خصخصة رملة بولاق - The privatisation of ramlet bulaq

(Shouting) Amr is dead He's dead Amr is dead So the people he's calling thugs, why did he hire them? During the revolution, he asked them to help protect the hotel They were guarding the hotel, and being payed a monthly salary and now he's betrayed them. Because of money. Because one person went to collect his dues and they wouldn't pay. That's the root of the problem, and a police officer shot him in the back. He shot him in the back. He was parking his motorcycle in front of the hotel, and the security got into a fight with him. The security dealt with him in an insulting way, swore at him, and so he went to the entrance An officer with the Tourism Police came out and dealt with him in the same fashion and shot him. That's what happened. We went out to claim his body and they shot at us with the deputy sheriff of Bulaq standing right there We were asleep and then found them storming our homes with automatic weapons In the middle of the night, where's the sanctity of the home? What if we weren't dressed or something? What does it mean when you, the government, come in and attack houses at five in the morning, without a warrant, without respecting the fact that there are women in the houses, breaking down every single door, one by one, without exception? Not a house spared. The television was right here, they smashed it and trashed everything. They broke into my brother's lockbox here and stole 500 pounds from it. It was here, they smashed the lock, threw our clothes all over and messed up everything. We can't relax a bit, we've got no idea what to do or where to go My father's an old man, ask anyone if you want, and they hit him and kept slapping him. They were stomping on him and then they threw me up against the wall The officer, one with a mask like this with just his eyes showing, shoved me and scraped my elbow here. From all the tear gas my daughter practically had a heart attack. The tear gas made our eyes burn, we kept trying to run from it and they just fired even more We were hiding in the housing blocks behind the neighbourhood because of our eyes. After the fire happened, my son went down to them and said enough, spare us, people and children are asphyxiating. He was asking them to show mercy and they handled him roughly and arrested him even though he was already hurt His brother came after them saying he's got burns on his arms, we've got no part in this, and they took the both of them They were surrounding the neighborhood trying to drive off the vandals My brother went to try to get my son back from the police and they took him, my sons, and everyone else People were rioting and setting things on fire and we were trying to protect the cars where they were I came back and was told that they'd broken down the door, beaten my father and arrested my brother I found everything thrown to the ground, everything turned upside down. I'd only just finished fixing up the apartment two days ago The officer stole 3000 pounds, 500 out of my wallet, and a mobile phone I went to go speak with him and he grabbed me and threatened to kill me. I told the head of investigations that two of his detectives had stolen money from under our mattress What are they looking for, why would they be searching a teapot? They're not looking for weapons or criminals or anything like that What exactly do you hope to find in a teapot? He dragged me out of bed in front of my own mother, my siblings, and my father I asked him can I bring my wallet or my ID card and he wouldn't stop. He put me in the car and drove us to the station; we sat for four hours in a packed truck with no air, maybe fifty of us We were pouring sweat, the car was filling up with sweat it was so bad So a police officer comes and breaks down the door, I ask him if I can bring my ID with me, and he says 'No, you'll come as you are' He told me your name will be enough. Because I've been vocal about the land grab happening here. There's the problem, they're forcing incredibly poor people to sell against their will, or the police will come and arrest your children. One of two options: you'll sell or you'll be jailed That's what Naguib [Sawiris] offered: will you sell or go to jail? When the privatization wave happened in 1996, Alaa Mubarak came with Naguib Sawiris, and just picked out exactly the site that they wanted The whole ten acres of Ramlet Boluaq So he's tried to buy out the land from its original owners so no developer can beat him to it There were some charitable people who were going to help us bring water and sanitary sewer into the neighborhood But Naguib Sawiris' people prevented any utilities from entering, they said that they'd bought the whole area from the original owners, and it won't do to bring in any infrastructure because in any case we're going to take it. No drainage, no sanitary sewers, no dignity in living. On this side you've got projects with sewers, and on the other you've got the fanciest hotel in Egypt and here in the middle I've got nothing. What a failure of the nation, and right here in the capitol. Just count the hoses These hoses supply the whole neighborhood? Yes, one hose per street We're all suscribed to this one hose here for our water Privatisation came and ruined us. Capitalism hasn't worked for us, Socialism didn't work for us - what's supposed to work out for this country? How are we to live? Here's what Capitalism has done for us. Can you see all that we've gotten from capitalism? Here's the work of the developers and businessmen that the nation's been cheering on to develop on our land I'm saying that this man didn't pay anyone for a house that he was going to buy unless the owner demolished his own home at his own expense They had to level it themselves, and only then would he pay them anything. Other than that, he wouldn't pay a cent He takes a plot here, leaves another there, etc. He's got a leg in one place and another elsewhere, just like Israel in Palestine and I'm telling him now, Naguib Sawiris, we'll not give up an inch of this land to you. So when they drive us out where are they going to put us? Will they throw us into the street? (We'll develop it, we wont sell) Why wouldn't they give us some space, some housing, some money, then we could leave and take our children who don't deserve any of this, and he can keep the thugs he's got outside! Here's the picture of one of the people they've arrested and called a thug. Does this look like a thug to you? Is this what a thug looks like? Look. We're good people, working people Here's my employee ID at Orascom [owned by the Sawiris family] They're harassing us, trying to harass us At this point, just choose: either finish us off or let us improve the neighborhood No more, no less. Everyone comes, says a couple words, and does nothing. Nobody will stand with us, we need someone to stand with us He's just looking to steal the land. Just go away, I don't want you here. Leave me alone. If you think the view of the neighborhood doesn't please you, well I don't like it either but I'll be the one to improve it I've not wanted to improve it because I've been afraid that today I fix it up and tomorrow they demolish it. They'll demolish it by force, whether you like it or not Subtitles by the Amara.org community