Egypt deports Palestinian Syrians back to conflict zones
Palestinian-Syrian refugees in Egypt are being forced to choose between deportation to Gaza or Syria as human rights groups denounce the practice.
CAIRO, Egypt — Two Palestinian refugees from Syria, Youssef Farid Youssef and Hamza Issa, currently spend their days and nights at Cairo International Airport in a national security limbo furnished by fast-food chains and onlooking security guards.
The Egyptian government is keeping them here with a choice, of sorts — deportation to the Gaza Strip or Syria — one week after another 13 Palestinian-Syrian refugees traveling with Youssef and Issa were forcibly deported to Damascus on Aug. 14, according to Amnesty International. Among the 13 was Youssef's father, who he says is now staying in a refugee camp in Damascus.
They have been at the airport since Aug. 10, detained by Egyptian authorities after crossing at Rafah and coming to Cairo to flee the Israeli bombardment. "I think it's because we're Palestinian," says Youssef, 23, formerly a student at Damascus University. "But I have no idea why they are doing this to us."
Both men fled Syria in the spring of 2013 and headed to Gaza. But for Issa, 20, the latest Israeli bombardment made it clear that staying was not an option.
