They ran away from home but many got caught,
From Eritrea and Sudan to the camps of Holot,
If it was a tough life before,
It still is, less or more,
These folk want rights not a curfew and mugshot.
Last Friday, about 1,000 protesters set up camp along the Israel-Egypt border. They were all shooed away by Israeli police and immigration officials and taken to a prison where they will have to explain their case to a committee who will then decide what is to be done to them.
Who are these people?
Mostly from the African countries of Sudan and Eritrea, these people are illegal immigrants who fled their nation and entered Israel through its Egyptian border in search of a new home.
What are they fleeing from?
Both Sudan and Eritrea are countries rife with human rights violations and very poor living conditions. This is the reason thousands of their people choose to take the dangerous option of escaping their homes into other countries where they believe they can live better lives.
Many come to Israel because it is the only Western country to share a border with Africa, and Israel has signed a UN deal agreeing to not send back people to dangerous countries. However, sneaking across borders is a violation of law, and these people are now termed illegal immigrants in their new country, unless they follow and pass certain procedures.
How does Israel feel about these people?
Some people think that these Africans have only come to Israel to get money, thereby feeding off Israel’s economy. They fear that the more immigrants they let in, the more their Jewish identity will be threatened. There are also complaints that these immigrants indulge in crime and make neighbourhoods unsafe.
Where do these people live?
The illegal immigrants are not allowed to live among and work with the Israeli public. The government has built detention camps for them. Friday’s protestors were from the Holot “open” facility.
But the occupants of the facility, many of whom have been in Israel for years, complain that the camp is anything but open. They are required to mark their attendance at the camp at least twice a day, are not allowed to have jobs outside, and are locked in at night.
The protestors are unhappy that they have been detained there indefinitely and are appealing to the international community and the Israeli government to grant them asylum.
How many refugees are we talking about?
According to the UN, there are currently over 53,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Israel.
