South Tel Aviv: The North African Refugee Crisis in Israel

https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-wont-sign-global-migration-pact-netanyahu-announces/

TRY Blog Post:

Last Thursday, we had the unique and incredible opportunity to learn about modern day immigration issues and the complexities behind the refugee crisis here in Israel. This was the first time I really learned about the mass amounts of asylum seekers in Israel from North African countries, fleeing from a brutal dictator and a corrupt military regime in Eritrea, and from the genocide in Darfur. We discussed that as one of the only democratic nations in the Middle East, Israel has a distinct responsibility to take in asylum seekers who have been persecuted and subjected to violence in their home countries; however, in Israel, the issue is much more complex because of its necessity to maintain Israel as a Jewish majority state. Since the title of ‘legal refugee status’ includes the right to vote, the Israeli government fears that awarding all asylum seekers with refugee status will jeopardize this identity of Israel. Because of this unfortunately flawed system, asylum seekers almost never receive full refugee status in Israel. In fact, there are only thirteen refugees in Israel who have received legal status out of the approximately 38,000 North African asylum seekers who live in Israel.

Some of the less lucky North African asylum seekers are deported back to the danger of their home countries, and others get alternative chances at life in Israel despite not having the full refugee status they deserve. This is called an A-5 status, which legally considers the asylum seekers to which its granted residents rather than citizens. Recipients of A-5 status are legally allowed to learn, live, and work in Israel, but some of its main deviations from refugee status are that A-5 recipients can’t vote and aren’t supported financially the same way refugees are. Benjamin Netanyahu has falsely claimed that the North African asylum seekers come to Israel in search of job opportunities rather than out of necessity and oppression, and he uses this claim to justify his frugality in granting them refugee status. Asylum seekers who live in Israel but aren’t granted A-5 status have to renew their visas monthly; however, they don’t have the right to work and each time they renew their visa they risk deportation.

After learning about this unpleasant aspect of Israeli society, we traveled to South Tel Aviv, which is home to 90% of the North African asylum seekers in Israel and is one of the most crime-ridden areas in the country. There, we gained an unexpected perspective on the Israeli refugee crisis from meeting with an A-5 recipient named Bareek and learning about his journey to Israel. Bareek is a Darfuri man who immigrated to Israel after escaping near death experiences in Sudan and being urged by his parents to seek asylum in Israel. He shared with us his heartbreaking and moving story of coming to Israel alone at age 13, with no knowledge of Hebrew or financial support other than a bus ticket. He explained that after crossing into Israel and being approved for A-5 status, he was put on a bus to Beer Sheva, where he would sleep in a park for a week; the hood of the children’s slide was his only shelter from the rain during this time. This, as I understood from my white, western, liberal perspective was due to the lack of resources and support he was provided with from any government or organization. However, when he was asked whether he was grateful to the state of Israel for taking him in or resentful for the ways it wronged him, his answer shocked me. He was quick to assert that he was grateful for everything Israel has given him, especially his Israeli education, while I, without thinking twice, had vehemently disapproved of Israel’s refusal to support people like Bareek in the ways they deserved. His answer and allegiance to a country which I perceived to have greatly wronged him challenged my understanding of asylum seekers and their perspectives on Israel; even though Israel has done so much more for me as a white, American, Jew and less for Bareek as a Darfuri asylum seeker, my own privileges and experiences have made me more critical of Israel’s actions.

I was extremely shocked and upset from what I learned previous to speaking with Bareek about Israel’s treatment of refugees and the crisis, but after speaking to an asylum speaker himself, my perspective on the issue has shifted. It is obvious that declining asylum seekers of full refugee status and then putting them on busses to Beer Sheva to fend for themselves is a cruel means of dealing with the refugee crisis, but hearing about Bareek’s gratitude for a country that has done less than what it is legally required to for him was a mind opening perspective, and it’s made me view my own privileges differently. I was quick to assume Bareek would resent Israel for his and his fellow asylum seekers’ experiences without truly taking into account how different the asylum seeker’s life perspective is from my own. Its interesting to dissect this dichotomy, and although I believe we should never stop criticizing unjust policies of any country, there is an overarching lesson of empathy and understanding which I have taken from Bareek’s story and presentation. My view on Israel’s North African refugee crisis has changed not only from my newfound factual education on it, but also from my applied encounter with someone who is directly involved in it; I’m still critical of Israel’s policies and attitude towards North African asylum seekers, but I’ve learned from Bareek that there is always more to any story than facts.