Metro A Story of Cairo
A story of pilgrimage
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The BeginningMagdy El Shafee is an illustrator with a mission. Though El Shafee has published other works, Metro had been the first to experience back lash from the government. Metro was published in 2008 by Magdy El Shafee's publisher, Malameh Publisher.
Shortly after publication Malameh was raided by the police and copies of Metro were confiscated. Following this incident Metro was banned for "offending public morals". After a long trial in 2012 Metro was republished in Egypt in it's original language, Arabic. Although censorship on literature and publication is often a topic of discussion when it comes to Arabic literature, Magdy focused Metro on the social and political corruption that Cairo and the Middle East has undergone. |
EverydayThe main character of Metro Shehab is a computer programmer that feels as if he has been pushed into a corner that he can not get out of. In a society where the rich are the only people catored to and the poor are pushed to the side Shehab finds himself in debt. Unable to get a loan from the bank to pay the cost of starting a company and keep up with the taxes of the government, he turns to a loan shark for money.
He among other small business owners have felt the consequences of the governments taxes. In the graphic novel Shehab has a conversation with another small business owner who lives off of the wages of his work, Uncle Wanna. Shehab finds that Uncle Wanna has become so disabled that he can barley keep up with up keeping the shop, much less the over priced taxes (Magdy 20). |
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The Ability To ConnectThis panel is one of the many where Magdy introduces the reoccurring thought that Shehab has of Cairo. , "Remember, Mustafa - we're all in a cage. The way out is wide open, but we're stuck inside because no on ever tries walking out of it" (4).
By calling Cairo a cage, Magdy is illuminating some of the limitations set by the society around Shehab and his friends. Though corruption is prevelant Shehab makes it known that the people of Cairo have been pushed into a "this is the way things are" minset. Magdy has written his graphic novel in a way that allows his audience to identify with his characters. Shehab depicts the everyday man in Egypt, and Magdy does his best to put the thoughts of the people into his novel. Although Metro is still fighting to be published in Egypt there are currently other versions available in other countries. |
The Fight
On this page and many throughout the novel we see how corruption within the police and justice system effects the characters in the novel (26).
Dina, Shehab's girlfriend, is attacked while she is walking alone on the street. Although she is aided by Shehab and the attackers are chased away she is still shook. Despite Dina's concerns Shehab lets the men go, and tells Dina that it would not matter if they reported the incident to the police. He tells her this because the police may have been the people that have sent the men to attack her.
A quarter way through the graphic novel Shehab finds himself in a dilemma involving the police. He and Mustafa have both witnessed a murder in one of the tunnels in their town. The man who has been murdered is their neighbor and local business man Hagg Misbah. As the murderer is stabbing Hagg he yells, "This is a message from the men upstairs" (23).
Even though Mustafa and Shehab both know the identity of the man that has stabbed Hagg. They express that they are both too scared to go to the Police for fear that they will be persecuted for their debts, or even worse, the crime. Magdy uses this situation to show that the people of these cities feel that they are powerless. By keeping these people fearful of the police they establish power to do as they please. Eventually Shehab comes around to his senses and decides that he should come forth with the information that he has about the murder, but not before he investigates the situation himself.
ResolutionShehab uses his computer hacking skills to trace who Hagg had called on his cellphone up until his death. Through this hacking Shehab and Dina discover that the numbers belong to political hire ups that Hagg had been involved with. These officials were the same ones who ordered the murder on Hagg.
Although these are the men in power Shehab and Dina find it inside themsleves to do the right thing and figure out how to report them. In the bottom panel Magdy includes a sort of preview of what is going on in Cairo. Dina, like many people in Cairo, feel that it is important to speak out against the police corruption. The chant they use is, "NO justice on the street. NOTHING for the poor to eat". |
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The Point
Publishing a novel in a country with censorship laws can be difficult. El Shafee has not been the only artist that has faced this dilemma when trying to publish work. There are many authors on the same side as El Shafee, that are constanlty being ridiculed, arrested, and charged for the work that they are doing. Through attending public demonstrations, to serving time for his graphic novel El Shafee has fearlessly begun paving the way to a door worth opening. Originally the novel was banned for "offending public morals". The page that ultimetly led to the banning of Metro was a page containing sexual content. Although this is the offical reason for banning Metro, many have commented on the social realism and critiques of Egypt that may have led to the loss of the case against Metro.
