Update: October 29
Can you find out more about Operation Tokhla?
We’ve made contact with one of the witnesses in the Italian court case against Measho and the other alleged Ghost Boat smugglers. That means we need to learn as much as we can, as quickly as possible, about the upcoming trial. And you can help us get there faster.
The first thing we want to know is the names of the defense lawyers for the Tokhla gang. A good place to start might be by reading through Italian-language news articles about the case. If you’re an Italian speaker, you can be especially helpful here; if you’re not, maybe you can still turn up something by using Google Translate? Respond to this message with anything you find.
Recommended Reading
The Guardian profiled Meron and her efforts to help Eritrean refugees, including her work on this project.
“We need to know if [the Ghost Boat passengers] are being held hostage somewhere,” says Estefanos, “or if they are dead so their family can put them to rest.”
Well said.
Yafet’s Story, Continued
[We’re diving into Yafet and Segen’s backstory this week. Catch up with the first and second parts]
Yafet’s illness was the only time in Sudan that he broke communication with Segen. “I didn’t have any contact with anyone,” Yafet explains. “Not her. Not even my sister in the refugee camp. Not even my family.”
Usually, they would speak over the phone, or on Facebook, or Yahoo Messenger. Before he left Eritrea, he had introduced Segen to his family. “My mom also loved her,” Yafet said. “When my mom also loved her, I really, really loved her more.”
After Yafet recovered, he began speaking with Segen again. It had been about a year and a half since he had left Eritrea, and she was growing impatient. But once again, their ability to be together was frustrated by circumstances beyond their control.
In the summer of 2009, Segen told Yafet she was coming to Sudan. “She was afraid that if it took too long, that I may forget her and be with another girl,” he said.
When Segen arrived at a refugee camp in eastern Sudan, Yafet sent some money to help her make it to Khartoum, but she also had a sister living in the city. Since they weren’t married, Segen went directly to her sister’s house. That decision would delay their reunion for another six months.
After Yafet had recovered from his sickness, he met Segen’s sister in Khartoum. She was staying with a cousin who was a pastor in a Pentecostal church. Both of them had converted to Pentecostal Christianity from Protestantism, the religion of Segen’s family, after coming to Sudan.
During their meetings, Segen’s sister and the pastor would try to convert him to Pentecostalism. “They were just trying to change my mind, but I didn’t accept them,” Yafet said.
When Segen arrived, her sister told her that Yafet didn’t have a job and that he was a drunk. She persuaded Segen not to see him. “Segen at that time didn’t have any choice but to believe [her sister] when she talked to her about me,” Yafet said.
“I called her and she refused me,” Yafet continued. “She changed her SIM card and she didn’t ever call me. I used to text her on Facebook or Yahoo messenger, but no answer at all.”
“At that time I was imagining what happened to her… I didn’t know that those people had told her some things about me,” Yafet said.
To be continued…
Onward.
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