were furnished
beneficiaries are the MB who wish to destabilise Egypt. The MB reacted to Mr Sawiris’s hypothesis not by with no safety measures whatsoever. This made it difficult to extinguish the flames. The government should
any attempt to refute his claim, but with a barrage of insults and obscenities which, he said, proved he was very take all the necessary precautions to ensure such situations never recur.
close to if not had directly hit the truth.
“The losses are difficult to recover,” Dr Muhammad says, “and will definitely have a negative impact on the
economy. Assets, buildings, equipment, production tools,
Not terrorism; then what?
and goods have all gone up in the flames. The losses also
If the fires have nothing to do with terrorism,
include the human element which has been hurt severely
however, then what? It is no secret that people
in terms of jobs and social and psychological trauma. This
who set places on fire can be found out with great
side of the aftermath of the fires is not to be overlooked.”
difficulty. The fires have worked to bleed the
Watani asked Dr Sharif what he thought of the
economy and almost impossibly overburden those
allegations by the vendors whose wares were lost in the
who incurred losses, as well as the government. Are
fire that the government perpetrated these fires in order
matters in Egypt under control? These questions
to rid the district of them. Dr Sharif’s answer was that
have been lurking in the minds of Egyptian, and
such allegations were contemptible and stand to spread
Watani. There was a unanimous opinion that the fires
rumours that would work to sow discontent and destabilise
erupted during a time when Egypt was undergoing
the country at a time when we can ill afford that. The
an exceptionally hot, dry wave, and that—sadly—the
government, he said, already succeeded in ridding other
country is notorious for substandard safety measures.
places in Cairo and Alexandria of encroaching street
Watani focused on the fires which were the most
vendors, using legal measures. It is absurd, he says, that
shocking and brought on the worst losses, in Rewaiei
it should resort to shooting itself in the foot by setting the
and Ghouriya.
place on fire.
Watani visits Rewaiei and Ghouriya, two sites
where recent raging fires wreaked havoc with
livelihoods and property
Reported by Amira Ezzat,
Abeer Ibrahim, Nevine Gadallah
The pain and the bitterness
“The State said it would pay compensation of EGP5,000 for the shop
owners whose shops went up in flames,” Haj Mustafa Hassan, an owner
of a shoe shop in al-Rewaiei, Attaba, told Watani. “But what is this to
compensate for a ruined shop and losses in merchandise worth millions
of Egyptian pounds?” he said in bitterness.
The massive fire had spread through al-Rewaiei market in the Cairo
central district of Attaba after a series of smaller fires broke out on
the night of Sunday 8 May, with flames burning till the early morning
hours on Tuesday. More than 60 fire engines and ambulances, with the
help of hundreds of local residents and workers, fought the blaze in the
narrow streets of the neighbourhood for more than 24 hours. The fire
had started at Andalus Hotel, which occupies the two top floors of a sixstory building, and left three people dead and 91 injured.
Defies reason
According to Haj Mustafa, the Andalus Hotel building alone included
goods estimated at billions of Egyptian pounds, since it housed a large
number of makers of the ankle-length long-sleeved Arabian traditional
gowns which they sell to Arab clients at very good profit; such gowns
cost EGP1,500 a piece.
Another shop owner at Attaba, Ahmed Attallah, was angry. He
complained: “Our livelihood has all been devoured by the fire. Our
losses amount to more than EGP20 million.”
Haj Muhammad Khaled, owner of a leather-handbag shop and an
eyewitness, complained that the fire-fighters arrived two hours after
the flames had spread to every inch in the region. Some 50 plus firetrucks came, but they were not able to navigate the too-narrow streets
in the district; only two managed to put out the fires at the hotel and
neighbouring buildings. It took the efforts of the military to put out
the fire.
Haj Muhammad insisted that the fire fighting efforts were entirely
incompetent; he criticised the use of water not foam to put out the fire.
“The copious amount of water used has damaged the electrical network
in the district, and caused several smaller fires to erupt because of
electric short circuits. Besides, there is talk that the fire did not start
owing to a short circuit, but because some highly inflammable powder
had been sprinkled in the area.” Haj Muhammad may not be sufficiently
well-informed, but his words reflect that misinformation has led to much
anger among those whose small businesses have been damaged.
Livelihoods dead
Omar Muhammad, owner of a tool shop, lamented: “The jobs here are
now dead; all the workers who worked here are facing a death sentence
to their livelihoods.” Muhammad told Watani that at least ten workers
worked at every shop earning their salary on a daily basis, but now they
have not even the money to go back to their home villages or towns.
