Irregular Migration …Dimensions.. Indicators.. Solutions
There is no doubt that the remittances of Egyptians abroad form an important part in the economy of the Egyptian state and a supportive source of foreign currency, as the data indicate that Egypt is one of the largest receiving countries for remittances at the world level “fifth place globally” with a value of 28.92 billion dollars in 2018, and the percentage of remittances of Egyptians abroad from the total sources of foreign exchange in Egypt during 2022/2023 amounted to about 23.5%, thus becoming the second source of foreign exchange, which in turn contributes to supporting the country’s ability to provide its basic needs and increase its ability to import goods and meet the needs of citizens.
Therefore, regular migration or “legal migration” is an integral part of the strength of the national economy of any country and an important source of national income, and in turn contributes to the achievement of development goals. But the real challenge facing governments is “irregular migration “or what is known as ” illegal migration”, for which the search for decent work is the most basic motivation, where young people risk their lives and their families in search of decent jobs and a better life – as he believes– in other countries, oblivious to the serious consequences of this .
In line with the above, the strategic forum for public policies and Development Studies “Derayah” issues a research paper highlighting the “difference between regular and irregular migration in terms of concept; with monitoring of some statistics on the volume of regular and irregular migration in Egypt, the dimensions of the problem of irregular migration in Egypt and its causes, and finally the efforts of the Egyptian state in reducing and dealing with this phenomenon”.
The most important recommendations reached by the paper, which can be put in front of the decision maker, may provide solutions that integrate with the vision of the state and its plans in this regard, were the following:
1-studying the social, cultural and economic nature of the cases of young people who have applied for irregular migration in a scientific and detailed manner to find out their motives, and providing appropriate support and solutions through state institutions.
2-developing a preventive and remedial strategy for the phenomenon of irregular migration based on providing job opportunities, facilitating legal migrations, and providing training opportunities to raise the level of competence and professional performance of young people, enabling them to find job opportunities in other countries.
3 – working to reduce poverty and unemployment rates and considering this as a top priority for the Egyptian state, as they are the most important factors that aggravate the phenomenon of irregular migration.
4-increasing state support for poor and marginalized families and communities, especially as they are the most important source of victims of irregular migration.
5-developing a major media plan to raise awareness of the dangers of irregular migration in which religious institutions actively participate.
6-increasing the volume of political and security measures and confrontations of smuggling networks, within the framework of internal, regional and international efforts to combat crimes of smuggling migrants and human trafficking.
7-increasing international cooperation and coordination in the field of countering irregular migration, through the conclusion of more relevant agreements and work to activate them, as well as the exchange of studies and data on the phenomenon of irregular migration.
8-work on concluding more agreements between labor-exporting countries and those that need seasonal labor in order to maximize the benefits of the migration phenomenon for both parties.
9-increasing the regular immigration outlets, and coordinating between the concerned government agencies to promote job opportunities available to young people in the countries they wish to immigrate to.
10-expanding the conduct of more surveys and studies on the needs and requirements of foreign labor markets, and focusing on providing immigration opportunities for those wishing to do so, with the importance of highlighting the laws governing immigration systems in other countries.
First: the difference between regular and irregular migration, in terms of concept
The National Coordinating Committee to combat and prevent illegal migration and human trafficking defined “safe migration “or” regular migration” as:(the movement of a person from his usual place of residence to a new place of residence, in line with the laws and regulations governing the exit of the country of origin, travel, transit and entry to the destination or host country).
While the committee pointed out that the definition of ” irregular migration ” or “illegal migration”:(is migration outside the regulatory standards of the sending state, transit state or receiving state of migrants. From the point of view of the receiving state, it includes illegal entry, residence or work in the country. From the point of view of the sending state, it involves violation of regulations and laws in cases such as: a person crosses the international border without a valid passport or travel documents or does not meet the administrative conditions for leaving the country. However, the term is more associated with cases of illegal/ legal smuggling of migrants).
