CAIRO, Egypt — Two Palestinian refugees from Syria, Youssef Farid Youssef and Hamza Issa, currently spend their days and nights at Cairo International Airport in a national security limbo furnished by fast-food chains and onlooking security guards.
The Egyptian government is keeping them here with a choice, of sorts — deportation to the Gaza Strip or Syria — one week after another 13 Palestinian-Syrian refugees traveling with Youssef and Issa were forcibly deported to Damascus on Aug. 14, according to Amnesty International. Among the 13 was Youssef's father, who he says is now staying in a refugee camp in Damascus.