Egypt suspends classes in Sudanese schools

The Egyptian authorities have decided to suspend classes in Sudanese schools in Egypt, as well as in other foreign schools. This decision has been met with widespread opposition from Sudanese families living in Egypt and from people involved in public service.

Families whose children attend a Sudanese school in Cairo, the capital of Egypt, have received letters informing them that classes will be suspended from Wednesday, June 26, until July 7. The letters explain that the Egyptian authorities have made this decision and require schools to “adapt their conditions in accordance with the necessary permits after a review.”

Mortada Ibrahim, a politician from the Popular Congress Party (PCP), told Radio Dabanga that the decision was “primarily cultural and not political,” stressing that it could not be viewed in isolation from other measures taken by the Egyptian authorities regarding the Sudanese presence in Egypt.

“The existence of Sudanese schools in Egypt and their recently changed curricula contradict many recent Egyptian policies toward Sudan.” He referred to past incidents, such as the closure of Sudanese hair salons and cafes in Cairo, which had to be closed because the Halaibe Triangle* was marked as Sudanese territory on Sudanese maps.

The decision poses a major challenge for Sudanese families in Egypt. The current alternatives are to enroll their children in El-Azhar Islamic schools, which he described as a lengthy and complicated process, or in international schools, which are a financial burden for Sudanese families. He also expressed concern that Egyptian authorities may take new measures to discourage Sudanese students from enrolling in Egyptian schools.

Ibrahim believes the decision is “another form of pressure from the Egyptian authorities, similar to when buses carrying Sudanese were sent back to Sudan.” Ibrahim also pointed to social media campaigns by some Egyptians against the presence of Sudanese refugees in Egypt, which he believes reflect the Egyptian government’s policy towards Sudan.

Ibrahim downplayed the impact of the Sudanese presence in Egypt, noting that the number of Sudanese registered with UNHCR in Egypt “does not represent a burden on the organization.” Most Sudanese in Egypt, he said, rely on their own resources and the support of families abroad.

Mortada criticized the Foreign Ministry and the Sudanese Embassy in Cairo for failing to address the problems faced by Sudanese citizens in Egypt, especially in the field of education. He called on the embassy to intervene in the decision to suspend studies, insisting that the process should be gradual and smooth, “since such decisions affect the fate of entire generations.”

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), around 500,000 people have fled Sudan to Egypt since the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in mid-April 2023. Until April 27 last year, more than 20 buses arrived at the Argeen border crossing every day, a number that soon doubled.

Last April, Radio Dabanga reported that thousands of Sudanese refugees who had fled to Egypt were detained by Egyptian authorities in a network of secret military bases and then deported back to their war-torn country, often without the opportunity to seek asylum.

Radio Dabanga reported last week that hospitals in Aswan had received dozens of bodies of Sudanese people who had died en route to the southern Egyptian city, many due to the scorching heat.

*The Halayeb Triangle is a disputed region between Egypt and Sudan on the coast of the Red Sea. The area, which is approximately 20,580 square kilometers in size, has been under Egyptian control since the 1990s, but Sudan also claims sovereignty. Tensions between the two countries have increased.

The dispute is a result of the discrepancy between the definition of a “political border” established by the Anglo-Egyptian Condominium in 1899 and an “administrative border” established by Great Britain in 1902.

The Egyptian army took control of Halayeb after a failed attempt by Sudan-backed Islamists to assassinate then Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in Addis Ababa in 1995. (Source: Wikipedia)