martedì 28 agosto 2012

Libya: The tragedy of hundreds of refugees in Prisons



Hums: More than 150 men and women in degrading conditions for their human dignity, they live also suffering discrimination on religious grounds, especially males, or are continually being beaten, in recent weeks, four refugees were killed, three nationalities of Eritrea and one Somali. An Eritrean boy was hit with a knife in the back by the military while he was sleeping. These days women are experiencing serious discounts is prevented for up to wash because they are Christian. One of the women Eritreans, acusata the military have warned the outside, the drama that was consumendo Friday, while one boy was killed by Eritrean military, so in three military sessulamente abused her, then have it thrown out in the desert in the middle of the night. Now She is located in Tripoli, save by a miracle thanks to a Libyan woman and a Sudanese man who helped him.
Tuewsha: There are 10 women from Eritrea, which 3donne pregnant, a eighth month and a half the other two a fifth month in the last four months, then there are about 50 Somali women and 32 men Eritreans, Somalis 500 males, all suffer from a lack of food, water and personal hygiene. Especially ill-treatment of males. From three weeks women, among men there who was also 5-6 months in the detention center, is still there, those who tried to escape then captured by the military have been severely beaten up even in losing an eye in other cases lead a permanent disability in the physical.
Benghazi: There are about 400 people detained in a center run by the theory "Luna Rossa" but in fact, command the armed men of the revolution point to afford to get into the center, sexually abusing women, take away 140 males to make them work as slaves. In Benghazi minors are not spared from beatings and torture where the military enjoy playing shooting using the children as an object to play with.
Libya from a "democratic" we expected more respect for human rights and a serious fight against racism against Africans, a tough fight against all forms of discrimination on grounds religious, ethnic and racial. We do not understand why all this rage against African refugees? Why so much violence and massacre of dozens of refugees who died under the blows of the weapons of the soldiers and militiamen.
I appeal to all humanitarian organizations, including agencies of the United Nations to make every effort possible to get the respect for human rights and the rights of refugees. Get more soon their release from prison is to be accommodated in refugee camps managed by UNHCR.
Fr. Mussie Zerai

Libia: Il dramma di centinaia di profughi nelle Carceri



Hums: Più di 150 persone donne e uomini in condizione degradanti per la loro dignità umana, vivono subendo anche discriminazioni per motivo religioso, sopratutto o maschi continuamente vengono picchiati, nelle settimane scorse sono stati uccisi quattro profughi, tre di nazionalità Eritrea e uno Somalo. Un ragazzo eritreo è stato colpito con un coltello alla schiena dai militari mentre dormiva. In questi giorni le donne stanno vivendo gravi disaggi gli viene impedito per fino di lavarsi perché sono cristiane. Una delle donne eritrei, acusata dei militari di avere avvisato all'esterno, il dramma che si stava consumendo Venerdì scorso, mentre veniva ucciso uno ragazzo eritreo dai militari, cosi in tre militari hanno abusato sessulamente di lei, poi lo hanno gettata fuori nel deserto in piena notte. Ora la regazza si trova a Tripoli, salva per miracolo grazie ad una donna libica e un uomo sudanese che lo hanno aiutata.
Tuewsha: Ci sono 10 donne dell'Eritrea, di cui 3donne in stato di gravidanza, una all'Ottavo mese e mezzo le altre due una al quinto mese l'ultima al quarto mese, poi ci sono donne somale circa 50, e 32 maschi eritrei, 500 maschi somali, tutti soffrono della mancanza di cibo, acqua potabile e per l'igiene personale. Maltrattamenti sopratutto su maschi. Da tre settimana le donne, tra i maschi ce chi è stato anche 5 - 6 mesi nel centro di detenzione, è ancora li, chi ha tentato la fuga poi catturati dai militari sono stati picchiati selvaggiamente fino anche a perdere un occhio in altri casi portare un invalidità permanente nel fisico.
Bengasi: Sono circa 400 le persone detenute in un centro in teoria gestito dalla "Luna Rossa" ma di fatto la comandano i uomini armati della rivoluzione al punto di permettersi di entrare nel centro, abusare sessualmente delle donne, portarsi via 140 maschi per farli lavorare come schiavi. A Bengasi neanche i minorenni vengono risparmiati dalle percosse e tortura dove i militari si divertono a fare tiro a segno usando i ragazzini come un oggetto con cui divertirsi.
Da una Libia "Democratica" ci aspettavamo maggiore rispetto dei diritti umani e una seria lotta contro il razzismo nei confronti degli Africani, una lotta serrata contro ogni forma di discriminazione per motivo religioso, etnico e razziale. Non comprendiamo perché tutto questo accanimento contro i profughi Africani ? Perché tanta violenza e massacro di decine di profughi morti sotto i colpi delle armi dei militari e miliziani.
Faccio appello a tutte le Organizzazioni Umanitarie, in particolare alle agenzie delle nazioni unite di fare tutto lo sforzo possibile per ottenere il rispetto dei diritti e diritti dei rifugiati. Ottenere a più presto la loro liberazione dalle carceri è vengano accolte in un campo profughi gestito dall'UNHCR.
Don Mussie Zerai

