Syrians in Egypt demand clearer work regulations
Syrians who fled their country and settled in Egypt have so far contributed to the Egyptian economy with more than $800 million, but they have yet to get their papers in order.
CAIRO — Before the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, Abu Abada,* 40, used to manage a clothing store in Damascus. But since escaping to Egypt five years ago, he has struggled to support his wife and three children.
Now employed as a shift manager at the popular and bustling Syrian restaurant “Rosto” in 6th of October City, a satellite suburb to the west of Cairo, Abu Abada works up to 14 hours a day and often still doesn't scrape together enough to pay rent and the rest of his expenses, which he points out have almost doubled since Egypt devalued its currency in November 2016.
According to Abu Abada, he has often had to borrow money from family and friends to cover his expenses and he also works as a driver and a teacher of chemistry and physics at a Syrian community school to make ends meet. At one point, he said, his wife’s jewelry and gold was stolen from his apartment in 6th of October City, taking away the only form of savings that his family had in Egypt.
“Jobs Make the Difference,” a multi-agency UN report released on May 15 by the United Nations Development Program, the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the World Food Program, compiled data from the countries that have taken the most refugees and asylum seekers from Syria: Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Egypt.