It should also be noted that there are also fundamental differences and similarities between the term “illegal immigration” or “smuggling of migrants “and “human trafficking”; both are profitable trades involving people and carried out by organized groups, but there are differences between them:
People can be trafficked within the country (internal trafficking) or across the border (international trafficking), while the smuggling of migrants occurs only across the border.
Trafficking in Persons is a crime against humanity, while smuggling of migrants is a crime against the state.
Second: statistics and figures on the volume of regular and irregular migration in Egypt
Regarding the volume of irregular migration in Egypt at the current regional level, the Arab Barometer network has issued a report on the intentions and motives of migration in the Arab countries in the Middle East and North Africa; the survey results published on the research network’s website showed that “almost half of the respondents (48%) want to leave the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, while Egypt ranked lowest in that regard, with only 13% expressing their desire to emigrate . The survey also indicated that economic difficulties represented the biggest driver of migration in Egypt at 97%, but it did not represent the same percentage in Jordan, reaching about 93%, and in Libya it decreased to 53%.
Egypt also ranks second in terms of the number of irregular migrants crossing the sea route from the Mediterranean Sea and land to Europe, which amounted to approximately 7,938 migrants since January 2021 until December of the same year, the vast majority of them are heading to Greece, Malta and Italy.
With regard to regular migration, Egypt has witnessed a significant increase in the number of regular migrants over the past two decades, specifically since 2005, where the total number of migrants increased from 1.3 million in 1990 to 1.8 million in 2005 and then jumped to 3.6 million in 2020, which represents about 3.5% of the total population. Egypt is considered one of the largest countries of origin for migrants, as it ranked 19th globally and the second ranking in the Arab world (after Syria) in 2019.
With regard to the countries receiving Egyptian workers, the statistics of the Egyptian labor market survey for 2018 indicate that the Arab countries are considered the first destination for Egyptian migrant workers, especially in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, where the percentage of Egyptian migrants reached the total number of immigrants in these countries is 41.3%, 28.7%, 10.5% and 5.3% respectively. The percentage of work permits abroad for these countries amounted to about 97% of the total work permits abroad.
In the next ranking of the Arab countries are some countries of the organization for Economic Cooperation and development with 2.9% and the European Union countries with 1.6% of the total employment. Immigration to foreign countries is concentrated mainly in Italy with 37.1%, followed by the United States of America with 35.4%, then Canada with 19.4% and finally Australia with 2.9% of the total permanent immigrants to foreign countries.
Immigration to these countries is considered a permanent migration for the purpose of improving living conditions and obtaining the rights of a native citizen in this country, unlike immigration to Arab countries, which takes a temporary form in order to obtain a high income, but staying there does not add rights to the traveler.
In general, migrants with the best educational levels go to Western countries, while those with the lowest educational levels go to Arab countries and represent the largest source of remittances of workers abroad.
The search for a suitable job opportunity is considered the central goal pursued by all migrants, whether in a regular form or otherwise, in light of the inability of the economy to create sufficient demand to absorb the labor force on the one hand, and the low skills and quality of education on the other, resorting to many young people go to irregular migration routes in search of decent job opportunities.
Third: the dimensions of the problem of irregular migration in Egypt
* The origin of the problem : The problem of irregular migration began in Egypt since the seventies of the last century; where Egyptian labor flowed to the Gulf countries in order to participate in the huge construction projects that these countries began to build from oil revenues, especially because Egyptian labor was low-paid at that time compared to those from other countries of the world, but the matter changed with the beginning of the nineties and the end of the first Gulf War and the trend of the Gulf countries to replace Egyptian labor with Asian the time when countries The European Union signed the Schengen agreement in 1990 and then the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 to guarantee the freedom of movement of EU citizens within the borders of its members without restrictions, and this has resulted in the imposition of severe restrictions on the movement of foreign workers inside the European Union, and therefore the tendency of those wishing to migrate to illegal and illegal ways to move to these countries.
