|
israel denies refugees from darfur
|
View this Thread in Original format
| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: |
JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel on Sunday rejected 50 Africans -- most of them reportedly from Sudan's Darfur region -- who had illegally entered the country from Egypt, a government official said.
A Sudanese refugee stands behind an Israeli flag during a rally in Jerusalem last month.
The move angered many Israeli lawmakers and human rights advocates because of reports that some Sudanese refugees are being killed or mistreated by authorities in Egypt.
Israel has been struggling with how to cope with an increasing number of Africans, including some from Darfur, who enter the country through Israel's southern border with Egypt.
According to Israel's Haaretz newspaper, the refugees were arrested Friday evening as they tried to cross from Egypt into Israel. They were held at a military base in southern Israel before being driven back to Egypt on Sunday, the newspaper reported.
The nationalities of the 50 sent back Sunday were not released, but the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, citing figures from the Israeli military, said nearly all of them had escaped the genocide in Darfur.
Speaking to CNN, Israeli government spokesman David Baker described them as "economic refugees from Africa."
Baker told The Associated Press that Darfurians would not be immune from Israel's ban on unauthorized immigrants.
Israeli law denies asylum to anyone from an enemy state, AP reports. Sudan's Muslim government is hostile to Israel and has no diplomatic ties with the Jewish state.
Eytan Schwartz, an advocate for Darfur refugees in Israel, told AP that about 400 have entered Israel in recent years. Baker said they would be allowed to live in Israel, and that the ban applied to new arrivals.
Dozens of Israeli lawmakers recently signed a petition urging the government not to deport Sudanese refugees.
Arab militias supported by Sudan's government have committed numerous human rights atrocities, U.N. officials say, including the slaughter and gang rape of civilians, destruction of water sources, looting and burning of buildings and crops.
Earlier this month, Israel's Channel 10 interviewed Israeli soldiers who said they had witnessed Egyptian security officers executing several Darfur refugees.
According to Channel 10, their testimonies were backed up by Israeli military security cameras that showed Egyptian soldiers shooting and killing several asylum-seekers.
Channel 10 did not air the video.
According to Haaretz, one of the asylum-seekers "jumped on the wire fence in an attempt to make it over to the Israeli side, but was reportedly dragged back and bludgeoned to death by the Egyptians."
Responding to the report, Human Rights Watch called on Egypt to investigate the reported deaths.
There has been no public response from the Egyptian government.
An Israeli government official told Reuters that Israel had received "Egyptian commitments" that refugees from Darfur would not be returned to Sudan.
Since the beginning of the year, nearly 3,000 Africans have crossed from Egypt into Israel -- nearly half of them from Sudan, many traveling on foot.
Many Sudanese refugees end up in Israeli prisons waiting for the government to decide what to do with them. Israeli volunteers -- outraged at the incarcerations -- have helped many Sudanese find work in Israel's agricultural communities and temporarily live in family homes across Israel.
"This whole issue of people crossing over from Sinai, people from Africa, to come to Israel is a new issue," Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said. "And it's taken a while to get the government to respond correctly." |
http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast...rfur/index.html
funny how quickly some people forget what it is like to be persecuted by their own government. let's keep everyone's memory of the holocaust fresh and vivid, but we'll ignore the plight of those suffering similar hardships in the here and now. perhaps the UN could steal some land to give the darfur refugees a new homeland? :rolleyes: |
|
|
| Sunsnail |
| I suppose it is a little ironic now that you mention it... |
|
|
| Krypton |
| So Israel is the one obligated to open its borders? I mean, they should try to help however they can, but the Darfur crisis is the result of the Sudanese government policies, not that of Israel. The burden of aide should really fall on China, Sudan's biggest trade partner. Israel has enough problems of its own to take care of the Darfur crisis. If I was Israel, I would let some refugees in, but try my hardest to try to fix the problem in Sudan itself so it wouldn't be anyone elses problem but Sudan's. |
|
|
| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by Krypton
So Israel is the one obligated to open its borders? I mean, they should try to help however they can, but the Darfur crisis is the result of the Sudanese government policies, not that of Israel. The burden of aide should really fall on China, Sudan's biggest trade partner. Israel has enough problems of its own to take care of the Darfur crisis. If I was Israel, I would let some refugees in, but try my hardest to try to fix the problem in Sudan itself so it wouldn't be anyone elses problem but Sudan's. |
oh yes. the modern, ever-popular theory of "not my problem". that'll solve all the world's ills, mark my words. |
|
|
| Q5echo |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
funny how quickly some people forget what it is like to be persecuted by their own government. let's keep everyone's memory of the holocaust fresh and vivid, but we'll ignore the plight of those suffering similar hardships in the here and now. perhaps the UN could steal some land to give the darfur refugees a new homeland? :rolleyes: |
Sudan is a complete Islamist hole and somehow Israel is obligated to suck it up?
