EGYPT: Iraqi refugees try to make life in exile easier, create vibrant community life in Cairo

Record ID: 273031

  • Title: EGYPT: Iraqi refugees try to make life in exile easier, create vibrant community life in Cairo
  • Date: 19th March 2008
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) POOL HALL OWNER, ABU SEIF, SAYING: "They came here, the Iraqis immigrated to 6th of October city, there were, for example, Iraqi bakeries, that make Iraqi 'samoun' bread, there are Iraqi restaurants which prepare Iraqi 'maskouf' fish as it is cooked in Iraq. There are also places that make 'tikka', which in Egypt is called Kofta and Kebab. They've created an Iraqi atmosphere that reduces their homesickness. That's the reason Iraqis have chosen this work and to be present in 6th October."
  • Embargoed: 3rd April 2008 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Egypt
  • Country: Egypt
  • Topics: International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVACIHVNWLSHEGXXRJS6NO2I5OG9
  • Story Text: For Iraqi refugees living in a suburb of Cairo, the vibrant community life they have created has made their long exile from home a little bit easier.
    For Iraqi refugees living in a suburb of Cairo, the vibrant community life they have created has made their long exile from home a little bit easier.
    In 6th October city, an area of Cairo where a large number of refugees live, the streets have a familiar feel for Iraqis. There are grocery stores and bakeries which cater to Iraqi tastes and restaurants that offer national Iraqi dishes like grilled "maskouf" fish.
    Such shops cater to some of the 70,000 Iraqi refugees that the UN estimates have settled in Egypt since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The Egyptian government and some NGOs put the number of Iraqi refugees in Egypt as high as 150,000.
    As they hope for an improvement in the security situation in Iraq which would allow them to return to their war-torn country, Iraqi refugees have taken solace in tightly-knit communities where their sense of pride in national traditions is palpable.
    Limited work opportunities in the host country have bred resentment amongst some Egyptians who accuse the refugees of occupying scarce jobs and driving up real estate prices in 6th October.
    Abu Seif is one of many skilled professionals who had to take up unskilled work. In Iraq he was an English professor before fleeing to Egypt, where he now manages the "Tigris" billiard hall.

    "They came here, the Iraqis immigrated to 6th of October city, there were, for example, Iraqi bakeries, that make Iraqi 'samoun' bread, there are Iraqi restaurants which prepare Iraqi 'maskouf' fish as it is cooked in Iraq. There are also places that make 'tikka', which in Egypt is called Kofta and Kebab," he said.

    "They've created an Iraqi atmosphere that reduces their homesickness. That's the reason Iraqis have chosen this work and to be present in 6th October," continued Abu Seif.
    While the Iraqi refugee community is diverse, with refugees coming from different financial, educational and religious backgrounds, the conflict at home has made many refugees - at least when speaking publicly to outsiders - eager to emphasise the national heritage that unites them rather than their differences.
    Ahmed said he was hoping to return to Baghdad as soon as the violence lessens.

    "The departure of the Americans from Iraq is for me more important than money, it's more important than any economic losses. I hope that they will leave our country, that is more important than my own circumstances, than how much my income has gone down. True my income has gone down and it's painful for me, but the issue is much bigger," he said.
    The Egyptian government, which struggles with endemic poverty and unemployment, has provided the Iraqi refugees with minimal assistance, forcing many to rely on their communities for survival.
    The refugees face significant practical barriers to finding work and have limited access to basic public services. With the Egyptian government reluctant to issue work permits, many find employment among privately owned Iraqi businesses where work arrangements are less formal.
    With resettlement to Iraq still slow, the majority of the refugees continue to struggle through daily life in Egypt and some of them face hostilities from their Egyptian hosts who blame them for the poor treatment of Egyptian migrants to Iraq in the 1990's.
    Kamel, who finds comfort in buying the Iraqi 'samoun' bread at the aptly named "Iraqi Bakery" says he is pained by the chaos in Iraq.

    "Of course, of course it hurts me. First of all this (Iraq) is my country and second Iraq is the cradle of civilization. To descend to this level of having no water, no electricity, of course whoever you are, even if it wasn't my country, someone else's country, to see it that way, this land, the land of bounty, the land of oil, and to see that there's no oil or water, services are non-existent, of course we feel sad," he said.
    While many Iraqis continue to face financial hardship and lack of assistance, the war in their home country has bound them together abroad by creating a new feeling of home.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register