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THIS WEEK, THE world has been debating the plight of refugees from war-torn Syria.
But the migration crisis isn’t a week-old problem. All through the summer, European naval services were rescuing people from, generally speaking, poorly constructed boats in the Mediterranean.
Many of these were from the African country of Eritrea, which is producing around 4,000 migrants every single month.
But why?
First off, where is Eritrea?
Here:
Located in east Africa, the country was at one time under Italian, then British rule.
Large parts of it were given to Ethiopia after World War II as a British and American reward for Emperor Haile Selassie’s support. The loose federation was mandated by the UN against the wishes of Eritreans.
This led to a violent 30-year war of independence, which came with the ratification of a UN-observed referendum in 1993. However, the dream didn’t last long. Between 1998-2000 Eritrea fought a renewed border war with Ethiopia that left at least 80,000 dead.
If it’s independent how is it so bad?
Because you either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain.
Eritrea is ruled by Isaias Afwerki, who was a hero of the bloody independence battle.
At independence in 1993 he became the country’s first — and so far only — president, but his increasingly iron-fisted and paranoid rule is driving thousands to flee every month, contributing to the world refugee crisis.
Eritrea was once held up as a beacon of hope for Africa by Western governments, and Isaias was hailed as a “renaissance leader” by then US President Bill Clinton.
But attitudes changed sharply as Marxist-inspired Isaias tightened control of the one-party state run by his People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) and as he began backing regional rebels, including accusations of supporting the Somalia-based Al-Qaeda affiliate, al-Shebab. Indeed, US National Counter-terrorism Centre lists al-Shebab’s Mukhtar Robow as one of its most-wanted. Robow travels on an Eritrean passport.
How bad is it?
In truth, it’s actually really difficult to know. Eritrea is an isolated nation that is notoriously secretive.
What is known is that independent media was shut down in 2001 and that Afwerki has been described as increasingly isolated and “mercurial”.
Partly because of criticism of his handling of the war in 1998, Isaias launched a brutal purge in September 2001, arresting 11 top party figures – close colleagues from the independence struggle – and forcing a wave of others to flee.
Religious minorities are jailed, often placed in shipping containers and US diplomatic cables say that he is “unhinged”.
His popularity slumped in the tightly restricted country, where the young are conscripted into mass national service that can last for decades, and where military police prowl the streets to round up those skipping the army service.
Together, open-ended conscription and state repression have driven thousands to flee despite a shoot-to-kill policy by border patrols, with families of those left behind risking being punished by crippling fines or imprisonment.
How do people leave?
They walk. Many will spend a full day trekking in an attempt to reach Ethiopia. Once there, they can escape – if they have the money to pay the €900 fee to get to Sudan to human traffickers.
And escape means one thing: a better life.
“We want to go, to go anywhere,” 25-year old Abraham told AFP in Hitsats camp in northeastern Ethiopia, just south of the Eritrean border.
“Germany, Canada, England, Switzerland,” the young people say in turn, all countries with significant Eritrean communities.
Like most refugees here, they worry of reprisals against their family still in Eritrea if they give their full name.
“If it is possible to go illegally to Sudan, we will go. We know it’s dangerous,” Abraham added. “We know we can lose our lives, but we have no choice.”
With reporting by AFP
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Cant wait for Decembers Budget. More cuts and tax hikes to be made. Then you will see people moaning. I hope the people who voted yes are proud of themselves. Unpatriotic fools.
Well said!
Whereas if the treaty was rejected, a load of money would magically appear, as if from nowhere… Really?
@Irish patriot, I am very proud of the fact that I voted yes. You could be right, it may have been foolish, but at least I use my real name when posting, and don’t use some self-righteous pseudonym.
So you think the next budget wouldn’t have been harsh if t he No vote had won? Newsflash: we are in the crapper, financially, and harsh budgets are going to be a sad feature of Irish life for another few years. The treaty was about imposing rules on our feckless politicians to stop them running up any more stupid deficits. Whether Yes or No, the result of this referendum was never going to magic our debt away.
Donacha you are the worst kind of fool too stupid to understand How goosed you are
@Irish Patriot
Why don’t you aim your anger at the lazy arseholes that didn’t bother to vote? Why are you aiming your anger at the “yes” people? They voted, they voted to the best of their ability and conscious just like you! Don’t be so arrogant and assume that the “no” side is right. To be honest nobody knows and didn’t know really, honestly, how to vote. But at the same time, we our democratic right gave us the chance to vote …. and we did, the lazy arsehole didn’t! Blame them.
Don’t call me an unpatriotic fool, or the other 60% who voted Yes. Morons like you are typical of the no vote fanatics who had nothing better to do than to ‘spread their message’ on the journal comments section. Party is over now – get back in your box instead of wishing a harsh budget on your countrymen and women because the majority voted yes
Buckwheat
Irish Patriot is telling the truth there will be a harsh budget for everyone in this country in December.
how do you get a job at these count centers? where do i apply for the next one? i hear the money is good!
What ever the out come is an embarrassment for for the Government they may have got their yes vote but the poor turn out speaks volumes . The people have spoken in more ways the one…
First time I’ve seen Joe Higgins smile in years!
minister for employment..watching f*****g employment! Should be minister of overseeing our young emigrate.
Caption on the first picture there is wrong. Lucinda Creighton is on the left (visually speaking) and the other person in the picture is Kevin Humphries, Labour TD for Dublin South East.
I’m one of the lazy arseholes that didn’t vote…..I don’t live in Ireland at the moment
6 billion of cuts in the budget while we handed 2.5 billion to bond holders last werk. Brilliant.
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