{"id":211231,"date":"2025-01-09T05:42:29","date_gmt":"2025-01-09T05:42:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/09\/egypts-economy-is-damaged-it-sees-a-scapegoat-and-a-potential-fix-in-refugees\/"},"modified":"2025-01-09T05:42:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-09T05:42:30","slug":"egypts-economy-is-damaged-it-sees-a-scapegoat-and-a-potential-fix-in-refugees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/2025\/01\/09\/egypts-economy-is-damaged-it-sees-a-scapegoat-and-a-potential-fix-in-refugees\/","title":{"rendered":"Egypt\u2019s Economy Is Damaged. It Sees a Scapegoat, and a Potential Fix, in Refugees."},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align:center\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1050\" height=\"550\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/12\/03\/multimedia\/00egypt-migrants01-photo-jbpk\/00egypt-migrants01-photo-jbpk-facebookJumbo.jpg?fit=1050,550&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"Egypt\u2019s Economy Is Damaged. It Sees a Scapegoat, and a Potential Fix, in Refugees.\" title=\"Egypt\u2019s Economy Is Damaged. It Sees a Scapegoat, and a Potential Fix, in Refugees.\" \/><\/div><p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-0\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">In easier times for Egypt\u2019s refugees, Azza Mostafa, a pro-government TV anchor, had nothing but generous words for the many thousands of Syrians who had built new lives in Egypt after <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/article\/syria-civil-war-rebels.html\" title=\"\">their own country imploded<\/a> into civil war in 2011.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cI\u2019d like to say to our Syrian families and our brothers in Egypt,\u201d she said in <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=T2uL54h0Aic\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">a 2019 broadcast<\/a>, \u201cyou\u2019ve truly brought light to Egypt.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">But there she was on her show in June, fulminating against Egypt\u2019s growing number of outsiders \u2014 an echo of the country\u2019s leaders, whose policy toward refugees and migrants has hardened as they wrestle with <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/09\/01\/world\/middleeast\/egypt-economic-crisis.html\" title=\"\">an economic crisis<\/a> made worse by wars in neighboring Gaza, Sudan and Libya.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThis has become unbearable,\u201d <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=2rqlp6eCZcI\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">Ms. Mostafa said<\/a>, accusing migrants of driving up rents and promoting female genital mutilation. \u201cThere are many acts of overstepping bounds. Is that acceptable? After we opened our country for them?\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-1\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Egypt long made it easy for foreigners of all kinds to live and work in the country, largely without interference, whether they were refugees, migrant workers or Westerners escaping coronavirus lockdowns.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The past 13 years have brought a near unbroken stream of newcomers fleeing conflict to the country that is known among Arabs as the \u201cmother of the world.\u201d That includes not just Syrians but also Sudanese, Yemenis, Eritreans and, most recently, <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/07\/11\/world\/middleeast\/gaza-egypt-palestinians.html\" title=\"\">Palestinians from Gaza<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Egypt\u2019s lax immigration rules meant many never formally registered as refugees or received official permission to stay long-term, yet managed to stitch themselves almost seamlessly into the country, supporting themselves and sometimes starting businesses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Since <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/article\/sudan-khartoum-military.html\" title=\"\">Sudan\u2019s civil war<\/a> drove a <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/05\/04\/world\/middleeast\/sudan-refugees-egypt.html\" title=\"\">surge of refugees<\/a> to Egypt starting in 2023, however, the impoverished government in Cairo has complained louder and louder about the burden of foreigners. It rapidly tightened its policies \u2014 hoping, analysts and diplomats say, to win more support from international backers eager to prevent migration to their own countries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Egypt says it spends $10 billion each year on its nine million refugees, according to officials and government-controlled media (though experts say both numbers are greatly exaggerated), all while Egyptians <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/05\/world\/middleeast\/egypt-economic-crisis-gold-price.html\" title=\"\">endure soaring prices<\/a> and subsidy cuts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-2\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Years of government overspending, reliance on imports and policies that neglected private-sector growth left the country\u2019s finances in precarious shape before the wars in Ukraine and Gaza sent them crashing. Egypt lost $7 billion in crucial revenue from the Suez Canal in 2024 as the conflict in Gaza has <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/24\/business\/red-sea-attacks-shipping-costs.html\" title=\"\">squeezed shipping in the Red Sea<\/a>, according to government officials.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">With Egypt deep in debt and hard-pressed to pay for imports such as wheat and energy, the currency has crashed, while some goods have become difficult to find.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-3\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Ahmed Abu Al-Yazid, the head of a government-owned sugar firm, the Delta Sugar Company, blamed refugees for a sugar shortage that experts link to the economic crisis. The president accused them of draining Egypt\u2019s precious water. On social media, pro-government accounts \u2014 some of which appeared to be fake \u2014 accused Sudanese refugees of driving up rents and promoting female genital mutilation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">A crackdown soon followed the accusations, according to migrants, refugees and their advocates.