The Mingrelian Conspiracy. Michael Pearce

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СКАЧАТЬ that we have reason to suppose that some of the money the gangs collect through their protection rackets finds its way to the purchase of guns,’ said Paul.

      ‘Well, there you are, then. And we know who they’ll be used against!’

      ‘Armed uprising,’ said the third member of the Army team loyally.

      ‘Armed uprising?’ said Owen incredulously. ‘Do you know what the scale of this is?’

      ‘Bloody vast,’ said the major.

      ‘Infinitesimal. There are less than a dozen gangs and fewer than twenty men in each. Two hundred men. Out of a population in the city of eight hundred thousand!’

      ‘If there are so few,’ said the major, ‘why don’t you get on top of them?’

      Paul sighed.

      ‘Operating in a city is not quite like operating against a few armed tribesmen in the desert,’ he said.

      ‘There I have to disagree with you,’ said the new man, Captain Shearer. ‘I think some of the lessons we’ve learned in the Gulf are very applicable in Cairo.’

      ‘Quite right,’ said the major approvingly.

      ‘What had you in mind?’ asked Owen. ‘Machine guns?’

      ‘Not quite that,’ said Shearer. ‘Although I do think you shouldn’t underrate the part machine guns could play in dealing with mass disturbance in the squares. No, what I was thinking of was armed patrols on the streets –’

      ‘There’s hardly a need for that,’ said Owen. ‘It’s a peaceful city.’

      ‘People getting their legs broken?’ said the major. ‘I’d hardly call that peaceful.’

      ‘You’ve got to see it in proportion.’

      ‘The trouble is,’ said Shearer, ‘the proportion can very soon change if you don’t stamp on this kind of thing at once.’

      ‘Armed patrols?’ said Owen. ‘For God’s sake!’

      ‘From what I’ve seen,’ said Paul, ‘especially on the nights after they’ve been paid, it’s the soldiers who are responsible for half the trouble!’

      ‘I won’t deny there’s been the odd spot of bother recently,’ said the major defensively.

      ‘Actually, sir,’ said Shearer, turning eagerly towards him, ‘that rather supports the point I was making last night.’

      ‘Oh, yes?’ said the major vaguely.

      ‘About unifying the policing of the city. The need to deploy more Military Police and bring security under a single command, preferably military –’

      ‘What are you suggesting?’ said Paul. ‘Putting Cairo under military law?’

      ‘Well –’

      ‘Or are you merely saying that since the Army is responsible for most of the criminal violence that there is in the city, it should do something about it?’

      ‘Well, I wouldn’t put it quite like that –’

      ‘He’s right, though,’ said the major doggedly. ‘There ought to be a crackdown.’

      Paul began to gather up his papers.

      ‘Well, thank you, gentlemen. It’s always a pleasure to hear the views of the Army. And most helpful to have a new contribution! I’m sure you’re right, Captain Shearer, we all have much to learn. I’m afraid you’ll find, though, when you’ve been here a little longer, that the situation in Egypt is not quite as straightforward as you suppose. Nor is Egyptian police work.’

      No, indeed. To start with the question of what the British were doing in Egypt anyway: they were there, they said, by invitation of the ruler of Egypt, the Khedive, to help him sort out the country’s chaotic finances. True, the invitation had been nearly thirty years before and they were still there; but then, the finances were very complicated. True, too, that their help now extended very widely. There was a British adviser alongside every minister. There were Englishmen at the head of the police and the Army. And the British Consul-General was always there to advise the Khedive. But then, it was hard to separate finance from the general running of the country, as the Khedive soon sadly discovered.

      It was true, however, that a number of people in Egypt, and most certainly the Khedive, had come to feel that the help was no longer necessary. But then, as Nationalist newspapers frequently observed, a growing number of Egyptians felt that the Khedive was no longer necessary either.

      The situation was indeed not straightforward. Egypt had in effect two governments, the formal one of the Khedive and the shadow one of the British administration. In these circumstances a certain dexterity was required of administrators.

      It was particularly required of the Mamur Zapt, a post traditional to, and peculiar to, Cairo. Broadly, Owen was responsible for what was coming to be known as security. In England the nearest equivalent was Head of the Political Branch of the Criminal Investigation Department. In Egypt the Mamur Zapt was traditionally thought of as Head of the Sultan’s Secret Police. There was now no Sultan and, as a matter of fact, no Secret Police either; but views were slow to change.

      Owen was, then, answerable for security. But answerable to whom? It was a question asked frequently by the Khedive and occasionally by the Consul-General and Owen never quite found the right answer. Khedive and Consul both agreed, however, that his duties should be carried out so discreetly as not to cause trouble. Owen was in favour of this, too, very much so, only it was not always easy to achieve in this city of sixty nationalities, most of whom were always at each other’s throats, one hundred and twelve different ethnic groups, ditto, two hundred plus sects of a variety of religions, even more ditto, and growing Egyptian nationalism. Not to mention the fact that there was not one but three legal systems, each with its own courts, among which agile criminals could slip with eternal impunity.

      No, indeed, policing in Egypt was not straightforward, thought Owen, as he sat benignly in a café at that corner of the Ataba-el-Khadra where the Musky debouches into the square. That stupid meeting with the Army had taken up so much of the morning that he had been obliged to go back to his office in the afternoon, which, at this time of the year, very few people did. Throughout the morning the heat built up so that, despite the closed shutters and the whirling fans, by noon everybody was wilting. They clung nobly on till about one o’clock, or, in the case of the British, eager to demonstrate both the heaviness of their workload and their superiority to the elements, two o’clock, and then thankfully packed it in for the day and went home for their siesta. Owen could never sleep during the day and usually went to the baths at this time to have a swim while the pool was empty. Not infrequently he then went back to the office and stayed there until the twilit hour when the day suddenly cooled and all the cafés came alive. Then he headed for a nearby one, along with half the population of Cairo.

      There were, he had long ago decided, two stages. In the first, people woke up from their siesta, stretched themselves and thought that a little air would do them good. They went out into the street and found by some strange coincidence that everyone else was doing the same. They strolled along together, every few steps stopping to greet acquaintances, until the sun dropped below the minarets and suddenly the thought struck them how pleasant it СКАЧАТЬ