Egypt free from debtors

Big sectors of Egyptians suffer poverty. and that consider one of the big problems and great challenges which face the Egyptian society, Borrowing lead to commit many debtors to prison because of their incapability to afford cost of living which social and economic conditions impose and that don’t make them free to choose but make them forced especially people who haven’t a fixed income or permanent employment to ensure a decent life.

Debtors’ problem is the most important issue which caused many problems as family breakdown drop out and lead some people to commit violation of honour crimes. Subsequently that consider a treat to social peace and social problems which indeed the Egyptian society went through it since decades. And all of that absolutely lead to waste the human resource of Egyptian society.

Yearly, the initiative and the foundation are receiving 60% of released women who are debtors. This rate changes in other governorates. The foundation tries hard to pay the debts of these categories to out them of the prison. Although all those efforts, there is no a radical solution to end his problem.

About 10 cases of women monthly has committed to prison and others still struggle to don’t send to prison by their attempts to pay their debts or by escape to don’t get a sentence.

#Life_Foundation_For_Development_community_integration present many of cruel experiments of cases who asked help to rebuild their life again.

The case (W.R.M) is 44 years old, she forced to borrowing from one of electrical machines companies for her desire to supply her only daughter with trousseau Owing to her inability to raise funds for her daughter trousseau and raising the marriage expenses.

Because she didn’t have a fixed income and her husband work for some days and in other days he is still without a work, she defaults on the payment of the debt which the loaner ledged a complaint against her (representing a trust receipt) to commit her to the prison and indeed she stayed in the prison for 4 months until some of her neighbours and relatives paid a part of her debt to release her But she still have the responsibility of paying other debts (trust receipts) which present to police and she get an in force sentence to commit her to prison.

A qualified team of life foundation consist of social and psychological specialists and Lawyers have studied the conditions of the case to ensure of the reality of given information. Considering to the role of #start_for_justice_and_human_rights which representing in human development and save human rights and to face this problem and its dangerous results as social disgrace and behaviour disorder which resulting from community objection and to actualize Community Re-integration concept and for the right to live in dignity and humanity. In cooperation with some of civic social organizations which are interested in debtors’ categories and with operative partner system of the foundation have paid the rest of case debts.

The case (N.A) is a widow and she has 5 children, one of them has a physical disability. She is 54 years old. She is an ex-fishmonger. She became the single earner of her family after putting her husband in prison then his death because of a malignant disease.

The case explained her conditions that she has played the role of parents. She has helped two of her children to marry and both of them are living with her in her rural house which lack of the main living requirements. And other three children are between 25-30 years. Most of her children dropped out because of father absence. and oftentimes they haven’t a permanent work so she had to take a loan to buy a “electric cargo tricycle” to her children work to earn the living expenses because she couldn’t work because of her health conditions. And after a while “electric cargo tricycle” has been damaged as a result of an accident. Now they have a complaint against them (trust receipt) and she and her children are threatened of sending to prison because they couldn’t pay the debt. Hence, the role of #start_initiative_for_justice_and_human_rights appeared. After studying her conditions, the teamwork provided her with a kiosk in a vital place on the Abu Hamad Bridge where bus station there is. to sell some groceries and to make a tea for sell it to buses drivers to earn their living.

The foundation face the problem is non-cooperation of executive authorities to provide the released persons kiosks and shops to provide them with goods. And low participation of businessmen to cooperate to employ those categories. And this is one of the most important challenges which face us in our recent work.

The case (A.M.A) she was married and have only son. She is one of the unusual humanitarian cases who faced an extreme injustice and there is no one helped her.

She committed to prison since 2008 to serve sentences for twelve years because of debts (trust receipt).

The case said that her husband was worked in armed forces. As an additional work He was brought the electrical appliances and sometimes took it on credit from the traders and sells these appliances by instalment to clients so all the financial dealings were in the name of her wife (the case).

And because of his clients incapability and inaction to pay their instalments that led to his inability to pay his debts to traders. So the traders lodge a complaint by (trust receipts) with public prosecutor’s office and others still have trust receipts they didn’t present to police.

