Women Only Buses To Launch

Say what you want about this move, whether it shows a lack of moral ethics or what have you in the society, I think this is actually a positive change in Egypt to at least give women the opportunity to travel with the worry of being groped - one major reason I avoid microbuses (well that and their erratic driving :p)

Source.


Egypt's moderate Islamist party has introduced a transportation facility only for women to curb sexual harassment.

Still in the experimental phase, the idea has been implemented in two areas in the city, Gulf News reports.

The microbus called 'transportation that respects women' picks up female students from in front of Cairo University and women from the corner of Abbas Al Aqqad Street, in the upper-middle class neighbourhood of Nasr City.

The strong Egypt party founder Fatma Badr who has taken the initiative of launching a safe transportation means for women, said that female commuters find it very difficult to travel safely, while making way into the crowd to find vacant seats, adding that the microbus will provide for a respectable and safe transportation service for women.

A government study at Cairo and Monufiya universities have shown that about 68 percent of the women have been subjected to physical and verbal harassment.

According to the report, while Egypt's first women-only taxi service that had started in July 2011 was welcomed by some, others said that this service encouraged more discrimination against women and proved them to be 'second-class citizens'.

The report further said that some women activists and university students have accepted and appreciated the female taxi service, where the taxi is driven by female drivers and caters to only the female commuters, who would otherwise find it very difficult to travel by a traditional private taxi.

While the female taxi service has proved to be a success in a number of Arab countries such as Tunisia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Lebanon, some women's groups, feel that the idea of women-only transport would bring about gender segregation.

The head of the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights, Nehad Aboul Komsan has strongly criticized the women-only transport service concept, stating that the 'moving cages for women' would marginalize women in the patriarchal society and would prove to be detrimental to Egyptian women's progress so far in the position they have been striving to achieve, the report added.

Born of the Pyramids, Rocky's Story

As followers of my blog are already well aware, I was heavily invested in animal and equine charities throughout much of my time in Egypt. While in Hurghada I was privileged enough to meet one of the most incredible horses that I have ever met. His courage was completely unparalleled, and he touched the lives of many people. 

Unfortunately Rocky fell victim to gravely unfortunate circumstances and human neglect. His passing impacted me more than I realised at the time, and I immediately made the decision last summer to immortalize his story. In doing so, I hoped to be able to effect change in the equine community in Egypt. Although there are a great deal of animal charities that are working in the area, so few are able to actually tell the situation as it really is for many animals, as it's impossible to try and document that for everyone. 

I took the liberty myself, and in doing so "Born of the Pyramids, Rocky's Story" was born. Told through the perspective of Rocky, I delve into the hidden aspects of the life of working equines in Egypt, both the good and the bad. A common misunderstanding is that it is sheer cruelty and neglect that cause much of the suffering caused by the equines, but this could not be further from the truth for certain individuals. I leave no stone un-turned in my attempt to expose just this, all told through the eyes of the incredible Rocky. 

For every copy of the book that is sold, I will be donating a percentage of the proceeds towards animal charities that strive to make a difference in the life of working animals in Egypt. I am hoping that the book really takes off and that Rocky's legacy will end up helping other equines in unfortunate situations in the country. 

Available online through Kindle and Smashwords, share this story far and wide and give the equines of Egypt a voice that can finally be heard! 

Authorities to Consider Ending Inhumane Animal Control Practices

If only this were the first time they were to say this. I believe since I started actively paying attention, this must be the third time that putting an end to the shooting and poisoning campaigns have been 'mulled over,' with the Government saying they will initiate TNR programmes. The end result is activists get really excited, then there's a mass poisoning campaign, which is blamed on "individuals" and not the government, and so the cycle continues. One can hope however, no animal deserves to die the inhumane and cruel death that ingesting strychinine causes.

