Living Together: Cairo

Joint NGO letter on mass deportations of Eritrean asylum-seekers

2008-06-22T04:23:00.000-07:00

Minister of Interior
Minister Habib Ibrahim El Adly
Ministry of the Interior
25 Al-Sheikh Rihan Street
Bab al-Louk, Cairo, Egypt

June 19, 2008

Dear Minister Habib Ibrahim El Adly,

We are writing to express our concern about the ongoing mass deportations of Eritrean asylum-seekers from Egypt back to Eritrea. While we welcome the June 15 decision by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to allow the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) access to the Eritrean asylum-seekers held in Shallal Military Camp, we remain concerned about the Egyptian government's decision to forcibly repatriate Eritreans who face significant risk of torture and ill-treatment in Eritrea.

As a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Torture (Art. 3), the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees (Art. 33) and the Organization of African Unity Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa (Art. 2), Egypt is legally obliged to respect the principle of non-refoulement and has pledged never to return refugees back to countries where their lives or freedom would be threatened. The Organization of African Unity Convention, ratified by Egypt in 1980, states: "No person shall be subjected by a Member State to measures such as rejection at the frontier, return or expulsion, which would compel him to return to or remain in a territory where his life, physical integrity or liberty would be threatened" (Art. 2.3).

The persecution of Eritreans by the Eritrean government has been widely documented by foreign governments and human rights organizations. Numerous Eritreans are being held incommunicado by the Eritrean government, where they are tortured and ill-treated. These individuals are arrested by the Eritrean government for practicing their religious beliefs, for evading military service and for their suspected opposition to the government. The human rights violations in Eritrea are so severe that the UNHCR has issued guidelines to all governments which state that rejected Eritrean asylum seekers should not be returned to Eritrea.

We therefore urge the Egyptian government to respect its commitment to the principle of non-refoulement and to cease forcibly returning Eritrean asylum-seekers who face a significant risk of torture and ill-treatment. We encourage the further involvement of the UNHCR, and a careful consideration of every asylum application filed by Eritrean individuals.

We thank you for taking note of our concerns.

1. Andalus Institute for Tolerance and Non-Violent Studies.

2. Arab Network for Human Rights Information.

3. Arab Organization for Penal Reform.

4. Association for Freedom of Thought and Expression

5. Al- Intima Al-Watani Association for Human Rights

6. Awlad Al-Ard Foundation for Human Rights

7. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies.

8. Center for Egyptian Women's Legal Assistance

9. Egyptian Association for Enhancement of Community Participation.

10. Egyptian Center for Housing Rights

11. Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights.

12. Egyptian Center for Human Rights

13. Group for Human Rights Legal Aid

14. Hisham Mubarak Law Center.

15. Land Center for Human Rights.

16. Nadim Center for Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence.

17. New Woman Foundation.

18. One World Foundation for Development and Civil Society Care.

EGYPT-SUDAN: Sudanese refugees face dilemma of return

2008-06-15T10:03:00.000-07:00

CAIRO, 11 June 2008 (IRIN) - Many Sudanese refugees are pushed into considering voluntary repatriation if only because surviving in Egypt is tough. Mideng Mebai, waiting at the Waqf Culture Centre for Sudanese refugees in Ain Shams, is one of them.

"We should not stay in Egypt but go back to Sudan, despite all the problems there. As Sudanese, we have no rights here," Mebai said.

According to the Africa and Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA), an NGO promoting the legal protection of asylum seekers and refugees, Egypt hosts the fifth-largest urban refugee population in the world, mainly concentrated in Cairo and Alexandria.

Although official sources claim there are only 50,000 refugees in Egypt, NGOs and researchers estimate about 500,000 refugees live in the country, mainly from the Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

However, economic hardship makes it impossible to bring their families to Egypt. Unemployment, insufficient education opportunities, limited access to healthcare, high housing costs and integration difficulties are some of the biggest challenges faced by refugees.

Mousa Hussein, who took part in an International Organization for Migration (IOM) assessment study of the voluntary repatriation of Sudanese refugees, said he could not bring his family to Egypt.

Photo: Martina Fuchs/IRIN
One of UNHCR's targets for 2008-2009 is for some 5,000 Sudanese refugees to return to their country voluntarily
"I am alone, my family is in Darfur. But the financial situation [here] is just not feasible. Even for me alone it's very difficult. I work as a freelance interpreter at embassies and get paid on a per-hour basis. But such an irregular salary is not enough to sustain a whole family and adds even more instability to my life," Hussein said.

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates that about 10,000 registered refugees in Egypt, some 20 percent of the refugee population recognised by the UNHCR, are unable to meet their minimum needs.

"Unemployment among Egyptians is at 20 percent, rents are on the rise and inflation is very high. My own existence is getting tougher every month and I live on a very different salary. Can do you imagine the situation for refugees?" said Marie-Geneviève Nightingale, a child rights advocate and researcher at the Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Program (FMRS) of the American University in Cairo.

Minors at risk

Lack of assistance and protection makes living conditions in the Cairo area especially hard for unaccompanied minors.

According to Nightingale, they are at risk of psychological, emotional, physical and sexual abuse, as well as economic and sexual exploitation. Girls and young women are particularly vulnerable as they are often engaged in domestic work and other labour susceptible to abuse or exploitation.

Although there are no official figures, Bahiga el-Gohary, tracing officer at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Cairo, suggests there are about 360 unaccompanied minors living in Egypt.

