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assisting in the realization of civil and social rights
"Просила дать ребенку еды". Белоруску не пустили в Израиль и отправили за решетку с 6-летней дочкой
25.05.2018
In early May, Yulia Buraya, a resident of Minsk, and her 6-year-old daughter flew to Tel Aviv. Her husband's relatives were waiting for them at the airport. However, the meeting of close people did not take place. The mother and the girl were refused entry. The reason is "preventing illegal migration." The woman was sent to a temporary detention center for two days. The child went to jail with her.
Yulia did not come to the editorial office alone. Her husband Eduard Tinkilstein and their little Lisa are with her. She and her husband take turns talking about what happened. It's about what happened to her and her daughter in Israel. It's about how I tried to help them in Belarus.
—Eduard's own sister, nephew, and brother live in Israel," Julia's wife lists the relatives. — They came to Belarus more than once and invited us to their place. In May, we finally succeeded.
Julia and Lisa flew to visit. Edward had to stay at home because of work. Tickets were bought there on May 8th, and back on the 23rd. Her husband's nephew Alexander wrote a handwritten invitation, took a picture and sent it to Eduard on WhatsApp. Here he indicated his passport details and the address of Larisa Namestnikova's mother, where the guests were going to stay. The Israeli Interior Ministry did not certify the paper. Eduard is sure that since Belarusians do not need a visa to this country, then a stamp on the invitation is not required.
The family printed out the invitation from Alexander. A copy of Larisa Namestnikova's passport was attached to it. During the document verification, the mother and daughter provided all these papers to the airport employee. For about 20 minutes, Yulia continues, the girl looked at everything carefully, and then asked her and Lisa to "go into some room." From there, the border guard invited them for another check.
— He started asking: "Who is Larisa Namestnikova?". I answer: my husband's sister. "And who is Igor?" he continues. And I can't even imagine who he's talking about," the interlocutor returns that day. — From the words of the border guard, I understood that some time ago Larisa made an invitation to a certain Igor, he flew to Israel and stayed. Later, he announced: three people entered our country through your relative. Larisa, they say, was warned: no one else would be allowed to see her. I say, "I don't know anything about that." He: "You're cheating."
The man in uniform ignored Yulia's objection that her nephew was inviting her, not her sister-in-law. The offer to go to their other Israeli relatives or contact the consul also remained unanswered.
All this time, relatives were waiting for Julia and Lisa at the airport. According to Eduard, Alexander and Larisa stayed here until 6 a.m.: they called the Interior Ministry, tried to communicate with the border guards, but nothing happened.
"According to the border guard, I planned to stay in Israel," Yulia does not hide her emotions. - "But why?!" — I disagree with him. My husband and I are doing well in Belarus: an apartment, two cars, a cottage. After all, my husband is Jewish. If we wanted to move, we would have done it legally.
The arguments did not work, and the Belarusian woman and her child were denied entry.
"In the morning, we were woken up by a guard: "Get up immediately, you have very little time."
Further, according to Yulia, the story developed like this. It was about three in the morning, and he and Lisa were sent to the border waiting room. The baby asked to eat. The guard did not allow her to go to the cafe, but he brought the girl two rolls wrapped in cellophane and 0.33 liters of water.
— We waited, we waited ... — the interlocutor continues. — I don't remember how much time has passed, a woman in uniform came up to us and said very kindly: "Don't worry, you and your child will now go to a place where you can relax, take a shower and sleep." I was sure that we would be taken to the hotel.
The "hotel" turned out to be a two—story building with bars on the windows and a fence around the perimeter. The furniture in the cell is appropriate: two double-story iron beds, a table and a faulty TV. The room is designed for four people, but mom and daughter were here together.
The Belarusian woman's belongings were left in the basement, and in return they received a disposable sheet. There were no pillows in the cell, just a blanket and a dirty mattress. With nowhere to go, Mom put her jacket under her head, and she and Lisa fell asleep.
— In the morning, we were woken up by a guard: "Get up immediately, you have very little time," Julia describes what is happening. — We didn't know what was going on, we jumped up, got ready, and my daughter didn't even have time to go to the bathroom.
It turned out that the schedule included a walk. They took me out for a walk twice a day. Julia was immediately warned: tell the girl not to run, let her be near you all the time. Lisa was the only child here.
"After about 15 minutes, we were locked in the cell again," Yulia returns to those events. — I understood that the child needed to eat. She knocked, asked for food and water. After some time, my daughter was given a plastic box containing two yoghurts, a bun, a waffle, two cherry tomatoes and three slices of cucumber. Lisa eats, hands me half a bottle... it feels like you're at war.
They brought a jug of tea to drink, and in the evening there was also water.
