Where the breathing air should be accessible for everyone in Moon Vally this is not an option. Wadi el-Qamar (Moon Valley) is a teeming residential quarter in western Alexandria, one of Egypt’s largest cities. Founded more than 70 years ago under King Farouk, where some 60,000 people live.
Today, black clouds of exhaust billow from the chimneys of the Alexandria Portland Cement Company, a subsidiary of “Titan" a Greek cement and building materials producer, less than 15 meters away. Because Moon Valley lies directly in the path of the factory’s emissions, toxic cement dust blankets the homes of nearly half of its residents, leading to numerous cases of chest infections and asthma, lung cancer, eye, ear and throat infections. There’s no avoiding the dust. you eat it in your mouth as you walk through Moon Valley’s streets. Leave your window open for an hour, and a half-inch of dust would coat everything in their homes. Worse, those who live close to the factory have to grapple not only with the fumes, but also with inescapable vibrations, strong enough to damage their homes and noise pollution. The problem is not only affecting and changing the global climate, but also affects most of the working men socially, and because of the deteriorating of their health condition they don’t go to work and can’t support their families. Some residents have been trying to call attention to the problem for 10 years. They have repeatedly filed complaints to the Ministry of Environment and taken legal steps against the factory. But rather than address the issue, the plant urged the community members, most of whom are impoverished, to relocate.
In March 2018, an appellate court found the factory guilty of “causing environmental pollution and violating the neighboring residents’ right to health,” according to the nongovernmental organization Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. The decision came in response to a complaint filed in 2015 by community members. With no action so far. People do not live there a humanity life; imagine that your child is born with asthma since the first day in his life. Cement, coal and car exhausting dust are inside the house where most of the houses are covered with dirt every 5 minutes.