May 15th 2018 (Nyamilepedia) – South Sudanese living in the Egyptian capital Cairo on Monday complained of “bad treatment” by the local residents in Egypt saying the Egyptian government do not protect them citing lack of will from the Egyptian police in bringing perpetrators of crimes against them to book.
Several residents who spokes to the Nyamilepedia from the Egyptian capital Cairo said they feel insecure after a young South Sudanese man was stabbed several times by Egyptians men in a cafe without the interference of the police despite having been informed about a prior incident.
“Yesterday, our brother was coming from work, he knew nothing about something that had happened in the cafe, but when he was seen by the Egyptians in the cafe, they rushed to him and stabbed him three times in his body because he is black,” one resident told the Nyamilepedia on the condition of anonymity.
He added that there were a fight between a Egyptian man and a South Sudanese pointing out that the rest of the Egyptian stood for their man and they start fighting every South Sudanese in the cafe before the South Sudanese decided to withdraw to avoid escalation of the situation.
“There was a Egyptian man who insulted a man (South Sudanese), after the man asked him why he was insulted him, he spitted on his face and this led into a fight. After the man was defeated, the rest of the Egyptians in the cafe moved to beat the man. When the other South Sudanese move to calm the problem, they thought they were coming to fight them and a fighting ensued. South Sudanese left the cafe to avoid further escalation,” he told the Nyamilepedia.
He added that the incident took place at Al Saraya cafe in Al Zhara street in Ain Shams, a Cairo district heavily populated by the South Sudanese.
Another eye witness said the victim was coming from work when he decided to pass through the cafe where he was stabbed.
“He was coming from work and he came through the cafe when he was stabbed,” he said.
He added that the Egyptian police where approached at Ain Shams police station but were reluctant to go to scene of the incident to arrest the perpetrators.
“We went to the police station but the police refused to come,” he said.
In recent years, South Sudanese have been complaining of being badly treated by the Egyptians with the government not willing to protect them. Crimes have been surging following the last two years.
Last year, a teacher working for a South Sudanese school in Cairo was killed by a Egyptian man. Relatives said the perpetrator was briefly detained but was released before he could be sentenced by a court of law.
Egypt, like the Sudan, Uganda, Kenya and Ethiopia, is one of the safest haven South Sudanese preferred to live in since a out break of a civil war five years ago back home. The Egyptian government has been one of the closest allies of South Sudan offering around 250 seats of scholarship to South Sudanese students.
