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Help me raise funds to bring a refugee to Canada.
Last summer, I had the privilege of completing a social work internship in Tel Aviv. I worked with Assaf, an NGO that supports Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers in Israel. African asylums seekers have been living in the country for 10+ years with no legal status, and have been under constant threat of deportation and imprisonment. Through a range of official and unofficial policies, the Israeli government attempts to make life unlivable for this population of approx. 30,000 people, many of whom speak fluent Hebrew and work multiple jobs in all sectors of the economy. This number does not include children of asylum seekers born in Israel, who are stateless despite having known no other home but Israel. The implementation of the Deposit Law in 2017, a measure which withholds 20% of the salary earned by an asylum seeker in Israel until their 'voluntary departure,' has dramatically increased the vulnerability and poverty of the population.
According to the United Nations, Israel does not uphold its obligation under international law, as a signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to protect refugees. Seeking asylum is a human right, which Israel has turned into a crime. The recognition rate of refugees from this population of asylum seekers in Israel is less than 1 % (approx. 13 people), compared to 90% of refugee claims by Eritreans in the EU.
Solomon, my colleague from Assaf, is an Eritrean asylum seeker who has been living in Israel for more than 10 years without access to a legal status. He works as the coordinator of the Advocacy and Support Centre, offering supportive counselling and access to services for his own community members. He also works as a community mediator, translating from Tigrinya to Hebrew and English so that vulnerable members of the community can have their needs met. He is an activist and a tireless advocate for the asylum seeker community in Israel, and for social justice and migrants' rights around the world.
I was approved to sponsor Solomon to come to Canada as a privately sponsored refugee. This unique Canadian program is one of the only ways that asylum seekers in Israel can escape. In Canada, Solomon can start a new life without fear of deportation and arbitrary imprisonment, without discrimination, and with full access to social, legal, and political rights. Solomon hopes to study social work, so that he can continue to help those in need.
With this fundraiser, I am trying to raise the $18,300 required to sponsor a single person to come to Canada.
Everything that you can share will help! Solomon and I thank you sincerely for your generosity.
In Solomon's words:
"In December 2008, after several harassments and questions about my brother's escape, my mother received a letter from the administration with a statement that orders me to be drafted to the army. I was 19 years old and studying in 9th grade. I had a week's notice for me to come by myself, if not the army will come and take me forcibly. I had two options: one is to wait to be drafted to the army. This will be ending my education opportunity, which was the only opportunity and hope for me to change my complex life in the refugee camps and serve the military indefinitely under a repressive system. The Eritrean military service is unlimited time and repressive system, which drives many Eritrean young people to fly their home including my brother. The other option was to leave my home country before the army catches me. And this was mean to leave my mother in a difficult position because of my brother's escape and adding my escape was mean to make her position worse. In a week I decided to escape and leave without informing my mother or anybody, hoping to be safe somewhere else than in my country. at the end of December 2008, I crossed the border to Ethiopia with a friend who was facing the same threat from the army.
To the Eritrean government escaping from the country is considered to be a crime and treason and people who escaped from the country face prison without a trial and disappearance. Many of those who returned, they disappeared from the airport by the Eritrean government, including people I know. my escape from my country is one good reason for the government that will put me in those dangers if I return to my country. The second reason why I am afraid to return is because of my work in Israel and my activism against human rights abuse in Eritrea. I work in a human rights NGO that provides aid to refugees and asylum seekers in Israel and I do activism to oppose the endless military service and its repression, and the government oppression, which is the main reason that made me, my brother and many of my fellow stateless. The Eritrean government is anti-human right supporters. the government has my records and I am banned from getting any legal documents such as Id and Passport. So, I had no way of returning to my country and if that happens to me under any circumstance, my punishment from the Eritrean government can be up to death.
I lived in Israel for ten years. I submitted my asylum request in 2015 and the Israeli immigration gave no response to it until this time. I have a conditional release visa, also called temporary protection. I have to renew my visa every two months. This status denies me all the rights except staying until my deportation order is possible. This visa does not provide me the rights to social security, access to education, welfare, and decent work. in 2015 the Israeli government opened detention for asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan. although I was already submitted my asylum request, the Israeli Immigration summoned meto the detention and I was prevented by the help of a lawyer. later on in 2018, the Israeli government came with a plan of deporting asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan to African countries . And again I was issued for deportation. with the help of the human right NGO together with the Israeli society petition, the Israeli Supreme court canceled deportation and I was again protected. besides those threats,the Israeli government deposits 20% of every asylum seeker income and 16% from the employers who employ asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan with a purpose to make it harder for us to find work and economically destructive . The collective discrimination, the threat of detention and deportation by the Israeli government makes me feel unprotected. while living in Israel, I am afraid of deportation and that leads to the fear of forcibly returning to Eritrea, and what may happen to me if I return. "
Last summer, I had the privilege of completing a social work internship in Tel Aviv. I worked with Assaf, an NGO that supports Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers in Israel. African asylums seekers have been living in the country for 10+ years with no legal status, and have been under constant threat of deportation and imprisonment. Through a range of official and unofficial policies, the Israeli government attempts to make life unlivable for this population of approx. 30,000 people, many of whom speak fluent Hebrew and work multiple jobs in all sectors of the economy. This number does not include children of asylum seekers born in Israel, who are stateless despite having known no other home but Israel. The implementation of the Deposit Law in 2017, a measure which withholds 20% of the salary earned by an asylum seeker in Israel until their 'voluntary departure,' has dramatically increased the vulnerability and poverty of the population.
