Desperate Situation of Eritrean Afar Refugees in Yemeni City of Al-Hudeyda

Regrettably, the 300 Afar refugees are languishing in Al-Hudeyda prison where their lives are trapped in a serious threat. Apart from consistent warnings of forcible return to Eritrea, they are facing communicable diseases caused by contaminated food and water. Amongst them are around 50 Afar refugees are in a grave danger of losing their lives to this disease outbreak.

Unfortunately, the ongoing political uncertainty in Yemen exasperated the situation of Red Sea Afar refugees. Going on almost a year in captivity, they haven’t had any access to UNHCR and Human rights organizations, representatives of Yemeni government or any access to medications and basic needs, which is guaranteed to them under UN Geneva convention on rights of refugees.

Yosief Ghebrehiwet on Smerrr Paltalk on Saturday, May 12

On Saturday, May 12, at 12:00 PM (Los Angeles Time) or 21:00 (Berlin Time) Yosief Ghebrehiwet will give a presentation at Smerr Paltalk. The topic is "The Fallacies of the Democracy Project and Nationhood in the Eritrean Context" In this presentation, the following points will be discussed:

1. What is wrong with the Democracy Project as practiced by the Opposition? On this part, more than a dozen fallacies will be discussed.
2. After discussing the notion of "nationhood" in the Eritrean context, this question will be addressed: What is being done to hold Eritrea together as a nation?
3. After looking at the rationale of the past (the Eritrean revolution) and the present (the opposition) movements regarding (1) and (2), we will look at this question: Given the above fallacies and failings, how do we anchor the Eritrean nation in the future?

ICER APPEAL: Save Eritrean Refugees from Human Smugglers

The International Commission on Eritrean Refugees (ICER) would like to appeal to all the political groups in particular to those whose operational base is Ethiopia to give focus on the issues affecting refugees in particular to the shady operation going on in the refugee camps. Frankly, since their base of operation is located stone throw away from Eritrea where the bulk of the refugees originate from we believe they are better placed than most of us to influence events, at least in as far as regulating the flow of persons from the refugee camps in Ethiopia and the Sudan. ...

This being the case, therefore, why is it so difficult for the political parties and in particular those operating from Ethiopia where part of the illegal activities is occurring cannot act in earnest to stop it?  Is it because  they are too preoccupied dealing with the more burning issues, for example, the overthrow of the unrepresentative regime and replacing it with democratic one? ...

ICER Action Alert: Ransom at Sinai reached 60,000 USD

*On April 2, 2012, a boat carrying over 120 African refugees capsized in the Mediterranean Sea killing 11. Four of the victims are known to be Eritreans. So far their name is not released.

*Unsubstantiated report indicates that as many as 700 Eritreans has been kidnapped with collaboration of Wedi Baxie (ወዲ ባጽዕ) and sold to Abu Abdellah (አቡ ዓብደላ) the notorious criminal whose hand is soaked with Eritrean and Sudanese blood. The ransom money has now reached 60 000 USD.

*Unconfirmed figure indicates that there could be as many as 2000 hostages held in Sinai at this moment.

10,000 Automated “RoboCall” Messages of Protest for Freedom Sent to Telephone Users Inside Eritrea

April, 4, 2012 - Coordinators of the Arbi Harnet (Freedom Friday) Campaign, which calls upon the people inside Eritrea to protest dictatorship, have today announced the successful completion of 10,000 automated RoboCall messages that were sent today to mobile and land-line telephone users inside Eritrea.

The messages, which call for peaceful and united protest against the PFDJ regime, were one of several communication tools used by the campaigners to reach households inside Eritrea calling for visible unity by emptying the streets of Eritrea’s cities every Friday after 6 PM.

Eritrean Youth Conference in Washington DC (May25 - 27)

As part of its mission to bring the youth together in a united front against the dictatorship in Eritrea, EYC-EYSC is coordinating this Eritrean Youth Conference under the theme "Eritrean Solutions for Eritrean Problems". ...

The success of this conference depends on every single one of us! The conference will send a strong signal to our community at large that change is indeed coming. Anyone can register to participate as an individual or as a member of a group. Active participation in all the tasks leading to the event day and during the conference is vital to the success of this summit.

Yosief Ghebrehiwet on Smerrr Paltalk on Friday, March 23rd

The topic will be the recent military attack on Eritrean soil undertaken by Ethiopia, but it will be put in greater context:

• what it means for the PFDJ to normalize relations with Ethiopia, and its consequences;
• what it means for the PFDJ to normalize relations with its own subjects, and its consequence;
• how these two normalizations are intimately related to one another – how the regional conditions determine the internal conditions in Eritrea;
• and, given the above, what is to be done to bring back normalcy into the region and the lives of the Eritrean masses.

Press Release

We in CDRiE unequivocally condemn this unprovoked and unjustified attack on Eritrean national sovereignty and call on the government of Ethiopia to immediately cease its threats of further escalation under any pretext. We urge instead both governments to seek peaceful and legal resolutions to their disagreements.

Introducing HOPE 2012

The Horn of Africa Peace Engagement (HOPE) is currently running a campaign under the title: Make Peace a Reality in the Horn of Africa.

HOPE’s main objective is to seek a regional solution to the lack of peace in the Horn of Africa. Although every country in the region has its own set of complicated socio-political makeup and history, many of the current and historical conflicts share interrelated causes and hence interrelated solutions.

Hope’s Eritrea Group is made up of young Eritreans with a range of experiences and a mix of expertise, we hope to utilise as our contribution to making peace in the Horn of Africa a reality.

Letter to the London Conference on Somalia

The nexus between Al-Shebaab and the Eritrean regime represent the convergence of destructive forces hell-bent on derailing any and all positive undertaking  that could bring any semblance of peace and stability  to the war-torn Somalia and the Horn of Africa. The recent official announcement by Al-Qaida on Al-Shebaab joining its ranks only affirms what the reality has been on the ground for sometimes. The London conference’s genuine effort to outline a forward looking concrete proposals and practical measures on how to deal with the intricate challenges faced by the people of Somalia will fall short unless the role of the Eritrean government in destabilizing Somalia and the rest of the region is openly and frankly addressed by all attending this conference.

The Saga of the Eritrean Refugees and The Human Smugglers (with a list of their names)

Following the brief background to the problem that have caused so much pain to the young and their families, we shall proceed to expose the various opportunistic actors nevertheless important ones that are profiting out of the human misery unfolding in Eritrea. For this reason, we shall focus on elements who facilities the abduction and sale of unsuspecting Eritrean refugees to human traffickers who in turn make profit by blackmailing parents in Eritrea and relatives abroad.  These Eritrean nationals not only work as go between the outlaws who hold their victims in dungeons and caves across the Sinai but also facilitate the transfer of funds through banks in the Sudan, Egypt, Dubai and Israel.

Picture: where refugees are held hostages, Abu Abdella's

Eritrean Youth Call for Friday Protests Inside the Country

January 31, 2012 - Eritrean youth across the globe are calling their counterparts inside the country to demonstrate their outrage at the human and democratic rights abuses by emptying the streets in towns and cities throughout the country every Friday evening starting Friday 3rd of February. The call that has been transmitted through electronic communication and social media has so far been received positively by Eritreans inside the country.