Israel Releases African Refugees From Prison Camp

Hussein was among hundreds of African refugees Israel began freeing from this remote prison camp after a court ruling this month ordered their release. The release reflected Israel’s ongoing policy of imprisoning all African refugees that it does not want in the country, but is unable to forcibly send anywhere else.

Tuesday’s release came with an added twist: The refugees not only are legally barred from working, they also cannot go to the cities of Tel Aviv or Eilat, where the largest communities of Africans are located and most work opportunities are.

“I have no place to go. I don’t know anyone. I have no money. I don’t know what to do,” Hussein said.

More than 45,000 African refugees and asylum seekers are in Israel, according to the Israeli Interior Ministry, most from the strife-ridden countries of Eritrea and Sudan.

Many say they are fleeing conflict and persecution and are seeking refugee status. Israel says they are merely economic migrants in search of work whose swelling numbers threaten the country’s “Jewish character”. Israel’s difficulties in dealing with the migrants mirror similar struggles facing governments across Europe.

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