Source

The General Authority for Veterinary Services is considering putting an end to its practice of poisoning and shooting stray dogs, and instead adopting sterilization as a method of reducing their rate of reproduction, as recommended by the World Organization for Animal Health.

The Agriculture Ministry has so far impeded efforts to adopt castration as a form of population control, as it claims it is too expensive to implement, with a cost of over LE200 per dog, ministry officials said.

The state currently either shoots stray dogs or poisons them with strychnine, a drug that has been banned internationally. Human organizations have long objected to these practices, as well as the government’s failure to control the amount of garbage in the streets, which also leads to a higher presence of street animals.

Official sources estimate that there are more than 1 million stray dogs in Egypt, concentrated in the informal areas of Cairo and Giza as well as the areas around the Manzala, Burullos, Edco and Mariot lakes

The cost of poison to kill the animals as well as anti-rabies vaccines for humans represents a state expenditure of over LE100 million per year, sources say.

Dina Zulfikar, an animal rights activist, said that the General Authority for Veterinary Services has held three meetings to discuss adopting the sterilization method of population control, which they hope to launch in May of next year in Cairo and Giza with the help of around 100 veterinarians, activists and authority staff.

Egypt court orders release of Mubarak in killing protesters case

Words fail me. The only possible positive that may come out of this, and I say this extremely sardonically, is that Mubarak can come back to "save" Egypt. Probably his plan all along. From Ahram Online.

A court has ordered the release without bail of former president Hosni Mubarak over charges of complicity in the killing of protesters during Egypt's revolution.

The decision came after defence lawyer Fareed El-Dib submitted a memorandum stating his client had already spent two years in provisional detention, which is the maximum allowed under Article 143 of the criminal procedures law.

The prosecution agreed with El-Dib's argument, saying there is no need to keep Mubarak in detention.

The judge said Mubarak could go home so long as he is not wanted for other crimes. However, he will remain in prison pending investigations into separate corruption cases.

Last June, Mubarak received a life sentence for failing to protect peaceful protesters during the January 25 Revolution, but in January was granted a retrial due to procedural irregularities in the initial trial.

Hosni Mubarak was arrested on 12 April 2011.

On 7 April, Prosecutor-General Talaat Abdullah announced Mubarak would be detained for an additional 15 days pending investigations into new charges related to the illegal use of state funds.

The judge overseeing the retrial recused himself on Saturday and referred the case to the Cairo Appeal Court. The new date of the retrial is still unknown.

Also facing retrial for their role in the killing of protesters during the revolution are former interior minister Habib El-Adly, and six of his aides.

Since his detention in April 2011, the ousted president has complained of health problems and has been moved back and forth from the hospital at Tora Prison to Maadi Military Hospital.

On Saturday, Prosecutor-General Abdullah requested that Maadi Military Hospital transfer Mubarak back to Tora Prison hospital if his health permits.

Egypt Unbound the Book!

A while back I was contacted by bloggingbooks.de about the possibility of turning Egypt Unbound into a book. To begin with I was quite hesitant, as I wasn't sure if it was something that would pique people's interest, or even where to begin! Fortunately I received a great deal of support from my editor Adrian in helping me pick and choose what to compile into the book, and the final process of creating the manuscript.

The end result, after many months of back and forth and fine-tuning is Egypt Unbound, the book version! It presents a compilation of a variety of different blogs from over the years, never before seen pictures and stories, all compiled into 5 neat chapters. It ranges from recipes (of course) to my experiences in the Egypt Revolution, and offers an unparalleled look into my life and experiences in Egypt. I'm so happy to be able to have reached this stage, and cannot wait to hold the physical book in my hand :D

So check out Egypt Unbound, the book version, available now through More Books and pick up your copy today!

