Ahmed Had a Secret

The Day of Ahmed’s Secret is a beautifully illustrated children’s book about a boy, who lives and works in old Cairo (see Resources). In words and pictures we enter a cityscape of donkey carts, noisy streets, crowded corners, narrow alleys, sidewalk vendors, and delivery boys. Ahmed, a boy of perhaps eight, nine or ten years (the book does not give his age), delivers canisters of cooking gas. He is working to help support his struggling family (struggles that adult readers will infer but young readers are shielded from).

Though the story is fictional, the book’s creators obviously wanted it to provide a realistic portrayal of urban life in Egypt. The authors, Florence Parry Heide and Judith Heide Gilliland, a collaborating mother and daughter, drew on Judith’s knowledge of Arabic language and culture and what she had seen during the two years that she lived in Cairo (1). From the richly detailed illustrations, we would guess (correctly) that the illustrator Ted Lewin had worked closely with them to present Cairo as a bustling, lively city. Lewin worked from photographs that Judith provided and did not actually visit Cairo until 1997 (2).

When I decided to recommend this book, I pulled it from the shelf and checked its date of publication. Bingo! The year was 1990. So all those eight to ten-year old Ahmeds in Cairo are now young men in their late twenties or early thirties. Ahmed grew up and so did his friends. His more well-to-do peers have computers with Internet access or access the Web at Internet cafes. And even quite a few of the less well-off have cellphones or know a friend with a cell. These are the young people who initiated an uprising--that ousted a dictator--who are still shaping a revolution–a work in progress.

Among "kiddie lit" scholars Ahmed’s Secret is a benchmark of sorts, one of the first picture books to represent life in contemporary Egypt from the perspective of a child about the same age at those in its target audience (3). I strongly recommend its use in K-12 classrooms.

In elementary classrooms, where children may have heard news about Egypt but perhaps have little understanding of events, teachers can use Ahmed’s Secret to help explain why people in Egypt took to the streets to protest against their government.. As this uprising became a broadly- based movement to oust Mubarak, people from Cairo’s poorer neighborhoods joined the protesters in Tahrir Square. It wasn’t just a middle-class effort.

Given the challenges facing Egyptians, as they attempt to transform not only their political institutions but also a stagnant economy and society, this book can be put to good use in middle school and even high school classrooms. It illustrates the difficulties of Cairo’s working poor, families managing to survive but knowing that they could be doing much better (4). Most middle class families share this perception. Poverty and economic frustration--in particular the pent-up, stifled aspirations of Egypt’s youth of all classes--were critical motivating factors among those answering the call to protest.

While this book is often recommended with few caveats, anyone deciding to make it part of a lesson, should first read Peter Duckett and Marjorie Knox, "Secrets in The Day of Ahmed’s Secret" and Ted Lewin’s response to their critical analysis (5). Duckett and Knox appreciate the book’s "positive perspective on life in the Arab world" and its complexities (emerging from their analysis. Still, they make a few unwarranted (in my opinion) nit-picking criticisms. For example, they don’t like the smile on Ahmed’s face on the opening page–a kid going off to work shouldn’t be happy (ignoring the more salient element here–this is a kid with a very special secret).

I’d like to consider briefly a few points raised by Duckett and Knox–as well as issues related to child welfare. (Content related to the illustrations comes from Duckett and Knox and/or Lewin’s response).

1) AUTHENTICITY OF THE URBAN SETTING: Cairo in 1990 was already a very densely populated city, with both more traditional and modern neighborhoods. So students must understand that the book depicts only part of the city–and that it reflects conditions both similar to, and different from, those of today.

• Explain that Ahmed’s story takes place in one of the city’s oldest neighborhoods, with narrow streets. Direct students to pay attention to how people are moving around in this part of the city.
• Students should observe those traveling on foot (relate to presence of the food and drink vendors), by donkey cart, car, bus, and camel.
• Emphasize that the cars and and a bus are visual clues, telling us that the story is set in "modern times" (later twentieth century). This is important because the authors wanted us to recognize that it is a contemporary story.
• Emphasize that the presence of camels on the street is an inaccuracy-in 1990 you would not have seen a camel in this part of Cairo.
• Traditional architecture and identifiable buildings indicate that the specific setting is "Islamic Cairo" (6). Originally this part of central Cairo was the royal enclosure of the Fatimids, who ruled Egypt in the 10^th century. UNESCO recognizes it as a World Heritiage Site.
• The book’s cover shows a real street with a real building, dating to back to the mid-18th century.
• The El Hussein Mosque is positioned incorrectly, a serious mistake. As one of Islam’s holy sites it is an important landmark in Islamic Cairo. Lewin regrets the error, attributing it to the photo he was using.
• Perhaps the biggest mistake is the blue and white arch that can be identified as a one of the city gates of Fez, Morocco. Lewin considers this "an honest mistake" (again due to a photo that Judith had given him).

