A close observer to the situation of the Sudanese communities in Cairo will shed tears for the agony and large scale daily suffering of the Sudanese communities at the hands of the so-called Sudanese gangs.
The activities of these Sudanese gangs have recently intensified following a brief halt after the deportation of some fifty suspected gangs to southern Sudan last April. At that time the UNHCR condemned the move because at least 11 of the deportees had been recognised as refugees or asylum seekers who were innocent and the real gangs were left untouched.
The atrocities of both lost and out-law boys are being felt by everyone if not all Southern Sudanese families in great Cairo because of the imposed monthly royalty by the gangs on the poor Sudanese mothers.
These gangs also are organised in two hostile groups and have their own governing structure and rules to safeguard their organisation and its wellbeing. Each group is guided by its own evil law within the territories they control.
The gangs and their leadership are known to most of the Sudanese communities in Egypt. Strange enough, some of the Sudanese community elders are acting as guardians for the gangs, and at same time as beneficiaries, which are the very people distributing and selling the robbed items on behalf of gangs such as mobile phones and jewellery.
During a meeting with one of the community elders, he mentioned the most notorious three leaders of the lost boys. He further said if these three leaders are arrested and deported, Sudanese communities in Egypt and especially in Maadi would heave a sigh of relief, because these three leaders have criminal records and a number of cases has been filed against them at the police stations in Maadi. This would help convict them and facilitate their deportation.
These Sudanese gangs have resorted to variety of criminal acts against poor Sudanese communities, such as gang raping under-aged Sudanese girls. A girl on the street would be threatened with a sharp knife and taken to their apartment, and gang raped. The girl would never file a case against them, because if she does she stands to lose her life. A pregnant Sudanese woman in Nasr City was raped, together with her daughter, and left between life and death. When she was taken to the hospital the baby was already dead.
The question which begs an answer is why the Sudanese community is so submissive to these gangs? Each group tries to recruit young people, male or female, of any age. If the parents refuse_it is normally the mothers since the fathers are not there_they have to pay a monthly subscription to the gang as an exemption fee to protect their children. The amount is increased monthly till it reaches one hundred Egyptian Pounds ($18.90). If the child has already joined a gang but cannot participate in the groups_ operations, the mother has to pay an exclusion fee of twenty Egyptian pounds (USD 3.80) per operation. Thus, most of the parents who are paying monthly royalty to protect their children have no choice but to send them to Sudan in safe haven.
Mothers desperately air humanitarian calls for all concerned authorities in both countries to save the Sudanese communities in Egypt from the daily gangs, brutality, and not to turn a blind eye or deaf ear to the calamity of these gangs. ##I do believe that national unity and southern Sudan governments in collaboration with the Egyptian authorities can put an end to this catastrophe within fourty-eight hours if there is any determination to resolve this issue,## a tormented mother said. ##But it seems there are other considerations,## she concluded with some resignation.
The majority of these Sudanese gangs are known to Egyptian security, and sometimes move in large numbers. They have criminal records, yet no one dares to curtail their activities despite the fact that their locations and areas of operation are known to Egyptian security. Last month a young Wahabi Ali Kony, from the Nuba Mountains, was attacked by these gangs and chopped badly in head, because he refused to join the lost boys and after ignoring several warnings of the group.
The victims of the Sudanese gangs are not only Sudanese, but it includes all black Africans. As for the past couple of months a number of African victims who were attacked, injured and robbed by Sudanese gangs had been received by Southern Sudan government bureau of liaison in Cairo.
Beside that last month one of the GoSS Liaison Office in Cairo staff, an Egyptian journalist was attacked near the office and all her jewellery rings and necklace were robbed. This was the first time for one of the gangs to attack and rob an Egyptian, knowing that she is working with GoSS Liaison Office, which I believe was a direct message to GoSS Liaison Office staff in Cairo.
