Kites have always been amusement for young and possibly adults in Egypt, so it was natural for some to resort to them for entertainment in light of the embargo atmosphere imposed by the Corona virus, but what was not normal is that these planes reach the Egyptian parliament through a complaint from one of the deputies about the alleged risks to them On national security.
Although these planes are handcrafted from wood and plastic and were an outlet for many children and youth during the ban period, the deputy had another opinion, to turn children's toys into a national threat, in what observers consider it intended to create scarecrows that justify the authority to continue to impose strict security measures.
With a people who likes to walk and create entertainment, kites have spread over the sky of Cairo and Egyptian cities during the past weeks, which witnessed the imposition of restrictions and restrictions on movement, shops and entertainment.
Above the famous Abbas Bridge - which passes over the Nile, linking Cairo to Giza - dozens of children and young people line up with their families while playing with kites, in friendly scenes that reminded of the intimacy of the family sessions before the era of the spread of the Internet and the reliance on electronic games on the screens of phones and computers.
Before that, rooftops were the launching pad for fun kites, after Corona banned home residents from having fun on the streets as they used to.
These kites have also become important for some pigeon breeders, says Amer Hassan, one of the pigeon keepers in the Giza region, explaining that they use them to infer the returning pigeon flocks over their towers and their nests.
And soon the scope of this hobby extended to fill the sky of Cairo in the past weeks with hundreds of kites that hold strings of children and young people, whether they are on the roofs of buildings or on bridges passing over the Nile, to form a beautiful painting in the sky of the city, especially at night, to make up for some the horror atmosphere Left behind by the outbreak of corona virus and its aftermath
Today in Egypt: A member of the parliament's defense and security committee warns that kites may present a danger to national security, as they could be fitted with secret cameras. Truly, nothing is sacred for this level of paranoia. https://t.co/jDrN368FMN
- Ruth Michaelson (@msrmichaelson) June 24, 2020
A threat to national security
But suddenly, the kites arrived at an unexpected location, which is the Egyptian parliament, where Khaled Abu Talib, a member and member of the National Security Committee, briefed the Prime Minister requesting that the kites be banned for allegedly "threatening national security."
The member sought to justify his perceptions of the dangers of the kites, saying that they can be equipped with surveillance cameras to photograph important and vital installations, noting that the technical development turned them from a mere game of fun into a tool for "threatening the national security of Egypt" that is threatened by its four aspects.
The news of the briefing request seemed very funny to Walid, a 15-year-old boy who was trying to control his kite flying away over the waters of the drought-prone Nile. When we told him about the matter and asked him to comment, he told Al-Jazeera Net that it was nothing more than amusement and innocent, and most of Children are having fun with them, so how can they threaten the national security of Egypt?
But its owner, Iyad, warned that some of his peers installed their mobile phones in their planes after turning on the cameras for these phones, and then launched them to photograph themselves from above in order to have fun no more, stressing that it cannot be thought of someone to photograph something dangerous because he simply shoots them over his house or In a wide surrounding of his region, he continued by saying to Al-Jazeera Net, "I am not afraid of confiscating my plane, and I think the government is not serious."
Tweeters mocked the request for parliamentary briefing, and some of them summoned old songs about kites, such as "My Heart is a Paper Flyer" and the song "My Bird, My Plane."
Far from the mockery of the trial of kites in Parliament, this game is not without risks and problems for children, the lesser of which begins when someone tries to harass the other's plane with his plane, up to what happened to one of the children when he was busy chasing his plane and was hit by a speeding car in the Basatin area south of Cairo, Another was electrocuted when he tried to save his plane, which was suspended on one of the lighting poles.
A kiss for life for craftsmen
Just as kites brought back life to human relationships between members of the same family, they were dying. They also represented the kiss of life for professions whose owners were almost starving to death because of the declining income of these professions and the economic stagnation.
Among these carpentry professions, Abdel-Jaber - a carpenter in the Haram area in Cairo - says that he started the activity of making kites with two daughters for his daughters and then for their friends, then for the sons of the region in return for 30 pounds for the medium-sized plane, "the dollar is about 16 pounds."
Like Abdel-Jaber, many carpenters have begun to turn their activities to manufacture kites. The simple materials of the jungle plant “woven”, nylon and threads facilitate their manufacture, and they “do not need a skilled carpenter,” says Abdul-Jaber to Al-Jazeera Net. The problem is in obtaining these materials, because they are from more than one source, and if an individual tries to obtain them himself he may spend more time or money.
Abdul-Jaber brings a quantity of woven from the Island of Gold in the Nile at Al-Munib, and then brings the reels of yarns from the vendors of fishing gear in an area near the Nile on Al-Bahr Al-Azam Street. It is economically feasible.
The kites found skilled craftsmen who made improvements to their performance and provided them with lighting circles or pictures of celebrities, most notably the footballer Mohamed Salah, or slogans for clubs such as Zamalek, which expanded the circle of winners from this industry, from craftsmen trying to overcome the grinding recession.
And some of those who stopped their activities because of Corona turned to specialize in manufacturing and selling airplanes. This is Jamal - who months ago worked at night on the Abbas Bridge preparing drinks and served them to lovers of simple picnic on the bridge pier - he shifted his activity in the same area to sell airplanes, after he helped his wife in Manufactured at home.
Jamal says to Al Jazeera Net that he sells 10 to 20 kites a day, and the price ranges between 40 and 100 pounds.
He initially earned 5 pounds in a single plane when he was buying it from its manufacturers, then he considered multiplying his profit by making it by himself, as it is simple and he has learned the secret of workmanship.
Kite enthusiasts included celebrities, such as the comedian Ali Rabie, who posted on his account on Instagram a clip while flying a kite and at the same time listening to the song "My Bird," by Fayrouz. He wrote, "Let's fly a plane," without worrying about the dangers of this on National security of the country.
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لا Let's fly a pilot # Ali_Rabee 😃
A post shared by Ali Rabee (@ aliirabee1989) on Jun 25, 2020 at 11:26 am PDT