Jon Stewart on Bassem Youssef

I know, I'm late to the party, but I haven't had time to stop all week. Most everyone in Egypt has heard of  Bassem Youssef, I remember telling K's family he's the "Egyptian Jon Stewart" when I first saw his show a few months ago. In the past week this comparison has been splashed all over the media as the MB have once again made the world go "wtf" when issuing an arrest warrant for Youssef on charges of "offending Islam and the president." Welcome to Egypt's interpretation of Democratic freedom of speech :p

One of the best things that came out of this debacle was Jon Stewart's defense of Bassem Youssef, and his scathing critique of Mr. Morsi. Find the video below, as I know a lot of sites that had it in Egypt had the link removed. So here you go :)

Even better was the Egyptian government's response to Jon Stewart's show. I wonder does Jon know they've issued an arrest warrant for him? 

Bringing Your Dog From a Non-EU Country to the UK

Many ex-pats when living abroad will frequently find themselves in a situation where they have acquired a pet, most commonly a dog or a cat. K and I got Orien not long after moving to Hurghada, and after 4 years of having him he is certainly part of the family. We meant it when saying "you now have a forever home."

With this in mind, when our plans started to gravitate towards moving out of Egypt, I knew getting Orien ready to travel (to a destination initially undecided) was a priority. I started the long and arduous process of searching online to find a simple and straightforward 1,2,3 type steps of "this is what you need to do." What I found instead is a myriad of sites that all hold snippets of information, making it almost impossible to figure everything out withiout some help.

That's what this blog is intended to do. Having just gone through the process of bringing Orien from Egypt to the UK, I have compiled a list of steps that you need to follow to get your best friend ready to travel. Be warned however, this process can take up to 6 months, so you will want to start planning in advance to make sure that you have everything ready for your furry friend. Throughout the blog you'll find websites hyperlinked where you can get further information - and then you'll be able to see just how many sites I had to go through to get this whole process figured out.

Blood Test Result

1. The first, and absolutely most important part of this entire process, is to get your pet microchipped. The microchip must be according to EU standards. On Defra's site, they tell you "We do not specify a particular type or brand of microchip to be used but, in Europe, ISO (International Standards Organisation) Standard microchips meeting specifications 11784 or Annex A of ISO Standard 11785 are generally used." O.o What that means in laymen terms, is that the chip must be readable by an internationally standardized chip reader. Basically, the chip has to be all numbers. If your chip has a letter in it, ask your vet for an ISO standard chip. If you are in the US these can be more difficult to come by, but you can order them online from the UK. 
2. The next very important step is to make sure your pet is vaccinated against rabies. THIS HAS TO HAPPEN AFTER THE CHIP IS INSERTED OR YOUR BLOOD RESULTS WILL BE INVALID. You will then have to wait 30 days before you can have the animal's blood drawn for a titre test to make sure the antibodies are there. [Please note, if you reside in one of these countries outside of the EU, you do not have to get a blood test done and can proceed directly to step 6, however as I came from Egypt, this is a basic guide for those coming outside of these approved countries] The rabies injection information needs to be put into your pet's passport along with microchip number and other injection information. It does not matter if it is not an EU issued pet passport (although it does make the process easier). 
3. Once you have waited 30 days, your pet needs to have their blood work tested in a DEFRA approved lab. There are 2 listed on their website in the UK. When I first saw this I panicked, as Orien's blood work was done in Germany. Not to worry, here is the listing of DEFRA approved labs in the EU, and here is the listing of those outside the EU. To read more information about how this process came about, you can read through this site. Ask your vet what lab they intend to send your pet's blood work to before you bother sending it and finding out it's not an approved lab. The results can take up to 2 months to return, especially if you're working with the bureaucratic system that was in Egypt!
   