In addition, Nightingale admits many enter the country illegally or without documentation, have no knowledge of Arabic or English and are unable or unwilling to access the UNHCR or other organisations.

The UNHCR provides a minimal monthly stipend to meet the basic subsistence needs of unaccompanied minors, about US$30 per month. However, El-Gohary stressed that many of these children are not registered with the UNHCR and assistance stops automatically at 18.

"This is why the ICRC partially funds projects for unaccompanied minors, especially by providing psychosocial assistance and vocational counselling," El-Gohary said.

According to Abeer Etefa, UNHCR spokeswoman for the Middle East and North Africa, the option of resettlement is offered to the most vulnerable cases. "The first priority is to reunite them with their family members, if this does not put their lives in danger. Otherwise, resettlement in a third country becomes an option," she said.

In 2007, the ICRC's tracing unit in Cairo issued 1,157 travel documents for several nationalities of all age groups in an effort to restore family links and reunite family members in other countries.

Photo: Martina Fuchs/IRIN
About 500,000 refugees from 38 nationalities live in Egypt. Many face unemployment, difficult living conditions and xenophobia in the host country
Dilemma of voluntary repatriation

The UNHCR has a voluntary repatriation programme to facilitate the return of Sudanese refugees to South Sudan only. According to Etefa, 1,645 refugees took part in 2007, although it is not documented whether they made their way to the South or resettled in other parts of the country.

According to UNHCR's global appeal, key targets for 2008-2009 include the return of 5,000 refugees to Sudan with improved security in the South.

So far, most refugees persevere in Egypt hoping for a better future once peace has returned to their home country.

"Most people don't think the conditions are right for them to go back. But the big concern now is not the question of [non]-refoulement, but that large numbers of refugees are getting detained in Egypt, or get themselves smuggled into Israel because of the desperate situation here," Barbara Harrell-Bond, a professor at the Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Program (FMRS) of the American University in Cairo, said.

For those willing to return, UNHCR offers financial assistance for travel to the agency's office in Aswan, where they get transportation money for ferry tickets to Wadi Halfa, a town in Northern Sudan on the shores of Lake Nasser.

[ENDS]
Report can be found online at:
http://www.irnnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=78641

WW vs. GRRRR, Thursday April 10th at 8:00pm

2008-04-08T07:19:00.001-07:00

CIC Cairo: BELOW SEALEVEL: 4 days of media culture (3-6 April 2008)

2008-03-31T11:06:00.000-07:00

Contemporary Image Collective - CiC
In collaboration with the Netherlands Media Art Institute, Montevideo

3 – 6 April 2008
BELOW SEALEVEL: Contemporary Media Art from the Netherlands 4 days of Media Culture
Screenings, lectures, discussions, workshop and video library

3 April 2008
6pm Kick off Freedom of Creation Workshop led by Jaromil
(By application only)
In the world of artistic creation, free software means tools that are accessible to everyone for the freedom of expression. This workshop will focus on GNU/Linux applications available for recording, editing and publishing of audio/video materials. Participants will be introduced to the vast choice of possibilities free and open source software can offer. As the workshop progresses, each participant will be encouraged to use and adapt applications that best suits his or her own ideas and needs. This workshop which makes use of a beginner's approach to the topic at hand explains various techniques of multimedia production using only free and open source software.

7pm Wonderwall – Live visuals: lecture and screening by Annet Dekker
Annet Dekker will give a lecture on the background of VJ Culture. Are there relations between certain aspects of contemporary VJ culture and the early experiments by video artists? There are certain resemblances as both use almost the same equipment and have a common aesthetic. On the other hand, VJ Culture has been influenced by performance art– particularly the live creation of an experience in which various senses are stimulated simultaneously. The emphasis in this presentation will be on the contemporary VJ scene viewed in the light of art historical developments, technological innovations and social happenings.

Screened works (total time 50 minutes) : Global Groove - Nam June Paik (USA, 28'51”); Steina and Woody Vasulka; Bas van Koolwijk; Micha Klein; Arno Coenen; Evolving Plastic Inevitable, Andy Warhol / Ronald Nameth; live sound and image performances; Geert Mul; Snowcrash; Barkode; Visual sensations (live performances, first VJ contest in the Netherlands, 2005-2006)

4 April 2008
11am – 2pm Freedom of Creation Workshop (By application only)

6 pm Film and Architecture Lecture and screening by artist Jeroen Kooijmans
Jeroen Kooijmans will talk about the creative processes and show works and excerpts of his works.
He will present his new project, The Fish Pond Song (2007- 2008) showing some finished parts. The Fish Pond Song is a long term project that is divided into episodes. It deals with religion, disbelief and superstition and is set in and around a small lake in the Dutch landscape. The film project does not have a clear scenario; instead the work develops on location, controlled by the improvisation of the characters.
Work (1994)
Excuse me, is this your room? 2000 (project he did in New York)
Floating Gardens, 2001 (project he did with MRVDV architects)

7 pm Screening New York & The Cactus Dance by Jeroen Kooijmans (2005, 36'31 “)

5 April 2008
11am – 2pm Freedom of Creation Workshop (By application only)

6pm Collect, Distribute, Support Lecture by Joke Ballintijn
Joke Ballintijn will discuss the field of video art today from the point of view of the distributor and the artist. The goal of many aspiring artists is to enter the commercial art and gallery world. Because the concerns of the small wealthy audience focus on exclusivity, videotapes, DVD’s and installations are sold in limited editions. But what about visibility? There are some artists that find it equally as important that their work is seen by a general public in a relevant context. What are choices and possibilities for these artists and what are the possible consequences? In traditional art display platforms like museums, galleries and biennales, video and media-art have now gained their unquestioned position. On the other hand, video and media art can also be presented in a multitude of other platforms, from arthouse cinemas to events in public spaces. What other spaces can the artist choose to present his/her work?