— These sets were given to Liza for dinner and breakfast, for lunch there were two servings of rice and fish in tomato sauce, — the interlocutor describes the menu. — All this is smeared around the box. Liza pecked at the side dish a little — and that's it, we didn't touch it anymore. I say, order us a pizza, I have a card, I can pay — it's not allowed.
Requests to call the husband, to contact the consul were met with: «Shut up».
— The light and air conditioning were on in the cell day and night, — Yulia continues. — The child was in conditions that are completely unsuitable for him. Luckily, it was warm outside, we opened the window and warmed ourselves standing near it. Liza was pale, her stomach hurt constantly. I explain to the guards: we have health insurance, the child needs a doctor. We were sent to the prison doctor. Liza's temperature is 35.2, mine is 37.3.
«The most I could find out is that your family is safe and sound and will leave on the next flight»
Yulia and her daughter flew to Minsk on the night of May 10. The day before, the mother was allowed to call Israeli relatives to warn them of their return to Belarus.
— I couldn't find peace for two days. I was in constant contact with my nephew, — this is Eduard speaking. — On May 9, the Belarusian embassy in Israel was closed. I contacted everyone I could. A friend informed the consul about our story. The most I could find out is that the family is safe and sound and will fly to Minsk on the next flight.
On May 10, Eduard went to the Israeli embassy in Belarus. There, he says, they listened and referred him to Belarusian diplomats. Eduard's nephew Alexander contacted the Belarusian embassy in Israel. He was told: the mother and the girl were not allowed into the country. At the moment, they are in a «buffer zone», not on Israeli territory, and cannot be helped. Later, the family was informed that everything is fine with Yulia and Liza.
On Monday, Eduard submitted an appeal about the incident to the Israeli consul in Belarus. Now the family is preparing a complaint to the Foreign Ministry. Yulia's husband is outraged that his loved ones spent two days behind bars.
— There was a 6-year-old girl with her wife, and no one helped them! — he doesn't hide his emotions. — They were deprived of basic human rights. Okay, they have questions for Larisa, but what does Yulia and Liza have to do with it?! We have enough other relatives in Israel. Why should my family pay for someone else's mistakes.
— And how did Larisa explain the situation?
— She said that she had not given invitations to anyone and did not know about the ban on entry to her guests. According to her, these three people are from Khabarovsk, the city where she used to live. They knew each other in Russia and upon entry, when asked if they knew anyone in Israel, they replied: "Larisa Namestnikova."
The other day, Edward found out that his family had been banned from entering Israel for five years. He says it didn't upset him much, there are enough other countries in the world for traveling. Now he wants to find the passengers who flew with Yulia and Lisa on the same flight on May 8, and asks them to contact the editorial office.
"The Israeli side does not consider the temporary detention facility to be a prison"
The Belarusian Embassy in Israel explains that the Israeli side does not consider the temporary detention center to be a prison. Children and adults find themselves in this isolation ward in equal conditions.
— If the parents were not allowed into the country, then the children themselves will not be sent across the border. In this case, the child becomes a hostage of the situation," says Igor Verigo, First Secretary for Consular Affairs. — Recently, for example, a Ukrainian family with an autistic child was taken to a temporary detention center. The boy was afraid of confined spaces, he needed medicines, but that didn't stop anyone. The Israeli side does not consider this to be any violation. The parents were told that there was a doctor there.
According to the expert, they try to resolve situations when children are behind bars faster. However, the diplomats are unable to influence the decision of the Israelis. All they can do is advise the person so that he can fly home as soon as possible.
— In my practice, there were only two cases when children were admitted to the temporary detention center, — the interlocutor continues. — At that time, the parents were able to report the problem from the airport. Both families were not allowed to enter Israel, but they did not enter the center for displaced persons either. We put in a lot of effort, but in the end we promptly returned them home — without spending a long time at the airport.
The diplomat does not know about the situation with Yulia Bura's family. Perhaps, as he suggests, the relative who called did not inform him that there was a child behind bars.
— It's only been two weeks since May 10th. Since then, we have contacted the migration service twice, but there was no information about the children there," says Igor Verigo. — In any case, when we are contacted by phone and the person on duty answers, the call is recorded. At the same time, relatives are always told how to act in such situations, what the consequences may be and how to speed up the return of relatives home.
According to the expert, on May 21, Belarusian diplomats and a delegation attended talks at the Israeli Ministry of Tourism.
"I strongly recommend that citizens who were not allowed to enter Israel seek their right to make a phone call from representatives of the migration service and immediately inform us about the problem,— says Igor Verigo. — Officially, the Israeli authorities assure us that all foreign citizens can contact the embassy and consulate. Belarusians claim that they do not have such an opportunity. This issue was also highlighted in the negotiations. At the end of the month, consular consultations between the two countries will be held in Israel, where we will also raise this issue and express concern about the current situation. Using all the facts at our disposal, we will seek some constructive solution.
Source: www.tut.by
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