The government insists that the maltreatment of Egyptians abroad are isolated incidents while the victims' families appeal for a more vigorous defence of the rights of overseas Egyptians by the authorities, writes Gamal Nkrumah In 2005-2006, foreign currency remittances from Egyptians working in the oil-rich Arab Gulf countries amounted to $6.3 billion. Persuading Egyptians, therefore, to cut back on searching for greener pastures in the Gulf will certainly be an uphill struggle. In spite of widespread stories of abuse by returnees from the Gulf, hundreds of thousands of Egyptians are enjoying gainful employment in the Gulf countries. Egyptians working abroad are often betrayed by the very people they depend on for a livelihood. The public is incensed about the torture stories filtering from the Gulf. "Before they came into a lot of money, the Arab countries were hugely indebted to Egypt, and now our citizens are maltreated by them," an Egyptian who used to work in the Gulf angrily noted. Egyptians abroad are sometimes subjected to torture and they are deported for complaining or bullied or drugged into quietude. Recently, a spate of highly-publicised incidents of ill- treatment of Egyptians working in Arab countries attracted public attention in Egypt. The families of the alleged victims complain that the Egyptian authorities are ignoring a persistent problem. Indeed, they say that this is an old problem that continues to dog Egyptians legally employed in Arab countries. Indeed, an old problem still counts as a problem. As in many cases, the worst problems are often concentrated in specific communities. Egyptians working in Arab countries are beginning to organise themselves and mobilise human rights organisations to come to their aide. Meanwhile, here in Egypt, awareness and even hysteria about the ill-treatment of Egyptians abroad is gaining momentum and has dramatically increased in recent years. This year, the complaints have reached a deafening crescendo. The case of two Egyptians, Hossam Mohamed Selim and Gamal Mohamed Abdel-Shafie, hit the headlines recently. They were subjected to gross human rights abuses by five Kuwaiti police officers. They were doused with aqua fortis, and suffered serious burns as a result. They were also beaten up and verbally abused -- their torture was sustained for 10 days. The Kuwaiti authorities are apparently questioning the officers, who are now themselves in police custody. The head of the National Committee for Human Rights, the former United Nations secretary-general Boutros Boutros-Ghali, urged the Kuwaiti authorities to look into the matter. He contacted Kuwait's Minister of Justice Abdullah Al-Maatouq for an explanation about the reported cases. A strikingly similar case, that of 14 Egyptians detained in Libya, prompted the citizens of Shubrabas in Menoufia governorate to complain that the rights of their kith and kin were being violated in Libya. They contradicted Egyptian Foreign Ministry statements that the 14 Egyptian detainees in Libya had been released. They claimed that "their children" were still being detained without trial in Libya. It is against this background that a conference tackling this prickly issue took place in Cairo this week. As far as cabinet ministers were concerned, this was a time when no one was taking any chances. Most ministers declined to take part in the "Egyptians Abroad" conference. However, the Minister of Manpower and Migration Aisha Abdel-Hadi could not steal away. She came under fire, but Abdel-Hadi reiterated the official line. "We need not exaggerate rumours about the violations of Egyptians workers abroad, a statement which elicited a torrent of criticism in the press. The minister downplayed the case of maltreated Egyptian workers abroad. She said that a majority of Egyptians workers abroad lead contented lives and work under satisfactory conditions. "There are a few individual cases of abuse, perhaps, but these are far from common. They are exceptions to the rule," she added. There is nothing unusual about people complaining when they feel their rights have been violated. The conditions of Egyptian workers abroad, and especially in Arab countries has definitely entered the world of nuts-and-bolts domestic politics. While Abdel-Hadi has been in the frontline, other high-level officials have also played down the significance of cases of torture of Egyptians abroad. The assistant minister of foreign affairs for consular concerns, Ambassador Ahmed Al-Quweisini confirmed in a statement that with the help of the Egyptian Embassy in Tripoli the 14 Egyptians have been released. He said that they were detained in the first instance because a fracas erupted between some Egyptians and their Libyan co- workers. The Egyptian authorities are unfortunately slow to intervene. Much is at stake: Egypt enjoys fruitful political relations with the Gulf Arab countries and Libya, where most Egyptians abroad work. Moreover, Egypt economically relies on remittances. Many workers, it is true, are happy with their stint abroad. "Working in Kuwait was a dream come true as far as I was concerned," Ahmed, an Egyptian who works as a cook in the tiny oil-rich Gulf state told Al-Ahram Weekly. "My employer is generous, kind-hearted and fears God," Ahmed said. This, perhaps, explains why government circles do not seem too worried about the situation of Egyptian workers abroad and they appear to be complacent, claiming that hard evidence is difficult to come by. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has urged Egyptians in Libya to abide by the labour laws of the country. Ambassador Hisham Khalil warned that Egyptians must insist on proper contracts when working abroad. Non-contractual work with foreign employees inevitably leads to problems. He added that in that case it was not the government's responsibility and Egyptians who break the rules abroad are bound to suffer the consequences. Human rights groups, in sharp contrast, urged the Egyptian government to promptly investigate allegations of ill-treatment or abuses committed against all Egyptian workers abroad -- especially in the oil-rich Arab Gulf countries. Civil society organisations and human rights groups such as the Cairo-based Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights (EOHR) have taken up the cause of Egyptian workers abroad. The EOHR worked with the United Nations on the subject and produced a report entitled Egyptians Abroad: Lost Rights at Home and Abroad in which it highlights the crisis. The EOHR was especially critical of the kafala (sponsorship) system commonly practised in the Arab Gulf countries. "Egypt signed the UN Convention on Migrants in 1993," Hossam Bahgat, director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights told the Weekly. "The Egyptian state is under obligation to protect its workers abroad," he stressed. Bahgat pointed out that Article 151 of the Egyptian constitution stipulates that the Migrant Workers Convention be considered part of Egypt's domestic legislation. Indeed, many rights activists concur with Bahgat that the government has a responsibility to defend its citizens wherever they are and whether or not they are working "legally". After all, they are remitting their hard-earned cash to their loved ones at home in all good faith.
