Sunday, December 1, 2013

Israel's New Racism - Interview with film maker David Sheen

About 60,000 African migrants have arrived in Israel since 2006, fleeing unrest in their home countries. But upon arrival in the ostensibly democratic country, the migrants have faced intense persecution and have been branded as "infiltrators" by right-wing politicians and activists.
We speak with film maker David Sheen about his new film Israel's New Racism: The Persecution of African Migrants in the Holy Land

Listen to the interview here

Kidnapping of Eritrean Migrants - Interview with Meron Estefanos

Meron Estefanos is an Eritrean journalist and human rights activist. She is a contributor to the leading Eritrean diaspora news site Asmarino and a presenter for Radio Erena. Estefanos is the co-founder of the International Commission on Eritrean Refugees, an advocacy organization for the rights of Eritrean refugees, victims of trafficking, and victims of torture. She actively campaigns for freedom and democracy in her country, which has suffered under the dictatorship of Isaias Afwerki since 1993.

We spoke to her about he plight of Eritrean migrants, who en route to Israel are kidnapped for ransom and held in the Sinai desert.  We also spoke to her about the horrendous treatment that African migrants receive by Israeli state and society.

Meron has set up a PayPal account to collect donations to help the families of Eritrean hostages in Sinai. To donate, go to PayPal.com and transfer to the account soscare@yahoo.com. Note that the account is not set up as an official charity.

Listen to the interview here