* The most exporting Egyptian governorates for irregular migrants :
A recent research study conducted by the National Center for social and criminal Research among Egyptian youth who wish to immigrate irregularly showed that there are eleven governorates that are sources of irregular migrants: Sharqiya, Dakahlia, Qalyubia, Menoufia, Gharbia, Beheira, Kafr el Sheikh, Fayoum, Assiut, Luxor and Minya.
* Characteristics of villages and provinces exporting irregular migrants:
1-these villages are famous for agriculture, fishing, ship industry in the sea face, agriculture, grazing, tourism and trade related to them in the tribal face.
2-the lack of the role of health care services, especially in the maritime area, and the lack of material and human capabilities, in addition to a shortage in middle schools and a severe shortage in secondary schools.
3-the roads are mostly dirt and very bad on the sea side, but they are better on the tribal side as a result of tourist activities.
4-the availability of a network of relationships from acquaintances/ relatives/ relatives in the country of destination or previous experience for them in it, so that information related to the availability of job opportunities, the level of wages and living conditions can be obtained. Here it should be noted that Italy is one of the most important destination countries because of its proximity to Egypt and most of the migration routes depend on the sea at the sea and land routes through Libya at the front.
5-there are brokers, travel agents, translators, employment offices and bankers, most of them have previous experience in immigration.
6-the presence of peers in the village who migrated and signs of wealth appeared on them after returning, in addition to the presence of encouragement from the family.
* Demographic characteristics of immigrants :
1-most of them are either unaccompanied children and their ages range from 18:9 years or young people from 35:18 years, all of them are males, most of them are late in marriage and drop out of education, and most of them live in large families.
2-the majority of them are employed in informal jobs or unemployed (frustrated /dissatisfied with local job opportunities).
3-almost a third of young people have computer and language skills, among them.
4-infrastructure is available in different proportions and they have durable goods but do not own land or real estate.
*The most attractive destination countries:
Although statistics indicate that some Egyptian irregular migrants are heading to Greece and Malta, Italy remains the preferred destination for most migrants; approximately 649 young people were deported in 2001, and then increased to 5,102 young people in 2007, from these countries upon arrival.
The reason why immigrants prefer Italy is due to:
The good economic situation of Italy compared to Malta and Greece.
Italy’s large informal sector attracts many skilled and unskilled migrant workers looking for work, as they do not have to reside and work legally.
Encouraging Egyptian communities in cities such as Milan for their family members, friends or acquaintances from the same villages, who are looking for work and living opportunities in Italy, to immigrate illegally.
The dangers surrounding irregular migration in Italy:
The dangers of irregular migration are the same for both adults and children and consist in the difficulty of the journey from their country of origin. However, it often has a more severe negative impact on children because they are more vulnerable, as unaccompanied migrant children are vulnerable to exploitation once they arrive from Egypt for a number of reasons, especially if it is escaping from migrant centers, the most prominent of these risks is:
– These children are often ignorant of their rights or of the provision of Italian law protecting them; they derive their information only from their acquaintances and often have to pay adults to accompany them to social services appointments, police stations or court and may also need to do so in order to obtain a certain Guardian. Sometimes, young people are exploited by The Guardian of their choice.
– Unaccompanied migrant children are also particularly vulnerable to exploitation due to the cost of the migration journey; this means that it is possible to exploit them in poor or inhumane working conditions to repay the debt to smugglers.
– These children can also be forced into other human trafficking activities, including prostitution, drug trafficking, forced labor or forced removal of their organs.
Fourth: the causes of irregular migration in Egypt:
The causes of irregular migration in Egypt are numerous and intertwined, but they can be summarized in the following points:
A-economic reasons:
– Poverty and lack of basic needs.
– The desire to improve the standard of living.
– High level of unemployment or work in unstable conditions (informal sector) and dissatisfaction with the available local job opportunities.
