Africa
The Resurrection of Slavery in East Africa:
The fate of Eritreans and other African asylum seekers stranded in the Sinai desert in Egypt
Courtesy of Group for International cooperation on
Human Rights culture
by Amanuel Teklu (September, 2011)
When individuals are exposed to adverse conditions, conflicts and tragedies, particularly under authoritarian regimes, they frequently seek out all means at their disposal to achieve security and peace. In such situations, many victims are forced to migrate by crossing international borders which are often dangerous. Some of them, in the course of their journeys also become the victims of illegal trafficking whether from their homelands (country of origin) or from the host countries.
In East Africa, human trafficking is one of the most serious issues facing migrants and it is on the rise. Many Africans are being illegally trafficked from host countries to Israel via the Sinai desert. But, before they reach Israel, they are subjected to illegal trafficking and killing. There are ample cases of documented human trafficking and slavery in the Sinai desert. Both the Israeli and Egyptian governments are aware of the situation but are unwilling to protect these grave breaches of human rights. According to the 2010 Israeli government’s figures, there are approximately 35,000 asylum seekers and migrants in Israel. According to reliable reports, 11,763 human beings were smuggled into Israel in 2010 via the Egyptian border. The majority of them were Eritreans and Sudanese. It has been reported by the American Team for Displaced Eritreans that there were more than 300 Eritrean asylum seekers in December of 2010 and 250 in January of 2011 alone who had been forcefully incarcerated, enslaved, abused, and raped by Bedouin gangs in the Sinai region.
It is naive to believe that the Egyptian and Israeli governments do not know what is going on in the Sinai nor are unaware of the presence of confinement camps in that region. Rather, it is more likely that Egypt and Israel tolerate or even support the Bedouins in order to halt the mass migration of African asylum seekers entering into their respective territories. In that way, Bedouins serve the interests of both Egypt and Israel at the cost of human suffering and even lives. In particular, Israel has been openly concerned about the mass migration and is erecting a 400 km (248.5 miles) long fence along the border with Egypt and establishing detention centers to deter the entrance of illegal immigrant.
Bedouins, inhabitants of the desert who migrated to the Arabian Peninsula and to the Eastern part of Africa around the 14th and 18th centuries, are involved in the trafficking of both people and goods. These tribes are very powerful and well-organized. They control vast areas across the Sinai Peninsula, own the latest navigation equipment, satellite telephones, sophisticated military ammunitions, and operate their own detention camps.
While trafficking asylum seekers, the Bedouin torture, enslave, rape and kill them. While transferring these people, they bind them with metal chains around their ankles, legs, and hands, and deprive them of adequate food, and water to drink. The torture includes, but is not limited to: beating, electrocution, and rape. They force them to lift their legs and electrocute them. They also burn their arms and legs with plastic sticks and hot metals. They torture them in order to force their families and relatives living in the West to pay ransom for their release. In addition to this, the smugglers may call the detainee’s family members and beat their detainees’ arms and legs with a rubber hose, so that their relatives hear them scream.
Among other African migrants, Bedouins often target Eritreans for several reasons. They believe that Eritreans are migrating from their country to seek political asylum, rather than being driven by economic necessity. They also believe that Eritreans have siblings and families living in Western countries who can pay ransoms for their release. In addition, they know that the Eritrean government is unconcerned about these people and has committed grave violations of human rights against them itself. These violations which include mass round ups, repeated forced conscriptions in the military, forced labor, and restrictions on freedoms. This sends the message to the traffickers that they can act with impunity.
There are four ways by which Eritreans are being smuggled and abducted by the Bedouins: during migration to neighboring countries (particularly to Sudan), from refugee camps, when they try to cross from Ethiopia to Sudan and from host countries (predominately from Sudan and Egypt).
