Testimony of A Witness to Doweiqa Calamity

Member of Muslim Brotherhood Parliamentary Bloc and Assayeda Zainab Member of Parliament Adel Hamed, who put himself in charge of serving Al Doweeqa residents, has been interviewed by Ikhwanweb to shed light on the latest news of the miserable scene.

It is well known that you watch over Doweeqa catastrophe although it is out of your constituency

Hamed: Indeed, the constituency of Mansheyet Nasser is affiliated to the ex-Minister of Housing and the National Democratic Party MP Mohamed Ibrahim Suleiman and the NDP MP Heidar Baghdadi. And there was no MB candidate there in elections 2005, but MB has a strong presence in this constituency and the surrounding ones.

Is your advancement considered a kind of embarrassment for the NDP, which is always accused of being the original cause of catastrophes in Egypt?

Hamed: Once we knew about the incident, we proceeded for the sake of God; it is an obligation by our religion towards the people oppressed by the government, which allows people to reveal and criticize its mismanagement. Moreover it does not reflect the people or their aspirations, and so we have a clear vision of reform, facing corruption and despotism and supporting these people, from which we will never go astray whatever the injustice directed to us in the Muslim Brotherhood, represented by 88 MPs – despite the vote rigging and security brutality practiced by the government.

How did Muslim Brotherhood MPs deal with the rockslide crisis?

Hamed: Primarily, we do not act individually, but in an institutional framework. Once I knew about this catastrophe, I contacted the prime deputy of the MB parliamentary bloc Hussein Ibrahim for coordination and consultation.

A group was formed of MB MPs including Adel Hamed, Essam Mukhtar, Gamal Hanafy and Yousri Bayoumi, generating an operation room for the field follow-up. We divided the work into two teams; one of them is to be at Zainhom district”s mortuary and the other is among people at Doweiqa. I led the first team from the mortuary to receive the corpses, helping their families terminating the procedures of prosecutors and burial permits.

We provided coffins, someone to give bathes to dead victims and vehicles to transport them to their cemeteries. For example, we provided a van to transport a whole dead family (8 members) to their cemetery at Al Fayoum, in addition to providing cemeteries for those who do not have or could not afford.

We illuminated the surrounding area of the mortuary which was dominated by darkness at sunset and we used loudspeakers for informing and noting the families of victims, we tried to calm them especially after the harassment of officers and their attempt to get people away from the mortuary.

The second team was at Doweiqa accompanied by MPs Essam Mukhtar, Gamal Hanafy and Yousri Bayoumi and they participated in helping the people and the rescue teams to catch victims (wounded and martyrs) from under rocks using simple tools as axes.

Another team was formed for distributing Iftar (fast breaking) meals and juices on the affected families and workers. The team made communications with the mortuary to inform their families with the latest news; besides, they aware people psychologically, educationally and humanly to contain their shocks.  

But the parliament was very quiet; it just held a meeting to discuss the matter.

Hamed: This is one of the defects of the parliamentary vacation, which lasts for months, permitting only vital questions and other parliamentary tools are then paralyzed such as queries and urgent statements. However, the MB parliamentary movement was intense and we called for referring those responsible to trial. We attended the urgent meeting of Housing and Local Administration Committees; we strongly discussed the slums crisis and the government’s failure in dealing with crises. We also stressed on opposing the idea of collective graves, which the government intended to make.

We will never stop our parliamentary efforts, despite the Egyptian government indifference, which never puts any guilty executive on trial, although all the disasters that occurred recently in Egypt could destroy whole regimes in civilized countries, not just a government.

Some people say you usually react after the incident takes place, where were your parliamentary movements before?

Hamed: This is absolutely not true. Most of our parliamentary tools reveal that since we have entered the parliament, we warned of the slums crises explosion and no one listened to us. The government of businessmen –which never values the Egyptian people and it acts carelessly until we mourn the ruin- acted then with apathy.

As for my constituency (Assayeda Zainab), when the catastrophe of Qal’et Al Kabsh district occurred last year, I submitted urgent statements and queries to the Prime Minister and Minster of Local Development to prove the danger of slums all the way through Egypt and how to handle it. But the government did not discuss that file because it is unable to respond.

I still insist they are to blame for founding these slums because they were not suddenly founded and the government never gives citizens their rights in housing.

Mass media presented other political movements’ interactions with the incident; do you think they ignore the MB role on purpose?

Hamed: The government and the regime insist on excluding all except the NDP from appearing in media and the press since the disaster to publicize for the NDP, although they are the ones responsible for aggravating the crisis. The people’s reply for a government delegation visit was throwing stones over them.

The media is obliged not to present MBs except within certain limits, according to certain accounts.

Are you satisfied with what the MB parliamentary bloc provided for this crisis?

Hamed: We thank God that we provided all we could, but if those in charge act wisely, we would have greater and none stop efforts without prevention by state security or others.

How could you describe the state security way of treatment with Doweiqa residents?

Hamed: The state security uses indiscriminate methods of treatment which are the easiest. They assail people without mercy or awareness and exacerbate any crisis, which shows the government failure and the absence of vision in problem solving.

How do you perceive the intent of the government to convert Doweiqa district to a mass grave?

Hamed: Government always chooses the easy solution, but we will continue facing that, in the parliament and in public, even if digging with our own hands.

How do you identify the frequency of calamities on Egyptians?

Hamed: They remind me with carelessness and corruption of the government, and I feel that conditions in Egypt are deteriorating everyday by this government and its ruling regime.

When will these disasters stop?

Hamed: It will never stop except with the end of this regime and its government, which led the Egyptian people to lose their dignity, made them suffer poverty and oppression and restricted their freedoms.