‘A Stand in the Sinai’: A CNN Freedom Project Documentary


‘A Stand in the Sinai’: A CNN Freedom Project Documentary
Eritrean refugees show their torture wounds
August 28th, 2012
09:27 AM ET

‘A Stand in the Sinai’: A CNN Freedom Project Documentary

  • Follow-up to CNN’s award-winning documentary ‘Death in the Desert’ which uncovered the shocking trade of organ trafficking in the Sinai Desert
  • Progress discovered in Sinai Peninsula since last year’s original
TX: Friday 21 September at 2130 BST
African refugees, mostly from Sudan, Ethiopia and Eritrea, face a dangerous journey crossing Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula as they seek a better life in Israel.
As reported in last year’s award-winning CNN Freedom Project documentary ‘Death in the Desert’, the reality that awaits these migrants is often slavery, rape, imprisonment and torture.
In ‘Death in the Desert’, CNN correspondent Fred Pleitgen uncovered evidence that many of these refugees trying to reach Israel had fallen into the hands of human traffickers in the Sinai. These traffickers then tortured the refugees, and in some cases harvested their organs for sale on the black market, leaving many of their victims to die.
In 2012, in ‘A Stand in the Sinai: A CNN Freedom Project Documentary’, Pleitgen returns to the Sinai and finds a different reality now awaits the constant flow of African refugees. He speaks to Bedouin tribal leaders who say they are now working to battle human trafficking in the region, offering medical support and safe havens for these refugees.
Bedouin Sheikh Mohammed Abu Billal tells Pleitgen these refugees usually come to him with “signs of torture and rape, dressed in rags and starved…methods of oppression to exploit them for money. The burden is heavy on me, but it is a responsibility called upon us by Islam…that is why I spend my money to harbour them and bring happiness to their hearts at any cost,” says Sheikh Mohammed.
“When the CNN Freedom Project first discovered the atrocities taking place in the Sinai, it was not enough to do a standalone report,” says Tony Maddox, Executive vice president and managing director of CNN International. “Fred’s continued commitment to this story speaks to the Freedom Project’s core mission: that is to uncover stories of modern-day slavery, bring them to light, raise awareness and hopefully contribute to effective change.”
Earlier this year, the U.S.-based Investigative Reporters and Editors, Inc. recognised ‘Death in the Desert’ with the prestigious Tom Renner Award for its investigative coverage of organised crime or other criminal acts, citing the CNN team’s “great personal risk in crossing the dangerous badlands of Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula to expose a network of human trafficking and organ sales.”
About The CNN Freedom Project
In 2011, CNN Worldwide launched ‘The CNN Freedom Project: Ending Modern-Day Slavery,’ a multi-platform initiative aimed at exposing the horrors of modern-day slavery, highlighting the growing efforts to stop the trade and exploitation of human beings and amplifying the voices of the victims. From debt bondage in India to sex trafficking rings in Southern California, the CNN Freedom Project has generated more than 250 stories of modern-day slavery. Many notable figures have partnered with the Freedom Project since its launch including Anil Kapoor, Demi Moore, COMMON, Mira Sorvino and Emmanuel Jal.
CNN.com’s Freedom Project blog on www.cnn.com/freedom serves as the platform where users can participate in the global discussion and debate around modern-day slavery. The CNN Freedom Project is on Twitter –@CNNFreedom – and Facebook at www.facebook.com/CNNFreedom. Through these channels, users can connect directly with CNN about this cause, learn more about the organisations standing on the frontlines and see how they are affecting change.

Full air times for ‘A Stand in the Sinai’
Friday 21 September at 16:30 and 21:30 BST
Saturday 22 September at 14:00 and 21:30 BST 
Sunday 23 September at 10:30 BST 
Monday 24 September at 04:30 BST
For more information, please contact:
Joel Brown
Senior Press Officer
CNN Europe, Middle East & Africa
+ 44 20 7693 0967
joel.brown@turner.com

venerdì 24 agosto 2012

Dénonciation de Pere Mussei Zerai, en contact avec les réfugiés enfermés en Libye:


Dénonciation de Pere Mussei Zerai, en contact avec les réfugiés enfermés en Libye:

La situation des réfugiés d'Afrique subsharienne en Libye dévienne de plus en plus un infern. Sont arrivés à trois les personnes tués par les milices libyennes.

