Ramadan Lantern Means Business for Jobless Egyptians

By Hamdy Al-Husseini, IOL Correspondent

CAIRO, October 8, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) – The holy fasting month of Ramadan does not only usher in spiritual peace and religious milieu to the Egyptians, but it also provides career opportunities for the unemployed.

Jobless Egyptian youths, failing to get either government or private-sector jobs, opt for selling Ramadan lantern, one of the Egyptian legacy landmarks.

Ahmad, a young man from the southern city of Asiut, stands near a box showcasing Chinese-made lanterns in downtown Cairo with a number of would-be buyers swarming around his goods.

"I graduated from the faculty of commerce in 2003, and my hopes to get a government job were dashed at the rock of nepotism," he told IslamOnline.net.

"The private sector was no better. They exploit the towering unemployment rates in the country to offer low salaries, knowing that supply is higher than demand," he lamented.

Ahmed found lantern sale in Ramadan a relatively good business to eke out a living.

"I borrowed some money from friend and bought a large number of Chinese-made low-priced lanterns from a wholesaler," he added.

In Ramadan, people in Egypt find it part of their culture to buy lanterns for their children, a custom that was introduced to the Egyptian society by the Fatimids more than a thousand years ago.

Egyptian-made

Saeed, a commerce institute graduate in the Delta city of Mansoura, has been jobless since his graduation in 2001.

"I have been searching for a job to provide for my family ever since, but to no avail," he told IOL.

"I traveled to Libya where I worked in home designing and managed to save some good money to start a business in Cairo."

After his return, Saeed decided to start the Ramadan lantern business in the bustling Egyptian capital.

"Cairo is indeed a cosmopolitan city where you can market your commodities night and day and is also home to giant wholesalers."

Heba, who holds a diploma in commerce, followed suit, but opted for Egyptian-made lanterns instead.

"I was upset by the torrent of Chinese-made lanterns on the local market, which undermines the Egyptian industry, not to mention that the lantern is the brainchild of the Egyptians."

Heba decided to market lanterns manufactured in a local workshop owned by the father of one of her friends upon a commission.

"I visit government ministries and buildings to sell my product to civil servants who are in large numbers, and manage to convince them of buying the Egyptian not the Chinese lantern though it is a bit more expensive."

The number of unemployed people in Egypt is estimated at about five to six million, making up an alarming 13 percent of the labor force.

The country has recently seen the establishment of the "Union of the Unemployed" by a group of jobless youths in the northern city of Damietta.