Why Aren’t Eritrean Refugees in the News?
“Ella,” an Eritrean who lives in the U.S. and works with refugees, tries to answer a perplexing question.
She undressed so I could photograph her wounds. It was necessary because her resettlement application required proof that she’d been tortured. Her story had to be validated and documented before she could gain refugee status — a process that can take years and often leaves many applicants vulnerable. As I prepared the camera, she let the truth about her journey spill out.
“He raped me while pregnant,” she said. “He beat the flesh off my foot.”
Her words sunk into me, paralyzing me. Her voice was full of mistrust and anger as she told me of her journey from Eritrea to at-war Sudan, of three months of torture in Egypt’s Sinai, of her subsequent escape to Cairo.
When her words seemed to run out, our eyes locked. We knew there were only marginal differences that set us apart. This woman, in all her resilience and pain, is one of thousands of Eritreans that endure the bleakest of crimes while on their journey seeking a better life.
The woman was just one of many fellow Eritrean refugees I’ve helped as part of my work with a small refugee support organization in Egypt. All the refugees are the same: They’re comforted by my presence, but their ability to trust is like an unused muscle. I recall one of my clients pleading with me, “If I tell my story, this might put my family in danger. You understand this more than anyone.” My response: “If we continue to hide our stories, we put everyone at risk. There is freedom in truth, but so much more freedom in sharing the truth.”
More than ever, the world’s media has its lens pointed at refugees. But why isn’t the Eritrean refugee crisis in the news? The narratives of Eritrean refugees and their struggle occupy so little space.
In the past five years, I’ve helped people prepare for resettlement, provided support to torture victims, aided in the transition process, and fulfilled my obligation to always be an advocate for all refugees.
Eritreans have been fleeing their home country at a rate of 5,000 people a month, according to a UN estimate. Then they take a deadly migration route, working their way through the war-torn Sudan, walking across the deserts of Egypt, crossing the border into Israel, or rolling the dice and venturing across the Mediterranean Sea.
Eritreans and other refugees from the region — South Sudan and Somalia in particular — risk constant threats of rape, torture, and kidnapping in Egypt’s Sinai. In this region, Eritreans are even sold by tribesmen to Bedouins and are subjected to a variety of abuses. According to Amnesty International these abuses include severe beating, electrocution, drowning, burning, hanging, amputation, rape, and sexual abuse. Gangs who execute these kidnappings demand ransom payments of up to $40,000 from refugees’ families. Often, when an Eritrean is tortured, the process is recorded and sent to family members. If a refugee manages to escape his captors, he has the choice of either heading to Cairo, Israel, or Libya, where new struggles await.
The refugees that make it over the Israeli border are welcomed by institutional racism and neglect. The Israeli government identify Eritrean refugees as “economic migrants” instead of giving them support as refugees — ironic, given that the language of international refugee law was created in response to the Holocaust and Jewish refugees. As of October 2015, of the 45,000 Eritrean and Sudanese refugees residing in Israel, only four have been given refugee status, reports Newsweek.
Eritrean refugees who head for the sea face countless obstacles. In Libya, smugglers extort refugees from Africa and the Middle East, while hundreds drown crossing the Mediterranean. Even if Eritreans survive, they are often greeted by a country that does not welcome them.
When Eritreans manage to settle abroad, they face another problem. The Eritrean diaspora is surveyed and tracked by the repressive Eritrean government. Dubbed the “North Korea” of Africa, Eritrean officials threaten the members of the diaspora with the life of their family members in Eritrea and by revoking their rights of ever returning to their birth-nation. Refugees are often convicted with “treason” for leaving their nation and speaking against their ruler.
For Eritreans seeking refuge, the Eritrean government considers you as having abandoned your obligations and acting against your nation; treason is written on your forehead. To those working in the black market during your journey, you are prey. You’re a target for sexual exploitation, kidnapping, organ theft, and an innumerable amount of undocumented crimes. To the country you are bleeding to reach, you are excess weight, unwanted and misunderstood.
The world should have a better understanding of what it’s like for Eritreans who leave their country. Are you Eritrean and living abroad? Tell us what your immigration experience was like. Why did you leave? Where do you live now?
Tell your story by writing directly on Medium (you can sign up for an account here) and send it to ghostboat@medium.com. Email us at ghostboat@medium.com and we’ll schedule a time to interview you. We will honor any requests for anonymity.
