Skip to content
  • Image
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Podcasts
  • Email
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • News
  • Features
  • Comment
  • Store
The Arab Daily News

The Arab Daily News

Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem

  • About
    • About
    • Our Writers
    • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
    • Book Store
    • Contact
    • Submit Book Reviews, Press Releases
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Corrections Policy
    • Profile on Ray Hanania
    • Submit Press Release
  • Features
    • Food
    • Book Review
    • Humor
    • Movies
    • Travel
  • Arab Stores Targeted
  • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Heritage America resources
    • Directory
      • Groups & Organizations
      • Mosques, Churches
      • Restaurants
      • 2008 & 2014 Arab Media Directories
    • National Arab Heritage Month
    • Video: Chicago Arab History
    • Video: Photo Array of Chicago Arabs
    • Overview of Arabs in America
    • Hanania standup comedy
    • Arabs on the Titanic
    • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
    • Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast
    • Arab News Ray Hanania Radio
    • Arab Radio Podcast intro
    • Radio Baladi Detroit
  • Hanania on Tiktok
  • Free eNewsletter
    • eNewsletter SignUp
    • View past eNewsletters
  • Toggle search form
  • Piotr Hofmanski, president of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague
    International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin Civil Rights
  • Orand First Responders candidates Matthew G. Rafferty and William Bonnar Jr.
    Arab Democrats endorse Rafferty and Bonnar in Orland Fire District race American Arabs
  • Paul Vallas addressing the Arab American Democratic Club on Feb. 12, 2023
    AADC releases its endorsements for the April 4, 2023 non-partisan elections American Arabs
  • Arab Democratic Club Feb 12, 2023 Forum & Brunch flier
    Arab Democrats host forum for Chicago and suburban candidates Feb. 12 American Arabs
  • AHRC Executive Director Imad Hamad
    AHRC’s Humanitarian Mission to Lebanon American Arabs
  • Glory to God int he Lowest by Author Rev. Donald Wagner
    Book Review: Glory to God in the Lowest: journeys to an unholy land American Arabs
  • Popular Ziyad Brand Green Za'ater. Photo courtesy of Ziyad Brothers
    Appeal of Mediterranean foods continue to rise among consumers Culture
  • Suzan Atallah seeks election to Palos Park School District 118 Activism
  • Shadin Maali has been named Emgage’s new Senior Director of Growth and Operations
    Emgage hires former Illinois Congressional aide to help expand their reach Activism
  • The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) announced Dr. Manal Fakhoury has been elected to the position of Chair of the National Board of Directors, and that attorneys Spojmie Nasiri of California and John Floyd of Texas have joined the organization’s National Board.
    CAIR Announces Dr. Manal Fakhoury as New Board Chair, New Board Members Spojmie Nasiri and John Floyd American Arabs
  • AHRC Executive Director Imad Hamad
    AHRC: Honor Dr. King Day with Civility, Unity, and Action American Arabs
  • Citgo Gas Station and Quik Mart at 3759 W. Chicago Ave in Chicago ordered closed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot because a street gang member with an AK-47 killed someone in front of the store. Only Arab and Muslim stores are being closed by the Mayor
    When Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot targeted Arab businesses in 2021 and 2022 Activism
  • Hussam al-Mayman, The Mayman Show, podcast Arab News
    Arab News launches third season of The Mayman Show podcast Arab News
  • State Rep. Cyril Nichols interviewed on live Arab American radio in Detroit with host Ray Hanania Friday Dec. 9, 2022
    Nichols discusses need to improve Arab-Black relations in Chicagoland American Arabs
  • Voting sticker issued to voters in Cook County elections in 2016. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Gov. Pritzker Announces Six Appointments to Boards and Commissions — no Arabs included American Arabs

Egypt’s Brain Drain

Posted on October 19, 2016August 20, 2019 By rayhanania 2 Comments on Egypt’s Brain Drain
SHARE ...
          
 
  

  • Tweet

Loading

What do we owe the places that raised us? Exploring brain drain from Egypt.

By: Kerning Cultures

 

Note: the episode above supplements the article below; they’re both different!

Ziyad Taste of the Middle East

Mention “brain drain” to any Middle Easterner and they’ll nod sadly: yes, we have this problem in our country, too. Tracing the history of emigration in Egypt specifically, we see that it is a relatively modern phenomenon. There are few recorded instances of emigration from Egypt prior to the 1960s, the decade when government policy first permitted emigration visas to Egyptian nationals. This partial relaxation of emigration policy, permitting travel but with certain quotas on professions like doctors and engineers so as to not disturb the national economy, came after President Nasser’s 1961 Employment Guarantee Program to all public university graduates. Feeling the capacity strain to provide all graduates employment within the public sector, the government slowly permitted emigration until President Sadat officially claimed emigration as a citizen right in his 1971 Constitution.

