Southern Sudanese refugees urge Israeli PM to grant them residency status
June 1, 2008 (TEL AVIV) – A group of Southern Sudanese refugees residing in Israel have sent a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert demanding that he grants them residency permits.
“We appeal to you to accept, after security vetting, refugees from genocide from Southern Sudan, and provide them with the same status that the 500 Darfuris were – rightly – given” the letter said.
This month the Israeli parliament (Knesset) approved a draft bill that would punish illegal crossers into the country with imprisonment up to five years. The Israeli daily newspaper Haartez also reported that illegal migrants from “enemy states” which would include Sudan.
The letter said that the proposed law “no distinction between people who try to come here for economic reasons – to better their material life – and those who come here as a result of genocidal persecution”.
“We are South Sudanese, mostly Christians, persecuted by a regime of Moslem fundamentalists, who are bitter enemies of Israel – we are, to all intents and purposes, your allies” the South Sudan refugees said in the letter.
Sudanese refugees, particularly from Darfur where a rebellion has cost more than 200,000 civilian lives and made 2.5 million homeless, have been sneaking into Israel in increasing numbers over the past year through the Egyptian borders.
This year, Israel granted temporary residency status to 600 refugees from Darfur. Many Israelis feel an obligation to help refugees because of the centuries of persecution Jews endured before they created their own state.
Last February Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) led by Abdel-Wahid Al-Nur announced that it has inaugurated an office in Israel.
“We do not doubt the right of Israel to choose who it wants to accept, and your policies towards economic refugees cannot be criticized. We, however, are in a different category…. Once the danger of genocide is over, we will return to where we came from, but now we need a refuge”.
Since the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed between North and South Sudan in 2005 the UN said that a total of two million individuals southern Sudanese have returned.
(ST)
John Amule de Lokolong
Southern Sudanese refugees urge Israeli PM to grant them residency status
First of all i would like to send my thanks to Sudan Tribune dicusion of taking serious control of this web,in fact i quit to used this site due to the abuses and all other un want words against States,tribes,people,insult,raciest,hatred and many more.Because those kind of words which have been used on this web by some brothers would not make anyone to feel comfortable whenever anyone say to you.and i believe that people must concentrate on the article rather than jumping to different opinions which are far from the article,please if you have your own idea nor issue,it is good if you can post it as separate article/opinion.
However according to issue the of our refugees in Israel i beleive that they can live as long as Sudan is not properly settled.But any time when we achieve our real peace,i recommand that they can come back home as JEM had said.Beside their letter of telling the jews that Islamic are their enemies,i think the word “Islamic” or “christianity” is compulsory as religious belief,so lets be specfic,we don’t have to talk about all Islamic in fact some are good people even those who are accusing some are still criminals etc.please don’t preferred raciest as a key to achieve your goals or intergrating into society.Let find the particular people who are spoiling the whole society rather than mentioning the whole people as bad,How about the black Islamic in Southern Sudan,are they also our own enemies ?.
Hope everyone agrees thank you peace to all
John Mou
Southern Sudanese refugees urge Israeli PM to grant them residency status
BRAVO GUYS, BRAVO.
Keep on demanding your right of residency status peacefully. The Israeli authorities should understand that south Sudanese people have been segregated, discriminated, and even massacred through holy war (Jihad) as they call it simply because of their belief in Christianity religion originated in Israel.
The Israeli authorities should know that a number of the people being killed by the army of the successive governments of the north during the civil wars of Anya-Nya 1 and the SPLA can not be compared with that of Darfur which has deserved the name genocide as we call it today. However, due to the lack of media coverage in the south, things went unreported.
Our brothers and sisters did not choose to take refuge in Israel, America, Australia and other countries in Africa simply because they like it to be there, but importantly due to insecurity in the region, they were forced to leave their beloved land behind and look for safe places to settle in until peace prevails in Sudan.
God bless all.
Akau Malek
Southern Sudanese refugees urge Israeli PM to grant them residency status
I need our people to unerstand that Israel is not a peaceful country but peaceful request for their residency is alright and should therefore be supported by the gov. of southern sudan.
Die Hard
Wene_mangeth
Southern Sudanese refugees urge Israeli PM to grant them residency status
to poster for helps to the refugees is the source of blessing that human being can deserve,bravo dear refugees the israelites were once like you when they were exodused from Egyptian harsh rules and the revenge was to claim what they so called democracy of right to rules despite the condition of the Southern Sudanese refugees I here by happy to also support the Refugees to ask politely the assistance from Israeli Priminister.
thanks
Mabior Aguek Atem