Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance

Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA) was founded as a UK Charity in January 2003, (Registered Charity No. 1098788), to promote the development of pro bono legal aid and psycho-social services for refugees in countries where such services are non-existent or insufficient and where legal representation and psycho-social support might assist them in realising their rights. The awareness of this need came out of several years of research in Africa and the Mediterranean region that exposed the appalling conditions in which most refugees live and the failure of states to protect them.

Egypt hosts the fifth largest urban refugee population in the world. Although officially there are only 38,000 refugees in Egypt, unofficial estimates range from 500,000 asylum seekers and refugees upwards from 35 different nationalities. Most refugees are from Africa, the majority being from Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea. There is also a large refugee population from Palestine and Iraq. No one in Egypt was providing legal aid and psycho-social services until AMERA (formerly known as Refugee Legal Aid Project) began in 2000. As the main provider of pro bono legal aid and psycho-social support in Egypt, AMERA has established working relationships with UNHCR and other refugee service providers. These connections enable it to effectively advocate for refugee rights.

Egypt is generally tolerant of refugees and asylum seekers on its territory. A party to both the 1951 UN and 1969 OAU refugee conventions, long before ratification in 1981, Egypt alerted UNHCR Geneva[1] of its reservations to several of the articles regarding elementary education, public relief, the right to work, social security and personal status. This is especially significant as regards the right to work, leaving refugees dependent on the informal economy.

Social and Economical Rights

Owing to limited resources, education provision for refugees in Cairo, for both children and adults, is not responsive to their needs. Despite the reservations, Egypt’s ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child gives all children the right to free primary education in Egypt. Consequently, refugee children, (except from Iraqis) can, in theory, exercise this right. However, in practice, because of the extreme pressure on Egyptian schools and the paperwork / documents required by a refugee child to be accepted, it is difficult to fulfill that right.

Basic education is supplied by so-called ‘Refugee Schools’.  The situation in these schools has been improved recently by the introduction of the Sudanese curriculum allowing students to receive accredited diplomas. Secondary education is inaccessible for the majority of the refugee population. Educational opportunities for those who speak neither Arabic nor English are almost non-existent.

Vocational training and job placement programs have had limited impact in terms of providing prospects for a substantive proportion of the refugee population. Foreign fees still make access to university education beyond the reach of most students. Mechanisms to monitor and evaluate the impact and sustainability of basic education and vocational training programs offered to refugee communities are non-existent.

Whether for contract or self-employment, all foreigners are required to secure a work permit in Egypt. However, work permits are only issued if the employer can demonstrate that there is no qualified Egyptian national for the position. With close to 40% unemployment in the formal sectors of the Egyptian economy, it is nearly impossible for a foreigner without a very high level of education and skills to secure permission to work. Obtaining a work permit in Egypt is not technically impossible for refugees; however, there are very few employers who are able and willing to issue one because of the aforementioned administrative barriers.

Refugees and asylum seekers are confined to the informal sectors of the economy, exposing them to risks and abuse. Most refugees who are able to work depend on unstable, irregular, or per diem earnings. Currently, there are no existing mechanisms through which refugees work conditions can be monitored. Given the state of the economy, unemployment in Egypt, and the number of migrants returning from abroad because of the global financial crisis, there are insufficient opportunities for safe and dignified employment for refugees.

The provision of health care for refugees in Egypt is variable.  Depending on their legal status, refugees may be entitled to care from a wide number of providers, including religious organisations or low-cost government care. Refugees with independent funds, however, have access to a broad range of health care options, including refugee-specific programs as well as private medical facilities in Cairo. In general, medical care for refugees in Cairo may be facilitated by the government, the UNHCR, NGOs, religious institutions, private hospitals and clinics, or some combination thereof.

According to the literature, the health-related difficulties faced by refugees in Cairo may be broken into several categories, including

1. Lack of good information and communication with service providers,
2. Social and instrumental limitations on movement and transportation,
3. Racist attitudes,
4. Language barriers,
5. Monetary constraints,
6. Poor health knowledge,
7. Poor quality of care. Often these difficulties interact with one another to create an environment in which refugees would rather self-treat their illnesses than spend time and energy seeking out medical care. Many of the problems refugees in Cairo experience when trying to access medical care are symptomatic of a lack of integration with the host society.

Refugees and asylum seekers pursue irregular migration to Israel or alternatively to Libya with the hope of finding better living conditions. According to Human Rights Watch (2010) since the beginning of 2010 border guards have shot and injured another 28 would-be border crossers.