Livelihood Reports Al Amrikeya Area - Final Assessment | Page 179

3.2.2 SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS
The main socio-economic problems and needs
highlighted by the community are related to
social aspects in the public open space, and
MSME issues.
3.2.2.1 Social Aspects in the Public Open
Space
The problems and needs associated with the
social aspects are related to the conflicts and
negotiations, social integration issues between
the host and refugee communities, and gender
related issues.
3.2.2.1.1 Conflicts and Negotiations
The main issues highlighted by the community
related to the conflicts in public space are the
illegal activities, occasional fights, and beggars
streaming the area.
a) Illegal Activities in Public Space
One of the main problems of AAA is that
it lacks any formal or informal social con-
trol and is mostly controlled by thugs. As
a consequence, one of the main problems
of the public space is the security issue. In
particular the “ Syrian passage” is a hub for
drug dealers, sex workers, harassment, dirt-
iness, and noise. Syrians are the most vul-
nerable to this because they carry no legal
document and hence can’t complain to the
police and have to abide by the rules set by
thugs. Overtime, the “Syrian Passage” might
be branded by sex work hub, which might
impact the nature of residents as well as cli-
entele.
b) Fights
Fights are too common in the area, which
hinder the sense of security for women. The
main reasons of fights are either thugs or
men fighting over sex workers or men are
121 | THE AREA’S NEEDS ASSESSMENT
on drugs fighting with each other. Yet fights
often erupt also due to feelings of xenopho-
bia.
c) Beggars
Beggars of all ages and gender roam the
area during the day, often harassing clients
of cafes, which often creates tension, either
because the café owner asks them to leave
or because the client sympathized with the
beggar and didn’t want the shop owner/
keeper to ask them to leave.
3.2.2.1.2 Social Integration Issues
In general, there are no critical issues related to
social integration in the AAA, however there are
several factors that may add some shortcom-
ings. First, the obstacles facing the Syrians in
Egypt also hinder social integration. Many Syr-
ians working and living in the area don’t have
residency because to get a residency a Syrian
family either has to have children in a schooling
age (educational residency), or be able to apply
for higher education, or pay for an “investment
residency” which costs around $20,000 or pay
for a normal residency which costs around 25-
30K Egyptian pounds/ couple. Of course, for
poor young families this is not feasible. This sit-
uation leaves those families vulnerable to thugs
and theft. And some are forced to sending their
children (as mentioned above) to work (often in
dire situations like Rosto) after school hours to
pay for their schooling.
The second issue that exemplifies the vulnera-
bility and disintegration of Syrians is the treat-
ment differentiation between Syrian and Egyp-
tians from the governmental side. The police
are too often present in the area to arrest those
who don’t have a residency and they often wit-
ness thugs and fights. The thugs are released
after few hours yet the Syrians are not.