7:30pm The Lowlands Paradise: Contemporary Video from the Netherlands. Total duration 90 minutes Joke Ballintijn curated a program with recent works from the collection of the Netherlands Media Art Institute, by artists living and working in the Netherlands. These artists show a critical approach to the surrounding culture and media landscape, in a wide range of styles and formats, from documentary style to computer generated images.

eddie d – Sonatina (Nl, 2004, 2'09”)
Julika Rudelius – Your blood is as red as mine (NL, 2004, 16'17”)
Bas van Koolwijk – FDBCK/AV Red Flag (NL, 2005) 2'59”
Erwin Olaf – Le Dernier Cri (NL, 2006, 2'29”)
Jacco Olivier – Saeftinghe (NL, 2006, 2'39”)
Martijn Veldhoen – (why do I keep going) FORWARD (NL, 2006, 6'00”)
Guido van der Werve – Nummer zeven (the clouds are more beautiful from above) (NL, 2006, 8'49”)
Arno Coenen – VOC/VIP: Holland Experience! (NL, 2004 – 2007, 13'47”)
eddie d – Pas de Deux (NL, 2007, 1'57”)
Mieke Gerritzen – Beautiful world (NL, 2006, 30'00”)

6 April 2008
11am – 2pm Freedom of Creation Workshop (By application only)

6pm Consulting hour / Q&A: Joke Ballintijn, Annet Dekker and Jaromil will be present in an informal setting to discuss and answer questions about distributing, collecting, preservering and presenting media art.

8pm Freedom of Creation workshop results presentation + closing night drinks.

Day to day photo-, video- and text-based updates about BELOW SEALEVEL are accessible on the blog http://cairo-belowsealevel.blogspot.com

4 - 6 April 2008 (open from 11am to 5pm)
Videolibrary
On 4 different terminals, compilations of historical and contemporary works from the collection of the Netherlands Media Art Institute will be presented at CiC. Visitors to will be able to navigate the selection of 160 individual titles, depending on their interests and taste. Please check blog for a complete list of titles.

Biographies of Experts

Jaromil is a developer and media artist inspired by the GNU free software movement: he follows the ideal of creating FOSS for freedom of expression, to let people communicate, freed from consumerist speculations and the need for expensive hardware. Among open source software he created and maintains are: MuSE (for running aweb radio), FreeJ (for vee-jay and real-time video manipulation), HasciiCam (ASCII video streaming) and dyne:bolic (efficient live-CD widely employed for media production and broadcasting). These creations are redistributed by the Free Software Foundation and several other educational institutions worldwide. Based in Amsterdam, Jaromil is currently active on FOSS R&D for the Netherlands Media Art institute, adjunct lecturer (year 2008/09) for the Media Design MA at PietZwart Academy in Rotterdam and the Digital Environment Design MA at NABA in Milano.

Annet Dekker (1970) has been active in the field of media art since the mid 90s: as researcher, writer and curator of media art exhibitions, discussions and workshops. Subjects of interest are the influence of new media, science and popular culture on art and vice versa. She has given various presentations at (inter)national symposia and was part of juries and advisory boards. For the past eight years she worked as curator and head of exhibition and the artist in residence program at the Netherlands Media Art Institute in Amsterdam. At the moment she is freelance curator and program manager for Virtual Platform.

Jeroen Kooijmans' (1967) work is characterised by small, but highly significant interventions. Evident in the choice of the framework or a subtle adaptation of the recorded material in the montage at a later stage. In a lively, carefree manner, Kooijmans succeeds in presenting extremely realistic images. His work seems to be closely related to that of pure observation, as if it is a direct translation of that which Kooijmans saw or imagined. He lays his cards on the table so that the observer can happily look, think and dream along with him. Coolly and serenely, he shows us rare moments in which people dream and fantasise, leaving reality and 'the madding crowd' far behind them for a while. http://www.jeroenkooijmans.com

After graduating in Film- and Television Studies at the University of Utrecht, the Netherlands, Joke Ballintijn (1969) worked as a producer, programmer and curator in the field of media art. She has given numerous presentations at international festivals, academies and symposia and was part of juries, advisory boards and selection-commitees in various visual art organisations. Since 1999 she is a staff member of the the collection and distribution department of the Netherlands Media Art Institute in Amsterdam.

The Netherlands Media Art Institute
Ever since the founding of the video gallery Montevideo in Amsterdam, 1978, the Netherlands Media Art Institute has been specialised in electronic art and especially video art which seeks the creative possibilities of the medium itself. Today we are active in 3 core areas: presentation, conservation and research. Through our facilities we provide extensive services for artists and art institutions.
The collection of the Netherlands Media Art Institute comprises over 1800 works, and is the beating heart of the Institute. The oldest tapes date from 1970, and still every year we add about 35 new works to the collection.All tapes and installations from the collection are documented in an on-line public catalogue at www.nimk.nl and are available for rental for screenings and exhibitions.
The history of media art shows that from the very beginning international exchange was going to be an essential part of this art form. Now we distribute yearly almost a thousand works from the collection to 36 countries and we are preparing for the future, as on-line distribution through streaming selected works directly from our servers will be possible soon.

