There are tens of thousands of
Sudanese refugees in Egypt, most of them seeking refuge from ongoing military conflicts in their home country of
SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
. Their official status as refugees is highly disputed, and they have been subject to racial discrimination and
policeA police service is a public force empowered to enforce the law and provide security through the legitimized use of force.The term is most commonly associated with police services of a state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of...
violence. They live among a much larger population of
Sudanese migrants in Egypt, more than two million people of Sudanese nationality (by most estimates; a full range is 750,000 to 4 million (FMRS 2006:5) who live in Egypt.
There are tens of thousands of
Sudanese refugees in Egypt, most of them seeking refuge from ongoing military conflicts in their home country of
SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
. Their official status as refugees is highly disputed, and they have been subject to racial discrimination and
policeA police service is a public force empowered to enforce the law and provide security through the legitimized use of force.The term is most commonly associated with police services of a state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of...
violence. They live among a much larger population of
Sudanese migrants in Egypt, more than two million people of Sudanese nationality (by most estimates; a full range is 750,000 to 4 million (FMRS 2006:5) who live in Egypt. The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants believes many more of these migrants are in fact refugees, but see little benefit in seeking recognition.
Background
The violent destabilization and economic collapse caused by the immense amount of death and destruction in Sudan has forced millions of civilians to flee their homes and cities. Many refugees currently residing in Egypt escaped from the
Second Sudanese Civil WarThe Second Sudanese Civil War started in 1983, although it was largely a continuation of the First Sudanese Civil War of 1955 to 1972. It took place, for the most part, in southern Sudan and was one of the longest lasting and deadliest wars of the later 20th century...
, where war "pitted black African separatists" and "Christians" against a "Sudanese government run by
Muslim:A Muslim , , is an adherent of the religion of Islam. The feminine form is Muslimah . Literally, the word means "one who submits ". Muslim is the participle of the same verb of which Islam is the infinitive. Muslims believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah...
, Arabic-speaking northerners who had tried to impose Islamic law on the country." 1 in 5 Sudanese were killed in the war, and over 4 million civilians in the South have been given
Internationally Displaced PersonsInternally displaced persons are people forced to flee their homes but who, unlike refugees, remain within their country's borders. At the end of 2006 estimates of t4.5 million in some 52 countries. The region with the largest IDP population is Africa with some 11.8 million in 21...
status. The majority of these IDPs are attempting to resettle outside of the country, but efforts have produced minimal results.
Legal status and conflicts
In January of 2004, Egyptian politicians wrote legislation for a “Four Freedoms Agreement,” which would grant both Sudanese and
EgyptiansEgyptians is the name of the nationality and Mediterranean North African ethnic group native to Egypt....
the freedom of movement, residence, ownership and work in either country. It would allow Sudanese nationals to live indefinitely in Egypt while no longer having to seek refugee status to remain in the country. The agreement would not enable Sudanese refugees to benefit from educational, medical, or social benefits entitled to native citizens. However, as of 2009, the agreement has yet to be ratified by the Egyptian government.
Conditions in Egypt
Refugees in Egypt experience discrimination by both the government and civilian services. A series of laws passed by
parliamentThe Parliament of Egypt is a bicameral legislature that is located in Cairo, Egypt's capital. As the legislative branch of the Egyptian government, the Parliament enacts laws, approves the general policy of the State, the general plan for economic and social development and the general budget of...
has effectively stalled legal and financial gains for refugees of all nationalities, and the response by the international community has been limited.
Employment
Legal employment in Egypt is "virtually" impossible for Sudanese refugees. The 2003 Labor Law and its implementing Ministerial Decree and the 2004 Decree of the Ministry of Manpower and Emigration force all foreigners including refugees to have a permit to work in "gainful" employment. The requirements are reportedly very "stringent," and include assessments of legal status, employer sponsorship, and non-competition with nationals. In 2006, employers have since been required to submit a certificate verifying Sudanese nationals are not carrying
AIDSAcquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus ....
. As a result of these requirements, only a fraction of Sudanese have obtained working permits.
"Black Days"
On January 27, 28 and 29, 2003, Egyptian police conducted raids of Sudanese, Liberian and sub-Saharan African residences in the Maadi area. Detainees, including those with refugee cards, reported ill treatment, beatings and abuse. One detainee reported
- I was taken into a police wagon on the street. They drove around to collect other black people. They would ask Egyptians on the street, "Where are the buildings where blacks live?" It was about one hour driving around like this. By the end there were ten or twelve Africans in the car.HRW
Other detainees alleged that police referred to the raids as "Black Day" and that police intake sheets were labeled, "Operation Track Down Blacks."
Mohandessin protests
An August 2004, Sudanese refugees, backed by the Egyptian non-governmental organisation SOUTH, mounted a protest against the issuing of yellow cards outside the UNHCR office. Police and security officers arrested and dispersed refugees with tear gas.
In October to December 2005, some 2,000 people participated daily in a
protest campProtest camps are physical camps that are set up by activists, to either provide a base for protest, or to delay, obstruct or prevent the focus of their protest by physically blocking it with the camp. They began in the 1920s and became famous in 1982 due to the publicity generated by the Greenham...
in a park at a busy intersection in front of Mustafa Mahmoud Mosque. The camp had been formed on September 29, 2005 by several dozen people who organized with Refugee Voices, a Sudanese refugee group. The Cairo office of UNHCR closed indefinitely in mid-November, after saying it was forced by the sit-in to suspend operations in October.
http://www.irinnews.org/report.asp?ReportID=50207&SelectRegion=Middle_East In the early hours of Friday, December 30, 2005 police raided the camp and clashes ensued in the presence of TV cameras and the press. They dragged the refugees across the street, pulled women from their hair and pushed the elderly carrying newborn babies. Refugees were put in public transit busses to be transferred to central security force camps in different locations in Egypt in addition to taking some of them to State security intelligence offices. Many of those taken to the camps suffered fractures and injuries and lack any medical help.
At least 28, and as many as 100, Sudanese migrants seeking
refugeeUnder the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality,...
status were killed. At least one committed suicide in the wake of the raid.(FMRS 2006:37-38) The camp was forcibly dismantled and 2,174 protesters were detained.
(AFP) The opposition
Muslim BrotherhoodThe Muslim Brothers is a Sunni transnational movement and the largest political opposition organization in many Arab states, particularly Egypt...
condemned the raid.(Nkrumah 2006)
Shortly after the arrests, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry announced it would depart 645 of the arrested people as "illegal immigrants." In late January, the government agreed to allow the UNHCR to perform a status determination on those it wishes to deport. 165 refugee card holders were released from custody. 485 remain in custody at Al-Qanater Prison, Abu Zaabal Prison, and Shebeen Al-Kom and other detention centres.
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/778/eg4.htm
See also