Africans migrants protest Israel detention law

May the Almighty God deliver Africans from the anomaly of being illegal immigrants in other people's country as a controversial law in Israel allows authorities to detain people without valid visas for up to three years.

With the increase in detention and as much as 300 Africans detained in the last three weeks after the detention law was implemented by the Israeli Parliament, Africans have been targets of police. However, on Sunday about 10,000 African migrants protested the detention law allowing Israel to detain people without proper documentation. Many of the demonstrators held banners demanding the release of fellow migrants who were jailed for being in the country illegally.  

Over 60,000 migrants have crossed into Israel since 2006 across an Egypt border, mostly from Eritrea and Sudan. Many live in poor areas of Tel Aviv and are seeking asylum in the country. Israeli authorities see these African migrants as threat to their national security and social fabric.

Migrants who are arrested are taken to a facility, in which detainees can leave during the day but must report back by nightfall. Migrants can be held there indefinitely pending voluntary repatriation, implementation of deportation order or the resolution of their asylum requests. Many migrants who take refuge in Israel are fleeing from war or persecution in their countries of origin, but very few are granted official refugee status by the government. Many live on temporary visas and subsist on menial jobs.

Hotline for Migrant Workers, an organisation that advocates for Africans, accuses Israel of pressuring hundreds in its jails to accept payouts and leave. More than left for Eritrea earlier this year, having won release from prison.

The poverty in Africa is so much that our very best brains have fled to search for greener pastures abroad. Unfortunately the governments have not  helped with their .unfriendly policies and corruption.

Please share your African stories on life abroad and leave a comment.

Nigerian-born Isreali racially abused

JERUSALEM  Nigeria born Israeli international, Toto Tamuz was racially abused by Beitar Jerusalem fans  during an Israeli domestic league match leading the Israel Football Association docking two points from the team.
 The penalty comes after Beitar fans directed racist epithets toward Hapoel Tel Aviv striker Toto Tamuz during a game. Tamuz, who was raised in Israel, is of Nigerian dissent.
Beitar has been one of Israel's most popular and most successful teams, and has won the domestic championship title six times. But in recent years it has fallen on hard times and is currently in danger of relegation from the top division.
It has also gotten into trouble for its rabid fan base, which is notorious for its racist and anti-Arab chants.
The team will be playing its next home game before an empty stadium as punishment for a previous incident in which their fans stormed the field.

28,000 Nigerians maybe denied passage

Twenty-eight thousand Nigerian pilgrims who were supposed to arrive in Israel in the upcoming months will have to find payer fervently, after the Transportation Ministry’s security department barred El Al from flying to the Abuja for fear of terrorist threats.
According to Rafi Ben Hur, a senior deputy director-general at the Tourism Ministry, the pilgrims were scheduled to fly on El Al chartered planes leased to a local airline in a series of flights between November to January.
The planes, El Al’s Boeing 747-400, were to be leased to Nigeria Airways, but operated by El Al’s crew and cabin staff.
As a safety precaution, the airline’s logo and symbols were to be removed.
“The massive pilgrimage is a state project in Nigeria. They subsidize the Christian’s pilgrimage to the Holy Land, just as they do the Muslims’ pilgrimage to Mecca. We cooperate with the Nigerian government on all tourism related issues and attempt to remove all the obstacles they encounter,” said Ben Hur.
“The Transportation Ministry won’t let any Israeli airline fly to Nigeria, so the solution will probably have to be based on foreign airlines. The biggest looser in this case is El Al, which was forced to give up on a large amount of passengers.”
Ben Hur was optimistic that a solution would be found and that the thousands of tourists would make it to Israel.
“We are meeting with the Nigerian ambassador this evening and with the organizing team on Sunday. I’m sure we will be able to work out a solution. We do not plan to give up on these groups, their visits mean too much for us,” said Ben Hur.
According to Ben Hur, the Nigerian pilgrimages have been taking place since the beginning of the decade and the number of people continuously grows every year.

“We owe a great appreciation to the Nigerians. They were the only tourists that arrived in Israel in our hardest times, during the second intifada. When everyone else stayed away, they continued to arrive and filled up our empty hotels,” said Ben Hur.

“Even today, when tourism numbers are back up, they help us out during the quietest time of the year.

“Twenty-eight thousand people visiting Israel for 10 days contribute a great deal to the tourism industry and the national economy by staying in hotels, dining in restaurants, renting buses and hiring tour guides. They are also the nicest visitors we could ask for,” he said.

Ben Hur added that he hoped the Tourism Ministry could intervene on the pilgrims’ behalf before the Transportation Ministry, but said he honored its position and wouldn’t compromise security.

“It would be a shame if they can’t fly directly to Israel. Any stopover reduces the length of their stay here and too many logistics may reduce the number of arrivals,” said Ben Hur.

In March 2009, Israir brought about 15,000 pilgrims from Nigeria to Israel in an airlift operation involving some 60 flights that lasted more than two months.

Both El Al and the Transportation Ministry declined to comment on the issue.