Iraqi refugees started arriving in Cairo, Egypt, in 2003, following that year’s invasion of their country by a coalition of armies led by the United States. Most of the 45,000 Iraqi refugees now living in Cairo came in 2006 and 2007, having fled the sectarian violence caused by the invasion. UNHCR estimates that 4.7 million Iraqis were displaced in the conflict, 1.2 million of whom are currently displaced internally, and 2 million outside Iraq’s borders. Prior to the conflict in Syria, it was the largest flow of refugees from any country in the Middle East since the 1948 creation of Israel.
Iraq’s last 30 years have been turbulent. From 1980-1988, Iraq and Iran were at war. In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait; by January 1991, a U.S.-led coalition had repelled the invading forces. The rest of the decade was marked by a United Nations arms embargo and economic sanctions; a rebellion by Kurds and Shi’a that was met with a violent government crackdown; and the flight of many Kurds and Shi’a. After coalition forces invaded Iraq in 2003, overthrew the Ba’ath regime, and deposed Saddam Hussein, they helped set up a weak and ineffective transitional government led by the Shia. Rather than ensuring a smooth transfer of power, looting, violence, and chaos erupted. Sectarian violence engulfed the nation as militant campaigns against the current regime, the previous regime, the United States, the supporters of Saddam, the Sunnis, and the Shia swept the nation.
Large numbers of Iraqi refugees who fled the sectarian violence now live in Jordan, Egypt, and Lebanon, and smaller numbers in Iran and Turkey. Of those who had fled to Syria, many have been forced to return. Most of the displaced, however, can’t return to Iraq. Egypt, a country of 82 million residents, hosts the fifth largest urban refugee population in the world, with Syrian, Sudanese, Eritrean, Ethiopian, and Somali refugees joining Iraqis. Most of these refugees live in Cairo, one of the largest and most densely packed cities in the world with a population of over 9 million.
Stipends and aid are available to Iraqi refugees in Egypt, but they have to seek it out themselves. Since they live all over Cairo rather than in camps, Iraqi refugees there are separated from the UNHCR and other organizations charged with helping them. Moreover, the Egyptian government doesn’t grant refugees permanent residency, so Iraqis are not legally allowed to work or enroll their children in the public education system. They often rely on savings and remittances to ensure the education of their children, which must come from private schools in the area.
Financial assistance is limited, temporary, and available only to the most vulnerable of refugees—those with debilitating medical conditions, single mothers, victims of violence or torture, or minors aged 16-18. Funding is a mere 150-165 Egyptian pounds per month–a little less than $23. The Egyptian government neither supports the refugee population nor particularly condones the presence of aid organizations, which have been subject to increased scrutiny and closures since the revolution. The situation of Iraqi refugees in Egypt is further complicated by the fact that they’re not permitted to work legally. Many Iraqis have college degrees and lived middle and upper middle class existences, working in professions like law, dentistry, and science. Transitioning to refugee life in Egypt has been particularly difficult. Because their savings are finite, and because assistance is limited, many refugees are in extremely precarious financial situations, and they’re emotionally distraught about it. Living in cramped conditions in an increasingly more unstable country (gang activity, home invasions, and sexual assaults are on the rise) has profoundly affected their hala nufsia, or psychological well-being.
The prospect of resettlement offers a glimmer of hope. However, it remains a far off dream for the vast majority of refugees, with only 500 of the 70,000 Iraqi refugees living in Egypt being resettled to the United States in 2011. The length of their stay in Egypt is now surpassing seven years for most, and funds are running low. An unacceptable degree of political silence surrounds their situation, and to repeat a question asked by the refugees we interviewed, when will they find a place of peace and rest?
