'We are not dirt': Forced evictions in Egypt's informal settlements

More than 12 million people live in Egypt’s sprawling informal settlements (slums). Over the years, the authorities have treated these people with contempt, subjected them to unlawful forced evictions and threatened them with arbitrary arrest under repressive emergency legislation if they dared to protest. The dramatic political changes that have happened since 25 January 2011 offer the new Egyptian authorities an historic opportunity to genuinely consult slum-dwellers about their housing, and to work with them to create a brighter and safer future.