26.4% of Egypt's young men wish to emigrate

[DJKeefy]

Because of Egypt's endemic unemployment problem, 26.4 percent of Egypt's young men wish to emigrate despite having never travelled abroad, the country's statistics body CAPMAS reported on Sunday.

Of those wishing to emigrate, over 61 percent cited lack of employment opportunities in Egypt as the reason.

Over 30 percent of Egyptian youth who have emigrated have done so illegally. Nearly 81 percent emigrated without having employment contracts, and over 99 percent headed to Arab countries, versus the 0.8 percent emigrating to Europe.

Male youth unemployment, defined as that affecting men between the ages of 15 and 29, reached 30.8 percent in most governorates in 2011, according to CAPMAS.

Egypt’s total unemployment rate climbed 0.2 percent in the first quarter of 2013, with 13.2 percent of Egyptians unemployed out of a total labour fource of 27.3 million.

There are 23.6 million employed Egyptians.

Egypt's population reached 92 million in March 2013, with 84 million living within Egypt and 8 million abroad, according to CAPMAS.

Source: http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/77113.aspx

[LovelyLadyLux]

Not that these stats are not interesting but, for me, more interesting stats would be the type of employment these unemployed men are able, capable and qualified to do.

[Dusak]

From the couple of documentaries that I have watched on the TV most are general labour. Biggest complaint was failure to receive wages on time and extremely bad housing and levels of hygiene facilities for the workers. The documentaries uncovered this slow payment in various countries, many all Western owned company's, plus Arab owned ones. Basically to me it just looked like slave labour, but at a better price than over here, if paid for the work.

[dsaxelby]

Not that these stats are not interesting but, for me, more interesting stats would be the type of employment these unemployed men are able, capable and qualified to do.

Asked this question months ago what are you training your young men to do, not a lot was the reply. The Government had a training scheme previously for teachers whereby they subsided the costs. I think the general population thought once Morsi came to power everything would settle down and the tourists would be back.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Here in my area the gov't has identified a dearth of tradesmen so there is a big initiative to turn out plumbers, welders, electricians, whatever and they're in all the high schools pushing this latest agenda and trying to include women in this group. I fully understand this is NOT Egypt but I'd hazard the average 'man on the street' in Egypt could also identify that most workers there seem to general day labourers. Not having a 'skill' to gain a decent wage with is definitely leaving many Egyptians with the short end of the stick.

I'm sure Islamic studies is important but so is feeding your family and am sure it would only be a big plus to create trade schools that would turn out credentialed tradesmen who had a marketable skill set.

[Dusak]

They have a collage here in Luxor that train all in the trades over various amounts of time, but it costs.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Getting into the trades isn't exactly inexpensive here either but here there are bursaries, gov't loans and as an apprentice you can make a living wage while you're learning your trade.

[Chocolate Eclair]

Interesting to know about the College "D", obviously the staff there are not trained themselves, otherwise the workmanship would be much better.

[Dusak]

From what I was told the tutors are very well trained and those that gain the qualifications do not utilize them here but go further afield for better pay. The trades here are home grown, self taught and delusional to the point of giving themselves the title of 'I can do that.'

[Maakari]

Interesting that this subject has arisen today.
T'Other half has not had any work (apart from few labour jobs around luxor) and said he was willing to do anything to earn some money. He trawled Streets of Hurghada and surrounding resorts, dropped CV's into anywhere and everywhere. Eventually three weeks ago, a friend of his who lives in Cairo, said there is a job here in Ein Sohkna, Just waiter, but money is quite good. So off he goes. Bus journey of 11 hours, could'nt find a taxi willing to take him to the resort, eventually paid over the odds to get to the place.
After hearing some very sad and upsetting stories over these last few weeks, I get a call this morning. He has given the job up. he said he would work his fingers to the bone to earn money to keep food on the table and to help his family........but, cannot live like this any more. It is the first time in seven years that I have heard real dispair in his voice.
The Staff were forced to live like animals,........NO, that is wrong, even animals live better lives than that. The staff accomodation was a HOVEL. No beds or dicckers, so they slept on floor, 15 to a room, NO RUNNING WATER, So they could not shower or keep them selves clean, no cooking facilities, hardly any lights working, no glass or proper doors so Insects swarmed everywhwere. Cockroaches bred in ever increasing numbers. Even had a nest of scorpians in the room. NO where to wash clothes and they had to wash their own uniforms. He sustained a bad cut on his leg in Luxor from a careless driver of a taxi, who cut in on him when he was on his motorbike. This was healing well, but because of the filthy state of floors and sleeping on them, his wound has become infected!. Pharmacies there 4 times the price of Luxor, and a long long way from his work.
He and 20 others had enough, so went to the managers. It fell on deaf ears. Basically they were told "if you dont like the conditions, leave..there are another few million men who will take your place!"
This resort is crammed to the rafters with Actors, milterary big wigs, rich Oil Magnates, lesser royal families , the rich of the world, and yet the men who serve them are treated like slaves with not even the basic requirement for life such as water basic food and decent shelter.
He despairs..........I despair with him...............I hope there is going to be a future for the Country, which up until he has been so so so terribly faithful to. InSha'Allah things will improve for the people of Egypt.

