A group of 50 Egyptians were deported this week from Italy after failing to enter the country illegally, reports Amirah Ibrahim The 50 young men deported this week from Italy had much in common. They were all in their mid-20s and they had all failed to find any reasonable employment at home. More importantly, though, they were all willing to risk everything in their search for a better future. And despite the hardships they faced, those interviewed by Al-Ahram Weekly said they would be willing to try again. The response of Said, 27, is typical. "I will stay in my village only until I collect enough money for another attempt," he said. "I've been working at a bakery for LE15 per day. There is no way that I'll ever save enough to buy a flat or get married and I have no hope of a better future at home." Said was perfectly aware of the potential pitfalls of his journey, he says. Yet in the search for better life he, like the others, was willing to risk both his meagre savings and, perhaps, his life. Libya, which does not require a visa from visiting Egyptians, is the first stop on the most common route for those seeking to enter Italy illegally. It is the gate through which thousands of Egyptians pass in their attempts to find a better life in Europe. This human trade is lucrative for some. "We knew we were travelling with forged work contracts and that there were no jobs waiting for us," Said said. "Yet we each paid $1,500." They first travelled to Libya by bus where, in Tripoli, they met the man who had organised their ultimately unsuccessful journey. From Tripoli they were taken to Zouara, a port on the Tunisian- Libyan border. "In Zouara," Said continues, "we were taken to a village where we stayed for several days before we were packed in a boat. The plan was that at a certain point we would jump overboard and swim our way to the Italian shore." The plan was aborted when Italian coast-guards spotted the boat a few kilometres inside their territorial waters, arrested those on board and took them to a refugee camp. A week later, along with dozens of other Arab and African nationals, they were moved to another camp. The group faced interrogation. "Eventually," says Said, "they discovered we were only a bunch of poor young people from the South dreaming of making our fortunes in Europe." They were then taken to Rome where they joined a group of 20 Egyptians who were also facing deportation. "We had been warned by the middle man not to disclose our nationality should we be arrested in order to avoid being sent back home. Unfortunately the Egyptian ambassador identified us," said Awad Abu Radi, a 24-year-old university graduate from Damietta. There were, Abu Radi explains, many Iraqis and Moroccans on the boat that took us from Libya to Italy. "They were lucky that their consuls could not identify them. At Cairo Airport security sources say that Egypt receives two airplanes a month of illegal travellers deported mainly from Italy and Greece. The Egyptian authorities are seeking to tighten the regulations covering those seeking work abroad before they exit Egypt. Where work permits are required the problems are minimal, since permit and contract are carefully scrutinised. But in Libya's case neither a work permit nor job contract is required for entry. The problem is, said one security source, that we must act "to protect our citizens from the smuggling mafias".