Pendant toute la journée il y a eu des tension entre les réfugiés et les militaires au camp d'enfermement de Homs, à l'est de Tripoli. Dans le camp sont enfermés un centaine de demandeurs d'asile et réfugiés (déjà reconnus par l'HCR au Sudan), protestaient de façon pacifique contre les conditions de vie, la manque de respect de la dignité humain, le fait que il y a des femmes enceinte qui nécessitent de contrôles médicales et assistance qui ne reçoivent jamais. La réponse des militaires libyens a été celle de tabasser sauvagement un jeun garçon, bouc émissaire, pour après tirer sur lui sans aucune raison. Les militaires ont tiré aussi contre les femmes qui hurlaient face à l'homicide du jeun. Les militaires ont tiré et tabassé les femmes pour les faire taire.
Des dernières infos depuis Tripoli serrent trois les migrants morts par main des militaires, tout cela est un crime contre l'humanité, en totale violations des droits humaines et conventions internationales qui protègent les réfugiés.
La mort de ces trois demandeurs d'asile en un camp d'enfermement en Libye, est une grave accusation aussi contre l'Europe qui n'est pas en train de veiller sur les accords faits avec la Libye d'aujourd'hui, qui n'est en rien différente de la Libye de Gheddafy, même pire. Tout ce massacre se passe pour empêcher aux migrants de rejoindre la forteresse europe. Les pressions européennes pour fermer les portes de l'Europe est en train de couter la vie à beaucoup de réfugiés.
Je fais appel au Parlement Européen pour que il intervient avec des décisions sur le gouvernement de Tripoli, pour que il le rappelle au respect des droits humains et des droits des demandeurs d'asile politique. Liberer tous les réfugiés et les donner au HCR qui a le devoir de leur garantir une protection internationale.
Fr. Mussei Zerai

Un massacro di richiedenti asilo nel centro di detenzione di Hums a est di Tripoli.



La situazione dei profughi Africani Sub Sahariani in Libia si sta rivelando sempre più un inferno. Sono saliti a tre le persone uccise dai militari libici. Tutto iniziato Ieri mattina e tutto il giorno ce stata un alta tenziono tra profughi e militari fino che la sera sul tardi i militari a detti alla sorveglianza del centro di detenzione dei richiedenti asilo a Hums ad est di Tripoli, dove sono detenuti centinaia di richiedenti asilo politico e rifugiati, già riconosciuti dall'UNHCR in Sudan, protestavano pacificamnte contro le  condizioni terribili di detenzioni, maltrattamenti fino anche uccisioni, come successo ieri sera. Difronte alle richieste ed sciopero della fame messo in atto dalle donne disperate dalle condizioni di vita, dalla mancanza di rispetto della loro dignità umana, le donne in stato di gravidanza bisognose di controlli medici e assistenza che non la ricevono mai, la risposta dei militari libici e stata quella di picchiare selvaggiamente un ragazzo come carpio espiatorio, per poi sparargli senza nessuna ragione. I militari hanno sparato anche contro le donne che urlavano difronte all'uccisione di un loro compagno, i militari hanno picchiato e sparato contro le donne per ridurle al silenzio.
Le ultime aggiornamenti da Tripoli che sono saliti a tre i morti sotto i colpi dei militari libici, tutto questo è un crimine contro l'umanità, e in totale violazione dei diritti umani e convenzioni internazionali che tutelano i diritti dei  rifugiati.
La morte di questi tre richiedente asilo in un centro di detenzione in Libia, è una grave atto di acusa anche all'Europa che non sta vigilando su accordi siglati con la Libia di oggi che non è diversa per nulla dalla libia di ieri con Ghedaffi, anzi la libia di oggi si dimostra più violenta rispetto ai tempi della dittatura del Colonnello. Tutto questa massacro sta avvenendo pur di impedire ai profughi di raggiungere la fortezza Europa. Le pressioni europei per chiudere le porte dell'Europa sta costando la vita a molti rifugiati.
Faccio Appello al Parlamento Europeo di intervenire con decisione sul governo di Tripoli, lo richiami al rispetto dei diritti umani e i diritti dei richiedenti asilo politico. Liberare tutti i profughi, e consegnarli nelle mani del UNHCR che ha il dovere di garantire a queste persone la protezione internazionale.
don Mussie Zerai

A massacre of asylum seekers in detention center Hums east of Tripoli.



