THE SAGA OF THE ERITREAN REFUGEES AND THE HUMAN SMUGGLERS
Introduction (by ICER Executive)
Dear Readers,
The International Commission on Eritrean Refuges is humbled to present an extensive report on names, institutions and contact numbers that we strongly suspect and in many case believe are involved in the tricking, kidnapping, selling, extorting, torturing, and possibly in the participation, knowingly or inadvertently of the death of many Eritrean refugees escaping the intolerable political and economic conditions of their homeland. It took the commission thousands of hours and considerable resources to investigate and ascertain the events and names mentioned in the report. The report in its present form would not have been compiled without the help and support of Eritreans in the refugee camps and in cities and towns of Ethiopia and Sudan. With tremendous risk to their lives, the informants came forward to expose the evil among us and put stop to the criminal activities of human trafficking that the young is subjected to for over 6 years. Many refuge advocates in both the Sudan and in Israel gave a valuable support and were the drive in publishing the report. Among the governments in the Nile valley where the atrocities are occurring, only the Israeli authorities attempted to arrest and confiscate hundreds of thousands of dollars from the criminals in the business of extortion upon the complaint of victims. The Sudanese and Egyptian governments were unwilling to stop the illegal activities going on in their territories while the Government of Eritrea far from taking steps to address the problem facing its citizens in foreign lands have even refused to acknowledge the problem exists.
We believe the 15 page report would be useful means to encourage victims and their families to help ICER connect dots or fill the blanks to launch campaign against the evil practice facilitated by Eritreans and commandeered by the Bedouin and other groups. It would also be of great value to bring law suit against persons and governments who abate or put blind eye to human trafficking that results in extortion and human organ harvest. In the report 108 persons and few institutions are listed. But this is by no means complete as there are hundreds still under the radar that need to be exposed for our effort to be crowned with success. Here is how it goes:
The Saga of the Eritrean Refugees and The Human Smugglers (with a list of their names)
Part I: Background
Eritrea, a nation with many woes has produced about 237,000 refugees since 1998 war with Ethiopia. An equal number are found scattered throughout the Sudan who left home in late 1960 on the onset of the civil war. This tiny nation of 4 – 5 million has more than its share when it comes to producing refugees. It is also a nation that promotes terror in order to justify the biting of war drum for perpetuity so as to make it as raison d’être for its existence. Sadly enough the entire Eritrean youth has become a victim of this criminal behavior conducted by an insane leadership. The majority of those escaping the trap carefully laid by the ruling EPLF are from urban areas if not urbane in a strict sense of the word. They are neither skilled nor highly educated to make life easy for themselves. The fact remains they are young, restless, and ambitious to take life passively. As a result many become victims of Human traffickers and unscrupulous international human organ hunters. During a visit to a refugee camp in Ethiopia in mid-2011, an assistant high commissioner of UNHCR, Erika Feller said she was shocked to see such a “sea of young faces.” The new refugees included a significant number of unaccompanied children, some as young as six-years-old.
Despite the common wisdom that wars and repression are factors that set motion to massive exodus of people, we cannot escape from the harsh reality of recognizing that economic depression, created by unfavorable political conditions adds fuel to the smoldering fire making it globally uncontrollable. The Eritrean president in many occasions stated the refugees escaping his reign of terror are simply economically deprived people trying to find their place in the global economy that he is not part. Not questioning his ulterior motives, I would agree with him that job opportunities are limited in Eritrea, but this was resulted from ill conceived policies that strangled the economy of the country. Thus, one would assume that the flow of refugees is unlikely to stop unless the political conditions and economic prospect of Eritrea in its present state is improved or changed for the better where citizens including business men, traders, farmers and professionals are allowed equal opportunity in building the country. No doubt the mass exodus as witnessed today will be drastically reduced or become orderly at most if the socio-political condition in Eritrea improves.
Following the brief background to the problem that have caused so much pain to the young and their families, we shall proceed to expose the various opportunistic actors nevertheless important ones that are profiting out of the human misery unfolding in Eritrea. For this reason, we shall focus on elements who facilities the abduction and sale of unsuspecting Eritrean refugees to human traffickers who in turn make profit by blackmailing parents in Eritrea and relatives abroad. These Eritrean nationals not only work as go between the outlaws who hold their victims in dungeons and caves across the Sinai but also facilitate the transfer of funds through banks in the Sudan, Egypt, Dubai and Israel.
Part II: The Scope of Human Suffering
As the urge to leave Eritrea intensifies so was the business of human trafficking assuming dangerous dimension. At first, that is, when the human smuggling begun in mid 2000s it was mere 1,000 to 2,000 USD to smuggle a person out of Eritrea through the Libyan Desert to the Mediterranean cost. Under much difficult conditions and occasional death resulting from thirst and food deprivation and sometimes shooting by the traffickers themselves and on occasion by border patrol, refugees arrive in Tripoli or Benghazi to face yet Libyan justice where they are treated as common criminals and thrown to prison. Despite the mistreatment and deprivation of all what is human, few made it to Europe. Up to this period the relationship between the smugglers and those wanting to leave Africa behind was based on mutual interest. After the treaty of Friendship, Partnership and Cooperation signed between the ‘Italian Republic and the Great Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamhariyya’ the road to Europe become more difficult and tighter. It is important to understand here that at the heart of the Italo-Lybian treaty signed in 2008 was how to stop the flow of illegal immigrants across the wide sea. As Mr. Berlusconi himself put it, the purpose of the agreement was, “less illegal immigrants and more oil.” Following the agreement a new but dangerous route was charted to release the pressure that was building up in the refugee camps of Sudan and Ethiopia. It is here that various actors come to the scene to play a complex role of smuggling refugees into Israel, through the Sinai. In other wards new method of smuggling people has to be devised to surmount the difficulties posed by the agreement, i.e. to stop illegal immigrants from entering Europe.
