Al-Shafei: Sudanese musicians suffer tragic conditions in Egypt

Musician and instrumentalist Al-Shafei Sheikh Idris appealed to the captain Mustafa Kamel and the members of the board of directors of the Egyptian Musicians Syndicate to review the decision that stopped the situation of most of the old Sudanese musicians in Egypt who were brought by the war.

 Al-Shafei explained that Sudanese musicians in Egypt are living in conditions that can only be described as tragic due to the Egyptian Musicians Syndicate imposing work fees estimated at five thousand pounds for the musician and ten thousand pounds for the singer per night, noting that the musician’s fee per night does not exceed one thousand pounds. He said, “This decision forced singers and wedding owners to dispense with most of the members of the musical band, and the artist has become dependent only on the organ.” He added, “The decision did not only include those who were brought by the war, but also included us, the old members of the syndicate.” He said, “Personally, I have been a member of the syndicate since 2008 and I was surprised by the decision not to renew my card this year for me and my brothers because of the decision, and I suffer like other musicians.” Al-Shafei said that a number of musicians are now unable to support their families and pay the rent of apartments. He also touched on the case of musician Zaki, who needs urgent assistance.

 “We now have the case of musician Zaki Ali Osman, who is an affiliate member of the syndicate and suffers from kidney failure, water in the lungs, and complications from diabetes that require him to be in intensive care. The musicians were unable to collect any money for his treatment as we used to do in the past when the situation was easy and people were working, so I appeal to the captain Mustafa Kamel and the brothers in the respected board of directors of the Egyptian Musicians Syndicate to review this decision that stopped the situation of most of the Sudanese musicians in Egypt, the old ones and those who were brought by the war. God is the judge before and after.” He added. It is noteworthy that a number of musicians attributed the decision to the number of concerts held in Cairo, which is understood from it the revival of work and the necessity of demanding the host country to pay the tax, and a number of those interested in music affairs demanded the necessity of forming a committee from the Sudanese Artists Union in Egypt and meeting the head of the Egyptian Musicians Syndicate and explaining the situation and the value of the wages that Sudanese artists and musicians receive in Egypt, and the necessity of agreeing on a specific amount from each engagement that is paid to the syndicate and the amount is according to the type of engagement, whether it is a private or commercial concert, and the amount is paid from the entire engagement and not from the wages of the musician and artist separately.