The situation of refugees Sub-Saharan Africans in Libya is proving more and more hell. Increased to three people killed by Libyan soldiers. It all started yesterday morning and throughout the day there was a high tenziono between refugees and military until that late in the evening, the military said in the supervision of the detention center for asylum seekers to Hums east of Tripoli, where they are detained hundreds of asylum seekers and political refugees, already recognized by UNHCR in Sudan, pacificamnte protesting against the appalling conditions of detention, ill-treatment and can even killings, as happened last night. Opposite to the demands and hunger strike deployed by desperate women by living conditions, lack of respect for their human dignity, women who are pregnant need of medical supervision and assistance that does not receive anything, the response of the Libyan military and was to beat up a guy like carpio offering, and then shoot him for no reason. The soldiers also shot against women screaming in front of the killing of one of their companions, the soldiers beat and shot against women to reduce them to silence.
The latest updates from Tripoli which increased to three died under the blows of the Libyan military, this is a crime against humanity, and in total violation of human rights and international conventions protecting the rights of refugees.
The death of these three applicants in a detention center in Libya, is a serious act of acusa to Europe that guarding agreements with Libya today is not different at all from Libya yesterday with Ghedaffi, indeed Libya today proves to be more violent than during the dictatorship of Colonel. All this is happening while killing to prevent refugees from reaching the fortress Europe. European pressure to close the doors of Europe is costing the lives of many refugees.
I appeal to the European Parliament to act decisively on the government in Tripoli, the references to respect for human rights and the rights of asylum seekers. Free all refugees, and deliver them into the hands of the UNHCR has a duty to ensure that these people international protection.
Fr. Mussie Zerai

giovedì 23 agosto 2012

Asylum seekers in Libya: one man's story of prison conditions


Migrants heading for Benghazi
Sub-Saharan Africans on their way from Misrata to Benghazi in 2011. An Eritrean priest has reported dire conditions in one Benghazi detention centre. Photograph: Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images
An African asylum seeker detained in a Libyan detention camp after a failed attempt to enter Europe has told the Guardian about the harsh – sometimes terrifying – fate that awaits those who fail in their attempts to flee the continent north across the Mediterranean.
"Kibrom", whose name has been changed to protect him from reprisals, said he and others like him had been powerless to defend themselves from armed and leaderless former rebel militiamen in the camp where they were dumped. One of their number had been shot and wounded, he said.
His account echoed horrifying claims from an asylum seeker at another detention centre near the coastal city of Benghazi, where about 400 Eritreans, Ethiopians and Somalis were held. That detainee, whose allegations were relayed to the Guardian by a Roman Catholic Eritrean priest, Father Moses Zerai, said female asylum seekers had been raped there and about 20 men removed by an armed group for use as slaves. Their whereabouts are unknown.
Zerai, who runs an agency from Rome that tracks and assists asylum seekers, said: "The management of refugees in Libya today is out of the control of the government." A request for comment from the Libyan authorities went unanswered.
Kibrom, a 31-year-old Eritrean, said 26 hours after leaving the Libyan coast the overloaded rigid inflatable boat in which he was trying to reach Italy began to lose air. It was 2am on 29 June.
The migrant traffickers who had arranged the voyage had given them a pay-as-you-go satellite phone, but they had already used what little credit was on it.
"We had seen a ship earlier, so we turned around – it was our only hope of getting help," said Kibrom. Astonishingly, at night and lost in the Mediterranean, they located the vessel. He described it as "a very big ship" flying the Italian flag and with the word "Napoli" painted on the side. At first, according to Kibrom, the crew did not help.
"They saw us and did nothing. We stayed alongside for an hour or more. And it was only when they could see we were in danger of falling into the sea that they helped us," he said.
Kibrom and another 75 people were taken aboard. He said none of the crew were wearing uniforms. He could not tell if, at the time, the ship was in Libyan or international waters.
The captain decided to hand over his unwanted passengers to the Libyan authorities. The asylum seekers were fetched from the ship and taken to a camp at Sabratha, about 25 miles west of Tripoli, which is also used by the army.
For Kibrom, it was the latest of several confinements in an ordeal lasting more than three years. A teacher from Mendefera, south of the Eritrean capital of Asmara, he decided to flee his native land in 2009.
He cited as his reason the "very hard regime" of Isaias Afewerki and the People's Front for Democracy and Justice. Eritrea is a one-party state with no free media and a sorry history of human rights abuses.
Kibrom crossed the border into Sudan. "There was a man and we paid him to guide us. We walked for 200 kilometres [125 miles]. It took four or five days," he said.
In Kassala, they were put on a lorry that carried them across the Sahara into Libya. "Within a few weeks, though, I was caught and put in prison," said Kibrom, who makes no distinction between jails and detention camps for migrants.
Eight months later, he escaped and fled to Egypt. "But I was caught by the police and spent about three months in prison there," he said.
Learning he was to be deported and aware it was an offence to leave Eritrea, "I told them I was Ethiopian, so they deported me to Ethiopia." From there, he returned to Sudan and then Libya.
Quite how he managed to fund his journey back is not entirely clear. "Friends supported me," he said. "Maybe they thought I could help them."
If they too were dreaming of a future in Europe, they will dismayed – and perhaps deterred – by Kibrom's misadventures after he was transferred to Sabratha.
"At the beginning, they were giving us only one piece of bread a day," he said. "It was very, very hard. There was not even any proper drinking water. It was very, very salty."
He said they received a visit from a representative of the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR. "One person came. They [sic] gave us food and soap. And then they went away," he said.
Conditions in the camp, where about 350 people were being held, were dangerous, Kibrom said. He and fellow-detainees lived in fear of the irregulars who last year ousted Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and his regime. "They can do whatever they like," he said. "They are armed and there is no leader."
According to Kibrom, a boy – aged 16 or 17 – was wounded during a rampage by drunken troops. "They were shooting, sometimes in the air, but sometimes into the walls. We had bullets come through the door of our room twice," he said.
Christopher Hein, director of the Italian Council for Refugees, one of whose aid workers in Libya visited the camp at Sabratha, confirmed that a teenage asylum-seeker had been shot. But he gave a different account of events leading up to the incident, which he said took place on 22 July.
"Two days earlier, Ramadan began and they stopped giving food and water to the detainees," said Hein. "The people protested and the guards intervened with firearms." He said the boy was taken to hospital. "Three days later, he returned to the centre."
Kibrom and about 45 others from the party whose vessel had almost sunk were later moved to Homs, east of Tripoli, which is where he was contacted by the Guardian. Conditions were better there, Kibrom said, but added: "It really is a prison."
Asked what he thought might happen now, Kibrom replied: "They have been saying 'You will go back to your country.' "

