CAIRO: A spokesman for the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) accused "another Sudanese political organization of "supporting and financing gang violence among the southern Sudanese refugee community in Egypt. On June 20, this violence took an unfortunate turn when one man was murdered outside the premises of the American University in Cairo (AUC) during its celebration of World Refugee Day. The notion of Sudan-based political organizations manipulating the refugee community in Egypt and encouraging gang violence isn't new. According to an AUC study researched over 2005 and 2006, entitled "Youth Violence among Southern Sudanese in Cairo, Sudan People's Liberation Army (SLPA) had accused the National Congress Party (NCP), based in Khartoum, of "interfering in the problem through co-option and financial support of one of the gangs [Lost Boys]. The SPLM spokesman said that gang members told him that they were "talking to another Sudanese political organization. Unwilling to name this "other Sudanese political organization on the record, the SPLM spokesman said that by promoting the gang violence, this other political organization was "trying to damage the reputation of the southern Sudanese and undermine the SPLM Another goal of the gang violence, according to the spokesman, was to "foment tribalism among the southern Sudanese. The AUC study said the alleged actions would be considered a sort of "divide-and-rule strategy. The SPLM is considered the representative for many different ethnic groups in southern Sudan, largely dinka and nuer, two groups "at loggerheads according to Barbra Harrell-Bond, a distinguished visiting professor of forced migration and refugee studies at AUC. A major surge in tribal feelings among the southern Sudanese could result in weakened legitimacy of the SPLM, which would benefit the NCP in the upcoming 2008 elections in Sudan, said a refugee studies expert who prefers to remain anonymous. Despite several attempts to contact them by The Daily Star Egypt, NCP officials weren't available for comment. The AUC study stated that "The NCP have not shown much public interest in the issue. The report went on to say that "the SPLM and the NCP are contesting for political power. The Egyptian government's role is unclear in relation to the gang violence. One expert on the subject, asking to remain anonymous, said that "the Egyptian government has strong interests with the government in Khartoum. But many observers of the situation expressed discontent with the way the Egypt has handled the situation. The SPLM spokesman expressed his objection to the release of 15 gang members following the AUC killings. Richard Allusen, a coordinator at St. Andrew's Church, called on the Egyptian government to "enforce its own laws, and hold gang members accountable for their crimes. Until press time, the Ministry of Interior had not respond to the paper's questions regarding the incident. In a documentary on Sudanese gangs, Dina Al-Shafie, director of psychological services at Africa Middle East Refugee Assistance (AMERA), said that "people outside gangs are also being hurt. Other volunteers who work with refugees in Egypt have confirmed this. A lack of awareness surrounding the refugee community is also apparent within some members of the Egyptian government. During the court proceedings for the men held after the AUC killing, the judge commented that the gang violence was between northern and southern Sudanese. This runs counter to the knowledge of several experts on refugee issues, who say that the gangs are predominately southern Sudanese fighting each other. Harrell-Bond has also said that the gangs are an ethnic mix of dinka and nuer. The division, however, comes in the district each gang takes as residence. Observers say the Outlaws hold territory in Maadi and Abbasiya, while the Lost Boys, who are known to be "well-connected with members of the NCP and the SPLM, hold territory in Ain Shams and Heliopolis. Three days before World Refugee Day, the Outlaws gave the names of some members of the Lost Boys to authorities, Akram Abdou, a refugee studies researcher at AUC, explained in a statement to The Daily Star Egypt. According to Abdou, the Lost Boys retaliated for that after the AUC celebrations. A meeting was held among community leaders after the recent murder outside the university with the SPLM, Egyptian Security, gang members and their parents, in order to deal with the escalating violence, reported the Sudan Tribune. According to the SPLM spokesman, the NCP did not attend. Names were given of gang members, and deportation back to Sudan was threatened to those involved in the gangs, said the SPLM spokesman and Abdou. A considerable number of the gang members are now in hiding, the SPLM spokesman said. According to Abdou, members of the B.I.G. gang claim that they are the victims of the other gangs and are just protecting themselves. He went on to add that "all the gangs claim this. But politics is just one of many reasons behind Sudanese gang violence, according to several involved parties. Unemployment is a major reason for tension, observers and gang members say. Many cannot legally work in Egypt, and have no means of supporting themselves or their families, say refugees. The Egyptian government does not officially recognize many refugee schools, according to scholars and activists involved with refugees. Protection from violent attacks by Egyptians was another reason for gang formation, a gang member said in the documentary shown at AUC. In the film, a severely disfigured man was interviewed. He said alleged that a number of Egyptians burned his apartment down while he was in it. Prof. Harrell-Bond commented that the Sudanese are poorly treated by Egyptians, "mostly because they are black. Also contributing to tension within the Sudanese refugee community is the cut in the number of resettled refugees through The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). According to Prof. Harrell-Bond, 2,000 of the 3,000 global cuts in annually resettled refugees come from Cairo. But voluntary repatriation numbers are rising among the refugees in Cairo, with 548 registered for departure this year, said Abeer Etefa, UNHCR spokesperson. The majority go to southern Sudan, she said. But mostly what is needed is "more money, especially for education, said Prof. Harrell-Bond.
