NO less than eleven million Egyptian nationals or of Egyptian descent are now living abroad either temporarily or for good, according to most published estimates. Some of them are emigrants who already carry the nationality of the countries of domicile but the largest number is employed in job-have markets, particularly in the Gulf. From Canada and the United States to Argentina and from China in the Far East to the very south of Africa, Egyptian expatriates have mostly been acknowledged for quality and sincere contribution to the societies where they live. Quite a number of them have gained profound, universal reputation for scientific, intellectual and cultural innovativeness. This is no rhetoric. Consider the name of Ahmed Zewail, a Nobel laureate for being the ‘Father of Femtochemistry'. Another example is that of Sir Magdy Yacoub, acknowledged by the Imperial College of London as the cardiothoracic surgeon with the world's largest programme of heart and lung transplants, and who was knighted in 1991 for a lifetime of outstanding achievements. A third example is that of Dr Mustafa el-Sayyed who won the US Medal of Science for his pioneering research in nanotechnology. Long lists name other Egyptians with record achievements in many a field, including, to mention only a few, former NASA scientist Farouq al-Baz who contributed research work for the geological exploration of the Moon, planetary scientist Essam Haggi of the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and engineer Hani Azer who designed the Berlin central railway station and was publicly praised by German Chancellor Angela Merkel. There is however another side of the story of the millions of Egyptian expatriates. Day after another, saddening tales surface in the press and media of some of those expatriates falling into bad luck for a variety of reasons. Some such cases have ended up with the expatriates pushed to jails, or ordered to quit, or forced to flee the countries of domicile for safety, leaving behind all their possessions and dues. Needless to say, those unfortunate expatriates were not targeted on national identity though there were instances of Egyptians who have had to face this fate with no fault on their part as so happened more than once in Libya under Gaddafi whenever he erupted in political anger against Egypt. ‘Bad luck' also includes falling victim to accidents, crimes and fires as well as the risk of falling physically ill without being capable of affording due medical treatment. This other side of the story of Egyptian expatriates has for long unveiled the absence of efficient management of, and caring interaction with, the affairs and concerns of expatriates as well as the lack of a truly-devoted and energetic mechanism for extending immediate legal and humanitarian assistance to those in need. Apparently in response to such shortcomings has the new administration created the post of Presidential assistant for expatriate affairs, and the President has established a tradition of holding face-to-face meetings with expatriates in each foreign country he visits. Over the past few decades, expatriates were mostly viewed as hard currency earners and providers – so much so that at one stage regulations were introduced to demand travellers abroad for work purposes to obtain a permit, and at a later stage they were declared taxable but a court then ruled that the tax was unlawful. The attitude of the state towards expatriates is now undergoing substantial and manifest change, particularly since the declaration of their eligibility to cast votes in national elections – a right which they already exercised in the first post-Revolution presidential election and in the plebiscite on the constitution. The state's new attitude towards expatriates moved another step forward with the announcement by President Morsi at a get-together with Egyptians in the Sudanese capital on April 5 that an advisory council on expatriate affairs would be launched and that the projected body would inter alia extend to expatriates the right to enjoy the benefits of their homeland's healthcare system. Once realised, this step in particular would send an authentic message to the nearly 11 million Egyptians abroad that the homeland is truly keen on their well-being. More significantly, it would furnish proof that the ‘citizenship for all' principle that has been enshrined by the January 2011 Revolution is turning into a fact of life for Egyptians all, irrespective of their fortunes, affiliations and whereabouts.
