By Omnia Al Desoukie
CAIRO: Latika, a 50-year-old Ethiopian woman, stated her life in Egypt is like “living in a cage.”
Latika, who once struggled with security troops in her home country over her opposition to the Ethiopian government, fled Ethiopia in the hope of finding a better life. She came to Egypt in order to find it.
According to the UNHCR, Egypt hosts 39,233 refugees coming from the Horn of Africa. Yet unofficial statistics indicate that there are many more refugees in Egypt.
Egypt participated in the Geneva Convention on Refugees in 1951, and signed the 1967 protocol. It also attended the Organization of Africa Unity’s 1969 Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa.
However, Latika maintained that refugees in Egypt suffer worse conditions than do refugees anywhere else in the world.
The 1964 Convention on the Law of Treaties allows countries the right to sign treaties with reservation depending on their states, so Egypt signed the 1951 treaty with reservations on work, education and health care.
Thus refugees in Egypt face challenges marked by poverty and a sensitive political environment. The problems stem from restrictions on employment and access to public schools, as well as the lack of affordable health care.
“Some wealthy people hire us as housekeepers,” Latika stated. “They require us to work a lot of hours, maybe up to 17 hours a day. If we refuse, they manipulate our contracts and accuse us of theft. I know many people serving prison sentences without any reason.
“I used to work as a businesswoman [back home],” Latika added. “But in Egypt there are no opportunities, and I always think of my children who I left behind. When I first came to Egypt in 2004, I had enough money to afford a life. But now, in 2010, I [am] physically and financially unable to live a comfortable life.”
Crossing Over
Since mid-2007, hundreds of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants — most of whom hail from countries in Sub-Saharan Africa — have risked their lives trying to cross the Egyptian border into Israel.
Local and international media, as well as various human rights organizations, reported several shootings of Africans trying to illegally travel to Israel via Egypt’s Sinai border.
According to Human Rights Watch, Egyptian border police have killed at least 85 unarmed migrants trying to cross into Israel since July 2007.
UNHCR also said last week that it was concerned about 250 Eritrean migrants who are believed to be currently held hostage in the Sinai desert.
Last month, Israel began constructing a 250-kilometer-long fence along its border in order to stop the influx of migrants.
“Reports prove that those who go to Israel are not Cairo residents,” said Mohamed Dayri, the UNHCR regional representative. “But [these refuges] have come from Sudan [to use] Egypt as a transit [country].”
According to Latika, life in Israel — especially in contrast to conditions in Egypt — is alluring enough for them to risk their lives. Latika added that she herself has attempted to cross the border to Israel three times.
“If we don’t risk our lives we will die [in Egypt] anyway,” said Latika. “When you get a call from a friend who crossed the borders illegally, telling you that you can go live there, become a respectful citizen and get to see your children, how do you expect one to react?
“I never heard of someone who complained about his or her life in Israel,” Latika added. “People are working and having a chance to leave to western countries, unlike in Egypt.”
Latika had arranged to meet with a smuggler who promised to help her cross into Israel.
“A smuggler called and we agreed to meet somewhere, but I never saw his face or knew who he was,” she said.
Latika said she was caught by authorities at that time, but was released after she had pledged to never attempt to cross the border into Israel again.
Refugees and the UNHCR
Dayri said refugees’ grievances are not unfounded.
“As an international entity [the UNHCR] should assist [these refugees],” Dayri told Daily News Egypt. “Egypt should be called upon to lift its [1951] reservation, and at the same time the international community should help refugees be self reliant.
“We know that the [Egyptians’] perception [of refugees] is negative,” Dayri added. “And we are trying to overcome that.”
Dayri stated that conditions are difficult for Egyptians as well. He stressed that according to Article 2 of the 1951 Convention, refugees are obliged to abide by the law and regulations of their host country.
Latika said that she does not receive much help from the UNHCR office in Egypt. She said financial support from Caritas, a relief organization, is sufficient to keep her alive, but still insists that a better life awaits her in Israel.
“In general the UNHCR doesn’t give attention to us refugees, living away from your country without your children and in a place with a completely different culture makes life very difficult,” Latika said.
Dayri, on the other hand, explained that when police raided a protest camp set up by over 2,000 refugees in front of the Moustafa Mahmoud Mosque in 2005, it made a major impact on the relationship between the UNHCR and refugees.
“There [is] a disconnection between UNHCR and some [refugee] communities,” said Dayri.
Dayri explained that the UNHCR is trying to overcome this by encouraging dialogue, and keeping in contact with refugees — especially those from southern Sudan.
“There is also a certain schism between public opinion and asylum seekers and/or refugees, because in the public’s understanding [the] refugees are law breakers who go to Israel and who were behind the 2005 incident,” Dayri stated.
‘Like you and I’
“Refugees are like you and I,” Dayri said. “They often bring with them a whole lot of knowledge, experience and great human skills.”
According to Dayri, a refugee is a person who, due to “a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons [based upon] race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to — or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to — avail himself of the protection of that country.
“But sometimes, like you and I, they indulge into breaking the law,” he added. “So look at them as human beings with their strengths and weaknesses.”
UNHCR Egypt determines the refugees’ status based upon the 1951 and 1969 Conventions. Thus, not everyone who is originally from Sudan, Ethiopia, or Eritrea is officially classified as a refugee.
Dayri explained that migrants who are looking to improve their lives have been confused with refugees. Therefore, the UNHCR, according to the 1951 and 1969 Conventions, is not required to protect migrants and does not have a “mandate for migrants.”
The Sudan referendum
The fate of many people depends on the Sudan referendum slated for Jan. 2011, which will decide whether or not southern Sudan will remain a part of Sudan. If Sudan divides, it will cause further human displacement, experts say.
“First, we are calling upon the international community — including regional powers — to pursue [a strategy] to avoid human suffering and displacement,” Dayri said. “Should 2 million Sudanese [people] be displaced and flow towards Egypt, the UNHCR stands ready to live up to its responsibilities and assist Egypt in [taking care of the refugees].
“There is good will,” Dayri added. “We have high hopes on our future discussions with the [Egyptian] government so that the economic and social rights of refugees are met.
“Since the establishment of the UNHCR 60 years ago, history has shown that refugees love their home, and would seek to [return] once the conditions were right for them to do so. Pending fulfillment of these conditions, let us help these refugees live a decent life among us.”
