Sudanese businesses operating from Cairo have laid off dozens of workers in recent months as economic conditions worsen in Sudan, according to two informed sources who spoke to Mada Masr and said the layoffs have thrown many Sudanese nationals in the Egyptian capital into housing instability. The layoffs have forced many to take shelter in public spaces, a situation that Egyptian authorities earlier this week treated as grounds for security intervention. Some of those laid off from their jobs were among the 33 people whose arrest the Interior Ministry announced in an online statement on Sunday alongside footage of people taking shelter in a public park in 6th of October City in Giza, according to the two sources. The Interior Ministry stated that security forces acted after the footage circulated online, carrying out an operation that led to the arrests. It added that those detained were not carrying identification documents or residency permits. All 33 individuals arrested were Sudanese men, and all are currently going through deportation procedures, according to an official at the Sudanese embassy in Cairo, who spoke to Mada Masr on condition of anonymity, as well as the two informed sources: Mohamed Farah and Amgad Taha, both of whom were in contact with some of those arrested. Farah, who works in Cairo, and Taha, who lives in Aswan and is a relative of one of those detained in the 6th of October City park, each said they know at least five of the men detained on Sunday. They said the cases are part of a crisis that emerged in July, starting with the loss of jobs, then the loss of housing, which then led people to seek shelter in a public space as a last resort. The men, many of whom did not have legal documents, were employed by Sudanese companies operating in Egypt that sell goods to markets in Sudan, they said. The men were working in packaging, loading and unloading and similar jobs in return for low wages, and the companies provided food and accommodation, commonly putting about 10 workers in a room, they explained. As the Sudanese pound has plummeted in value against the dollar in recent months, it has affected operations at the companies, whose Sudan-based revenue streams have been diminished while their costs have remained high. According to Taha, some of the workers went without pay for as long as three months. Some businesses shut down or moved their operations back to Sudan, leaving workers with neither their jobs nor their employer-provided housing, Farah and Taha said. The workers moved in with acquaintances or other workers or tried to look for cheap accommodation, but rising living costs soon made those arrangements unsustainable. Since August, many have resorted to sleeping in public spaces while trying to find another way to support themselves, according to both men. The Sudanese official at the embassy in Cairo confirmed the situation, adding that some of those turning to public spaces at present are families as well as individual workers. According to Taha, the cases seen in the parks do not represent the full number of Sudanese people struggling to find housing. Rather, they are the small proportion whose circumstances ended up becoming visible in public spaces. The detained men, Taha said, are being deported without their complaints being heard, adding that their lack of legal documents had been exploited by their employers. According to Taha and Farah, many Sudanese young men they know have stayed in Egypt for work while their families returned to Sudan. The Sudanese embassy official said the embassy handles cases involving Sudanese nationals facing problems with their residency status or being deported through official channels. While declining to comment on the 33 detained people specifically, the official acknowledged that economic conditions have become an important factor in the circumstances of some Sudanese nationals in Egypt. The war, they added, has led groups of Sudanese people to arrive in Egypt with the intention of finding a temporary refuge. But as the fighting dragged on, their stay has been prolonged, and many have not been able to find stable work while their initial savings have become depleted. The official stressed the need to distinguish between a legal violation, such as residing in Egypt without the necessary documents — a case they said necessitates deportation — and social circumstances that may put someone in violation of the law, such as failing to pay rent. Losing a source of income, the embassy source explained, makes it harder to meet the costs of housing and legal residency, particularly for people without family networks able to support them. For some Sudanese nationals who have lost their jobs, the cost of regularizing their legal status becomes part of the same economic problem. Legal residency requires documents, procedures and recurring fees and, while securing housing requires a regular stream of income. Once a person loses their source of income, their ability to maintain stable housing and legal residency becomes more difficult. An economic problem can therefore develop into a residency problem and compound the risk of deportation. A Sudanese worker who loses a job in Egypt does not necessarily find an alternative one easily, Taha said. Some Sudanese people arrived in the country to flee the war, without long-term plans or sufficient experience or familiarity with the Egyptian labor market. Others, he added, face fierce competition for low-paid jobs. As housing, food and transportation costs continue to rise, losing a salary becomes a more immediate danger, Taha said. At the same time as many face worsening economic precarity, authorities have conducted widespread arrest campaigns. This year, there have been dozens of cases of Sudanese nationals facing arrest and deportation, with Egyptian authorities citing legal violations or residency permit issues. In April, about 900 Sudanese nationals were deported, according to the embassy official. The Sudanese embassy in Cairo urged its citizens in February to comply with Egypt’s legal requirements for residency. The embassy official said the embassy is aware of cases of people sleeping in cemeteries, under bridges and near garbage dumps. When the embassy manages to establish contact with them, the official said, it arranges their return to Sudan through the “voluntary return” program. Since early 2025, Khartoum’s “voluntary return” campaign has transported hundreds of thousands of Sudanese nationals out of Egypt and into areas under Sudanese military control. The campaign is coordinated by Sudanese-led return committees in Egypt, Sudanese authorities and Egyptian officials. A coordinator in the “voluntary return” campaign told Mada Masr that the embassy follows up with cases that reach it through consular channels but said the ability to locate cases is limited, particularly when people affected by difficult circumstances do not contact the embassy or repeatedly move between different locations. Some cases, the coordinator said, begin as work or income problems and develop into housing and residency problems. In some instances, they eventually require legal or consular intervention after people file police reports against them. The Interior Ministry said on Sunday that it acted based on footage that showed “grievances” caused by bedding being present in public parks. Photographs of people taking shelter in public parks were shared online over the weekend, with some commenters calling on authorities to intervene.The post 33 Sudanese arrested from Giza public garden face deportation as worsening economic conditions throw many into housing instability first appeared on Mada Masr.
