Devastation in Doweika

Yesterday morn a huge portion of a cliff collapsed in the area of Cairo where we work, crushing buildings and people. So far the death count is around 31 officially but I'm sure it will be much much higher. Sadly, the emergency response has been incredibly slow.



My colleague Ahmad and I went yesterday with friends - one of whom is a doctor - but there was little we could do except talk with people and say prayers...

There was heavy machinery lined up along the main street but it was unable to get through to the boulders as a huge retaining wall (12 feet high and ten feet wide) blocked the site. When we left around 4pm the emergency response team had just started to tear it down. Thankfully this was completed by the time we returned the next day, (see photo below) however even after the machinery could get through we saw little progress on the boulders (no machines in active duty at 9:40am and only one at noon).

One of the most upsetting things about this incident was that it was riot police that were the first on the scene, as opposed to emergency responders. Indeed many news articles have criticized the Egyptian government for its response (see the NYtimes and the UN news service among others). There continue to be truckloads of police both at the bottom by the disaster scene and up top, while progress in removing debris continues to be painstakingly slow. Granted, the boulders are enormous, and even with the equipment at the scene rescuers face many obstacles. But time is ticking... the longer people are buried, the slimmer their chances of survival. Many feel the government could be doing more, and a lot more quickly!

The whole community is impacted by this cliff collapse as the one road into Doweika is closed and may remain so in the coming days. And, the longer this continues, the more this will affect the economy of the whole community: the flow of goods has been completely disturbed, transportation limited, and many who work in the automotive repair industry - which relies on customers to bring their vehicles there for servicing - will be temporarily unemployed. In a community where many live hand to mouth this has wide-ranging impacts. And it's Ramadan... a holy month of fasting and festivities.

What about all of the people that are now homeless (if they have survived the collapse or were somehow away from home)... What are the government's responsibilities to them? It has been suggested that the government had done a study on the geographic hazards in the area, but that the people were not aware of which areas were most 'at risk'. There is some government housing under construction in the area already... will this go to people affected by the cliff collapse? There seems to be growing internal and external pressure for the government to find solutions. Why is it that the poor suffer so much? In a situation like this how can one respond with compassion in ways that support the resilience of the community in their struggle for freedom.

Thankfully there are some teams of volunteers - like those from the Association for the Protection of the Environment... But coordination continues to be a challenge. Ongoing thoughts and prayers are appreciated.