Like all states founded on contradictions, critique is probably the only healthy way to show concern for making the space a better place for all in the future. To do less is to collaborate in ongoing colonization and dispossession...
Lately, Jewish Israeli citizens have been [embarrassingly] protesting with racist signs and threats of violence, as well as some acts of violence, toward immigrants, mostly African and Black, who are increasingly blamed for economic woes they have nothing to do. In fact, since the Intifada first started, Israel has closed its borders and lost its captive Palestinian labor force, so it has had to import immigrants to do the jobs considered beneath middle class and even working class Jewish Israelis, and unacceptable for Israeli Palestinians...
It both needs immigrant labor, and uses that labor as a scapegoat for social unrest... should be familiar to European Jews who lived through something similar in the 30s and 40s, no?
-- On Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 12:45 PM, Pius Adesanmi <piusadesanmi@yahoo.com> wrote:
--CorneliusI'm interested in why El Hadj Ibrahima from Guinea had to become Avi Bari before he was "let in" by the Mutesas at the Isreali border. Was his Fouta Djallon identity considered inassimilable? Mwalimu Bangura may start flooding the Knesset with letters of protest against the great injury done to the Afriko-Islamic identity of Avi Bari.Pius
From: Ayo Obe <ayo.m.o.obe@gmail.com>
To: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Cc: "usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com" <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Tuesday, 12 July 2011, 11:48
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Success Story :First IDF Officer from Guinea Began Life in Israel as Refugee
Is this adoption and citizenship process available to Palestinians who are waiting outside Israel demanding the right of return? Once we can answer this question, we can know where to place this story, which is no doubt very nice for the individual who thus becomes the living proof of the wisdom of the General Assembly of the United Nations when it reversed its 'Zionism = racism' vote ... but otherwise meaningless for the main problem which concerns an Israel that welcomes people who have no connection whatsoever with the country other than their religion or Jewish descent, but excludes those who have been there, or rather, had been there, for long centuries. I don't know what the penalties for apostasy are in Judaism (if any) but somehow I doubt that even mass conversion by Palestinians would solve the problem.
AyoI invite you to follow me on Twitter @naijama--Interesting piece.But whatever merits this individual has, I think this is basically Israeli state propaganda, especially designed to take space and cover up the fact that very ugly anti-immigrant, and especially anti-African sentiment is boiling over in Israel, into street demonstrations, racist statements on TV and in Parliament, and the like...This is the context in which this individual story is being promoted by the Israeli army and state, which are very image conscious...--On Tue, Jul 12, 2011 at 5:56 AM, Cornelius Hamelberg <corneliushamelberg@gmail.com> wrote:
http://idfspokesperson.com/2011/07/11/first-idf-officer-from-guinea-began-life-in-israel-as-an-illegal-immigrant/
First IDF Officer from Guinea Began Life in Israel as Refugee
Second Lieutenant Avi Bari
Arriving illegally from the Republic of Guinea to Israel in 2005, Avi
Bari overcame all obstacles that once stood in his path and became an
officer in the IDF. He tells of his journey passing through Morocco to
the Egyptian Sinai desert, to a brief stint in prison, to Tel Aviv and
finally to an IDF base.
Second Lieutenant Avi Bari, known to his family who all remain in
Guinea as Ibrahima, already enjoys a certain notoriety that he owes to
his self-proclaimed status of "the first illegal immigrant to become
an officer of the IDF."
Born in February 1990 in the city of Labé, the Republic of Guinea to
Muslim parents, 2nd Lt. Bari was orphaned at a very young age and
adopted by his uncle when he was 11. At age 15, armed only with his
will to "live a better life", he decided to travel the 5,500
kilometers from his native Guinea to Israel, his now adopted country.
Crossing the desert in pursuit of good fortune
In 2005, Avi decided to leave his home along with a group of other
Guineans. "In Africa, there is no work. I decided to change my life
and go to another country," he explains in the simplest way he can.
After a brief stop in Morocco, he arrived at the Egyptian capital of
Cairo, where he spent a few days before being driven to the Sinai
desert. He then waited for the rest of his group to arrive to Sinai so
that they could cross the Israeli border.
"I remember very well the desert. We were in a tent, two boys aged 15
stood guard. It was forbidden to get up the day. We were sent
tomatoes, tuna, rice by the smugglers. We made a water filter, because
the water was full of earthworms. I will never forget this point in
time.
The wait was very long. At one point I started to panic, believing
that I was ripped off. But the long-awaited day of crossing the border
finally arrived. The smugglers packed us like sardines in a car. Once
we got to the Israeli border, the car stopped. We got out and started
running. Israeli taxis were waiting on the other side, which drove us
directly to Tel Aviv.
First impressions and first steps in Israel
Upon his arrival to Tel Aviv, he established contact with other
illegal immigrants who taught him about Israel, a country virtually
unknown to him. They also helped him take steps to acquire official
political refugee status.
At first I was just in shock. I had 700 dollars in my pocket. I did
not speak the language and it was the first time I saw so many people
with white skin in a country.
However, he managed to enroll in the Beit Shanti school which
specializes in educating children of illegal immigrants and Israeli
children in need. There, he obtained the equivalent of a Bachelor's
degree in Israel, studying agriculture in French and simultaneously
trying to get a work visa. He was initially denied a work visa under a
child labor law because he was a minor at the time.
Meanwhile, he became friends with Abraham, one of the volunteer
teachers from the school, who became a key figure in his career.
Indeed, it was Abraham, a French man of Algerian origin, who helped
him by finding a host family in March 2007.
Life in the Israeli army as a catalyst for integration
It was Abraham who helped make every effort for Second Lieutenant Bari
to acquire Israeli citizenship. In 2008 he was officially adopted by
an Israeli family living in northern Israel and finally fulfilled all
the conditions necessary to obtain Israeli citizenship. His status was
legalized at the end of that year.
My family celebrates Jewish holidays and makes Kiddush on Friday
nights. Now I think in Hebrew, I eat Israeli food, I am used to the
rhythm of life. I feel 90% Israeli. It took time.
His assimilation was catalyzed when he joined the IDF in October 2009.
From the outset, the IDF offered 2nd Lt. Bari to fill a role as an
officer responsible for managing human resources, however, he
preferred to train as an IDF truck driver. After being disqualified
from driving for health reasons, 2nd Lt. Bari decided to take on the
initial opportunity offered to him by the IDF.
It was in the army that I started to feel Israeli. I learned the
culture and history of Israel. We organized trips to Masada and
elsewhere, and that made me love the country. In the army, I made
friends for life. During my classes, I vowed that I will defend this
country. I would do everything to defend Israel, my life is here.
The issue of discrimination and racism
Personally I did not feel that I had to be Jewish to succeed in
Israel. The first time I was called a derogatory racial term, it was
during my officer training. This hurt me because I'm here like
everyone else, a member of a large family. I complained to my
commanders who immediately fixed the problem. It warmed the heart and
it never happened again.
I also once thought that being Jewish meant being a genius like
Einstein. I realized later during officer training school that Judaism
is a religion.
Today, 2nd Lt. Bari acts as bridge between the two peoples. He tells
his family in Guinea about his new life. He wishes to visit his family
at the end of his military service. And the future?
I want to work on the diplomatic relationship between Guinea and
Israel. There are no diplomatic relations between the two countries. I
want to be the first to do this.
Once again, the first.
--
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