CAIRO (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st April, 2020) After Egypt shut down its borders and suspended all air traffic, isolating itself from the rest of the world in an attempt to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, many Egyptians soon came to the rescue of their compatriots, who had found themselves stranded abroad, by offering on Facebook a couch or money.
LET MY PEOPLE GO: 10-MILLION DIASPORA AWAY FROM EGYPT'S LAND
According to the Egyptian Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), at least 560,000 Egyptians are currently living in Italy, the most heavily-hit country in Europe and the second in the world after the United States. Half a million Egyptians is quite an impressive figure for a 9.5 million diaspora in the world. For this reason, the lion's share of social media messages is offering help in Milan, Rome, Bergamo and other Italian cities.
"If someone in Italy, specifically in Milan, needs any help, for example, your flight was canceled, or your money ran out and you need food, or have nowhere to stay - write me a message, I will help you. Let's help each other in such difficult conditions," a Facebook post reads.
This is just one example of a typical post with the 'We will support you' hashtag in the travel Secrets group on Facebook, which has almost 2 million people.
The project was launched after many countries suspended air traffic and thousands of people were stranded in foreign countries, the group's administrator Bahaa Farouk told Sputnik.
"We posted a message about our readiness to help before even Egypt canceled flights, we offered help to everyone who was in a difficult situation abroad, did not know how to return to Egypt or how to contact the airline," he said.
Meanwhile, the group's administrators called on Egyptians living in Europe and Asia to help their compatriots.
According to Farouk, the Facebook group soon received many messages from diaspora members ready to help Egyptians in Asia, Europe and the Americas.
Members of the Travel Secrets group had to contact various airlines on behalf of stranded travelers, who were unable to do so themselves, for ticket refunds or exchange.
According to Farouk, many Egyptians who are still stuck in Bali, the Maldives and Thailand, are mainly those who traveled there for a honeymoon or as tourists. Their visas will soon expire. The volunteer added that the severity of the current situation is not as bad is it was in mid-March.
Egyptian students studying abroad have also faced difficulties. Some of them are unable to return to their homeland, others to renew their visas. A student named Hiba had turned to Facebook in dire need of contacting the Egyptian Embassy in Moscow. Members of the group started posting additional phone numbers, and as a result, she managed to contact the embassy, and her university in Moscow helped her solve her expired visa problem.
According to Farouk, there are now WhatsApp groups for each country with stranded Egyptians who cannot leave. Such chats mostly provide verified information on charter flights.
"For example, we inform you that the EgyptAir flight is departing at 12.00 from the airport, let's say in Bangkok, so that citizens have time to go to the airport," the group's administrator said, adding that they were fighting all types of fake news.
Initially, the group, with about 2 million members, was created to discuss tourist trips and exchange useful tips.
The Egyptian authorities continue their efforts to evacuate citizens. On Sunday, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Hassan Shoukry said that Egypt had developed a plan to return the Egyptians from abroad.
In the coming days, a charter flight is expected to evacuate Egyptians from the United States and Tunisia.
On Tuesday, the Egyptian Health Ministry announced that every national returning to the country would be required to sign a document before boarding the plane and to remain in quarantine for 14 days.
On the same day, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly declared a curfew from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. local time (17:00 to 04:00 GMT) starting on Wednesday to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Egyptian Information Minister Osama Haikal said that the government had decided to prolong the suspension of air traffic until April 15.
To date, Egypt has registered 710 confirmed coronavirus cases, 46 of which have been fatal.
