Umm Karim, a mother of four, can only afford one meal per day. Her teenage sons both lost their jobs when the factory they worked in burned down in Egypt's revolution.

Even Umm Karim's small state pension of about $21 hasn't been paid. But a neighbor takes issue with Umm Karim's pessimism: "You don't understand," says Maghdi Said, who farms and has factories.

The management of the SEVEN shopping complex in Umm el-Fahm held a Ramadan conference – the Ramadan Karim – for the 50 business owners in the compound.