60 Country-Specific Information — IMPEDIMENTS — Repression of civil society organizations · NGOs <strong>in</strong> Egypt have been fac<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>g harassment, censorship, raids <strong>and</strong> persecution. They are be<strong>in</strong>g required to navigate <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly complex bureaucratic mechanisms, with permissions required for nearly all activities. We don’t use state theatre or big theatres because we have issues with censorship. We don’t want any of our works to be censored. We try to work with cultural <strong>in</strong>stitutes to avoid censorship. <strong>–</strong> Adel Abdelwahab, <strong>Art</strong>istic director, Hewar for Independent Theater & Perform<strong>in</strong>g <strong>Art</strong>s, Alex<strong>and</strong>ria · The most relevant laws, <strong>in</strong> terms of mobility, are those that require CSOs to apply for permission to host foreign artists. For example, if a Moroccan artist wants to come to Reflection <strong>Art</strong>s, I have to get a permission for him to work with me. If there are any fees, <strong>in</strong>come from a performance, etc., I have to get a permit. If we do the project <strong>and</strong> I’m still wait<strong>in</strong>g for permission, I also have to get another permit to send money abroad. <strong>–</strong> Ahmed Eldeeb, Co-founder <strong>–</strong> Director, Reflection for <strong>Art</strong>s Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g & Development, Alex<strong>and</strong>ria · Because laws are often passed fast <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong> secrecy, cultural operators <strong>and</strong> artists can easily be caught <strong>in</strong> legal traps. Restrictions on receiv<strong>in</strong>g foreign fund<strong>in</strong>g · The regulations on receiv<strong>in</strong>g foreign funds are plac<strong>in</strong>g particularly tight constra<strong>in</strong>ts on artists’ mobility. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to Freedom House, “all NGO fund<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> basic management decisions are also subject to regulators’ approval.” <strong>Art</strong>ists report that this process can be extremely lengthy. We have to report every step that we take <strong>and</strong> every grant that we get. The last one we got was from SouthMed CV, but we didn’t get it immediately, because we needed permission from the authorities. We applied for the permission <strong>in</strong> January 2017 <strong>and</strong> waited until October. The whole time we were manag<strong>in</strong>g our relationship — E G Y P T — with SouthMed CV. They asked us “what is your action plan?”. We said, “don’t worry”. We only got the permission <strong>and</strong> the grant <strong>in</strong> the last 3 months. We didn’t have the chance to use the funds wisely, as we had planned earlier. <strong>–</strong> Ahmed Eldeeb, Co-founder <strong>and</strong> director, Reflection for <strong>Art</strong>s Tra<strong>in</strong><strong>in</strong>g & Development, Alex<strong>and</strong>ria · Faced with this situation, funds are ceas<strong>in</strong>g operations <strong>in</strong> Egypt, leav<strong>in</strong>g artists <strong>in</strong> an even tighter spot. Visa restrictions · Entry to Egypt has gotten <strong>in</strong>creas<strong>in</strong>gly difficult <strong>in</strong> recent years, with lengthy application processes at embassies abroad <strong>and</strong> arbitrary refusals. · Several respondents noted particular difficulty for Tunisians to enter Egypt (corroborated by respondents <strong>in</strong> Tunisia <strong>–</strong> see Tunisia section) Egyptian embassies abroad are hard to deal with when it comes to ask<strong>in</strong>g for visas for Arab citizens. Tunisians <strong>and</strong> Moroccans have such a hard time gett<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong>to Egypt <strong>–</strong> they get many rejections. <strong>–</strong> Basem Abuarab, Executive director, Al Moharek Book<strong>in</strong>g Agency for Independent Arabic Music, Cairo · Moreover, Egyptians themselves must obta<strong>in</strong> permissions to travel to certa<strong>in</strong> countries <strong>and</strong>/ or security clearance at the Cairo airport. Travel restrictions for men <strong>and</strong> women · Young men from the military service age need to get permission from military <strong>in</strong> order to travel. · Women need to get a permission/confirmation from their families that they are travell<strong>in</strong>g to certa<strong>in</strong> countries. Ambivalent identification with <strong>Africa</strong> / Discrim<strong>in</strong>ation · Many respondents noted that Egyptians do not identify as <strong>Africa</strong>ns, not<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> particular Egypt’s unique geographic position<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> greater identification to the MENA region · Racism is also extremely prevalent <strong>in</strong> Egypt, target<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> particular the Nubian <strong>and</strong> Sudanese communities as well as <strong>Africa</strong>n migrants. Nubian resistance movements are frequently met with violence <strong>and</strong> repression.
61 Country-Specific Information Di <strong>–</strong> Egy Festival 2017 open<strong>in</strong>g at Darb1718. Photo courtesy of Elham Kattab / Di <strong>–</strong> Egy Festival
