Refugee Conditions as they exist
According to the Head of Immigration and Refugees Office in Ethiopia there are, as of present, 64,582 registered Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia. They are the next largest number of refugees next to the Somalis. Up until March of 2011 the number of those passing through the normal refugee processing office was estimated at 1,500 per month. Beginning May the number begun to swell and the type of refugees presenting themselves to the camps also qualitatively differed from the ones arriving earlier. This time, it is not only the young who are forced to leave the country but old people as well, most often accompanied by wives and children. The speculation suggests that they are victims of a drought that PFDJ government wants to conceal. Their physical status is weak and emaciated and most often with nothing but a rug on their backs.
Before their arrival to the shelters those crossing the border are briefly detained in military camps where they are debriefed and fed by the military authorities. Some are in miserable condition that they are allowed to stay for few days to recuperate before their short journey to the shelters. Upon arrival they are taken by their fellow refugees to acclimatize with the horrible condition of the camps and thence processed by the Administration of Refugees and Returns Affair (ARRA) office. Immediately after arrival ARRA provides an assortment of non food items such as Jerry can, sleeping mats, plastic sheets and sanitary materials. The first refugee camp, Shimelba was established in 2004 while the second, Mai Aini came into being in 2008. Another large refugee camp located in the Afar Administrative region also accommodates about 20,000. In total there are 5 refugee camps in Ethiopia sheltering Eritrean refugees.
Unlike those escaping the civil war in Somalia or ethnic atrocities in the Sudan, refugees from Eritrea has never been accorded a case classified as ‘emergency’. Thanks to ARRA it has convinced expatriate partners that Eritrean refugees deserve to be treated as emergency refugees whereby medical services including ambulance service among other entitlements are now at their disposal. A person with emergency status is entitled to few privileges that other refugees such as those in Yemen and Libya don’t have.
ARRA in cooperation with the Government has so far allowed Eritreans with relatives in Ethiopia or those with evidence of support from relatives abroad to leave the camps. To date 3,200 took this opportunity and are living in various cities and towns of Ethiopia. This, however, does not include the thousands of Eritrean Afar refugees staying with their kin in the Afar Administrative region. Since the forced repatriation of Eritrean refugees from Egypt and Libya and deportation from Sudan begun, ARRA stepped in to rescue over 4,000 Eritreans that would have otherwise gone to Eritrea for more trouble.
In the area of resettlement since 2004 about 10,000 Eritreans were afforded resettlement opportunity to a third country. The USA received the largest number amounting to 7,864. While Canada accepted 790 and Australia was generous enough to welcome an equal number. In other wards within the span of 7 years only 15% of the total was able to settle in a foreign country. This is a clear indication that more than resettlement in a third country other viable options need to be explored. In short it is challenge for all of us to gear our efforts in making the life of the majority left behind meaningful by opening schools, both vocational and academic as well as encouraging entrepreneurial activities within the camps and outside it. It also demands individual or group initiatives to support low cost projects such as establishing community centers equipped with entertainment programs, assorted books, and internet and cable connections and sport equipment. Individual sponsorship of students attending high schools and colleges such as the one started in Australia should be seriously entertained. The keyword is to instill a sense of self empowerment on the refugees.
There are now 301 students pursuing degree program at the Universities of Addis Abeba and Mekelle. An additional 368 are enrolled in a diploma program with a provision of continuing to a degree program. In 2010 six more students are accepted at the university in Samara, at the Afar Administrative region. All at the expense of the Ethiopian government except for a nominal stipend of 300 Birr (USD 17.5) provided by the UNHCR. In 2011 a college entrance for 757 Eritrean refugees resulted in 340 students accepted to degree and diploma program while 17 for a postgraduate study. It is disheartening to observe that almost half of the candidates failed to meet the entrance exam criteria. Thanks to PFDJ which have kept the majority of young in boot camps, trenches and menial tasks to be useful in any academic endeavor. According to the head of ARRA there are now one vocational school, elementary school, high school and kindergarten serving the refugees in the camp.
Technically, no foreigner is allowed to work in Ethiopia without permit. By definition refugees are not allowed to work as well. But there are cases where people of Eritrean origin work ‘clandestinely’ with no hustle from the authorities. The reason for casting blind eye on this particular issue in the part of the Ethiopian authorities is cited as the historical ties existing between both peoples.
In the course of the discussion I conducted with the authorities it was clear to me that Eritrean refugees are in dire need of some basic necessities such as adequate food and plenty supply of water. The handout rations provided by the humanitarian agencies are for basic sustenance and not for physical and mental growth. The dry ration such as wheat is issued as it is, thus require milling in far distant towns. Clothing and other body protecting gears are lacking. School supplies are limited for students both in the early stage of schooling and those pursuing higher education. The university students like many in the country starve for text books to supplement their knowledge. They even lack the means to xerox manuscripts to conduct class work effectively.
The Needs
The needs are too many to enumerate. However, the most urgent ones are listed below for an individual or a group to contemplate in intervening.
Minor Project
• 3 Photo copy machines( for Addis Abeba, Mekele and Samara Universities)
• Pens, exercise book, cryons, childrens books (can be bought in Ethiopia)
• Selected text books (for higher education)
• Sanitary needs ( for women )
• Clothing (at least for children and the young)
• Computers (Refugee camps)
• TVs(for refugee camps)
Major project
• Functional Community halls ( for housing library, TV, Computers and other recreations)
• Bush schools ( multipurpose rooms)
• Small to medium flour mill (wheat flour)
• Photovoltaic panels (as a source of energy)
• Sponsorship for students (higher education)
In this connection I would like to note the exemplary initiative taken by two young men Tomas Solomon of Virginia and Efrem Khasai of South Carolina who labored very hard to raise sizeable fund to supplement school needs in Mai Aini refugee camps. They have single handedly raised over ten thousand dollars but need more to achieve their stated objectives. For details you can log in their website www.urer.org or contact them through their email
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. They can also be reached at 202 718 8889. Tomas is the member of International Commission on Eritrean Refugees whose sole objective is to advocate on behalf of the Eritrean refugees worldwide.
The immediate task of ICER is to educate refugees in the Sudan and Ethiopia from taking the perilous journey to Israel through Egypt and the Sinai and also resist the attempt to cross the hazardous sea trip to Europe. The second immediate objective is to improve their livelihood (see items cited above) in the refugee camps by soliciting public support.
