Africa: Israeli Deadline Fans Fears Among African Migrants

Israel plans to deport thousands of African asylum seekers within the next three months. They have the choice of leaving for a third country or indefinite imprisonment in Israeli jails.

"It is a very scary moment and many people are simply in panic," says Ghebrihiwet Tekle, a young Eritrean asylum seeker sitting in the office of the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, an Israeli non-governmental organization in Tel Aviv. The 37-year old works here as a translator for the Tigrinya language. The mood is somber: A few days earlier, the Israeli Population, Immigration and Border Authority launched a controversial campaign to call on Eritrean and Sudanese asylum seekers to either leave to a third country or face indefinite time in jail in Israel. They must make their decision by the end of March.

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