A few minutes before the breaking of the fast, volunteers from the El-Amana organization were busy making sure everything was ready. In an alleyway in Faisal, a working-class district of Giza, Cairo's neighboring city, they had lined up four large tables covered with plastic tablecloths. Beneath the frills of the colorful garlands strung overhead, some 60 women, men and children awaited the call to prayer to begin iftar, the fast-breaking meal.
During Ramadan, dozens of communal tables of this kind sprout up all over this district not far from the pyramids, a maze of narrow streets overlooked by tall, densely populated buildings. Nicknamed "Mawa'id el-Rahman" (charity tables), these banquets serving free meals to residents in need, often funded by charities, benefactor neighbors or local dignitaries, are an Egyptian tradition.
That evening, outside El-Amana, every chair was taken. "Normally, we always have leftover meals, which we distribute elsewhere in the neighborhood. But the number of recipients has skyrocketed. The 130 meals we prepare a day are no longer enough. People are getting poorer," said a volunteer from the organization, who wanted to remain anonymous.
Four days before the start of Ramadan on Sunday, March 10, the Egyptian authorities announced the implementation of a floating exchange rate to comply with International Monetary Fund (IMF) demands, resulting in a historic devaluation of the Egyptian pound. In an instant, the national currency lost nearly 60% of its value against the dollar.
The measure followed months of liquidity crisis, marked by the emergence of a black market. During this period, the Egyptian pound steadily depreciated until it reached a rate of 70 pounds to the dollar in January. This collapse resulted in prices rising to record levels. In February, inflation stood at 36% according to CAPMAS, the national statistics institute, primarily affecting the price of basic food items, which exploded by 70% in one year.
In recent weeks, in an unexpected rescue operation, the Egyptian regime has signed successive historic financial agreements with the United Arab Emirates ($35 billion), the IMF ($8 billion) and the European Union (€7.4 billion). While these announcements have brightened the outlook for the Egyptian economy, giving the state budget some breathing space, the promised cash has not yet trickled down to Egyptians' pockets.
"These agreements have sent out a positive message, restoring some confidence at the macroeconomic level. But, for the moment, their effects have yet to be felt in concrete terms. We still don't know what impact they will have on inflation. What is certain is that prices are not going to fall back, but perhaps rise at a slower rate," said economist Amr Adly, a professor at the American University in Cairo.
You have 57.27% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.