Nick Kimbrell – Avaaz.org

4 févr. (Il y a 2 jours)
Dear friends,

Thousands of East Africans have been kidnapped by sadistic gangs, and tortured in Egypt’s Sinai until their families pay huge ransoms for their freedom. If we show Egypt’s leaders that this dirty secret is out and damaging the Sinai’s tourism reputation, we can force them to end the horror. Sign now:

SIGN THE PETITION
Nine months pregnant and in chains, Haben’s* torturers beat her ruthlessly demanding a $35,000 ransom from her husband and sisters. She gave birth in shackles, beside other terrified captives, with only rusty metal to cut the umbilical cord. It’s unbelievable that this is happening in Egypt in 2014!

Amazingly Haben, a young Eritrean refugee, survived — but she is one of thousands of East Africans who have been abducted by criminal trafficking rings, and tortured in Egypt’s Sinai until their desperate families pay huge ransoms for their freedom. If we can show Egypt’s leaders that this dirty secret is out and damaging the Sinai’s tourism reputation as the ‘Red Sea Riviera’, they could stop the horror.

Every hour these men, women and children are in captivity is an hour too long. Sign the urgent petition now and forward it to everyone. When we reach 1 million signers, Avaaz will raise a massive media storm and place hard-hitting ads in key airports, tourist magazines and websites.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_torture_trade_c/?bcxbQeb&v=35222

It’s an underground economy that runs on the misery of the world’s most vulnerable. Eritreans fleeing oppression at home are kidnapped out of refugee camps, sold to local trafficking gangs, smuggled into the Sinai and repeatedly tortured to extort ransom from families who are forced to listen over the phone. And this despicable torture trade is big business — earning traffickers hundreds of millions of dollars according to a recent report.

The Sinai Peninsula is large and parts are lawless — but the Egyptian government has the power to shut the traffickers down. What they need is the political will to move against these criminal torture gangs. If our community launches a massive global call with hard hitting ads calling out the Sinai’s reputation as the headquarters for the horrific torture trade, the government will be forced to listen.

Torture camps that prey on the suffering and desperation of vulnerable refugees and their families have no place in our world. Sign now to end this horrific trade in human suffering and share as widely as you can.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/end_the_torture_trade_c/?bcxbQeb&v=35222

From breaking the blackout in Syria to fighting violence against women in India, the Avaaz community has fought tirelessly to protect and empower the world’s most vulnerable. If our community acts now, we have a unique opportunity to end the horrific torture trade in Egypt’s Sinai.

With hope,

Nick, Ari, Antonia, Luis, Alice, Bissan, Wissam and the entire Avaaz team

*Haben is a pseudonym, but her story is real.

Extortionists, smugglers preying on Eritrean refugees, report says (Globe and Mail)
http://m.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/extortionists-smugglers-preying-on-eritrean-refugees-report-…

Egypt/Sudan: Refugees face kidnapping for ransom, brutal treatment and human trafficking (Amnesty International)
http://www.amnestyusa.org/research/reports/egyptsudan-refugees-face-kidnapping-for-ransom-brutal-tre…

The Human Trafficking Cycle: Sinai and Beyond (EEPA Report)
http://www.eepa.be/wcm/dmdocuments/Small_HumanTrafficking-Sinai2-web-3.pdf

Thousands of Eritreans ‘abducted to Sinai for ransom’ (BBC)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25222336

Egypt’s Sinai: Trafficking, torture and fear (Al Jazeera)
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2013/12/egypt-sinai-trafficking-torture-fear-201312682516380563.html