Egyptian Soccer Player Becomes Street Vendor During Crisis
2020-05-23
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1On a hot Saturday afternoon, Mahrous Mahmoud is busy.
2The professional soccer, or football, player is working up a sweat in a different way these days - as a street vendor.
3A vendor is a person who sells something.
4At this time of the year, Mahmoud is usually on the field playing for Beni Suef, a team in Egypt's second division.
5But like many people in his country of 100 million, the coronavirus crisis cost the athlete his job.
6Before the pandemic, Mahmoud made about $200 a month playing soccer.
7He also took on some small, non-soccer jobs to increase the earnings with which he supports his three family members.
8The football league was shut down in March.
9Officials had ordered a curfew and closed restaurants and stores.
10Mahmoud's team leaders told players to stay at home until they could return to play.
11But staying at home was not possible for Mahmoud, or many others in the Nile River area of Assuit.
12His family has to eat.
13So, now Mahmoud is at work at the market in Manfalut, a town 350 kilometers south of Cairo.
14He sells qatayef, a sweet food popular during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month.
15The market has remained open throughout the pandemic.
16It is a busy place. Buyers are in line to food for the meal that will be made that night.
17After sundown, Muslims will break their fast. Mahmoud's qatayef will part of the feast.
18Mahmoud returned to his hometown not long after the country's partial lockdown began.
19He looked for jobs but could only find work as a daily laborer in construction.
20Before the coronavirus, Mahmoud said, he could find usual work in construction, making no more than $7 a day.
21After the crisis began, he had trouble getting even two days of work a week.
22Then came Ramadan, and the temporary job at the market.
23In Manfalut, most of the townspeople are daily laborers, so staying at home and keeping physically distant are not possible.
24In many rural and poor parts of Egypt, some people believe the measures to protect against the spread of coronavirus are worse than the disease itself.
25But, should the virus arrive in these areas, it could spread fast.
26Like many other places in the world, the results of the pandemic have been bad for most of Egypt's citizens, especially in the south.
27Even before it hit, Egypt's economy was troubled.
28Before the outbreak, one out of every three Egyptians, or roughly 33 million people, were living on about $1.45 per day.
29The 28-year-old Mahmoud is the oldest of two sons.
30His father is retired and has heart problems.
31Mahmoud supports his father, mother and brother, who live in one room of a three-story building.
32They share the building with six other families.
33Mahmoud showed athletic talent from a young age.
34He started as a boxer in a local club, then moved on to handball, before coaches persuaded him to join the club's soccer team.
35By 16, he went professional.
36"They told me I would be a good defender," said Mahmoud, whose teammates gave him the name Kompany.
37Mahmoud helped his team to the top of its league, and he hopes to go into the country's top division.
38But for now, he will just have to keep working, even with the health risks.
39He has his family and another reason to save: Mahmoud's marriage will be next month.
40"Nobody is immune," he said.
41"But those like me and my family have to survive."
42I'm John Russell.
1On a hot Saturday afternoon, Mahrous Mahmoud is busy. The professional soccer, or football, player is working up a sweat in a different way these days - as a street vendor. A vendor is a person who sells something. 2At this time of the year, Mahmoud is usually on the field playing for Beni Suef, a team in Egypt's second division. But like many people in his country of 100 million, the coronavirus crisis cost the athlete his job. 3Before the pandemic, Mahmoud made about $200 a month playing soccer. He also took on some small, non-soccer jobs to increase the earnings with which he supports his three family members. 4The football league was shut down in March. Officials had ordered a curfew and closed restaurants and stores. Mahmoud's team leaders told players to stay at home until they could return to play. 5But staying at home was not possible for Mahmoud, or many others in the Nile River area of Assuit. His family has to eat. 6So, now Mahmoud is at work at the market in Manfalut, a town 350 kilometers south of Cairo. He sells qatayef, a sweet food popular during Ramadan, the Islamic holy month. 7The market has remained open throughout the pandemic. 8It is a busy place. Buyers are in line to food for the meal that will be made that night. After sundown, Muslims will break their fast. Mahmoud's qatayef will part of the feast. 9Mahmoud returned to his hometown not long after the country's partial lockdown began. He looked for jobs but could only find work as a daily laborer in construction. 10Before the coronavirus, Mahmoud said, he could find usual work in construction, making no more than $7 a day. After the crisis began, he had trouble getting even two days of work a week. Then came Ramadan, and the temporary job at the market. 11In Manfalut, most of the townspeople are daily laborers, so staying at home and keeping physically distant are not possible. In many rural and poor parts of Egypt, some people believe the measures to protect against the spread of coronavirus are worse than the disease itself. But, should the virus arrive in these areas, it could spread fast. 12Like many other places in the world, the results of the pandemic have been bad for most of Egypt's citizens, especially in the south. Even before it hit, Egypt's economy was troubled. Before the outbreak, one out of every three Egyptians, or roughly 33 million people, were living on about $1.45 per day. 13The 28-year-old Mahmoud is the oldest of two sons. His father is retired and has heart problems. Mahmoud supports his father, mother and brother, who live in one room of a three-story building. They share the building with six other families. 14Mahmoud showed athletic talent from a young age. He started as a boxer in a local club, then moved on to handball, before coaches persuaded him to join the club's soccer team. By 16, he went professional. 15"They told me I would be a good defender," said Mahmoud, whose teammates gave him the name Kompany. 16Mahmoud helped his team to the top of its league, and he hopes to go into the country's top division. But for now, he will just have to keep working, even with the health risks. He has his family and another reason to save: Mahmoud's marriage will be next month. 17"Nobody is immune," he said. "But those like me and my family have to survive." 18I'm John Russell. 19Sam Magdy reported on this story for the Associated Press. John Russell adapted it for Learning English. Caty Weaver was the editor. 20_____________________________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22sweat - n. the clear liquid that forms on your skin when you are hot or nervous 23division -- n. a group of teams that form one section of a sports league 24league - n.a group of sports teams that play against each other 25feast - n. a special meal with large amounts of food and drink 26construction - n. the business of building things (such as houses or roads) 27immune - adj. not capable of being affected by a disease not influenced or affected by something (not used before a noun) 28We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section.