Jordan town in 6^th of October City, in southern Cairo, is filled with so many Iraqi food shops selling grilled Masgouf fish and bread, it resembles a smaller version of Baghdad.

Thousands of Iraqis fled to Egypt during the US occupation (from 2003 – 2011) and have settled down in 6^th of October City, a quiet and relatively remote area compared to an overcrowded Cairo, and they have established restaurants and cafés that attract Egyptians.

Jordan town in 6^th of October City, in southern Cairo, is filled with so many Iraqi food shops selling grilled Masgouf fish and bread, it resembles a smaller version of Baghdad.

Thousands of Iraqis fled to Egypt during the US occupation (from 2003 – 2011) and have settled down in 6^th of October City, a quiet and relatively remote area compared to an overcrowded Cairo, and they have established restaurants and cafés that attract Egyptians.

Iraqis continued to be successful in Egypt for several years until the outbreak of the Arab Spring in 2011. Economic and security situations in Egypt deteriorated, and Syrians, new refugees and competitors just as skilled as Iraqis, arrived in Cairo.

“The economic situation is worsening by the day, especially with the huge influx of Syrians to Egypt and their establishment of commercial projects,” says Abu Seif, who has been in Egypt since 2005 and owns an Iraqi bakery. “We now share customers with them, and rents have risen significantly. In 2005, I used to rent this bakery for 3,000 Egyptian pounds (US $383 per month), but I now pay 10,000 Egyptian pounds (US $1,276).”

Ahmad Qaissi, a 30-year-old Iraqi engineer says: “I left Iraq in 2005 with my family to escape destruction and sectarian violence that almost killed us, on several occasions.” Qaissi migrated along with his father, an army pilot in Iraq, and established a large Iraqi food shop in the Mohandesseen area in Cairo. “We had Egyptian and Arab customers,” says Qaissi. “We however had to close the shop and move to a tiny one in 6^th of October City.”

Qaissi blames his losses on the arrival of Syrians opening their distinguished food restaurants. “We now only rely on Iraqi customers since Syrian restaurants attract Egyptians and other Arabs.”

Unlike Syrians who succeeded not only in establishing restaurants and cafés but also in some industrial areas – Iraqis have only thrived in the gastronomy sector. “Syrian investments in Egypt during 2013 were in the areas of food processing, textile industries and chemical factories, in addition to food shops,” says Omar Habbal, a Syrian businessman whose assets were frozen in Syria.

Zamzam Mall in 6^th of October City has become a cynosure for a large number of Syrians and fans of Syrian cuisine. Syrian traders control over two-thirds of the mall’s stores.

Labour laws don’t discriminate

Syrian and Iraqi traders alike complain about some local laws they consider to be interfering their economic activity. Abu Seif says Egyptian laws require over 70,000 Egyptian pounds (US $8,900) in a bank account to start a business, which is a huge barrier for many Iraqis, forcing some of them to partner up with Egyptians.

Habbal believes that the Egyptian Labor Act restricts Syrian projects because it requires that foreign workers constitute no more than 10 percent of the total number of employees. He wants that Syrians are excluded from this provision because their numbers are huge and they are in desperate need of jobs.

The conflict in Syria, says Habbal, “forced 95 percent of Syrian factories to close and their owners have travelled to Turkey because there are more facilities there compared to Egypt.”

Ibrahim Ahmad was the owner of a chain of restaurants in Syria but he lost everything and now works as a shift administrator in a Syrian restaurant in Zamzam Mall. “I arrived in Cairo four years ago, but I could not bring my family in because of the Egyptian restrictions on Syrian entry, so they went to Turkey,” says Ahmad. “The situation here is very complex because the restaurant I work in has been trying in vain to obtain a license for more than two years, knowing that it provides jobs for more than 30 Syrians and over 20 Egyptians.”

Sudanese have been coming to Egypt for several decades and are still immigrating as the crises in Sudan intensifies. Their work in Egypt is limited to smuggling, importing Sudanese products and exporting Egyptian products to Sudan. Most of them work in Cairo, especially in the Ataba area.

Sultan, a Sudanese smuggler in Sufi Street in Ataba, says 80 percent of products sold in Sudan come from Egypt via smugglers. We also bring Sudanese products to Cairo, such as henna and therapeutic herbs, which attract Sudanese as well as Egyptian customers.