Fourteen Sudanese refugees were found abandoned outside the Beersheba city hall Tuesday morning, by a Ben-Gurion university student who just happened to be passing by.
The seven women and seven children told the student they were left outside the building during Monday night. Soon after that, several more refugees were found near a local police station.
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| Africans in the Negev / Tzvi Alush |
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African refugees seek refuge in the Negev; government yet to decide their fate |
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"They were panicked… the women had no idea where they were and no idea where their husbands – who were apparently arrested – were," Michal Zvieli, who found the refugees, told Ynet.
Over the last few months Beersheba had seen dozens of refugees from Darfur come to the city after crossing the Israeli-Egyptian border.
Attempting to help, the Beersheba municipality decided - as a short-term solution - to put up 150 refugees in the city's hotels. They have now been there for a month.
"The city has spent over $72,000 trying to find housing solutions for these (150) refugees. We simply can't afford to help any others," said the city in a statement.
As for the 14 refugees found this morning, the Beersheba municipality said it would try to find a solution for them, but would probably transfer them to Ramat Aviv, as Pini Badash, mayor of nearby Omer, suggested.
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