But the hurdle put by the agreement was much more difficult to need simple solution. It required bribing Sudanese and Egyptian border guards especially when they reach the crossing point to the Sinai. Given its strategic position, the desert peninsula is only accessed by two heavily guarded bridges that must to be circumvented. Thanks to the network of the Egyptian Bedouin who stand to profit most, this part of the game is solved easily. Unfortunately, this increases the price of the hostages when released. Mind you, crossing the bridges or taking the long Red Sea route to the Sinai can be considered as the end in the scale of the chain of smuggling activity but many are also involved at the source where enticing (tricking) the anxious ones to take the trip is as vital as to abducting the unsuspected to selling them to local hostage takers. What follows next is bizarre to say the least. Families at home are contacted about the predicament of their loved ones and are instructed what to pay and where to drop or on whose bank account to transfer the ransom money. Sometimes hordes of hostages are assigned to ordinary Sudanese or Egyptians households for safe keep until the journey to Sinai is reasonably safe. Understandably, they also benefit from the human smuggling enterprise.
Many Eritrean nationals scattered throughout Egypt, the Sudan, and Israel continued to profit out of the poor young Eritreans anxious to leave their homeland. Our investigation reveals that few in the Ethiopian refugee camps are also involved in smuggling out of people from Eritrea in as long as they can pay 1000 to 2000 USD. Some of those elements that we suspect have hand in the shady business of human smuggling have comfortable life uncommon to the majority of the refugee population. Some Ethiopian nationals are also engaged in convincing refugees to proceed to the Sudan where condition is purportedly better than what it is in Ethiopia. Once they arrive in the Sudan they are consigned to the smugglers who put tight rein over them before transporting them to Sinai where they are sold for the price that few can afford to pay.
Working in cahoots with the Eritrean nationals is the Rashaida with close tribal connection to the Rashaidas in the Sudan and Egypt. The desert chameleon, as we would like to characterize the Rashaidas, are mobile, trade savvy and perfectly capable in cross border trading from time immemorial. Without these group of people, human trafficking would not have been elevated to what it is now, regional menace. They are the most important link in the business and need to be exposed if one wants to minimize the tragedy. If the ultimate aim is to stop human organ harvesting or relive the Eritrean family both at home and abroad from bankruptcy and heartache the chain of gangsterism in which the Rashaida play a prominent role need to break and break soon.
The International Commission on Eritrean Refugees (ICER) as one of the organizations advocating for the right of Eritrean refugees has felt obligated to publish names and addresses and telephone numbers of people whom we suspect are involved in human trafficking and by implication in aiding and abating the harvest of human organs from unsuspected people in which they have indirectly profited at the expense of the victims and their families. Against human decency, young people as young as fourteen years old are sold to slavery where their humanity is completely disregarded and their dignity tarnished all for making money to satisfy their personal avarice. In this sad episode married women were raped in front of their husbands, underage girls raped, and some carried unwanted pregnancies to finally commit suicide than to shame themselves and their families. The case in point is an Eritrean man in Ashkelon, Israel, who stubbed his wife and her infant baby and then hanged himself all because of his wife’s misfortune of giving birth to a rape baby in June 15, 2011. It remains one of the top priorities for ICER to cooperate with other organization working for human welfare to apprehend the culprits and bring justices to the victims and their family.
Methodology
The methodology used to collect the data is through direct interview with victims and police reports from Israel. Unfortunately, there were no police or court reports obtained from Sudan, Egypt or Libya as they are more concerned of their image than the plight of the refugees. ICER contacted the Egyptian Interior Ministry to shade some light on the atrocities committed in their territory but are adamant not to deal with it. So far Egypt has not taken any step to stop the torture and extortion of Eritrean Refugees except for the warrant of arrest issued to apprehend the notorious human trafficker Abu- Abdallah by possibly the governor of North Sinai Abdul-Wahab Mabrouk.
As for Sudan and Libya let alone investigate the crimes occurred in their territories they in turn are in complicit with the government in Eritrea to periodically deport army deserters and persons deem dangerous back to Eritrea. However difficult it may be to obtain information from authorities in this countries, numerous people who passed through the terrible experience came forward and narrated their stories. Some in hiding in Libya and many in Egyptian prisons were also interviewed. The name of the collaborators and their handlers were obtained from the Camps in Sinai, the Sudan and the refugee sites in Ethiopia. Some also dropped their tips through e-mail.