B. cultural reasons:
– Encouragement of irregular migration by the family and the community in the villages, viewing it as a form of struggle.
– The cultural heritage related to having a large number of children, and the consequent growth in the population and the size of the labor force with a shortage of jobs.
C-social reasons:
– Inability to afford the costs of marriage.
– Comparison with peers in the village who were able to emigrate and showed signs of wealth after returning.
D-other reasons:
– High costs of legal/regular immigration and restrictions on it abroad.
– The existence of stimulating conditions in the villages of origin of migration ( such as the network of relations and brokers, the availability of information about the countries of destination, previous experiences).
Fifth: the efforts of the Egyptian state to reduce the phenomenon of irregular migration :
The Egyptian state has made great and sincere efforts to reduce the phenomenon of irregular migration at the local and international levels, the most prominent of which were:
A-at the local level:
1-the establishment of the National Coordinating Committee to combat illegal migration in 2014 in accordance with the decision of the chairman of the Council of ministers No. 380 of 2014.
2 – the establishment of the “National Coordinating Committee to combat and prevent illegal migration and human trafficking” as a restructuring of the previous committee, and the membership of the committee consists of 30 ministries, bodies and national centers, including the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of manpower, the Ministry of migration and the affairs of Egyptians abroad and the Ministry of Interior and foreign affairs the National Centre for Human Rights and the National Centre for motherhood and childhood are responsible for the legal representation of unaccompanied migrant children whose families have not been identified.
3-the issuance of Law No. 82 for the year 2016, which is the first law to discuss the fight against irregular migration, where the law criminalizes assistance in any form on irregular migration and smuggling of migrants, and set a penalty of imprisonment or payment of a fine not less than fifty thousand pounds and not more about five hundred thousand Egyptian pounds according to the severity of the crime. The law did not hold irregular migrants or their relatives any civil or criminal responsibility, as they were considered victims of the crime of smuggling. The law also guarantees the establishment of a” fund to combat illegal immigration and protect migrants and witnesses”, and it has a public legal personality and its own budget to provide financial support to victims of illegal immigration.
5 – launching the Presidential Initiative “lifeboats” at the conclusion of the Youth Forum in December 2019 to address irregular migration, which was considered a national initiative and was linked to the Egypt 2030 strategy, where the Ministry of planning allocated an amount of EGP 250 million to activate the initiative in 70 villages in the governorates that are the most exporting of irregular migration.
B-at the international level:
1 – the “For Africa” initiative was launched in 2016 in cooperation between the European Union and the International Organization for migration to facilitate safe and orderly migration, protect migrants and achieve their reintegration upon return, which began in the Sahel and Lake Chad Basin in the Horn of Africa region; the initiative covered North Africa, including Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco and aims to identify the needs of vulnerable migrant communities from these countries, improve their conditions, protect them, ensure their voluntary return to their countries and help them return integrate with it.
2 – the launch of the “migration for development” project, implemented by the German agency for international cooperation on behalf of the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and development in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of migration; the project aims to improve the living conditions of returnees from migration in a number of countries, including Egypt on the side of Iraq Tunisia, Morocco and a number of other countries, as well as encouraging labor migration specialized in some magazines and professions that are in demand in Germany. This initiative resulted in the establishment of the Egyptian-German Centre for jobs, migration and reintegration.
3- The signing of a protocol of cooperation between the International Organization for Migration in Egypt, the Ministry of State for Migration and the affairs of Egyptians abroad and the agency for the development of Micro, Small and medium enterprises, where the first phase of the project aimed to reduce irregular migration through the adoption of local development projects and the provision of job opportunities; the second phase aimed at enhancing the participation of Egyptians abroad in development and enhancing communication and communication with them, and cooperation is also being carried out between Egypt and Italy in particular to hold training programs for Egyptian migrant workers to Italy, with the aim of qualifying them to join the Italian society.