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Sudanese refugees have been <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2024\/06\/egypt-authorities-must-end-campaign-of-mass-arrests-and-forced-returns-of-sudanese-refugees\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">rounded up<\/a> in police sweeps, detained and summarily deported. Syrians who have lived in Egypt for years have been told to pay thousands of dollars to stay. Many remain hesitant to return, despite <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/12\/21\/world\/middleeast\/assad-regime-syria-final-days.html\" title=\"\">the fall of the Assad regime<\/a> in December, until the situation stabilizes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-4\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Foreign workers from Asia and from other parts of Africa now <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.madamasr.com\/en\/2024\/06\/30\/feature\/politics\/pay-1000-register-as-a-refugee-or-face-deportation-egypts-undocumented-migrants-confront-difficult-choice-as-deadline-looms\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">face extra hurdles<\/a> to keep their legal status, and in some cases, have been arrested to compel them to pay high fees, advocates say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Last month, Egypt passed a law that would hand responsibility for screening refugees and others to the government, instead of to the United Nations refugee agency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Government officials said the measure would ensure a wide array of refugee rights. Critics of the move, however, said that it would become <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/eipr.org\/en\/press\/2024\/11\/22-ngos-joint-statement-grave-risks-posed-passing-proposed-foreign-asylum-bill\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">far harder<\/a> for refugees to gain protection or access to health care and schools. The law also empowers the government to revoke refugee status on vague grounds such as breaches of national security, political activity or violations of Egyptian social customs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Abu Saleh, 32, a Syrian who works in a small Cairo grocery, said he had lived in the city for 13 years \u201cwithout a single issue\u201d until he discovered in July that he could no longer enroll his son in school without a residence permit.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Just to renew his family\u2019s tourist visas, he said, he was told that he would have to return to Syria and pay $2,000 per person in fees \u2014 a process he would have to repeat every six months.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-5\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cEgypt has been there for us all along,\u201d said Abu Saleh, who asked to be identified by the name he uses around town to avoid possible repercussions. \u201cI\u2019d like to appeal to the government of Egypt: Give us residence, even if it\u2019s a little more expensive. We\u2019re facing tough conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-6\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Egypt has not explained its hardening attitude toward foreigners. But analysts and migrant advocates tie it to the economic crisis, which has generated widespread bitterness and <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/10\/05\/world\/middleeast\/egypt-election-sisi.html\" title=\"\">undermined President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi\u2019s rule<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The newcomers make convenient scapegoats for Egyptians\u2019 hardships, rights groups say. Immigration fees, charged in dollars, can supply some of the foreign currency that Egypt badly needs. And foreigners are also valuable pawns in Egypt\u2019s quest for more financial support from its international partners, rights groups say.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cThey think, \u2018How can these people be useful for the government?\u2019\u201d said Nour Khalil, executive director of the Refugees Platform in Egypt, which advocates for migrants\u2019 rights.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-7\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The U.N. refugee agency <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/eg\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/36\/2024\/11\/Registered-Population-Refugees-and-Asylum-Seekers-as-of-31-October.pdf\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">counts about 818,000 registered refugees<\/a> in Egypt, who are entitled to free public health care and education. There are likely many more unregistered refugees, though analysts and aid workers dispute the figure reaches nine million.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The benefits that registered refugees receive mean that Egypt \u201cis treating them like Egyptians, despite the fact that we are not a rich country,\u201d the foreign minister, Badr Abdelatty, said at a news conference last month. \u201cThere is no country in the world assuming these responsibilities and challenges like here in Egypt. We don\u2019t have one single refugee camp \u2014 they are fully integrated in society.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Refugee advocates agree that Egypt needs more resources. Unlike other countries in the region, including Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey, where the United States, the United Nations and the European Union have poured billions into supporting refugees, Egypt has not received significant funds to help house Syrian or other refugees.