Sudanese Refugees UPDATE

Eilat: 2ND REPORT - African Refugees Find "Shelter" in the Holy Land
Brief history of the current refugee issue in Israel

Over 7,000 Sudanese and North African refugees are currently living in Israel. Almost daily, men, women and children make their way across the Egyptian/Israeli border, usually with only the clothes on their backs. Many of these refugees are Sudanese, from both Christian and Muslim religious backgrounds, who have fled the Dafar region of Sudan after their villages were attacked by Sudanese government-backed militias intent on subduing the non-Arab population.

The African refugees fled their war-torn countries only to find that the other North African nations were also mired in poverty and beset by racial and ethnic issues. Eventually, the refugees made their way to Egypt, but the situation was deplorable there as well and many were forced into slave-labor situations.

Rumors of work and the hope of better treatment by the Israelis entice the refugees to pay Bedouins (nomadic Arabs) to smuggle them across the Sinai Desert to the Israeli border, where they then make a run for the border fence, sometimes while under fire from Egyptian soldiers. All too often we hear reports of refugees being captured or even shot by these Egyptian soldiers, sometimes right before the eyes of shocked Israeli soldiers just across the border.

After having made their way into Israel, the refugees sit and wait for Israeli soldiers to pick them up and take them to local desert cities. Some, especially the men, are often taken to a camp outside of an Israeli prison until their fate is decided.

If the refugees can make their way north into Tel Aviv, they can apply at the United Nations office for official "Refugee" status. With this status, the Israeli officials cannot deport them to Egypt or to other African countries where they would face certain imprisonment or death for fleeing to an enemy nation, as Israel doesn't have diplomatic relations with some of these countries.

The Shelter, a true refuge to those in need:

Many of these refugees find themselves in the southern-most Israeli city of Eilat and are guided to The Shelter, a youth hostel that also serves as a ministry center providing care to those in need.

Over 200 refugees are currently being assisted by the staff and volunteers of The Shelter, who are doing their best to meet the physical, medical, emotional and spiritual needs of these people who have suffered so much while making their way to Israel.

What an opportunity for us as Believers to walk out the Torah showing our love and caring heart by helping The Shelter meet the pressing needs of these refugees.

The objectives of The Shelter's outreach to the refugees:

· Short-term goal - To take care of the immediate needs of arriving refugees.

· Long-term goal - To build relationships and give assistance that will help the refugees to make their way in Israel without long-term reliance upon such assistance. The staff of The Shelter has found that the Sudanese refugees tend to have a desire to be independent, which is making this long-term goal easier to achieve.

Projects at The Shelter currently helping to achieve the objectives of the outreach to the refugees:

· Providing food, clothing, housing, and medical assistance; many refugees arrive sick or injured from their harsh journey.

· Assistance in finding jobs, initially within the local hotel industry.

· Pre-schools for the younger children and after-school programs for the older children.

· Tutoring for the school-aged children and English lessons for adults, which greatly increases their job opportunities and pay scale.

· Practical support for cultural adjustments such as Hebrew language lessons, cross-cultural education, and financial planning. Having lived a day to day existence in refugee camps, the refugees must now adjust to living in a modern economic environment and learn to budget their minimal paychecks to purchase food and pay bills.

· Counseling, spiritual care and discipleship through The Shelter and the local congregation. Some of the refugees have arrived here in Israel as Believers, and at least nine more have come to believe in Y'shua.

Obeying a Biblical mandate:

It is difficult to put into words the tragic world of a refugee, especially those from Darfur and other areas of war-torn Africa who have suffered murder, genocide, rape, and loss of home and identity. The personal stories we've been told and the accounts that we have read are overwhelming; many of the refugees have no idea where their close or extended families are, or if they are even still alive.

The staff and volunteers at The Shelter in Eilat work tirelessly to meet each immediate need, while still keeping the long-term objective of helping these wounded people stand on their own as strangers in a foreign land. It takes approximately 2,000 shekels ($575) a month, usually over a period of about four months, to support each family until they are able to begin to make their way on their own.

Biblically, Israel was instructed to care for and treat justly the foreigner and sojourner in their land; remembering that they, too, were once strangers in a foreign land. It is still unknown how the Israeli government will deal with the refugee situation; however, it is a blessing to assist the Jewish believers in the Land as they fulfill the command of the Lord.

For more information please email lydiaproject@michaelroodministries.com