During President Hosni Mubarak’s visit to Italy on Wednesday, displaced expatriate Nubians presented him with a list of demands, including one for the resettlement of Egypt's Nubian community along the shores of Lake Nasser.
The demand comes more than 40 years after Egyptian Nubians were forced to leave the area due to the large-scale flooding that resulted from the construction of Egypt's famous Aswan High Dam.
“The Nubian community has felt neglected and ignored for many decades," the petition reads. "Nubians have been looking forward to the stabilization of water levels in the area so as to be able to return to their original homes."
In their petition, Nubians resident in Italy demanded a presidential decree guaranteeing their right of return and resettlement in the regions of Wadi Kirkir, Garf Husein, Wadi al-Sayalah, Amanda and Subooei, Toomas, Afia, Khor Foraq, Qostol and Adindan. They also demanded that small farmers, fresh university graduates and underprivileged Nubians living in these areas each be provided with five hectares of land and a housing unit.
They further demanded that land in the area be allocated for ventures established by small local investors and that a recent decision by the Housing Ministry to give each Nubian family LE75,000 in exchange for relinquishing its right to resettlement in the area be reversed.
“Just as late president Anwar Sadat was responsible for the return and resettlement of Suez Canal residents following the reconstruction of their towns, the Nubian community anticipates from your Excellency the return to their regions of origin,” the petition reads.
Translated from the Arabic Edition.
