CAIRO, 16 January 2008 (IRIN) - When two boatloads of would-be Egyptian migrants sank off the coast of Sicily in early November and many people died or were never found, the Egyptian media highlighted what has become a growing problem.

Illegal immigration from Egypt to Europe has been steadily climbing over the past 10 years, according to Wagdi Abdel Aziz, director of the Cairo-based South Centre for Human Rights.

The exact number of illegal migrants is unknown, but it is estimated that 10,000-20,000 Egyptians illegally set sail for Europe every year, said Abdel Aziz. The number of those who make it to shore is not known.

In the November incident, for example, of the 184 passengers who set out in the two boats 64 were found alive and 40 dead. The fate of the rest remains unknown, Abdel Aziz said.

"No one can know these numbers," Abdel Aziz said. "We can estimate that thousands of them are dying every year."

Often paying US$2,700-US$5,400, more young Egyptians, mostly male, are undertaking the arduous journey, usually in a bid to reach Cyprus, Sicily, Malta or Athens, hoping for new lives for themselves and their families, Abdel Aziz said.

Would-be migrants often sell everything they own, borrow from friends and family and sometimes even sell family land, to collect this amount of money in the hope of winning it back in Europe.

"They are risking their money and their lives," Abdel Aziz said. "They are selling everything they have. If his wife or his mother has some gold, she will sell it for him."

Dire economic situation

The drastic measures that a large number of Egyptians are taking attest to the dire economic situation at home, said John Salevurakis, an assistant professor of economics at the American University in Cairo. In Egypt, it is common to meet taxi drivers with engineering degrees and office clerks with salaries as low as 150 LE ($27) a month.

"People are unlikely to engage in that illegal immigration without some sort of desperation," said Salevurakis. "This is something you need to do when you are running out of options, and that speaks not just of the economy but also social options."

As of 2006, the unemployment rate in Egypt stood at 10.3 percent, not counting those who are underemployed, according to official statistics.

Job opportunities are scarce and, for most people, salaries are low, but the cost of living is continuously rising. Many people find it hard to survive.

"Egypt has a lot of money but it doesn't get to the people," said Mohamed Mahmoud Saeed, a 23-year-old student. "Many people in Egypt dream of leaving - most of the young people, and even the married people, would love to leave. They don't know what they'll do when they get out of Egypt, they just want to leave."

According to the World Bank's World Development Indicators for 2006, 43.9 percent of all Egyptians live on less than $2 a day.

"Infectious disease"

"Just look around Cairo, people are living on top of houses and begging," said Barbara Harrell-Bond, a professor of Forced Migration and Refugee Studies at the American University of Cairo. "In our age of so-called globalisation everyone can watch TV, so it's no wonder there is some kind of infectious disease that if you migrate, there is opportunity."

In addition to would-be Egyptian migrants others from countries such as Sudan, Senegal, Iraq and the occupied Palestinian territories, also come to Egypt specifically to be trafficked or take on the sea voyage after having exhausted job options.

Egyptian fishing boats meant only for regional waters are favoured as the mode of transportation for human traffickers, charging lower sums of about LE15,000 ($2,700), Abdel Aziz said. More expensive trips, costing about LE30,000, will transport the migrants on larger ships, leaving them about 1km off the destination's coast for them to swim the rest of the way.

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