[Photo: Mohamad writing "quit busting my balls" on his hand so he can remember it for his next client, by Andrew Gregg]

Mohamad Pony’s name is not really Mohamad Pony—he is the best fixer in Egypt and quite possibly the best fixer in the world. The Pony comes from his first car, which was a Hyundai. He’s upgraded now to a Sonata and it’s remarkably clean considering the state of the other vehicles on the road. It also has automatic windows, which makes it easier for Mohamad to roll down them down and yell at the traffic policemen who have the power to push the buttons to change the red lights to green at every congested square in Cairo.

I heard about Mohamad from some CBC colleagues, when I asked around about a fixer for my documentary film project in Egypt. The men who recommended him did so without reservations. The women said he was incredibly competent, but he had a problem with women. It turns out that his problem with women was that he loved them too much… [more]