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June 20 is Refugee Day. The EPDP Information Office is republishing this article that was posted on Harnnet.org on 25 August 2014 to mark the occasion.

Eritrea is a small country with an estimated population of 6 million and a size of 120,000 square km. Eritrea as a nation was established 124 years ago by Italian colonial occupation. The population is composed of 9 ethnic/linguistic groups and the majority are agriculturalists, nomadic cattle herders and fishermen.

Eritrea has been successively colonized/ruled by Italy, Britain and Ethiopia. The Eritrean people's resistance against its colonizers has taken many forms, peaceful and armed. Eritrea became independent in 1991 after 30 years long (1961-1991) armed struggle against the Ethiopian occupation and has become a sovereign nation through an internationally recognized popular referendum 1n 1993.

As we all know, the main causes of human displacements and refugee flows are natural disasters, wars, poverty, bad governance and corruption.

The first wave of Eritrean refugees:-

Eritreans began to flee their country in large numbers in 1967, when the Ethiopian army started to carry its scorched earth policy by burning and bombarding whole villages in the lowland areas of Eritrea where the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) fighters were active. These refugees were mostly Muslims inhabiting the lowland regions of Eritrea as well as some from the highlands. The first group took refuge in the Sudan.

The second wave of refugees:-

In 1974 Emperor Haileselassie was deposed by a military junta, the Derg. The military junta carried successive campaigns of terror against the people of Eritrea and intensified its attacks against the Eritrean liberation movements, ELF and EPLF. As a result, many Eritreans were forced to flee their country to the Sudan, the Middle East and even as far as Europe and North America.

The third wave of refugees:-

The cause for this flow of refugees was the civil war in 1980-81 that was waged between the two biggest Eritrean liberation movements. As a result of this, tens of thousands of ELF fighters and civilians were forced to enter the Sudan. Many of these fighters were in due time able to reach Europe and North America through legal and illegal means. More refugees left the country in 1984-85 because of drought and famine.

The fourth wave of refugees:-

This flow of refugees happened after the border war between Eritrea and Ethiopia of 1998-2000 and it has not shown any sign of coming to an end. The main reason for the flow of these refugees is the open ended national service. Originally the project was meant for 18 months’ service for Eritreans between the ages of 18-40.

The great majority of the refugees in the fourth wave are the youth, the majority of which are under 25 years of age, and the main reason why they are fleeing their country is their opposition to the open ended national service and the flagrant abuse of their human rights by the one man dictatorial regime in Eritrea.

According to reports of the UN there are 300,000 Eritrean registered refugees in the Sudan. Many more stay with their relatives and countrymen without passing through the refugee camps. There are about 150,000 Eritrean refugees in Ethiopian refugee centers.

According to UNHCR estimates, not less than 3,000 Eritrean refugees cross the border and enter into the Sudan every month. Some are killed by the Eritrean border guards while crossing the border.

There are two refugee routes:-

1. Eritrea...Sudan/Ethiopia...Libya...Italy

2. Eritrea...Sudan/Ethiopia...Egypt/Sinai...Israel

The second route was opened in 2006 when Italy and Libya agreed to curb the flow of refugees to Europe. Israel is holding the refugees in concentration camps because they are considered as illegal infiltrators rather than refugees by the government. It has also entered into bilateral agreements with third countries in Africa to send back refugees.

Smugglers and Human Traffickers:-

The main groups involved in human smuggling in the region are the Rashaida of Eastern Sudan and the Bedouin of Sinai. But the network of human traffickers is much more complex. There are Eritrean, Ethiopian, Sudanese, Egyptian, Libyan security and military officials, extremist Islamic parties in addition to doctors and gangs trafficking with arms, drugs and human organs in the network.

Victims are sold several times to successive human trafficker's groups. Every kidnapped refugee has to pay ransom between 2,000 to 50,000 US dollars in order to be released by his/her captors. The captors use different types of torture to force their prey to pay the ransom money. The torture methods used includes beatings, dropping molten plastic on their backs, hanging on the ceilings and rape.

If the victims have relatives in Europe they are expected to pay a big amount of money. In order to pay the requested money the relatives will be connected to their respective relative through a mobile phone while being tortured and hear his/her sufferings and cries for help to save him/her from his captors.

If the ransom money is not paid, some of the victims’ internal organs will be taken away and sold to organ traffickers or die under torture.

If for some reason the flow of refugees to Sinai or Libya decreases or dries the criminal gangs kidnap the ones that are registered in the refugee camps whose fate will certainly be the same as their predecessors.

Many refugees die in the deserts due to thirst, hunger, sickness and overcrowding or drown in the high seas. On 3 October 2013 more than 360 Eritreans drowned near the coast of Lampadusa, Italy, tragedies that shock the world at large.

Pope Francis, who described 3 October as “a day of tears”, and “shame” to the world because of its failure to contain such tragedies, inspired many actors to give attention to the situation in Eritrea, including Italy and the European Union.

This inspiration by the Pope also seems to have encouraged four Eritrean Catholic Bishops to issue inside Eritrea on 25 May 2014 a strong pastoral message calling on all Eritreans to act and solve the problem before it gets too late. The message expressed the fear of total societal collapse in Eritrea within a short time unless Eritreans react and stop the unchecked exodus of the young.

What should be done?

1. Until a lasting solution is found, Eritrean refugees in the Sudan, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Yemen must have the right to education, training and employment in their respective countries of asylum.

2. There must be a mechanism to establish permanent peace between Eritrea, Ethiopia and the Sudan.

3. Security must be strengthened in and around the refugee camps in the Sudan and Ethiopia.

4. The marginalized or alienated communities in Sudan and Egypt (The Rashaidas and the Bedouin) should be accommodated in their respective governments and be involved in the affairs of their countries.

5. Eritrea, Ethiopia and the Sudan should coordinate their fight against human traffickers.

6. Political changes must be realized in the refugees source countries.

In Eritrea for example the rule of law should be established (constitution), the national service programme should be limited or totally abolished, the political system should be opened for the opposition, political prisoners should be released, the military must be demobilized and job opportunities should be created.

Menghesteab Asmerom

EPDP Chairman

25 August 2014