Tearing Apart Refugee Cards and Residency Permits: The Sudanese in Egypt face humiliation and imprisonment
Thousands of Sudanese nationals are facing dire circumstances due to the Egyptian Security Authorities’ intensified campaigns to arrest them. Despite possessing UNHCR Refugee Cards and Egyptian Residency Permits, they find themselves facing new forms of suffering and are being imprisoned in Egypt.
Sudanese nationals in Cairo told (Assayha) that thousands of men, women, youth, and children are being detained in Egyptian prisons in what they described as the worst campaigns carried out by authorities against the Sudanese people, with no distinction made between those residing illegally and those with legal status.
They added that large numbers of Sudanese in prisons and police stations are facing a silent and deteriorating humanitarian crisis, a catastrophic situation exacerbated by the complicit silence of the Sudanese Embassy in Cairo regarding such blatant inhumane practices against the Sudanese nationals in Egypt.
“Your Papers Don’t Provide Protection”
Sources told (Assayha) that the Security campaigns are arbitrary and go beyond the simple act of “regularizing legal status.” They confirmed that serious violations have occurred, according to testimonies from detainees’ families, with the authorities disregarding international conventions on refugee rights.
Furthermore, Egyptian Authorities have arrested a number of Sudanese nationals holding Egyptian Residency Permits and imprisoned them. Hence, reports indicate that holding official Residency Permits is no longer a guarantee of immunity from arrest. Some detainees have reportedly been subjected to extortion and forced to pay large sums of money in order to secure their release.
The Sudanese nationals in Egypt confirmed that security personnel are tearing up UNHCR Cards (the yellow or blue cards), which are meant to serve as international protection documents for their holders. Eyewitnesses reported that these cards are being completely disregarded, and in shocking cases, they are being torn up in front of the cardholders, leaving refugees suddenly without identity or protection and vulnerable to forced deportation.
The aforementioned detention campaigns targeting the Sudanese in Egypt have shown no regard for the humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable groups. As prisons and detention centers, already plagued by infrastructure problems, are now overcrowded with victims of the Sudanese war. Children are crammed into small cells, sleeping on the floor, deprived of the most basic rights of childhood.
Tragic Conditions
Eyewitnesses report that women and girls have been subjected to severe psychological trauma and are being held in conditions that violate their dignity and privacy, which further exacerbates the trauma they carry with them from the war.
Large numbers of sick, elderly, and chronically ill individuals (such as those with diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease) face dire conditions. Detention centers and prisons lack even the most basic medical care services and medications. Patients are crammed into poorly ventilated spaces without proper healthcare, a situation some have described as a “slow death sentence.”
A Plea To The World
Thousands of Sudanese nationals in Egypt have issued an urgent appeal to the United Nations and international organizations, stating that what is happening to Sudanese refugees in Egypt goes beyond a mere regulatory process to control the presence of foreigners. Therefore, they are calling on the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), responsible for protecting these individuals, especially those holding its cards, to protect the Sudanese and provide them with legal services and protection.
