At a time when all world countries are making unremitting efforts to evacuate their nationals in light of the latest developments of the Russian-Ukrainian crisis and the beginning of the intensive Russian invasion of Ukrainian lands, the Egyptian government’s response to appeals of its nationals stranded there was below expectations in such exceptional circumstances.
Meanwhile, paradoxically, the attitude of the Egyptian regime towards Ukrainian and Russian tourists stuck in Egypt was very positive, as it pledged to provide them with free comprehensive accommodation until the situation calms down in their countries.
The Egyptian students in Ukraine, as well as the Egyptian community there, and their families, appealed to all concerned Egyptian officials, even via international television channels.
Unfortunately, the officials did not act sufficiently towards these distresses. The response of the Egyptian embassy in Kiev was just issuance of recommendations to stay at home, keep identification papers, and follow instructions of the Ukrainian authorities until the situation stabilizes.
This extremely slow and poor reaction has aroused anger among Egyptians residing there and their families, who had previously called for action weeks ago, in light of the escalation of tension there over months and the American expectations of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Look at the paradox in the content of the two pictures above: First picture – The Egyptian Embassy in Romania says: We’ll help Egyptians coming from Ukraine to return to Egypt at their own expense. Second picture – The Red Sea Governor says: The stay of Ukrainians in Egypt will continue free of charge!
Disparity of treatment of citizens
When one compares two events that occurred during the same month, he certainly becomes mad at the behavior of the Egyptian government towards different issues and different categories of citizens: one of them was the allocation of 10 planes by Parliament, in cooperation with EgyptAir, to transport football fans to Cameroon, including MPs, their families, and their cronies from the pro-regime Homeland Future Alliance and others, where they traveled free of charge at the expense of the Egyptian people.
On the other hand, one thinks of the government’s response to the distress and appeals of Egyptian students in Ukraine, especially in light of expectations over months that the invasion would certainly take place.
However, the Egyptian embassy has been satisfied with saying: Stay in homes and follow the instructions. In this case, one might be dumbfounded. But it is not surprising, as the Minister of Immigration had said before that Egyptian students abroad were the most dangerous category to Egypt.
It is also disgraceful that the embassy, after letting hundreds of Egyptian students cross into Romania and Poland on foot in harsh winter conditions over long distances, only offered to take them to Egypt, but “at their own expense.”
At the same time, the Egyptian government offered to facilitate the stay of tens of thousands of Ukrainian and even Russian tourists in Egypt, free of charge, until the situation calms down and stabilizes in their countries
Meanwhile, the state usually asks its own citizens to pay huge sums of money to obtain any consular services in diaspora, but it does not care to provide them with any support in such exceptional circumstances.
