In a mass act of civil disobedience, over 150 Sudanese asylum seekers chose not to show up for the evening roll call Sunday night at an ‘open prison’ in Israel’s south.
Instead, they set out on a march to Be’er Sheva, more than 50 kilometers (30 miles) away, where they spent the night at the central bus station in freezing wintery conditions. According to law, the detainees must check in with prison authorities three times a day.
On Monday morning they continued marching toward Jerusalem in order to protest their continued detention without trial and to demand recognition as refugees. They group will set out to on the last leg of the trip to Jerusalem on Tuesday at dawn.
Photos: Oren Ziv, Yotam Ronen, Keren Manor, Shiraz Grinbaum / Activestills.org
Sudanese refugees who left the ‘Holot’ open prison camp at the central bus station in Be’er Sheva, December 15, 2013. (Photo: Activestills.org)
Sudanese refugees who left the ‘Holot’ open prison camp rest at the Be’er Sheva central bus station, December 15, 2013. (Photo: Activestills.org)
Sudanese refugees who left the ‘Holot’ detention facility sleep on the ground at the Be’er Sheva central bus station, December 15, 2013. Temperatures were expected to near freezing overnight. (Photo: Activestills.org)
African Asylum seekers take part in a protest march on the highway from Be’er Sheva in southern Israel on their way to Jerusalem on December 16, 2013 after they fled a detention centre in the south where they were being held. (photo: Activestills.org)
African Asylum seekers take part in a protest march on the highway from Be’er Sheva in southern Israel on their way to Jerusalem on December 16, 2013 after they fled a detention centre in the south where they were being held. (photo: Activestills.org)
African Asylum seekers take part in a protest march on the highway from Be’er Sheva in southern Israel on their way to Jerusalem on December 16, 2013 after they fled a detention centre in the south where they were being held. (photo: Activestills.org)
African Asylum seekers take part in a protest march on the highway from Be’er Sheva in southern Israel on their way to Jerusalem on December 16, 2013 after they fled a detention centre in the south where they were being held. (photo: Activestills.org)
African Asylum seekers take part in a protest march on the highway from Be’er Sheva in southern Israel on their way to Jerusalem on December 16, 2013 after they fled a detention centre in the south where they were being held. (photo: Activestills.org)
African Asylum seekers take part in a protest march on the highway from Be’er Sheva in southern Israel on their way to Jerusalem on December 16, 2013 after they fled a detention centre in the south where they were being held. (photo: Activestills.org)
African Asylum seekers take part in a protest march on the highway from Be’er Sheva in southern Israel on their way to Jerusalem on December 16, 2013 after they fled a detention centre in the south where they were being held. (photo: Activestills.org)
African Asylum seekers take part in a protest march on the highway from Be’er Sheva in southern Israel on their way to Jerusalem on December 16, 2013 after they fled a detention centre in the south where they were being held. (photo: Activestills.org)
African Asylum seekers take part in a protest march on the highway from Be’er Sheva in southern Israel on their way to Jerusalem on December 16, 2013 after they fled a detention centre in the south where they were being held. (photo: Activestills.org)
African Asylum seekers take part in a protest march on the highway from Be’er Sheva in southern Israel on their way to Jerusalem on December 16, 2013 after they fled a detention centre in the south where they were being held. (photo: Activestills.org)
African Asylum seekers take part in a protest march on the highway from Be’er Sheva in southern Israel on their way to Jerusalem on December 16, 2013 after they fled a detention centre in the south where they were being held. (photo: Activestills.org)
African Asylum seekers take part in a protest march on the highway from Be’er Sheva in southern Israel on their way to Jerusalem on December 16, 2013 after they fled a detention centre in the south where they were being held. (photo: Activestills.org)