2) CHANGE OVER TIME: Explain that the story’s setting is more than 20 years ago and (depending on age of students) help them comprehend just how long ago that was (for example, a baby born today will be grown up–working or going to college–twenty years from now).

• ASK: how do you think the city has changed? Are people still using donkey carts? What other kinds of transport might be more common today?
• A growing population has contributed to urban change. In 1994 the population was about 12 million. Now it is about 18 million (7).
• About 2000 the camel market at Imbaba was moved to a site outside the city limits. Lewin checked it out when visiting Cairo in 1997. Camels can be found as tourist attractions at Giza, however, and they do appear in footage the recent protests (brought to Tahrir Square by pro-government demonstrators as a means of intimidating the protesters).
• COMPARE: Share photos from the NYT slideshows or other online media with students.  Give them some time to compare the photos and then discuss them.  Point out examples of Cairo's many old and  modern features.  How do these photos compare with the city as depicted in the book's illustrations?

3) ACCESS TO PRIMARY EDUCATION: One of the criticisms of the book has been its positive portrayal of a child at work rather than at school. Was it appropriate to suggest that for Ahmed and other poor boys school was not an option–since education was free in government schools?

• Certainly, the book makes a pitch for literacy. Ahmed proudly shows his family that he can write his name–the secret revealed on the next to last page. His excitement tells us that this family values literacy. Ahmed’s secret is implicitly an aspiration–his desire for an education.
• What puzzles us is how did he learn to write his name? Did a friend teach him? Was it a customer (perhaps a retired teacher) or a neighbor? Did he peak into a classroom (where another Ahmed was learning to write his name)? Did he slip into a mosque to find a cleric to teach him?
• Also, we have no idea what happened next. We can only suspect that family with such an eager, self-reliant a child would re-double its efforts to find a way out of their predicament. Was it possible for boys like Ahmed to enter school if family circumstances changed? If they did, how far could they go? For those who earned basic education certificates (nine years of primary education), what kinds of jobs could they get in Egypt’s economy at the turn of the 21^st century?

Here is some information about primary education and literacy in Egypt (information from articles in RESOURCES):

• In 1981 free and compulsory education was extended to children ages 6 to 14 years (six years of primary school plus three years of preparatory school). Those who complete this sequence receive the Basic Education Completion Certificate.
• All levels of education are free in government schools but private schools (almost 8% of total primary enrollment) are generally considered to offer higher quality instruction.
• 2005 literacy rates in Egypt: 71% overall; 83% for men; 59% for women.
• Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education: Egypt is considered to have met this goal and thus government efforts (during the last years of the Mubarak regime) were focused on improving the quality of instruction, including better training for teachers.
• From 2000 to 2008 "education poverty" decreased significantly–going from 1.2 million down to 490,000. There is still a gender gap–with twice as many girls as boys being deprived of education.

4) CHILD LABOR: Young children working to help support their families is part of life in many developing countries. Though a poor boy, Ahmed is a fortunate boy. After he delivers the last cannister, he returns to a loving family, a family that he is proud to help sustain with his labor. Western media often focus on the abuses suffered by child laborers, yet it is wrong to assume that poor parents, who send children into the labor force, do not love them.

• In the Arab world, where a high value is placed on learning to read the Quran, only a truly impoverished family would expect a boy to work all day, leaving no time for lessons. Actually many children in poor families may work part-time on weekends or after school, in jobs that are more like apprenticeships. Perhaps we would find Ahmed’s story more satisfactory if the authors had explained why it was so necessary for him to contribute to the household income.
• ASK: How do you think Ahmed felt about having to work? (Try to elicit the mixed feelings that boys like Ahmed might have.)
• ASK: If Ahmed could go to school, would he go? Would he sometimes wish he could go back to working as a delivery boy? Would he begin to dream about what he might do when he grows up? (Taking the discussion in this direction brings up the topic of school leavers without jobs or only unskilled jobs.)

5) STREET CHILDREN: Many children in Cairo (in 1990 and today) are street children. Their dire circumstances may be compared to that of children like Ahmed, who live in stable but poor households. Robert Fisk’s report on their fate during the recent uprising is very disturbing (see RESOURCES).


RESOURCES FOR Ahmed’s Secret

Heide, Florence Parry, and Judith Heide Gilliland. Illustrated by Ted Lewin. The Day of Ahmed’s Secret. New York: Lothrop, Lee &Shepard Books, 1990.

Ted Lewin. http://www.tedlewin.com/

Duckett, Peter and Marjorie Knox. "The Secret in The Day of Ahmed’s Secret." Journal of Children’s Literature 27 (Fall 2001): 29-31. Printable PDF pages at www.peterduckett.net.

