Sudanese Refugees Being Detained in Israel

ISRAEL-SUDAN: Government reverts to detention policy for Sudanese refugees

TEL AVIV, 27 June 2007 (IRIN) - After a lull of several weeks, the Israeli military have once again begun to arrest Sudanese refugees illegally crossing the Egyptian border into Israel.

In the past month the refugees were released onto the streets of Israel's southern towns and cities, where volunteers from charity organisations tried to help, directing them to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

On 24 June several Sudanese men became the first to be detained in over a month. Six women, and another six children were found on the streets of the southern city of Beersheba by Avishai Cohen, who volunteers his time to help refugees, along with several other students from nearby Ben Gurion University. The women soon discovered that their husbands had been detained by the Israel Prisons Service.

"We get calls every night to come and collect refugees," said Cohen.

"Right now, Beersheba municipality is helping, hosting the refugees until Thursday [28 June] at a hotel here," he said.

Meanwhile, Israeli Interior Minister Ronni Bar-On has set up a new committee to decide the fate of the Sudanese refugees. The committee has completed its work, and filed its confidential conclusions to the prime minister's office.

Experts and government officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, because they are not authorised to speak to the press, said the final report, would contain far-reaching conclusions.

Refugees to be arrested

Specialists also estimate that the Bar-On committee will recommend reinstating guidelines ordering security forces to arrest all refugees immediately upon arrival. A similar policy was cancelled about one month ago, after human rights and aid groups protested against the order.

Sudanese citizens are arrested in Israel as they are officially considered a "security threat" since Sudan is an "enemy state". Israel applies this even to citizens fleeing persecution at the hands of the government of an enemy state.

Some Sudanese have spent over a year in jail, partially due to the fact that Israel and Sudan do not have diplomatic relations.

The Israeli military, which patrols the borders and arrests the refugees, said it transfers them immediately after detention to other authorities. The military admitted, however, that the refugees are not a security threat.

"The IDF (Israel Defence Force) apprehends illegal infiltrators from various countries, amongst them Sudan, crossing the border into Israel. Since this is not a security matter but an illegal immigration issue, the IDF is not the proper authority to deal with these infiltrators," military officials told IRIN.

(c) IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.irinnews.org

Pencil This In!

We interrupt the field trip reports to bring you this exciting news!

Planning for Amahoro '08 is underway!

The Gathering will be held May 19-28, 2008. Pencil this in on your calendars!

Contact Luke at luke@thedetour.net or Claude at claude@amahoro-africa.com for more info.

HIV/AIDS in Africa

I doubt anyone who reads this blog is unaware of the utter devastation that HIV/AIDS is bringing to the continent of Africa. When in East Africa last month, many of us witnessed both the sorrow and courage of those affected by the disease. There was a sobering article in the New York Times this week about the disease and current attempts to fight it. It's a hard article to read, but hopefully it will inspire those of us who care to continue to work together to fight this horrible disease.

Read the article here and leave comments after reading if you'd like.

Field Trips - Kenya Part Two

During the Amahoro Gathering earlier this month, the nonAfrican participants participated in field trips to Kenya, Rwanda, and Uganda. Each group spent a few days "on the ground" in a particular context and got a feel for what life in Africa is really like. Over the next several days, I'll be posting reflections by a participant from each group.

This second report is from Ashley Bunting. As Bob mentioned, the Kenya group split into two groups: one participated in the Theological Conversation at NEGST and the other spent time with a pastor in Kibera slum. Ashley Spent time with Pastor Edward in Kibera. Ashley Bunting lives and studies in Geneva, Switzerland. She is currently completing a French diploma, and looking into graduate theology programs in Europe.

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Having returned from the Amahoro gathering only a week ago, many of the memories are still very present in my mind, and I’m glad to be able to share them with you.

Our first visits in Nairobi, Kenya, were to an AIDS testing center and a support group that met in a slum called Mtumba (meaning “second hand”). The seriousness, and at times the awkwardness, of these environments were almost inevitable, but everyone was also undoubtedly touched by this group of women who could stand, introduce themselves, and say, “I’m HIV positive, but my main concern right now is for my children…”

From there our group split into those visiting Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST) and a nearby church, and those visiting City Harvest Church and its ministries: the AIDS support groups and the Kibera Community Center. Those who visited NEGST and the church nearby told us about the small groups of thoughtful and struggling people they met; these people are noticing very similar dysfunctional patterns in Christianity to those we in the West have noticed, and are clearing new paths for their communities to live in the ways of Jesus.

At the HIV/AIDS support groups we spent time with people, hearing the touching stories of what living with HIV/AIDS is like. Many of them are women who tested positive and were left by their husbands (who do not usually get tested); these women must figure out how to care for both themselves and their children. They are incredibly brave and resourceful, and because they have access to ARV’s (Anti-Retroviral drugs), they are able to set up micro-enterprises to support their communities. Several also expressed that they were grateful for City Harvest, as it was one of only a few churches that accept people living with HIV/AIDS.

Kibera (the slum featured in the film The Constant Gardener), is the second-largest slum in Africa, with as many as 1.2 million people living on one square mile of land. For me personally, the over-crowding and lack of sanitation meant breaking through a new threshold of the extreme poverty; I had never experienced anything quite like this before. But for 1.2 million people, Kibera is home, and many said they wouldn’t choose to leave if they could. One of the main themes of the conference was the “Evacuation Gospel” v. the “Transformation Gospel”, and this became real to me in a different way. I learned that the goal should not be to get people out of Kibera, but to transform Kibera, as the Community Center is doing. A school during the week and a church on the weekends, the Community Center serves to equip people both with education and with Hope.

The main emotion I’m left with after visiting Nairobi is one of Pride. I am so proud to be able to call Edward, Beatrice, Silvia, Theresia, Phyllis, Charles, Jine, Caarlie, Aaron, and countless others our brothers and sisters, knowing that they have so much strength and courage against the odds they face. They are the Kingdom Agents who are, as best as they know how, living lives in the Spirit of Jesus to give hope to the world around them.