CAIRO (MEMO) – The International Organisation for Migration has said that there are more than nine million migrants and refugees from 130 countries currently living in Egypt.
This figure includes the four main communities – four million Sudanese, 1.5 million Syrians, one million Yemenis and one million Libyans.
The news was reported in Egypt’s state-run Al-Ahram.
Whilst registered refugees have access to health care and education in Egypt, there are hundreds and thousands of unregistered asylum seekers who need better quality health care and education.
Charities have reported that refugees, asylum seekers and migrants suffer racism and discrimination and one human rights researcher said that in such incidents perpetrators are rarely prosecuted.
In a video footage recently published on Twitter and viewed almost half a million times, Sudanese children and recent arrivals in Egypt describe their experiences, including being beaten in the street, with one describing how his brother’s head was smashed into railings.
In October 2020 a Sudanese child was killed by an Egyptian citizen who had fallen out with his father. Peaceful protests broke out in response and security forces arrested and beat dozens of the demonstrators.
Then in December 2021 and January 2022 police arrested 30 Sudanese refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UNHCR, beat them and forced them into physical labor after they organized a demonstration to protest racism, lack of protection and delays to their resettlement claims.
In March this year, Amnesty International called on Egypt to stop the deportation of Eritrean refugees where they would face torture, arbitrary detention and other ill-treatment after the government deported 31 Eritreans in the space of two weeks.
Last year the Refugee Platform reported that over 200 Eritrean asylum seekers including 44 children were being detained in cramped and overcrowded cells, with little food, access to sunlight or medical care.
In Egypt, dozens of refugees and migrants are held indefinitely and in cruel conditions, Amnesty International said in its 2021 report, some without access to due process or asylum procedures for years.
The Egyptian government has used refugees as a bargaining chip with Europe, promising to stop refugees reaching Europe in exchange for the EU tempering its criticism of the human rights crisis in the country.
In February, during a press conference with his German counterpart, Egypt’s foreign minister highlighted Cairo’s role in curbing migration to try and deflect attention from human rights which was the focus of the meeting.
In a 2019 report the human rights network EuroMed Rights said: “Whilst Egypt does not constitute a major country of departure for migrant movement towards Europe, the report finds that attention towards EU-Egypt cooperation on migration is predominantly driven by Egypt’s attempts to strengthen its image as a regional leader, gain European support for its counter-terrorism policy and obtain funds for its domestic projects.”