Israel: African Refugee Rights and the Struggle for Asylum
The Issue:
In the last four to six years thousands of Africans have fled to Israel to escape civil war and persecution in their own countries. Most of these refugees have come from Sudan and Eritrea, with others coming from countries as far as Cote d'Ivoire and the Democratic Republic of Congo. After making the perilous journey on foot to Israel, those who survive cross the Israeli border only to be detained for months or even a year waiting for their nationality and threat to society to be determined. Once released they face institutionalized racism and the almost impossible task of applying for asylum or refugee status in Israel.
The Trip:
This trip will focus on the struggle that African refugees face in the bureaucratic grey area of the Israeli asylum system and their battle against the odds to claim their internationally acknowledged right. Students will also gain an appreciation for the hardships refugees endure in their own countries headed by authoritative governments and in the Sinai “Torture Camps” on their grueling trek from Egypt... We will also explore the polarized reaction across the social and political spectrum to these asylum-seekers, or what some dub as “infiltrators”.
Students will engage with members of the Israeli government, international development organizations, border soldiers who are witnesses to human rights abuses, religious leaders, NGOs that focus on legal and humanitarian assistance, as well as local opposition to African refugee settlement in Israel. We will also take time to interact with the asylum-seeker population of South Tel Aviv by hearing first hand accounts and developing relationships that will support the main themes of the trip; human rights, the plight of refugees, the right to asylum and Israeli nationhood.
Students will volunteer at the African Refugee Development Center’s (ARDC) Homeless Shelter for women and children seeking asylum. We will work together as a group and with our host organization to arrange various meaningful and constructive workshops for the residents of the shelter, including tactical English lessons followed by a practical review in Tel Aviv’s Carmel market, art and sport engagement activities with children at a local kindergarten and an art collaboration project to be displayed on the walls of the ARDC’s shelter. Additionally, we will have a small documentation group that will gather the materials, such as pictures, first-hand accounts, video, and drawings, that will be used in our post-trip scrapbook and video diary. We will later use these materials to present our trip to the AU and DC community at large. After returning, we will introduce the issue of African refugee settlement in Israel to those around us by organizing advocacy events, lobbying our representatives on their behalf and volunteering with the African refugee population in Washington DC.
About the Student Leaders....
Alex Mandel is a senior studying SIS with focuses in International
Development and the Middle East. She spent the last year studying
abroad in Tel Aviv where she volunteered with the African Refugee
Development Center. She participated in the 2009 Alternative Spring Break to New Orleans and Biloxi where they contributed to reconstruction efforts.
Emma Giloth is a senior majoring in SIS with concentrations in
International Development and Africa. Last year she studied overseas in France and Senegal where she conducted research on West African migration to Europe. She has in the past participated in several language immersion and regional studies programs in Israel.
Tentative Itinerary (subject to change):
Day 1: Arrive in Tel Aviv
Tour Tel Aviv
Lunch
Orientation at ARDC
Tour South Tel Aviv and Refugee Areas
Dinner in South Tel Aviv at a Sudanese restaurant with refugee community
Day 2: Volunteer at Homeless Shelter (split group activities)
Lunch
Meeting with UNHCR
Legal Briefing with Refugee Rights Clinic at Tel Aviv University
Independent Dinner
Day 3: Volunteer at Homeless Shelter (split group activities)
Lunch with Amnesty Israel
Meet with Eritrean Committee
Speak with South Tel Aviv residents and Rabbi (against refugee settlement in their neighborhoods)
Dinner with ARDC president (a refugee himself) at a local African restaurant
Day 4: Depart for Jerusalem
Lecture with Rabbis for Human Rights
Lunch/ Tour Old City
Meet with Knesset Member
Talk with border soldier(s)
Independent Dinner
Day 5: Drive to Bethlehem
Visit Awda Palestinian Refugee camp and Lajee Center
Lunch/ visit sights
Drive to Dead Sea and relax
Overnight in Bedouin Camp
Traditional Bedouin Dinner
Day 6: Drive back to Tel Aviv
Meet with US Embassy Official
Group Activity
Prepare and enjoy Sabbath Dinner with refugee community at Homeless Shelter
Day 7: Final Reflection and Action Planning
Beach BBQ with shelter residents
Fly back to DC