First, most Eritreans pay around $2,000 USD to be smuggled out of Eritrea to seek asylum in Sudan. In the course of their journeys, the asylum seekers are then betrayed by their smugglers. The smugglers sell them to one of the Eritrean or Sudanese Arab nomad groups, part of the Rashida, tribes for some $4,000 to $6,000 USD. These Rashidas then sell them to the Bedouins for $8000 to $10,000 USD. Finally, the Bedouins request more than $20,000 from each asylum seeker to gain their own release. If they fail to pay, they threaten to take out their organs, especially their kidneys, without using any anesthesia.[i] This was attested to by one of the detainees, Dejen Abraham, during a direct phone interview with two independent Eritrean news media, assenna.com and asmarino.com while being held at the Sinai desert. Dejen, a young Eritrean currently held by the Bedouins, was kidnapped by the Rashida tribes while crossing from Eritrea to Sudan. He was tied up and detained with others for forty days. The Rashida sold him to the Bedouins, who took him to the Sinai desert. Dejen has been kept by the Bedouins for three months. According to his testimony, the Bedouins asked him for a ransom of $20,000. He tried to collect money from his family but was only able to gather $2,000. He was given two days to pay the rest of the money otherwise he was told he would be killed. According to Dejen, there was another young Eritrean by the name of Daniel. He had been asked by the Bedouins to pay $20,000 but he told them that he could not pay any money. They asked him for the telephone number of his family living in the West. He gave them a number but the number did not work. Finally, they stabbed him in front of others and took him away to get his kidney taken out. The detainees were also informed that, if they did not bring $20,000 within two days, their kidneys would be taken out in a similar fashion. In another report “four young Eritreans were taken to an illegal clinic, where they had a kidney removed. The four boys have not returned and may well have been murdered.”
Second, Bedouins are also smuggle refugees who are trying to migrate from Ethiopia to Sudan. According to the testimony of one of the Eritrean detainees by the name Mebrahtom Guish, he was also abducted by the Rashaida while trying to cross from Ethiopia into Sudan. They then sold him to the Bedouins. They asked him to pay money if he wanted to be released but he told them that he had neither money nor family in the West. They beat him severely, breaking his arms, and causing a serious injury to his head.
Third, the Rashida abduct Eritrean refugees from the UNHCR’s refugee camp located in Shegereab, Sudan. Then they sell them to the Bedouins in the Sinai. These refugees face a similar fate. According to one of the witnesses from a Sinai internment camp, a girl by the name of Semhar, walked a few meters out of the camp to urinate as there are no restrooms in the camp. Two Rashida forced her to get into their car; she shouted for help but nobody came to her aid. The Rashida took her and three other women to their place, but after a few days the three disappeared. Semhar has been detained for two months as she could not pay the money requested by the gangs. She has been raped by different Bedouins almost every night on demand.
Fourth, many desperate refugees from Sudan and Egypt voluntarily communicate with and pay smugglers to migrate to Israel because they do not have jobs or they are not allowed to study. Essentially, their basic rights have been violated by host countries. The smugglers then sell them to the Bedouins. Once they are in the hands of the Bedouins, they face the same fate as the others.
I would like to call upon the international community to intervene in this severe and unlawful torture of innocent human beings, and to bring pressure on the Egyptian and Israeli governments to bring it to an end. I believe that the government of Egypt is committing international crimes, and crimes against humanity for aiding and / or abetting the traffickers and for being unwilling to stop such atrocities inside its own borders.
Additional information:
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2012/09/19/cfp-sister-aziza.cnn
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=185084
http://www.hotline.org.il/english/pdf/Testimonies_from_sinay_122010.pdf
http://asmarino.com/news/1559-hundreds-of-eritreans-on-hunger-strike-in-an-israeli-prison
[i] Interview conducted with detainees by http://news.assenna.com and http://tig.asmarino.com/home non-government or non-profit Medias. The interview was conducted in Tigrignya(Eritrean language). See also Seth J. Frantzman,- Jerusalem Post, The long road of death, massacre in Sinai, posted on August 18, 2010 available at http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=185084; Human Rights watch and Everyone Group, Egypt: End Traffickers’ Abuse of Migrants available at
http://www.everyonegroup.com/EveryOne/MainPage/Entries/2010/12/11_Egypt__End_Traffickers_Abuse_of_Migrants.html
When individuals are exposed to adverse conditions, conflicts and tragedies, particularly under authoritarian regimes, they frequently seek out all means at their disposal to achieve security and peace. In such situations, many victims are forced to migrate by crossing international borders which are often dangerous. Some of them, in the course of their journeys also become the victims of illegal trafficking whether from their homelands (country of origin) or from the host countries.
