Egypt sees refugees as scapegoats and opportunities

In easier times for refugees in Egypt, pro-government TV host Azza Mostafa has nothing but generous words for the thousands of Syrians who have built new lives in Egypt afterwards. Their country has exploded into the civil war in 2011.

“I want to speak to the Syrian family and our brothers in Egypt,” she said. program broadcast in 2019“you have truly brought light to Egypt.”

But she appeared on her show in June, protesting Egypt’s growing number of outsiders – an echo of the country’s leaders, whose policies towards refugees and Migrants have toughened up as they grapple with an economic crisis worsened by wars in neighboring Gaza, Sudan and Libya.

“This has become unbearable,” Ms. Mostafa saidaccused migrants of raising rent and promoting female genital mutilation. “There are many behaviors that cross the line. Is that acceptable? After we open the country to them?”

Egypt has long made it easy for all kinds of foreigners to live and work in the country with little interference, whether they are refugees, migrant workers or Westerners escaping the ban. blockade due to corona virus.

The past 13 years have brought an almost never-ending stream of new arrivals fleeing conflict to the country known to Arabs as “the mother of the world.” That includes not only Syrians but also Sudanese, Yemenis, Eritreans and most recently Palestinians from Gaza.

Egypt’s lax immigration regulations mean many never officially registered as refugees or received official permission to stay permanently, but still managed to integrate almost seamlessly. come into this country, support themselves and sometimes start a business.

From Civil war in Sudan drive one wave of refugees However, for Egypt starting in 2023, the impoverished government in Cairo has increasingly complained about the burden of foreigners. Analysts and diplomats say the country quickly tightened its policies in hopes of winning more support from international advocates eager to stem migration to their country. Surname.

Egypt says it spends $10 billion a year on 9 million refugees, according to officials and government-controlled media (though experts say both figures are greatly exaggerated ), while the Egyptians endure price hikes and subsidy cuts.

Years of government overspending, reliance on imports and policies that neglected private sector growth left the country’s finances in a precarious state before wars in Ukraine and Gaza caused them to collapse. pour. Egypt loses $7 billion in vital Suez Canal revenue by 2024 due to conflict in Gaza tightening shipping in the Red Seaaccording to government officials.

With Egypt mired in debt and struggling to pay for imports such as wheat and energy, the currency has lost value, while some goods have become difficult to find.

Ahmed Abu Al-Yazid, head of government-owned sugar company Delta Sugar Company, blames refugees for sugar shortages that experts say are linked to the economic crisis . The president accused them of depleting Egypt’s precious water resources. On social media, pro-government accounts – some of which appear to be fake – accuse Sudanese refugees of raising rents and promoting female genital mutilation.

According to migrants, refugees and their supporters, a crackdown soon followed the accusations.

Sudanese refugees have round up during police raids, detained and immediately deported. Syrians who have lived in Egypt for years have had to pay thousands of dollars to stay. Many people are still hesitant to return, though the fall of the Assad regime in December until the situation stabilizes.

Currently, foreign workers come from Asia and from other parts of Africa face more barriers Supporters say they retain their legal status and in some cases have been arrested to force them to pay high fees.

Last month, Egypt passed a law assigning responsibility for screening refugees and others to the government, rather than to the United Nations refugee agency.

Government officials said the measure would ensure a range of refugee rights. However, critics of the move say it will become much more difficult so that refugees receive protection or access to health care and schools. The law also empowers the government to revoke refugee status for vague reasons such as violating national security, political activities or violating Egyptian social customs.

Abu Saleh, 32, a Syrian who works in a small grocery store in Cairo, said he had lived in the city for 13 years “without a single problem” until he found out last month. 7 that he could not enroll his son in school without a residence permit. .

Just to renew his family’s tourist visa, he said, he was told he would have to return to Syria and pay a fee of $2,000 for each person – a process he would have to repeat every six months.

“Egypt has always been there for us,” said Abu Saleh, who asked to be identified by the name he uses around town to avoid possible consequences. “I want to appeal to the Egyptian government: Give us residence, even if it is a little more expensive. We are facing difficult conditions.”

