Al Beit beitak ?

In the aftermath of Duweiqa, that cost 107 people their lives, the BBC offers us a glimpse at the same problem from another angle, were we get to follow two youngish couples, Hazem and Shaimaa and Ashraf and Rabab on their make or break day when they will compete against each other for the key to their future.

A serious social problem that changes society forever makes a good TV-game show?

This is Doqou el- Mazaher(Start the Bridal Music), the new show of Mahmoud Saad, famous TV-personality from al Beit Beitak. In a way it´s reality-TV, comming to Egypt, but the problem is that one of the couples will walk away with the keys to married life, a family and soon children , in short the Egyptian fairytale beginning of.... And they lived happily ever after...

The other couple will go back, not to their home, but to their parents constant nagging about why your fiancé is not doing so and so ,and their engagement is more likely to break up, than not.

On the other hand you have couples who never gets the chance to go on a TV-show, they live the reality day in day out, and it´s not bright.

What is needed is a sustainable plan that offers affordable housing in high numbers over 20 years , something that has been a scarcity since the late sixties. The problem should be solved by the government and private business in concert, not apartments thrown at people, desperate for an adult life and a family until network ratings, or another idea comes along, and closes down the show. TV´s role in society is not to do charity in the first place, TV should be about education and information and of course entertainment, but to dwell on others missery is not good television, some might argue that this is the ultimate infotainment, but trust me, the only ones who are not aware of the harsh reality on the ground in Egypt, are those who chose to look away, and they are not the ones who need an apartment, blinded by their lifestyle they already live in gated communities, like Qatemiyya Hights and set their eyes firmly on what to wear in Marina next summer.

al Beit beitak? Hard luck, don´t think so!

You can view the clip that goes with the article above, new policy from the BBC dosent alow me to embed the clip, so here is the link.

Building collapses in Mansoura, killing at least 5

A building in the Nile Delta City of Mansoura collapsed yesterday evening. Five people have been reported dead, and five more are injured according to the official Egyptian news agency Mena. Among the dead was two seven year old twins.It was an old three-storey building.

The collapsing of buildings happens all too often in Egypt.Many are the examples were an extra storey or two has been added without the approval of the authourities, this going on for years sometimes before it´s discovered, or in cases like this with a fatal outcome.

In 1996 new legilation was introduced to counter this problem , but little if any has changed. The most recent installment of this tragic saga, prior to yesterday´s episode was in Alexandria in December 2007, when 35 people lost their lives.

UPDATE: There seem to have been an order issued 32 years ago, in 1976, to tear down the third storey on Beduih Street but it was not followed through upon.

It also emerged that an order had been issued 32 years ago to restore the house and pull down the third floor, but this was never done

Here´s a TV-clip about it.