Israel teaches Darfur refugees Holocaust
March 12, 2007 (JERUSALEM) — Israel took refugees from what the United States brands genocide in the Sudanese region of Darfur on a tour Monday of the Jerusalem memorial to the six million Jews exterminated in the Holocaust.
“This is a photo of Adolf Hitler who wanted to destroy the Jewish people,” the Yad Vashem guide explained to the group of visitors.
Around 300 Sudanese have sought sanctuary in Israel from persecution in Darfur after walking in from neighbouring Egypt.
Most remain in custody, having been detained as citizens of an enemy state as Israel has no relations with Sudan.
A little over 100 have been released to work on agricultural collectives and cooperatives.
Ahmed, 25, who left his native village in Darfur two and a half years ago, was detained for 15 months before being released to work at the Yotvata kibbutz in southern Israel.
“It’s worse than anything we could have imagined,” said Ahmed. “Terrible,” he muttered over and over, before the party stumbled dazed out of the tour.
Welcoming the dozen Sudanese, Yad Vashem president Avner Shalev said the complex symbolised the suffering that man can inflict on his fellow man.
For the visitors, who all admitted they knew next to nothing about European history or the Holocaust, the visit brought back painful memories.
Fellow Darfur refugee Ali collapsed in tears, admitting that photographs of piles of dead bodies reminded him of the fate meted out to his relatives.
Yad Yashem has consistently called on the Israeli authorities to grant political asylum to refugees fleeing Darfur, believing that the Jewish state has a special duty to the survivors of such conflicts.
On Monday, the UN Human Rights Council accused Sudan of orchestrating human rights abuses and war crimes in Darfur, while also criticising the international community’s failure to protect civilians.
The UN estimates at least 200,000 people have died in Darfur since ethnic minority rebels rose up four years ago drawing a scorched earth response from the Khartoum government. A further 2.5 million have fled their homes.
(AFP)