CAIRO, 21 February 2011 (IRIN): Many people in Egypt have been directly or indirectly affected by 17 days of street protests which ended on 11 February with the toppling of President Hosni Mubarak.
Up to 365 civilians and 32 police were killed and 5.500 civilians and 1.000 police injured, according to government data.
“We urge the authorities to investigate the extent and incidents of violence including as a result of excessive (umådeholden) use of force by security officials, officials who ordered the use of live ammunition, and acts of violence between the pro- and anti-government protesters,” said a 17 February statement by experts.
They includeUN Rapporteur on Summary or Arbitrary Executions Christof Heyns; UN Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression Frank La Rue; and Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention El Hadji Malick Sow.
Among the dead, according to the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), were 13 children.
– All reported deaths and injuries, particularly of children, as well as reports of children being paid to participate in counter-demonstrations and… being detained should be thoroughly investigated, and children’s rights fully protected, said UNICEF Representative Philippe Duamelle.
The agency has since launched a psycho-social programme to help affected children. – Children need help to come to terms with the violence and feeling of insecurity they have seen or experienced, Duamelle said.
Out of work
Many casual workers have been left high and dry (tomhændede), especially in the construction and tourism sectors.
– How can I feed my family without work? In the past, work used to come and go, but now it never comes, said Rifaat Abdullah, a 43-year-old father of four and construction worker.
According to the state-run Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), the construction sector was hardest hit: Some 90 percent of workers were left without work during and immediately after the protests as construction ground to a halt.
Abdullah, who used to come to the square in the crowded residential district of Faisal in Giza, and usually get hired for the day by a contractor, has found it impossible to get work now.
– I am tired of waiting. I thought of doing another job, but recession seems to be hitting everything in this country, Abdullah told IRIN
Kareem Mohamed, a 24-year-old father of one who used to hire out his horse to tourists at the Giza pyramids, a major attraction, said the site was deserted.
– I depend on the flow of tourists to this area to feed my family. But I have not seen tourists for about a month now, Mohamed said.
According to former Egyptian Vice-President Omar Suleiman, 1,1 million tourists left Egypt in the first nine days of the uprising. But the 17 February CAPMAS report said around 210.000 left during the last week of January. “Tourist expenditure declined 178 million US dollar during this week,” it noted.
Some hotels have been forced to send employees on unpaid leave.
Health care
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