"Better a Prison in Israel than Dying on the Way" ...

This report is based on interviews conducted with Eritrean refugees who left Israel under the “Voluntary Departure” program to Rwanda and Uganda. There – in contrast to the promises made to them by the State of Israel – they were not granted protection, forcing them to embark on a dangerous journey ending in Europe. This report focuses on the “Voluntary Departure” policy and how it affected the lives of those who left Israel under it. This policy has been implemented since late 2013 vis-à-vis Eritrean and Sudanese residing in Israel. In January 2018, shortly before the publication of this repo... Mehr ...

Verfasser: Birger, Lior
Shoham, Shahar
Bolzman, Liat
Dokumenttyp: Scholarlyarticle
Erscheinungsdatum: 2018
Verlag/Hrsg.: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Schlagwörter: Voluntary Departure Policy / Externalization Policy / Israel / Rwanda / Forced migration journeys / Netherlands / Eritreans / Libya / Mediterranean Sea / 300 Sozialwissenschaften / אירופה / מדיניות עזיבה מרצון / פליטים / אריתראים / רואנדה / גרמניה / הולנד / לוב / מסעות פליטות
Sprache: Englisch
Permalink: https://search.fid-benelux.de/Record/base-29160494
Datenquelle: BASE; Originalkatalog
Powered By: BASE
Link(s) : https://dx.doi.org/10.18452/20087

This report is based on interviews conducted with Eritrean refugees who left Israel under the “Voluntary Departure” program to Rwanda and Uganda. There – in contrast to the promises made to them by the State of Israel – they were not granted protection, forcing them to embark on a dangerous journey ending in Europe. This report focuses on the “Voluntary Departure” policy and how it affected the lives of those who left Israel under it. This policy has been implemented since late 2013 vis-à-vis Eritrean and Sudanese residing in Israel. In January 2018, shortly before the publication of this report, the State of Israel announced an escalation of the measures it implements against this population; one such measure is a plan to forcibly deport asylum-seekers to a third country, i.e., not their homeland. The report is based on a qualitative research made up of 19 interviews with Eritrean refugees who left Israel between 2014-2016. 11 interviews were conducted in Germany and eight in the Netherlands, the countries ... : Lacking identifying documentation, exposed to robberies, threats and arrest, they were forced to embark on a dangerous journey that included passing through South Sudan, Sudan and Libya in search of safety. Throughout the journey, the refugees were subjected to human trafficking, incarceration, the threat of forcible deportation to Eritrea, harsh conditions of starvation, violence, slavery in torture camps in Libya and a dangerous crossing of the Mediterranean Sea from Libya to Europe. The interviewees described a perilous journey permeated with an all-encompassing fear of death: many witnessed the death of fellow travelers during the crossing of the Sahara Desert, in the torture camps in Libya and as they drowned in the Mediterranean Sea. Among the dead were others who had who left Israel “voluntarily.” This conclusion is in congruence with findings of previous reports published by Israeli and international NGOs that collected testimonies in African countries of those who “voluntarily” departed Israel. ...