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Long on lines, short on solutions By Nurit Wurgaft Tags: Israel, refugees  Dozens of people crowded the rear entrance of the absorption center in Lod, pushing each other and waving their documents in an effort to catch the attention of the clerks inside. For a moment the whole scene seemed like the infamous line outside the old building of the Interior Ministry in East Jerusalem. A., a refugee from Eritrea who sought asylum in Yemen and Sudan before arriving in Israel, came here last week, as per the Interior Ministry's request, in order to renew the visa he had received half a year ago, which had expired. He arrived at 5 A.M. to ensure his place in line, and was among the first lucky few to enter. Following a short inquiry, in which the interviewers wanted to confirm his Eritrean nationality, "they took my paper and sent me to wait outside," he said. A. sat down and waited, with more than 100 of his fellow countrymen, including pregnant women, infants and small children. Although a sheet of cloth had been stretched above the narrow sidewalk on which the refugees crowded, offering some shade, there was no water fountain or restroom nearby. They were not permitted to enter the absorption center's air-conditioned lobby. Occasionally, someone would cross the street to buy a drink at the nearby kiosk. Some of the refugees requested that lawyers from Tel Aviv University's refugee rights clinic be allowed to accompany them to the ministry's inquiries but the office staff refused to let them in. Attorney Tally Kritzman related that one person, who tried to insist on his right to legal representation, was told, "You want a lawyer? Go outside" - then a clerk and a security guard pushed him forcefully out the door. The lawyers suggested he complain but the man refused. A. understands him: "He is scared. We have to be scared." Some of the people received their documents in the afternoon, but A. said that the ministry officials then closed the office and left. The remaining 20-30 refugees returned the next day. Advertisement "I missed two days of work but I can't walk around without any documents," explained A. "That is the fastest way to prison." Renewing the visas of Eritrean refugees is the first mission undertaken by a new Interior Ministry unit, intended to be part of a larger governmental body responsible for handling refugees in Israel. Until now the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees handled requests from asylum-seekers, sending its recommendations to the refugee committee, to which Interior Ministry officials also belong. While the committee is the body that makes the decisions, the Commissioner's recommendations carry significant weight. 'Same flaws' Yaakov Ganot, head of the Population Administration, announced at a Knesset hearing a few months ago that he intends to transfer the Commissioner's official authorization to an Interior Ministry department, which would assume responsibility for handling the refugees. This inquiry unit was established in April. At present it handles Eritrean and Sudanese refugees. Interior Ministry officials say its staff has conducted approximately 5,000 inquiries, an average of some 1,000 a month. An impressive tally - although at this stage individual asylum requests are not being considered, since the refugees cannot be sent back to their countries of origin. Attorney Kritzman, who visited the office in Lod, says, "It is worrying to see that the unit intended to be a branch of the department responsible for the refugees is afflicted with the same flaws that characterize the Israeli asylum network - for example, the decision that Darfuris are considered refugees while southern Sudanese are not. What is happening at the absorption center in Lod reflects an insensitivity to the refugees' experiences, as well as a lack of understanding that a country like ours, party to the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, is legally bound to help them. The general feeling is that Interior Ministry officials act as if they are doing these people a favor and that as such they need to be grateful." The UN High Commissioner for Refugees also emphasized that good intentions alone are not enough. "The UN is interested in transferring the handling of the refugees to any country that is willing to assume this responsibility, as is customary in most Western countries; but the condition for doing so is the safeguarding of the refugees' rights," says Steven Wolfson, who heads the Commissioner's Israel office. "The first condition for closing the Commissioner's offices in Israel is the passing of a law that would define the rights of refugees. Just as there is a law that protects the right of a criminal in custody to be brought before a judge - although it may not be comfortable for the police - there must be a law that will protect the rights of refugees. Asylum is a basic right that must not be subject to changing policies or to the arbitrariness of officials." Wolfson told Haaretz that although Israel ratified the convention years ago, the country has only recently begun dealing with refugees. He added that despite the hurdles, "there is a sense that everything is new and fresh and I recognize a deep commitment to the subject, both by organizations that promote refugee rights as well as by Yaakov Ganot." Wolfson noted Israeli sensitivity, saying that one of the great advantages he sees in his work here is that "you never need to explain to an Israeli what it means to be a refugee." 'Can't keep quiet' Last week in Lod, S. listened worriedly to A.'s description of his trials. At first he sat on the side and waited patiently; but once he saw the dozens of people crowd around the entrance, he understood that perhaps the situation called for a more active approach. He pulled out the documents from his pocket, raised them above his head and joined the crowd. Someone took the documents from him and told him to wait until his name was called. S. is 45 years old. He spent 21 years serving in the Eritrean military. In recent years he began to disagree with his officers, he relates. Why? "Because I don't know how to keep quiet. When I saw that they were conscripting pregnant women and wives with babies for national service, I spoke up against it." He was jailed without a trial and with no release date. When he succeeded in escaping, he left the country immediately, without even saying good-bye to his wife. Toward the end of the day, S. received his visa, as did A. a short while later. Although both are calm for now, the fact that they will have to renew their visas in a month makes them anxious. "I hope they won't expel us in a month," said S., and wrapped things up on an optimistic note: "At least it won't be so hot when we come back again." The Interior Ministry issued the following statement: "Since many of the people arrived on days when they were not summoned, a temporary overload was created. But it must be made unequivocally clear that everyone's requests were dealt with that day." Ministry spokeswoman Sabin Hadad added that, "The process of finding an office to handle the asylum-seekers' absorption was long," and that the Jewish Agency had agreed, under great pressure, to allow the ministry to use Lod's absorption center. She concluded by saying that she hoped "that all those involved understand the great effort invested by the Interior Ministry and other governmental bodies in giving proper consideration to the migrant workers." Bookmark to del.icio.us   Sarkozy in Syria Visit will put the onus on Damascus to cooperate further on Lebanon. Shalit talks frozen Hamas' senior leader in Gaza blames Israel for breakdown of negotiations.

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