Egypt has not explained its tough attitude towards foreigners. But analysts and migrant advocates tie it to the economic crisis, which has caused widespread bitterness and frustration. weakening the rule of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.

Human rights groups say the new arrivals are convenient scapegoats for the hardships of the Egyptian people. Immigration fees, measured in dollars, could provide some of the foreign currency Egypt desperately needs. And human rights groups say foreigners are also valuable pawns in Egypt’s efforts to seek more financial support from international partners.

“They think, ‘How can these people be useful to the government?’” said Nour Khalil, executive director of the Refugee Forum in Egypt, which advocates for migrants’ rights. “.

United Nations Refugee Agency counted about 818,000 registered refugees in Egypt, people enjoy free public health care and education. There may be many more unregistered refugees, although analysts and aid workers argue the number is as high as 9 million.

Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty said in a news conference last month that the benefits registered refugees receive mean Egypt “treats them like Egyptians, despite the fact that we not a rich country.” “No country in the world takes on these responsibilities and challenges like Egypt. We don’t have a refugee camp – they are completely integrated into society.”

Refugee advocates agree that Egypt needs more resources Unlike other countries in the region, including Jordan, Lebanon and Türkiye, where the United States, the United Nations and the European Union has poured billions of dollars into supporting refugees, Egypt has not received significant financial resources to help Syrians or other refugees.

That’s changing.

When the war in Gaza affected Egypt’s finances, Western backers did rushed to aid EgyptAnxious to prevent economic collapse in the Arab world’s most populous country, analysts and diplomats said. An accident in Egypt could further destabilize the Middle East and push large numbers of migrants across the Mediterranean to Europe, where large numbers of migrants are located. pressure to limit migration.

The European Union is committed to accelerating progress 8 billion USD aid package to Egypt in March, echoed transaction The bloc has reached agreements with Mauritania, Tunisia and Türkiye to fund migration enforcement in those countries.

Other backers, including the International Monetary Fund, sent billions more dollars stable Economy of Egypt.

Critics say the European pact with Egypt, like the bloc’s other migration deals, is facilitate the abuse of rights by rewarding Mr. el-Sisi’s authoritarianism and potentially funding the current crackdown on migrants.

Groups including Amnesty International and the Refugee Forum in Egypt have Recording what they say is a pattern of mass arbitrary arrests and illegal deportations of Sudanese refugees – some detained as they were smuggled across the border, others rounded up in random raids on The population is mainly Sudanese.

Some Syrians have also been deported, said Khalil of the refugee forum. He said his team also recorded more than 50 arrests of foreign workers, some of whom had residence permits, who were detained until they paid $1,000 in fees and fines. punish.

A climate of fear has brought crowds of Sudanese to the doors of the United Nations refugee agency in Cairo seeking official protection. But refugee status could take months, if not years, to obtain: Appointments to begin the process are not due until the end of 2025. And some Sudanese detained and deported, Mr. Khalil said, had some United Nations identification documents, raising doubts about whether the organization could ensure security.

Among those waiting outside one morning was 36-year-old Mohammed Abdelwahab. By the time he and his family tried to cross the border from Sudan this spring, Egypt had tightly restricted free movement between the two countries, so they turned to smugglers. instead of.

Without legal documents, Mr. Abdelwahab and his 14-year-old son Mohanad have to collect plastic bottles on the streets of Cairo to make a living. Mr. Abdelwahab was looking for a better job one day in June when Mohanad disappeared.

Twenty days later, Mohanad reappeared with a WhatsApp message: He had been arrested with a group of other Sudanese and deported.

Mr. Abdelwahab searched for Mohanad in another city. When he returned to Cairo, his wife and three other children were evicted for not paying.

“It’s indescribable,” he said. “They’re all camping here now,” he added, referring to his family and pointing to the sidewalk in front of the refugee agency, where other groups of Sudanese waited listlessly in the sun.

Emad Mekay And Rania Khaled Report contributions.