The Global Post quotes Rafik Hariri Center Associate Director Tarek Radwan on remittances to Egypt from Libya:
“Remittances have traditionally been ranked as third after the Suez Canal and tourism in Egypt as a contribution to overall GDP … [with] a lot of it coming from Libya,” says Tarek Radwan, associate director for research at the Rafik Hariri Center in Washington, DC.
Radwan says that though strong family and community networks will likely mean that Egyptian migrants returning home will have some support, “a number of these families were actually relying on the money that those people were bringing in and so … that’ll put additional stress on particular families.” He adds that in conjunction with the removal of subsidies and an increase in the price of gasoline and basic commodities, the influx of unemployed workers is likely to “increase a level of desperation.” And the problem may get worse before it gets better.