CAIRO: When Peter Matta went to check crops on his land on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital in the aftermath of an uprising that threw Hosni Mubarak from power, he was met by five strangers with guns.
"What are you doing on our land?" said one of the group of trespassers who had seized his property, poking a rifle at him.
That was in March. Like many Egyptians, Matta hoped this was an ugly but temporary problem, the result of a security vacuum from the withdrawal of police from duty after they lost control of the streets in the unrest that ousted Mubarak on Feb. 11.
The police are back but Matta has yet to get control of his land. When he secured an eviction order, the group demanded LE 6 million ($1 million) and threatened his family. When police pushed the group off, they just moved back later.
"We are devastated by the power that these thugs have over the land as we watch helplessly, but even more alarmed at the lack of national security," Matta told Reuters.
Matta’s may be an extreme example of the security breakdown. But it is not wholly unique. Others living on Cairo’s outskirts have reported marauding armed gangs. Prisoners have staged jail breaks and reports of armed crimes in the city are on the rise.
Some Egyptians are buying guns, legally or otherwise, for protection and some are even reminiscing fondly about Mubarak’s police state.
As Egyptians grapple with establishing a democracy after ejecting an autocratic ruler, they are struggling to restore order and confidence in an economy that was hammered after tourists packed their bags and investors fled.
"It is a key issue that we hear from almost every quarter that there has to be security and rule of the law. There is anecdotal evidence of increasing crime in Egypt where historically it has been exceptionally low and is still below global levels," said Angus Blair of Beltone Financial.
No. 1 concern
Car theft or robberies would be normal for a big city in Europe or America, but for Egyptians used to streets where muggings or other crimes are rare, it is a culture shock.
Blair said the security problem was particularly unnerving to local investors who hear about it in daily conversations.
In one poll published by Al-Ahram newspaper, restoring security was the number one priority for Egyptians surveyed.
With investors pulling out of Egypt in droves and elections around the corner, the country’s interim military rulers have proposed tough new security measures and thrown their weight behind the police force.
Police were taken off the streets a few days after the uprising against Mubarak’s rule erupted on Jan. 25. They had lost control and the army was sent in. Though police are back on patrol, their morale and grip on security has been shattered.
"The people working in the police force are demoralized and they are not yet provided with either training or more importantly the legal framework within which they should operate," said Gamal Abdel Gawad, head of Al-Ahram Center for Strategic and Political Studies.
Seeking to restore confidence, the cabinet issued an order sanctioning the use of force by police to help them carry out "their national duty" to keep security and protect people.
Police officers admit the challenge they have faced.
"There was a general fear among the police about using force but now the government has said it will implement laws and empower police to respond to crimes, they will be able to get back to work and their presence will be felt," said one security officer, who asked not to be identified.
Crisis of confidence
But some think it will take more to repair the police’s battered credibility. There can be no return to the old tactics from Mubarak’s era, when poorly paid police routinely took bribes, used torture to get confessions and brutally crushed opposition, rights groups say.
"The decades-old lack of confidence between police and people, which has not been treated for years, will need political solutions and cannot be muted simply by expanding the force or upgrading its equipment," the Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies wrote in a letter to the cabinet.
Analysts say the longer security remains weak, the harder it will be to tighten later. And not everyone is confident about how swiftly the authorities can deliver, fuelling a roaring legal and illegal trade in guns.
"During the revolution, when police depots were broken into, a lot of those pieces made it onto the black market because people were looking to make profits at uncertain times," said one 50-year-old businessman who chose to stay anonymous.
He was offered a rifle that would have usually cost LE 15,000 ($2,500) for just 2,000 pounds, no questions asked.
The Interior Ministry has launched a "Security for All" program to be broadcast on state television, where people can air their concerns about security.
"Security has gotten better but we are not going to be safe for a long time. I don’t think we will ever be as secure as we used to be," said engineer Ahmed Sefy Al-Din.
His family dug out an old rifle that had been gathering dust in a store room, cleaned it and bought fresh rounds when they heard prisoners were on the run. The media and other sources reported at least four jailbreaks in May.
"With all these weapons on the streets, it’s very hard to collect them," said Sefy Al-Din.
Gun ownership is tightly regulated by the Ministry of Interior. But many are skirting the official licensing process.
"This is the time of the gun, everyone knows it. If you really wanted a weapon, you couldn’t find a better time to get one," said Mohamed Faisal, 20, who has a blank pistol for protection and helped a friend find an illegal weapon.
"They were cheap and they were everywhere. Now it’s a bit harder because police are back on the streets and it is tougher to buy and sell, but the business is still roaring," he said. –Additional reporting by Yasmine Saleh