   
4. When your blood results come back, they should indicate your pet has a volume equal or greater to 0.5 IU/ml and again in laymen's terms, this is indicative of your dog having sufficient antibodies to protect against Rabies. If the animal doesn't, you have two options. Wait a few weeks (or until after the next rabies injection) to blood test again, or you can travel to the UK and your animal will go into quarantine. It currently stands at a minimum of 3 months as they will have to test your dogs blood, and it carries a hefty fee, depending on the size of your dog. Orien is 26 kg, and we were quoted 30 GBP a day. So I recommend you wait if the blood results are off! 
5. Having received your blood results back, you now have to wait a minimum of 3 months to travel to the UK. There's little else you can do in the meantime, as most airlines will not allow you to book farther than 2 weeks in advance. So rest assured if you have the blood back, you can wait patiently until you decide to travel. 
6. Once you get closer to the time where you will begin to sort out your animal's airline travel, you next  eed to arrange for a crate. If you know you have a nervous dog, try to get the crate in advance to give the animal time to get used to it. We bought Orien's crate 2 months in advance, so by the time he was ready to fly it was no big deal for him. There are very specific restrictions on what kind of crate is appropriate for traveling. Most will request an IATA approved travel crate. It has to be fully ventilated on all sides, your animal must be able to turn around freely in the crate. Check here and here for information on how to measure your pet for a crate. 
   
   



We used a crate similar to this for Orien. If your crate has wheels attached,
you WILL have to remove them prior to your pet traveling.

7. As your departure date nears, you have to decide what airline to use. Some will offer different prices, others will be more expensive, at the end of the day it's all your preference. Only requirement is that it meets DEFRA requirements on travel company. Click here if you are planning to fly, and here if you are planning to travel by air or sea. Again for the purpose of this blog I flew Orien, so I will continue giving information for that route. Some airlines will want additional paperwork other than what I have already noted, so phone in advance and check. For your records, neither British Airways nor Egypt Air require additional paperwork. 
8. You'll notice if you check Egypt Air's website that it states: Weight of animals and their containers should not exceed 5 kgs. The dimensions of container are not to exceed 45x35x20 cms, Passengers must provide these container. I read that and thought "Crap, Orien is far heavier than that. But not surprisingly with Egypt Air, this information is incorrect. It should be that animals up to 5 kg are allowed in the cabin. All other animals will be checked as cargo. NOWHERE on Egypt Air's site does it state this, but trust me it is an option. 
9. If you have all your airline quotes ready and you're confident in the decision, now comes the rush and stressful last minute details. I highly recommend getting an agent to help you with the Egypt side of things, as specifically to travel from Egypt you require a certificate of health for your dog from the Department of Agriculture, stating your dog is fit to travel. Unless you want to try and deal with the stress of this yourself, it's best to get an agent. We used Safwat Lawendy, who made the entire process seamless and facilitated getting all the last minute paperwork. Find his email address here.
10. Your dog needs to receive tapeworm treatment no more than 5 days prior to travel, no less than 24 hours prior to travel. Your vet should be able to administer this, and it MUST be added onto the certificate of health AND your pet passport that your animal was given the tapeworm treatment. Should you want an approved list of tapeworm treatment for travel please email me and I will be happy to provide you with the full PDF listing. 
11. The next step is a cargo company in the UK. Regardless of whether you plan to travel with your animal or not, you will need a cargo company in the UK to receive your pet and help clear it through customs. We flew through Heathrow, so please use this information accordingly. 
12.  The Cargo Company will send you, as the owner, a C5 form to fill out. This is crucial to fill out as it is the customs form for your animal. If you are flying with the dog, you can ignore the sections on who is picking the dog up, as it's all your own information. If you plan to travel ahead of your animal, the cargo company will require three things from you: A copy of your passport, a copy of your UK address / contact information, and an EMAIL / Letter from Egypt and the pet's sender to you, clarifying that they will be sending the dog to you. Again, Safwat here will take care of these details. If you try to speak to Egypt Air yourself, they will tell you that you need a telegram sent from the UK verifying you can collect the dog. And good luck trying to find somewhere that offers that service still!
13. Once you've sent off your C5 form, the animals certificates are in order, and your travel day approaches, there are a few things you will need to know. From Egypt, your animal will have to arrive to the airport 5 - 6 hours prior to the flight. Make sure you DO NOT feed them before travel. Your crate must have water for the animal. Orien was sent with his blanket, but you should NOT be sending toys as they can possibly choke while in the flight. It is important to remember your animal will be alone during the flight, so it is YOUR responsibility as the owner to ensure they have nothing to potentially harm themselves with. 
14. I cannot stress this enough, your animal CANNOT be sedated. Recent studies have shown that a vast majority of animal travel related deaths are the result of sedation. When the flight reaches altitude the animal's blood pressure drops. If they are already sedated and have a lower blood pressure, this can lead to cardiac arrest. As mentioned above, your animal is alone, so please do NOT sedate! If you know that your animal will be nervous, you can use a herbal relaxant such as Valerian root.  Click here for more information on why you should not sedate.
15. Depending on what airport you are arriving to, you will need a cargo company at your destination airport to clear your animal through customs. Again, this applies even if you are flying with your pet. We used Ladyhaye International Pet Travel Agent, and I was more than happy with their service. All you have to send them is your completed C5 and a copy of your ID, and they sort out all the customs for your pet. Through Heathrow, your animal will go through the Animal Reception Centre (ARC), and it can take up to 5 hours for the animal to clear through customs. Bear in mind that along with the time of your animals flight, they also have to arrive early and are picked up late. So it's important to remember to give them some water to travel :) However at the ARC in Heathrow, your dog / cat will be allowed out, fed, watered, and vet checked. 
16. If you've made it this far, pick up your pooch! Remember to bring a copy of your passport / ID with you, and to tackle any unforeseen problems, copies of all your pooches' paperwork. I was a little worried about Orien settling in, but fortunately after about 3 days he was doing really well. One week later, and he's in the routine and more than happy! 

