Avera Mengistu, a 37-year-old Jewish and Israeli man from the Ethiopian community, is held captive in Gaza by the terrorist organization Hamas.
Avera was born in Ethiopia and immigrated to Israel with his parents and 10 siblings. He grew up in the southern developing town of Ashkelon (20 kilometers from the border with Gaza).
Avera’s mental condition began to deteriorate after the passing of his older brother, with whom he was very close. He was hospitalized in a mental facility twice, where he received psychiatric treatment.
On September 7th, 2014, Avera left his home, and for unknown reasons, crossed the border into Gaza. Shortly after crossing the border, he was taken hostage by Hamas. Hamas has denied access of the Red Cross and other human right organizations to check on his condition.
Hamas claims they are holding Avera because he is a soldier, but in fact, Avera has never served before in the Israeli army. Avera is in a delicate mental state, and it is highly probable that he was in this same extremely unstable state when we crossed the border. His captivity by Hamas is inhumane and in violation of international protocols, laws and all Human Rights directives for captive prisoners (especially those suffering from mental illness).
The family has met with Human Rights organizations in Geneva, including the Red Cross and Amnesty International, in an effort to gain their assistance and to put pressure on Hamas to release their son. They provided medical documentation proving Avera’s hospitalizations in mental health facilities and his need for medication and therapy, as well as documentation showing that he did not serve in the army or carry any weapon = he is in no way involved in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The family returned to Israel with the promise of help, yet to this day, no help has been forthcoming.
On January 16, 2023, Hamas published a video of Avera, in which a seemingly edited voice says: “I am the prisoner, Avera Mengistu. How long will I be here in captivity?” The video was published on the day that Hertzi Halevi took office as the 23rd Chief of Staff of the State of Israel. The Prime Minister of Israel had confirmed that this video serves as a legitimate proof of life, the first one in 8 years.
Today, Avera is still under Hamas captivity, and the public has limited information on his condition. It is hard to overlook the socio-economic and ethnic background of Mengistu and his family. They belong to one of the poorest social economic sectors of Israeli society. Avera’s brother, Yalo, has stated that if Avera were white, the affair would have been handled differently.
“Counting Avera” was founded by an activist that was born and raised in the same neighborhood as Avera, the older sister of a disabled woman. The purpose of this community is to call for the immediate return of Avera by raising awareness to his story and the bias towards mental health problems. Many of our community are people with disability. We work together to show that Avera’s disability should exonerate him from being used as a pawn by Hamas.
Avera is alive.
We’ve demonstrated in front of the Prime Minister’s Residence, we held a rally to mark Avera’s 8 years of captivity, we campaigned for politicians ahead of national elections, we’ve disputed biased journalistic statements with The Second Authority for Television and Radio.
We need your help. Join us.
We will keep talking about Avera in every day.
Until someone counts Avera.
Until Avera returns home.
The Mengistu family cannot save their son on their own. They need our help. Avera is an innocent citizen that needs help. He is being used as a pawn by Hamas, in a conflict that is much greater than him, than any of us.
Avera is not just the son of Agernish and Ielin Mengistu, he is the son to all of us, a brother to all of us. We will fight for him and we will not rest until he is returned to his home and family.
our community
כל הזכויות שמורות לאתר סופרים את אברה Ⓒ2023 | אתר זה נבנה ע”י גרפיסול
