Bittersweet homecoming for South Sudanese from Israel
lannytyndall on 27 Jun 12
Stepping off the airplane onto a rare bit of tarmac in South Sudan,Victoria Jozef dropped to the ground, tears
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down her face, as she saw her newly independent country for the first time.
Part of the second
batch of 150 South Sudanese that Israel has flown back amid a crackdown on
African migrants, Jozef had
mixed emotions about returning with four children to a home that countless
people fled during five intermittent decades of civil war.
"I was born in
Juba, and I got married here before I went to Israel. I'm happy and that's why
I'm crying", she said, mopping at her tears as other South Sudanese helped
her across the airstrip.
But the happiness was
bittersweet, as many returnees said they did not opt for the 'voluntary repatriation' claimed by both
governments.
"We were forced to
return. We were all arrested and put in jail, along with my children," she
said, adding that one of the children is mentally disabled and remains there
with no news about when he will travel.
"Every year for
four years they told us to renew our visas, I don't understand", she said.
Descending the aircraft
steps in sharp suits, or designer jeans and hip-hop bling dangling off their
necks and ears, and laptop bags straddling shoulders, people darted nervous
glances at the stark, bare landscape.
While others carted
enormous flat screen TVs in a country powered by small diesel generators,
others took pictures on iPhones as mothers wheeled brand-new buggies in a
capital city still largely linked by potholed roads.
"I've been a long
time out of the country... I don't exactly know what's going on here",
said Cris Lori, standing with a small towel draped over his head to stave off
the heat and glare on a rare overcast day.
But despite his fears
for the future, there was no alternative.
"They started with
voluntary repatriation, now deportation and detention," he said.
"Most people or
families in Israel
lost their benefits and they couldn't get their money in the banks or anywhere
as they were captured in their shops", said Jozeff.
Brandishing the piece
of paper that police gave when detaining him despite already registering to fly
home, Aguek Deng Achuil said he had to leave all his luggage after being
arrested at the airport with 25 others trying to transport things home.
"The police for
immigration said: 'We want to catch all the South Sudanese that are in Israel'," he said.
"Israeli people
say: 'We don't need the South Sudanese'. They say we are the cancer and they
are ashamed of us, and they say: 'We don't need black people'."
"I want to tell a
message to my government... to talk to the government of Israel and
release these people, as the children are in prison. Even me, I (was) in
prison", for eight days, he said.
Now back, Achuil said
he would focus on trying to build his nation.
"I want to help my
people -- I go to army, I will do any job just to develop my country like Israel",
he said.
"It's very important
for them to come home and develop their own country", said Allison
Barnabas, director for
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"Me, even I was in
the diaspora. I came back home and now I'm working with the government to
develop our country", he said.
Glaston Boro studied
for six years in Israel
before returning five months ago to start a new life.
"Israeli people
don't like black people, they hate the black people," he said. "They
don't love the South Sudanese people... But we hope they will also come (to)
our country."
*quintin 11 , 3 241 views
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