As we have already informed, on March 1-8, 30 Armenian media representatives were in a visit to Sharm el-Sheikh.
During the visit, we noticed that children work with adults. A 4-5 year old girl was packing the goods in the store, in the Bedwyns’ village, children were persuading visitors to ride a camel, immediately were bringing camels to their knees, were selling tea and other products. They lived in terrible anti-hygienic conditions, slept on the ground.
During the visit, Aravot.am asked the guide, Ahmed Abbas, whether children were not forbidden to work. He replied that it is not permitted by law, but every city has its own traditions: “If parents set up a business, they do it so that their children have the opportunity to participate in that business too to realize the price of working. They believe that children should also realize the payment for a job so that they can become able to live on their own. Parents pay children for the work they do for them to appreciate working and to work. There are cities lacking jobs, and there are cities where all the members of the family work”.
In response to our question whether the police do not arrest, punish them, if it is prohibited by law, Ahmed Abbas said that there are organizations that control it, but how they can arrest and punish them when a child is with his parents, with his father: “The children do not do much hard work as you think, we have no trafficking here. They work in the evening, at night, with their families, it is not even considered working”. Ahmed Abbas also denied that there is trafficking in Egypt, that women are being kidnapped there. When we told him the well-known story in Armenia that a newly married couple has visited Egypt, the wife rode a camel and an Arab man took her away and did not bring back, Ahmed got surprised, said that he heard such a thing for the first time. According to him, she probably had left voluntarily because no Arab would dare to do such a thing without her will. He said that women voluntarily go with them and then spread gossips as if they have been kidnapped.
Arabs asked Armenian women for marrying them in the stores in Egypt immediately, promising to give them camels.
Ahmed Abbas said that marriage in Egypt is a complicated procedure, they often marry without seeing each other, according to the most modern version, the bride and groom lunch together with the presence of their parents and make a decision during that meal. After that, the groom has no right to touch the bride for a long time, at best, he can hold her hand, but secretly from the parents. A man can have up to four wives, and the first wife should give an approval for the other brides. Without her consent, her husband cannot marry for the second time, first of all, he will have to divorce from his first wife, and it will cost him too much, as all his belongings will pass over to his first wife.
There were many casinos in Sharm el-Sheikh, but they were only for tourists, the local residents had no right to enter those, otherwise they would be severely punished.
Here, people can be executed for stealing, so there is no stealing, no one wants to lose a body part or be executed to death for stealing. Ahmed Abbas said that the doors of their houses are open, they know that there will be no stealing, especially in Sharm el-Sheikh where residents can enter only with a special card which indicates that they are no criminals.
Let us remind that Media trip was organized by AIR CAIRO airline and the official representative of that company in Armenia, ANRIVA-TOUR tour operator.
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
