Exploitation of the Sudanese Crisis by Some Egyptians for Financial Gain
Moatinoon
With the large waves of Sudanese refugees heading to Egypt, their northern neighbor, some hostile calls against the Sudanese presence in Egypt have emerged from a few Egyptian citizens. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes evident that some of these reactions are fabricated and driven by personal financial gains rather than genuine hostility towards the Sudanese and their presence in Egypt. The Egyptian people have long welcomed Sudanese among them, even before the war, and this presence, despite its size, did not cause discomfort. Both Egyptians and Sudanese benefited from this relationship.
One such phenomenon involves an Egyptian woman or girl who began insulting Sudanese people and their presence in Egypt after the war, using her Facebook page to spread provocative messages. Her page gained massive traction, with tens of thousands of interactions, mostly from Sudanese, and hardly any Egyptians, except those who denounced her rhetoric.
In the end, the woman admitted that her goal was to increase the number of followers on her Facebook page, which would result in financial gains.
In another case, the website Al Arabiya Net published a story about another Egyptian girl, no older than 17, who posted a video claiming that she was dragged and robbed by five Sudanese men in the Al-Haram area, south of Cairo. The video garnered significant attention until security forces uncovered the truth behind the incident.
According to the website, the young woman, Mariam, appeared in a video claiming that she had been assaulted by Sudanese men, who threatened her with knives, while bystanders simply watched and recorded the incident without intervening to help.
She stated that she was returning from a private lesson when she was suddenly grabbed from behind by five Sudanese men, who dragged her down the street to steal her bag. She said she tried to resist but failed, calling on security forces to arrest the men and restore her rights.
However, security forces in Giza revealed that the entire incident was fabricated and never occurred. The girl admitted to making up the story solely to gain more views.
The young woman, identified as "Mariam M.," is a 17-year-old high school student from the Al-Haram area. During the investigation, she admitted that the story was a lie. In reality, after leaving her lesson and boarding a minibus, a minor tussle occurred over who should board first, during which someone briefly pulled her bag. The rest of the story was her invention.
She also confessed that she regularly posts her daily life on her TikTok account and came up with the story to boost her followers and increase views, an admission that will likely result in legal consequences.