Lewin, Ted. "Response to ‘Secrets in The Day of Ahmed’s Secret.’" Included in the PDF at www.peterduckett.net.

Marston, Elsa. "The Arab/Muslim World: How It Looks in Books for American Children." The Looking Glass 8, No. 4 (2004): http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/ojs/index.php/tlg/article/view/178/177

Canton, Jeffrey. "Picture Window: Children's Books about the Middle East." The Looking Glass 8, No. 4 (2004): http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/ojs/index.php/tlg/article/view/182/181

The Looking Glass: New Perspectives on Children's Literature Volume 8, No. 4 (2004): http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/ojs/index.php/tlg/issue/view/24http://www.lib.latrobe.edu.au/ojs/index.php/tlg/issue/view/24

• This issue has several articles concerned with children’s books in or about Arab countries and the Middle East. 

RESOURCES: EGYPTIAN CHILDREN

Google Images Search: Cairo children

"Trends of Child Poverty and Disparities in Egypt." UNICEF (December 2010). Access PDF from http://www.unicef.org/egypt/media_6369.html
This report is 55 pages but reading the executive summary is highly recommended.

"Quality Education." UNICEF. http://www.unicef.org/egypt/education.html

"Despite Progress, Millions of Children Still Live in Poverty in Egypt, UNICEF Study Says." UNICEF (Amman, February 18, 2010): http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/media_52793.html

"Egypt: Report: Part I: Main Indicators for Education for All." UNESCO (2000): http://www.unesco.org/education/wef/countryreports/egypt/rapport_1.htm

"Education in Egypt." Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Egypt
　

Street Children

"A New Approach to Egypt’s Street Children." Unicef. Http://www.unicef/infobycountry/egypt_30616.html

"Street Children in Cairo in 2010." Cairo Street Children Development Co-operation Project. http://www.cairostreetchildren.com/situation2009.html

• Basic information provided by a Finnish organization (possible hand-out or online reading in a middle school or high school class).

Fisk, Robert. "Cairo’s 50,000 Street Children Were Abused by This Regime." The Independent (UK): http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-cairos-50000-street-children-were-abused-by-this-regime-2213295.html

• Describes what happened to street children recruited to support the Mubarak regime but then caught up in confrontations between pro-Mubarak and anti-government protesters. Includes general information about their lives on the streets.

Support for Children Exposed to Violence During the Protests

Khatwa, Hala Abu. "Psycho-Social Support for Children in Egypt." UNICEF (Cairo-February 18, 2011) and VIDEO: http://www.unicef.org/egypt/media_6464.html


RESOURCES: LIFE IN CONTEMPORARY CAIRO

You can save photos from the New York Times (and other sources) and create a PowerPoint for use in the classroom. These slideshows show various aspects of life in Cairo:

• "A Cairo Street Free from Traffic and Haggling" (5 slides): http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/11/24/travel/20101128-SURFACING.html
• "Cairo Aglow at Ramadan" (10 slides): tp://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/01/02/travel/20100102-cairo-slideshow_index.html
• "Living at the Edge of a Cliff" (7 slides): http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/09/19/world/0919-CAIRO_7.html
• "Weekend in Cairo" (16 slides): http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/02/03/travel/0203-36HOURS_index.html

For history and photos see Neil MacFarquhar "The Beating Heart of Medieval Cairo." New York Times (September 12, 2004): http://travel.nytimes.com/2004/09/12/travel/sophisticated/12ST-CAIRO.html?_r=1

NOTES

1) Back flap of cover jacket of The Day of Ahmed’s Secret (1990).

2) Ted Lewin, "Response to ‘Secrets in The Day of Ahmed’s Secret.’"  A prolific illustrator and co-author with his wife of several other picture books set in Arab countries. In 2006, One Green Apple, written by Eve Bunting and illustrated by Ted Lewin, was the winner of the first Arab American Book Award in the Children/Young Adult category.

3) Elsa Marston, "The Arab/Muslim World: How It Looks in Books for American Children" (see RESOURCES).

4) About 21% of families in Egypt experience income poverty. From 2000 to 2008 the poverty rate among children was rising (from 21% to nearly 24%). See the UNICEF report, "Trends of Child Poverty and Disparities in Egypt."

5) Peter Duckett and Marjorie Knox, "The Secret in The Day of Ahmed’s Secret." Lewin, "Response."

6) Ducket and Knox use the term "Islamic Cairo" without explaining it. See Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Cairo.

7) For the 1994 population see Mahmoud Yousry and Tarek A. Aboul Atta, "The challenge of urban growth in Cairo," Chapter 4 in The Urban Challenge in Africa: Growth and Management of its Large Cities, ed. Carole Rakodi (United Nations University Press: 1997). This chapter presents much interesting history about Cairo. URL: http://unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu26ue/uu26ue0d.htm