"A very old country with a new life"

Egypt's recent revolution has plagued Cairo's Zabbaleen community and other marginalised groups with uncertainty about their place in a quickly-changing society. Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps

With all the excitement and newness surrounding Egypt’s January Revolution, it can be easy to forget that Egyptians have been working for change in their country for decades. I recently met Marie Assad, an Egyptian woman in her mid-80s who has been working to help her fellow Egyptians for more than 50 years.

When asked about her take on the revolution, Marie said, “Egypt is a very old country with a new life.”

Marie is a tiny woman with short, wavy white hair, but it would be a mistake to underestimate her contributions based on size. Marie was a member of Egypt’s female genital mutilation (FGM) task force in the 1980s and 1990s, which worked to decrease the prevalence of female circumcision in villages throughout Egypt. FGM is still a common occurrence in Egypt, although percentages have been reduced thanks to the efforts of Marie and many others.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak supported the FGM task force, which was a great boon for their efforts while he was in power. Now, Marie says there is some concern that FGM gains over the last 30 years will be lost because of the movement’s association with Mubarak, who resigned from the presidency in response to the revolution after 30 years in office.

Today, Marie works with the Association for the Protection of the Environment (A.P.E), which supports the Zabbaleen community Cassandra Nelson blogged about recently. A.P.E. promotes innovative recycling methods in Cairo, where nearly 20 million people live and produce tremendous amounts of rubbish. Currently, the Zabbaleen community is able to recycle and reuse about 85 percent of the rubbish they collect.

As a Christian community, the Zabbaleen are fearful of what types of change the revolution will bring. As a respected leader in the community, Marie says she’s spending a lot of time these days sifting through rumours of threats, trying to find kernels of truth amidst a lot of talk and fear.

Despite the uncertainty, Marie says she is optimistic about the future. She is already turning her efforts to focus on the things she says are needed to ensure the revolution is a success, including conflict management, economic development and increased access to education.