Shattered glass fills the streets of Cairo as pedestrians are forced to avoid army tanks that guard banks and government buildings vulnerable to looters. Banks are closed, making it difficult for Cairenes to get cash to buy staples. For those that have money, food prices are skyrocketing as consumers flood the few open stores.
Street demonstrations and night-time riots have left the Arab world's biggest city largely paralyzed, as protester fill the city's main square and looters and neighborhood groups armed with clubs take over at night. "We have to protect our homes and children at night from the looters and in the morning we have to go to work," said Saed Ragab, a café owner from Cairo's Bab El Louq area. "The shops are at a standstill. It's very difficult." Protesters are gathering in the city for an eighth day. Today's march is aimed at drawing a million people onto the streets and forcing President Hosni Mubarak from power after 30 years. The military promised not to fire on marchers and said it recognized "the legitimacy of the people's demands."
At the same time, citizens are trying to continue their lives as best they can, faced with inflated prices since the protests started escalating on Jan. 28. Pricier Bread "Since Friday everything started to be expensive," said Om Massad, a door lady handling deliveries in Bab el Louq, who said 5 piester bread is not available anymore and 50 piester bread has jumped in price to 60 piesters. One Egyptian pound is made up of 100 piesters, or about 17 U.S. cents. "Shops are taking advantage of these conditions," she said.
Shelves at many of Cairo's supermarkets are emptying quickly with businesses failing to keep up with demand as panicked shoppers seek to stockpile in the event of further unrest. Carrefour SA has closed all seven of its Egyptian stores after looting at an outlet in a Cairo suburb, a spokesman for the company said today. Tourists are abandoning the country. TUI Travel Plc, Europe's largest tour operator, said about 40 percent of planned departures from Germany to Egypt were changed or annulled yesterday after it let vacationers cancel their bookings or change destinations without paying a penalty.
Street demonstrations and night-time riots have left the Arab world's biggest city largely paralyzed, as protester fill the city's main square and looters and neighborhood groups armed with clubs take over at night. "We have to protect our homes and children at night from the looters and in the morning we have to go to work," said Saed Ragab, a café owner from Cairo's Bab El Louq area. "The shops are at a standstill. It's very difficult." Protesters are gathering in the city for an eighth day. Today's march is aimed at drawing a million people onto the streets and forcing President Hosni Mubarak from power after 30 years. The military promised not to fire on marchers and said it recognized "the legitimacy of the people's demands."
At the same time, citizens are trying to continue their lives as best they can, faced with inflated prices since the protests started escalating on Jan. 28. Pricier Bread "Since Friday everything started to be expensive," said Om Massad, a door lady handling deliveries in Bab el Louq, who said 5 piester bread is not available anymore and 50 piester bread has jumped in price to 60 piesters. One Egyptian pound is made up of 100 piesters, or about 17 U.S. cents. "Shops are taking advantage of these conditions," she said.
Shelves at many of Cairo's supermarkets are emptying quickly with businesses failing to keep up with demand as panicked shoppers seek to stockpile in the event of further unrest. Carrefour SA has closed all seven of its Egyptian stores after looting at an outlet in a Cairo suburb, a spokesman for the company said today. Tourists are abandoning the country. TUI Travel Plc, Europe's largest tour operator, said about 40 percent of planned departures from Germany to Egypt were changed or annulled yesterday after it let vacationers cancel their bookings or change destinations without paying a penalty.
- Sent using Google Toolbar
No comments:
Post a Comment