mercoledì 22 agosto 2012

L’Eglise s’alarme du sort des migrants africains dans le Sinaï


Les évêques du Proche-Orient appellent à la fin du trafic d’êtres humains dans le désert du Sinaï, en Égypte.
Un migrant africain soigné à Jaffa (Israël). Pour un grand nombre d’exilés de la Corne de l’Afriq...
(Ariel Schalit / ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Un migrant africain soigné à Jaffa (Israël). Pour un grand nombre d’exilés de la Corne de l’Afrique, l’exode vers la Terre promise se transforme en enfer lorsqu’ils traversent le désert du Sinaï.

Dans cette zone de non-droit, les réfugiés de la Corne de l’Afrique font l’objet de kidnappings et de tortures.
Depuis que l’Union européenne a durci sa politique migratoire en 2006, des milliers d’Éthiopiens, Érythréens et Soudanais, fuyant les conflits ou la pauvreté de leur pays, tentent d’obtenir asile en Israël. Mais pour un grand nombre, cet exode vers la Terre promise se transforme en enfer : trompés par des passeurs véreux, ils sont kidnappés et vendus à des groupes armés basés dans le désert du Sinaï, en Égypte, devenu la plaque tournante de trafics en tout genre.
Entre 500 et 1 000 seraient détenus dans des camps et « en ce moment même torturés » , alertent les évêques du Proche-Orient. Dans une déclaration du 9 août, qui reprend un premier appel datant de janvier, Mgr Fouad Twal, patriarche latin de Jérusalem, et une quinzaine d’autres évêques pressent les gouvernements égyptien et israélien de « tirer parti »de l’envoi de forces supplémentaires dans le Sinaï, après la récente attaque menée par des islamistes contre des gardes-frontières, pour« faire cesser ce trafic d’êtres humains ».

