In the turmoil, Egyptians' daily lives get complicated (News Feature)

By Nehal El-Sherif Feb 2, 2011, 16:13 GMT

Cairo - Life in Egypt over the past few decades has at times been hard, but while many people were poor, the country was stable and Egyptians' sense of humour, famous in the region, always helped keep spirits up.

Events of the past days have thrown Egyptians into a tailspin. With about half of the country's 80 million people below the age of 35, most do not recall the bread riots of the 1970s, the last time real unrest hit Cairo's streets.

When mother-of-four Manal Farouq went out to buy food on Wednesday, just before protests turned violent throughout the city, she was happy to find that prices had gone down after a sharp rise in basic goods over the previous days.

'The prices of fruits and vegetables are now going back to what they were before Tuesday,' said a relieved Farouq, as she walked in a small open-air market, not far from Tahrir square, the epicentre of unrest.

She was referring to Tuesday, January 25, when the first anti- government protesters took to the streets, setting off what has turn out to be nine days of unrest, and counting.

The poverty rate reached 23.4 per cent in 2009, up from 20 per cent the previous year, according to the most recent government figures. Unofficial estimates say the rate is really much higher.

With many people forced to spend most of their income on food, volatility and spikes in prices are scary. In 2008, there were sporadic incidents of violence in the country when global commodity prices soared.

Food prices skyrocketed on Friday when a nighttime curfew was first imposed in Egypt, forcing Farouq to buy only basic food items.

Traders sold tomatoes, a mainstay in the local diet, for 5 Egyptian pounds (0.85 dollar) per kilogram over the weekend, up from just 1.5 pounds beforehand.

'I think some shops are taking advantage and are trying to profit from the situation by spiking prices,' said Farouq. Good naturedly, however, she recognised that shopkeepers were also losing money due to the unrest and had to raise prices to cover their losses.

Anti-government street demonstrations and night-time threats from looters have left Cairo largely in limbo. Banks were still closed as of Wednesday and getting cash was difficult. Many businesses remained shut, including pharmacies. The port in Alexandria had to close.

Fitch Ratings changed the outlook for the credit rating of Egypt from Stable to Negative, and Moody's downgraded the country by one notch from Ba1 to Ba2 with outlook Negative.

Also, the cost of insuring against Egypt's debt rose and several ratings agencies also downgraded five banks in the country.

Egypt's main index fell 17 per cent last week and the exchange was closed all this week. When trading resumes, further losses were expected, and researchers at Credit Suisse Private Banking have warned of short-term risks for the emerging markets in the region.

But the concerns of high finance were far from the mind of Gamal Mahmoud, 55, who has a fruit stand in downtown. He lost desperately needed income because of the curfew, but shrugged off the hardship, calmly insisting, 'everything is fine.'

While many people see the protests as chance for democratic and economic reforms in the country, the short-term effect is rough.

Tourism is a vital source of income for many, and thousands of foreigners have left the country, while many who have considered a holiday in the land of the Pharaohs are now thinking twice. Experts warn the industry could take a big hit.

For some, a return to stability in the country was beginning to trump the desire for political change.

'Yes, we wanted him (President Hosny Mubarak) to leave, but he deserves to do it with dignity,' said Lobna Galal, who was out with her parents buying food in Cairo.

'He deserves dignity and we deserve to feel safe and secure,' she said.

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