Garbage City

Thursday January 13th, 2011

Our new Thailand-based photographer Martyn Aim has a story on his site that’s about global politics, environmental sustainability, and several other things all at once. Martyn has a master’s degree in social anthropology, with a specialization in human rights and conflict, so a quick glance at his website shows that he has identified and chronicled many of the major issues of contemporary politics around the world.

This particular story comes just when there is media attention on the Coptic community of Egypt, due to the recent bombing of a church. Copts are a Christian minority in Egypt, which is 90% Muslim. Like other minorities, Copts face persecution, but Martyn’s story is not about that; instead, he has shared the story of Copts who have built a community that is integral to Egyptian society, the Zabbaleen.

The Zabbaleen are a Coptic community who deal with Egypt’s garbage, collecting waste from residents for nearly no money in donkey-pulled carts and pickup trucks. What is interesting is that, according to Wikipedia, they manage to recycle up to 80% of this collected garbage; compare this to waste disposal companies in the developed world, which can only recycle about 20-25% of their garbage. With the help of pigs, the Zabbaleen sort the garbage in Moqattam Village, their “Garbage City,” and they go on to sell it or create new materials.

Martyn’s photographs, I think, show us the reality of life in the Middle East, which can’t be reduced to incendiary images of fanaticism on the news. There is a real diversity, and people who work every day to build their societies and live their lives. In the spirit of greater understanding, head over to Martyn’s site and take a look at these images.

-Asad