Please note that lectures will be conducted in English.

This program has been made possible with the kind support of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Embassy in Cairo.

For more information
___________________________________
CiC
20 Safeya Zaghloul Street, 2nd Floor
Monira 11461, Cairo, Egypt
Tel.: +2 02 794 1686 Mobile: +2 012 115 8700
programs@ciccairo.com

67 Eritreans in Detention in Edfu, Aswan

2008-03-19T00:44:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

Please find below important news that we received from Mr. Raafat Samir from the Egyptian Organisation from Human Rights, regarding the detention of 67 Eritreans in Edfu, Aswan. Please contact Mr. Rafaat Samir directly for any help you can offer. armhy2007@yahoo.com ; 010 259 89 34

Thank you

Important news: Thursday March 13 2008

To all international and local organisations: Please note that 21 days ago; a group of Eritrean entered the country illegally through the southern Egyptian border to escape gangs, tribes and persecution. There are about 67 in the town of Edfu in Aswan governorate. The group is constituted of 44 men and 17 women and 6 children less than five years old, who are detained for more than twenty days now.
The 44 men are detained in one room (4 × 5 metres) and17 women and 6 children in a room 3 × 4 metres.

Mr. Najib Gabriel Chairman of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights instructed Mr. Samir Raafat, Luxor branch manager to take the necessary measures for the benefit of the detainees who are in the custody of the Egyptian authorities in the town of Edfu, Aswan governorate. Based on that then Mr. Michael Ramsey Attallah met with the warden of Edfu police station and asked to provide humanitarian assistance to the detainees.

The assistance provided was as follows: -

70 daily meals (lunch) starting Monday, February 25 until March 13, totalling to 1330 meal.
Ten blankets in addition to clothing (Men and Women's and children) and some medicines and needed supplies.

Notes:

o One of the detainees was a pregnant woman in the seventh month that has been transferred to a hospital for treatment, and she escaped from the hospital and is still being searched for.
o A group of detainees object to the space limitations and the high temperature and the absence of any sign of deportation from their detention. However, after discussing this with the warden he informed us that there are no other empty spaces in the police station to settle this crowd.

We call on all organisations to find quick solutions against their deportation or to find residency permits from the Egyptian authorities or to transfer them to international refugee organisations. We also hope to find quick solutions for the provision of food and medicines.

* We were informed that there are other groups held by the Egyptian security authorities and those are 46 in Nasr El Nuba and 70 in Draw city in Aswan Governorate.

'Living Together: CAIRO' graduation w/ Director of Alexandria Library - Invitation to a lecture by Ismail Serageldin

2008-03-13T07:49:00.000-07:00

Invitation: Ana Masry concert Friday March 14th at Sawi CultureWheel

2008-03-12T04:55:00.000-07:00

Dear friends,

Enjoy a unique fusion of music & voices performing new and old songs, Egyptian Christian hymns, Muslim Sufi chanting, Nubian singing, Gospel, poetry and more… at our upcoming Ana Masry concert, Friday March 14th at 8pm at Sawi Culturewheel in Zamalek…

Please help us spread this important message promoting Egypt’s unity, diversity, tolerance and love… please find more details below and poster attached

Thanks,
Ehaab Abdou

CIC Cairo: Opening reception of photographic exhibition 'Alternative Angle' 16 March at 7pm

2008-03-11T09:30:00.000-07:00

ontemporary Image Collective - CiC

Alternative Angle
16-23 March 2008

The Contemporary Image Collective (CiC), with the support of World Press Photo is pleased to announce ‘alternative angle’ Exhibition.

The exhibition opens on the 16th of March 2008 at 7 pm and will be on display till the 23rd of March.

This group exhibit featuring the work of 20 photojournalists is a result of two photojournalism seminars taught in Cairo between 2006/2007, developed by CiC in close cooperation with WPP where the photographers received practical instruction from leaders of the profession.

World Press Photo is an independent non-profit organization, founded in the Netherlands in 1955. Its main aim is to support and promote internationally the work of professional press photographers. Over the years, World Press photo has evolved into an independent platform for photojournalism and the free exchange of information. Educational projects play an important role in World Press photo's activities. Seminars and workshops open to individual photographers and photo agencies are organized in developing countries offering professional training to aspiring and working photojournalists.

The photojournalists featured in the exhibition:
Ahmed Abdel Gaid alMasri, Alaa al-Askary, El Sayed Abdel Kader, Fouad al Garnousy, Hayam Adel Ibrahim, Hossam Mohamed Ali Fadl, Khaled Gamal Ibrahim, Mohamed Abdou Aboelela, Mohamed Ahmed Abdel Ghany, Mostafa Mohamed Reda, Kismet El Sayed, Alaa Eddin Ahmed, Bassam El Zoghiby, Dina Ryad, Ehab Eid Eliwa, Essam Abdel Meneim, Mahmoud Shouaib, Mohamed Marouf, Victoria Hazou, Khaled El-Bagory

For further information please contact:
Shaza Moharam, Project manager of professional development unit
+2 012 409 8459 shazaster@gmail.com

Gallery hours are Sunday through Thursday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

For more information please contact:
__________________________________
CiC
20 Safeya Zaghloul, 2nd floor
Mounira 11461, Cairo.
Tel: +2 2794 1686
Mob: +2 012 1158 700
info@ciccairo.com
www.ciccairo.com

Jordan / Egypt - Call for application-Residency and exchange program

2008-03-06T00:04:00.000-08:00

///////////////////
Call for application
///////////////////
Deadline: 28 March 2008
///////////////////

Artists from egypt are invited to apply for this fully funded one month residency in Amman, Jordan.
The residency is scheduled to take place during May-June 2008.
Email applications should be sent to: info@makanhouse.net
please find the attached document for more info about how to apply,

Egyptian Center for Women's Rights / Campaign Against Sexual Harassment featured on International Women's Day 2008

2008-03-04T07:55:00.000-08:00

The Egyptian Center for Women's Rights
is pleased to invite you to our

International Women's Day Celebration
as part of the
Campaign Against Sexual Harassment:
"Making Our Streets Safer for All".

