On a horizon where building silhouettes jaggedly draw uneven lines against a fading colour palette that gradually bleeds from golden into orange, the last rays of sunlight filter through the dusty and hazy atmosphere.
Meanwhile, a hushed silence, with sporadic hints of tension, precedes a peaceful quietness: minutes before 6 pm, this year’s iftar time in Cairo — the moment Muslims break their Ramadan fast — often finds people hurrying towards homes, mosques, and eateries to end their day of fasting.
The sharp edges of empty stomachs soon soften into the warmth of early spring in the city and the unique peacefulness that only certain times during the holy month bestow upon the sprawling 25-million-people metropolis.
However, amidst the millions of Egyptians who call this place home, many other people find themselves experiencing Ramadan far from their countries and loved ones.
Forced displacement has compelled Sudanese and Palestinians to seek refuge in the bordering nation, a place both equally welcoming and poignantly reminiscent of what they have left behind.
Ali Mahdi, a seventy-eight-year-old Sudanese actor, is no stranger to this city. As the former president of the Arab Artists Association, he would often visit Egypt’s capital for both pleasure and work.
His diplomatic passport once opened doors to nearly every country in the world, but now the conflict in his homeland forces him, still holding diplomatic paperwork, to apply for visas to most Western countries. The very war that has now turned the two-time UNESCO Artist for Peace into a refugee.
“Sometimes we used to come to Cairo, from Sudan, to spend Ramadan here. We [used to] go to Hussain. [This year], until now, I didn’t pray in one of these big mosques,” he says.
The actor speaks with the calmness and warmth of someone who does not fear God but submits in acceptance of all His will.
“I am not the one who is feeling [their] pain because I am out of my country. I’m feeling pain [because] I want to go back to help my people,” he continues.
“I can take a coffee now; I can eat. But they can’t. Sometimes you feel that as a human you are sharing this, but whatever you are feeling, you are not part of it,” he states. “There is a difference. I know some of my family now, they didn’t eat maybe for two days.”
Supporting the vulnerable
Not long after the actor arrived in Egypt in June 2023, following the outbreak of war in Sudan, he and his friends observed that many Sudanese people in the country were facing financial difficulties, with some depleting their savings and others living in extreme poverty.
“Many people came with difficulties of income. And they are living in very difficult places. If you go there, they are very poor, so they need support,” he says.
Two years ago, he and his colleagues, including ministers and social workers, discussed ways to support vulnerable individuals, leading to the establishment of an organisation called ‘Isnad’, meaning support in English.
Initially, the organisation focused on providing food parcels and essential supplies such as blankets during the cold winter.
Their efforts were supported by Egyptians, wealthy Sudanese donors in both Egypt and the global diaspora, the Sudanese embassy, and organisations like the Egyptian Food Bank.
With the former Egyptian prime minister as chairman, Isnad became legally registered last December, facilitating its operations.
Isnad is now distributing food baskets to help people celebrate throughout Ramadan by supporting both families, individuals, and smaller Sudanese organisations operating in different areas of Cairo and across Egypt.
“We don’t have that many resources, but some people are very kind during Ramadan. They contribute but prefer to remain anonymous,” he says. “I remember we had some activities for Isnad, where people covered the costs, rented the venue, and paid for the hall without wanting recognition.”
Stepping up support
A significant number of Sudanese individuals are stepping up to help, some acting anonymously, and others trying their best to reach people in need by any means.
Shaker Omer, a humanitarian worker who arrived in Cairo when the war broke out in Sudan, manages the operations of the US-based Sudanese Diaspora Network (SDN) in Egypt.
As part of his work, he helped raise $20,000 in addition to the $200,000 collected by the organisation for distribution between Sudan and Egypt. However, beyond his role at SDN, he also takes it upon himself to distribute aid using his personal car.
“I went to specific areas in Cairo that I know,” he says. “Even without war, without conflict, people there are in need — places like Faisal. I went there and asked around. I found many people who had just arrived from Sudan that same day. They had nothing, not even clothes to wear.”
At the start of Ramadan, SDN distributed 1,000 food baskets across Egypt and Sudan, with Shaker personally delivering some in various parts of Cairo.
“I wanted to reach different people,” he explains, recalling he delivered food in areas like Badr City or Helwan.
Sudanese women’s rights activist and gender researcher Khadega Eldewehi, who fled to Egypt with her sister when the war broke out two years ago, felt compelled to help other Sudanese people facing hardship.
She plays a vital role by using her personal phone to directly connect with those in need, assisting individuals and families without the support of any organisations or middlemen.
Determined to make a difference, she created a group called ‘Shnu Na’amal’ (translating to What Do We Do? in English), where she and her friends could brainstorm ways to support those in need.
Today, through her Facebook page and with the help of other volunteers, she provides food, clothing, dignity kits for women, and assistance with accommodation expenses to those who reach out for help.
Like Shaker, Khadega’s team also sent food baskets for Ramadan to over 280 families on the outskirts of Cairo and plans to distribute another 100 throughout the rest of the month.
However, since Khadega’s initiative is not registered as a formal organisation in Egypt, the team faces bureaucratic challenges in carrying out their work.