MENACES DE MORT

Selon les témoignages recueillis par les associations de défense des droits de l’homme, les otages sont enchaînés les uns aux autres et séquestrés dans des souterrains ou des conteneurs. Matin et soir, leurs ravisseurs leur tendent des téléphones portables pour qu’ils appellent leurs proches et les supplient de leur envoyer une rançon – jusqu’à 50 000 €. Si la famille ne paie pas, ils menacent de les tuer. Pour faire pression, ils n’hésitent pas à les torturer : les victimes de ce trafic sont brûlées au fer rouge, électrocutées, violées systématiquement.
« J’ai rencontré en Israël d’anciens otages à qui on avait fait fondre du plastique sur la peau » , raconte le P. Mussie Zerai, président de l’organisation humanitaire Habeshia. Ce prêtre érythréen basé en Suisse reçoit depuis deux ans les appels désespérés d’otages ou de leurs familles.
Certains ont des parents en Israël, en Europe ou aux États-Unis qui peuvent payer pour leur libération. Dans le cas contraire, leur calvaire peut durer des mois voire des années, quand ils ne sont pas tués pour le trafic d’organes. 

DES PASSEURS ÉRYTHRÉENS ET SOUDANAIS

« Nous avons récolté des témoignages en ce sens, confirme le P. Zerai.Après avoir vérifié qu’ils n’étaient pas dans les prisons égyptiennes ou israéliennes, nous avons calculé qu’au moins 4 000 migrants ont disparu dans le Sinaï. » L’association Habeshia mène des campagnes d’information en Éthiopie et en Érythrée, mais la situation s’est aggravée au Soudan où les trafiquants vont jusque dans les camps de réfugiés enlever leurs victimes.
Très organisés, ces groupes – une quinzaine – travaillent avec les Bédouins, des passeurs érythréens et soudanais, ainsi que des trafiquants d’armes ou de drogue de toutes nationalités. 
« Le gouvernement de Hosni Moubarak a nié pendant longtemps l’existence de ces camps et, ensuite, avec le chaos du printemps arabe, les trafiquants en ont profité pour mieux s’armer » , déplore le P. Zerai qui frappe à toutes les portes pour faire entendre la voix des oubliés du Sinaï.« Il y a eu les résolutions du parlement européen et du département d’État américain, et tant d’appels lancés par les associations et les responsables religieux, comme le pape en décembre 2010… Hélas, aucune solution réelle n’a été trouvée. »
CÉLINE HOYEAU

venerdì 10 agosto 2012

Emergency kidnappings in the Sinai:


Emergenza sequestri di persona nel Sinai:
Nei giorni scorsi abbiamo assistito ad un tentativo di forzare il controllo al con fine tra Egitto ed Israele, da parte dei trafficanti, un salto di qualità notevole, non si era mai visto un tentativo cosi frontale da parte dei trafficanti contro l'esercito israeliano. Tutto questo è frutto della negligenza dei due governi, che non hanno prestato la dovuta attenzione a quanto accadeva nel Sinai.
Da più di due anni che stiamo denunciando i crimini più orribili che stanno accadendo sotto gli occhi dei due governi, sono stati fatti tanti appelli e risoluzioni di parlamenti e lettere di leader religiosi, compreso l'appello del Santo Padre Benedetto VI già nel dicembre del 2010, tutti caduto nel vuoto. Ora siamo arrivato a questo punto che i trafficanti sono divenuti capaci di aggredire e togliere mezzi militari agli egiziani, ed provano di affrontare l'esercito di Israele. In mezzo ci sono centinaia di ostaggio tenuti in schiavitù che non interessano a nessuno, la loro vita vale meno di un reticolato per il quale Israele ha mostrato tutte le sue forze, mentre non esita a rispedire nel deserto centinaia di ostaggio riusciti a liberarsi dai loro aguzzini. L'Egitto che ha negato per mesi ora ammette che il problema esiste, speriamo sarà affrontato seriamente, che vengano arrestate tutte quelle persone coinvolte nel traffico di esseri umani e di organi, nel Sinai.
Faccio appello ai due governi di Israele ed Egitto di impegnarsi per il bene delle loro popolazioni, ma anche per il rispetto dei diritti umani dei centinaia di profughi in ostaggio nelle mani dei criminali. Israele deve smettere di respinger i richiedenti asilo profughi nel deserto del Sinai. Israele sapendo bene quali pericoli ci sono nel Sinai da mesi continua a respingere decine di richiedenti asilo, violando la convenzione di Ginevra del 1951. 