This celebration marks ECWR's call for a new law explicitly criminalizing sexual harassment. The event will include legal experts and NGOs representatives discussing the legislative situation and comparing sexual harassment laws in other countries. This will be followed by a committee of parliamentarians and lawyers who support the campaign and will work on drafting a new law based on the outcomes of the discussion.

The celebration will take place on Thursday March 6, 2008 at 2 pm, in Goethe Institute, Medan El-Mesaha, El-Dokky.

The main discussion topics will be:
Sexual harassment in the laws of other Arab countries
How security is related to harassment
Self defense

Also featuring
Bands
A photo exhibition
Booths for other Egyptian NGOs
Awareness raising materials and information

A 7 member delegation from the International Federation for Human Rights (IFHR) will attend, headed by Katherine Booth. They are visiting Egypt to discuss CEDAW (the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women), to which Egypt is a signatory, and the effect of Egypt's reservations on women's status in Egypt.

The Egyptian Center for Women's Rights
135 Misr-Helwan El Zeraay
2nd Floor, Suite 3
Hadayak El Maadi, Cairo
Egypt

Tel: (20) 2 2.527.1397 / 2.528.2176
Fax: (20) 2 2.528.2175
E-mail: ecwr@link.net
www.ecwronline.org
http://www.fourliteracies.com/

Egypt: Court Prohibits Withholding Documents from Baha'is

2008-02-29T01:14:00.000-08:00

(Cairo, January 30, 2008) – Human Rights Watch and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) welcomed a January 29 court ruling that struck down the government’s policy of denying essential identity documents and access to basic services to citizens whose religion is not recognized by the state.

http://www.eipr.org/en/

...our good friend adel commenting on his victory about ba'ahi's

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dT0y8blpfVo&feature=related

Israeli police raiding refugee shelters

2008-02-27T05:57:00.000-08:00

In the last two days we are facing tough measures by Israeli authorities raiding the refugee shelters, arresting refugees under the protection of UNHCR including minors and imprisoning them with a threat of deportation.
It seems that Olmert is trying to terrorise the refugees and create psychological and physical pressures so to stop the influx of 1200 asylum seekers arriving each month mainly from Eritrea, Sudan and the Ivory coast.

Have a look.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76985

EGYPT: UA 202/07 update on killing of African migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees trying to cross into Israel

2008-02-21T03:42:00.000-08:00

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL

PUBLIC AI Index: MDE 12/002/2008
20 February 2008

Further Information on UA 202/07 (MDE 12/025/2007, 7 August 2007) and follow-up (MDE 12/032/2007, 18 September 2007) â€“ Fear for safety/use of excessive force

EGYPT Hundreds of migrants, asylum-seekers and refugees from Sudan and other sub-Saharan African countries

On 19 February Egyptian security forces shot dead a Sudanese man trying to cross into Israel. A total of five African migrants have now been killed crossing the border so far this year. Security officials said 50-year-old Ermeniry Khasheef was shot in the back after he ignored orders to stop as he attempted to cross barbed wire near the border town of Rafah, in the north of the Sinai Peninsula.

An Eritrean woman, Mervat Mer Hatover, had been shot dead three days earlier, after she ignored orders to stop as she was attempting to jump over the barbed wire in the El Kuntilla border region, in south-eastern Sinai Peninsula. According to security officials, Mervat Mer Hatover and her two daughters, aged eight and 10, had been among a group of Africans who paid smugglers to help them cross into Israel. All were arrested. The military prosecutor has reportedly ordered an autopsy on Mervat Mer Hatover but no proper investigation is known to have taken place.

On 30 January two migrants from Ivory Cost were shot and killed trying to cross the border south of Rafah. According to the Egyptian security forces, a 22-year-old man and an 18-year-old woman bled to death before an ambulance could reach them. Six Eritreans and two Ethiopians were also arrested. On 19 January, another man from Ivory Cost bled to death after he was shot in the thigh at the border with Israel. A Sudanese and a Guinean were arrested.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Thousands of migrants, refugees and asylum-seekers, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea or other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, try to cross from Egypt to Israel each year. Their numbers have been increasing since 2007.

In July 2007 alone, over 230 mostly Sudanese migrants were arrested trying to cross into Israel without official permission. According to the UNHCR some two to three million Sudanese nationals live in Egypt; most of them are migrants but they also include thousands of refugees who have fled persecution in Sudan. Israel has put pressure on Egypt to reduce the flow of people crossing the border into its territory without authorization.

