Children chained and held in appalling conditions
An eleven-year-old Eritrean boy is one of at least three minors being held hostage for ransom by people traffickers in the Sinai Desert, CSW's contacts reported last week.
Known as Abiel, the boy has a broken arm but is bound by chains on his hands and feet, along with 150 other refugees and asylum seekers who are powerless to help him as he cries out in pain. Two other children aged fourteen are being held in the same inhumane conditions in metal structures close to Egypt's border with Israel.
Human traffickers torturing hostages
While the three minors are reported to have been abducted in Sudan, others in the group were tricked by Bedouin people traffickers after paying for safe passage to Israel. A hostage who has been held for seven months and sold on to four different gangs of traffickers reported that the metal containers in which they are being held are extremely hot during the day and very cold at night. The group is also tortured regularly, with traffickers dripping melted plastic on their backs in order to elicit exorbitant ransom payments from their family and friends abroad.
Follows former wave of Sinai captives
In November 2010, CSW learnt that 250 Eritrean hostages were being held by traffickers near the town of Rafah. They were being repeatedly beaten, branded like cattle, and deprived of food and water. Several men had been threatened with organ-harvesting in lieu of a ransom payment, while women were repeatedly raped by numerous assailants. Around 140 of the hostages were freed, eight were killed and 100 were sold on and are no longer traceable. CSW continues to bring the ongoing situation to the attention of the press and international community.
CSW speaks out against vulnerable Sinai region
Since November 2010, a staggering 2,000 emails have been sent by CSW supporters to their MEPs raising the hostages' plight. Following these latest reports of child hostages, CSW has renewed its calls on the Egyptian authorities to step up its security presence in the Sinai area. CSW Advocacy Director, Andrew Johnston said, "CSW condemns the mistreatment of the three minors and the denial of medical attention to an eleven-year-old child. The general deterioration of security in the Sinai, coupled with increasing reports that armed Bedouin are attacking the Egyptian security services, deepens our concern for the wellbeing of the remaining hostages. Clearly, Egypt's delay in tackling the issue of trafficking is now having unfortunate consequences on the country's internal security in this sensitive region."
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For the many Christians who are in prison in Eritrea for no reason other than their faith, life is terrible. But even if they do manage to escape, they often find themselves in an even worse situation – completely destitute, with no food, no clothes, no money, nowhere to live, and some are still being hunted down by the Eritrean authorities. CSW is there for them in their desperate need, providing the essentials they need to survive, while our advocacy staff work to secure them a better future.
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