Mahmoud, the pizza maker in Italy … The breakfast hour is the height of order execution

The heat emanating from the oven – which is considered the mihrab of Mahmoud Hassan (29 years) – is his daily kiss in the pizza industry for Italians, and even during times of raising the call to prayer for breakfast, a man does not calm down, as he is in continuous work.

A hot atmosphere accompanies this young Egyptian immigrant throughout the day in his constant work there at the pizzeria in the San Salvario neighborhood of Turin, northern Italy. Read also Video: The month of Ramadan is an outlet for some Jordanian youth by selling juices on the streets The Arabs introduced many of them … ancient Ramadan legacies and renewed rituals among Ugandan Muslims Exercises and reading the Qur’an .. with video The International Table Tennis Federation documents the life of the Egyptian woman here in Ramadan A season of return to the roots … Sudanese passionate Ramadan coexist for the first time in 26 years

“The oven temperature affects me during fasting, but there is no trick. Eating the live imposes this pattern of work,” says Mahmoud, the pizza maker, who got used to this matter about 10 years ago in an Italian-Egyptian restaurant.

“Oh if I played, Blossom”

Many vital professions – such as medicine, security, and journalism – to name but a few – make their owner abstain in performing his professional duty as Mahmoud does, who says, “At a time when I must be flying with others at the breakfast table, I have to continue standing in front of the oven, after The length of the day in front of him .. By God, usually I only drink some water, then after that I take a short break, when the opportunity arises, to eat as much milk and dates as possible. Certainly, I cannot eat breakfast like the rest of the people.

And about the memories that Mahmoud keeps during his fast in Ramadan throughout his exile until today. He told Al-Jazeera Net, “We used to work about 8 individuals, working according to a permanent system, where the work atmosphere was sweet in the holy month, and we used to prepare breakfast dishes together.”

Al-Jazeera Net asked Mahmoud about the secret of his speech in the past tense, and with a lot of nostalgia, so his answer was that the matter was about a time gone by, before the emergence of the Corona epidemic, and after it, “conditions changed …” “Oh, if you played, Zahr,” by the Egyptian singer Ahmed Sheiba

Long hours and Corona is merciless

Mahmoud says that work in the pizza shop has become less than before because of Corona, and “about 80% of the sales were lost, as well as the number of employees in the restaurant became very little. I alone managed to maintain work, while the remaining seven lost their work, so I have a lot From nostalgia for the people that I have now missed, as the work yield is only proportional to the presence of one cook, according to the food delivery service most used due to the Covid-19 virus.

In Italy – as is the case in many European countries – the time for fasting is very long compared to his country of origin, Egypt, which is exhausting for Mahmoud, who says, “Here we fast for approximately 17 hours, while in our country there are only 14 hours. This matter must be paid attention to.” People, praise God for Him, as He blessed them with the blessing of fasting in better conditions of life than here in Europe where there is no atmosphere for Ramadan, in addition to the long hours of the day and working together.

Mahmoud, took advantage of his meeting with Al-Jazeera Net, and sent a solidarity greeting to many Muslim migrant workers in Europe and all expatriates who work according to more working hours than in Islamic Arab countries.

Certificate of “relatives”

Muhammad Jamil, the owner of the pizza shop, told Al-Jazeera Net that he tried from time to time to be with Mahmoud in the shop to help him, but not always, due to special circumstances, adding that “the problem of this profession is that you serve people and provide them with food at a time when you are deprived.” From that; the nature of our work is to provide meals to people, otherwise we will disrupt the interests of the customers (customers), and often breakfast is postponed to another time, after the implementation of the orders they are committed to, and I have been through this experience with Italians for many years. “

The pizza shop owner insisted on giving a nice word about Mahmoud, so he said, “He is a respectable young man, who has been working with us since he arrived in Italy, and he is very young. His life is another way, but he showed that he is a struggling, hardworking and successful person. He deserved to help him, so we married him, because he is kind, and we love him from the human and professional side together, he is very dedicated to work that is not easy. “

Appreciation from the Earthlings

The difficult nature of Mahmoud’s work, seen by his client Fabrizia – whom we encountered after the adhaan for the sunset prayer – “is a positive thing, and it expresses a professional responsibility, which makes him not provide his own necessities for his work.” While another customer – Julio – expressed Mahmoud’s condition with great appreciation and respect. “He is a worker who appreciates his work, and definitely deserves recognition, isn’t he?”

As for Antonio, he spoke to us about Mahmoud, while he was waiting for his order from Pizza Margarita, where he said, “His work is very complex, but he … (interrupts his fiancée Julia, saying it must be a firm choice, otherwise it will be difficult) impressive for those who believe in such a life, And adhere to the details of Ramadan. “