Response |
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"But as Shafee has pointed out, many far racier books remain on the local market. Yet few paint as vivid a picture of corruption at the opening of the 21st century. And perhaps none are as accessible as “Metro". |
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"It’s a lovely feeling to put on a feast for a group of close friends and family.. But when the food is snatched away from your relatives while all the dear guests are eating, there’s also a feeling of powerlessness." |
ArabLit: Will METRO be available in Arabic soon?
هو ممكن “مترو” يكون بالعربى قريب؟
Magdy El Shafee: There is currently a Lebanese edition, and another is on the way, but the Court of Appeals in Egypt has outlawed the reprinting of Metro inside the country.
– هناك طبعة لبنانية الان و أخرى فى الطريق و لكن داخل حدود مصر يعتبر اعادة طباعتها -خرقا للقانون- حسب قرار محكمة الاستئناف.
AL: Are you afraid of censorship when you write now? Is it on your mind? More now because of Morsi?
انت بتخاف من الرقابة لما بتكتب ؟ الموضوع فى دماغك؟أكتر عن الحساب الرئيس الجديد؟
MES: The censor to get rid of is the one in my head. That is the most dangerous kind of censorship and all of us must work on its demise. Neither Morsi nor anyone one else will stand in the way of the destruction of that monster.
لرقيب بتخلص منه الرقيب اللى فى دماغى هو الأخطر و علينا ان نعمل جميعا للقضاء عليه تماما و مرسى او غيره لن يقف فى طريقى للقضاء على ذلك الوحش الخرافى
AL: What do you think will be the future of censorship in Egypt? Will censorship be stronger for comics?
هتكون الرقابة اقوى على الكوميكس؟ انت تفتكر مستقبل الرقابة هايكون ازاى فى مصر؟
MES: All in all, I am continuing with my work, and I’m not worried about censorship. Anyone who thinks that he can censor me because he knows what’s in my best interest or that of other people needs his head examined. Enough already with treating people as though they were unthinking children or idiots who need to be watched over.
عموما انا مستمر ف شغلى و لا يشغلنى موضوع الرقيب ..اى واحد يفكر انه رقيب عليا لأنه فاهم مصلحتى و مصلحة الناس اكتر منهم يبقى محتاج لعلاج.. كفاية بقى التعامل مع الناس من فوق على انهم اطفال قاصرين التفكير أو بلهاء
يحتاجون الرعاية الفكرية.
Reviews
"For proof of the power of comics, look no further than Metro... It is not hard to see why the dictatorship was alarmed by the novel. In a deft black-and-white portrait of Cairo and its neighborhoods, a thriller unfolds along the metro system, giving a powerful insight into why the revolution took place.” --Newsweek
“There are twists and turns, murders and shadowy conspiracies… The Byzantine plot is saturated with a political commentary on the state of today's Egypt, depicted as a deeply dysfunctional country whose citizens take government corruption and repression as a given.” --The National (Abu Dhabi)
“A visual record of the zeitgeist, filled with poverty, sexual frustration, corruption, and abuse… Part thriller, part love story, part socio-political commentary.” --Daily News Egypt
“There are twists and turns, murders and shadowy conspiracies… The Byzantine plot is saturated with a political commentary on the state of today's Egypt, depicted as a deeply dysfunctional country whose citizens take government corruption and repression as a given.” --The National (Abu Dhabi)
“A visual record of the zeitgeist, filled with poverty, sexual frustration, corruption, and abuse… Part thriller, part love story, part socio-political commentary.” --Daily News Egypt