The Africans risking all on the Egypt-Israel border

The article that I read about, entitled "The Africans risking it all on the Egypt-Israel border," was very powerful. I found this article on the BBC World News site. After going to the site and clicking on "Africa," I found many different and interesting articles. However, this article stuck out to me because it had some personal interviews with the people who were trying to cross the Egypt-Israel border. The article talked a lot about personal experiences that people who crossed the border experienced and also the reasons that they decided to cross. Many people wanted to come to Israel because they heard things were better there and were looking for a better life for their family. Many of these immigrants who crossed the border have been arrested, deported, abused, and some of them even killed. One man even talked about how he was separated from his family and still hasn't found them. The article also highlights different things that the government is doing in order to prevent all of these illegal immigrants from crossing over the border. One of the ways in which they tried to prevent this was by cutting off a sea route so the African immigrants could not cross the border.

I chose to read and reflect on this article because it really made me see how difficult the lives of the people living in Africa must be. It is so sad to know that there are people who have to sneak around and work so hard in order to keep their families not only together, but alive. I don't know how the people who are patrolling the border can kill these people when they know that they are just trying to search for a better life. I understand that it is their job to patrol the border, but there has got to be a better way to deal with the situation so that so many people do not lose their lives.

After I read this, I also connected it to the situation the United States is facing with illegal immigrants coming here from Mexico. Even though this is illegal for the Mexican people, as well as those from Africa, I still don't believe that these people should be punished so harshly.

Photo: Darfuri refugee, BBC World News Site.