Long before the start of the Arab Spring, Syrians in the southern town of Saqba had close ties with Egyptians in Damietta. For generations, the two towns were their countries’ capitals of furniture making, and businessmen and artisans moved back and forth between them. When Syrian President Bashar al Assad’s regime began driving citizens from their homes, many residents of Saqba found Damietta a logical destination. Some had existing relationships with Egyptians there, and Egypt overall was welcoming toward Syrian refugees. Moreover, the cost of living was low, and craftsmen and artisans felt sure they would find jobs in Damietta. And they did. By the summer of 2013, a local NGO reported that there were over 8,700 Syrian refugees living in Damietta. Many found work in furniture factories or workshops. Syrian shops and restaurants took root. Many Syrians settled there permanently and even married Egyptians.

But three months ago, with millions of Egyptians in the streets, the military overthrew President Mohamed Morsi, and life for Syrians in Damietta—and across all of Egypt—suddenly changed. NGO workers in the area describe a complete reversal in behavior. From 1958 to 1961, Syria and Egypt were one country known as the United Arab Republic. Though the union was brief and ultimately unsuccessful, both Syrians and Egyptians would refer to the historical relationship. When Syrian refugees began arriving two years ago, they were welcomed into Egyptians’ homes, offered empty apartments, cash assistance, and whatever else people could spare. Now, stories of strife abound. A Syrian restaurant called Sheikh el Kar was burned to the ground, and many Syrian-owned shops were vandalized and broken into. Last month two seven-year old Egyptian boys from Damietta splashed gas on the leg of an eight-year-old Syrian boy, and lit him on fire. Another 19-year-old refugee from Damascus told me he was attacked on the street and had a rope hung around his neck.

Many Syrian refugees have been fired from their jobs, according to Nesreen Faqousa, the Executive Director of Resala, an organization that supports Syrians in Damietta in partnership with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). “The owners say I don’t need Syrians here,” says Suzan Wardeh, who works with an NGO called Tadamon. Now, “they’re asking about the legal documents for work which…[were] not required before.” Farqousa fears that unemployment among Syrians in Egypt will only increase, and that the aid from international organizations, no longer supplemented by donations from Egyptians, is insufficient to cover the needs of the population.

What’s happening in Damietta is happening to hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees across Egypt. Syrians, along with Palestinians and other foreigners have been the targets of xenophobia and virulent Egyptian nationalism since Morsi’s ouster and the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood. Having fled one hostile and unstable environment, they now find themselves in another. Between aggression from the local population, and increased bureaucratic obstacles and harassment by the state, many Syrians have chosen to leave Egypt, and many more will follow, often heading for even more precarious lives elsewhere.

Most onlookers are at a loss to explain why things changed so quickly. Prior to June 30, much of the aid to Syrians came from Islamic charities and individuals affiliated with Islamist groups. Some observers who work closely with the Syrian community speculate that this led Egyptians to associate Syrians with Islamists. In a speech on June 15, just 18 days before his ouster, Morsi cemented that association when he announced his government’s commitment to “the liberation of the Syrian people.”