Darfurian Sudanese Hashim Beya Dambai Ismail has not been summoned to any of Israel’s detention centers; nor has he been pressed to be deported to Rwanda or Uganda.
Unlike many African migrants from Eritrea and other parts of Sudan, and some younger Darfurians, he has just been ignored by the state.
That means no benefits, no pension and a very hard time at finding a job for this 69-year-old – but also no active punitive measures.
Sitting before the Magazine and answering questions about how he feels about the Jewish state, if he thinks he is being treated fairly and whether he wishes he had stayed in Darfur, Sudan, one can see that Ismail is simply lost.
Without the presence of the skillful Arabic translator, his sense of being lost could have been attributed to not understanding the Hebrew questions being asked.
But Ismail was very comfortable with the translator and with expressing himself, including placing his hands on his head in frustration. He also kept lifting up documents from the state which preliminarily recognized he is from Darfur, and became very animated answering the Magazine’s questions in a recent interview at the offices of the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants.
The thing was that even translated into Arabic for him, his thoughts simply were not on the level of identity and philosophy.
One question after another ended with the same answer.
Ismail did not have high ambitions, nor was he demanding much beyond a roof over his head and a bit of dignity to pay minimal necessities.
