By Nada Hamouda
Several career paths have been declining for years due to changes in the global economy and advances in technology. Hence, in Egypt, like many parts of the world, gone are the days of good old fashion shoe shining; as fancy automatic machines have replaced shoe shiners. However, there are still some who are fighting to survive. So, let’s take a closer look at what life looks like for a 21st-century shoe shiner.
“Back in the day people used to have one or two good pairs of shoes, and they used to look after them,” the 65-year-old Shoe Shiner, Mohammed, said. “As the years progressed and cheaper shoes came from overseas to Egypt, the new generation bought more pairs that were disposable. However, we still try to have young clients, but we do things the old fashioned way, I guess,” Mohammed laughed.
The shoe shiner average customer is mainly the working-class population in their 30s and above, who still appreciate a good pair of leather shoes. However, the service has no specific monetary value as the charge approaches to five Egyptian Pounds with the income mainly depending on the amounts of tips received.
There hasn’t been an accurate representation of the shoe shining profession in Egyptian cinema. As it usually appeared in scenes where the wealthy or the merchant sit in a coffee shop smoking Shisha and at his feet sits the shoe-shiner, polishing his shoes. However, some roles have etched our mind, though, for example, we can’t forget Ahmed Rateb’s role, in Adel Imam and Yousra’s “Al Irhab Wal Kabab” movie, where he worked as a shoe shiner at Mogamma El Tahrir.
Moreover, an average shoe shine may take about ten minutes. Nevertheless, with steady traffic, a shoe shiner may serve four to six customers an hour. “I’ve been working here around Maadi metro station for over 15 years now. And yes the number of customers is declining over the years but we can’t say it’s over yet. People still come asking for a shoe polishing,” Mohamed said.
“Women do come to get their shoes cleaned except that most of them bring them in a bag. In contrary, men get their shoes cleaned up instantly while wearing them resting their legs on the box for us to do the work,” Mohamed added. “However, we get lots of women during the wintertime as it’s the boots season; but outside of that about 10% of our customers are women,” he emphasized.
Shoe shiners also offer other services such as repairing or replacing the rubber sole at the bottom of your shoes. However, it would be wise not to get expensive shoes shined as the polish and equipment of the average shoe shiner is not of high quality.
Over the years, Mohamed realized that just like the sidewalks and streets wear down a man’s shoes, the ups and downs of life can wear on a person’s soul. “I learned that every grubby shoe is a reflection of an intense story of the user. And the perks of our job are that sometimes we get to hear those stories as we serve different personals such as lawyers, police officers, accountants, and more,” Mohamed explained.