Parliamentarian demands ending ‘trees massacres’ in Egypt

CAIRO – 17 October 2018: Parliamentarian Anisa Hasouna criticized what she called the "trees massacres" in Egypt’s streets. She added that there is a systematic and unjustified distortion for everything beautiful and historical in Egypt.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, Oct. 17, Hasouna condemned cutting trees, especially trees that are hundreds of years old. “Greenery has disappeared from our lives. These trees have been here for a long time. Cutting them this way cannot be anything but a massacre.”

Santalum and Ficus benghalensis trees were cut, according to Hasouna, for financial reasons. She explained in her statement that most people, who commit such a crime, do it on purpose without any respect for the laws and regulations.

“It has become extremely humiliating and harmful,” Hasouna stated, wondering about the monitoring role of the government, especially the Ministry of Environment.

“We have been told as students that these trees help with eliminating pollution by producing oxygen; however, it seems that the government doesn’t like fresh air,” Hasouna said in her statement.

Also, MP Mustafa al-Gendy issued a memo to the parliament speaker demanding replacing Ficus trees with palm, olives and fruits trees. “These trees will have far better benefits for Egyptians,” Gendy said.

He argued that these trees, Ficus, consume lots of water and threaten buildings with their long roots, which can grow to 500 meters searching for water.