The report is also enriched by the help of many colleagues in Sudan but most of by refugee advocates in Israel who took it upon themselves to inquire authorities to provide information with regard to Eritrean refugees who just made it to Israel. Some of the information in the report was broadcasted at Radio Delina in 2011. Furthermore, published works and websites were used to support the text. Below are list of names suspected in the torture, blackmail, extortion and possible death of many innocent Eritreans on their way to the ‘Promised Land’. It should be noted here that some are not real names possibly while many are first names and few nick names. In this shady business of human trafficking real names are traded for fake or nicknames and persons are as illusive as the mirage in the desert.
Part III: The Gate to Hell, Sudan
The Eritreans in the refugee camps in the Sudan are as unsafe as they have been in Eritrea. The reason is that some of the Sudanese security forces instead of protecting the unprotected they in turn are cooperating with human smugglers to deliver innocent refugees for sale. A case in point is the narrative that was floating in the Camps for months that 17 people were abducted by the Sudanese security forces and handed over to the Rashaidas who transported them to the Sinai for ransom. This was told to Mr. Guterres during his visit to the refugee camps in mid-January 2012 and to the Sudanese officials who came to accompany the dignitary to the Shegrab refugee camp. It is after the fact that the UNHCR head came out with the statement indicating that ‘human kidnapping and sale of refugees must stop’.
If only the government in Sudan is more cooperative than what it is now thing would have turned differently for the traumatized young fleeing the country. As indicated earlier, section of Sudanese authorities, bypassing existing national and international laws governing the treatment of refugees (1951 Geneva Convention) are eager to deport the refugees to Eritrea in behest of the Eritrean Government. What is more distressing is that officials in the government cooperate with the smugglers by rounding up refugees even those with UNHCR cards for sale. The case of 15 persons, three of whom abducted from Guluj a town inside Eritrea in early January 2012 tells clearly the dimension the refugee situation has reached in the Sudan. In another case when 12 young people crossed the border seeking refuge in the UNHCR camps, the patrol in the area summoned Rashaida human smugglers and negotiated over them for sale. Unfortunately, they all ended up in Sinai where two are reported dead and one lost his mind as a result of sever torture administered by the criminals.
Names of criminals suspected of involvement in human trafficking in the Sudan:
1.0 Angosom Teame Akolom (አንገሶም ጠዓመ አኮሎም). Nicknames: Angosom Wajehey, Angosom Kidane. Source indicates that he hails from Rohoito (ሮሂቶ/ሮሒቶ) in the Southern Region but lived in Adike (ዓዲቀ) with brief stint in Saudi Arabia before moving to Khartoum, Sudan. Angesom is well organized constantly changing his telephone number and have 9 people working for him. Informants claim that he is crucial in the overall scheme of things and if apprehended it would be a big blow to the smuggling and extortion ring. He is a middle aged person of about forty years old. Angesom a known facilitator and human trafficker residing in Kessela at Shari Alwali (Alwali Street) whose house number is not identified. This fellow is well build, tall by Eritrean stature, with wide face and always wearing a Palestinian hijab on his head. His base of operation is Ethiopia and Sudan. He smuggle people from Ethiopia to Sudan via Humera and Metema. The Plate number of the vehicle he uses to smuggle people out of Ethiopia is 69530. Upon crossing the border he changes his plate number to Sudanese Motor vehicle code. It is alleged that he is directly and indirectly responsible for the sale oft three thousand innocent Eritreans. This notorious human trafficker whom we suspect have some Sudanese officials of higher echelon in his pocket is dangerous and armed. We suspect strongly that he was at one time a member of the Eritrean Intelligence agency.
2.0 John Meharay (ጆን መሓራይ) from Onna Andom (ዖና ዓንዶም). At one time he worked for Angesom before forming his own criminal group that brought a sort of rivalry between him and his former boss. Their rivalry was so intense that it is rumored John Maharay went to Addis Abeba in search of Angesom to assassinate him. The competition between the two was compounded by John’s audacious action of trying to sale some of Angesom’s human merchandise to the Bedouin. Sadly many of his victims died when the boat they were traveling capsized on the Nile River killing many. Unconfirmed report indicates that he is under arrest presumably of squabble arising from his main rival on the share of ransom money. Meharay have not been seen or heard for many months and some observers believe that he is dead, a victim of his own making.
3.0 Teklebrhan Haile (ተኽለብርሃን ሃይለ) , nickname Wedi Haile or Wedi Dekemhare. This person is a wolf among sheep because he lives inside the refugee camps and instrumental in screening who is gullible, anxious and helpless to be sold to slavery. He also conspired to snatch unsuspecting Eritreans from the refugee camps for sale to the Rashaidas. He is an Eritrean from Dekemhare (ደቀምሓረ) a town some 40 kms from the capital Asmara. To cover his identity he sometimes claims that he is from Dbarwa (ድባርዋ) a town west of Dekemhare in the Southern Region. He is equipped with two telephone for this purpose. The telephone numbers registered in the Sudan are +249923308729 and +249901715686.
