Egypt's Rampant Inflation Squeezes Ramadan Charities
For Egypt, and four other nations in the Middle East-North Africa region, the holy month of Ramadan comes at a time when food inflation has topped 60 percent. In Cairo, photojournalist Hamada Elrasam captures a series of charity iftars, or fast-breaking dinners for lower-income worshippers, as higher food prices mean fewer servings and more hunger. Captions by Elle Kurancid.
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Moksha (left), a poultry butcher, says, “Last Ramadan, I sold around 500 kilograms of chicken each day — now, if I sell 100 kilograms, I would call myself lucky.” (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)
![Mohamed, a taxi driver who often breaks his fast at charity iftars, says, “In past years, you would see [a charity iftar] on every street corner, but now, you have to ask and look around the neighborhood.” (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)](https://gdb.voanews.com/01000000-0a00-0242-1728-08db35b590df_cx0_cy10_cw0_w1024_q10_r1_s.jpg)
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Mohamed, a taxi driver who often breaks his fast at charity iftars, says, “In past years, you would see [a charity iftar] on every street corner, but now, you have to ask and look around the neighborhood.” (Hamada Elrasam/VOA)