“I don’t really see a future for myself in Egypt.” For Reem Hashem, 27, the decision to leave Egypt to pursue her career in humanitarian aid was an easy one to make. In Cairo, her professional prospects felt bleak, and she had no intention of squandering the years she spent in higher education. Several years and multiple moves later, she still feels the same way – but that does not mean her decision did not come with a price. Historically, Egyptians were known to be attached to their homeland, the option of leaving only becoming popular in the latter half of the 20th century. In 1936, Wendell W. Cleland, one of the founders of the American University in Cairo, wrote in a study on the Egyptian population that “Egyptians have the reputation of preferring their own soil. Few ever leave except to study or travel; and they always return.” Today, however, a fraught question has become a staple in conversations between young Egyptians: “Do you think you’ll stay [in Egypt] or do you plan on leaving?” The call of higher convenience and bigger paychecks is loud and clear, but in…
A Life Better Overseas? The Trials and Triumphs of Egyptians Working Abroad
May 20, 2021
