Middle East Focus: Egypt’s Environmental Crisis: The Swine Strike Back, or Revenge of the Pigs……...

Arabia Deserta

Egypt’s Environmental Crisis: The Swine Strike Back, or Revenge of the Pigs……...

“The crisis exploded 25 days ago, after foreign companies that clean the capital went on strike. But the problem seems larger than a strike or work stoppage. The general in charge of “Cleaning Cairo’ blames 60% of the problem on residents and restaurants throwing their trash into the streets…….Garbage collectors used to utilize the rich organic matter to feed the pigs. After the onset of the Swine Flu, Egypt declared war on pigs, and many were slaughtered, and these people lost their source of income, and now have no need for the organic matter; hence the streets of Cairo are full of garbage……Cairo garbage is among the richest and most expensive in the world, and contains matter that can be used for several industries…..the pigs consumed about 55% of the organic matter in the garbage…….”

Egyptian officials like us to believe that the country is now free of pigs (four-legged variety). I have my doubts, given the level of competence of the Egyptian military. I suspect many of the littler swine of the Nile have gone into hiding, perhaps bundled and sent on rafts down the Nile, while the armies of Pharaoh search for them. I suspect that out of about half a million pigs (officials claimed there were a quarter of a million), perhaps less than one half of the total were liquidated.
Speaking of pigs, presidential succession, bequeathing the country to the son, and all that…...
Cheers and Ramadan Kareem
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