DARFURI WOMEN REFUGEE LEADERS DESCRIBE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CAIRO 000639 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, AF/SPG, PRM FOR LANGE E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/14/2019 TAGS: PREF PHUM PREL SOCI KWMN SU EG SUBJECT: DARFURI WOMEN REFUGEE LEADERS DESCRIBE DIFFICULTIES AND HARDSHIP REF: 08 CAIRO 2271 Classified By: Minister Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs William R. Stewart for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Key Points -- We met with two Darfuri women chosen to represent the views of Darfuri refugee women to the U.S. Embassy. They told us that they held protests at UNHCR's Cairo office demanding better housing allowances, medical care, and resettlement options. -- Both women said they were abused and tortured in Sudan. They have been in Cairo for 3-5 years, but UNHCR told them that they do not qualify for resettlement. -- Both women told us that they and their families are harassed by Egyptian State Security (SSIS) and are discriminated against in Egyptian society. -- They asked the USG for assistance in stopping the war in Darfur and intervening with UNHCR so Darfuris in Cairo can qualify for resettlement. ¶2. (C) Comment: The Darfuri refugee women also held a protest in front of UNHCR on April 6, and they plan to hold another protest on April 20. Based on our discussions with Darfuri refugee leaders, it appears that UNHCR's Cairo office treats them like other refugees from Sudan, including those from South Sudan, who no longer qualify for resettlement. This claim was indirectly substantiated when UNHCR responded to our repeated requests for a breakdown of Sudanese refugees by place of origin by stating that the information would take some time to obtain; they are apparently not even keeping this information. We renewed our request to UNHCR after this meeting, and we finally received a response on April 9. UNHCR informed us that Darfuri refugees account for 17 percent of the over 23,000 registered Sudanese refugees in Cairo. Discrimination against "Africans" in Egypt is severe as most Egyptians view them as "stealing" jobs and food. An article in a daily newspaper in Cairo in February stated that African men are "criminals" and women are "prostitutes." End Comment. -------------- -------------- Darfuri Women Came to Cairo to Escape Torture and Abuse -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) We met with two Darfuri women, Ines Ibrahim and Maha Abdel Karim Abdel Rusu, who were chosen by the Darfuri community to represent the views of Darfuri refugee women to the U.S. Embassy. Both women provided background on their lives, and how they came to Cairo. Ines is from El Fasher in North Darfur and a member of the Zaghawa tribe. She was arrested in 2003 while attending university in Omdurman because she joined the Alliance of Darfur Sons to express her concern at Government of Sudan actions in her home state. In prison, she was raped and beaten and transferred to the Al-Salah al-Tibi military hospital. She was released from the hospital after one week of treatment, but her family did not allow her to return home because she was "soiled." As a result, she married a man in the alliance and they escaped to Egypt by sea. She arrived in the Sinai in November 2004. She and her husband lived there for two years until they heard about UNHCR. They came to Cairo in 2006 and registered as refugees. ¶4. (C) Abdel Rusu is from Kutum in North Darfur and a member of the Fur tribe. In 2003, after an attack on her village, she left Darfur with her daughter and two sons and went to Libya. She came with her daughter to Cairo in 2004 to get help from UNHCR. She left her sons in Libya. Two years later the Red Crescent moved her sons to Egypt to reunite the family. Despite being from Darfur and being registered as refugees for 3-5 years, both women only possess a UNHCR "yellow card," which allows them to reside in Cairo, but unlike the UNHCR "blue card" does not allow qualify them for resettlement. Both women told us that they have approached the UNHCR Cairo office about their qualifications for resettlement, but have not yet been able to discuss this with UNHCR. Abdel Rusu told us that UNHCR denied her request to discuss resettlement and Ines has never received a response. -------------- -------------- Protests for Better Service and Resettlement Options -------------- -------------- CAIRO 00000639 002 OF 002 ¶5. (C) Both women helped to organize a Darfuri women's protest in front of the UNHCR on March 30. The women asked for better housing allowances, medical care, and resettlement options. Both women leaders have chronic medical problems that stem from the physical, mental and sexual abuses that they suffered while in Sudan. In addition, Ibrahim and Abdel Rusu believe they qualify for resettlement because they were "victimized" in Sudan and can never return to their homes in Darfur. UNHCR came out to the protesters and requested that they stop making noise. The women presented their demand and UNHCR offered to meet with each refugee individually. However, the women refused because UNHCR had done this before and "never followed up on its promises" (reftel). Ibrahim described this tactic as UNHCR's "divide and conquer strategy." -------------- Life in Egypt: Oppression and Discrimination -------------- ¶6. (C) Both Ibrahim and Abdel Rusu describe their lives in Egypt as living with "oppression and discrimination." Both women live in Kilo Arba was Nuss, a ghetto on the eastern outskirts of Cairo where many Sudanese refugees reside. Both women told us that because of their role in refugee protests they are harassed by SSIS. Abdel Rusu opined that UNHCR had given SSIS their names because they organized the peaceful protests in front of UNHCR headquarters. ¶7. (C) Ibrahim's husband opened a computer repair shop in Central Cairo, which became "successful." However, some Egyptians computer shops complained and the SSIS shut down her husband's shop. They allowed him to open a shop in Arba wa Nuss, but there was little demand. She told us that in the past few months she and her husband also lost their house when she refused the advances of their landlord. After that incident her husband's new computer shop in Arba wa Nuss was closed and they were kicked out of their apartment and their furniture was confiscated. Attempts to get their property returned have not been fruitful. She said the landlord called in the police and "blackballed" them in the local Muslim community, of which they have been a part. Her husband cannot find work. Their rent and food are now provided by a local Christian charity working in Arba wa Nuss. Abdel Rusu said that her family is constantly under pressure from Egyptians who want them out of the country. She said that many shops will not sell bread or food to her and she cannot turn to the police because "there is no law in Egypt to protect refugee rights." On the advice of Ibrahim, she has asked the Christian church in Arba wa Nuss for financial support so she can buy food and basic necessities for her children. -------------- Request for U.S. Assistance -------------- ¶8. (C) Ibrahim and Abdel Rusu asked for USG help on two fronts. Their first request that the U.S. to stop the "war in Darfur." Ibrahim said too many of her countrymen and relatives were suffering at the hands of the Sudanese Government. As refugees, they asked the USG to intervene with UNHCR. Both women feel that Darfuris should be treated differently than other Sudanese and because of the on-going conflict should qualify for resettlement. SCOBEY