In East Africa, human trafficking is one of the most serious issues facing migrants and it is on the rise. Many Africans are being illegally trafficked from host countries to Israel via the Sinai desert. But, before they reach Israel, they are subjected to illegal trafficking and killing. There are ample cases of documented human trafficking and slavery in the Sinai desert. Both the Israeli and Egyptian governments are aware of the situation but are unwilling to protect these grave breaches of human rights. According to the 2010 Israeli government’s figures, there are approximately 35,000 asylum seekers and migrants in Israel. According to reliable reports, 11,763 human beings were smuggled into Israel in 2010 via the Egyptian border. The majority of them were Eritreans and Sudanese. It has been reported by the American Team for Displaced Eritreans that there were more than 300 Eritrean asylum seekers in December of 2010 and 250 in January of 2011 alone who had been forcefully incarcerated, enslaved, abused, and raped by Bedouin gangs in the Sinai region.
It is naive to believe that the Egyptian and Israeli governments do not know what is going on in the Sinai nor are unaware of the presence of confinement camps in that region. Rather, it is more likely that Egypt and Israel tolerate or even support the Bedouins in order to halt the mass migration of African asylum seekers entering into their respective territories. In that way, Bedouins serve the interests of both Egypt and Israel at the cost of human suffering and even lives. In particular, Israel has been openly concerned about the mass migration and is erecting a 400 km (248.5 miles) long fence along the border with Egypt and establishing detention centers to deter the entrance of illegal immigrant.
Bedouins, inhabitants of the desert who migrated to the Arabian Peninsula and to the Eastern part of Africa around the 14th and 18th centuries, are involved in the trafficking of both people and goods. These tribes are very powerful and well-organized. They control vast areas across the Sinai Peninsula, own the latest navigation equipment, satellite telephones, sophisticated military ammunitions, and operate their own detention camps.
While trafficking asylum seekers, the Bedouin torture, enslave, rape and kill them. While transferring these people, they bind them with metal chains around their ankles, legs, and hands, and deprive them of adequate food, and water to drink. The torture includes, but is not limited to: beating, electrocution, and rape. They force them to lift their legs and electrocute them. They also burn their arms and legs with plastic sticks and hot metals. They torture them in order to force their families and relatives living in the West to pay ransom for their release. In addition to this, the smugglers may call the detainee’s family members and beat their detainees’ arms and legs with a rubber hose, so that their relatives hear them scream.
Among other African migrants, Bedouins often target Eritreans for several reasons. They believe that Eritreans are migrating from their country to seek political asylum, rather than being driven by economic necessity. They also believe that Eritreans have siblings and families living in Western countries who can pay ransoms for their release. In addition, they know that the Eritrean government is unconcerned about these people and has committed grave violations of human rights against them itself. These violations which include mass round ups, repeated forced conscriptions in the military, forced labor, and restrictions on freedoms. This sends the message to the traffickers that they can act with impunity.
There are four ways by which Eritreans are being smuggled and abducted by the Bedouins: during migration to neighboring countries (particularly to Sudan), from refugee camps, when they try to cross from Ethiopia to Sudan and from host countries (predominately from Sudan and Egypt).
