Egyptian protests hurt small businesses
Many governments around the world are warning travelers to avoid vacationing in Egypt due to the violent clashes continuing between protesters and police.
And most recently, the Egyptian military has announced that it will give President Mohamed Morsi a limited period of time to sort out the crisis and meet the people’s demands. Many are predicting the unrest to continue.
For small business owners in Egypt, that news is not good.
“Our life depends on the tourists,” said Emad Nour Hafez, who runs a gift shop in the famous Khan el-Khalili bazaar in Cairo. “Everyone in our family needs tourists. That is our life… we are a big country for tourists. What happened two years ago: No tourists come to Egypt.”
Hafez said he would welcome military intervention: although it might prove to be a tough transition at first, he said, he is confident that Egypt is slowly moving in the right direction.
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