Forty year-old Naji has made a career out of selling imaginary identities and new futures. He began by forging visas for Egyptians to travel to European countries, but after the revolution, Naji’s clients have had a different destination of choice; Libya.
Forty year-old Naji has made a career out of selling imaginary identities and new futures. He began by forging visas for Egyptians to travel to European countries, but after the revolution, Naji’s clients have had a different destination of choice; Libya.
In Beheira Governorate, where a large number of people migrate, due to poor rural conditions, Naji, also known as “Visa” was delivering Libyan visas to a group of unemployed people when he was finally caught by the Criminal Investigation Department. He had 190 forged visas, which he was selling for L.E. 2,000 (US $328) each.
Un-official employment program
Having forged 3,000 visas to Libya within a few months, ‘Visa’ recalls his old job without regret, denying that he is an outlaw and even claiming that his activity is closer to charitable work. “I sold visas for only $328 to help poor young people travel,” he says. “They paid more money in illegal immigration by sea, let alone the risk to their lives.”
According to security statistics, the Ministry of Interior arrested about 35 people falsifying visas to Libya during August alone, which confirms that there is a strong demand to travel in search of work in the neighboring state. Statements of the ministry officials suggest that the majority of those migrants are builders and artisans.
“I set hopes on the January 25th revolution, but I was shocked by reality,” says Abdullah Mohammed, a witness in ‘Visa’s’ case. “The situation has even worsened since the revolution.” Mohammed has a vocational degree and justified buying a forged visa to Libya. “Before the revolution, I used to work in any job: as a tinsmith, a peddler, whatever. But now, poverty has increased and I have become a burden on my father.”
Libya needs Egyptian workers
Ambassador Fathi Ahmed Mdeqish, Consul General of Libya in Alexandria, insists that Libya has reopened its doors to Egyptian labor, issuing about 1,500-2,000 visas per week. “We have recently announced our willingness to bring Egyptian workers, as Libya needs a large number of them in the current reconstruction phase,” he said.
The continued spread of counterfeit Libyan visas, according to security authorities, indicates a recovery in the neighboring state’s labor market. As long as there is a demand for labor, other people like Naji might just perpetuate his kind of “charity” work.