So the case committed to prison because the financial dealings were in her name. After that her husband divorced her in absentia and prevent her see her son. And he sold the trust receipt of his clients which they should pay for it by half the price and he took the money instead of pay it to traders to help his wife to go out the prison but he left her alone.

By the lawyer of start initiative for community justice and human rights He visited the case in prison for many times to check on how she is doing especially she is a patient with hepatic disease. After studying her conditions to make sure of the reality of given information. #start_initiative_for_community_justice_and_human_rights talked with the loaners to compromise to help her go out the prison. It worth mentioning that some loaners were positive and they waived the payable trust receipts of the case and others waived the half of debts because they know she can’t pay the debts now or after many years if she could go out the prison.

This case represented the social and humanitarian harms of debtor and the extent of social injustice of this category.

The case (S.Sh) he is married and she is a carpenter and have only son. He wanted to improve his living standard by develop his carpentry workshop so he took loans from many traders. and he made furniture and sold it by instalment to whom want to marry.

After a while, many of his clients failed to pay the instalments. As a result of that the traders (who he bought the materials from) exert pressure to make him pay the debts so they lodge the trust receipts to the court and he have a prison sentence for twenty five years so he committed to prison.

The case said that his father sold everything he owned to help him although his mother needs money for her treatment from a malignant disease and he succeeded to help him which the sentences mitigate for four years. Then the mother died and his father also. That caused him a severe depression and he got psychotherapy in Wadi El-Natroon prison.

After he went out the prison, He faced a difficulty to integrate in society again and to reunification of his family especially because of his brothers and surrounding people avoid him.

So when he knew about #start_initiative_for_community_justice_and_human_rights he asked for help to earn a living for himself and his small family.

After studying the case conditions it was clear that he need to psychotherapy to re-integrate him in society and he need help to re-open and develop his workshop and that’s what the initiative did to help him to continue his normal life again.

The case (D.S.W) she is 31 years old, she is a widow and has a daughter and a son. She lives in Abu Hammad in Sharqia governorate.

She committed to prison because she was the guarantor of her mother to get a debt to buy furniture for thirteen thousands pounds but her mother died and she couldn’t pay the debts so she committed to prison for a year and she left her children without an earner or shelter protect them.

After she went out the prison she came to #start_initiative_for_community_justice_and_human_rights to ask for help because she couldn’t pay the debts and she has no alternative except sending to prison and loss her family. After studying her conditions and asked businessmen to help her. We could pay the rest of her debts.

#start_initiative_for_community_justice_and_human_rights back the psychological, social and economic adjustment of the case by psychological rehabilitation of her and to establish the community solidarity concept, we provide her with a small project (A kiosk to sell some drinks and food in car station) to help her to earn a living to save her family from waste.

“Egypt free from debtors” it’s a phrase which El-Sisi said in his speech on 22 February which he decided that the armed forces will release the first group of debtors in the coming days after paying their debts.

To sit on the fence, the armed forces efforts to pay the debts of debtors. It’s the most successful experiment in Egypt however there are many of organizations and foundations are operating in this field and seek to solve this problem but the debtors problems need a radical solve because they (debtors) are increasing daily and the courts are full of thousands of misdemeanour lawsuits which related with what called “contractual claims”.

As provided in Article 11 of the text of the international covenant on civil and political rights, this convention texted that no one committed to prison because he/she couldn’t pay his contractual claim.

Life Foundation presents its view to solve this problem through:

Divide this problem to two parts:

First part: take correctional steps of the status quo by:

• Collect the data and make statistics.
• Categorize the data.
• Order the priorities of paying debts.
• Set an agenda for action and make a plan and a mechanism to pay the debts.

In Quran the debtors have a portion of zakat. The debtors are everyone who need a bare subsistence wage to live and he forced to take a debt to supply with basic needs to stay alive.

People in debt in Quran are who need help as wayfarer and anyone is stranded.

This concept differs with the status quo which the debtors categorize through community and financial concept of the debts and principal repayments.

This problem related with social behaviours and with cultural tradition which related with disbursement and expenditure ways which should correct.

