A landmark agreement will allow thousands of Egyptians to legally migrate to Italy each year. Mustafa El-Menshawy reports Over the years, hundreds of young Egyptians desperately looking for work have been apprehended while illegally trying to make their way to Italy. The attempts are usually made both overland and by sea via Libya and the Mediterranean, or else by hiding in containers on ships that pass through the Suez Canal on their way to Europe. It is unknown how many avoid capture and actually end up making it to Italy. In an attempt to regulate this cross-border flow, Italy has decided to allow some 20,000 Egyptians to enter the country legally every year. The deal, to be clinched within the coming few weeks, would create both permanent and seasonal jobs for Egyptians in the Italian agriculture, service and tourism industries, an Italian diplomat told Al-Ahram Weekly on condition of anonymity. "It is a legal way of travelling to our country so that people no longer risk their lives, or fall prey to human trafficking," he said. The initiative's roots go back to Deputy Italian Labour Minister Silveri Giuseppe's May 2003 visit to Cairo, when a memorandum of understanding was signed with Egyptian Manpower and Immigration Minister Ahmed El-Amawi. According to El-Amawi, the agreement will eventually increase Egypt's permanent labour migration pool to Italy from a mere 300 per year to an estimated 1,500. One of the mechanisms through which the labour exchange will take place is the Italian-financed Integrated Migration Information System (IMIS), which is basically a "tool to help Cairo better manage migration policies", according to IMIS Head Grazella Rizza. One aspect of the programme involves making it easier for Egyptian workers abroad to invest their remittances back into Egypt. Rizza told the Weekly it was still too early to gauge the extent to which the programme would curb the number of Egyptians attempting to travel to Italy illegally. Among the other mechanisms is the "Green Passage" agreement inked between the Italian and Egyptian agriculture ministries, which involves training Egyptian farmers before allowing them to work on projects in Italy. Two hundred and fifty people are currently participating in the programme's first run. As Egypt's second largest trade partner, and the largest buyer of Egyptian exports, Italy and Egypt have always been economically close . The illegal manpower flow, however, was starting to cause tension in Egyptian-Italian relations, as pointed out in a 2003 Al-Ahram article written by Italian Ambassador Antonio Badini. Egyptian diplomats were being pressured by Rome to do something about the illegal infiltration going on, according to former foreign under-secretary Ahmed Abul-Kheir. Abul-Kheir told the Weekly that the "frequent expulsions of Egyptian citizens during foiled attempts to enter European countries was putting pressure on Egypt and causing a tremendous amount of embarrassment." Helmi Bedeir, Egypt's ambassador to Rome, preferred to say that there had been "political consultations" between the two countries, rather than direct pressure. Libya, meanwhile, has also been asking Egypt to be more vigilant about stopping its citizens from using Libya as a transit point for entry into Europe. As Libya attempts to improve its relationship with Europe, it has been more willing to listen to demands for more stringent control over its Mediterranean coasts. Although a member of Egypt's diplomatic mission in Libya told the Weekly that Libyan Foreign Minister Abdul-Rahman Shalgam sent a letter to Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher regarding this particular point, the correspondence could not be confirmed. Meanwhile, the relatives of 21 Egyptians who are allegedly missing in Libya -- after being arrested by the Libyan coast guard in October 2003 while attempting to illegally travel to Italy -- have accused Libya of mistreating, and perhaps even killing, the young men while they were in custody. According to the Human Rights Association for the Assistance of Prisoners (HRAAP), a lawsuit has been filed against both Maher and the Libyan Embassy; Egypt's Administrative Court is currently reviewing the case. In tandem with the agreements, the actual mechanisms by which illegal immigration can be curtailed are still being discussed. Egyptian and Italian officials said tangible solutions require enthusiastic coordination between several countries. It is particularly difficult, for instance, to deal with Egyptians who end up destroying their Egyptian passports and claiming they are Palestinians attempting to seek asylum in Europe. Mohamed Moneib, head of the Cairo-based African Centre for Democracy and Human Rights, said even the knowledge that "border guards are trigger happy, and a journey by sea is extremely dangerous", might not be enough to prevent desperately poor employment-seekers from taking the risk. A real life example occurred this February, when 40 people from the village of Mit Nagui went missing when their rickety boat capsized in the Mediterranean off the Libyan coast. Despite this, just a few weeks later, dozens of people from the same village lined up to take the same risk. "I have not had a job for more than two years now," Ahmed Mustafa, one of the few survivors of the first trip who ended up being hospitalised in Malta, told the Weekly. "So I decided to risk my life, and I am still ready to do it again." Egyptian and Italian officials are worried that, despite the new agreements, there may still be many others willing to do the same.
