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Violence reported included punching, slapping, kicking, and whipping. Others described torture, including burial in the sand, electric shocks, hanging by one's hands and legs, burning with white-hot iron bars, prolonged sun exposure, and other types of burning. About 15% have scars and other bodily signs showing abuse.
One victim said:
"They tied me and beat me up every day. I have scars all over my body - above the eye, on my back. They tied me feet upwards and beat me on the heels. I broke an arm and several fingers. Since then, they did not heal so well. To me, Sinai was hell on earth."
Another said:
"Those who couldn't pay were held in a container, kept in chains and beaten constantly. Four treated this way died, including children. We started out as a group of 12 people who arrived in Sinai, and I know of only eight who made it to Israel. I don't know what happened to the other four...."
Some victims were so traumatized, it was hard for them to relate their experiences, especially women, raped or otherwise sexually abused. Shame and guilt affected them even though they were victims, helpless to stop it.
One woman, however, said:
"I was raped repeatedly....under gunpoint over a period of five months. I became pregnant as a result. When I arrived in Israel, I was sent to a prison facility. I was depressed and threatened to commit suicide if they wouldn't let me have an abortion. When I was released, I went to PHR-I's Open Clinic."
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