last i heard Christians don't lay claim to any homeland
last i heard it was Sudan was a violently hostile country to Israel and it was illeagal to grant asylum to any Sudanese.
victimization, whether it be Nazi or Islamic, Israel should be the last option to refugees just by population density alone. |
|
|
| pkcRAISTLIN |
| ^^ i realise that Q5. It just seems that every western country that ever gets (relatively small) numbers of refugees always has a rational, logical reason for telling them to bugger off. |
|
|
| shaolin_Z |
| quote: | Originally posted by Q5echo
Sudan is a complete Islamist hole and somehow Israel is obligated to suck it up? |
Well, "Israelis" certainly didn't have a problem making the Palestinians "suck it up" now did they? And now I must excuse you, for it's about time you blow another NeoCon / Zionist master of yours... and don't forget to "suck it up." They say you're really good at that. |
|
|
| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by pkcRAISTLIN
oh yes. the modern, ever-popular theory of "not my problem". that'll solve all the world's ills, mark my words. |
Mark what words? Take care of others problems... That'll solve all the world's ills. YEAH RIGHT!!
Please, I beg you not to debate this one, I beg.:rolleyes:
Again, I will say China, not Israel should have the heaviest burden towards doing something about the Darfur crisis. China is the one making multi-BILLION dollar deals with the Sudanese government. As was stated before, Sudan's government is hostile towards Israel. Why should Israel help an enemy? What are they going to do? Send peace-keepers? :rolleyes:
As for the refugees, Israel should help them, but Israel in my opinion is not the one who should carry the burden of the Darfur crisis. |
|
|
| Q5echo |
| quote: | Originally posted by shaolin_Z
Well, "Israelis" certainly didn't have a problem making the Palestinians "suck it up" now did they? And now I must excuse you, for it's about time you blow another NeoCon / Zionist master of yours... and don't forget to "suck it up." They say you're really good at that. |
you stay classy Islamist appologists.
go wash your f**kin feet you stink ass little Asyrian before i make you eat them. bitch. |
|
|
| Sunsnail |
| quote: | Originally posted by Q5echo
you stay classy Islamist appologists.
go wash your f**kin feet you stink ass little Asyrian before i make you eat them. bitch. |
that's against the rules :o |
|
|
| Krypton |
| quote: | Originally posted by Q5echo
you stay classy Islamist appologists.
go wash your f**kin feet you stink ass little Asyrian before i make you eat them. bitch. |
Yo Q, I want you to stick around. But the ad hominids or whatever they're called gonna get cha booted. |
|
|
| pkcRAISTLIN |
| quote: | Originally posted by Krypton
Again, I will say China, not Israel should have the heaviest burden towards doing something about the Darfur crisis. China is the one making multi-BILLION dollar deals with the Sudanese government. As was stated before, Sudan's government is hostile towards Israel. Why should Israel help an enemy? What are they going to do? Send peace-keepers? :rolleyes: |
this isnt a debate about who should be the most responsible. just that the western world seems far more concerned with military interventions than accepting refugess.
and how myopic are you? since when does a state's stance have any bearing on how to treat the individual? "oh, we're enemies of saddam's iraq or the taliban, let's not allow refugees from those countries into our own, they're our enemy!"
im not saying israel should bear the brunt of everything, just a little pissed that a nation who effectively had to steal their current land and whom won't let the holocaust ever be forgotten- do not seem to care much for those now in similar circumstances when they have the capacity to help them. |
|
|
|
|
