By Cam McGrath
CAIRO, Feb 5 2002 (IPS)

Visitors to this year’s Cairo International Book Fair (CIBF) appear far more interested in self-improvement and child development than the politically-charged offerings presented by publishers and organisers.

Organised by the General Egyptian Book Organisation (GEBO), the fair’s statistics are staggering. Nearly 3,000 publishers, 92 countries and 1,000 authors participated in the annual exhibition, the second largest of its type in the world after Frankfurt.

An estimated four million publications were displayed in pavilions on 140,000 square metres during the fair that concluded Feb 4.

The event was originally scheduled to end Feb 1, but was fair organisers said they were extending it to allow more time for people to visit.

The international fair represents GEBO’s goal of “re- establishing the habit of reading in the Egyptian public,” GEBO chairman Samir Sarhan said.

But a look at the crowded fairgrounds suggested that for many Egyptians, the fair was more of a carnival event than a literary one.

Egyptian families held picnics in the fairgrounds’ open spaces, their children running from one food stall to the next while teenage boys cruise the pavilions in search of girls.

Bags of potato crisps sold faster than acclaimed novels by Yusuf Idris, and at dozens of booths young men hunched over Playstations zapping baddies.

Over the years, the CIBF has become a major event among middle class Egyptians, who regard it as both an entertaining and educational daytrip.

While devoted literature buffs may find this disturbing, exhibitors were keen to point out that the masses do in fact buy books.

No figures are available, but with an estimated half million people visiting the fair each day, the numbers quickly add up.

“More books are sold here in one day than any bookstore can (sell) in a week,” said a representative of Madbouli el-Sighayer publishing house. The company’s pavilion was packed with Egyptians flipping through titles on the Palestinian conflict, globalisation and biographies of former presidents.

Publishers expected Egypt’s economic slump to put a dent in this year’s sales, but many visitors see the fair as an opportunity to purchase books at discounted prices.

Even the Libyan exhibition in a forlorn half-empty pavilion at the far corner of the fairgrounds reported satisfactory business.

“We sell a few copies every day,” a representative said of “the Green Book.” The 1984 literary contribution of Libyan President Muammar el-Qaddafi, translated into dozens of languages, occupied a large swath of the stall’s shelf space.

Commentaries on the book covered much of the rest.

Books on the Taliban and militant Islam were low in number this year, but publishers are cashing in on the public’s interest in U.S. public enemy number one, Osama bin Laden.

His visage carries titles like “Bin Laden: Adding Fuel to Terrorism” and his alleged activities are described in numerous books with the World Trade Centre in flames on their cover.

Egyptians visiting the fair, however, are generally more interested in self-improvement (both spiritual and vocational) and child development literature.

A random sample of bags carried by fair-goers showed their contents to be educational software, encyclopaedias, career training courses, religious commentaries and Harry Potter books.

“I didn’t buy anything for myself, but I did buy lots of English books for my two sons, who are in primary school,” housewife Mona Shaker said.

The purpose of the CIBF is not just to sell books, organisers say, but to help international publishers and distributors conclude agreements. It also aims at providing a suitable intellectual climate for seminars and literary discussions, with thousands of authors, politicians, journalists and cultural figures invited to attend.

Politics figure heavy in this year’s CIBF programme, with a particular emphasis of Islam-West relations and the impact of September 11 events.

Symposiums titled “Civilisations: Clash or Dialogue?”, “The Image of Arabs in the West” and “Dialogue of Islam and the West” reflected the general Egyptian perception of cross-cultural differences.

Organisers also arranged seminars on current issues like the challenges of globalisation, Nile water policies and threats to the country’s pharmaceuticals sector.

The topics themselves might not have appealed to the masses, but many come anyway, lured by the novelty of state officials participating in a public forum.

Frustrated citizens interrupted dialogues to query participants on the rising cost of consumer goods. Others showered their leaders with praise, including one fan of Arab League secretary- general Amr Moussa, who reportedly grabbed the microphone and serenaded his idol to the backdrop of a cheering crowd.

The crowds passed up many political or economic seminars altogether in favour of films and discussions with famous celebrities presented on the fair’s sidelines.

But many visiting families preferred just to stroll the rows of food and novelty vendors outside the pavilions or picnic in the open spaces. For them, the book fair was s a passive experience where if a particular book caught their eye they would buy it, but otherwise they knew they would have an enjoyable time.

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