And now for the part that I know a lot of people will be wondering. When it comes to cost, it will depend on the size of your animal (the cost goes by the size of your crate plus an approximation of your dogs size). However in addition to the cost of your dog, the following fees may apply:

In Egypt: (AWB = Air Way Bill, your pet's ticket)

If you want to multiply the cost of your dogs crate, you can do it yourself using the following calcultion. For the sake of this example, I am using figures for one medium crate (medium breed dogs such as a collie, etc). Sizes are in centimetres and include length, height and width. 

You multiply the 3 sides of your crate, then dividing by 6000 = your chargeable weight

1 - 96 x 60 x 75 = 432000. Divide by 6000 =  72 kg

• 72 kg x 36.30 EGP = 2613.6 noted on the AWB (this cost varies depending on the size of your crate)
• Other charges due air line 195.90 noted on the AWB (standard cost)
• Storage fees = 175.00  (standard cost)
• Official health cert + EU health certificate = 475.00 (standard cost)
• Export & vet control + customs form = 350.00 (standard cost)
• Clearance fees (if you are using an agent such as Safwat) = 1000.00 (standard cost)

Total cost in Egypt would be: 4809.50 [Egyptian Pounds]

Then once you get to Heathrow you will have more charges to pay depending again on what cargo company you will use. Some of the fees are Heathrow STANDARD, but they will vary depending on when you are flying. If you plan to arrive on the weekend, a surcharge of 175 GBP flat is included. Otherwise during the week, expect to pay an addition 300 - 400 GBP. 

** These fees are standard, and  may change at any time. Please check before flying. **

Fortunately, if you have multiple dogs to travel, you will only pay an additional 50 GBP per dog (up to 5 dogs) in Heathrow. For the Egypt fees however, I am unsure. 

For anyone flying with their furry friend, I wish you all the success. Breathe, relax, and know the people handling your animals are all trained professionals!

Orien enjoying his new home!

Please note, this blog is based on my own personal experiences and knowing how hard it is to find one concrete webpage with all the information. At the end of the day it is always your responsibility as the owner to ensure you are fully familiarized with all requirements.