The violent conflicts which have taken place in the Horn of Africa since the 1980s have led to an increased number of Darfour immigrants in Egypt, especially in Cairo. While these immigrants wait to be granted the status of refugee by the local bureau of the UNHCR, they have had to struggle on their own to survive and reorganize their lives. Profound gender differences in the immigrants’ experiences have resulted from the cultural norms of the host society as well as the economic structures of the Egyptian city.