Men socialise at Elhoriyya Cafe. Elhoriyya is a “balady” bar in Cairo, popular with both foreigners and locals. Credit: Razan Alzayani Photography

As similarly with many neighbouring societies, family priorities mean that it is an emotional struggle for most to leave their families and move abroad. Especially in the early days of emigration, the majority would make such a difficult decision for economic reasons: to pursue a better work opportunities elsewhere, to have greater financial wherewithal to support their families back home. Of the 655,000 Egyptians recorded who lived abroad in 1975, the majority were manual labourers drawn to the Gulf states during the 1970s oil boom. In the 1980s and into the 2000s, “skilled” emigration rates from Egypt begin to rise steadily to an estimate of 6.5 million Egyptians living abroad by 2008.

While “there’s obviously reasons regarding religious persecution, lifestyle, desire to adventure – the core of the issue is related to economic instability, political instability, these kinds of conditions now,” says Iman Dawood of our present-day emigration phenomenon. Dawood complete her Masters thesis in 2012 on the Egyptian diaspora based on interviews with Egyptian policymakers and experts.

We see a discernible shift in the desire to leave pre and post revolution: in May 2011 after the first revolution in Egypt, the International Organisation for Migration in Cairo reported only 15% of Egyptian youth surveyed thought to migrate; most were optimistic about the economy and country, despite the fact that in the aftermath of the revolution, industry across the board suffered. Tourism alone, which is said to employ 1 in 7 Egyptians, plummeted 35% the year after the first revolution.

A driver takes a moment in an intersection around the Sayyida Zaineb Mosque in Cairo. Credit: Razan Alzayani Photography

Fast forward two years to the lead-up to the second revolution or coup d’etat in June 2013, the Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics (CAPMAS) reported that 61% of Egyptian youth were willing to emigrate due to unemployment. Depending on whom you ask, national unemployment ranges between 13-25%. While emigration statistics are hard to pin down precisely (because many leave “irregularly” (without formal visas), do not register with their local embassies in their new place of residency out of suspicion of being taxed or monitored, etc), the most accepted estimate is 13 million Egyptians currently live outside of Egypt, more than 10% of the 90 million population in-country.

This ranks Egypt as the Number 1 labour exporter in the Middle East and North Africa region. At first glance, emigration seems like a fairly straightforward issue: most Egyptians are leaving for work, and why shouldn’t they? “Others say no, the people leaving may not be a huge percentage of the overall population, but they represent the most educated, driven, innovative people. And the effect that their leaving has on Egypt is profound,” argues Iman.

This is a particularly pertinent point when we realise that 65% of Egyptian migrants have secondary education and above; statistically higher than the average of the remaining population who stay in Egypt. “I really respect people who took the challenge and said, ‘we’re not going to leave our country; we’re going to fight for it,’ says Ahmed Yossef, a software engineer at Facebook in Seattle, USA, who left Egypt five years ago just after the 2011 revolution. “But if you sign yourself up to go back to Egypt, you’re signing up for a big fight.” This “big fight” points to circumstances such as corruption, bureaucracy, infrastructure weaknesses, gridlock traffic, and, according to 2011 estimates, 40% of Egyptians live on less than USD 2 per day….

But, if some of the most talented Egyptians continue to leave – then how is anything ever going to change? “It’s not going to change,” says Yossef. “This is the point when we started to give up.”  And yet, many Egyptians who choose to stay in-country feel contrarily, “Egypt has negatives, yes, there’s no denying that,” admits Tarek Mahdy, a chief financial officer for a regional company based in Cairo. “But not to the level of abandoning the country, which I think many people are doing. Things get on my nerves, of course. But you flip once every couple of days, for a second, and that’s it. And maybe one of the things that makes me flip is because you feel that this country deserves better. Simply deserves better.”

For those Egyptians who cannot make it work at home, of course it makes sense to leave. And, there are still ways to positively impact from afar by sending remittances back home to Egypt (remittances alone tallied USD 22 billion last year, roughly 8% of Egypt’s GDP) research collaborations, exchange efforts, etc. But for those Egyptians who can, arguably, “make it work” anywhere, what do they owe to the communities that raised them?

