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Egypt’s Unemployed Seeking Opportunities In Libya

Desperate young Egyptians are seeking jobs in Libya- a country grappling with lawlessness – due to the grim economic prospects in the Afro-Asiatic transcontinental country. … Continue reading Egypt’s Unemployed Seeking Opportunities In Libya


egyptians4Desperate young Egyptians are seeking jobs in Libya- a country grappling with lawlessness – due to the grim economic prospects in the Afro-Asiatic transcontinental country.

The toughest challenge faced by Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is tackling unemployment issues in the country where half of the rapidly growing population is under 25.

The country had been ruled by two presidents in the past four years. The 2011 popular uprising that plunged autocrat Hosni Mubarak was fueled by anger over joblessness.

Under Sisi’s governance, Many young men are unable to make a living. Affording a home and getting married seemed arduous for the Egyptians.

The political and social unrest since Mubarak was toppled had deterred foreign investors and tourists from Egypt, the world’s most populous Arab nation with 90 million people. This has exacerbated the jobs crisis, and the unemployment rate has climbed from 8.9 percent to 13 percent in that time.

Thousands of Egyptians had traveled to neighboring Libya in search of jobs since 2011, despite their government advising against going to one of the most dangerous countries in the region.

They can be seen working in building sites, factories, restaurants and shops in cities across Libya, which had descended into chaos since a revolt dislodged Muammar Gaddafi four years ago and where two rival governments contended for power.

In the Egyptian village of Al-Our, about 200 km (125 miles) south of Cairo, it is easy to see why young men take the risk.

There are no paved roads, clean drinking water or adequate health care – the kind of conditions that have driven young men to give up on the state and join militant groups in the past.

Jobless men sit beside a canal filled with stinking, stagnant water.