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CAIRO, Egypt — Ahmed al-Sayed squatted down in his jilbab (a long robe characteristic of Egypt’s rural poor) near Mohamed Farid Square in central Cairo. Time has taken its toll on his face. He carried a pile of papers, including his green Egyptian passport. He was waiting there with his brother, cousins and his neighbor among a large crowd of men also clad in jilbabs.
The men were elbowing their way toward the iron gate of an office, above which hangs a banner that reads “Libyan Airlines,” in Qasr al-Ainy street near Tahrir Square. Hundreds of people waiting, dreaming of a ticket to travel to Libya, joined the long queue to the airline office.
