An elderly leprosy patient is sitting on her bed in a her little room in Egypt's leprosy colony. Mekka is painted at her wall.
Although leprosy is on the verge of extinction and nowadays a curable disease, there still remain some leprosaria or leprosy colonies as they are often called. Abu Zaabal, Egypt’s leprosy colony 40km north of Cairo, was built in 1933 and lepers were historically brought in by police and were not allowed to leave as isolation was seen as the only treatment. Now living conditions there, with all necessary facilities, are generally much better than in the poor rural villages where most patients come from. Due to this, the 750 or so patients and another 3,000 to 4,000 cured lepers living in the adjoining Abdel Moneim Riad village don’t want to leave anymore. By staying in the village they also don't have to fear from any stigma or derisive comments.
Size: 5020px × 3360px
Location: Cairo-Qalyoubiya Egypt
Photo credit: © Claudia Wiens / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: -leper, abu, cairo, chronic, colony, cured, disease, diseases, east, egypt, hansen, health, horrible, hospital, ill, illness, lazar, leper, lepers, leprosaria, leprosy, mekka, middle, nerves, painting, patient, patients, people, problems, sick, skin, social, stigma, stigmatised, stigmatized, unhygienic, wall, zaabal
