Hussein Khairy: A hard test The police attack on two doctors in a public hospital is probably one of the most challenging incidents that has met the head of the Doctors Syndicate Hussein Khairy during his term. He had run for that position in the hope of improving the working condition of the doctors, improving hospitals and developing medical training. However, that incident has given him one more target: to protect the dignity of the doctors. This week, he was summoned together with syndicate board member Mona Mina by the prosecution in relation to that assault. The syndicate, which closed Matareya Hospital in protest, has demanded an official investigation into the matter and requested that the policemen be referred to court. Khairy gave testimony concerning an official complaint filed on behalf of the syndicate against the Interior Ministry. In his attempt to defend the right of doctors, Khairy together with Mina were subjected to a slander campaign by pro-government media and parliamentarians, who accused them of belonging to the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group. Khairy met with parliamentarians and Interior Ministry officials, offering to reopen the hospital in return for an official apology from the Interior Ministry, which was declined. The next period will not be easy for Khairy as he tries to end the crisis in a way satisfactory to the doctors and to ease their anger or resort to escalating protests and a general strike by the Doctors Syndicate until the crisis is settled. The syndicate is scheduled to convene an emergency general assembly session tomorrow to determine if its physicians will escalate their protest into a nationwide strike of non-essential medical treatment and services in Egypt's public hospitals. Khairy was elected as the head of the national syndicate last October. He was the first elected dean of Cairo University's medical school, maintaining the post between 2011 and 2014. Khairy, a haematologist, has been known for his benevolence to patients and students, dubbed the Hermit of Qasr Al-Aini and the Doctor of the Poor. Khairy, a bachelor, has devoted all his life to the medical field. He does not run a private clinic and spends all his time at the government-run Qasr Al-Aini Hospital. “Someone who does not see the magnitude of recent achievements and projects implemented in the field of infrastructure has a problem. But the bigger problem is that working simultaneously on various files would lead to success in some and failure in others. So if the president, and we support him, realises that there is no time for failure, he should make sure that the right persons are selected and all the details of every file are thoroughly studied.” Mohamed Fathi, Al-Watan New rules “The core of the problem is not the Ultras or the Port Said massacre. This issue may be solved tomorrow, after a week or a month, or closed forever after punishing the culprits. The problem is in the lack of trust between youth and most of state bodies. To regain that trust we need some confidence-building measures like releasing all the detained youth that are not involved in violence or terrorism and allowing them to have a real role in public life.” Emadeddin Hussein, Al-Shorouk Beyond negligence “We were shocked to know that the eyes of 13 patients were injected with an internationally-banned medication that caused them partial blindness. That happened in a hospital affiliated to the Ministry of Health. The incident requires investigation by the ministry, the governorate and the Doctors Syndicate; although we know that what happened in this case happens all the time in different ways in a treatment system that defies logic and thinking.” Akram Al-Kassas, Al-Youm Al-Sabei The absence of law “When I tackled the crisis of the doctors and policemen, I was in favour of keeping the hospital open for the sake of the patients, although I was all for the doctors' right to protest against the policemen's assault on them. But I was puzzled by the decision to forcefully open the hospital and refer those who close it to questioning, a matter that will force the doctors to submit group resignations. Controlling people should be based on justice rather than repression or force. The authority should revise its policies or else one day it will be surprised by all the people submitting group resignations as well.” Mahmoud Khalil, Al-Watan “If the Prosecutor General gave priority to reopening the hospital for the sake of the patients, that should not delay questioning the policemen in order to preserve the dignity of the doctors and that of each and every citizen without fail.” Osama Al-Ghazali Harb, Al-Ahram “Tribal thinking is threatening the stability and security of our country. If a doctor fights with a policeman, those belonging to both tribes, or professions, call for suspension of work. Doctors close hospitals and policemen close police stations. Tribal thinking makes every group willing to prove that it is the most powerful. Lawyers try to prove that they are stronger than judges and police. The same thing happens with journalists, doctors, nurses, even tuk-tuk drivers. And the reason behind this is the absence of law.” Dandarawi Al-Hawari, Al-Youm Al-Sabei Egyptian Essence: 15,000 dead on the road “Egypt tops the list of countries that lose citizens because of road accidents. Some 15,000 die every year and over 150,000 are injured as a result of road and train accidents.” Naguib Sawiris, Al-Akhbar Facebook “The more the ferocious moves taken to wipe the Egyptian revolution from the memory of the people, the more it is revived in popular memory.” Hani Shukrallah “How much longer will the society and state stand that flagrant violation of the law from employees who take their salaries to protect the law?” Nour Farahat Twitter VOFN Egypt @vofnegypt Egypt Looking Forward: Equally important and irrespective of whether or not the new parliament is efficient. Nicholas Kristof @NickKristof Young Italian man in Egypt writes article critical of Pres. Sisi, then is tortured to death. Egypt pleads ignorance. Kenneth Roth @KenRoth Italian man tortured to death in Egypt was Sisi critic, student of sensitive labor movement.
Rasha Abdulla @RashaAbdulla Red carpets for Sisi's Presidential motorcade. FYI: 40% of the 90M Egyptians live under the poverty line. Nervana Mahmoud @Nervana_1 Egypt's army FB page says the army has discovered a new concrete tunnel at the Gaza order 12 meter under the ground.
