Brazilian volunteers in the country report conflicts with the poorest population, poverty and neglect by the government
Brazilian volunteers in the country report conflicts with the poorest population, poverty and neglect by the government
Pedro Pilecco, 19, a chemical engineering student at the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFMS) in Rio Grande do Sul, landed in Cairo in 2017 to volunteer with poor children. There, she helped out in orphanages and gave English lessons to refugee children. The exchange was organized by the Aiesec agency, a student-run non-governmental organization that promotes volunteer work programs around the world. In Egypt, Pilleco worked with the NGO Tadamon, a Multicultural Refugee Center.
The Brazilian student was struck by the poverty of the Arab and African refugees who arrive in Egypt fleeing war, persecution or famine. Thousands of people, most of them fleeing from Syria, but also from Iraq, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Eritrea, now live on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital and in makeshift camps. Pilecco notes that the support given by the government to the Egyptian orphanage was "first world" compared to the care given to refugee children. "They received nothing," he lamented. "Egyptians are not 'open arms', they don't like refugees very much, so much so that they live segregated and are not treated well."
According to data from the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees), the number of refugees in the country is close to 300,000, with around 60,000 of them still waiting in line to apply for asylum. The UNHCR figures contrast with those announced in 2016 by President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi, who warned of 5 million refugees in Egypt. However, this figure is mixed with other migrants in the country - the majority of whom are Sudanese and many of whom have lived in the region for generations.
History and current affairs teacher Daniel Pereira, who follows the situation for his classes at Poliedro Pre-Vestibular Course, explains that Egypt is one of the most stable countries in the region and has a diversified economy, which ends up attracting a larger number of immigrants. "The number of people arriving in Egypt is far greater than the country can handle. This results in the familiar story: the government doesn't provide the necessary support for this part of the population, making them dependent on NGOs," he says.
The unemployment rate in Egypt is 11% of the workforce, but, according to the UN, 30% of the population lives in poverty, and the arrival of foreigners creates great tension, especially in the most deprived areas. Cairo has one of the largest urban refugee populations in the world, and they are concentrated in the most marginalized areas, leading to disputes over resources with Egypt's neighbors. There are reports of conflicts and racism. "In fact, this image of a place where there are jobs is an illusion, so the refugee ends up competing for space in the economy with the poorest population," explains Pereira.
Tasnim Mohamed, 22, an Egyptian fine arts student and member of the Aiesec Egypt team, says that Tadamon's job is to support refugees in their first year in the country. The organization offers shelters, schools and medical and psychological services. "The Egyptian government doesn't play an important role for the refugees, all the help they receive is from the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and local NGOs," explains Tasnim.
The Egyptian volunteer says that refugees have very sad life stories. One that struck her most was that of Ethiopian Farida, now 30. She lost her family when she was 7, was raped until she was 15, had a son, but lost him in her country's civil war. She tried to cross the sea in search of a new life in the Middle East and ended up being kidnapped and dumped in Saudi Arabia. From there, she took refuge in Egypt, where she has been living for two years. She found help at Tadamon. At the NGO, Farida attended psychological counseling and women's empowerment sessions. At first, she couldn't even speak. "In one of the sessions, she drew a map of the path she wanted to follow. We asked her to hang it on the wall of her house, then she laughed and said 'I don't have a wall or even a brick, so I'll hang it in the NGO'," Tasnim said.
Farida's difficulties in Egypt show the vulnerable situation of refugees. This situation has been exacerbated by a law passed by parliament in 2017 and ratified by the re-elected president, Abdel Fatah al-Sissi. The new legislation regulates the work of NGOs and prohibits external funding - which, for activist groups and Amnesty International, is a form of repression of human rights because it restricts humanitarian aid and volunteer work.
Tasnim says that the law created several difficulties for Tadamon and other local organizations. "If the government found out about any fundraising, especially from abroad, it would put the NGO under investigation and could cause it to close down. I remember this happening to other organizations."
Marcelo Mariano, 22, a graduate in international relations from PUC-GO, worked in Cairo in 2017 as a volunteer with Tadamon. He believes that volunteer work is effective and helps a lot in the situation, but it is "nowhere near enough", because there should be more cooperation from the government.
Professor Daniel Pereira explains that NGOs are highly distrusted by governments. "Especially authoritarian governments, because they can be used as a form of espionage and can also serve as a front for other types of political organizations. They can also bring in outside ideas that are not always well regarded."
Suspicions also extend to foreign volunteers. Pilecco felt the pressure. According to him, refugees can be more hospitable than Egyptians. "They didn't understand that we were volunteers working in a refugee NGO, so they weren't so receptive."
Racism is also a frequent problem. Pilecco says that when she arrived in Egypt, a black Brazilian volunteer was taken to a separate room at the airport and forced by security agents to remove her clothes. "However, the clearest example of racism happened when an Egyptian man spat at her on the metro," she says. "When I told my Egyptian colleagues at the NGO, they said that spitting at black people was a recurring reality there."
USP law student Julia Borges, 20, who also volunteered in the country, felt that skin color was a determining factor for integration in the region. She recalls that complaints about this were constant at the NGO. According to her, one of the explanations for the frequent racism is the fact that Egypt doesn't see itself as an African country, even though it is in Mediterranean Africa. Discrimination against black people is already seen as commonplace. Júlia points out that most of the people taken in by the NGO were black and found in Tadamon a kind of refuge from the extreme hostility they suffered.
Egyptian Tasnim confirms this. "Black Africans take time to fit into the Egyptian community and face racism for being different from the local population. Syrians can do business here, especially in the food industry. They get access to education in the country and the fact that they speak Arabic favors them."
Source: migramundo.com
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