The UN Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and the UN Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials both require Egyptian security forces, including border police, to use lethal force only when their own lives are in immediate danger and there is no other means to respond to that danger.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in Arabic, English or your own language:
- expressing concern that three men and two women have been shot dead by Egyptian security forces since the beginning of 2008, as they attempted to cross the border into Israel,
- noting the order of the military prosecutor to have an autopsy on Mervat Mer Hatover and calling
calling on the authorities to order a thorough and impartial investigation into the killings inline with the UN Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions, to make the result of this investigation public and to bring anyone found to have used excessive or illegal force to justice,
- reminding the authorities that Egypt's security forces, including border police, are required to use lethal force only when their own lives are in immediate danger.

APPEALS TO:

Interior Minister
Minister Habib Ibrahim El Adly
Ministry of the Interior
25 Al-Sheikh Rihan Street
Bab al-Louk
Cairo, EGYPT
Fax: +20 2 279 0682
Email: moi@idsc.gov.eg
Salutation: Dear Minister

Minister of Defence
Mohamed Hussein Tantawi
Ministry of Defence and Military Production
23 July Street
Kobry el Obba
Cairo, EGYPT
Fax: +202 22906004
Email: mod@afmic.gov.eg
mmc@afmic.gov.eg
Salutation: Dear Minister

COPIES TO:

President, national human rights council
Dr Botros Botros Ghali
National Council for Human Rights
1113 Corniche of the Nil-
Midane Al Tahrir-
Specialized National Councils Building- 11 floor
Cairo, EGYPT
Fax: +20 2 2574 7497/14
Email: nchr@nchr.org.eg
Salutation: Dear President Botros Ghali

COPIES TO: diplomatic representatives of Egypt accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 2 April 2008.

TALES AROUND THE PAVEMENT: THE PUBLICATION

2008-02-16T05:42:00.000-08:00

TALES AROUND THE PAVEMENT: THE PUBLICATION
17 February 2008 at 7pm

CIC (CONTEMPORARY
IMAGE COLLECTIVE)
20 Safeya Zaghloul St., Mounira,
Cairo, Egypt
T +2 012 110 8700
F +2 02 2794 1686
http://www.ciccairo.com

The book launch of TALES AROUND THE PAVEMENT: THE PUBLICATION is the third installment in a multi-staged contemporary arts project curated by Aleya Hamza and Edit Molnar.

Initiated in Cairo in 2007 during Meeting Points 5 Festival, Tales around the Pavement explores the complex relationships and shifting dynamics between people and public space in the context of a mega city like Cairo, in which the notion of public space and its various functions, official and informal, is constantly negotiated and redefined.

The FIRST CHAPTER OF TALES AROUND THE PAVEMENT was staged in the streets of Downtown Cairo. Seven local artists, designers and architects produced new low-budget site and context-specific projects that take an investigative research-based approach to the daily habits of people. Two of the seven works have taken the form of public furniture. The rest of the projects include a portable sound installation, a TV-based public situation, a street graphics project, a series of pictograms, and an interactive installation in an abandoned kiosk. Some of these lasted over the span of a week or more, but most have been ephemeral disruptions of the urban landscape through which this group of artists effectively reinvented some of the guerrilla-style tactics and survival strategies employed by city dwellers on a daily basis in the public arena.

In TALES AROUND THE PAVEMENT: CHAPTER TWO, a similar set of questions and issues pertaining to public spaces in mega cities today from Istanbul to Mumbai were examined by an international group of artists, photographers, writers, curators and filmmakers. This chapter was presented within the framework of a visual arts show at CIC as well as a parallel public program of presentations, lectures and films screenings. Making use of a diverse range media and approaches, from single channel low-tech videos, sound installations to black and white documentary photographs, these cultural producers collectively spin a web of stories that is as multi-layered as the city itself.

In both chapters various concepts of property, privacy, ownership, class, marginalized sub-cultures and gated communities were explored within the narratives presented in the projects and program.

The focal point of TALES AROUND THE PAVEMENT: THE PUBLICATION is the seven projects commissioned for the first chapter of the project. With photographs, illustrations, texts, notes and conversations, this publication seeks to track some of the experiences of producing a series of transient interventions in public spaces in Downtown Cairo. The book launch will be accompanied by a round table discussion with participating artists.

Chapter One: 5 â€“ 15 November 2007
Chapter Two: 20 January â€“ 29 February 2008

ARTISTS

Marwan Fayed, Kareem Lotfy, Malak Helmy, George Azmy, Mahmoud Hamdy, Eklego Design, Mohamed Allam, Hany Rashed, Jean-Luc Marchina, Katarina Sevic, Mahmoud Khaled, Osman Bozkurt, Randa Shaath, Tarek Hefny

PROGRAM: CHAPTER TWO

20 January 2008
Opening reception of visual arts exhibition

22 January 2008
OPEN CITY: ISTANBUL
Presentation by Istanbul-based artist Osman Bozkurt

6 February 2008
MUMBAI RISING
Presentation by British photographer Jason Larkin

10 February 2008
Film screening of THE TEQUILA GANG, directed by LÃ¡szlÃ³ HudÃ¡k-LÃ©nÃ¡rt Imre, a project by MiklÃ³s Erhardt, 1998, 58 min (Hungarian with English subtitles)

17 February 2008
Book Launch of TALES AROUND THE PAVEMENT: THE PUBLICATION

24 February 2008
FORM, FUNCTION AND COMMODITY. INVENTING THE MODERN CITY THROUGH NON-FICTIONAL FILM
Lecture by Berlin-based artist and film curator Florian WÃ¼st

26 February 2008
Film screening of CHAIN directed by Jem Cohen, USA, 2004, 100 min (English language)

TALES AROUND THE PAVEMENT has been made possible with the generous support of the Young Arab Theatre Fund, Meeting Points 5, Pro Helvetia: The Swiss Arts Council, Goethe-Institut Kairo and ACAX Budapest

EGYPT-SUDAN: Sudanese struggle in the streets of Cairo (video)

2008-02-06T08:54:00.000-08:00

CAIRO, 29 January 2008 (IRIN) - In recent history, Egypt has been a temporary home for Sudanese fleeing violence in their country. There are now 25,000 registered Sudanese refugees in the north African country but it’s estimated that between one and four million live there.

