With Passover approaching, Israeli volunteers held a symbolic Passover seder outside the Holot refugee detention center. At the gathering, during which the story of the Jews' exodus from Egypt was told, one of the refugees asked if he could take a moment to speak.

"Israel has experienced many tragedies," said Ayeli Ergai to hundreds of imprisoned asylum seekers, Israelis and human rights activists. "The Jews suffered as slaves in Egypt and during the Nazi regime. Israel of all places should understand what we are experiencing."

Since 2007, a symbolic seder for refugees has been held every year on Passover, the Festival of Freedom. For the last three years, it has taken place outside the walls of Holot, where 3,300 asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan are being held indefinitely in subhuman conditions. Ergai's case is just one example of the way Israel is treating Africans who reach the country in search of asylum.

Ergai said that he arrived in Israel at age 13, together with his parents and brothers and sisters. During his almost 10 years in the country, he completed his high school matriculation exams and began studying at the Sapir Academic College. Half a year ago, he was arrested and sent to Holot.