From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Fri Mar 26 2010 - 09:26:15 EST
Sudanese, Eritreans struggle at Interior Ministry
They arrive at Tel Aviv office at 5 am, sometimes just to wait in line and
return empty-handed without new visa. Hotline for Migrant Workers says State
knowingly abusing them, Israeli employers also being hurt. Ministry: Service
is efficient, fast, and dedicated
Yael Branovsky
Published:
03.26.10, 14:42 / <http://www.ynetnews.com/home/0,7340,L-3082,00.html>
Israel News
If one were to go to the Interior Ministry in Tel Aviv in the early morning
hours, one would encounter a strange sight. At 5 am, some three hours before
the ministry's offices open, refugees, asylum seekers, and foreign workers
start gathering outside the locked office. Most of them need to renew their
monthly visas.
Standing quietly or dozing off on the floor, they wait to receive a number
to go in and see a clerk. "Sudanese and Eritreans to the right and everyone
else enter on the left," called one of the clerks. And they fall in line and
wait.
The number of entrants is sometimes capped, and they are forced to return
with empty hands. Those who live in faraway cities such as Eilat often can't
find a place to stay for the night so they can return the next morning.
The situation also places a burden on Israeli employers who have a hard time
employing workers who have visas for just one month. The worst situation is
currently in Eilat, where the ministry branch burned down and will only
reopen to the public after the Passover holiday.
The Hotline for Migrant Workers estimates that some 200 refugees in the city
will be without a place to work. One employer said that she was forced to
put some 50 workers on vacation merely because their visas expired. Under
the circumstances, if she were to continue employing them, she could be
fined by the Interior Ministry.
"The State is knowingly abusing them and making the refugees' live very
difficult," said the hotline. "This is abuse consisting of all kinds of
phenomena, and we receive a lot of complaints from refugees. If MK Katzeleh
(Yaakov Katz) says they must make it difficult for the refugees, it simply
happens in reality."
The Population, Immigration, and Border Authority said in response that
services for the Darfur refugees and Eritrean citizens has been transferred
from the visa department to a different department within the authority in
order to improve it.
"We believe that the treatment and service provided to the Darfur refugees
and citizens of Eritrea are efficient, quick, dedicated, and far beyond
reasonable. The Population, Immigration, and Border Authority invests much
thought in improving its service and takes action to examine new methods of
providing the best service. It is unclear what the basis of these complaints
is," reported the authority in response.
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