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.

At the sight of the men waiting in line, you might think that they want to return to claim financial entitlements they had left behind. However, they wish in fact to return to Libya in search of work or to resume their business there.

Sayed, from Minya governorate, was among those waiting for his turn to purchase a ticket to Libya. He told Al-Monitor that he has been working in Libya for more than nine years. He continued working in Benghazi even when unrest broke out in the country, following the revolution that led to the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.