From Pride to Prejudice: How Egyptian Identity Politics Sculpted the World’s Largest Garbage City through Ethnoreligious Divisions, 1940-1970s
by Arthanious Shafik
Site Description:
Mansheyet Nasser is a district of Cairo, Egypt. Cairo is one of the largest metropolises in the middle east. Known as the “Garbage City” and its people as the “garbage people” or “Zabbaleen”, it is largely a slum settlement whose economy is based upon recycling the tremendous trash produced throughout Egypt. “Zabbaleen” historically consists of indigenous Egyptians that are an ethnoreligious minority that faced heightened systemic persecution and discrimination which rose during the divisive rise of nationalism in Egypt’s post-colonial era. How did the once wealthy Egyptians with a rich history become Zabbaleen? And how does the rise of nationalism and the result of polar extremist ideologies exacerbate environmental and health disparities? What are the human right implications and how, if at all, have local and international law changed to address these issues during this time period? These answers will shed light on the dangerous consequences of extreme political nationalism in perpetuating systemic injustice wherever minority communities exist.
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Primary Sources:
Title: “Belatedly, Egypt Spots Flaws in Wiping Out Pigs” published by The New York Times (NYT) on 09/19/2009, written by Michael Slackman.
Location: NYT – Africa Articles. Interviews based in Cairo, Egypt.
Description: Containing interviews from Egyptian government officials, advisors, and local Zabaleen, this piece demonstrates how discriminatory policies caused environmental catastrophe with bleak hope for change. When trash piles up in Cairo following the order to cull the pigs of the Zabaleen, the government finally admits to negligence. Community leaders of the Zabaleen voice their frustration with the government continuing to ignore their critical recycling role and refusing to offer any assistance.
Title: Marina of the Zabbaleen, Documentary Film by Engi Wassef and Blue Nile Productions (2009)
*Non-narrative video shows first-person perspective and lived experiences of Marina
Location: Available for purchase (DVD) at: https://www.orthodoxbookstore.org/products/marina-of-the-zabbaleen. IMDB page: https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1057535/.
Description: This documentary focuses on the story of a 7-year-old girl who lives in the Zabaleen community, and her family consisting of her brother and parents. The silent (non-narrative) aspects of the film candidly follow the life of this child. Through these clips, one explores the inequality and horrid conditions this family faces and how they remain hopeful through faith and persistence. It also discusses the increased risk of disease Zabaleen faces due to their living conditions.
Title: Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UHDR) – ratified by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1948
Location: United Nations online archive of resolutions.
Description: This document, signed by Egypt, expresses fundamental human rights as they pertain to international law. By refusing to recognize the recycling sector of the Zabaleen, Egyptian policies are at odds with Article 21 Section 2 regarding equal access to public services, Article 23 Section 1 on the right to work as well as Section 3 regarding remuneration worthy of human dignity, and Article 25 Section 1 regarding the right to a standard of living to protect health. This will be contrasted with first-hand accounts and image evidence showing the Zabaleen living in squalor and at disproportionate risk of life-threatening diseases.
Title: Law No.38 of 1967 General Public Cleaning. (Official Egyptian Legislation containing 12 articles on the management of solid waste)
Link: https://faolex.fao.org/docs/pdf/egy152515.pdf.
Location: Document archive of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOLEX Number LEX-FAOC152515)
Description: This government document attacks the informal sector of waste management that began to rise in Cairo in the 1940s with the development of the Zabaleen. It prohibits the placement of solid wastes except in designated areas. It outlines that garbage disposal services must be done by contractors licensed by the government, among other provisions that conflict with the Zabaleen way of life. Since the establishment of this law in 1967, the government has not taken any executive function to enforce the flagrant violations by the Zabaleen community, rather allowing them to continue to operate under the table. This shows how the government hypocritically refuses to recognize or work with the Zabaleen officially but effectively allows their continued operation.
Title: Rocks of Faith, a video interview by Saint Saaman the Tanner Monastery of the Garbage Collectors Area, published on May 16, 2011.
Link: https://youtu.be/JMUGNGuLpsk?si=X7aiqIzRuG4zAQSu.
Location: YouTube channel of Father Samaan Ibrahim.
Description: Father Samaan, the official local Coptic priest of the Zabaleen provides his insight on the early establishment of his community. He describes his congregation’s poverty and conflict in their relationship with the government. He also explains his role as an official advocate and mediator on behalf of all the Zabaleen with the Egyptian government as they attempted to disperse the community. This highlights the adversarial relationship with larger society and government as well as the persistence of the community. The plight of the Zabaleen embodies that of Copts at large since the Arab conquest of Egypt; an uphill battle.
Primary Source Analysis
“Belatedly, Egypt Spots Flaws in Wiping Out Pigs”
This New York Times article explores the fallout of an executive order by the Egyptian government to cull the pigs of the Zabaleen following the H1N1 scare. Slackman visits Cairo where he interviews government officials, an economist, and the leader of a grassroots advocacy organization for the Zabaleen. Slackman also provides context regarding the initial pushback to the executive order to cull the pigs of the Zabaleen and how the community is trying to recover with no government assistance. My analysis of this article is that the government actively persecutes Copts, this persecution raises doubts about the Egyptian economy, and this persecution increases environmental pollution.