4.0 Abu Hamdi (ኣቡ ሓምዲ) whose nationality unclear but likely to be a Sudanese or Eritrean Rashida. This criminal is conveniently located at Kessela a town in Eastern Sudan some 20 km away from the border. He buys and sells Eritreans to the highest bidder. He must have close working relationship with smugglers inside Eritrea and Ethiopia. At one point ICER using the help of an investigative reporter discovered from the very source engaged in buying people that a 145 people from the refugee camps in Ethiopia were on their way to the Sudan ready to receive them. Our attempt to stop the madness did not bear fruit and later we learned that most of them ended up in Sinai to be charged 20- 30,000 for their lives.
5.0 Medhane Yidhago (መድሃኔ ይሕደጎ) is alleged to be an agent residence for the notorious Bedouin outlaws in the Sinai, Abu Khaled and Abu Abdallah. He is a loner but shrewd with close ties to the Rashidas and responsible for the transport of people from Kessela to Khartoum. He keeps close contact with Filmon ‘the collaborator’ in one of the Sinai dungeons. He is about 36 years old and from the village of Makarka Adi Hanis, Anseba Region (መቐርካ ዓዲሓንስ/መቐርካ ደቂዳሽም/ደቂ ሸሓይ)
6.0 Mussie ( ሙሴ) whose full name is yet unavailable but suspected to be a go between the Rashidas and some Army personnel in Eritrea. He is believed to be member of Popular Front for Democracy and Justices (PFDJ) who collected a huge Ransom money from abroad perhaps Norway and other Nordic countries. In fact he was an Ex Major in the Eritrean Defense Force, a Battalion commander from Adi Akelom/Adi Atkelom(ዓዲኮሎም/ዓዲኣትከሎም), operates from Shegrab (ሸገራብ)Refugee camp.
7.0 Yohannes (ዮሃንስ) nickname Wedi Batsi (ወዲባጽዕ), works closely with the Rashidas and known for corrupting Sudanese security forces.
8.0 Magos Grmay Gebremariam,(ሞጎስ ግርማይ ገብረማርያም) nickname: Wadikeshi (ወዲ ቐሺ). Known for his enticing and cajoling ability where he delivers unsuspecting Eritreans for sale to the Rishadas. He is from the village of Adishaka in Karnashem the Central Zone(ዓዲ ሸካ/ ካርነሽም).
9.0 Yonas (ዮናስ) also known as China (ቻይና), real name is Mihreteab(ምሕረተአብ), He is from ZobaDobub (ደቡብ), Sub ZobaEmniHaili, AdiGodi(ዓዲ ጎዲ/ዓዲ ገዳ?). Until recently he was using the phone +249904469022 works closely with his cousin (Negasi Iyasu -ነጋሲ ኢያሱ); he uses phone number +249905485995
10.0 Another extorting gang with no second name in Khartoum (ካርቱም) is Ermias ( ኤርምያስ) . His telephone number up to writing of the report is 249926202900
11.0 Golay/Sinay (ጎላይ/ሲናይ/ሰናይ) (same person with two names) sells people to the Rashada in the Sudan (ሱዳን)
12.0 Among the multitudes allegedly engaged in human trafficking but not yet clearly identified by their second name are :
1) Tesfameskel Weldu
2) Zemihret (ዘምሕረት) (no second name), operates from Khartoum(ካርቱም) and quiet a player in the smuggling ring
3) Tedros ( ቴድሮስ) (no second name)
4) Bereket (በረኸት) (no second name)
5) Ali (ዓሊ) (no second name)
6) Tsegay (ፀጋይ) (no second name)
7) Kibrom (ክብሮም) (no second name) also operates from Shegreib (ሸገራብ)
8) Dejen Wedi Tesenai (ደጀን ወዲ ተሰነይ) operates from Khartoum(ካርቱም)
9) Teklit Sheitan (ተኽሊት ሽይጣን) hails from Himbrti (ሕምብርቲ)but stationed in Khartoum(ካርቱም)
10) Kflai Teklezghi from Deki Shehai Anseba Region (ክፍላይ ተኽልዝጊ ካብ ደቂ ሸሓይ) works from Khartoum(ካርቱም). It is alleged that at one time he made 50,000 USD
11) Mhretab Wedi Azen ( ምሕረተአብ በዓል ዓዜን) possibly from the Central Zone, operates from Khartoum(ካርቱም)
12) Chlie Wedi Asmera (ጨሌ ወዲ ኣስመራ) also conduct his shady work from Khartoum(ካርቱም)
13) Mogos Wedi Keshi (ሞገስ ወዲ ቐሺ) operates from Khartoum(ካርቱም)
14) Hamid Wedi Cheba (ሓሚድ ወዲ ጨባ) from Dekemhare(ደቀምሓረ) in Southern Region stationed in Khartoum(ካርቱም)
15) Abraham Bilenay (ኣብራሃም ቢለናይ) from Keren, Anseba (ከረን) also operates from Khartoum(ካርቱም)
16) Mebrahtom Tzegai (መብራህቶም ጸጋይ) hailed from the village of Oqbayes (ዑቕባየስ) near Mai Aini (ማይ ዓይኒ) located in the South. He is a wolf among sheep in Shegrab (ሸገራብ) refugee camp. As recently as last month he is responsible for facilitating the holding and sell of 22 Eritrean refugees to human traffickers.
