Nubians demand repatriation during Sisi visit
Nubians in Upper Egypt still seek return to the land of their ancestors, after years of forced displacement, amid complaints of political and cultural marginalization.
Ayman Mohammad was dreaming of his return to the land of his ancestors, Nubia, which Nubians, who were forcibly displaced from it decades ago, call the Land of Gold, as he followed the rare visit of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to his Nubian village, Gharb Seheyl, on the banks of the Nile River in Upper Egypt.
Mohammad, a pseudonym, who works at a cafe in the village, told Al-Monitor that his father held on to the dream of returning to “our historical Nubian lands one day” until his last breath. He died of the coronavirus in 2021.
“Still, the dream seems out of reach,” he said.
Gharb Seheyl, which Sisi, Prime Minister Mustafa Madbouly and senior officials visited Dec. 27, is one of the key tourist destinations in southern Egypt.
