Egypt goes from haven to home for many Syrians
After fleeing to Egypt from the war devastating their country, more Syrians are abandoning their plans of eventual migration to the West, fearing racism and culture shock, and instead are settling in Cairo.
Mohamed Amin (43) had considered Egypt a gateway to Europe when he arrived five years ago.
He has since changed his mind, put off by accounts from fellow refugees who made it to the Netherlands and Canada.
“There is racism, and Western culture is very different from our Muslim and Arab culture, even if the quality of life is better,” says the father of four, who owned two bakeries in the Syrian town of Muadamiyat al-Sham.
He is now trying to supplement his income with a bakery he has set up on his apartment balcony.
Ayman, who asked that his full name not be used, says he was shaken by a January shooting in a Canadian mosque that killed six worshippers. “When I heard about the [Quebec City] attack, I felt unsafe and worried. At least here I can go to the mosque safely.”
The two men are among the 120000 Syrians in Egypt registered as refugees with the United Nations.
The Egyptian government estimates there are half a million Syrians in the country.
Going back to Syria at present is also not an option. The conflict has killed more than 320 000 people, uprooted half the population and forced more than five million to flee abroad since it erupted six years ago, and it shows no sign of abating.
Amin says he will not leave Egypt “except to Syria, when things settle down”.
“I don’t feel like a refugee in Egypt. The language, norms and traditions are the same,” he says.
His mother-in-law, Umm Haitham, agrees. “I feel like I’m living in my country. Since the start, I was for staying in Egypt.”
Mohamed Fawaz (44) says he “held a temporary job, waiting for the day the [UN refugee agency] informs me of the travel decision”.
But those who have made the move “warned me of the illusions around travelling to Europe”, he says.
Fewer Syrians have been trying to migrate illegally to Europe in dangerous Mediterranean voyages that have claimed thousands of lives.
“Fewer Syrians are leaving now. Syrians represented 1% of those arrested attempting illegal migration in 2015, which is a sharp drop compared with 2013 and 2014,” says Tarik Argaz, a spokesperson for the UN refugee agency.
The lower numbers are the result of “good treatment by the Egyptian government and [the Syrians’] acclimatisation as well as problems in Europe towards refugees”, he says.
That does not mean Syrians do not face hardship in Egypt.
Thousands had arrived in Egypt under Islamist president Mohamed Morsi, who ruled between 2012 and 2013. After his ousting, police cracked down on Syrians who were seen as supportive of the Islamist leader.
But an Egyptian official who requested anonymity says: “In any case, Egypt will not tell them [Syrians] to leave, no matter how long they stay.”
The official said the government is now allowing family reunification requests after years of rejecting them for security reasons.
Lawyer Youssef al-Mataani says the number of Syrians approaching him to assist with resettlement documents has dropped.
“I used to receive about 10 Syrian families each week to help accelerate resettlement legal procedures. The number declined in the last few months and has reached zero at the moment,” he says.