17) Dawit Wedi Aynetta (ዳዊት ወዲ ዓይነታ) from Areza (ዓረዛ) Southern Region. He lives in Shegrab(ሸገራብ) refugee camp
18) Tewelde Wedi Tesenai (ተወልደ ወዲ ተሰነይ) works from Shegrab(ሸገራብ)
19) Afewerki (ኣፍወርቂ) From Asmara (ኣስመራ), Shegrab(ሸገራብ)
20) Fekadu (ፍቓዱ) from Asmara(ከባቢ ኣስመራ) environs he is or was in Shegrab(ሸገራብ)
21) Abdu Hashat (ዓብዱ ሕሸት) hailed from Adi Keih, South of Eritrea (ዓዲ ቀይሕ), lives in Khartoum(ካርቱም)
22) Woldu Zerit (ወልዱ ዘርኢት) from Tzeazega (ጸዓዘጋ), the Central region, operates from Khartoum(ካርቱም)
23) Cheait Wedi Tokombia(ጨዓይት ወዲ ቶኾምብያ), lives inside Shegrab camp(ሸገራብ)
24) Samuel Wedi Segeneiti (ሳሙኤል ወዲ ሰገነይቲ), also works from Shegrab(ሸገራብ)
25) John Dnish (ጆን ድንሽ) from Deki Shehai, Anseba Region (ደቂ ሸሓይ) works from Khartoum(ካርቱም)
26) Osama (nick name)(ኦሳማ) from Shegrab (ሸገራብ)
27) Desbele Mengsteab Wedi Gmja (ደስበለ መንግስትአብ ወዲ ግምጃ) works from shegrab
28) Tesfa Alem Manja (ተስፋ አለም ማንጃ) hails from Inda Dashm (እንዳ ዳሽም), Anseba region and operates from Shegrab
29) Aassir Abubaker (ኣሲር ኣቡበከር) from Tigre (ትግረ/መታሕት) nationality
30) Anwar (ኣንዋር) from Nara (ናራዊ/ናራ) nationality
31) Filmon ( ፊልሞን) based in Kassala (ከሰላ)(not the collaborator in Sinai)
32) Abdu (ዓብዱ) based in Shagarab(ሸገራብ)
33) Gere (ገሬ/ገረ) based in Shagarab(ሸገራብ)
34) Awet (ዓወት) also known as Handagit (ሓንዳጊት) (Kessela/Khartoum)(ከሰላ/ካርቱም)
35) Yonas Tsegay (ዮናስ ጸጋይ) small time smuggle ring leader (sudan) (ሱዳን)
36) Rissom (ርእሶም) works for YonasTsegay(ዮናስ ጸጋይ)(Kessela/Khartoum ) (ከሰላ/ካርቱም)
37) Tekle WediSenafe (ተኽለ ወዲ ሰንዓፈ) (Kessela/Khartoum) (ከሰላ/ካርቱም)
38) Wedi Megem (ወዲ መገም) (or Wedi Mergem ወይ ወዲ መርገም) Sudan(ሱዳን)
39) Wedi Hadgu (walks with cane )(ወዲ ሓድጉ ብምርኩስ ዝወሳወስ መጻጉዕ) Sudan(ሱዳን)
11. Kehasse (ከሓሰ) from Inda Dashem, Anseba Zone (እንዳ ዳሽም) a.ka. Wedi Batsi (ወዲ ባጽዕ) sold or bargained to sell many Eritreans from Adi Quala (ዓዲ ዃላ) to Abu Hamdan (ኣቡ ሓምዳን) the Rashaida human trafficker at 21,000 each.
12. Khaled Wedi Barentu (ኻልድ ወዲ ባረንቱ) is smooth operator where he sold unknown number of Eritreans at 8,000 USD few years ago when price was fare. He works for Ibrahim (ኢብራሂም) sometimes called Abu Mohammed/Abu Hamid (ኣቡ መሓመድ/ኣቡ ሓሚድ) a Rashaida who worked on human trafficking for a long time. He is also associated with known smooth talkers, turned human kidnappers and traffickers such as Wedi Haile(ወዲ ሃይለ), Wedi Qeshi(ወዲ ቐሺ), Teklit(ተኽሊት) and Kflai Teklezghie(ክፍላይ ተኽልዝጊ)
13. Abraham (ኣብራሃም) from Adi Keih, South of the country (ዓዲ ቐይሕ), believed to be in prison in Ethiopia because of his human trafficking activities is a 28- 30 years old scandalous person who impregnate a young refugee girl and abandoned her. He sold or facilitated the sale of 28 Eritreans to Abu Hamdan in 2009 or 2010
14. Abu Hussien is Sudanese Rashaida (አቡ ሓሰን ሱዳናዊ ረሻይዳ ናይ ፖሊስ መኮነን) and perhaps Chief of Police in one of the Sudanese districts. We believe he gives police cover to the assorted human traffickers in the Sudan. He shares some proceeds from the ill gotten money.
Part IV: The Hell, Sinai
It is open secret that those ultimate beneficiaries of the human trafficking and organ sale are the Bedouin Arabs of Egypt together with Rashaidas whose origin is Saudi Arabia but found scattered throughout the Nile Valley and some Gulf states. Their relationship with the Bedouin Arabs in Egypt is organic based on trade. According to Burhan Ali published in Awate.com in December 14, 2010 the Rashaidas “ are taken to be one tribe by the average Eritrean, but these are three Arab tribes, all belonging to the supra tribe of Rashaida scattered in Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Eritrea, Libya, South Egypt and the Sinai Peninsula. The three Rashaida tribes of Eritrea are: Al-Baratikh, Al-barai’ids and Al-Zilaimat collectively known as bani-rashid-al-absia .”
