Lying in a hospital bed, Muhammad Muhyi Abulmaati, a teacher, recalled the wedding in Salssal village—in Mansoura— that ended in tragedy. Abdulmaati and his wife were riding in a tuk-tuk when a motorcyclist performing in a show of 100 Chinese motorcycles—come to be known as ‘Chinese Weddings’— crashed in the middle of a stunt and hit Abulmaati and his wife’s tuk tuk. Abulmati’s leg was broken and his wife’s shoulder was dislocated. “A Chinese wedding is inexpensive,” Abdulmaati said, “and has become a tradition in our village.”
Lying in a hospital bed, Muhammad Muhyi Abulmaati, a teacher, recalled the wedding in Salssal village—in Mansoura— that ended in tragedy. Abdulmaati and his wife were riding in a tuk-tuk when a motorcyclist performing in a show of 100 Chinese motorcycles—come to be known as ‘Chinese Weddings’— crashed in the middle of a stunt and hit Abulmaati and his wife’s tuk tuk. Abulmati’s leg was broken and his wife’s shoulder was dislocated. “A Chinese wedding is inexpensive,” Abdulmaati said, “and has become a tradition in our village.”
Dr. Bakr, the emergency room supervisor in the hospital where Abdulmaati is staying added, “Every day, we receive dozens of injured people due to motorcycle accidents. Some die while others enter into ICU. We have a whole ward which we call ‘the Chinese motorcycle ward’. That is where Selma, the youngest wounded, is in a coma.”
Lying motionless on a fourth-floor ward, four year-old Selma Mahmoud struggles to stay alive. Her mother, Samah Mahmoud, explains how her daughter was injured. “She was trying to cross the road in front of her kindergarten when a speedy motorcycle hit her. She passed out and we brought her to the hospital. I hope that she will wake up. It was a hit and run.”
12 accidents per day
“Every day, the hospital receives around 12 cases of motorcycle accidents, most of which are serious,” says Wa’el Khafagi, the hospital director. “At least two of the cases result in death or when they arrive they are nearly dead and most are younger than 20.”
“In most cases, the injured person goes into a coma, especially the motorcyclist,” he added. “Most of them don’t wear a helmet and they often fall on their heads, leading to internal bleeding in the brain. When we’re lucky, people only have broken bones and we often amputate their legs.”
Fake satisfaction
“Chinese goods are based on a simple idea,” says Mahdi Muhammad Qassass, a sociology professor at the Faculty of Arts at Mansoura University, “It satisfies the aspirations of large groups at the lowest cost; a false satisfaction based on the direct joy of ownership, away from the product efficiency or ability to endure or perform duties.”
Qassass also points out that Chinese motorcycles are cheap and offer mobility options where there is a transportation crisis.
“It is however associated with open crimes,” Qassass said, “such as robbery and stealing women’s jewelry and it is also an excellent way to escape from crime scenes. Selling it in payment installments has provided an opportunity for workmen and the poor to rapidly invest in them. What would a poor man do with 1,000-2,000 pounds? He would immediately buy a Chinese motorcycle.”
Rough roads
Apart from consumerism, the phenomenon is also a result of the urbanization and facilitation of services. Delivery boys have become part of the countryside urbanization; all fast food restaurants, pharmacies and even butchers and groceries employ delivery boys who have a Vespa or Chinese motorcycle.
Ahmad Adel is an employee who relies on a motorcycle to deliver 15 orders during his 8 hour shift at a major restaurant. “The restaurant gives us motorcycles; however, some restaurants employ you only if you have a (driver’s) license. “Ordering never stops as the restaurant serves the two cities of Mansoura and Talkha. The streets are narrow and traffic jams paralyze the city. A motorcycle solves the problem but we have accidents every day. A colleague of mine had an accident but the helmet saved him.”
Holiday spending
Ahmad Eni, a worker at a motorcycle shop in the well-known Salakhana Street says that Chinese motorcycles came to Egypt for the first time in 1996, but their golden age began five years ago when their prices became affordable to many groups. The demand increases in the seasons of spending money, such as Ramadan and Eid, he said.
“Shops sell at least 200 motorcycles during Ramadan,” Eni says. “The prices start from L.E. 3,900 (US $640) to 4,200 (US $689) and may reach up to 5,000 (US $820) in Ramadan.”
50,000 motorcycles in Mansoura’s streets
The Chinese motorcycle boom is due in part to lenient traffic authorities, especially with their easy licensing.
Stealing and using these motorcycles in thefts have become part of the urbanization behaviour, which is reflected in the hundreds of motorcycles spread all over the 500-m2 square of the Guarding Section at the Mansoura Traffic Department.
Muhammad Mahmoud is a young man who has come to recover his motorcycle, which was seized by the police. “The motorcycle is cheap and I can carry out my business and my family’s easily with it. While I was driving it, the police caught me in Port Said Street and it wasn’t licensed. I’ve paid a fine of L.E. 400 (US $65) and also the license fee which amounted to around L.E. 350 (US $57) and I’ll get the license within two days”, he says.
“There are around 50,000 licenses for Chinese motorcycles in Mansoura and its surroundings,” says Major General Osama Bakr of the traffic department authority. “In addition, there are double the number of unlicensed motorcycles, which are caught in daily campaigns.”
Major Bakr, however, does not address how the government is planning to accommodate the large number of motorcycles. His subordinate, however, who spoke under anonymity says, ” The governor issued an ordinance to suspend licensing tuk-tuks but he dared not do the same with the ‘Chinese motorcycle disaster’ because it’s associated with the life of citizens and major shops.”