A couple look down at fruit and vegetable sellers in Mounira, Cairo. Credit: Razan Alzayani Photography

“I don’t think I owe anything to Egypt,” says Tarek Hosny, co-founder of Schaduf, a rooftop farming and sustainable development company in Cairo that trains families to farm, creates a marketplace to purchase their yields, and shares in the revenues with the families. “It’s more to the people. I think being born an Egyptian is an unfortunate thing…. I went to a good school; I was lucky. If someone like me wants to leave, then what about the rest?”

Hosny was raised in Egypt and then moved to the States for his undergraduate and graduate studies at Stanford and Berkley. He had the option: he could continue to live and work in the States and not return to Egypt. But in 2013, at the politically and economically unstable time in between the two presidents Morsi and El-Sisi, he decides to return to home. That’s not to say he didn’t weigh the consequences: the move back home came with jumping into instability, a downgrade in salary, and renunciation of luxuries like easy public transportation and a mortgage. “When I told my family I was coming to Egypt after the revolution, my dad told him that I shouldn’t come back. But I feel more at home [in Egypt]. If I go down the street, everything makes sense, even though it doesn’t. But you understand it. You’re just going back to where you belong.”

And yet, when we speak about “moral obligation” and “positive impact” on the places that raised us, there’s the very real consideration of resources and capacity. Would the first Egyptian Nobel Peace Prize winner in science Ahmed Zewail, for example, have been able to achieve his full potential had he only access to the funding and research facilities in Egypt? “I don’t know, but I’d say probably not,” muses Hosny. “He would have been the same smart guy – and he was the same smart guy because of his education in Egypt.”

Brain drain illustration – Nadine Ghandour, Kerning Cultures listener

While perhaps Ahmed Zewail had to leave Egypt to contribute to society on the scale he has, for others staying in or returning to Egypt may bring other necessary contributions. “It’s wrong to think you can change the world and influence the 90 million [in Egypt], but you can’t underestimate the value of your contribution even if it’s just being a professional person in the economy and doing your job well,” says Hosny. Upon reflection of Schaduf’s impact working with 150 low-income families in Cairo to train farming techniques towards additional financial livelihood for these families, Hosny concludes, “What’s my value? I don’t know; I can’t quantify it – perhaps it’s not that big. But it’s something.”

Guests featured on podcast episode:

Iman Dawood is a researcher with a BA and MA in Political Science from the American University in Cairo (AUC). She has also worked in various development organizations such as UNFPA, Misr El Kheir Foundation-UK, and Big Ideas Foundation. More recently, she has been admitted to the MRes/PhD Program at the London School of Economics (LSE) where she intends on exploring the political remittances of Egyptian migration to the Gulf.

Abdelrahman Erlebach graduated from Ain Shams University in Cairo with a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. After working with enterprise consulting software companies in Egypt, he joined and continues to work with Microsoft in Munich as a Dynamics Support Engineer.

Alaa Shaker is an Egyptian software engineer currently working at Microsoft. Before that, he worked at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. He has a MSc in computer science, with a focus on A.I. and HCI. Alaa was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt, and now lives in Seattle, WA.

Sylvia manages an immigration services company based in Egypt. She has recently returned home to Cairo after 28 years of living in the UAE and writes a Facebook blog called The Cairo Chronicle. The Cairo Chronicle is a collection of stories on her experience of setting up house, meeting her neighbors and adapting to living in Cairo after being away for so long.

Ahmed Yossef was born and raised in Egypt. He graduated from Ain Shams University with a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Computer Science. After working for almost 7 years in Egypt, he moved to the US to join Microsoft as a software engineer. Currently he works as a Software Engineer at Facebook in the distributed infrastructure team.

Episode Credits
Written by Hebah Fisher with co-production by Razan Alzayani and Lilly Crown.
Sound design and editorial support by Ramzi Bashour.
Additional music credit to Rachid Taha – Ya Raye7 (Chapter 1), Orchestra Tetouan-Asmir  (Chapter 1 and 2), and Oum Khalthoum – بعيد عنك (Chapter 2)

Originally published on Kerning Cultures.

 

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
rayhanania
rayhanania
Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster at The Arab Daily News
RAY HANANIA — Op-Ed writer, author, radio host, podcaster

Ray Hanania is an award winning political and humor columnist who analyzes American and Middle East politics, and life in general. He is an author of several books.

Hanania covered Chicago Politics and Chicago City Hall from 1976 through 1992 at the Daily Southtown and the Chicago Sun-Times. He began writing in 1975 publishing The Middle Eastern Voice newspaper in Chicago (1975-1977). He later published “The National Arab American Times” newspaper (2004-2007).

