Ten months after Sudan’s terrible war forced hundreds of thousands to leave, many of those who sought sanctuary in nearby Egypt face the dreadful decision of becoming homeless or returning at their own risk.
Rehab who is a single mother, has been in Egypt for seven months, striving to make a life for her children.
“I have a daughter who was born here, and I can’t work to provide for her,” the 28-year-old reported.
Hundreds of women, including Rehab, gathered at a small church in eastern Cairo to say their families, crammed into overcrowded homes, had been sleeping on bare floors since they came.
“People came to Egypt thinking life would be better here,” said 28-year-old Sudanese Sunday school teacher Ibram Kiir, who has been living in Egypt for five years and works with refugees via the church.
“But then reality strikes. They don’t have any money, can’t get a flat, it’s chilly, and they can’t buy winter clothes. So, they turn back,” he explained.
Inflation-like situation in Egypt
Since the battle between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began in April, over 450,000 individuals have crossed the border into Egypt, according to government statistics.
Many people indicated their first goal is to locate a safe place to sleep, even if it means sleeping on a chilly tile floor.
But as the months pass, jobs, appropriate housing, and assistance become increasingly difficult to find, as Egypt’s two-year economic crisis worsens.
As a result, Inflation soared to a record level of 39.7% last year, decimating livelihoods just as war-weary Sudanese arrived.
Many people arrived with only the clothing on their backs. They ended themselves living in compact flats with multiple households at a time, many of whom had only one breadwinner and earned less than the minimum wage.
Rather Die scenario
Dan Mhik Akom, a 34-year-old part-time house cleaner, attempted to persuade a buddy that things would improve.
However, after months of seeing his family “unable to even get to the kitchen to feed themselves” due to overpopulation, “he made up his mind and returned to Sudan,” he stated.
Another Sunday school teacher, Randa Hussein, claimed her relative fled Cairo in October to return to her home on the war-torn fringes of Khartoum. Hussein, 33, stated that she would prefer to die there than stay here. Her family hasn’t heard from her since.
Hussein is now housing another refugee, a 20-year-old mother of two who had been residing with her grandmother before the landlord threatened to evict her if the newcomers did not leave.
“She’s insisting on going back to Sudan,” Hussein claimed, because she can’t find a job or an apartment.
Back in Sudan, the situation is no better: her Khartoum neighbourhood has been bombarded beyond recognition, and the remaining homes are overtaken with fighters.
“People are forced to choose between being homeless and being unsafe,” said Raga Makawi, a Sudanese political economist.
“Unable to afford even squalid conditions in Egypt, they choose to go back, preferring to negotiate their security with armed actors however they can,” she went on to say.
The fate of Sudanese families in Cario (Egypt)
Dozens more Sudanese families in Cairo suffered the same fate, with landlords alleging “excess wear-and-tear” on their buildings.
Rights organisations and Sudanese who reside in Egypt have warned for rising anti-refugee sentiment in the midst of the country’s economic crisis.
Rents have risen in Cairo as the economic situation worsened, but rights organisations and Sudanese claim landlords are especially targeting Sudanese citizens.
