‘She Died While Missing Us’: Experiences of Family Separation Among African Refugees in Israel

Abstract

AbstractBetween 2006 and 2013, approximately 64,000 African migrants and refugees entered Israel across the border with Egypt. Most of them arrived from Eritrea, Darfur and South Sudan. Due to Israel’s harsh migration laws and asylum policies, African refugees are not granted a legal status, which means, among other things, prolonged family separation with no prospects for family reunification. In this chapter, we explore the experiences of family separation among Sudanese and Eritrean refugees. In particular, we aim to understand the causes of family separation and how refugees who have been separated for years from their immediate and extended families live with the insecurity caused by separation. The data draws on ten semi-structured interviews, including eight with Sudanese and Eritrean refugees residing in Israel. In addition, we draw on our long-term experience of and activism with the asylum-seeker community in Israel. The findings suggest that while refugees experience administrative violence and are unable to change immigration regimes, they may however find ways to regain their sense of security, such as cultivating alternative social relationships and passing on their language and traditions to the next generation.