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-8\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">That is changing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">As the war in Gaza has pounded Egypt\u2019s finances, Western backers have <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/12\/10\/world\/middleeast\/egypt-election-gaza-war.html\" title=\"\">rushed to Egypt\u2019s aid<\/a>, anxious to prevent an economic collapse in the Arab world\u2019s most populous country, analysts and diplomats say. A crash in Egypt could further destabilize the Middle East and send a deluge of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, where there is heavy public <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/11\/18\/world\/europe\/europe-migration-shift.html\" title=\"\">pressure to restrict migration<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-9\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">The European Union pledged a fast-tracked <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/eu-bolster-egypt-ties-with-billions-funding-2024-03-17\/\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">$8 billion aid package<\/a> to Egypt in March, echoing <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2023\/07\/17\/world\/europe\/eu-tunisia-migrant-deal.html\" title=\"\">deals<\/a> the bloc has struck with Mauritania, Tunisia and Turkey that funded migration enforcement in those countries.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Other backers, including the International Monetary Fund, have sent billions more to <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/03\/06\/world\/middleeast\/egypt-imf-package-economy.html\" title=\"\">stabilize<\/a> Egypt\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Critics say the European pact with Egypt, like the bloc\u2019s other migration deals, is <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hrw.org\/news\/2024\/03\/15\/eu-deal-egypt-rewards-authoritarianism-betrays-eu-values\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">enabling rights abuses<\/a> by rewarding Mr. el-Sisi\u2019s authoritarianism and potentially funding the current crackdown on migrants.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Groups including Amnesty International and the Refugees Platform in Egypt have <a class=\"css-yywogo\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewhumanitarian.org\/investigations\/2024\/04\/25\/exclusive-inside-egypt-secret-scheme-detain-deport-thousands-sudan-refugees\" title=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">documented what they say is a pattern<\/a> of mass arbitrary arrests and unlawful deportations of Sudanese refugees \u2014 some detained as they were smuggled across the border, others rounded up during random sweeps of predominantly Sudanese neighborhoods.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-10\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Some Syrians, too, have been expelled, Mr. Khalil of the refugees platform said. His group has also documented more than 50 arrests of foreign workers, some of whom already had residency, who were held until they paid $1,000 in fees and fines, he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-11\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">An atmosphere of fear has brought throngs of Sudanese to the doorstep of the U.N. refugee agency in Cairo, seeking formal protection. But refugee status can take months, if not years, to obtain: Appointments to begin the process are not available until late 2025. And some of the Sudanese who have been detained and deported, Mr. Khalil said, held some form of U.N. identification, casting doubt on whether the organization could guarantee security.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Among those waiting outside one morning was Mohammed Abdelwahab, 36. By the time he and his family tried to cross the border from Sudan this spring, Egypt had tightly restricted what had been free-flowing movement between the two countries, so they resorted to smugglers instead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Without legal papers, Mr. Abdelwahab and his 14-year-old son, Mohanad, collected plastic bottles on Cairo\u2019s streets for a living. Mr. Abdelwahab was looking for better work one day in June when Mohanad disappeared.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Twenty days later, Mohanad resurfaced with a WhatsApp message: He had been rounded up with a group of other Sudanese and deported.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<div data-testid=\"companionColumn-12\">\n<div class=\"css-53u6y8\">\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">Mr. Abdelwahab had been looking for Mohanad in another city. When he returned to Cairo, his wife and three other children had been evicted for nonpayment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-at9mc1 evys1bk0\">\u201cIt\u2019s indescribable,\u201d he said. \u201cNow they\u2019re all camping out here,\u201d he added, referring to his family and indicating the sidewalk in front of the refugee agency, where groups of other Sudanese waited listlessly in the sun.<\/p>\n<p class=\"css-798hid etfikam0\">Emad Mekay<!-- --> and <!-- -->Rania Khaled<!-- --> contributed reporting.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<aside class=\"css-ew4tgv\" aria-label=\"companion column\"\/><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/01\/09\/world\/middleeast\/egypts-economy-refugees.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In easier times for Egypt\u2019s refugees, Azza Mostafa, a pro-government TV anchor, had nothing but generous words for the many thousands of Syrians who had built new lives in Egypt after their own country imploded into civil war in 2011. \u201cI\u2019d like to say to our Syrian families and our brothers in Egypt,\u201d she said [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/images\/2024\/12\/03\/multimedia\/00egypt-migrants01-photo-jbpk\/00egypt-migrants01-photo-jbpk-facebookJumbo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[166709,166710,35234,1933,3747,9359,896,14314,12274,716,3355,48055,4944,166708,4276,19366,166707],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211231"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211231"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211231\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":211233,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211231\/revisions\/211233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.talkwithrattan.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}