“There are some restrictions to receive big sums of money. So, if I go to Western Union too often, maybe they [the authorities] might question me,” she says.
“I feel depressed because most people are just asking for basic necessities,” she notes.
Yet, whenever Khadega feels she can’t provide, she looks for an alternative solution. “I have some Egyptian colleagues who try to advise me on where these people can go,” she explains.
Overcoming obstacles
Like Khadega, many others have launched initiatives to support those in need within their communities, without relying on assistance from the authorities or other organisations.
In Egypt, Palestinians are not recognised as refugees but rather as individuals residing temporarily in the country, a status justified under the pretext of not cooperating with Israel’s ethnic cleansing.
As a result, they are unable to access public resources or obtain work permits, leaving the community struggling to sustain basic aspects of life, such as rent and food.
To address this, the Sanad (Support) Initiative — a grassroots, volunteer-led organisation founded by displaced Palestinians to assist their fellow compatriots in Gaza and Cairo — was established by Amal Awni, a 28-year-old social development graduate and former youth activist from Gaza.
The initiative offers essential support, including meals, bread, and health packages for families in Rafah’s shelters and tent communities, while also assisting displaced Palestinians in Cairo with food, rent, medical care, clothing, and organising support groups and social gatherings to foster community.
Funded by individual and organisational donations, the initiative shares updates and encourages contributions through Instagram, though specific donor details are not publicly disclosed.
At the start of Ramadan, Sanad provided daily iftar meals for the most vulnerable members of the community. However, due to a lack of resources, these efforts are now on hold.
“We are currently waiting for more donations so we can resume iftar meals,” says Amal.
But social class factors do not spare Gazans from the pain of never-ending uncertainty.
A day after Israel violated the ceasefire agreement and resumed the indiscriminate bombing of the Strip — murdering 400 people, half of whom were children, marking one of the deadliest days since the genocide began — Shoukry Soultan, a 34-year-old journalist who left Gaza just over a year ago, stares into the void.
His wife, Bisan, a twenty-seven-year-old doctor who used to work at Al-Andonisi Hospital, joined him a few weeks after he left the Strip. They were among the last fortunate few who managed to flee before Israel took control over the border with Egypt, violating the Camp David Accords.
Bisan is now preparing for a set of interviews in April that will provide her with the chance to study a Masters in War & Psychiatry through a scholarship at London’s King’s College.
While she stays home to study, making the most of the time she has until the deadline, her cousin Hakeem and Shoukry join a group of friends for iftar.
Rebuilding the people and souls inside them
During the final moments of sunlight before the breaking of the fast, a group of people from across the globe gather on a small sailboat near Zamalek Island, one of Cairo’s most affluent areas.
As everyone catches up, exchanging hungry smiles and wishing each other a blessed Ramadan, Shoukry and Hakeem remain quiet. They sit in a corner, gazing into the sunset horizon, lost in the vastness of the Nile River.
The call to prayer begins, and the boat slips from the port, the peace of the moment shattered by the sounds of chatter and plates laden with dishes representing the cuisines of the various homelands.
After eating, everyone sits together, stomachs full, engaging in happy, candid conversations as the night gently settles.
Shoukry and Hakeem do not take part in them. Instead, they sit in silence, until their turbulent thoughts — tinged with guilt for their presence in this safe haven, amidst such beauty, while their homeland is being bombed again — are broken by a phone call.
“It’s Samy,” Shoukry murmurs to Hakeem, and they both rise swiftly, making their way towards the secluded bow of the boat to answer.
After a brief pause, their faces shift from an expressionless mask of numbness to their eyes reflecting a silent pain.
The news is grim: just minutes ago, as several families gathered amidst the ruins in Gaza’s northwestern area of Beit Lahia Al-Slateen to break their fast, Israel bombed them.
While Shoukry and Hakeem were partaking in their iftar in Cairo, their friends, gathered to break their fast at the same time in Gaza, unawarely shared their final moments.
“Thirty-one martyrs in our neighbourhood,” says Hakeem.
“They just bombed metres away from my house,” is the only sentence Shoukry manages to add.
The boat ride, lasting another hour, becomes a gilded cage in which their silent tears trace paths down their faces as they try not to disturb the happiness of their friends, oblivious to what’s happening, while they play music and sip Sobbiya, Carcadee, and Tamarind juice — typical beverages during the holy month — savouring another Ramadan evening.
Suddenly, a text message pulls them back: Shoukry’s brother, who was sitting with the group, has suffered only a minor injury to his leg and will be home from the hospital soon.
A sense of relief washes over, but it will only last until the next news alerts about the areas where their families live begin to pop up again.
Like Shoukry and Hakeem, Ali cannot help but look back at his country from exile.
“Rebuilding the country is not about rebuilding a window or a door and wall. This is not in my interest. [I intend to] rebuild the people, the souls inside them,” Ali says. “Art can support the people. I believe very much in my country.”
Alejandro Matrán is a journalist, actor, and musician. He is also the founder of @thenewmidd
Follow him on X: @AlejandroMatran
Javier Jennings Mozo is an audio-visual freelance journalist based in Cairo who specialises in social issues. He has previously covered the Balkans and Spain
Follow him on X: @javierjenningsm