Emergency kidnappings in the Sinai:
In recent days we have witnessed an attempt to force the control to the end with between Egypt and Israel, by traffickers, a quantum leap, he had never seen a face like an attempt by the traffickers against the Israeli army. This is the result of the negligence of the two governments, which have not paid due attention to what happened in the Sinai.
For more than two years that we have been denouncing the most horrible crimes that are happening under the eyes of the two governments, there have been many appeals and resolutions of parliaments and letters from religious leaders, including the appeal of the Holy Father Benedict VI as early as December 2010, all fell on deaf ears. Now we have arrived at this point that the traffickers have become able to attack and remove the Egyptian military, and try to face the army of Israel. In between there are hundreds of hostages held in slavery that no one cares, their life is worth less than a fence that Israel has shown all his forces, while not hesitate to return to the desert hundreds of hostages managed to free themselves from their torturers. Egypt has denied for months now admits that the problem exists, we hope will be taken seriously, they are arrested all those involved in the trafficking of human beings and organs, in the Sinai.
I appeal to the two governments of Israel and Egypt to work for the good of their peoples, but also for the respect of human rights of hundreds of refugees hostage in the hands of criminals. Israel must cease to repulse refugees asylum seekers in the Sinai desert. Israel knowing full well what dangers there are in the Sinai for months continues to reject dozens of asylum seekers, violating the Geneva Convention of 1951. 

Fr. Mussie Zerai

Asylum seekers and refugees caught and shot by the police of Djibouti,



Today 09.08.12 a part of the jail and collapsed, where they were detained more than 350 Eritrean refugees, including many TB patients who have not received adequate medical care, deify a rundown, but the reaction of the police, instead of saving people under the rubble, fired on the people trying to save his life. Based on the evidence of the above experiences, there are 7 people with gunshot wounds.
This brutal police attack against refugees in danger of life is to be condemned. These people as asylum seekers and refugees are the responsibility of UNHCR. We demand immediate action to save the lives of these people, and ensure the proper treatment for those in need of medical care.
We ask the European Parliament, who put pressure on the government of Djibouti, to respect human rights and Internazione conventions that protect the rights of refugees.

Richiedenti asilo e rifugiati presi a fucilate dalla polizia di Gibuti,
Oggi una parte del carcere e crollato, dove erano detenuti più di 350 rifugiati eritrei, tra cui molti malati di TBC che non hanno ricevuto cure mediche adeguate, un deifico fatiscente, ma la reazione di polizia in vece di salvare le persone sotto le macerie, ha sparato contro le persone che tentavano di salvare la propria vita. In base alle testimonianze dei sopra vissuti ci sono 7 persone ferite con arma da fuoco. 
Questo brutale attacco della polizia contro rifugiati in pericolo di vita è da condannare. Queste persone in quanto richiedenti asilo e rifugiati sono sotto la responsabilità dell'UNHCR. Chiediamo un intervento immediato per salvare la vita di queste persone, e garantire il trattamento adeguato per le persone bisognose di cure mediche.
Chiediamo al Parlamento Europeo che faccia pressione sul governo di Gibuti, perché rispetti i diritti umani e le convenzioni internazione che tutelano il diritto dei rifugiati.
 
Fr. Mussie Zerai

Renewed appeal for victims of traffickers in Sinai

Renewed appeal for victims of traffickers in Sinai
Thursday, 09 August 2012 15:16
The Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries in the Holy Land has launched a renewed appeal, published on August 9, 2012, in favor of the victims of human traffickers in the Sinai. This comes in the light of the deployment of Egyptian military forces there.

A renewed appeal
from the Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land
about the victims of human trafficking in Sinai


He looked down from His holy height,
from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die
(Psalm 102:19-20)

We, the heads of the Catholic Church in the Holy Land, continue to call out to the world in our deep concern for the fate of the African asylum seekers who have been kidnapped as they pass through Sinai. On March 20, 2012, we echoed the call of our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, to end the drama of the kidnapping, torture and trafficking in human beings, who are our brothers and sisters (see here).
In recent days, there have been dramatic changes in the situation in Sinai. Due to the deployment of Egyptian troops in Sinai following the recent violence on the Israeli-Egyptian border, a window of opportunity opens up. It must be used to put an end to the ongoing, festering sore of the prison and torture camps in Sinai. Until the present, the Egyptian authorities have claimed that they are unable to act against the general lawlessness in Sinai and the bands of criminals who prey on the African asylum seekers. Despite increasing international pressure, Egyptian officials frequently explained that under the restrictions of the 1978 Camp David agreement and the demilitarization of the zone, Egypt is unable to take the required action. This lack of action by the central government has left the torture camps in place.
We appeal to the Egyptian government to act now. This recent deployment of forces allows the authorities to also shut down these camps and make sure the trafficking in human beings stops. At this very moment, there are still hundreds of victims (predominantly from Eritrea and Sudan) who are being held in such camps in Sinai. At this very moment, they are being tortured (suspended by the limbs, burnt by white hot irons, electrocuted on their body parts and systematically raped). All this has been courageously documented by determined human rights activists. At this very moment, the relatives of the victims are paying extortion money to release their loved ones.
May the cry of the oppressed be heard by those who now have the opportunity to release them from their bondage. As the month of Ramadan draws to a close, the Almighty Merciful and Compassionate God of us all will surely bless those who hear the cry of the suffering.