“They have no other means; they will have to beg!” he exclaimed.
“A great part of Egypt’s informal economy has been destroyed by
the fires,” Attaba resident, Ibrahim Mustafa, said. The historic market
is home to hundreds of small industrial workshops, artisans, garment
depots, home, curtain and chandelier accessory stores, as well as street
vendors selling affordable clothes and trinkets.
This vibrant market is frequented daily by thousands of shoppers
seeking deals in retail goods and wholesale products.
“It is not reasonable that electric short circuits should cause two fires
in one week in the same region,” Hamed Attiya, another Attaba vendor
said. Mr Attiya was referring to a fire which erupted a week earlier in the
district of Sednaoui near Attaba.
The buildings in Attaba and the surrounding area are very old and
command very low rents. “Such successive fires,” Haj Mustafa said,
“make us believe it is the building owners that put them ablaze in order
to be granted license to demolish them and sell them at high prices or
build high rises that would pay them a good return on investment.”
“We have all been scorched”
Another fire broke out the night of Tuesday 9 May in the historical
Ghouriya district in Islamic Cairo, where many textile shops are located.
Some 25 garment and textile shops were destroyed. “We have all been
gone up in flames!” One trader lamented.
“My shop contained 400 rolls of cloth (40m for EGP30 a metre).
We traders pay our bills and taxes. We deserve compensation by the
government.”
The Ghouriya traders told Watani that fire-fighters showed up
immediately and competently quenched the flames.
“But the officials who came,” another trader said, “didn’t come to offer
any compensation for the losses, but came to blame the vendors and
shops owners.”
“Why the blame?” Watani asked. “To force the street vendors and
traders to leave the area so that it may be sold to foreign investors,” many
said. “But we are not moving out.”
Officials, however, commented that the allegation was absurd.
When Cairo governorate decided to evict the street vendors who had
occupied large swaths of the sidewalks of Downtown Cairo and become
the scourge of residents and pedestrians, the governorate was able to
evict them and, in many cases, established alternative markets. [http://
en.wataninet.com/features/one-day-markets-come-to-cairo/2989/] Why
would it now resort to the abominable move of setting the place on fire?
One elderly trader, who also incurred losses in the fire, sounded an
opinion which many do not yet find comforting, even if true. “I just want
to tell everyone who incurred losses on account of the massive fire, that
the loss of money or anything material is the least damage a man can
incur. As long we have escaped safe, with our health and skin intact, we
can start over again.”
2
Watani International
22 May 2016
In praise of Our Lady of Fatima
Sanaa’ Farouk
This month should see Christians the world over commemorate the first
of the three apparitions of the Holy Virgin to the three children, Lucia de
Jesus, aged 10, and her cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, aged 9 and 7,
in Fatima, Portugal, in 1917. The apparitions extended over the period from
13 May to 13 October 1917.
In Egypt, the primary scene of the annual celebration is the church of Our
Lady of Fatima in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis. The Chaldean Catholic
church which has stood there since 1951 has become a landmark of Heliopolis;
the area surrounding it is today famously denoted as “St Fatima”.
were made; one of these copies was sent to Egypt,” Msgr. Negm said. “My
predecessors told me that when the statue arrived to Cairo in the 1950s it
was given an official reception by representatives of the Egyptian State, who
escorted it to the church. There the Bishop installed it on a high pedestal
inside a side altar made of wrought iron in front of a splendid, starry-sky
background.”
The basilica’s stained glass windows depict scenes from the life of the
Holy Virgin during which she accompanied her son Jesus, as in the Nativity,
Crucifixion and Resurrection. The scenes of the stained glass can be seen
from inside the church in daytime and from outside in the evening when the
church is lit up.
Beautiful blue and white porcelain tiles representing the 14 Stations of
the Cross adorn the walls around the nave, and more tiles include verses
from the Holy Bible and famous citations. The tiles were custom made in
Portugal for the church in 1955, and they have kept their original colour
ever since.
The church features two very unique Byzantine icons. “I personally have
never seen anything like them,” Msgr. Negm said. “Usually, Byzantine
icons are painted on wood, but these icons are unique in that they are
painted on canvas. The first icon depicts the Dormition of the Holy Virgin
and the other depicts her standing with the Disciples during the Ascension
of Christ. The iconographer and the year in which they were written are
unknown, but we believe they are as old as the church.”
The Chaldeans
In the mid-19th century, mainly for economic reasons, many families
migrated from the Middle East and the Levant and settled in Egypt where
they found a mellow, welcoming climate and formed their own communities.
