Theater puts spotlight on refugees in Egypt
Baku, November 26 (AZERTAC). An innovative theater program is highlighting the plight of the tens of thousands of refugees trying to forge a life in Egypt. On a stage in Cairo, a Somali man is brutally interrogated by a police officer, who jabs a lit cigarette at his neck to force a false confession. All the actors in the play, with the exception of five Egyptians, are refugees who have experienced the horrors of war first hand.
Those behind the performance hope an Egyptian audience will take away their message: refugees are not in Egypt because they want to be. They`ve fled war and persecution in search of the most essential aspect of human existence: security.
Abdi Karim is a Somali who fled violence and instability in his home country and arrived in Egypt five years ago. He wants Egyptians to understand there`s nothing he`d like more than to return home.
Most of the 40,000 refugees who the United Nations says live in Egypt come from Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Iraq. Experts believe the unofficial number could be as high as half a million.
Egypt generally turns a blind eye, but the refugees exist on the fringes of society, struggling to eke out a living. Many want to get official UN refugee status and resettle in more prosperous countries. Some attempt the dangerous journey over the harsh desert to Israel, desperate to improve their lot.
The play is one part of a six-month course designed both to raise awareness amongst Egyptians and to train refugees to help their countrymen deal with the trauma of dispossession and exile.
After watching the play, the audience members are invited to share their thoughts.
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