+ Fouad TWAL
Patriarch of Jerusalem for Latins
President Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries

+ Michel SABBAH
Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem emeritus
President Ep.Comm. Justice and Peace

+ Antonio FRANCO
Apostolic Delegate in Jerusalem and Palestine
Apostolic Nuncio for Israel and Cyprus

+ Giorgio LINGUA
Apostolic Nuncio for Jordan

+ Elias CHACOUR
Melkite Catholic Archbishop of Akka
Vice President Assembly of Ordinaries

+ Yaser Al-AYYASH
Melkite Cath. Archb. Petra & Philadelphia

+ Boutros MOUALLEM
Melkite Cath. Archbishop of Akka emeritus

+ Gregoire Pierre MELKI
Syrian Catholic Exarch of Jerusalem

+ Joseph Jules ZEREY
Melkite Patriarchal Vicar of Jerusalem

+ Maroun LAHHAM
Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Jordan

+ Giacinto-Boulos MARCUZZO
Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Israel

+ William SHOMALI
Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Jerusalem, Palestine

+ Kamal-Hanna BATHISH
Latin Auxiliary Bishop emeritus

+ Selim SAYEGH
Latin Auxiliary Bishop emeritus

Msgr Joseph KELEKIAN
Armenian Catholic Exarch of Jerusalem

Fr. Pierbattista PIZZABALLA, O.F.M.
Custos of the Holy Land

Fr. David NEUHAUS, S.J.
Patriarchal Vicar for Hebrew speaking Catholics

Fr. Evencio HERRERA DIAZ, O.F.M.
Latin Patriarchal Vicar for Cyprus

Fr. Raymond MOUSSALLI
Patriarchal Vicar in Jordan for Chaldeans

P. Pietro FELET, S.C.J.
Secretary general

Several Africanmen stuck for the third day in a culvert on the Egypt-Israel border –IDF is barring their entry.


Several Africanmen stuck for the third day in a culvert on the Egypt-Israel border –IDF is barring their entry.
Yesterday Physicians for Human Rights - Israel (PHR-I) received information regarding three or four African men who are stuck in a culvertunder the newly erected fence between Israel and Egypt. According to theinformation, which was confirmed yesterday (August 8th, 2012) by thelegal advisor of the IDF’s southern command, they have been there for the lasttwo days. Israeli soldiers are guarding the place to ensure the men do notenter Israel.
 According to anarticle published in Yedioth Aharonot today, the IDF’s official responseto the reporter was: "The IDF acts in collaboration with the Egyptians sothat they will come to collect the infiltrators". This evening (August 9th)the men were still inside the culvert (thus completing a third day).
 In an urgentletter sent this evening to the IDF’s legal advisor, attorneys Anat Ben-Dor andAsaf Witzen argue that humanitarian considerations require that the men beallowed into Israel to undergo a medical check as well as an evaluation whetherthey are are asylum seekers in need of protection. The letter expresses concernfor the health of the men after such a long time in the culvert. In addition,Ben-Dor and Witzen argue that Israel may be violating the non-refoulementprinciple. It is yet unclear if the men are on the Israeli side of the borderor on the Egyptian side. In any event, the fact that they are refusing to goback to Egyptian territory/to leave the culvert indicates fear on their part.In such circumstances, the letter argues that IDF soldiers (who are providingwater to the men) should allow them into Israel and Israeli authorities should determinewhether they are in need of international protection.
 Recentinformation published by the US State Department and Human Rights Watchindicate that people who are captured while trying to cross the border intoIsrael are detained under harsh conditions, are prevented access to asylum procedures and are forcefully deported to their countries of origin where theymay be subjected to persecution.
 MK ZehavaGal-On (Meretz) addressed Ehud Barak, the Ministry of Defence this evening buthave not received a response yet.
For additionalComments please contact:
 
Sigal Rozen                                                 ShaharShoam
The Hotline for Migrant Workers                  Physiciansfor Human Rights
Sigal@hotline.org.il                                     Shahar@phr.org.il
972-54-8177845                                           972-54-9431847