Some might argue that the executive order to cull the pigs of the Zabaleen, while retrospectively a mistake, was made in an attempt to slow the spread of H1N1 and was therefore not a direct prejudice against the Coptic community. This rationalization cannot stand, because Slackman documents “… health officials worldwide said that the virus was not being passed by pigs…” yet the government’s response was to double down, now arguing they wish to clean the “… zabaleen’s crowded, filthy, neighborhood”. Copts have a monopoly on the pig farming and composting sector because Muslims believe that pigs are unclean. Therefore, when the government argues that the pigs must be killed because they are filthy, the discussion no longer is about H1N1, but how Islamic beliefs must be imposed on a subjugated Christian community. This evident form of political persecution further damages Egypt’s economic outlook.
Galal Amin, an economist, hypothesized that this action was a result of a “… weak government that is anxious to please somebody”. His analysis of the Egyptian government as “weak” is significant, as it exposes a lack of confidence in the state’s ability to navigate crisis. Amin affirms that his experience with Cairo becoming overwhelmed with trash piling in the streets is a serious issue, acknowledging both the damage to the Zabaleen and the larger surrounding Cairo community. The pessimistic diction used by Amin showcases how distrust in the Egyptian government due to discriminatory policies raises economic concerns.
The testimonies of Amin also depict an environmental disaster unfolding in Cairo due to the buildup of uncollected trash. This is corroborated by the testimony of Moussa Rateb, a former garbage collector, when he said “Everything used to go to the pigs, now there are no pigs, so it goes to the administration”. Moussa clearly assigns blame to the discriminatory order by the government administration to cull the pigs as the reason for the increase in pollution, citing the pigs vital role in establishing environmental sustainability. The testimonies of global health officials, Galal Amin, and Moussa Rateb depict systemic religious persecution, lowered economic confidence, and increased environmental pollution.
Secondary Sources:
Fahmi, Wael, and Keith Sutton. “Cairo’s Contested Garbage: Sustainable Solid Waste Management and the Zabaleen’s Right to the City.” Sustainability 2, no. 6 (June 2010): 1765–83. https://doi.org/10.3390/su2061765.
This paper navigates the convoluted political environment of Cairo’s garbage city, detailing efforts by the government to deal with public waste. While the city remains a model for being among the greenest recycling operations globally, the government has shied away from providing any official support and has taken steps which the local populous report undercut their livelihood. Instead of investing in operations which are already existing in order to improve quality of life and efficiency, the government has provided funds to several multinational corporations to engage in recycling efforts. While their impact remains relatively small, the people see this as the government slowly trying to decimate their jobs and ultimately drive the Copts from the city.
Soth, Amelia. “Cairo’s Zabbaleen and Secret Life of Trash.” JSTOR Daily, November 30, 2022. https://daily.jstor.org/cairos-zabbaleen-and-secret-life-of-trash/.
This article exposes social and environmental aspects of the Zabbaleen’s work, as well as the similarities and differences between them and other individual recyclers around the world. It gives insight not only to the dramatic living conditions but also to the scale of the environmental challenge posed in this specific area of Egypt compared to anywhere else in the world. The unique situation of the Zabbaleen as outlined in this article might be open to special humanitarian and universal law considerations. Further, it sheds light on how the government has historically approached the Zabbaleen with hostility and threatened their livelihood and identity.
Pruitt, Jennifer. “The Miracle of Muqattam: Moving a Mountain to Build a Church in Fatimid Egypt,” 277–90, 2014. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004280229_017.
This paper discusses the rich history of Coptic heritage in Manshiyat Naser, specifically it being the location of a dramatic miracle that occurred in the middle ages. According to tradition, the Islamic Caliph ruling over Egypt gave Pope Abraham an ultimatum: to prove the Bible verse that faith as a mustard seed would move a mountain or face persecution in 3 days. In a public event, Mokattam mountain, which is in Manshiyat Naser, was moved miraculously. The caliph resigned from his post and quietly converted to Christianity, living the rest of his life in self-imposed exile in a monastery. The Coptic people commemorate this miracle annually and its story remains a relevant factor in understanding the tense relationship between Copts in Egypt and the governing authorities. The paper further describes how a massive church was built here in the 1970s as the Coptic community of Manshiyat Naser began to grow exponentially.
Knowledge at Wharton. “Waste Not: Egypt’s ‘Garbage People’ Seek Formal Recognition.” Accessed February 18, 2024. https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/waste-not-egypts-garbage-people-seek-formal-recognition/.
This article discusses how lack of official government recognition is hurting the ability of the Zabbaleen to grow economically. The government’s total lack of economic support shows by the fact that over 90% of investment comes from NGOs. The people of Manshiyat Naser remain discriminated against even in occupations that deal with garbage recycling.
Slackman, Michael. “Belatedly, Egypt Spots Flaws in Wiping Out Pigs – The New York Times.” The New York Times, September 19, 2009. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/world/africa/20cairo.html.
