Mahmoud Rateb

“يهاجر الناس بسبب تفاقم القلق، بسبب الإحساس المقيت بأنه مهما عملوا بجد فلن يأتيهم بنتيجة، وأن مايعمرونه في سنة قد يدمره الآخرون في يوم. بسبب الإحساس بأن المستقبل مقفل، وأنهم إن دبّروا أمورهم فلن يتمكنوا من تدبير أمور أطفالهم. بسبب الإحساس بأن شيئا لن يتغير، وأن السعادة والازدهار ممكنان فقط في مكان آخر”
― يان مارتل, Life of Pi

“عندما تعايش كل شيء وتحتمله، وعندما تنهض ثانية بعد مئات الكبوات، عندما ترفض الآمال الكاذبة، والمواساة، وتضغط على أسنانك، لكي ترى الحقيقة بشكل واضح، وبعيونك، عندما تفهم بأن المعنى الوحيد للحياة هو في النضال ضد الشر. وفي هذا النضال يمكن عمل القليل، ولكن الشيء الوحيد الذي بمقدورنا. خارجها هو السقوط الأبدي”
― علي عزت بيجوفيتش, هروبي إلى الحرية

“true human grandeur lay in the practice of kindness without conditions, in the capacity of giving to those who had nothing, but not what we have left over but rather a part of what little we have—giving until it hurts without practicing the deceitful philosophy of forcing others to accept our concepts of good and truth because (we believe) they’re the only possible ones and because, besides, they should be grateful for what we give them, even when they didn’t ask for it.”
― Leonardo Padura, The Man Who Loved Dogs

“There is a misconception held by many Egyptian professionals, especially engineers, that informal housing is haphazardly constructed and liable to collapse. However, such precarious housing is almost unknown in informal areas. Since informal housing is overwhelmingly owner-built without use of formal contractors, it is in the owner’s own best interest to ensure that care is taken in construction. In fact, one of the main features of informal housing construction is its high structural quality, reflecting the substantial financial resources and tremendous efforts that owners devote to these buildings. It is worth noting that in the 1992 earthquake in Cairo, practically all building collapses and the resulting fatalities occurred not in informal areas, but either in dilapidated historic parts of the city or informal areas…where apartment blocks had been constructed by (sometimes) unscrupulous developers and contractors.”
― David Sims, Understanding Cairo: The Logic of a City Out of Control