CAIRO, EGYPT; Nearly a year on from the start of Israel\u2019s large-scale bombing campaign, an estimated 100,000 Gazans have fled to Cairo. With the only escape being through the Southern Rafah crossing, Egyptian couriers have been accused of profiting from the excessive \u201ccoordination fees\u201d needed to cross the border.<\/p>\n
Once in Egypt however, the absence of a UN refugee body that works with Palestinians, as well as Egypt\u2019s reluctance to give Palestinians residency or refugee status has left most in a state of uncertainty. Despite being the lucky few to have escaped the worst in Gaza, their current lack of access to employment, education and other essential services has left many with little hope for building a future.<\/p>\n
Khaled Alghorani left Gaza for Egypt six months ago. \u201cWe are here with no residency permit or anything like that,” he says. \u201c We can\u2019t access anything. Without residency, we can\u2019t work; we can only open small businesses, but even that is very hard to get permission for. The only way right now is to either invest a huge amount of money ( approximately more 150-200k USD ) or buy a large amount of assets, so its hard for most of us.” Khaled studied Medicine at Al-Azhar University but has been unable to resume his studies or find employment, a position that many Gazans in Cairo find themselves in.<\/p>\n
Establishing themselves as refugees or obtaining residency is not an easy task for those coming from the Palestinian territories. Egypt hosts over 756,000 refugees, with the UNHCR being the agency tasked with registering asylum seekers and facilitating refugees\u2019 access to health and education services. Palestinians however, are the only group who fall outside of the UNHCR\u2019s remit, leaving them unable to go through traditional regularization routes.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Palestinians come to the UNHCR, they\u2019re essentially told to fuck off,\u201d said Sara White, a former UNHCR legal officer based in Cairo. \u201cIn theory, the UNRWA would deal with them, but Egypt doesn\u2019t want them there for political reasons\u201d. UNRWA, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, was set up by the UN in 1949 specifically to deal with displaced Palestinians. Despite operating in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, it does not operate in Egypt, and the Egyptian government has made it clear that it would not allow it or similar agencies to operate on its territory, citing security reasons as well as claims that it would aid in the permanent resettlement of Palestinians, thus harming their prospects of returning to Palestine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a deep history regarding the UN agencies that take responsibility for Palestinian refugees,\u201d says Dawn Chatty, Oxford University professor of anthropology to the Guardian. \u201cThe Egyptian government is not going to give them asylum,\u201d she says. \u201cGranting official asylum to people fleeing Gaza could \u201cdestroy\u201d their notional right to return to these lands and could put Egypt \u201cin big trouble with other Arab states.\u201d<\/p>\n
Egypt has long refused to recognize Palestinians’ right to asylum. Instead, Palestinian refugees in Egypt are instead classified as \u201cour guests\u201d or \u201cour siblings\u201d, for fears of creating these legal and material conditions that may encourage Palestinians to remain.<\/p>\n
In practice however, with neither UNRWA nor UNHCR aid available, Gazans in Egypt have been left dependent on local and grassroots initiatives for support, many set up by Palestinians themselves. Many other groups are formed through Facebook, with Egyptians creating fundraisers and offering advice, for example in finding accommodation or informal work opportunities.<\/p>\n
The issues within the current system don\u2019t stop at the legal discrepancies, as some have pointed out. The inequalities begin from the start of the journey, as reports have exposed Hala Consulting and Tourism Services, the sole agent with a monopoly over Gaza crossings, for the extortionate fees it charges for each passage.<\/p>\n
Officially, only foreign nationals and injured Palestinians were allowed to evacuate. As the war went on, however, Gazans were able to buy their way out through the Egyptian agency, which has been linked to the Egyptian security establishment. The prices, which before the war were set at around $300 per passage per person, have increased to around $5000 for adults and $2500 for children. Many have resorted to online crowdfunding as a way to pay the fees, as well as help from any relatives they may have abroad. The fees are then paid to a travel agency, who take a cut and send the remaining amount to Egyptian officials who coordinate the crossing.<\/p>\n
Legal experts argue that Egypt must accept refugees. In an op-ed for Foreign Policy Magazine, Alice Edwards, the UN special rapporteur on torture argued that \u201cEgypt\u2019s decision to seal its border with Gaza violates international humanitarian law and international refugee law.\u201d She added that \u201cUnder the 1951 Convention, responsibility transfers to UNHCR outside the areas UNRWA doesn\u2019t serve. In other words, UNHCR is required to support Palestinian refugees who reach Egypt. International cooperation is a foundational principle and that all states must play their part.\u201d But without an active effort by the Egyptian government to classify Palestinians as \u2018refugees\u2019, this obligation remains unfulfilled, leaving Gazans in a precarious state.<\/p>\n
Egyptians however, despite being vocal in support of the Palestinian cause, are wary of treating Palestinians in the same way as other refugees, arguing that efforts should be focused on ending the war, rather than pressuring Egypt to open its borders.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf everyone leaves, there will be no more Gaza,\u201d says Youssef Ali, a Princeton student from Cairo. \u201cThe only reason we call it Palestine or Gaza is because people still live there and assert it as such. People from Syria, Sudan, Ethiopia.. they all have a country to return to once the conflict ends. In the case of Palestine, they would never be able to return, as Israel would simply take the land, build homes, and that would be the end of it. Palestine, as we know it, would cease to exist, and a cause that has persisted for more than seven decades would disappear. This is why we don\u2019t want to accept all Gazans.\u201d<\/p>\n
History has shown Egypt the long-term perils of supporting Palestinian migration out of the territories. The situation of Gazans in Cairo has demonstrated the political dilemma Egyptians claim they face, of needing to preserve the Palestinian right of return whilst providing Gazans with the immediate legal and humanitarian aid they need. However, without mechanisms to integrate and aid Palestinians as refugees, Gazans will continue to suffer in the absence of both the UNHCR and UNRWA.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CAIRO, EGYPT; Nearly a year on from the start of Israel\u2019s large-scale bombing campaign, an estimated 100,000 Gazans have fled to Cairo. With the only escape being through the Southern Rafah crossing, Egyptian couriers have been accused of profiting from the excessive \u201ccoordination fees\u201d needed to cross the border. Once in Egypt however, the absence<\/p>\n