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The Refugees Platform in Egypt has documented the arrest of Sudanese refugee and community leader, Othman Hussein Yaqoub, director of the African Vision School for Sudanese Education in 6th of October City, by Egyptian authorities on Monday, July 1st.
The Egyptian authorities forcibly disappeared him for a week, during which he was tortured into signing a “voluntary return” document in order to deport him to Sudan.
The Sudanese embassy issued the refugee an emergency travel document against his will.
On Monday, a number of party leaders and members, professional and labor unions, cadres of human rights organizations and associations, as well as intellectuals and Egyptians concerned with public opinion, signed an electronic petition welcoming “Sudanese brothers and sisters in their country, neighboring Egypt,” and condemned “all hate speech and forms of racism practiced against them.”
The signatories to the petition, which is still accepting signatures from supporters, stated: “We have recently noticed a rising wave of racism, which we would like to describe as suspicious, against our Sudanese brothers and sisters, who are living under extremely difficult conditions as a result of the generals’ absurd war in their cities and villages. This conflict has placed millions of this generous people in a very dire situation.”
“By virtue of our shared neighborhood and history, we reaffirm that Sudanese people are our brothers and sisters and an integral part of our great human balance. We consider the ongoing crisis a common concern that wise individuals in both countries and among the two brotherly peoples should work to overcome and avoid,” they continued.
“We recognize the difficult economic conditions we, as Egyptians, are experiencing, but they do not justify racist behavior against Sudanese people. Migration and asylum are fates imposed on peoples due to wrong elite decisions and the policies of leaders who lack the slightest degree of rationality and competence.”
They concluded the petition by affirming that “the suspicious wave of racism is the making of ignorant parties seeking a scapegoat for acute economic and social crises while overlooking the fact that providing asylum is a legal and humanitarian obligation under international law.”
“We emphasize our absolute support for all Sudanese brothers and sisters until their plight ends and they return to their country. We also condemn all ignorant and racist calls that do not reflect the ethics of our people.”
