It was 57 days since my latest bid for a temporary residency permit in Egypt. So I called the Mugamma, the vast 1940s building in downtown Cairo that handles these matters, to see what was happening.

Brimming with self-confidence, Iman’s hands race between gestures as she shares her thoughts with classmates without speaking. Resisting the limits imposed by her disability, the 24-year-old woman uses sign language to communicate with fellow students at UNRWA’s Gaza Training College.

Summary: By the end of 2002, there were estimated to be 50,000 Palestinians in Egypt (USRC 2002). They had arrived in Egypt over several decades, and fear and occupation of their lands and properties had prevented them from going back to Palestine. In addition to reasons connected with the war and the geographical proximity of Egypt and Palestine, social and professional ties have also brought Palestinians to seek shelter in Egyptian cities and towns.

Earlier this year, the group 1948 Lest We Forget filed an application to the World Monuments Fund (WMF) to include the Palestinian village of Lifta in its 2012 World Monuments Watch List.