Pictures of Egyptian ‘homeless’ girl on Facebook lead to surprise discovery

2 July, 2017 | Filed under: All News,more news,Opinion,RECENT POSTS,Somali news | Posted by:

Egyptian passersby east of Cairo recently noticed a young girl in her 20s wearing worn-out clothes and sleeping under the Abbasiyah bridge.

They thought she was homeless, only to find out later that she hails from a wealthy family in El Mahalla.

The surprise came when a passerby published a photo of the girl on social media in an attempt to get a social services institution to help her. Several social media users then commented revealing that her name is Salwa and she is from a rich family from El Mahalla. They added that this is all they know about her because their relation with her has been strictly limited to social media network

The surprise came when a passerby published a photo of the girl on social media (R). (Facebook)
Ashraf Abd al-Hameed, Al Arabiya Sunday, 2 July 2017

The image posted to Facebook that was used to identify her.

An image posted to Facebook that was used to identify her.

An image posted to Facebook that was used to identify her.

A team consisting of a doctor, nurses and medics from a social services institution went to the Abbasiyah bridge to pick up the girl but by the time they got there, the police had picked her up and took her to the station to identify her and reunite her with her family. The social services team then went to the station and she was put under their care.

The social services institution said Salwa has suffered a severe psychological trauma, adding that the parents communicated with them to take Salwa home but she refused as she preferred to stay in the institution, which pledged to help her until she recovers.


Image purporting to show Salwa before she became homeless.

Image purporting to show Salwa before she became homeless.

Image purporting to show Salwa before she became homeless.

Source:Alarabiya/English