The Nile River – A Dumping Ground for Garbage

On June 12, 2010, a friend of mine called me and made some cynical remarks about my remarks on the Nile River in previous posts. He said, “Turn your computer on and read almasry-alyoum newspaper” (6/12/2010).

I complied and could not believe what I saw in the picture and what was written. The title of the article was “The Destruction of the Nile in Minia by Dumping 250,000 Tons of Garbage”. The picture was of big trucks emptying loads of garbage within a few feet from the water.

Local people living in villages across the Nile in Minia told the reporter Terreza Kamal that despite the presence of a factory that processes garbage in the area, it has been bypassed and the garbage was piled like a mountain instead. The reporter revealed that the garbage was removed from the West Bank of the Nile to the East Bank by an order from the governor of Minia to clean the area and covert the space into a public park and playground. It seems to me that the governor of Minia does not have the ability to see beyond his nose. Removing a huge pile of garbage from one side of the Nile to the other side is nothing but an act of stupidity. According to a report, the villagers have lost more than 40 feddan (acres) of good agricultural land along the bank of the Nile River, and in addition there is the terrible smell of the decaying garbage, which has caused some people to get sick. Furthermore, the garbage has blocked the road to go to Minia city. The villagers on the East Bank of the Nile asked why the garbage was not removed into the desert a few miles away. Government officials responded that the reason why that site was chosen is because it is a swamp land and needs to be filled so in the future it can be turned into a tourist attraction. In addition, approval of the site was given by the “Nile River Protection Commission”.

If the commission and/or those in charge have approved the site along the Nile River as a place to dump garbage, then these officials are unqualified to be in such positions. Just one simple fact among many is that the toxic effect of the garbage will fin d its way into the Nile River water. Those who made such a decision should be penalized with the severest punishment possible. After all, the Nile is the lifeline of Egypt and needs to be protected, regardless