Search on types of types of debtors and know their ages and their surroundings where the problem become active in, know the types of debts and its value and the reasons of default. And then assign this information very well with taking into consideration that what was stated above need religious, Social and promoting awareness.

And should define the expected value of paying and who will pay in all governorates and distribution of the rate of paying.

The second part: it’s what related with the deterrent measure of this problem..

And that’s need to answer those important questions:

• Inform the debtors what they should comply with to maturity to join to this category.
• Find a mechanism to handle the anomie and economic disruption which cause this problem.
• Take a loan without debts through the permitted value, through active units and departments in the operating banks to provide aids in kind not financial aids, and prevent selling by bills in those banks to prevent undercut of the market price take from the value of the product.
• The country should warrant the debtors group through social solidarity system.
• Accelerate of measures termination and popularize it in all sectors.
• The mechanisms should respect human and support the local product through all these banks.
• Activation the role of non governmental organizations to complete the government role to collect data and pay the expenses with related with termination of debtors legal problems.
• Activation of social and promoting awareness.
• The legislating is one of ways to balance, which the debtors problem related with two sides one of them is a payer and the other is a payee, the government interference to warranty paying the debts it will decrease the problem and help to end it.
• It’s important that all foundations and organizations which are operating in this field should be under the supervision of competent party which work for the same purpose, to solve the problem by methodical approach which was presented through the short terms plan for immediate activation.

Make benefits from the previous experiments of the countries to solve the problem. The experiment of poor people bank is: The bank depends on the social security fund, and it provides only poor people with fund through giving them loans without financial guarantee to establish their private projects to make money. That’s depends on the regular collective guarantee which consists of groups consist of five persons and centres consist of six to eight groups. The only condition to benefit from the bank services is the beneficiary group shouldn’t consists less than five members and they should work together to pay the instalments and the village bank should support the people who want to improve their resources of the local enviroment.

The bank serves about 6.5 millions of debtors in Bangladesh 96% of debtors are women.

 Mohamed younis El Bengali experiment could apply in any country not just in poor people. Development programs especially development programs for countryside need more experiments. Grameen bank experiment has spread and move to many countries as India, Africa countries, Latin America and many of Arab countries suffer high rate of poverty as Egypt, Jordon, Lebanon and Yemen, Many organizations and Foundations adopted this idea and developed it to suit with poor people needs in the region which some foundation give a loan without interest.

It’s not necessary to apply the same idea under the same name because establish those banks in Egypt need to legislative modifying of banks law either Fund or activity or management. Fund of poor people bank equal 12.5 Millions dollars, 60% of this is a public funding and 40% is a poor people funding and there in no rich people funding. In 1986 the contribution of poor people of bank funding increase to 75% for 25% is a pubic funding, 9 of 12 board of directors members are poor people most of them are women, poor people bank focus on supplying funding to whom have no warrants that’s contrariwise of normal banks which made a condition to should have a warranty, The priority to give a loan that to whom suffer severe poverty especially who haven’t a ground, the bank give a loan with 10% is a return as administrative expenses not as a debt interest, and that suit the common culture of some people which prevent dealing with banks and choice avoid usury dealings, the loans are giving (depending on the activity of project) and the bank gives a year to pay the loans through 52 weeks as a way to check the project and that’s for decrease the computed expenses of the project and to save money to give others loans.

But should make benefits of this experiment and re-organize it to suit the laws and legislations which it’s the closest experiments to apply in our society and our problems.

Social solidarity system (the other alternate of poor people banks) suffer many difficulties, as slowness of measures and find a difficulty to take a loan without governmental warranty, and make a condition don’t take vacations during paying period which its maximum is for five years and should have a clean record. And that’s cause to inattention of released persons by all operating loaning system.

#Life_Fondation_for_development_and_community_integration is one of the charitable national organizations which is participating to solve this problem since its appearance.

Recently, The American government solved the problem of failure to pay debts of mortgage by Cancellation the debts of all citizens which they assorted on the basic of the inability of paying and that’s led to interference of government and define country responsibilities towards individuals.

#Nermeen_El-Bahtyty

#Cheif_excutive_officer_of_life_foundation

#General_Manager_of_Start_initivative_for_justice