African Migrants in Israel faces a Life of Hardship - REPORT

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Sitting on a ledge in front of Ayelew Desale's grocery store behind Tel Aviv's central bus station, Selemon Tesfy inhaled the last bits of his cigarette and recalled his flight from Eritrea to avoid a lifetime of servitude. He was kidnapped in Sudan, sold to Sinai Bedouins, and freed only after his family gathered its savings, borrowed money, went begging and paid $30,000 to secure his release.

Tesfy reached Israel in 2011 and repaid his debt, but last year Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed a law that slashed his take-home pay. Now employers who hire illegal migrants like Tesfy must deposit 20 percent of their pay in a fund where it will stay until they leave the country, providing they leave when ordered to go. Tesfy, who cleans knives in the meat section of a supermarket, said he can no longer send remittances home.

Several human rights and aid organizations have appealed the law to Israel's High Court of Justice. "Deteriorating poor people to even more bitter poverty is extremely brutal," they argued in their complaint.

One aid organization, Kav La'Oved, said that since that law passed, about 300 people reported moving to jobs where they were paid in cash, cut expenses on food and medicine, or were working longer hours. Assaf, another aid organization, said that more than 1,300 people have requested food or live in fear of losing their jobs. Many experience health and mental problems.

Bisrat Gebryesus, director of the Eritrean Women's Center in Israel, says prostitution is on the rise. Most mothers are single parents who need money for food and kindergarten expenses. Gebryesus said a woman in this situation sometimes has "no choice but to sell her body."