Deji
09-06-2009, 07:10 PM
Hey guys,
I usually don't stand on any soapboxes, but I have rather big crisis on my hands.
As some of you know, I'm a student in Israel, and I have a band. The drummer of that band, is a refugee from Cote Ivoire. He came here to escape persecution from Muslim militias there in the civil war. He's a devout Christian that has made his living for three years, working in the local African church here in Tel Aviv, as well as teaching music and playing with my band and others.
Note that while his status has always been legal, the Israeli government has formed a new unit called "Oz" (Hebrew for "strength") to "combat" the growing number of what they call "foreign workers" and have been raiding immigrant neighborhoods and often deporting people who are legal refugees.
Elisee's refugee status has been revoked and the government has ignored his plea for an exceptional case. He believes that returning to Cote Ivoire represents a serious threat to his life based solely on his faith.
He's tried all manner of last minute hail marys, but all he really has is a petition. I've tried contacting NGO's I've worked with in the past, but other than Amnesty International, none seem to interested in helping.
I've written to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (who represents the district my permanant address is in) as well, but I'm running out of ideas. If you guys could at least sign his petition it could help.
It's in hebrew, but google translate does a so-so job of translating it:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=iw&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atzuma.co.il%2Fpetition%2Fwatermanlior%2F1%2F0%2F4%2F
Also, for those who want to hear him,
this is him playing with us:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul9g5emK_bk
(yes that's me in the Rockets shirt) Sound quality is bad. We are making an album right now, but it may not ever get finished if this deportation goes through.
You can hear more of his music if you friend him on FB: "Element Yves Elisee"
A short letter of support may do a lot for his spirits.
If this irritates any of you, I apologize for soliciting. But I'm sure some of you are interested in signing. Petitions like this in the past have kept other Africans from being deported if they were deemed an essential contributor to the community. And don't worry about not being Israeli. A load of Americans leaving comments may be the kind of pressure that needs to be exerted.
-Deji
I usually don't stand on any soapboxes, but I have rather big crisis on my hands.
As some of you know, I'm a student in Israel, and I have a band. The drummer of that band, is a refugee from Cote Ivoire. He came here to escape persecution from Muslim militias there in the civil war. He's a devout Christian that has made his living for three years, working in the local African church here in Tel Aviv, as well as teaching music and playing with my band and others.
Note that while his status has always been legal, the Israeli government has formed a new unit called "Oz" (Hebrew for "strength") to "combat" the growing number of what they call "foreign workers" and have been raiding immigrant neighborhoods and often deporting people who are legal refugees.
Elisee's refugee status has been revoked and the government has ignored his plea for an exceptional case. He believes that returning to Cote Ivoire represents a serious threat to his life based solely on his faith.
He's tried all manner of last minute hail marys, but all he really has is a petition. I've tried contacting NGO's I've worked with in the past, but other than Amnesty International, none seem to interested in helping.
I've written to Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (who represents the district my permanant address is in) as well, but I'm running out of ideas. If you guys could at least sign his petition it could help.
It's in hebrew, but google translate does a so-so job of translating it:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=iw&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atzuma.co.il%2Fpetition%2Fwatermanlior%2F1%2F0%2F4%2F
Also, for those who want to hear him,
this is him playing with us:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ul9g5emK_bk
(yes that's me in the Rockets shirt) Sound quality is bad. We are making an album right now, but it may not ever get finished if this deportation goes through.
You can hear more of his music if you friend him on FB: "Element Yves Elisee"
A short letter of support may do a lot for his spirits.
If this irritates any of you, I apologize for soliciting. But I'm sure some of you are interested in signing. Petitions like this in the past have kept other Africans from being deported if they were deemed an essential contributor to the community. And don't worry about not being Israeli. A load of Americans leaving comments may be the kind of pressure that needs to be exerted.
-Deji