Cairo - “The more you give, the less you get in this country.” This is what 22-year-old Ahmed Wafdi, a Fine Arts student struggling to emigrate to Canada, believes. Although he is still very young, Wafdi's strong desire to leave and his stressing that he can no longer live in his country must set the alarm bells ringing that Egypt is not only in need of political change, but also social justice. "I want to get my rights, I want to be educated, I want to get properly paid for my work. I want all of this, but I get nothing," this young man told the Egyptian Mail. Emigration abroad did happen before the Egyptian revolution, but, after the ousting of Hosni Mubarak, many youths, whether Coptic Christians, who have their reasons, or others fearful of the restrictions of the Islamists, have been leaving. Wafdi said he is worried about the political situation in the country. “We're still waiting for stability. I've read a lot about Canada and everything is stable there." Professor Khaled Said, a political sociologist, told the Mail over the phone that more and more Egyptians are thinking of emigrating, but that it's becoming more difficult to do so, especially because of the worldwide recession. Arab countries have economic problems, while in Europe there is no space for absorbing new citizens. "Then there is the legal process of emigration, which needs money and a visa, as well as having a certain level of education and sufficient resources; all of this is very problematic for most people. "The desire to emigrate is only normal, especially at times of revolution, due to economic instability, insecurity and fears among minorities,” he explained. Egypt's security rating, according to international indicators, is ‘middling', while other countries only accept huge number of emigrants in a serious crisis or at times of great insecurity. According to the International Organisation for Migration, an estimated 2.7 million Egyptians live abroad and contribute actively to the development of their country through financial remittances, and circulation of human and social capital, as well as investment. Approximately 70 per cent of Egyptian migrants live in Arab countries (923,600 in Saudi Arabia, 332,600 in Libya [prior to the revolution there], 226,850 in Jordan and 190,550 in Kuwait, with the rest elsewhere in the region), with the remaining 30 per cent living mostly in North America (318,000 in the United States, 110,000 in Canada) and Europe (90,000 in Italy). 'The coming ruling party must bear in mind that Egypt is a multicultural country and that one ideology will not absorb all of its categories, such as Copts, Bedouin and women,” the professor added. Fears of Islamist dominance and restrictions have deepened the desire of many members of the nation's minorities to escape from the country. According to recent statistics, an estimated 100,000 Copts have emigrated since the revolution, although Said believes this figure is exaggerated. Mamdouh Ramzi, a lawyer and political activist, thinks 20,000 to 30,000 is a more realistic estimate, adding that political incidents like the Maspero violence and the slowness in the issuing of rulings against the suspects have increased the fears of the Copts. Professor Said noted that there were once 80,000 Jews in Egypt; now there are only 52. But some Egyptians want to stay here and struggle. Doaa Ahmed, a 24-year-old pharmacist, says that, if each of the country's more than 80 million citizens wanted to emigrate, we would not achieve any progress. “There's nothing wrong in dreaming of travelling abroad, but we must do something to help ourselves and our country,” she stresses.
