Surviving in Cairo as a Closed-File Refugee: Socio-Economic and Protection Challenges

Using data generated from 29 focus groups with 186 closed-file and rejected asylum seekers residing in Cairo, as well as interviews with community leaders and service providers, this report explores their livelihood experiences by focusing on their socio-economic conditions and protection challenges. Discussions focused on the important aspects of livelihoods which include housing, education, health and employment. Their legal status, access to justice, and experiences of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) were also explored. In spite of the barriers that many of them routinely face, the target groups communicated their coping strategies that help them survive in Egypt and overcome the structural barriers they face as a consequence of their legal status.