Egypt hosts more than 1.2 million Sudanese refugees as a brutal war in Sudan unleashes the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. In Cairo, photojournalist Hamada Elrasam visits refugees and migrants as they keep their Sudanese culture alive in the shadow of war. Words by Elle Kurancid.
Refugees in Egypt: ‘We leave Sudan, but Sudan does not leave us’
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At the opening party for a law office in Cairo on Nov. 22, 2024, refugees from Sudan unite with Cairo’s wider Sudanese community. Some 4 million Sudanese nationals lived in Egypt before Sudan’s war erupted and forced millions to flee.
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Sudanese community members learn about Egypt’s Law Regarding the Asylum of Foreigners a few days before its ratification, in Cairo on Nov. 11, 2024. The bill calls for a new state-run committee to consolidate control over the asylum process.
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Sudanese professional Seham Ali, right, explains Egypt’s new asylum bill with Egyptian lawyer and office head Yasser Farage, center, in Cairo on Nov. 11, 2024. Rights groups warn the bill “violates” and “undermines basic protections for refugees.”
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Sudanese women brighten up the law office’s opening party in Cairo on Nov. 11, 2024, with their traditional thobes, or gowns, known as a “unifying national dress” and deep-rooted form of cultural expression across Sudan and South Sudan.