"I wanted to build a good future for my family, but I failed," a weak Issam Abdallah Mohammed said in a videotaped statement. The refugee from the Darfur region of Sudan was trying to illegally cross the border from Egypt to Israel when he was discovered and shot by Egyptian border guards. Less than an hour after taping the statement, Issam was dead, succumbing to the wounds inflicted by the gunshots. Every year, thousands of refugees, mostly from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan, attempt the dangerous journey from their war-torn countries to Israel in search of economic prosperity and stability. Very few make it, and the results of the failed migration can be seen in the morgue of the central hospital in the Egyptian port town of El Arish.
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Every year, thousands attempt dangerous journey from African countries to Israel
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Few make it; many bodies of unsuccessful refugees lie in morgue in El Arish, Egypt
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One man combs desert searching for corpses, ensuring they get dignified burial
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Many refugees are enslaved and tortured; women are raped by Bedouin tribes of Sinai
On any given day, the morgue will be packed with the bodies of @placeholder refugees who died trying to make it to Israel.
These @placeholder spend months here, sometimes up to six months in Sinai, before crossing -- if they cross."