Shame - 1

Chapter One

Kamal was a 40-year-old hard working lawyer. He stopped his car in the city centre in Cairo and headed slowly to one of the biggest shops in the area and walked in. The workers greeted him with big smiles and warm handshakes. He got extra attention from everyone there because it was his father’s shop. The shop always had a good reputation over the years for selling spices at reasonable prices.

The family had been in this business for many years and the shop was handed down from one generation to the next. Today he came for a quick visit to see his father and eldest brother, Moustafa, who helped in running the business Kamal hadn’t seen them for a over 2 weeks. Kamal was always busy and running out of time at work. He found it hard to have a busy professional life and a personal one. His work seemed to take up all his time.

Kamal was greeted by his elder brother Moustafa who was moving from one section in the shop to another giving orders to the workers. To a stranger, it was hard to tell that they were brothers. Moustafa didn’t have much education but was good at running the business and making money from importing and selling spices. Moustafa left school as soon as he finished year 9 because he never liked it and never did well there.

It was surprising that he was the only one in Haj Ali’s four children who didn’t do well at school. There was a younger brother who worked as a doctor. His name was Nader and he treated drug addicts in a public hospital. There was also a young sister who was still studying at university to become an accountant. Kamal went directly to his father’s office at the end of the big shop with his elder brother Moustafa. He had to wait for some time, as his father was not available. He was at the local mosque for the noon prayer.

After a few minutes the father came to the shop and Kamal shook hands with him and kissed his hand. Kissing a parent’s hand is a sign of respect in the Middle East. It was a warm meeting, as Kamal hadn’t seen his father because work was never ending.

Haj Ali was loved by everyone who got to know him. He was known for spending a lot of money on charity and helping the poor. People who were close to him, especially in the same business, knew that he was a God-fearing man who always kept his word. He was a man of his word all the time especially when he did business with other traders. Haj Ali allocated monthly allowances to poor families. He kept this a secret but everyone knew about it because the poor people who got the money told everyone about his generousity.

Although Kamal had a good position, he was not getting much money working in a government position. The only thing that made him feel good about his job was the satisfaction he got every time he managed to convict a criminal and put him in prison. Haj Ali always gave Kamal a monthly allowance of 1000 Egyptian pounds to help with life expenses. After all, his son had a government job that did not pay much. Haj Ali could have given his son more and more money but he chose not to. He wanted his son to learn how to earn a living and not depend on his father's money.  Haj Ali gave monthly allowances to his other two sons and daughter. Haj Ali did so every month but it was not clear how much he used to give Moustafa who was by his father’s side all the time. Haj Ali and Moustafa were always talking about business.

This time Kamal came to ask for a bigger amount of money to buy a bigger apartment. His wife was pregnant and he was hoping to buy the apartment before the baby was born. The amount Kamal was asking for was a big one this time. Haj Ali asked him to wait for some time as the market was down a bit and a lot of money was invested in importing a big shipment of spices from India that was on its way. Kamal was not satisfied with his father’s response but he had no other option but to wait.

It was a short visit and Kamal realized that he had to go to attend an important meeting at work. He said goodbye to his father and brother and headed back to his office. Kamal liked his job because he thought that putting criminals behind bars was the only way to protect society from their evil. He also felt frustrated every time a drug dealer avoided going to jail with the help of corrupt lawyers who let them avoid justice. Kamal’s job was to make sure their evil deeds would never go unpunished.