Children of Foreign Workers Request to Stay in Israel
- 14 years ago
Adversity, population density, and lack of employment motivate many people to leave their countries and look for another country in which to make a living.
And Israel has turned into a magnet for immigrants from all over the world.
[Tamar Schwartz, Mesila, Aid and Information Center for the Foreign Community in Israel]:
"Why do foreign workers come here? Because ours is a western, normal, and rich country. In this age of globalization, we are considered a country that employs workers, and not a country that exports workers. Third world countries export workers, the same way as we export hi-tech, oranges and whatever. This country is the land of milk and honey, and a gold mine for these people."
[Tamar Schwartz, Mesila, Aid and Information Center for the Foreign Community in Israel]:
"It is a regulation of the Ministry of the Interior, according to which a foreign worker who gives birth loses her visa, unless she sends the child back home and doesn't raise the child herself. If she decides to raise him here, she would automatically turn illegal, even if she had a visa."
We met with workers whose families and children were sent back.
So why do these people choose to leave their families and children and go work in Israel?
[Fei, Foreign Worker from the Philippines]:
"It is because we don't have enough work in the Philippines. It's a poor country, and many people are unemployed, so I decided to take a risk and come here."
[Risa Deliosa, Foreign Worker from the Philippines]:
"It is for my family, so my children can go to school, so I can... it is so I can send money to the Philippines, I can provide sustenance, if they want something they can buy it."
Usually foreign workers want to stay in Israel, despite the distance from their families.
This is not a simple issue, but a moral and political question which still remains open.
Reporter: Israela Yablonka Photographer: Anat Markram
NTD news, Israel
And Israel has turned into a magnet for immigrants from all over the world.
[Tamar Schwartz, Mesila, Aid and Information Center for the Foreign Community in Israel]:
"Why do foreign workers come here? Because ours is a western, normal, and rich country. In this age of globalization, we are considered a country that employs workers, and not a country that exports workers. Third world countries export workers, the same way as we export hi-tech, oranges and whatever. This country is the land of milk and honey, and a gold mine for these people."
[Tamar Schwartz, Mesila, Aid and Information Center for the Foreign Community in Israel]:
"It is a regulation of the Ministry of the Interior, according to which a foreign worker who gives birth loses her visa, unless she sends the child back home and doesn't raise the child herself. If she decides to raise him here, she would automatically turn illegal, even if she had a visa."
We met with workers whose families and children were sent back.
So why do these people choose to leave their families and children and go work in Israel?
[Fei, Foreign Worker from the Philippines]:
"It is because we don't have enough work in the Philippines. It's a poor country, and many people are unemployed, so I decided to take a risk and come here."
[Risa Deliosa, Foreign Worker from the Philippines]:
"It is for my family, so my children can go to school, so I can... it is so I can send money to the Philippines, I can provide sustenance, if they want something they can buy it."
Usually foreign workers want to stay in Israel, despite the distance from their families.
This is not a simple issue, but a moral and political question which still remains open.
Reporter: Israela Yablonka Photographer: Anat Markram
NTD news, Israel