The Persistence of Social Movements in Egypt: the Case of the Al-Warraq Island

Although Egypt is witnessing an unprecedented wave of repression, social movements are still happening in this country. Nevertheless, the repertoire of these movements has evolved quickly since 2013, with a drastic diminution of traditional forms of protest (road blocking, attacks against public offices or officials, strikes, demonstrations and sit-ins), and the rise of new ones (filling of complaints and issuing of statements). Apart for a few exceptions, almost all of the protests of the past few years were strictly local. Among them, the movement of the Al-Warraq inhabitants – an island on the Nile, in the heart of Cairo – was one of the most broadly exposed to international media coverage. Around 100.000 people are living on this island, their incomes coming mainly from farming, fishing, or running small shops. Since the current economic context is characterized by a will of the government to attract foreign investment in real estate, to the profit of new actors (the army as a constructor and investors from Gulf countries), the government is planning to urbanize this island, threatening the livelihoods of its inhabitants. In 2017, the programmed destruction of 700 buildings started, but stopped soon, after clashes erupted between the inhabitants and security forces, causing one death and several injuries. Since then, the inhabitants have filled complaints in front of the administrative court, claiming they own property rights over their habitations. In 2017, a “council of the families” of the island has been constituted, and is asking to be involved in the elaboration of the urbanization plan. Part of this repertoire is inherited from a previous protest movement: in 1998, the prime minister Atef Ebeid promulgated a decree transforming Warraq into a national reserve, and ordering the eviction of its inhabitants. At that time, these latter organized sit-ins and demonstrations, obtained the support of civil society organizations and political parties, filled a complaint in front the administrative court, and eventually won their case in 2002. Nowadays, they cannot except any kind of organized support inside the country, or any form of coverage by local media. On the other hand, the UNO special rapporteur Leilani Farha, after an official visit in Egypt, recommended to the government to find a solution similar to the agreement previously reached with the inhabitants of another Cairo’s neighborhood, the “Maspero triangle”. Nevertheless, a link exists between this kind of local protest and the national situation, since during the demonstrations of September 2019 against the rule of president Sissi, Warraq was one of the few places were protests happened in Cairo, despite the existence of a huge security apparatus designed to prevent them. How the changes of the socio-economic and political context explain the evolution of the repertoire of this social movement in twenty years? How do the promoters of this movement fail or succeed in mobilizing national or international support? What are the process of politicization of the inhabitants of Warraq? This paper examines these questions through and analysis of media coverage and a collection of data on a macro level.