[Miss scarlett]

This is very sad reading, and gives an insight into living conditions that workers are expected to endure. Little work seems to make employers greedy, a real shame when dealing with mankind.

We all know things are dire out there in Luxor, and your post brings it all home to us. At least he has tried, but coming home to Luxor is the only option.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Very upsetting to hear your story Maakari. I've heard stories that sometimes wait staff and day labourers when working away are kept in pretty dire conditions but never imagined it to be as awful as you describe. Not good at all and extremely unfortunate there is no recourse from Management (which is really stupidly short-sighted of Management to treat their staff so badly as it does cost them and the business much more in the long run).

Seems there is a slippery slope that is putting everybody now into free fall.

[TAL777]

Hopefully they won't be tempted to Dubai to become slave labourers..

[LovelyLadyLux]

Hopefully they won't be tempted to Dubai to become slave labourers..

Now that you've said Dubai it jogged my memory and it was Dubai + day workers/general labour that the documentary highlighted showing men there living and working in absolutely deplorable conditions.

[Dusak]

The treatment that your 'other half' received is nothing new to Luxor's hotels. First time I stayed at the Hilton many years ago I had a good mooch around and came across what I thought was a storage shed, turned out to be the living quarters for the live in staff.

[LovelyLadyLux]

@ Dusak - how did you know? Just curious how you deduced it was staff living quarters? Did staff tell you or hotel management?

Not doubting what you say - just wondering how you found out cause I'm thinking if during the high times of the tourist trade if staff were living in squalor then they must be in really dire straights now AND am also sure the Hotel would know the conditions the staff are living in and probably wouldn't want that tidbit known so wouldn't confirm. Am also sure during the high times that staff would be making - well - making much more than they are now, would want to keep their job, would know the Hotel wouldn't like the info getting out they were not living in great conditions soooooo wouldn't want to tell or talk about how they lived......

[TAL777]

One reason I wouldn't want to go to Dubai is that the place symbolises Western decadence built, and still being built, on slave migrant labour, of which most visitors are either ignorant of or indifferent towards...

[Dusak]

@ Dusak - how did you know? Just curious how you deduced it was staff living quarters? Did staff tell you or hotel management?

Not doubting what you say - just wondering how you found out cause I'm thinking if during the high times of the tourist trade if staff were living in squalor then they must be in really dire straights now AND am also sure the Hotel would know the conditions the staff are living in and probably wouldn't want that tidbit known so wouldn't confirm. Am also sure during the high times that staff would be making - well - making much more than they are now, would want to keep their job, would know the Hotel wouldn't like the info getting out they were not living in great conditions soooooo wouldn't want to tell or talk about how they lived......

As you face the entrance of the hotel, these buildings of squalor were/are along the far left hand wall partially concealed by bushes and trees. I know they were for the staff as one of the gardeners that I gave a cig to on my first day 'befriended' me. I spotted him getting gardening equipment out of this 'shed' so went over to say hello. He ushered me inside with the invite for a shy. Beds were laid out with moth eaten coverings, small gas stove and personal belongings. The biggest clue were the two blokes asleep on two of the dickers in there. I asked him if this is were he lived and he confirmed it. In the mornings they went down to the Nile using a private pathway to bathe. I don't know what toilet facilities they used, but there were 2/3 about that were not used a great deal by the public being well out of the way of things.

[LovelyLadyLux]

@D - thanks - was just curious as I'm sure the Hotel or Resort would severely frown upon any Guest being told about worker conditions so was curious how you came to know this.