The Sinai population is estimated at 50,000. All the inhabitants of Sinai are not necessarily involved in the gruesome act of human trafficking and organ harvesting. They are opposed to it for many reasons. First of all they are human beings with strong religious conviction but more importantly, the human trafficking business unseen in their region is drawing unnecessary attention to jeopardize the lucrative inter-boarder merchandise trade conducted by sections of the population. Thus, to show their opposition to the inhuman trade conducted in their midst some 3,000 Sinai inhabitants hold a mass demonstration in September 16, 2011. If that is the case, therefore, which among them is responsible of kidnapping, trafficking, extortion, organ harvesting and death to thousands of Eritrean young stretching from Eritrea and the refugee camps of Ethiopia to the Sudan, Egypt and Libya? They amount to no more than five families who together with their associates in Eritrea, the Sudan and Ethiopia who made fortune. ICER painstakingly collected the information and made it public so that justices will be served and that victims are compensated whenever possible.
1.0 Abu Abdallah Qantillah (ኣቡ ዓብደላ ቀንጠአላህ) from Mekleh (መክለህ) near Nahkhab (ናህካብ). This fellow is quintessential of evil that is suspected of murdering his hostages for slight infraction of the rules set by his prison camp attendants He does not hesitate to take cruel measures against those unable to pay ransom money. He is stout man in his late thirties. In the mid of 2010 a warrant of his arrest was issued by Egyptian authorities. His phone number is listed as 017-6662444.
2.0 Mohammed (መሓመድ) and Ahmed Al Mashi (አሕመድ ኣል ማሺ) run camps north of Al Goreh, near the border with Gaza. They have close ties with some Palestinian elements who protects their interest
3.0 Abu Tarik (ኣቡ ታሪክ) works near the Rafah area. He is the brother of Abu Abdallah and is heavily involved in smuggling Eritreans and Sudanese from the South and West. The phone number listed under his name is 012 5946294
4.0 Abu Musa (ኣቡ ሙሳ) also known by the name Samh (ሳሚሕ), has Mehari (መሓሪ) an Eritrean national also known by the name Anwar (ኣንዋር) a.k.a. Tadesse and popularly identified as Kornel (ኮሮኔል) works for him. In the Israeli circle he is known by the name Tadesse. Kornell, Anwar or Tadesse hails from Hailay (ሃይላይ/ሓይላይ) and is an experienced human trafficker with blood in his hands. His earlier work in the shady business of human trafficking in Libya made him an indispensable underling to Abu Mussa. He is based in Sinai with an Israeli phone number 054-5560453/054-5251978. Kornell and Kravan (ክራቫን) are resident of Tel Aviv and work hand in glove.
5.0 Abu Hamed (ኣቡ ሓመድ) is another Bedoui holding many hostages about 15 minutes walk from the Israeli border. He tortures people to create fear and sympathy on loved ones who are forced to pay ransom money on behalf of his prisoners. An Eritrean woman who sneaked to Israel testified that he tortured (rape?) her uninterruptedly for more than 8 months. His contact phone number is 054-7099653
6.0 Based on numerous account from ex-hostages among the lesser human traffickers in Sinai the following stands high:
6.1 Abu Ali, (ኣቡ ዓሊ)
6.2 Jonsini and Yousef (ጆሲንን ዩሱፍን) (Phone number 054-8897512) are brothers and their father is Abu Hamed (ኣቡ ሓመድ)
6.3 Abu Zakki, (ኣቡ ዛኪ)
6.4 Abu Tahir (ኣቡ ጣህር)
6.5 Abu Hamdan (ኣቡ ሓምዳን)
6.6 Abu Ahmad, (ኣቡ እሕመድ)
6.7 Bacha, (ባቻ)
6.8 Taleb, (ጣልብ)
6.9 Salah, (ሳልሕ)
6.10 Abu Kaman,(ኣቡ ካማን)
6.11 Hadji Kamal(ሓጂ ከማል)
6.12 Jemal Yasin (ጀማል ያሲን) the phone number reads 00201064090843, 00201021194735
6.13 Two Eritreans with fake names Alexis and Yonas played a prominent role in the kidnapping and later on the torture and death of number of hostages by the Bedouin Arabs in one of the camps. The witness by the name Askalu later identified their true name as Hannibal and Ambes where they were briefly detained by the Israeli authorities after crossing the border.
6.14 Filmon (ፊልሞን) a collaborator and facilitator in one of the Sinai camps
Although constantly changing the following phone numbers have been used by the human smugglers to kidnap, transport, torture, extort and transfer money 054-9372736, 0546016411, 0549170391, 054-5593847, 054-8897512, + 20192358173, +20190596460, 291-725-3561, 291-721-5720, +20195419487. The numbers are registered in Egypt, Israel and Eritrea.
