Poverty, racism and forced disappearances: why Sudanese war refugees are leaving Egypt for Europe

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There are an estimated 1.3 million Sudanese refugees living in Cairo. Most have fled from neighbouring Sudan after the outbreak of civil war in April 2023. Instead of the safety and security they had hoped to find, they say life in the Egyptian capital has turned into a horror story.

“The situation here is so hopeless that I am now preparing for a second crossing [to Europe]. I haven’t told my mother yet as I don’t know if she would survive losing a second child,” says Nadir*, 26. Like other Sudanese people interviewed for this story, he prefers not to be identified by his real name.

Silhouette of Nadir drinking a cup of something at his window.

The war, in which at least 150,000 people have died, has forced approximately 4.5 million people to flee Sudan in search of safety in Chad, South Sudan, Libya and Egypt. The World Health Organization has described the conflict as the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.

A TV in a darkened room showing the news.

But once in Egypt, Sudan’s war refugees have faced racism and what the UN has described as an “intensifying campaign of arbitrary arrests and human rights violations”, with a surge in deportations of Sudanese nationals since late 2025.

The UN says the deportations were reportedly carried out without assessments to determine whether individuals faced risk of torture or harm.

“Here in Egypt, you are confined like a criminal. It offers so little prospect of a future that you begin to lose yourself,” says Nadir, pointing to his swollen hand as he repeatedly tries to open and close it. “I had to defend myself after being attacked in the street because of the colour of my skin.”

Side view of Nadir sitting on a sofa in a living room watching TV.

The increasingly hostile climate is driving growing numbers of Sudanese refugees to consider leaving Egypt, either in the hope of returning to Sudan or, more often, of attempting to cross the Mediterranean to reach Europe.

Nadir says he has already made one perilous attempt to reach Italy by boat through Libya. He says he was persuaded to join the trip with his closest friend and 20 others, but that the group was kidnapped by smugglers in Libya. They were held captive for seven months before being released and making their way back to Egypt. Nadir says his friend did not survive.

African man Nadir sits looking out a window. No view to be seen.

In Egypt, Sudanese refugees reportedly risk detention if they cannot present a residence permit at the time of arrest. This can happen even if they left it at home while stepping out briefly to buy water, says Omar*, 25, who has had friends disappear without contact.

“Two weeks ago, I was warned about a major police checkpoint nearby. I’ve been trying to contact a close acquaintance for days, but I haven’t heard from him since,” he says.

Dusty rooftops in Faisal in greater Cairo region, Egypt.

Yassin, right, and one of his roommates on the roof of their apartment block, where the phone signal is strongest.

Finding affordable housing in Cairo is also a struggle for many Sudanese, who are often perceived as having access to money from abroad. Yassin*, 23, who has cared for his three younger sisters since the death of his father earlier this year, says it makes no sense that Sudanese war refugees who have often lost nearly everything are still being treated by some landlords as little more than walking wallets.

“The money we receive to support ourselves is almost entirely spent on rent,” he says.

These conditions force many Sudanese refugees into the informal labour market. “Washing dishes, cleaning, working in a carpet shop, they are all jobs I have done over the past few years,” says Yassin.

African man Yassin, wearing tracksuit, sits on the phone in a darkened living room.

However, the lack of legal status in Egypt leaves them vulnerable to exploitation, with some employers reportedly paying below the minimum wage. Yassin says the owner of a carpet shop employed eight Sudanese workers and threatened to report one of them to the authorities after he tried to resign.

“We would like to contribute to the Egyptian economy, but as long as we do not have legal status, our lives remain so restricted that we are left in limbo,” says Yassin. He says that if it were not for the responsibility of caring for his three young sisters, he too might attempt the crossing to Europe.

“For now, staying indoors and minimising all risks seems like the best solution,” he says.