Cairo, Egypt
Fatma Soleman's small table at a special International Women's Day bazaar in a suburb of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, was a bustle of activity as visitors admired handmade jewelry, colorful bags and gold-embroidered wallets on display.
For the past 12 years Soleman has been teaching hundreds of refugee women in Cairo how to create handicrafts and successfully sell them. "I teach women that they can do it," she said. "I'm working to help refugees become self-reliant."
Since she fled Eritrea 20 years ago, Soleman has been driven by a desire to move beyond the difficult life of being a refugee. "There are jobs if you want to work [in Egypt], but it depends on you," she added.
Egypt is a signatory to the Geneva Convention for Refugees, but it bans them from seeking lawful employment, posing a survival challenging for the refugees.
Figures provided by NGO Amera, which provides assistance to refugees, show there are at least 500,000 undocumented migrants in Egypt. Of these, only 43,000 are recognized as refugees, of whom 12,000 receive a monthly allowance of US$33-66 from the UN Refugee Agency.
Soleman fled what was then part of Ethiopia when she was 17. With no educational or professional background, she took up handicrafts as a way to earn a little money. Soon, she realized that other women could do this.
"There was no program from any NGO to teach people how to start their own business," she explained. Even today, most educational opportunities for refugees in Cairo focus on computer and language skills.
She partnered with a well-known local NGO and started to teach women how to make jewelry. "The market was very bad, and women are in competition with Egyptian crafters," she says. Then she started teaching her students how to approach small handicraft stores throughout Cairo, and seek business opportunities and exposure through selling at bazaars.
"We push [these women] a lot to succeed," she says.
Popular program
The program grew popular with women refugees, and Soleman says she now has about 50 students, most of whom are from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan, but also from Iraq and Palestine. There are even a few Egyptian women.
With the help of five volunteers, she offers classes in crochet, glass-painting, jewelry-making and sewing. This year was also special because her program started receiving financial help from the American University in Cairo, where the training takes place.
The university provides them with material and sewing machines, and also helps with marketing.
Still, it is difficult to earn a living through handicrafts in Cairo, since the profits are very low compared to the amount of time women put in. "People like easy work," she said with a smile.
While work opportunities are greater for refugee women than men, many women only work as maids.
"Women don't have protection," Soleman added. Employers will sometimes not provide food, or will not pay them their monthly salary of US$65-80. Beyond the money, Soleman believes her program - or any work, for that matter - also helps women move on.
"Many refugees don't accept their life in Egypt, so they're really depressed." Working keeps them busy and gives them a chance to meet other people, preventing them from dwelling on their traumatic experiences, she says.
Back at her table, a customer picks up a long necklace made of large orange-and-brown beads. "How much?" she asks. "Sixty pounds," replies Soleman, or about $10. The customer hands over the money.
She has plans for her program, and they're all about finding new marketing ideas, she says. "I want to sell more," she added.
- Provided by Integrated Regional Information Networks.
Twitter: @ihavenet
- Sick and Tired of the Middle East
- The Arab Spring at One
- Arab Spring Democracy: A Win for Women?
- Iran's Ahmadinejad Down But Not Quite Out
- Attack on Iran Would be a Mistake
- School Debate Shows Deep Divisions in Israel
- Youth Aren't Being Served in Saudi Arabia
- Saudi Arabia and the Muslim Brotherhood: Unexpected Adversaries
- Saudi Students Stage Rowdy Protests
- Netanyahu Fails to Convince Israelis on Iran Threat
- Iran's Domestic Struggle Continues
- Crisis-Managing United States - Iran Relations
- The Iraq We Left Behind
- NATO's Victory in Libya
- If America Won't Lead Against Iran, It Should Get Out of the Way
- United States and Israel Need to Agree on Strike Against Iran
- Israeli Attack on Iran Could Become a Religious War
- United States Should Discourage Israel From Striking Iran
- Threat of U.S. Strike is Vital to Deterring Iran
- United States and Israel Should Push for Regime Change in Iran
- Solving Syria Requires Separating Myth From Reality
- Questioning Intervention in Syria
- Yemen: Tortured for Ransom
- Honor Killings Defy Attempts at Reform
- Egypt: Helping Refugee Women to Fend for Themselves
- Egypt: Fears of Malnutrition Amid Increasing Poverty
- Lebanon: Tussle Over Gender Violence Law
- Lebanon: Boost for Relatives of Civil War Missing
- Red Sea Bridge Back on the Drawing Board
- Writing on the Wall: Israel and its Christians
- Get Ready for War with Iran
- Panetta: U.S. Will Do 'Everything' to Stop Iran
- Next Fight in Egypt and Tunisia Will Be Among The Islamists
- Tunisia at a Crossroads
- Egypt's Other Revolution: Modernizing the Military-Industrial Complex
- Clock Ticking for Egypt's Finances
- Port Said Dialogue Aims to Restore Calm
- Egyptian Strike Fails to Mobilize Masses
- The Egyptian Revolution One Year On
- Russia and China Defy Morality by Backing Syria's Assad
- Inside the Anti-Uprising Movement in Syria
- Jihadist Opportunities in Syria
- Syrian Youth Against Tyranny
- Worrying Signs for Food Security in Syria
- Syria's Chaos Reaches Its Kitchens
- Syria is Trending Toward the Libya Model
- Many Non-Military Options in Syria
- Syrian Intervention Need Not Be Military-Focused
- Too Many Obstacles Stand in Way of Syrian Intervention
- Intervening in Syria is Tough, but Civilian Victims Deserve It
- Syria: Two Car Bombs Hit Security Facilities
Copyright © 2012 AHN - All Rights Reserved