This article describes the detrimental effects on the Christian community after the government hastily decided to kill all pigs. Masked under concern of the spreading H1N1 virus, the Egyptian government decided that they would kill all pigs owned in Christian communities. Officially, laws also exist banning the growing of pigs for food. The pigs served as an essential part of Cairo’s recycling infrastructure and a source of food for the Christian recyclers. This not only devastated the recycling community, but also led to buildups of trash throughout Cairo.
Image Analysis:
Fernando Moleres. 2011. “Zabbaleen men have their lunch at a rubbish storage area in the Mokattam neighbourhood of Cairo.” The Zabbaleen are a minority Coptic religious community who have served as Cairo’s informal rubbish collectors for the past 70 to 80 years. They recycle 80% of the waste they collect. https://library-artstor-org.proxy.libraries.rutgers.edu/asset/APANOSIG_10313572917.
This photo depicts two male garbage collectors (known as Zabaleen) as they sit down for lunch surrounded by garbage being stored within feet of them. Taken by Fernando Moleres, a Barcelona-based photographer, he captures how this Christian indigenous ethnoreligious community lives in the suburb of Cairo known as Manshiyat Nasser. As of 2011 when this photo was captured, the community has been collecting garbage throughout the metropolitan area for around seventy to eighty years as informal workers that their city has become dependent on for recycling. The lack of government recognition or support means that these Zabaleen have to make do with extremely few resources to eke out a living. The absence of formal infrastructure, This image shows the influence of systemic pressures in concentrating poverty and pollution on ethnoreligious minorities and the determination of these communities to persevere through the absence of formal infrastructure, beaten bodily appearance, and facial expressions.
The giant bulbous protruding sacks of garbage cause the men to appear ant-sized in comparison. Notably absent are industrial waste collection infrastructure – large metal garbage bins and waste storehouses that are protected from the elements. Acknowledging these limitations, the Zabaleen appear to fulfill their roles with a certain level of respect and care. These large plastic sacks are neatly tied and stacked – and the fact that these men feel comfortable eating so close to this garbage suggests trust in the level of care with its storage. Despite these great communal efforts, some trash will slip through the cracks, as shown by the litter on the floor that flanks the men on both sides. It is an expression that a community can only accomplish so much when it remains marginalized. The dirt streets symbolize another manner in which this community is neglected. The covered-up car indicates that there is a demand for motorized transportation in the community and that it is parked on what is considered a street, but there is no proper road infrastructure in place. This lack of proper facilities or government assistance means that much of the Zabaleen’s trash has to be stored in the streets or even in their homes. Being physically surrounded by waste with no refuge even during meals can have disastrous health consequences.
One possible example of this is the lump of skin seen protruding from the right cheek of the older man on the left, despite the camera being so far away. This mass could be indicative of little to no access to proper healthcare. The man on the right also carries a physical scar with half of his left middle finger being amputated. This demonstrates the duality of the dangerous nature of this work and the persistence in adversity, as the man has both his arm and pants sleeves rolled up; indicating he is working despite his injuries. These health conditions serve to exacerbate the state of poverty these men are captured to be in. The older man is eating just a meager meal with half a slice of pita bread. The clothes of the men are also dirty, tattered, and appear oversized. The man on the left is notably wearing two different sandals of opposite colors, which means that he might have only been able to afford to wear what he has found in the garbage. His staff also is haphazardly assembled with four wrappings of duck tape to keep it together. The table is full of scuffs and dark discoloration which alludes to the fact that it might also have been another man’s trash. The man on the right has both his arm and pant sleeves neatly rolled up, indicating discomfort with the heat and his clothing. The exposed left leg of the man on the right reveals what are either splotches of dirt or cuts and bruises. Either way, the discoloration of this man’s leg has not been attended to, likely due to a lack of access to healthcare.
Despite their horrendous conditions, these men do not appear to be hopeless or defeated. The man on the right takes an interest in the camera, staring straight at it while maintaining his composure. The other man looks off in front of him while sitting upright, seemingly uninterested. These postures exude a kind of self-made dignity. The photographer, who is a foreigner, would immediately stick out in the community. Despite their conditions, these men appear to make no effort to attempt to gain the photographer’s attention or ask for charity. While both men appear to be advanced in age, it is difficult to estimate the age of the man on the right, as the many wrinkles in his face contrast with his dark mustache and hair that has only begun to gray. This face appears to be battled hardened and worn through.
Systemic pressures like the lack of proper recycling and road infrastructure leave the Zabaleen disadvantaged in having to make their best use of communal resources at the expense of their environment’s cleanliness. The battered appearance of the men, including the makeshift cane in lieu of adequate medical devices, indicate the lack of healthcare or social programs which perpetuate a scene of extreme poverty among these minorities. Yet, the profoundness of this photo lies in the facial expressions of the two men. The dominating presence of both men exuding a sense of dignity and pride is evidence of a larger passion for perseverance despite the situation. Thus the Zabaleen’s Coptic community stands as a quintessential example of resilience and resistance among hard-working, indigenous ethnoreligious minorities facing oppression through environmental pollution and poverty.
