Refugees Scapegoated Over Egypt’s Financial Struggles
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Alaina - . January 9, 2025
- . Update: January 9, 2025 5:14 pm
The economic downturn affecting Egypt is escalating tensions due to a change of policy towards refugees citing millions fleeing conflict in the region. The country of once refuge to a decent number of migrants is now turned away and subjected to paying very high costs for legal access as the government blames financial burdens from wars in Gaza, Sudan, and Libya.
Officials say that Egypt spends $10 billion every year on refugees, but there is disagreement among academicians. Since the coming to power of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the authorities have declared migrants the cause of the increasing rent, shortages of water, and various other problems. Sudanese refugees are now facing forced repatriation while Syrians of the prospect of having their permits withdrawn have been living in fear.
Human rights activists fear this as Egypt uses refugees to seek foreign assistance including $8 billion from the European Union. In their turn, critics say that such funding supports authoritarian measures and provides scant help to refugees. Abu Families like Syrian grocer Abu Saleh today face very high renewing permit fees and Sudanese father Mohammed Abdelwahab’s son deported’ raises the humanitarian side of the issue. Egypt’s recent anti-migration policies alongside unpromising attempts to build economic security will put the region at high risk of more instability and would exacerbate the sufferings of refugees.