Part V: The ‘Promised Land’
1.0 Mosola Tesfai (ሞሳላ ተስፋይ) with nickname Monsour (ማንሱር) and also known as Robel. Before he entered to Israel illegally through the port of Eilat, he worked in one of the Bedouin human trafficking camp. He crossed into Eilat, Israel on January 27-28, 2011. He came to Israel with enough money to buy a protection from Ethiopians of Israeli citizen. He is known for ransoming dozens of Eritreans and for collaboration in the death of at least 4 Eritreans named Haile. Misgina, Dawit, and Tesfu. He was born in Maylaham (ማይ ለሓም) a village in Margusse (መራጉዝ) the Southern Region but grew up in Tesenai. An Eritrean asylum seeker in Israel, Tecle Hibtay, who paid 13,000 USD for her freedom, is willing to report to the Israeli police and testify against him in the court of law. His phone number is 054-7142589. Although he changes his number frequently, as of July 2011, the line remained active.
2.0 Makina Mangistab, (ማኪና መንግስተኣብ) whose nickname is Achilu (ኣቺሉ). He Lives in Shapira neighborhood in Tel Aviv. According to rumors, he was previously being questioned by the police but nothing came out of it. He collects ransom money from friends/relatives of the hostages in Sinai and transfers it to the kidnapers. He has been involved for at least six months, if not more. His Phone number is 054-9771910.
3.0 Kravan (ክራቫን) presumably nickname is a traditional musician living in Tel Aviv. He also collects and transfer money to the human smugglers. He works with Mehari (መሓሪ) a.k.a Anwar ( ኣንዋር) a.k.a Kornell(ኮረኔል) a.ka. Tadesse(ታደሰ), the collaborator in Sinai serving Abu Musa (ኣቡሙሳ) or Samih (ሳሚሕ), the Bedoui. His phone number is 054-6513619.
4.0 Mehari (መሓሪ) an Eritrean national also known by the name Anwar (ኣንዋር) a.k.a. Tadesse and popularly identified as Kornel (ኮሮኔል) is the subservient to the notorious Abu Mussa the Bedoui human trafficker. In the past he was intimately connected with an Eritrean husband and wife in league with traffickers that were caught red handed with hundreds of thousands of dollars in their internet cafe in Neve Sha’anan in Tel Aviv.
5.0 Teklit or Berihu (ተኽሊት ወይ በሪሁ). Collects money from distressed families sent to Israel and pass it to the smugglers in Sinai. Phone number 0549562150
6.0 Mebrahtu (መብራህቱ) is an Eritrean serving the interest of the most notorious torturer and killer Bedoui Abu Abdallah (ኣቡ ዓብደላ). Until recently his phone number was active and can be reached at 017-5333485
7.0 – Daniel (ዳኒኤል)- received 12,000 USD on May 10th to his bank account from England as ransom to be transferred to the smugglers by him. Used the phone number – 054-8378693
8.0 In January 10,2010 Haartez an Israeli daily reported the following account:
8.1 Two Eritreans Negasi Habte(ነጋሲ ሃብተ) and Fatwi Mehari(ፍትዊ መሓሪ) were arrested in early January with 100,000 USD in their possession
8.2 Another agent residence of the human traffickers in Sinai, Mohammed Ibrahim (መሓመድ ኢብራሂም) was caught by the police with huge sum of 50,000 USD.
9.0 Since the arrest of Futun (ፉቱን) and Muhamed (ሙሓመድ) by the Israeli police in Jerusalem, the Eritrean collaborators have stopped using Israeli Banks as medium of transaction. It is rumored that they are using the Arab Banks in Jerusalem for transferring funds to Dubai Banks where the ransom money is in turn transferred to Sinai. Obviously, fewer questions are asked in the Arab banks to send such huge amount of money.
10.0 According to Israeli police the following people are questioned in relation to working for the smugglers in Sinai. Three of those suspected and questioned by the Israeli police are Ethiopians :
10.1 Yonas Araia Zerisenai (ዮናስ ኣርአያ ዘርኢሰናይ)
10.2 Medhin Gebreyonas.(መድህን ገብረዮናስ)
10.3 Luol wodi Tewelde Zegai. (ልኡል ወዲ ተወልደ ጸጋይ)
10.4 Negasi Wedi Gaber Habte.(ነጋሲ ወዲ ጋብር ሃብተ)
11.0 Two women who arrived in May 30, 2011 to Saharonim detention center in Israel informed the authorities that she was helped by one Derar (ድራር) whose phone number was 054-942-7198 and 052-803-7296, Derar transferred ransom money on their behalf to the smugglers.
12.0 Other names suspected of collaborating with the human traffickers in Israel are: Geray(ግራይ), Tedros (ቴድሮስ), Masawa(ማሳዋ-ምጽዋዕ/Bazel (ባዘል) (same person with two names)
The Bridge, Egypt
Egypt alongside Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Khartoum is not only a country were ransom money is transferred to but also a place where politics revolving around refugees is debated. In Cairo there are those who facilitate the transport of many refugees who choose to travel to Ethiopia rather than returning home. Few are also working for the government who try to convince refugees to go back to the land of ‘milk and honey’ Eritrea. As recently as early February 2012 some 42 Eritrean refugees who has been under detention for illegally entering the country and were in various Egyptian prisons left to Ethiopia on their volitions. Certainly these annoys the Eritrean Ambassador in Egypt, himself born and breed in Cairo to continuously deny their existence, hence for not raising the question of the hostages in Sinai, their torture and sometimes organ harvest with the Egyptian authorities. So far the following persons are suspected as working hand in glove with the hostage takers and perhaps the Embassy in Cairo.