But it seems that the gang activities has started to engulf the Egyptians, as about two weeks ago, one of the Egyptians was attacked at Abbasia neighbourhood, robbed and survived with some injuries.
There were lots of atrocities happening to Sudanese communities on daily basis in Cairo from these criminal bands, and there are dozens of people who have been robbed, chopped and disabled for life.
But the most inhumane incident was what happened to Rimond Justin on July 5, 2008 in which he was attacked after descending from microbus while returning from work, he was absolutely butchered, both kneecap and elbow or radius bones were almost cut off including a severe cut at head. When he was taken by ambulance to hospital, the charges requested for operation was thirty thousand Egyptian pounds ($660.38,5) and most of the hospitals refused to accept Rimond. Instead they told his brother and friends to take him to the graveyard.
I was much moved when Rimond##s brother who was attacked early this year by same group at his flat and was cut at his right elbow, walked to GOSS office with his friend completely broken and couldn##t even speak a word, but rather showed the cut off right thumb of his brother which he was carrying in his bag.
Rimond##s condition is still grave and will require several operations, and even if he survived, he will not be able to walk or feed himself; some of his friends wished he had died instead of undergoing all this pain and anguish.
##This is a challenging to all of us; if we don##t act today to put an end to this calamity, tomorrow it will be my and your turn;## said an affected friend.
The issue of the so-called Sudanese gangs in Cairo shouldn##t be taken on loose or even on discreet level as it is being handled now, but has to be taken seriously because it is tarnishing the icon of the Southern or Sudanese people.
A members of the Sudanese community angrily said ##that was exactly what we reiterated to H.E. Salva Kiir, First Vice President and President of GoSS## in a meeting on February 12, 2008 with the Southern Sudanese Community Leaders in Cairo.
At that meeting the situation prompted Salva Kiir to term these gangs group as another ##TRIBE##.
##I don##t know and there might be specific meaning in Kiir##s mind in terming these gangs group as tribe, but I couldn##t concur with Salva Kiir that these group are actually a tribe, because there is no tribe or nation in this world that advocates and embodies Satanic and barbaric doctrine.## He said.
During the meeting Salva Kiir told the Southern Sudanese Community Leaders in Cairo that ##I had learned with dismay that some of our youth have become gangs and created havoc and insecurity among you. These acts are tarnishing our images and dignity.##
##I came with GoSS Minister of Internal Affairs to explore with Egyptian Government the possibility of encouraging our youth who are creating havoc in Egypt to be returned home;## he reassured.
On the issue of voluntary repatriation, Salva Kiir said that ##We will discuss with UNHCR and the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt to explore a possibility of assisting those of you who are interested to return##.
The statement of the first vice-president and head of southern Sudan government sounds encouraging and offers hope. But since his visit to Egypt in last February 2008, nothing has been done in regard to the voluntary repatriation and the youth gangs in Cairo.
Today, there already is a generation of gangs less than ten years or slightly above. It will be one of the most dangerous gangs than the current groups of wrongdoers after couple of years to come. Their deeds are the obvious evidence as how vicious they are going to be. They have already recruited a number of students who were accepted for Egyptian scholarships, and especially those students who applied and accepted from Cairo. A handful of students on scholarship have joined the lost boys as a result of pressure and threats, or as an option to save their lives.
Most of the cases between the two hostile criminal bands were not reported to the police, because most of the cases happened between relatives or tribes, so the elders preferred to resolve it within the tribe##s circle.
The vivid and rich Sudanese market of Sakakini at street 72 Ahmed Said in Abassiya has become a ghost market because of the Sudanese gangs## activities. As these gangs have their own system of surveillance on those who have money, and deploy unknown people to rob them; even women on their way to the market are robbed.
The Sudanese community in Cairo is at the verge of collapse and needs security restoration and help to deliver them to a safe shore. Otherwise the South Sudan enemies are vigilant and can apply all possible means to obliterate and ruin the Southern Sudanese community.
Roba Gibia
E-mail: [email protected]