Egyptian parish helps Sudanese refugees after protest camp violence

Published: 2006-01-30

JERUSALEM (CNS) -- At least four Sudanese refugee families have decided to return to Sudan from a protest camp in the Egyptian city of Cairo, feeling they would be safer there than in Egypt. At the end of last year, more than 30 refugees were left dead in the wake of violence between Egyptian police and residents of their protest camp. "When you are between a rock and a hard place you really have no choice," said Father Simon Mbuthia in a telephone interview from Cairo. The Kenyan priest's Sakakini Sacred Heart Catholic Church has helped pay for the tickets for the four families. "At least in Sudan they may be harassed, but not because they don't have residency documents. They are having to choose between two very difficult things. It can't be very easy for them," he added.

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