Among them were members of the Chaldean Catholic Church, originally
called the Church of Assyria and Mosul, which between 1553 and 1681
broke away from the Assyrian Church of the East and entered communion
with the Roman Catholic Church.
Members of the Chaldean Church trace their origins to ancient Assyria, a
region which now corresponds to northern Iraq, northeast Syria, northwest
Iran and southeast Turkey. The Chaldeans live mainly in Iraq, but now also
in the four corners of the world; their population is estimated to number
500,000. The current Patriarch of the Chaldean Catholic Church is Louis
Raphael I Sako, who was elected in Iraq in 2013.
In 1890, the community in Egypt expanded to include 150 families
with a population of about 600. The then Chaldean Patriarch appointed
Bishop Boutros Eid as the first Patriarchal Vicar in Egypt and pastor of the
congregation.
Over time the population grew in number but many members migrated
out of Egypt, so that the number today remains unchanged. The community
has included many members who rose to be prominent in Egypt, not least
among them was the widely-loved pioneer comedian Naguib al-Rihani
who in the 20th century spearheaded Egypt’s social comedy theatre.
Restoration
The Basilica garden contains a shrine for St Anthony of Padua, whose
feast is celebrated on 13 June each year. In front of the library is a statue of
the miracle of the apparition of the angel to the visionaries of Fatima, which
preceded the apparition of the Holy Virgin. Behind the altar on the garden
side is a shrine dedicated to three Chaldean Bishops who are buried in the
small crypt beneath the altar. They are Bishop Emmanuel Rassam, born in
Mosul, Iraq in 1891, and the first Patriarchal Vicar in Egypt from 1938 until
his death on 19 January 1964; Bishop Thomas Bidawid of Ahwaz in Iran,
who was born in Zakho, Iraq in 1910 and died in Cairo on 29 March 1970;
and Bishop Youssef Sarraf, born in Cairo in 1940, who was consecrated
Bishop of Cairo in 1984 and who left our world on 31 December 2009. Msgr.
Sarraf was a very popular bishop who faithfully served his congregation
and is credited with building a home for the elderly adjacent to the church.
Four years ago the church underwent restoration, in the major part for the
walls, the cupola, and the painting of the crucifix above the altar. Chaldean
inscriptions were added to the walls of the apse and new mosaics were
installed on which the Angelic Salutation (Hail Mary prayer) is written.
“As a Church in communion with the Roman Catholic Church, we give
special importance to the celebration of the Holy Virgin’s Assumption on
15 August,” Msgr. Negm said. “We also have monthly celebrations related
to the apparitions of Our Lady of Fatima from 13 May until 13 October
every year, since her Fatima to apparitions lasted during that period.
Granted the title ‘Basilica’
Watani met Msgr. Philippe Negm, Bishop and Patriarchal Vicar of the
Chaldean Catholic Eparchy of Cairo, to learn about the Chaldean Church
in Egypt and the Chaldean Basilica of Our Lady of Fatima, commonly
referred to as St Fatima’s Church, in al-Nozha Street, Heliopolis, Cairo.
According to Msgr. Negm, the first Chaldean Catholic church was built
in Egypt in 1891 in the Cairo neighbourhood of Faggala and was dedicated
to St Anthony the Great. The parcel of land on which it was built was
donated by a patron, Helana Abdel-Massih, who was of Iraqi descent.“The
church was built using donations from worshippers,” Msgr. Negm said.
“No official authority was ever involved with funding the construction of
the church.”
At the beginning of the 20th century, many members of the Chaldean
congregation moved to the new neighbourhood of Heliopolis. As the
Chaldean community in Heliopolis expanded, the need arose for a new
church to serve the thriving congregation. The foundations of the new
church were laid in 1950. Designed after European churches, the exterior
of the new church is faced in pink brick. Its high façade is graced by a
large statue of the Holy Virgin blessing passers-by. The Church was
consecrated in 1951 as Our Lady of Fatima by the late Patriarchal Vicar
Msgr. Emmanuel Rassam to honour the apparitions of the Holy Virgin in
the village of Fatima in Portugal in 1917; however, the name by which most
Egyptians refer to it is ‘St Fatima’. In 1994, the church was granted the
title of Minor Basilica by the late Pope John Paul II; a title usually given
to important churches and shrines. The official document issued by the
Vatican was brought over by the late Msgr. Youssef Sarraf and is kept at
the bishopric.