1 Zeray Yitbarek (ዘርአይ ይትባርኽ) holds Eritrean diplomatic passport
2 Solomon Tsegay (ሰለሞን ጸጋይ) receives money from family members and instruct others to receive money on his behalf. The involvement of others is an effort in the part of Solomon to cover his track and avoid the scrutiny that he so abhors
3. Goitom (ጎይትኦም) presumably cooperating with No 1 and 2 mentioned above
4. Chiay (ጨዓይ) presumably cooperating with No 1 and 2 mentioned above
Progenies of the Human Trafficking
Human trafficking begins innocently in Eritrea. The many who lost hope to stay at home and make something out of their lives either leave to the Sudan or to the Ethiopian refugee camps to begin their vigil for repatriation to a third country. If that does not work then they take the treacherous road leading to Europe by any means available. There are many in Eritrea and Ethiopia who are ready to facilitate their escape requesting only 2,000 USD. Medhane (መድሃኔ), a fellow Eritrean who was shoot by the Egyptian border police in late 2010 narrates his story to CitiNews.net by saying ‘I got the telephone number of one of the smugglers in Asmara and agreed (to go) with him. My trip which started from Asmara took us a month to reach the Sudan. From there we proceeded to Egypt with 50 of us including men, women and children’.`
As mentioned earlier many among the refugees in the refugee camps are involved in smuggling people out of Ethiopia and Eritrea. These elements are now considered wealthy among the wretched 80,000 in the camps. In early 2010, ICER received a report that bus trip numbering 15-20 was organized by the traffickers from the Ethiopian refugee camps to Sudan. The fate of those who took the risk willingly is unknown. ICER cannot confirm whether the UNHCR personnel or Ethiopian authorities are aware of the 15 – 20 bus trips to the Sudan
According to the UN Monitoring Group on Eritrea and Somalia (UNMGES) high level Eritrean officials may have benefited from the human trafficking enterprise conducted in broad day light. Military officers in the Western zone headed by General Kifle Manjus (ጀነራል ክፍለ ማንጁስ) are suspected as involved in human trafficking. Their active collaboration with ethnic Rashaida smugglers to move human cargo through the Sudan into Egypt and beyond is underlined by the UN report. Furthermore, the report submitted to the UN states that ‘proceeds from smuggling have been deposited and has provided the Swiss authorities with information related to this account, together with the personal and contact details of the Swiss-based coordinator of this trafficking ring and details of the coordinator’s Egypt-based associates.’
Because of their status in Ethiopia, the smugglers in the camp are not as brazen as their counterparts in the Sudan. They are secretive but at the same time openly menacing to anyone opposing their actions. Angesom Teame .a.k.a. Angesom Wejahy/Angesom Kidane as well as his former underling John Meharay must have close working relationship with the following ring leaders in the Ethiopian refugee camps. The list below is partial and not complete by any means. When investigation is complete ICER will publish it in time.
1 WediTewelde(ወዲ ተወልደ) (Mai Ayni Refugee camp- ማይ ዓይኒ ) in Ethiopia(ኢትዮጵያ)
2 TsegayZeriga (ወዲ ፀጋይ) (Mai Ayni Refugee camp- ማይ ዓይኒ) in Ethiopia(ኢትዮጵያ)
3 Tesfalidet (ተስፋልደት) he owns restaurant inside the refugee camp (Mai Ayni Refugee camp – ማይ ዓይኒ) in Ethiopia(ኢትዮጵያ)
4 Abraham(ኣብራሃም) nickname Golam (ጎላም) manages an entertainment center with Pools and Billiards at Mai Ayni Refugee camp -ማይ ዓይኒ)
5 Franko (ፍራንኮ) not his real name but own Tea shop in Mai Ayni Refugee camp -ማይ ዓይኒ)
*Assorted people (and institutions) suspected in the money transfer Business across many locations including Asmara and Ethiopia
1- A woman named Rozina (ሮዚና) in Jedda Saudi Arabia (ጅዳ ሱዑድያ)
2- ‘Berhane Hawala’( ብርሃነ ሓዋላ ኣብ ኢትዮጵያ) in Ethiopia
3- Simret (ስምረት) at a place called Hrahara in Asmara (ሃራሃራ ኣስመራ ጥቓ ሻምሩክ መለሃይ ለይቲ) near Famous Shamrouk night club
4- Mussie in Hamdaiet (ሙሴ ኣብ ሓምዳይት) just on the border of Sudan and Eritrea
5- Mustapha and Radwan in Khartoum (ሙስጣፋን ራድዋንን)
6- Commercial Bank Of Dubai. (ዱባይ ንግዲ ባንክ)
New Hope Auto Spare Parts Trading (LLC)
AC # 1000822377.
Baniyas Square Branch.
Swift. CBDUAEAD.
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