(no subject)
in cairo we went to a village of copts. there is this Thing that was afoot there for a long time, where the garbage collectors, many of whom are copts, were recycling 80% of all cairo's material - through old-fashioned sifting. when mubarak privatised the waste disposal services egypt's recycling rate got a lot less impressive. anyway, some of them still do it, as a means of income. when we drove in i was overcome with self-loathing for being there - it looked like the most hardcore poverty i'd ever seen. people were literally living in garbage. encased in the middle of the shit is a huge church complex, with two churches carved into mountains - one open-air, the other in a giant cave. beautiful & intricate, enormous statues are carved into the rock face. a pristine oasis amongst the shit.
anyway, after we'd walked outside into the shit, we looked up & began to realise that the apartments were actually nice enough - not posh, but comfortable. the children were clean, & that people were smiling at us.
anyway, after we'd walked outside into the shit, we looked up & began to realise that the apartments were actually nice enough - not posh, but comfortable. the children were clean, & that people were smiling at us.