"Last Friday, I only bought beans and potatoes to save money. I’m not like other women who buy more than they need," she said.
Zein is unlike other Egyptians, who, since January 25, have been rushing to the supermarkets, bakeries and butchers to buy huge amounts of food, far more than they actually need.
They are afraid that the shops will run out of food, but their behaviour has had a bad effect on other families, who haven’t been able to buy any food, because the big spenders had cleared out the shops.
Another housewife, Azza el-Sheimi, doesn’t keep much food in her refrigerator, but, with the help of her neighbours, she has been able to manage. "The children here [in Boulaq Abul Ella, a poor district of Cairo] queue up in shifts at the bakeries to buy bread for everyone," she said.
