News
MENAW: Impressions of Egypt
December 27, 2007, 10:14PM MT
By Sharon St. Joan
and the MENAW conference
and the MENAW conference
By Faith Maloney, Best Friends Animal Care Consultant
Cairo is a bustling city of 20 million people and I swear that most of them were driving around the roads during my visit there this December. Traffic is horrendous. The driving skill of the citizens is awesome. I saw only one minor accident while I was there involving a motorcycle. Sitting in the front seat of a cab felt a bit like being at a roller derby. Not only is traffic moving at high speed, but the people dash out into it with sharp eyes and remarkable deftness. No one seems to get hit.
It is a city of great extremes. The very wealthy live in huge apartment buildings over looking the Nile while the poor make do with homemade buildings made by recycling old bricks from the rubble that surrounds the city. Some poor people have taken up residence in the mausoleums known as the City of the Dead. It was strange to drive by and see satellite TV dishes atop the graves. Mona Kahlil, head of ESMA (Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals), and one of our gracious Egyptian hosts, told me there is a great competition to get a tomb space so it’s becoming more expensive to live there.
I was in Cairo to attend and do a presentation on Companion Animals at the Middle East Network for Animal Welfare Conference (MENAW), a groundbreaking event spearheaded by Ahmed El Sherbiny, an attorney and passionate animal welfare advocate. Ahmed, along with Rosemary Tylka and Robert Blumberg of ESAF (Egyptian Society of Animal Friends) put together a schedule which covered many aspects of animal welfare concerns in the Middle East and North Africa. One hundred people from 20 countries were there.
Setting the tone for the conference
Coming from a Western view point, it is immediately apparent that Islam permeates all parts of Egyptian society. The program began with a message from Dr Mohammed Sayed Tantawy from Al-Azhar Institute on Islam and Animals. It set the tone for conference. Several speakers addressed what it says in the Qur’an regarding animal slaughter for example. There are many scriptures entreating people to be humane with precise details on how to slaughter animals for food, but like in all places around the world what people actually do is often very different from what is talked about in the good book.
A few months earlier, Egypt was rocked by an expose of their slaughter practices by Animals Australia. The government of Australia banned all export of live sheep to Egypt as a result. This was clearly a sensitive subject at the conference. We were close to a major religious holiday known as Eid el Kebir. It begins on December 19th and runs for three days. It is celebrated in honor of the prophet Abraham when he intended to sacrifice his son Ismail as a proof of his loyalty to God. Eid el Kebir is when Muslims all over the world present an animal (usually a cow or a sheep) sacrifice as a gratitude action for God saving the Prophet Ismail's life.
On the streets of Cairo you could see clusters of sheep available for sale to citizens for this upcoming festival. I asked Amina Abaza from SPARE (Society for the Protection of Animal Rights in Egypt) when we were driving around Cairo, “If the sheep are not coming from Australia then where are they coming from now?” She listed off a lot of countries but I froze when she said Ireland and blanked out all of the rest. Being of Irish descent I was horrified to think that they were sending sheep to be brutally slaughtered by amateur butchers over this three day holiday.
Treatment of animals all over the Moslem world was featured in many of the conference presentations. I think everyone agreed that the teachings of Islam are humane but the practice can be very different. Dr. Mohammad Rashedul Alam, a veterinarian from Bangladesh had a series of graphic images of the reality of life in his country for food animals. I got to see some of this for myself when Mona Kahlil took Glenys Oogjes, Animals Australia’s executive director, and myself to see the slaughterhouse that was featured in the Australian expose. We found ourselves behind an open pick-up truck packed tightly with cows going to their fate. “This is good transport” said Mona. “I’ve seen others where they are just pilled up on top of each other.” It didn’t look that good to me, but I knew what she meant. It could have been worse.
In the west the reality of food animal slaughter is not as obvious. More animals are killed in the West to feed the appetite for meat, but here in Cairo the slaughterhouse is right in the center of town and seeing animals being driven to the gates is a common everyday occurrence.
Working for and with chickens, dogs, cats, donkeys…
John Callaghan, Director for Programs for CIWF (Compassion in World Farming) gave a voice for the tens of billions of chickens raised for meat and for eggs. He did not spare us the images of how life is for these birds during their short, brutal existence. Even in the West, chickens are not included in some of the slaughter practice reforms for other food animals, so this was not just how it is for these birds in developing countries. This is a world wide reality.
Stray dogs and cats are a problem in Egypt. And again religion becomes a factor in how these animals are treated. Most of have heard that Islam views dogs as impure. Ahmed El Sherbiny, a Moslem himself, told me that there are four interpretations of the teachings about dogs. Three uphold the concept of them as impure, but one of them doesn’t. In his work with dogs he reminds his fellow Muslims that they can choose to follow that interpretation and realize that dogs are God’s creatures and deserve respect. I still see it as somewhat of an uphill battle for all of our Muslim friends who are trying to improve the lives of dogs. Cats are viewed somewhat differently as the Prophet is known to have loved cats. But still stray and feral cats are a huge problem as they are in many countries around the world. I saw a lot of strays darting in and out of parked cars in Cairo and hunting for food on massive piles of garbage that dot the city.
Amina Abaza of SPARE, Mona Kahlil of ESMA and Ahmed El Sherbiny of ESAF work tirelessly to provide spay/neuter services for dogs and cats and all of them have clean, well run sanctuaries for abandoned cats and dogs. Amina also houses donkeys at her sanctuary. Donkeys are the work horse of rural and poor people. They take their chances on the highways too carrying huge loads and pulling carts at the same time.
A new nose guard for a donkey!
When I was driving around Cairo with Ahmed I was deeply touched when he stopped the car on a small side road beside a donkey cart. He reached into the trunk and pulled out a nose guard for the donkey. The donkey was bearing the weight of the cart and its load on a chain across the bridge of his nose. You could see the scars and raw patches on his face. He spoke gently to the donkey’s owner showing him how this nose band relives pain. Ahmed told me that he also quoted some scripture verses to the owner so that he would accept the advice more readily. He also handed him a picture only book on donkey care that he and Bob Blumberg had put together so that even people who could not read Arabic could understand the basics of care.
One of the main reasons for having the conference was to formulate a series of recommendations for the region. This has been done.
Meeting animal lovers from all over the Middle East, North Africa and many other countries was a privilege. Animal people are all the same. We all care what happens to them and we want to make life better for them.
Top photo: Sharon St Joan / Faith chats with Julie, a dedicated supporter of ESMA
Middle photo: Suzanne Cordrey / Faith with Ahmed El Sherbiny, the Director of ESAF, the society which hosted the conference
Last photo: Suzanne Cordrey / Ahmed El Sherbiny stops to help a donkey
How you can help
To find out more, please go to the MENAW website:
http://www.menaw.net/ngo.htm