While registered refugees have access to basic healthcare and education many say they are discriminated against because of the colour of their skin. They are also seen as a burden in a country where at least 43 percent of the population live on less than US$2 a day.

This video short profiles the problems faced by single mother Victoria Achol Jaal. Her daughters have been abused and harassed, leaving her no choice but to keep them at home.

http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=76466

Cairo: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) 'Attacks on the Press' Report launches at Journalists Syndicate

2008-02-06T06:08:00.000-08:00

Presented by:

Joel Campagna, Senior Program Coordinator
Monday, February 4
11AM local time
Journalists Syndicate
Cairo

Egypt: Court prohibits withholding documents from Baha'is

2008-02-03T00:05:00.000-08:00

Government Should Implement Discrimination Decision Without Delay, says Human Rights Watch

(Cairo, January 30, 2008) – Human Rights Watch and the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) welcomed a January 29 court ruling that struck down the government's policy of denying essential identity documents and access to basic services to citizens whose religion is not recognized by the state.

The Cairo Court of Administrative Justice granted the request of Baha'i Egyptians to obtain birth certificates and identity cards without indicating any religious affiliation. The decision overturned the government's policy of forcing Baha'i Egyptians to choose one of the three state-recognized religions of Islam, Christianity and Judaism as a prerequisite for obtaining identification documents.

"This ruling remedies an official discriminatory policy based solely on religious belief," said Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights. "We urge the government to implement the decision without delay, and not to appeal this clear verdict of the court."

For the last eight years, the Civil Status Department of the Ministry of Interior has refused to issue identity documents to any citizen who does not adhere to one of the three "heavenly" religions. These documents are essential to obtain education and employment, register births, immunize children, and conduct basic transactions such as opening a bank account, getting a driver's license, or collecting a pension.

A previous ruling by the Supreme Administrative Court in December 2006 had upheld the state policy of refusing to recognize the religious affiliation of Baha'is in official documents, arguing that such recognition would violate public order and Sharia (Islamic law) requirements. This ruling prompted Baha'i Egyptians to file two new lawsuits – the subject of yesterday's ruling – requesting documents that do not list any religious affiliation. The new cases, filed by EIPR lawyers, argued that forcing Baha'is to identify falsely as Muslim or Christian violated their rights to freedom of religion, privacy, and equality.

"The government should stop using public order and Sharia pretexts to justify official bigotry," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director of Human Rights Watch. "Baha'i Egyptians should not have been forced to go to court to end this abusive behavior."

In November 2007, Human Rights Watch and the EIPR issued a joint report, "Prohibited Identities: State Interference with Religious Freedom," documenting the Ministry of Interior's policy of denying mandatory identity documents to Baha'is as well as citizens who convert from Islam to Christianity. The report found that this policy was arbitrary and not based on any Egyptian law. Rather, the government selectively used Sharia to deny some citizens their right, guaranteed under Egyptian and international human rights law, to exercise religious freedom without discrimination or penalty.

The discrimination became particularly acute and systematic when the government, beginning in 1995, insisted that all persons needing to acquire or replace such documents had to acquire computer-generated ones from the central Civil Registry Office in the Ministry of Interior. Officials have said that in the near future, perhaps early this year, all Egyptians will have to acquire computerized IDs, even if they now possess valid paper ones.

The court's January 29 judgment resulted from two lawsuits. The first case (no. 18354/58) involved 15-year-old twins, Imad and Nancy Ra'uf Hindi, who have been unable since 2004 to obtain computer-generated birth certificates unless they convert to Islam or Christianity. Their father had obtained birth certificates for them when they were first born in 1993 recognizing their Baha'i religious affiliation, but new certificates carrying an individual "national number" (raqam qawmi) are mandatory; Baha'i children are unable to enroll in public schools without them.

The second case (no. 12780/61) was filed in February 2007 on behalf of Hosni Hussein Abd al-Massih, born in 1989, who was suspended from the Suez Canal University's Higher Institute of Social Work because he could not obtain an identity card recognizing his Baha'i faith. Baha'i students in post-secondary education have faced suspension or expulsion because of their inability to obtain ID cards or military service postponement papers.

Both rulings can be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court.

Human Rights Watch Press release

Egypt Closes Border w/ Gaza

2008-02-02T23:03:00.000-08:00

By DIAA HADID, Associated Press Writer (3 February)
RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Egyptian troops closed the last breach in Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip on Sunday morning, ending 11 days of free movement for Palestinian residents of the blockaded territory, witnesses and Hamas security officials said.

The troops were allowing Gazans and Egyptians to cross the border to return to their homes on the other side, the witnesses and officials said, but prevented any new cross-border movement.

Hamas militants blew up section of the Gaza-Egypt border wall on Jan. 23 in an attempt to end a seven-month blockade imposed on Gaza by Israel with Egypt's cooperation. The move allowed hundreds of thousands of Gazans to stock up on supplies in Egypt.

