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 Elisee's refugee status has been revoked and the government has ignored his plea for an exceptional case.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/transla...www.atzuma.co.il/petition/watermanlior/1/0/4/ 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
hmm...signed. That said, I'm not too sure how big of an impact an internet petition will have...but yeah, it is better then nothing. Have you tried going through the usual stuff...Facebook groups, Twitter posts, blogs?
Yeah, I'm skeptical as well, but as I said, there's a precedent for it. I have a lot of (bona fide) Facebook friends so I tried there. I don't really use twitter or blog, and the people that would read it are on facebook anyway.
Have you started a group though? You can usually get a lot of people in one and it can definitely complement a petition. If you start one or have started one, I'll join that up as well. Seems to be a good cause.
Done. http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=133821626715 I also am paying $100 a day (way more than I can afford) to advertise in Israel for the group (which has links to the petition).
Sorry to hear about the situation with your drummer but I don't think appealing to a primarily American based internet forum is going to help your cause or appealing to a US Rep. This sounds like a purely Israeli issue and while the US has some sway on Israel I doubt an American US Rep will be able to much especially at a time when US and Israeli relations aren't as strong as they normally are. Good luck and I hope things work out for your drummer.
It's near impossible, even if he was willing. You need permission from the government to do it (not likely).
Since he's a devout christian...have him send a prayer request here: http://www.daystar.com/prayer/submit-prayer-requests We have a full-time staff that will pray for him. Also, and I can make NO promises..but if his prayer requests finds the right person at Daystar, you never know. We do a LOT of work in Israel..seem to have some favor there.
Is this for real? You have a full time staff of people who get paid to pray? I could use a part-time job. I truly hope everything works out Deji.
That he is...he believes in divine providence, and he's taking this much better than all the secular jews surrounding him. I passed it on.
could he come to the US, at least temporarily? there's a reasonably large community of emmigree Cote D'Ivoirians here in New York- our babysitter among them. she was here for sometime before getting her green card, and now she's a citizen as well. she was finally able to bring her daughter over last year. she and her family belong to a very devout christian congregation (6 hour services, in French). they tell similar stories about being persecuted my Muslims back in Cote D''Ivoire.
But, then he won't be able to play for the band! I'm kidding; most places in the world would be better to be in than Cote d'Ivoire.
