another new doorman

Ahmed, the new doorman, was on duty as soon as I got back from New York.

That meant that his predecessor (who replaced the guy who was arrested on burglary charges but ultimately freed by the military tribunal for lack of evidence) only lasted 6 months.

Every doorman only lasts 6 months on this job. At first I thought it was coincidence. Then I realized it was a pattern and speculated on strange reasons for it. But just today I realized: it must be Egyptian labor law. This came up recently in another context, which is how I learned the law. In Egypt you can keep someone as a temp for 6 months, but after that must offer them a contract with lots of protections. Our landlord must be gaming the system a bit, getting rid of his temp doormen before having to give them any guarantees. It was different at my place downtown, where the same doormen stayed for years, except for Ragab, who was fired for smoking pot on the job.