A senior Hamas leader said Saturday after meeting with Egyptian officials that Egypt would close the border in coordination with the militant group, which seized control of the territory in June.

But Mahmoud Zahar said the closure would be temporary while the Egyptians search for a way to reopen the border. Egyptian officials were not available for comment on the Hamas claims. It was not clear whether Egypt was considering the group's demand for a say in running the Egypt-Gaza border.

Any role for the Islamic militants on the border would be sure to anger the international community and Hamas' archrival, the moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, because it would amount to tacit recognition of Hamas rule in Gaza.

Hamas' violent seizure control of the tiny seaside territory, home to 1.5 million Palestinians, left Abbas controlling only the West Bank.

Hamas thwarted repeated attempts by Egypt to reseal the frontier as Palestinians flooded over the border.

On Saturday, Egyptian security forces arrested two Palestinians carrying a bomb in el-Massoura, a village about 2.5 miles west of the border with Gaza, a Sinai security official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. A police official in Cairo said the two had been trying to reach beach resorts in the southern Sinai.

On Friday, a Sinai intelligence official said Egyptian security forces were looking for four Palestinians who slipped into the country from Gaza and were suspected of planning suicide attacks against resorts. It was not clear if the two men arrested Saturday were those Egypt had been tracking.

At least 17 Palestinians have been arrested in the past days carrying weapons and explosives near the border and other remote parts of the Sinai desert.

Zahar said Egyptian officials told him they would restore order at the crossing.

"Egypt's message was very clear, that Sunday should be the day to put an end to this scene," Zahar told the Arab satellite TV station Al-Jazeera.

The Hamas leader, widely seen as the mastermind of Hamas' Gaza takeover, said the Islamic group would cooperate with Egypt in its efforts.

According to Zahar, Egypt agreed to coordinate with Hamas on some border issues and to enable thousands of Palestinians stuck in Egypt to head to third countries for which they have visas or residency permits.

In an interview with AP Television News, Zahar suggested the Egyptians planned to reopen the border after talks with European officials arriving in the region.

"Tomorrow they (the Egyptians) are going to start dialogue with the European people in order to make an end for our sanctions and to allow opening of the gates freely and without preconditions," he said.

The EU foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, was expected to arrive in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials later Saturday. The international Mideast envoy, Tony Blair, was also planning a trip to the region in coming days to address the border standoff.

Hamas breached the border several days after Israel imposed a complete blockade on Gaza, with Egyptian backing, in response to a rocket barrage from Gaza on Israeli border towns. The blockade tightened the already severely restricted access to the territory that Israel and Egypt imposed after Hamas' Gaza takeover.

Earlier this week, Egypt and Abbas endorsed restoring a 2005 border arrangement in which European monitors were deployed on the Palestinian side to prevent smuggling of weapons and militants, and Israel watched traffic by closed-circuit TV.

Abbas has proposed sending loyalist security forces to the border, to get around the international boycott of Hamas and ensure the crossing is open.

Hamas has said it opposes the 2005 arrangement because it granted Israel a final say over when the Gaza-Egypt border is open. The EU monitors are based in Israel, and Israel in the past frequently asked the monitors to stay away, citing security reasons, in effect shutting down border operations.

Zahar suggested that Hamas was flexible about the extent of its role on the border, but wanted Israel and the EU to be excluded from running it.

"The crossing has to be open because it's an Egytian-Palestinian crossing," he told Al Jazeera. "There have been obstacles ... in the past due to Israeli intervention, and European Union and Israeli pressure. All of these contributed to the siege of the Palestinian people."

The head of the Hamas government in Gaza, Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, said he would like to see Gaza's economy cut from Israel, and instead receive fuel and electricity from Egypt.

"We have said from the days of our election campaign that we want to move toward economic disengagement from the Israeli occupation," Haniyeh told the pro-Hamas daily Palestine. "Egypt has a greater ability to meet the needs of Gaza."

___

AP reporter Ibrahim Barzak contributed to this report from Gaza City, Gaza Strip.

Tales around the Pavement: Chapter II

2008-01-19T08:12:00.000-08:00

The Contemporary Image Collective (CIC) was a project incubated by the Townhouse Gallery and now operates autonomously in the Garden City neighborhood of Cairo. My Tadamon colleague, Mohammed Yousri used to be its director.

Iraqis in Cairo

2007-12-15T04:20:00.000-08:00

Today I have sat in a make-shift office (in the apartment where I am staying) as a constant flow of Iraqi refugees streamed through to give their testimonies. While playing catch-up on my laptop after arriving from NYC to Cairo, the personal inflexion and nuance of their situations take me to a deeper understanding of the war ramifications than I could have ever reached through mainstream media reporting. In the first phase of freeDimensional's work in Egypt I am serving as a fellow with Forced Migration & Refugee Studies at the American University in Cairo.

What is 'Living Together: CAIRO'

2007-12-13T13:41:00.000-08:00

'Living Together' is intended to bring Egyptians and refugees of all nationalities together to discuss how 'the other' is treated in 'other' societies, including issues of racism and racial awareness with the aim of improving relations between Egyptians and refugees. The final product will be an Arabic-language information campaign to be implemented in refugee-inhabited neighborhoods in Cairo. Once completed the model of 'Living Together' will then be shared with other cities experiencing large influxes of new refugee and asylum-seekers.