These African Refugees Hoped to Build New Lives in Israel. Instead They’re Stuck in Endless Legal Limbo

They escaped forced labor and widespread human rights abuse at home. Now they face constant fear of detention and a hostile government — but have nowhere left to go.

Photos by Violeta Santos Moura

On April 3, 2016, a group of young Eritrean conscripts took a leap of faith and jumped out of the trucks taking them to perform what the Eritrean regime calls “military service,” in a forced labor camp. Their family and friends, recruited to stand lookout, waited amid the crowded market area of Asmara, the Eritrean capital, ready to help them in their daring escape.

In Eritrea, a small country along the Red Sea in East Africa that has been called one of the harshest regimes on Earth, army service is mandatory, and most conscripts perform slave-like work, often for decades. Thousands flee the country every year, their attempts met with a shoot-to-kill policy by Eritrean border guards.

During the daring escape in Asmara, things took a turn for the worse. The young fugitives were spotted by soldiers escorting the convoy, and several of the conscripts were shot and killed, along with relatives, friends and strangers passing by. In what was described as a massac…