From escaping Isis to growing food: The Eritreans helping Israeli communities rebuild after the Hamas attack

Berhane Negassi was among a group of Eritreans who fled persecution in their home country to seek asylum in Israel, only to be sold off by smugglers and end up held by an Isis affiliate in Egypt’s Sinai. Having escaped, he made it to into the country and is now among those doing what they can to help. Kim Sengupta reports from Kannot in central Israel

Eritrean volunteers say they want to help any way they can (Kim Sengupta/The Independent)

Berhane Negassi knows about terrorism only too well. Travelling from Eritrea to Israel to seek asylum. he and a group of others were sold on by people smugglers to other criminal gangs and eventually ended up in the hands of Isis.

“We were passed on by these gangs from one to the other, in Libya to Egypt. We had become slaves. Terrible things happened to women, to children. Many did not survive. Some of us ended up being held as a prisoner by Isis in Sinai. We were in a really bad situation, but I managed to escape,” he said.

“As soon as I heard about the Hamas attack, I went down to help in the places they had been. They committed murder, torture, burning. What they did was even worse than Isis, in my view. I spoke to others, we knew we had to do whatever we could for this country.”