4 Egyptians in 10 want to migrate for work post-revolution

The International Organisation for Migration’s survey of 750 young Egyptians reveals that the closed job market makes migration more appealing than last year, despite their optimism about the future
In a recent survey by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) 41 per cent of the youth in Egypt confirmed that the events post-revolution makes them want to migrate.
The survey was presented on Monday in its final draft during the IOM press conference on safe migration at the Italian Cultural Institute in Zamalek.
According to Pasquale Lupoli, IOM’s MENA region representative, the survey was taken in the last 2 months in order to monitor the shift in Egyptians’ thoughts on migration after the revolution.
The study interviewed 750 Egyptians between the ages of 15 - 29 from 17 different governorates.
"By comparing with last year’s survey, we noticed a slight increase in willingness for migration" summarised Lupoli.
The survey reveals that the first weeks of the revolution didn't seem to influence Egyptian’s decision to migrate. However, the decline in economic activity afterwards and the losses of jobs and incomes acted as a primary push factor for youth who reported intentions to migrate.
When asked what their top five most important issues are, they ranked jobs and employment as a primary issue; then corruption; security; constitutional reform and at the bottom of their list was education and the presidential and parliamentary elections.
Half of the respondents mentioned that the higher salary prospects abroad is the major pull factor for migration. They also favoured Saudi Arabia and UAE compared to the Western world for short-term migration.
Over 80 per cent of the respondents got information about migration either through a relative or a friend living abroad. Fifty per cent of participants said they will be willing to work in jobs that don't match their specialisation and 30 per cent of the youth perceived irregular migration channels as "easy".
When asked about their expectation for the future in Egypt, 63 per cent showed cautious optimism and 80 per cent expected the national economy to improve over the course of the next year.

60 bloggers recount their revolutionary stories in 'Tweets from Tahrir'

Idle, co-editor of the recently published compilation, returns to Cairo to share her inspiration with the bloggers she coordinated with as they discuss their accounts and share their stories of Tahrir

Tweets from Tahrir, edited by NADIA IDLE and ALEX NUNNS, London: OR Publishing, 2011. pp.234

"You People are Hypocrites! You talk about democracy but you won't let me run for President? Where is freedom?!" such were the words of fake Hosny Mubarak on Twitter. If you didn't have a chance to read it before, you will find it in the recently published Tweets from Tahrir.
The book, a compilation of tweets from the 18 day uprising in Tahrir, was published in Europe and the US last March. Co-edited by Nadia Idle and Alex Nunns, the latest book to touch on the 25 January Revolution has been well received by world media for its unique look at the events through the tweets of 60 bloggers.
In her last visit to Cairo, Idle, an Egyptian-British Activist and SOAS scholar, arranged a group meeting with the bloggers at the Windsor Hotel last week to thank them for allowing her to use their tweets and to offer them copies of the book. She also gave a speech about how the idea of using tweets to recount the events of Tahrir came to her and how they would evolve in the book.
A large cross-section of the bloggers were there: Sandmonkey, Gigi Ibrahim and many others were all talking and introducing themselves to the other bloggers with their twitter names.
According to Idle, the book will be launched in Egypt and the Middle East by June and the publishers, OR Books, are planning to translate the book into Hindi as the 25 January Revolution had a strong affect in South East Asian Countries.
 As for translating the book into Arabic, Idle said that some bloggers expressed concern while others refused since they felt  bad translations or being accused for their political words could unnecessarily get them tangled up with the current interim rulers, especially considering that one of the book’s bloggers, Tarek Shalaby , was recently arrested and later released for taking part in the nakba protests in front of Cairo’s Israeli embassy. 
According to the publisher’s website, a portion of the proceeds from the book will be donated to Egyptian grassroots revolutionary movements campaigning for democracy.