'Clean your country': Alexandrians take initiative amid state neglect

A Young man from Egypt's Mediterranean city of Alexandria has launched a campaign under the title 'Clean your country' to removed piles of garbage from his city's streets after being fed up with the state's neglect and poor public services.

"We are trying to solve the problem, regardless of the reasons behind it", said Mahmoud Azouz in a video released by the Egyptian newspaper Youm 7.

Alexandria, the Bride of the Mediterranean, has been suffering from neglect and poor public services for a few years, particularly after the 25 January revolution in 2011.

In 2011, Alexandrians protested by putting garbage on top of the governor's car, forcing him to remove it by hand.

Last month, Alexandria's governor Hani el-Messeiri, who assumed his position in February this year, issued a press statement explaining his plans to solve the city's garbage problem, among other issues.

	The garbage problem was worsened by the influx of domestic tourists [Twitter]

The statement included short-term solutions, such as fining shops that throw their waste in the streets and replacing large dumpsters with small garbage bins to be placed in front of residential buildings.

Messeiri also suggested long-term solutions, including a national project in cooperation with the Ministry of Urban Development to encourage youths to start small businesses or civil organisations responsible for collecting and recycling waste.

However, Alexandrians are yet to see results. The garbage problem was further worsened by the influx of domestic tourists to the beaches of Alexandria during the public holiday of Eid last week.

Social media users from Alexandria have been sharing pictures of the piles of garbage on their city's beaches in an attempt to get the relevant officials' attention and pressure them into taking action.

Translation: Alexandria, the Bride of the Mediterranean, has unfortunately turned into a big dumpster.

Others commended Azouz's initiative to clean the street of Alexandria himself instead of waiting for the officials to take action.

Translation: Many of us shared pictures of garbage in Alexandria, but this young man decided to be positive and removed the garbage himself.