Looking for a shelter

October 18, 2007

I have chosen to get involved in the African refugee cause here in Israel since I have not found any organizations that take volunteers to work with refugee camps in Africa. When I saw how disgusting the shelters are, I chose to determine a way to find a place that can serve as a shelter that actually has showers and a kitchen. The two existing shelters house around 250 people. Several are women and minors. Some of the teenagers are here by themselves with no family. There seems to be a gap between the time African refugees are released from prison and the time they can legally get work. It is not so easy for them to do the undocumented work that is so often done in the USA.

We hear so many stories from these refugees of how they fled into Egypt. There, blatant racism abounded and they were often cheated, robbed, and physically attacked. They said that if they went into town, people would shout at them calling them monkeys and other epithets and would tell then that Egypt was not for black Africans. They told me that the Israeli prisons were not bad and that they were well taken care of while there. They were put there after they sneaked into the country until the government could check out their stories to see if they were indeed refugees. Once they were given asylum, they are released from prison and they apply for documentation from the UN and for work permits from the Minister of the Interior.

The wait is from two weeks to two months for the work permits as this is a new problem in Israel and the staffing at both the UN and the Minister of the Interior is so small. There is no organization providing housing, food, and clothing for these refugees. They are released with no money or food, only their clothes on their backs. There are families with children and many people with no family at all here. There is one organization run by refugees that has gotten some funding for renting shelters. They pay about $1400/month for two disgusting sites housing about 250 people. Their funds are so limited and they rely mainly on donations from individuals. These are not people that you will normally find in shelters in the USA. They are not mentally ill or substance abusers. Instead, they are people that had to flee being killed by their governments. They come from the Ivory Coast, Sudan, and Eritrea. Many sleep outside the shelter where there is room and it is cooler. But, cold weather is coming. When people get work, they can move out of the shelter into an apartment where they cram 6 or more people into about 300 square feet.

There is no A/C in the shelters and it is sweltering and should continue to be that way into the winter with so many bodies. There are no overall TB or disease checkups for them when they enter the country so diseases can spread. Also, the chronic sewage overflow into one of the shelters is certain to spread diseases. The mattresses are often ones that were found on the streets. There are no sheets so whatever the last refugee had, the new one should get soon. There are no showers, kitchens, or toilet paper in the shelters. Many of the commodes are broken. The basement shelter has only one entrance and, should a fire block that exit, there would be many deaths. They often bathe by carrying water outside and pouring it over themselves.

There are families and children sleeping in the open with the other refugees. THESE ARE NOT PLACES FOR CHILDREN. One of the shelters has massive construction going on right outside their door. The noise plus the overcrowding must be close to unbearable. I have heard that they have used the scaffolding to sleep on since there is no other place inside or out. The over-crowding is starting to cause skirmishes between the refugees themselves. They have to compete for a bed and living space.

There often is not enough food to feed the people in the shelter. All of the volunteers are unaffiliated with an organization and thus, feel they can do whatever they feel is needed instead of working under the guidelines of an NGO’s mission. None are paid and a few work for the refugees nearly full-time. Volunteers call restaurants and food services providers to see how much extra they have at the end of the day. There are rarely enough volunteer drivers to make the runs to pick it all up and deliver on a daily basis. Often, they have to get individuals to donate cash to supplement the leftover food donations. These are not career fund-raisers and their personal expenses get pretty high. One woman that volunteers full-time told me of her US$500 cell phone bill.

I am looking for funding to rent a larger relatively clean shelter that has cooking facilities and showers. I would also like funding for a minimal amount of food needed. We will continue to have donors give food and funds for the ancillary needs that pop up daily. We will submit a budget for what is needed to NGO’s and others in order to gain a grant. I think we will need around $2500/month to rent a place plus $400/day for food and other supplies. This is at a minimum. We will probably need $10,000 to renovate the site and make sure that we have working showers and toilets.

I am trying to anticipate the pushback that I will get from the NGO’s. As Darfur is a hot word in the media, these people get better attention and tend to get their work documents sooner. Thus, the shelters mainly house people from Eritrea, Ivory Coast, and other parts of Sudan. I am trying not to take a position as to whether they are fit to be refugees or not or whether the government should allow them to stay or not. I believe that, if they are here, they should be able to live with some dignity. They should have a somewhat clean place to sleep, shower, and to be able to get something to eat. I will determine whether the organizations will be willing to support a shelter that is not mainly for Darfurians.

I am touched by the kindness of these people. I was called the other day to take a refugee with a broken arm from Darfur to the hospital. His friend from Darfur came along. I had to fight with his friend to pay the taxi fare to and from the hospital. We left the hospital after four hours (his arm turned out not to be broken). They invited me to their home as I think they felt bad that I paid for the cab. In their 325 s.f. apartment, they had six people including one married couple, all from Darfur. It was Ramadan so they ate several times during the night. I didn’t expect to be fed but they came up with the traditional Darfur food of porridge served with raw dough on the side. The dish is called Asida. We all tore off pieces of the dough and dunked and rolled it in the porridge with our hands (no utensils and no napkins). All using the same plate in the middle of the coffee table, we cupped the slimy concoction in out palms and at it. Strings of the slime went from our hands back to the plate. “Delicious!”, they all called out as they took bites. I was honored to eat with them. I casually asked them about whether they had lost family members to the Janjaweed militias. They all had. One told me of his father and two siblings that had their hands tied behind their back when they were shot in the back of the head. I didn't bring up the subject again.

I fully admit that I don’t know what I am doing with this fundraising. I am learning something each day. I hope to get this going before I return to the USA in November.