Eritrean refugee who once landed in Ktzi'ot detention earns PhD in Jerusalem

At a Hebrew University ceremony in Jerusalem, Betom Gabrzegiahar, 44, received a doctorate in sociology after a long journey from Eritrea that included flight, detention and years of uncertainty. Married and a father of four, he fled Eritrea's dictatorship, endured imprisonment and deportation in Kenya and Ethiopia, crossed the desert on foot from Sudan to Israel in 2007, and was then held for two months at the Ktzi'ot detention facility.

Although he arrived in Israel with a bachelor's degree in statistics from Asmara University, Gabrzegiahar spent years supporting himself through hard agricultural work while struggling with language and living costs. He told the ceremony,