A Sudanese refugee couple was reunited with a daughter lost as they fled to Israel. Marhum and Kikongu Bashir, and their 4-year-old daughter, Venus, were among a group of Sudanese who fled the fighting in Darfur and tried this month to slip across the Egyptian border into Israel. Under Egyptian army fire, the Bashirs made it across the border, but in the ensuing confusion Venus disappeared in the Egyptian Sinai. News of the refugee family’s plight reached Jerusalem, prompting Aliza Olmert, the wife of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, to appeal for help to Susan Mubarak, the wife of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Venus was soon located and on Friday was brought to Eilat, where she was met by her parents. Scores of Sudanese refugees have come to Israel in recent months, stirring a debate on whether the country should give them permanent asylum.
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