Three years ago, in search of better opportunities, 30-year-old Egyptian scientific project manager, Mariam Mahdy, moved to France. While she found a suitable job in her field, the growing anti-immigrant sentiment in Europe made her feel unwelcome and scared. “Some people treat me as if I am a burden, taking someone else’s place,” she said. “I will never be at home in France.” Mahdy moved to Lyon, France to pursue a better education in her field, neuroscience, which has limited prospects in Egypt, according to her. She is among nine million Egyptians who live abroad and one of the 12.8 percent who live in Europe, according to the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) 2019 report. Egyptians who migrate abroad are often motivated by economic factors and the pursuit of employment opportunities, according to the European Union Migration Drivers Report of 2022. With the core inflation rate in Egypt averaging 11.97 percent from 2005 to 2024, and the Egyptian Pound sharply depreciating this year and for the fourth time since March 2022, some Egyptians living in Egypt face economic instability and aspire to move abroad for better opportunities….
Egyptians in Europe Live in Fear as Immigrant Policies Tighten
November 20, 2024
By Nadine Tag
Journalist
