In its March 17 edition, Al Quds Al Arabi, an independent newspaper, reported: “Have the Sudanese become prone to wandering on this Earth, seeking refuge for many different reasons? The answer to this question resides in the information that was revealed by security sources in the Israeli army, who assured that the security forces that are spread on the border between Egypt and the occupied territories have arrested five Sudanese men as they were trying to cross the border fence and have held them in detention camps, south of the occupied territories.

“What is interesting about the incident, is that around 51 Sudanese have crossed the Egyptian border into the occupied territories, including women and children, knowing that all of the Sudanese hate Israel, and that this predominantly Muslim people have a unified position against the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories and is supportive of the Palestinian people in their just cause. But according to the Israeli security sources, the five that were caught, admitted that they came seeking work… since they couldn’t get the visa to work in the Gulf that is inclined to take Asian workers and that they had no way of entering Europe…

“The reports of Israeli prisons and detention camps confirm that the dream of coming to Israel was pure suicide, due to the hardships that were faced after crossing the border fence and ending up in the Israeli prison. These Sudanese found themselves in a strange environment that was unprepared to receive them and that they were not able to cope with...

“Sudan is rich in college graduates that are suffering from the crises and conflicts in its different regions like Darfur and the east of Sudan… These young men and women will all go abroad, unless the circumstances that are pushing them to flee to Israel are dealt with, even though many efforts are being made to find employment for these graduates and [though] the civil [society] organizations are trying to provide jobs for families that are living below the poverty line…A pause is necessary for a country that suffers from unemployment while its local companies are seeking foreign employees.”