Israel refuses entry to Darfur asylum seekers, Sudanese refugees
SHOTLIST
South Israel, Israel/
Egypt border
1. Wide of
Sudanese refugee Namo Myam holding baby looking at border
2.
Egyptian soldiers walking on Egyptian side of border
3. Wide of Egypt/Israel border with security positions
4.
Israeli forces patrolling road by border
Kadesh Barnea, south Israel, Egypt/Israel border
5. Sudanese mother washing child
6. Close-up of child with towel
7. Sudanese children climbing on gate at entrance to temporary housing
8.
Israeli volunteer playing with child
9. Sudanese mothers and children standing near tent
UPSOUND: Tahani Maryu: "In the
Sudan, we're not scared."
UPSOUND Namo Myam:That's right; we're not scared in the Sudan. But Egypt (inaudible); take us back to the Sudan.
10. SOUNDBITE (
Arabic) Namo Myam, Sudanese refugee:
"In Egypt, you get run over by a car.
Nobody cares about you. They say you're black, you're like dirt. The same in Sudan; if you go to prison, they kill you. Nobody cares. They can even take away your kids. you won't know their whereabouts."
11.
Children watching television in tent
12. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Tahani Maryu, Sudanese refugee:
"If the government of Israel sends us back to Egypt, it is better if the
Israeli government kills us before we go to die in Egypt. If we go to to Egypt we will die, if we go to Sudan we will die
. If the Sudanese (INTERVIEWEE MEANS ISRAELI) government want to send us to Egypt, it is better that they kill us here first, and send us back in coffins to Egypt."
13. Israeli volunteer talking to child
14.
Woman standing as mother nurses child in background
15. Wide of children playing
Tel Aviv, Israel
16. SOUNDBITE (
English)
Eytan Schwartz, advocate for
Darfur refugees in Israel:
"We as
Jews have a moral obligation to help refugees seeking safe haven and we have an historical obligation to help refugees.
Obviously, Israel can't solve the problem of all the refugees in
Africa but, nevertheless, returning African refugees back to Egypt is a very harsh thing and we urge the Israeli government not to do so."
South Israel, Israel/Egypt border
17. Wide of desert hills at border
18. Mid of rusted barrel in desert scene
19. Israel/Egypt border crossing with Egyptian flags
Kadesh Barnea, south Israel, Egypt/Israel border
20. Sudanese refugee hanging laundry
21. Mid of toddler standing by residence
22.
Child cycling past
23. Close-up of two Sudanese children laughing
STORYLINE
Israel will no longer allow asylum seekers from strife-torn Darfur, who entered the country across the border with Egypt, to stay in the country.
The policy change, implemented on Sunday, is aimed at halting a rise in illegal immigration from Sudan.
However, it is drawing fire from critics who say the
Jewish state, created in the aftermath of the
Holocaust, is morally obliged to offer sanctuary to refugees.
Israel has been grappling for months with how to deal with a swelling flow of Africans, including some from Darfur, who have been infiltrating in growing numbers through the country's porous desert border with Egypt.
The number coming in has shot up in recent months to as many as 50 a day, according to the
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, apparently as word of job opportunities in Israel spread.
The rise has led to concerns in Israel that the country could face a flood of African refugees if it doesn't take a harsher stand on the asylum-seekers.
On Sunday, a government spokesman said all new asylum seekers, including those from Darfur, would be sent back to Egypt, with no exception.
Some
500 already in Israel will be allowed to stay, the spokesman said.
On Monday
Sudanese refugees living in temporary housing provided by
Jewish volunteers at Kadesh Barnea in south Israel, said they did not want to be sent back to Egypt or Sudan.
Egypt.
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