High cost of death haunts Egyptians
The high cost of living in Egypt has extended to dying, and burial has gotten too expensive for the poor.
The ever-increasing cost of living in Egypt since the country’s Central Bank floated the currency in 2016 has started taking its toll on death itself.
In the last few years, burial has become a lucrative business in Egypt. Local jokes to the effect that even death has become too expensive for Egyptians can be heard on social media and comedy shows.
But the problem is no laughing matter. The price of a tomb of 60 square meters (645.8 square feet) may reach as high as 500,000 Egyptian pounds ($29,070), equivalent to an apartment of 100 square meters (1,076.39 square feet) in a working-class district in Cairo.
“If you think finding an affordable apartment is tough, I dare say finding a grave for a decent burial has become even tougher,” Hajj Islam, head of the Cairo-based Nour al-Rahman Company for Graveyards, told Al-Monitor.
