It is now very healthy. She is convinced, furthermore, that the trees understand every word. The cause to which she has devoted her life is the environment. Residents of Maadi know she is often to be found at the police station, where she spends hours reporting offences and ensuring that the culprits are punished. They probably think I'm crazy, but eventually the message gets through.
Trees are our lungs.
Without them, we cannot breathe. In the '80s, El-Halwagi fought to save a vast olive tree plantation that was subsequently cut down to provide land on which apartment blocks for army officers were built. Used for years as a garbage dump, it was eventually filled and parts of it were paved over. Municipality officials contemplated transforming the rest of the former canal into a main street, or constructing small cabins. Again, El-Halwagi played a pivotal role in the fight for the expansion of Maadi's green areas.