First, most Eritreans pay around $2,000 USD to be smuggled out of Eritrea to seek asylum in Sudan. In the course of their journeys, the asylum seekers are then betrayed by their smugglers. The smugglers sell them to one of the Eritrean or Sudanese Arab nomad groups, part of the Rashida, tribes for some $4,000 to $6,000 USD. These Rashidas then sell them to the Bedouins for $8000 to $10,000 USD. Finally, the Bedouins request more than $20,000 from each asylum seeker to gain their own release. If they fail to pay, they threaten to take out their organs, especially their kidneys, without using any anesthesia.[i] This was attested to by one of the detainees, Dejen Abraham, during a direct phone interview with two independent Eritrean news media, assenna.com and asmarino.com while being held at the Sinai desert. Dejen, a young Eritrean currently held by the Bedouins, was kidnapped by the Rashida tribes while crossing from Eritrea to Sudan. He was tied up and detained with others for forty days. The Rashida sold him to the Bedouins, who took him to the Sinai desert. Dejen has been kept by the Bedouins for three months. According to his testimony, the Bedouins asked him for a ransom of $20,000. He tried to collect money from his family but was only able to gather $2,000. He was given two days to pay the rest of the money otherwise he was told he would be killed. According to Dejen, there was another young Eritrean by the name of Daniel. He had been asked by the Bedouins to pay $20,000 but he told them that he could not pay any money. They asked him for the telephone number of his family living in the West. He gave them a number but the number did not work. Finally, they stabbed him in front of others and took him away to get his kidney taken out. The detainees were also informed that, if they did not bring $20,000 within two days, their kidneys would be taken out in a similar fashion. In another report “four young Eritreans were taken to an illegal clinic, where they had a kidney removed. The four boys have not returned and may well have been murdered.”
Second, Bedouins are also smuggle refugees who are trying to migrate from Ethiopia to Sudan. According to the testimony of one of the Eritrean detainees by the name Mebrahtom Guish, he was also abducted by the Rashaida while trying to cross from Ethiopia into Sudan. They then sold him to the Bedouins. They asked him to pay money if he wanted to be released but he told them that he had neither money nor family in the West. They beat him severely, breaking his arms, and causing a serious injury to his head.
Third, the Rashida abduct Eritrean refugees from the UNHCR’s refugee camp located in Shegereab, Sudan. Then they sell them to the Bedouins in the Sinai. These refugees face a similar fate. According to one of the witnesses from a Sinai internment camp, a girl by the name of Semhar, walked a few meters out of the camp to urinate as there are no restrooms in the camp. Two Rashida forced her to get into their car; she shouted for help but nobody came to her aid. The Rashida took her and three other women to their place, but after a few days the three disappeared. Semhar has been detained for two months as she could not pay the money requested by the gangs. She has been raped by different Bedouins almost every night on demand.
Fourth, many desperate refugees from Sudan and Egypt voluntarily communicate with and pay smugglers to migrate to Israel because they do not have jobs or they are not allowed to study. Essentially, their basic rights have been violated by host countries. The smugglers then sell them to the Bedouins. Once they are in the hands of the Bedouins, they face the same fate as the others.
I would like to call upon the international community to intervene in this severe and unlawful torture of innocent human beings, and to bring pressure on the Egyptian and Israeli governments to bring it to an end. I believe that the government of Egypt is committing international crimes, and crimes against humanity for aiding and / or abetting the traffickers and for being unwilling to stop such atrocities inside its own borders.
Additional information:
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2012/09/19/cfp-sister-aziza.cnn
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=185084
http://www.hotline.org.il/english/pdf/Testimonies_from_sinay_122010.pdf
http://asmarino.com/news/1559-hundreds-of-eritreans-on-hunger-strike-in-an-israeli-prison
[i] Interview conducted with detainees by http://news.assenna.com and http://tig.asmarino.com/home non-government or non-profit Medias. The interview was conducted in Tigrignya(Eritrean language). See also Seth J. Frantzman,- Jerusalem Post, The long road of death, massacre in Sinai, posted on August 18, 2010 available at http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=185084; Human Rights watch and Everyone Group, Egypt: End Traffickers’ Abuse of Migrants available at
http://www.everyonegroup.com/EveryOne/MainPage/Entries/2010/12/11_Egypt__End_Traffickers_Abuse_of_Migrants.html