Hanania writes weekly columns on Middle East and American Arab issues as Special US Correspondent for the Arab News ArabNews.com, at TheArabDailyNews.com, and at SuburbanChicagoland.com. He has published weekly columns in the Jerusalem Post newspaper, YNetNews.com, Newsday, the Orlando Sentinel, Houston Chronical, and Arlington Heights Daily Herald.

Hanania is the recipient of four (4) Chicago Headline Club “Peter Lisagor Awards” for Column writing. In November 2006, he was named “Best Ethnic American Columnist” by the New American Media. In 2009, Hanania received the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Writing from the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the recipient of the MT Mehdi Courage in Journalism Award. He was honored for his writing skills with two (2) Chicago Stick-o-Type awards from the Chicago Newspaper Guild. In 1990, Hanania was nominated by the Chicago Sun-Times editors for a Pulitzer Prize for his four-part series on the Palestinian Intifada.

His writings have also been honored by two national Awards from ADC for his writing, and from the National Arab American Journalists Association.

Hanania is the US Special Correspondent for the Arab News Newspaper, covering Middle East and Arab American issues. He writes for the Southwest News newspaper group writing on mainstream American issues.

Click here to send Ray Hanania email.

Follow RayHanania on Gettr.com, the uncensored Twitter Ray Hanania on Gettr, the new Twitter
rayhanania
Latest posts by rayhanania (see all)
  • Call me Arab, don’t call me MENA writer argues - March 18, 2023
  • AHRC Holds Meet and Greet with MDOC - March 13, 2023
  • Illinois Review skewers Mayor Lightfoot ally Ramzi Hassan - February 22, 2023

  • Tweet

SHARE ...
          
 
  
 
          
 
 Tweet 
Arab World, Hebah Fisher, Podcast Tags:audio podcast, Egypt, migration, podcast

Post navigation

Previous Post: Media ignores Christian, Muslim rights in UNESCO assault
Next Post: Shoeless Joe Jackson and Arab American Major League Baseball Players

Related Posts

  • Muslim solutions to Terrorism in Paris Arab World
  • World Muslim Congress leader to speak at Aligarh Muslim University Arab World
  • Volunteers organized by Ziyad Brothers Importing distribute food in Beirut, Lebanon to the victims of the August 4, 2020 explosion. Photo courtesy Ziyad Brothers Importing.
    Ziyad Brothers Importing brings Lebanese food donors together to help victims of Beirut devastation  Arab News
  • Pro-Israel propaganda keeps Americans stupid when it comes to Israel-Palestine Arab World
  • Lebanon Prime Minister Saad Hariri
    Hariri shelves his resignation: conditional good news for Lebanon Arab World
  • Podcast: Obama follows Clinton in Middle East peace failure American Arabs

More Related Articles

Representatives Omar and Tlaib Terrorize Trump and My Interview with Underground Fatah American Arabs
The Death of Reason: American bias when it comes to Justice Arab World
Post Apartheid South Africa applauds criticism of settlements Arab World
Middle Eastern Americans Supporting Trump Activism
Secretary Kerry’s speech on Middle East peace Arab World
New book: I was a French Muslim by Mokhtar Mokhtefi New book: I was a French Muslim by Mokhtar Mokhtefi Arab World

Comments (2) on “Egypt’s Brain Drain”

  1. Pingback: They Don’t Work with Buttons: Yousra Rashwan on Tapping the Potential of Upper Egypt’s Software Developers – Plentyworks – Hire top remote software engineers
  2. Ray Hanania says:
    October 19, 2016 at 8:58 pm

    Great podcast series from kerning Cultures, Egypt;s Brain Drain … in 2 parts … check it out

