På ei e-post hvor jeg er medlemm kom denne skildringa fra et øyenvitne til Egypts behandling av sudanske flyktninger, les den å se om dere klarer å forstå grusomhetene…
Dear Friends;
As you know I have been working with and for the Sudanese refugees
living in Cairo.
I was involved with the demonstration of 3,000 refugees, which has been taking
place outside of UNHCR office in a makeshift camp where mostly women and
children has been staying day and night for the past 3 months. They were
demanding their rights from the UNHCR and asking for better treatment
from the Egyptian government…
I have to inform you of what happened at the camp site on thursday night…I
was there and saw everything….It was unbelievable….I have never witnessed
anything like this before…we have 60 Sudanese refugees confirmed
dead, …hundreds injured….everyone who were staying at the camp site,
including women and children have been taken into prisons, around
3,000 refugees….so far they do
not allow anyone into the prisons and I am very much concerned about their
conditions….
The refugees called me around 11 at night and told me to go to
the camp
site right away….thousands of soldiers blocked all area, they started at
9pm…no one out no one in……..police wouldnt let
anyone in….I said I am from canada and they did let me in….I went to the
site area…they blocked it with
thousands of soldiers….I was standing at the park facing the site….as
close I can get….first they sprayed them with water canons….3 -4 times in
that freezing night….I started screaming at officers to stop this….there
are children….you will kill them….they laughed at me….than I saw from
the
left side thousands of soldiers getting ready to go in to the camp
site….they went in….all you could see was black uniforms, their arms
coming down and up….had sticks…they beat everyone, children,
women….everyone….the Sudanese refugees did not have any weapons and they
did not fight….then one by one, pulling, pushing, kicking, forced people
into
buses…..i was standing right there…..they are taking them one by one,
right in front of my eyes…..women, children blood flowing from their
heads….i was screaming, crying, trying to stop them….they treated them
like animals….i saw 2 dead bodies lying on the ground….i went and touched
them…to see if they were alive…no…i cannot describe you what
i have seen….it was inhuman….it was unbelievable….they took everyone
from
the site…last person dragged around 6 am…..they had wet clothes…no
shoes….most didnt even
have some of their clothes on….all their belongings left behind….i was
shaking……..they have been
taken to 7 different prisons….they distributed them into 7 different
prisons…3 hospitals….we went to the hospitals to see the injured and they
told us there were no sudanese refugees there…only showed us 3 bodies……I
received info from one
sudanese at one of the military recruitment center (one of the prisons they
are being kept) that they are being treated badly….still have their wet
clothes on….the injured has not been taken care of…no food so far….no
toilet facilities….and the worst of all we hear they will be deported back
to sudan..I am very concerned….because in front of the
media the authorities treated them so bad, I dont know what they are doing to
them in behind closed doors…children, women all in prisons….UNHCR is the
one who asked the government of Egypt to end the protest. I am sure they know
how the Egyptian police is here and I am sure they knew it wouldnt be a
peaceful affair. I dont know if UNHCR is going to do anything for the Sudanese
refugees that are in prison…Please do what you can to get this news out…or
anything we can do to help them… Do any of you have any contacts
with Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch or any other
organization? Our aim is to get everyone out of prisons and to prevent
the Egyptian government to deport them back to Sudan…
Hope to hear soon from you,
Best regards,
Narin Elalmis