THE LOCAL NEWSPAPER reprinted an article by Jeffrey Fleishman which
originally appeared in the "Los Angeles Times" regarding Mohamed Sadek,
also known as Felfel, who has worked as a waiter at Cairo's "Cafe Riche"
since 1943. He began his career there as a 13-year-old newly arrived
in Cairo from the Sudan. The quite interesting account details how the
"Cafe Riche" was a meeting place for prominent figures in Egyptian
history, including Nasser and Mubarak. But, among these interesting
facts, one little item about Felfel himself caught my attention: "The
downtown Cairo designed to resemble Europe slipped into disrepair and
the poor built brick shacks on the desert outskirts. Felfel raised his
children, four daughters and two sons. One year replacing the next."
How
on earth could a simple waiter scrape together the money to have and
raise six children? It seems fantastic now. But, then, I can recall
back in the late 1950s when a young man could graduate from high school
and , having no other training, go into a factory and earn enough money
to have a family, buy a house, all the while that his wife stayed at
home. Such an accomplishment is impossible now even for the typical
college graduate. It makes one wonder how we measure standards of
living. Even more questionable becomes the placid assumption that
today's living standards are across the board higher than were those of
fifty years ago. Now, even in Egypt, such a life as that led by Felfel
is impossible. We read that the unrest against Mubarak was triggered by
unemployed young college graduates. People run faster and faster, but
do not even stay in the same place.
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