According to the United Nations, Israel does not uphold its obligation under international law, as a signatory of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to protect refugees. Seeking asylum is a human right, which Israel has turned into a crime. The recognition rate of refugees from this population of asylum seekers in Israel is less than 1 % (approx. 13 people), compared to 90% of refugee claims by Eritreans in the EU.
Solomon, my colleague from Assaf, is an Eritrean asylum seeker who has been living in Israel for more than 10 years without access to a legal status. He works as the coordinator of the Advocacy and Support Centre, offering supportive counselling and access to services for his own community members. He also works as a community mediator, translating from Tigrinya to Hebrew and English so that vulnerable members of the community can have their needs met. He is an activist and a tireless advocate for the asylum seeker community in Israel, and for social justice and migrants' rights around the world.
I was approved to sponsor Solomon to come to Canada as a privately sponsored refugee. This unique Canadian program is one of the only ways that asylum seekers in Israel can escape. In Canada, Solomon can start a new life without fear of deportation and arbitrary imprisonment, without discrimination, and with full access to social, legal, and political rights. Solomon hopes to study social work, so that he can continue to help those in need.
With this fundraiser, I am trying to raise the $18,300 required to sponsor a single person to come to Canada.
Everything that you can share will help! Solomon and I thank you sincerely for your generosity.
In Solomon's words:
"In December 2008, after several harassments and questions about my brother's escape, my mother received a letter from the administration with a statement that orders me to be drafted to the army. I was 19 years old and studying in 9th grade. I had a week's notice for me to come by myself, if not the army will come and take me forcibly. I had two options: one is to wait to be drafted to the army. This will be ending my education opportunity, which was the only opportunity and hope for me to change my complex life in the refugee camps and serve the military indefinitely under a repressive system. The Eritrean military service is unlimited time and repressive system, which drives many Eritrean young people to fly their home including my brother. The other option was to leave my home country before the army catches me. And this was mean to leave my mother in a difficult position because of my brother's escape and adding my escape was mean to make her position worse. In a week I decided to escape and leave without informing my mother or anybody, hoping to be safe somewhere else than in my country. at the end of December 2008, I crossed the border to Ethiopia with a friend who was facing the same threat from the army.
To the Eritrean government escaping from the country is considered to be a crime and treason and people who escaped from the country face prison without a trial and disappearance. Many of those who returned, they disappeared from the airport by the Eritrean government, including people I know. my escape from my country is one good reason for the government that will put me in those dangers if I return to my country. The second reason why I am afraid to return is because of my work in Israel and my activism against human rights abuse in Eritrea. I work in a human rights NGO that provides aid to refugees and asylum seekers in Israel and I do activism to oppose the endless military service and its repression, and the government oppression, which is the main reason that made me, my brother and many of my fellow stateless. The Eritrean government is anti-human right supporters. the government has my records and I am banned from getting any legal documents such as Id and Passport. So, I had no way of returning to my country and if that happens to me under any circumstance, my punishment from the Eritrean government can be up to death.
I lived in Israel for ten years. I submitted my asylum request in 2015 and the Israeli immigration gave no response to it until this time. I have a conditional release visa, also called temporary protection. I have to renew my visa every two months. This status denies me all the rights except staying until my deportation order is possible. This visa does not provide me the rights to social security, access to education, welfare, and decent work. in 2015 the Israeli government opened detention for asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan. although I was already submitted my asylum request, the Israeli Immigration summoned meto the detention and I was prevented by the help of a lawyer. later on in 2018, the Israeli government came with a plan of deporting asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan to African countries . And again I was issued for deportation. with the help of the human right NGO together with the Israeli society petition, the Israeli Supreme court canceled deportation and I was again protected. besides those threats,the Israeli government deposits 20% of every asylum seeker income and 16% from the employers who employ asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan with a purpose to make it harder for us to find work and economically destructive . The collective discrimination, the threat of detention and deportation by the Israeli government makes me feel unprotected. while living in Israel, I am afraid of deportation and that leads to the fear of forcibly returning to Eritrea, and what may happen to me if I return. "