Statue from Portugal
“At the time of the Fatima apparitions the three visionaries gave a
description of the Holy Virgin, and based on this description a statue
was made in Portugal of Our Lady of Fatima. Subsequently a few copies
The 1917
Marian
apparition
at Fatima
For Christians and Muslims
Clockwise from above left: The crucifix before the altar; the church facade; statue of the
Holy Virgin; this year's celebration of St Fatima;
mosaic of typical Chaldean ornamentation;
Lebanese pop star Majida al-Roumi who is widely popular in Egypt, visited St Fatima's in
Cairo last week and sang a praise for the Virgin. She is here with Msgr. Negm
The official website of the Sanctuary of Fatima [http://www.
santuario-fatima.pt/portal/index.php?id=2634] cites the story of the
stunning 1917 Marian apparition:
On 13 May 1917, three children were pasturing their little flock in the
Cova da Iria, parish of Fatima, town of Vila Nova de Ourém. Today the
diocese of Leiria-Fatima. They were Lucia de Jesus, aged 10, and her
cousins Francisco and Jacinta Marto, aged 9 and 7.
About midday, after praying the Rosary, as was their custom, they
were amusing themselves building a little house of stones scattered
around the place where the Basilica now stands. Suddenly they
saw a brilliant light, and thinking it to be lightning, they decided to
go home. But as they went down the slope another flash lit up the
place, and they saw on the top of a holmoak (where the Chapel of
Apparitions now stands), “a Lady more brilliant than the sun”, from
whose hands hung a white rosary.
The Lady told the three little shepherds that it was necessary to pray
much, and she invited them to return to the Cova da Iria during five
consecutive months, on the 13th day at that hour. The children did so and
the 13th day of June, July, September and October, the Lady appeared
to them again and spoke to them in the Cova da Iria. On 19 August,
the apparition took place at Valinhos, about 500 meters from Aljustrel,
because on the 13th the children had been carried off by the local
Administrator to Vila Nova de Ourém.
In the last apparition, on October 13, with about 70,000 people
The church of St Fatima offers services not only to the Chaldean
community but also to all the Christians of Heliopolis; members of all
Christian denominations are always welcome to participate in all the church
activities. The adjacent building contains a seniors’ home in which high
quality service for the elderly is provided, as well as a bookshop which
sells religious books, candles and souvenirs. The church organises domestic
and foreign, religious and cultural trips, in addition to scouting and Sunday
School activities for young people.
Our Lady of Fatima is open daily from 8am until noon and from 5:30pm
until 7:30pm. The Rosary is prayed every day, and on the 13th of every
month, in addition to the Rosary, the Ladies’ Committee organises a special
prayer assembly in honour of the Holy Virgin.
St Fatima’s has become an important Marian shrine and is visited by both
Orthodox and Catholic believers, as well as by Muslims, who come to light
candles at Our Lady’s feet. Many visitors ask for the intercession of the Holy
Virgin, and when their wishes are granted they record their gratitude on the
ex-voto marble plaques that adorn the church walls.
present, the Lady said to them that she was the “Lady of the Rosary”
and that a chapel was to be built there in her honor. After the apparition
all present witnessed the miracle promised to the three children in
July and September: the sun, resembling a silver disc, could be gazed
at without difficulty and, whirling on itself like a wheel of fire, it
seemed about to fall upon the earth.
Afterwards, when Lucia was a Religious Sister of Saint Dorothy,
Our Lady appeared to her again in Spain (10 December 1925 and
15 February 1926, in the Convent of Pontevedra, and on the night of
1314/ June 1929, in the Convent of Tuy), requesting the devotion of the
five first Saturdays to pray the Rosary, meditate on the mysteries of
the Rosary, confess and receive Holy Communion, in reparation for
the sins committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the
Consecration of Russia to the same Immaculate Heart. This request
had been announced by the Apparition on 13 July 1917, in what is
called the “Secret of Fatima”.
Years later, Sr Lucia related that, between April and October of
1916, an Angel had appeared to the three seers on three occasions,
twice in the Cabeço and once at the well in the garden behind Lucia´s
house, who exhorted them to prayer and penance.
Since 1917 pilgrims have not ceased to come to the Cova da Iria in
thousands upon thousands from all parts of the world, at first on the
13th of each month, later during the summer and winter holidays, and
now more and more at weekends and any day all the year round.
Watani International editorial team: Dalia Victor, Donia Wagdy, Lydia Farid, Nivert Rizkallah, Sherine Nader
Copy editor: Jenny Jobbins