Baksheesh

The Arabist has been run by freelance journalists since 2003 as a labor of love. We don't make much from ads, so please contribute to keep this site going.

Search


Your Middle East is a digital newspaper about the Middle East for the web, iPad and iPhone.


Get Arabist contributor Ashraf Khalil's new book!

Social

Subscribe

Get Arabist via email: 

The Arabist Podcast
Sponsored Links

UK City Guides

        Enquira Local 


For low prices on Las Vegas Show Tickets shop ShowTickets.com for your upcoming Las Vegas trip.

Partners

 

Powered by Squarespace
« Lazoughly Protest | Main | Who wants to be an Egyptian Chalabi? »
10:40PM

More candidates for the presidency

I have a bizarre love for American small town newspaper articles. Anyone who regularly types "Egypt" in Google News will come across thee latest Little League results for New Egypt, NJ, which I never fail to read if only for their Capraesque take on American life. Today, it's Elk Grove Times of Illinois that reports on yet another candidate for the Egyptian presidency:

Even though he's running for president of Egypt, Hoffman Estates writer Aladdin Elaasar does not consider himself political.


"My life is an open book. I just like to talk about people's issues," Elaasar said. "If there is someone who can provide services better, then they should. It's not partisan, it's not religious, it's just about public service."


And public service, Elaasar says, is what Egypt desperately needs. The country suffers from high rates of poverty, inequality, illiteracy, human rights violations and unemployment. The country's infrastructure and public transportation are falling apart, and it's polluted.


"People say there is a black cloud over Cairo," Elaasar said. "The city of Cairo is literally choking."


It's interesting what the Egyptian expat community is doing, but meanwhile, back home there are more candidates coming out of the woodworks, including a nephew of Anwar Al Sadat. Looks like he has his uncle's sense of panache.

Reader Comments (1)

credit report

Please check some relevant pages about california mortgage cash advance

Jul 11, 2005 at 4:38 AM | Unregistered Commentercredit report

PostPost a New Comment

Enter your information below to add a new comment.

My response is on my own website »
Author Email (optional):
Author URL (optional):
Post:
 
Some HTML allowed: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <code> <em> <i> <strike> <strong>