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Last update - 06:08 07/02/2008 Freed African refugees are expected to flock to Tel Aviv By Yigal Hai and Mijal Grinberg, Haaretz Correspondents Tags: Ketziot, Israel, Tel Aviv  Eritrean and other African refugees being released from Ketziot Prison in the South are expected to head for Tel Aviv at the rate of around 50 a day starting Sunday, the UN and aid organizations have told city authorities. This includes 50 Eriteans freed Wednesday, with 300 other Africans expected to start arriving next week. But with an estimated 2,600 refugees already staying in Tel Aviv - some 800 of them living in underground shelters - the city's aid shelters are full and many of the refugees will have to be sent to other places. People working with the refugees say the government releases them, gives them work permits and sends them to Tel Aviv without providing them with room and board until they find work. Advertisement "They keep sending refugees here," Deputy Mayor Yael Dayan said, protesting the government's failure to assist in the refugees' absorption. "But we have nowhere to put them. We've asked the prime minister and some ministries to finance some of the costs, as these people are staying in inadequate conditions in public buildings or underground shelters intended for times of emergency. We have received no response, as though this were a different country." An Interior Ministry official said Israel has granted visas to some 700 Eritreans, temporary resident status to 600 refugees from Darfur and temporary visas to Ivory Coast refugees. But activists working with the asylum seekers say that refugees from the Ivory Coast are not receiving visas. Some 2,800 asylum seekers have crossed the border from Egypt into Israel in the past four months, Haaretz has learned. About 800 of them are incarcerated in Ketziot Prison in the South. The Prison Service releases the asylum seekers in Tel Aviv with no work permit and they have to go the Interior Ministry and relevant authorities to receive the permits, says Elisheva Milikovsky, who works with the refugees. "These people are not not treated individually according to their refugee status, but as part of a national group," she says. Over the past week 40 refugees have been placed in Givatayim and Ramat Gan. Tel Aviv officials Wednesday held heated debates in an attempt to find housing for the hundreds of refugees expected to arrive next week after being released from prison. The city has requested government assistance several times to absorb them. At Tel Aviv's request, Bat Yam's municipality agreed to take in dozens of refugees and has allocated municipal buildings and shelters for them. About a week ago a Givatayim artist group found housing for 45 Eritreans and Ivory Coast refugees on Borochov Street, at the request of the activists helping the refugees. But the town's firefighters said the building was too dangerous for so many people, and the Histadrut moved some of them to a building it owns, where they sleep on mattresses with no showers. "The government does half a job," protested the Histadrut chairman in Ramat Gan and Bnei Brak, Avi Levy-Galili. "On the one hand they gave the refugees work permits, but they didn't find them housing and living accommodations until they find work." With the artist group's help, workplaces with accommodation in factories and farms were found for some 20 of the refugees in Ramat Gan. The artists are also trying to have the refugees employed in car washes and vegetable packing plants. Tel Aviv is the refugees' favorite place due to the city's willingness to look after them and its numerous work opportunities. Many refugees have acquaintances and friends in Tel Aviv who help them settle down until they find work. The city is looking into renting a three-story office building on Hamasger Street for housing 400 refugees. However, it needs the planning bodies' approval for using the building for housing. Meanwhile, the city has placed 20 women refugees in a homeless shelter in a southern neighborhood. Related articles: Plight of African refugees in Tel Aviv nears 'humanitarian crisis' T.A. mayor to PM: Help treat African refugees before crisis erupts Influx of African refugees puts strain on Tel Aviv's shelters Bookmark to del.icio.us   Will power Shas Minister Yitzhak Cohen says only a complete Gaza power cut will bring results. The cost of security U.S. estimate: Preparing Palestinian security forces for statehood will cost $7 billion.   1.   Send them back to Africa, Kenya or some other damn place. 09:28  |  Dror 07/02/08   2.   NONE fleeing to neighbouring Arab countries.Why do they risk 10:42  |  PETER SM 07/02/08   3.   fake israel. 12:17  |  yournamehere 07/02/08   4.   #1 - Couldn`t agree more 13:01  |  Steve 07/02/08   5.   To # 4 14:52  |  Faris Zaidan 07/02/08   6.   POLITICAL CORRECTNESS 14:56  |  DAVID 07/02/08   7.   The Africans Should Be Deported 15:38  |  Ron 07/02/08   8.   There are over 30 continental African countries and 22 Moslem... 16:54  |  bat yam 07/02/08   9.   NR 5 What about your idol , who is a rapist? 16:54  |  Cristo 07/02/08   10.   5hey fiaris. trying to cast aspersions on the jews using - 17:03  |  truth be told 07/02/08   11.   To Faris Zaidan 17:05  |  Shloimele 07/02/08   12.   #2 17:40  |  Cheops 07/02/08   13.   To Faris...there is proof that Muslim Imams are actually imperson 18:23  |  Believe it or not 07/02/08   14.   Is there a politically correct way to say `please keep them out` 18:27  |  Steve Randolph 07/02/08   15.   Create a kibbutz-type place for them in the Negev. I`ll bet they 18:47  |  B`Galil 07/02/08   16.   Thank You Israel 02:47  |  Beyram 08/02/08   17.   Arabs complaining the most will be the first 04:57  |  * BEN JABO 08/02/08   18.   #12 Cheops 05:21  |  * BEN JABO 08/02/08   19.   #4 Faris Zaidan - People who live in glass houses 19:56  |  * BEN JABO 08/02/08   20.   Let the Africans stay. 05:19  |  Jack 09/02/08

Today Online IAF kills top Hamas man; 2 brothers hurt in Sderot Qassam strike Responses: 2 IDF: Hezbollah renews rocket deployment in southern Lebanon Responses: 5 Zvi Bar'el: Automatic retaliation doesn't constitute a strategy Send response Editorial: Open the Rafah crossing Responses: 168 B. Weinthal: Germany is the logical place to start embargo of Iran Responses: 121 Hamas confiscates humanitarian aid trucks sent to Gaza Responses: 115 Rosner's Domain McCain found a tool with which to woo conservative Republicans: Israel Why many Jewish men go beardless (WTR) New poll: Is it legitimate to cut electricity to Gaza? Factor: How's McCain better than Obama Jewish Republicans? More myth than reality More Headlines 09:19 IAF kills Hamas man; two hurt in attack on Sderot 09:18 IDF says Hezbollah has renewed rocket deployment in S. Lebanon 07:28 Jewish Agency won't give up monopoly on aliyah so easily 08:30 The Gaza Strip blockade could seriously harm Israel's economy 08:00 Months after Annapolis, Israel-PA talks remain low-keyed 07:58 Parents of brain dead Lebanon vet slam hospital for malpractice 08:22 PA census: Nearly 4 million Palestinians live in W. Bank, Gaza, E. J'lem 08:23 Hamas: West Bank residents could breach border fence, enter Israel 08:37 Turkish lawmakers lift ban on Islamic head scarves at universities 08:31 Study: Soviet immigrants outperform Israeli high-school peers 08:15 New witness protection law could even include plastic surgery 08:33 Israeli company sells dental patent to Swiss company for $95 million Previous Editions Select Day 08 feb 07 feb 06 feb 05 feb 04 feb 03 feb 01 feb 31 jan 30 jan 29 jan 28 jan 27 jan

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