Story

Egypt: Homeless in Cairo

December 12, 2011 | Pulitzer Center
By
Sharif Abdel Kouddous and Nicole Salazar, for the Pulitzer Center, Cairo, Egypt

A makeshift camp in front of the state TV and radio headquarters in downtown Cairo erected in protest by families forcibly evicted from their homes in the wake of the revolution. Image by Nicole Salazar. Egypt, July 2011.

A homeless woman sits with her family in the camp in front of the state TV and radio headquarters in downtown Cairo. Image by Nicole Salazar. Egypt, July 2011.

A homeless man holds up a protest sign describing conditions at the camp. Image by Nicole Salazar. Egypt, July 2011.

Two homeless children inside their tent. Image by Nicole Salazar. Egypt, July 2011.

A tent camp on the outskirts of Cairo set up by the transitional government for families forcibly evicted from their homes in the wake of the revolution. Image by Nicole Salazar. Egypt, July 2011.

A homeless woman inside her tent at a camp on the outskirts of Cairo set up by the transitional government. Image by Nicole Salazar. Egypt, July 2011.

A homeless woman holds woman holds her baby inside her tent. Image by Nicole Salazar. Egypt, July 2011.

Two homeless children sit inside their tent. Image by Nicole Salazar. Egypt, July 2011.

The camp on the outskirts of Cairo. Image by Nicole Salazar. Egypt, July 2011.

The tent city set up by the transitional government. Image by Nicole Salazar. Egypt, July 2011.

A homeless woman inside her tent. Image by Nicole Salazar. Egypt, July 2011.

In the wake of the Egyptian revolution that began on Jan. 25, 2011, an estimated 1,500 families were forcibly evicted from their homes. The transitional government set up a tent camp on the outskirts of Cairo to temporarily house them. The camp lacked adequate sanitation and access to clean drinking water. After months of living in squalid, overcrowded conditions, dozens of families decided to take their struggle to the streets and erected a makeshift camp in front of the state TV and radio building in downtown Cairo.