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • راى حنانيا. Ray Hanania
    Call me Arab, don’t call me MENA writer argues
    March 18, 2023
  • Ghassan Rubeiz
    Two parallel uprisings in Israel
    March 11, 2023
  • Racist anti-Arab Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot poses with Edwards Realty President Ramzi Hassan posted on Facebook on posted June 3, 2022 right after the second press conference demanding that Lightfoot end her discrimination.
    Illinois Review skewers Mayor Lightfoot ally Ramzi Hassan
    February 22, 2023
  • Tiktok.com/@RayHanania
    Israeli-push behind effort to ban Tiktok in the United States
    January 19, 2023
  • 300x300-ZIYAD02.jpg
  • 300x300-RAMADAN02.jpg
  • 300x300-ZIYAD01.jpg
  • 300x300-RAMADAN01.jpg
  • NEWS
  • Piotr Hofmanski, president of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague
    International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin
    March 19, 2023
  • Orand First Responders candidates Matthew G. Rafferty and William Bonnar Jr.
    Arab Democrats endorse Rafferty and Bonnar in Orland Fire District race
    March 17, 2023
  • AHRC Executive Director Imad Hamad
    AHRC’s Humanitarian Mission to Lebanon
    February 22, 2023
  • Paul Vallas addressing the Arab American Democratic Club on Feb. 12, 2023
    AADC releases its endorsements for the April 4, 2023 non-partisan elections
    February 21, 2023
  • NEWSWIRE
  • Popular Ziyad Brand Green Za'ater. Photo courtesy of Ziyad Brothers
    Appeal of Mediterranean foods continue to rise among consumers
    February 16, 2023
  • Suzan Atallah seeks election to Palos Park School District 118
    February 9, 2023
  • Shadin Maali has been named Emgage’s new Senior Director of Growth and Operations
    Emgage hires former Illinois Congressional aide to help expand their reach
    February 8, 2023
  • Arab Democratic Club Feb 12, 2023 Forum & Brunch flier
    Arab Democrats host forum for Chicago and suburban candidates Feb. 12
    January 18, 2023

Creative Commons License
All work on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

First Installment of the Property Tax

POPULAR POSTS

  • Two parallel uprisings in Israel Two parallel uprisings in Israel By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz Israel is currently shaken by two parallel revolts. In what seems ... posted on March 11, 2023
  • Suzan Atallah seeks election to Palos Park School District 118 Suzan Atallah seeks election to Palos Park School District 118 Currently living in Orland Park with her supportive husband and ... posted on February 9, 2023
  • Call me Arab, don’t call me MENA writer argues Call me Arab, don't call me MENA writer argues Columnist Ray Hanania argues that the term MENA to describe Arab ... posted on March 18, 2023
  • Arab Democrats endorse Rafferty and Bonnar in Orland Fire District race Arab Democrats endorse Rafferty and Bonnar in Orland Fire District race The Arab American Democratic Club released its official endorsements ... posted on March 17, 2023
  • AHRC Holds Meet and Greet with MDOC AHRC Holds Meet and Greet with MDOC In an effort to keep dialogue with government agencies, AHRC held a Meet ... posted on March 13, 2023
  • AADC releases its endorsements for the April 4, 2023 non-partisan elections AADC releases its endorsements for the April 4, 2023 non-partisan elections ENDORSEMENTS APRIL 4, 2023 The Arab American Democratic Club ... posted on February 21, 2023

Recent Posts

  • International Criminal Court arrest warrant issued for Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin
  • Call me Arab, don’t call me MENA writer argues
  • Arab Democrats endorse Rafferty and Bonnar in Orland Fire District race
  • AHRC Holds Meet and Greet with MDOC
  • Two parallel uprisings in Israel
  • BOOK REVIEWS
  • Glory to God int he Lowest by Author Rev. Donald Wagner
    Book Review: Glory to God in the Lowest: journeys to an unholy land
    February 18, 2023
  • Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts
    Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts
    October 24, 2022
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • Hussam al-Mayman, The Mayman Show, podcast Arab News
    Arab News launches third season of The Mayman Show podcast
    December 15, 2022
  • Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts
    Interlink 2022 Cookbooks Make the Best Holiday Gifts
    October 24, 2022
  • Comedian Ramy Youssef courtesy of his Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/ramysfaceboo/
    “Ramy” cable series melds Arab world reality with every day American life
    October 22, 2022
  • The Ray Hanania Radio Show Live Wed 5 PM EST in Detroit, Washington DC, Ontario and on Thursday in Chicago. Watch the program live at Facebook.com/ArabNews
    Second Season of “The Ray Hanania Show” Arab American radio launches April 6
    April 4, 2022
  • American Arab CHamber President HassanNijem accepts the Proclamation from Chicago Ald. Roderick Sawyer at the Chamber dinner March 30, 2022
    Chicagoland celebrates Arab American Heritage Month
    March 31, 2022
  • New-iTunes-1400-x-1400-The-Ray-Hanania-Show-Podcast-Icon-300-x-300.jpg
  • terroristbookcover-300-x-300.jpg
  • Podcast-iTunes-Logo-Chi-City-Hall-1985.jpg
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png
  • powerpr300x300ad.jpg
Arab News Newspaper Logo
Read the Arab News, the leading English language newspaper in the MIddle East

Follow Ray Hanania at Gab.com, MeWe.com and IDobbinate.com, the alternatives to Facebook and Twitter Censorship.

Click here to get information on The Ray Hanania Radio Show and its podcasts

Copyright © 2023 The Arab Daily News.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme