ኣብዚ ዝሓለፈ መዓልታት ብመሪሕነት ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ተወዲቡ ዝተጸውዐ ናይቲ ሰልፊ  መሪሕነት ዞባ ኢውሮጳን ካብ ጨናፍርን ዝተሳተፍዎ ናይ ሰለስተ መዓልታት ዋዕላ (ኮንፈረንስ) ተኻይዱ። መሪሕነት ሰልፊ ነዚ ዋዕላ ዝወደበ ብዘይካቲ ኣብ ዝተፈላለዩ ግዚያት ብኤልትሮኒካዊ ኣገባብ ዝካየድ ኣኼባታት ገጽንገጽ ተራኺብካ ብዛዕባ ኣገደስቲ ሰልፋውን ሃገራውን ጉዳያት ናይ ምዝታይ ኣገዳስነት ብኣባላቱ ክቐርብ ዝጸንሐ ለበዋታት መሰረት ብምግባር እዩ። እዚ ናይ ዞባ ኤውሮጳ ዋዕላ ናይ’ቲ አደብ መጀመርያ ኮይኑ ኣብ ካልእ ኩርነዓት ዓለም ምስ ዝርከቡ ኣባላት ሰልፊ እውን ብተመሳሳሊ ኣገባብ ክቕጽል  ተታሒዙ ዘሎ መደብ እዩ።

ኣብዚ ዋዕላ ዝተዘተየሎም ኣቐዲሞም ብመሪሕነት ሰልፊ ዝተጸንዑን ቅድሚ ዋዕላ ናብ ኣባላት ዝተዘርግሑን ንድፊ ዛዕባታት፡  “1) ዲሞክራሲ፡ ግዝኣተ-ሕግን ትካላዊ ኣሰራርሓን ኣብ ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ፤ 2) መትከላትን ፖሊሲታትን ዝምድናታት ሰዲህኤ ምስ  ተቓወምቲ ውድባት ኤርትራንን ጐረባብቲ ሃገራትን፤ 3) ኣብ ተሓድሶ ሰልፊ እንታይ ክንገብር ንደልን ንኽእልን።” ዝብሉ ምንባሮም ከኣ ናይቲ ዋዕላ እዋናውነትን መሰረታውነትን ዘርኢ እዩ። እዚ ዝቐረበ መዛተዪ መጽናዕታዊ ጽሑፋት ከም ዝሕብሮ እቲ ዋዕላ ናብ ውሽጣዊ ሰልፋዊ ጉዳያት፡ ናብ ጉዳይ ሓድነት ሓይልታት ተቓውሞ፡ ናብ ዝምድና ምስ ጐረባብትን ኣብ መጻኢ ንሰልፊ ዝጽበይዎ ናይ ምሕዳስ መደባትን ዘድሃበ ምንባሩ ምርዳእ ይከኣል።

እዚ ዛዕባታት ብደረጃ ዋዕላ ብኣካል ተራኺብካ ግዜ ወሲድካ ክዝተየሉ እንከሎ፡ ኣገዳስነትን ኣተገባብራን ኣብዘሓዊ ግዝኣት፡ ልዕልና ሕጊ፡ ደሞክራስያዊ ማእከልነት፡ ተሓታትነትን ግሉጽነትን ዝብሉ መሰረታዊ መርሆታት ብዝምልከት ኣብ ዝርዝር ከም ዝኣቱ ርዱእ እዩ። ከምኡ ከኣ ነይሩ። እዚ ሰልፋዊ መትከላት ብመንጽር’ቲ ሓፈሻዊ ደሞክራስያዊ ዓምድታት ከመይ ክተሓዝ ከም ዝግበኦ ዘረድእ ስለ ዝኾነ፡ ኪኖ ብዛዕባ ኣሰራርሓ ሰልፍኻ ምርዳእን መጻኢ ራኢኻ ምስፋሕን ምስ ኣድማሳዊ ደሞክራስያዊ ኣጠማምታታት ዘላሊ እውን እዩ። እዚ ከኣ ዕላማ ናይዚ ዋዕላ ሓባሪ ኣብ ርእሲ ምንባሩ ኣፍልጦኻ ናይ ምስፋሕ ዕማም’ውን ዝነበሮ ኣስተምህሮኣዊ እዩ።

ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ኣብ ቅድሚ ናይ ኤርትራ ሓይልታት ለውጢ ተገቲሩ ዘሎ ብደሆ፡ ፍልልያትካ ኣመሓዲርካ ኣብቲ ዘሰማመዓካ ኣትኪልካ ብሓባር ንቕድሚት ክትስጉም ምኽኣልን ዘይምኽኣልን እዩ። ኣብዚ ዋዕላ ንዝምድና ተቓወምቲ ሓይልታት ዝምልከት ኣርእስቲ ምቕራቡ ከኣ ንእዋናውነት ናይዚ ዋዕላ ዘርኢ እዩ። ተሳተፍቲ ናይዚ ዋዕላ መሪሕነቶም ኣድማዒ ጽላል ኣብ ምፍጣር ተበግሶ ንክወስድ ዕዙዝ ለበዋ ምቕራቦም ከኣ እቲ ዋዕላ ክሳብ ክንደይ ከምቲ ትጽቢት ዝተነብረሉ ከም ዘድመዐ ዘመልክት እዩ። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ብዙሓት ዘልዕልዎ’ሞ ወትሩ ኣዛራቢ ዝኸውን ዝምድና ምስ ጐረባብቲ እዩ። እቲ ወሳኒ ውሽጣዊ ዓቕሚ ምዃኑ’ኳ እንተዘየዳደየ  ምስ ጐረባብቲ ዝግበር ዝምድና ከኣ ተራኡ ኣትሒትካ ዝረአ ስለ ዘይኮነ ወትሩ ምልዓሉን ምብሳሉን ነውሪ ኣይኮነን። ብመንጽር እዚ ኣብዚ ዋዕላ ነቲ “ዝምድናና ምስ ጐረባብቲ፡ ኣብ ምክብባርን ናይ ሓባር ተረባሕነትን ዘትከለ ኣብ ሕድሕድ ጉዳያት ኢድ ምትእትታው ዘየፈቅድን እዩ” ዝብል እምንቶ ሰደህኤ ከም ዝዝተየሉ ምግባር  ኣብ ነቲ ዝጸንሐ መትከልካ ደጊምካ ንምንጻር ዝሕግዝ ነይሩ።

ተሳተፍቲ ዋዕላ ነቲ ዝቐረበሎም ሰነዳት ዝውሰኽ እንዳወሰኹ ኣየስርሕን ዝብልዎ ድማ እንዳነከዩ ናቶም ናይ መጻኢ ናይ ተግባር መምርሒ ከም ዝኸውን ንምኽኣሉ ዘርኣይዎ ናይ እንካን ሃባን ተሳትፎ ከኣ  እቲ መድረኽ ኣብ ግቡእ እዋን ዝተጋብአ ምዃኑ ዘርኢ እዩ። ተሳተፍቲ ነቲ ዝቐርበሎም መዘራረቢ ንድፊ ሰነዳት ምስ ኣዝዩ ንኡስ ምምሕያሻት ተቐቢሎም ምጽዳቖም ድማ መሪሕነትን መሰረታትን እቲ ሰልፊ ብሓባር ክስጉሙ ከም ዝጸንሑ ዘረድእ እዩ።

በዚ መሰረት ብመሪሕነት ኮነ ብመሰረታት ዝተኸደ መንገዲ ዝነኣድ ኮይኑ፡ እዚ መድረኽ ካብ ተመዓዳዲካ ምውቕቓስ ኣውጺኡ ኩሎም ወገናት ኣብቲ ኣውንታ ኮነ ኣሉታት በብጽሒቶም ክወስዱ ዝሕግዝ እውን እዩ። እቲ ንኡድ ስራሕ ኣብ ምዝታይን ምጽዳቕ ነቲ ዝቐረበ ሰነዳትን ዝድረት ዘይኮነ፡ ኣብቲ ቀንዲ ጉዳይ ምትግባር ንኹሎም ዝጽበዮም ሓላፍነት ኣሎ። እቲ ቀንዲ ናይ ኩሉ መእሰሪ ተግባር ስለ ዝኾነ። ከምቲ ኣብ መወዳእታ  ናይቲ ዋዕላ ዝወጸ መግለጺ ኣመልኪትዎ ዘሎ ተሳተፍቲ ቁጠባዊ ዓቕሚ ሰልፎም ንምሕያል ወፈያ ኣካይዶም። እዚ ድማ ነቲ ኣብቲ ዋዕላ “ናትና” ዝበልዎ መደምደምታ ከተግብርዎ ምዃኖም ዘመልክት እዩ።

እዚ ቀንዲ መንቀሊኡ ሰልፊ ምሕዳስን ካብዚ ዘለዎ ናብ ዝበረኸ ደረጃ ምስግጋርን ዝኾነ ናይ እንካን ሃባን መድረኽ ቀጻሊ ስለ ኾነ ኣብ ካልእ ከባብታት ዘለዉ ኣባላት ሰልፊ ከሎ ጌና ክቕረብሉ ዝግበኦም እዩ። መሪሕነት ሰልፊ ከኣ ኣብ ከምዚ ኣገዳሲ መድረኻት ንዝቀርብን ናይ ኣባላቱ ሓሳባት ኣካል መጻኢ መደባቱ ገይሩ ክሰርሓሉ እዩ።

ኣብ ወደባዊት ከተማ ምጽዋዕ ዝርከብ ባንክ ኤርትራ ኣብ መጀመርታ ወርሒ መጋቢት 2017 ብራሻይዳ ኣብ ሰዓታት ለይቲ ከም ዝተሰርቀ ምንጭታትና ካብቲ ቦታ ሓቢሮም። እቲ ብሰንኪ ሕጽረት መራኸቢ ደንጉዩ ዝበጸሓና ሓበሬታ ከም ዝገለጾ፡ እቶም ዕሉላት ሰረቕቲ ካብ ራሻይዳ ኮይኖም፤ ብለይቲ ኣብቲ ባንክ ኣብ ተረንሸዋታት (መሸመዓት) ተቛጺሩ ዝነበረ ሓድሽ ናቕፋ፡ ናይቲ ባንክ መስትያት ብጥንቃቐን ፍሉይ ጥበብን ሰይሮም ኣብ ኣይስዙ ዝዓይነተን ካይን ምስ ካልእ ንረት ጽዒኖም ከምዝወሰድዎ ተፈሊጡ።

እዞም ራሻይዳ ካብ ምጽዋዕ ብሽዕብ ሓሊፎም ብወገን ግርማይካ ናብ ሱዳን ከእትዉዎ መደብ ስለዝነበሮም፤ ምስቲ ኣብ ዓንቀጽ ግርማይካ ናይ ምቁጽጻር ሓላፍነት ዝነበሮ ናይ ኮለነል መዓርግ ምስ ዝነበሮ ኣዛዚ’ውን ኣቐዲሞም ኣብ ረብሓ ዝተሰረተ ስምምዕ ነይርዎም። እንተኾነ እዚ ውዲታዊ ሓበሬታ ኣቐዲሙ ኣብ ኢድ ካለኦት ናይ ጠቕሚ ተወዳደርቲ ሓለፍቲ ወዲቑ ስለ ዝነበረ፡ ነቲ ብጠቕሚ ተዓዲ ኣብቲ ውዲት ዝነበረ ኣዛዚ ኣወጊዶም ባዕላቶም መንገዲ ዓጽዮም ጸኒሖም፡ ነተን ሰዓተን ሓልየን ዝመጻ መካይን ክኽልክልወን ምስ ፈተኑ ካብተን ገንዘብ ጽዒነን ብኻልእ ንብረት ሸፊነን ዝነበራ ሰለስተ መካይን እታ ቀዳመይቲ ነቶም ኣብቲ ሓለዋ ዝነበሩ ብተኹሲ ኣወጊዳ ምስ ጽዕነታ ናብ ሱዳን ክትሓልፍ እንከላ እተን ክልተ ግና ከም ዝተታሕዛ ክፍለጥ ተኻኢሉ።

እዚ ከምዚሉ እንከሎ፡ ኣብ ሱዳናዊት ከተማ ከሰላ ዶላር ሂብካ ከም ድላይካ እቲ ሓድሽ ናቕፋ ተሽርፈሉ ድንኳናት ከም ዘሎ ተሓቢሩ። ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ናቕፋ ኣብ ኤርትራ ብኣዝዩ ጸቢብ መቑነን ንደቂ ሃገር ኣብ ዝወሃበሉ ኩነታት ኣብ ሱዳን ግን ከም ድላይካ ምዃኑ ንብዙሓት ዘገርም ኮይኑ፡ እቶም ነቲ ጉዳይ ብቐረባ ዝከታተልዎ እዚ ኣብ ከሰላን ካኦት ከተማታት ሱዳንን ናቕፋ እንዳሃበ ዶላር ዝእክበሉ ዘሎ ድንኳናት ዋናታቱ ላዕለዎት ወተሃደራዊ ሓላፍቲ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ምዃኖም የረጋግጹ። ባንክታት ኤርትራ ነቲ ተራ ኤርትራዊ እምበር፡ ንውሱናት ሓለፍቲ ግና ክፉት ምዃኑ እውን እቶም ተዓዘብቲ የረጋግጹ። ዲክታቶር ኢሳይያስ ኣፈወርቂ ኣብዚ ቀረባ ግዜ ኣብ ዘካየዶ ቃለመጠቕ ናብ ኤርትራ ኣትዩ ብናቕፋ ክሽረፍ ዝግበኦ ዶላራት ኣብ ሱዳን ከሰላ ይኽተር ከም ዘሎ ከም ዝተኣመነ እውን ዝዝከር እዩ።

ኣብ ምስራቓዊ ሱዳን እትርከብ ቤት ትምህርቲ ስደተኛታት ቈልዑ ኤርትራ ዝኾነት ቤት ትምህርቲ ወዲ ሸሪፈይ፡ ብዕለት 21 መጋቢት 2017፡ ናይ 2016-2017 መደብ ትምህርቲ ብዓወት ዛዚማ። ኣብቲ መደብ ምዕጻው ቤት ትህምርቲ ናይ ክብሪ ኣጋይሽን፡ ወለዲ ተመሃሮን ነበርቲ ሓውሲ ከተማ ወዲ ሸሪፈይን ተኻፊሎም። እዚ፡ ናይ'ዛ ኣብ ዶብ ኤርትራን ሱዳንን እትርከብ ቤት ትምህርቲ ወዲ ሸሪፈይ፡ መበል 32 ዓመተ-ትምህርቲ ምዃኑ ኢዩ።

 

ናይ ሎብ ዘበን ትምህርቲ ብ11 ሓምለ 2016 ምስ 637 ዝኾኑ ምዝጉባት ተመሃሮ ተጀሚሩ። ካብዚኦም፡ 22 ተመሃሮ ብበብዓይነቱ ጸገማት፡ ኣብ መንጎ -ትምህርቶም ኣቋሪጾም። ካብቶም ክሳዕ መወዳእታ እተማህሩ 615 ተመሃሮ፡ 42% ኣዋልድ ነይረን።  ካብ ሓደ ክፍሊ ናብ ላዕለዋይ ክፍሊ ዝሓለፉ 545 ክኾኑ ከለዉ (ማለት 88.6% ካብ ጠቕላላ ቊጽሪ)፣ ናይ ምሕላፍ ዕድል ዘይረኸቡ 70 ኢዮም፤ ካብዚኣቶም 48 ኣውዳት፡ 22 ከኣ ኣዋልድ ኢየን።

Wadsheriffey 2

ካብቶም ኣብ በዓል እተሳተፉ ናይ ክብሪ ኣጋይሽ፡ ኡስታዝ ኣል-ዙሄር ኣጃክ፡ ሓላፊ ናይ ዘይመንግስታዊ ቤት ትምህርትታት ኣውራጃ ከሰላ፣ ከምኡ ከኣ ኣባ ገብራይ በእደማርያም፡ ሓላፊ ካቶሊካዊ ቤት ትምህርቲታት ምስራቓዊ ሱዳን ነይሮም። ከምኡ'ውን ሓው እድሪስ እስማዒል፣ ገዲም ተጋዳላይ እስማዒል ናዳ፣ ሓው ዓሊ ሑመድ ዲናይ ኣብቲ ጽንብል ካብ እተኻፊዓበይቲ ደቂ ሃገር ኢዮም። ከም ዝፍለጥ፡ ሓው እድስሪስ እስማዒል፡ ንስዉእ ዑስማን ኣሕመድ ተኪኡ ብግዚያውነት ንቤት ትምህርቲ ወዲ ሸሪፈይ ዝከታተልን ንስራሓታ ዘዋሃህድን ዘሎ ሃገራዊ ዜጋ ኢዩ።

ተመሃሮ ወዲ ሸሪፈይ ነቲ ምዕጻው ቤት ትምህርቶም ብባህላዊ ሙዚቃን፡ ደርፍን  ምርኢታትን ግጥምን ገይሮም ድምቀት ክህብዎ ውዒሎም። ዲይረክቶር ቤት ትምህርቲ ወዲ ሸሪፈይ ዝኾነ መምህር ተኽለሃይማኖት እልፉ (ወዲ እልፉ) ሓደ ካብቶም ኣብበዓል መደረ ዘስምዑ ነይሩ። ኣብ ዘረብኡ፡ ንዂሎም እቶም ንቐጻልነት ቤት ትምህርቲ ወዲ ሸሪፈይ ዝሓልዩን ዝሕግዙን ማሕበራትን ባእታታትን ዕዙዝ ምስጋና ብስም ተመሃሮን መማህራንን ኣቕሪቡ። ብፍላይ ከኣ ነታ ኣብ ሃገር ስዊዘርላንድ እትርከብ ማሕበር ረድኤንቘልዑ ኤርትራ፣ ንክፍሊ ትምህርቲ ኣውራጃ ከሰላ፡ ከምኡ ከኣ ንመሓዛ ቤት ትህምርቲ ዝኾኑ ኣባ ገብራይን ፍሉይ ምስጋና ኣቕሪቡ።

Wadsheriffey 3

 

ቀጺሉ'ውን ንስዉእ ዑስማን ኣሕመድ፡ ካብ ነዊሕ ዓመታት ጀሚሩ ክሳዕ ዕለተ ሞቱ ከይሰልከየ ዘበርከቶ ታሪኻዊ ህዝባዊ ኣግልግሎቱ መጐስ ብምቕራብ ተመሃሮ ወዲ ሸሪፈይ ንምሉእ ህይወቶም ከም ዝዝክርዎ ኣረጋጊጹ። 

ቤት ትምህርቲ ወዲ ሸሪፈይ ብ1984 ኣብ ራኩባታት/ተንዳታት ንስደተኛታት ቈልዑ ኤርትራ ምምሃር ጀሚራ። ብ1988 ብሓልዮት ሰብ ሰናይ ግብሪ ደቂ ሆላንድ ዘመናዊ ህንጻታት ተሰሪሑላ፣ ጸኒሑ ከኣ ብ2005 ብነብሰሄር ኣባ ማሪኖ ሃይለ (ናይ ሚላኖ) እቲ ዝኣረገ ህንጻታት ተሓዲሱ፡ ካልእ ክፍልታት ከኣ ተወሲኹሉ። ክሳዕ ሎሚ ንቤት ትምህርቲ ክብ ዝበለ ሓገዛት እተወፊ ዘላ ማሕበር ረድኤት (ኣሰ) ብጥቅምቲ 2005 ኣብ ከተማ ጅኔቭ ዝቖመት ኢያ። ንሃለዋትን ንምምሕዳርን ቤት ትምህርቲ ወዲ ሸሪፈይ እትከታተል ማሕበር ቀይሕ መስቀልን ወርሕን ኤርትራ ኢያ። ሃገረ ሽወዴን ዝምቕማጡ ዶክቶር ሃብተሚካኤል ተኽለብርሃን ሓላፊ ናይታ ማሕበር ኰይኑ ምስ ኲሎም መወልትን ተሓጋገዝትን ቤት ትምህርቲ ወዲ ሸሪፈይ ኣድላይ ርክባት የካይድ። ንቐጻልነት ቤት ትምህርቲ ንክሕግዙ ከኣ ንዂሎም'ቶም በታ ቤት ትምህርቲ ዝሓለፉ ደቂ ሃገር፡ ፍሉይ ማሕበር ኣቚሞም፥ ክሳዕ ስደተኛታትና ኣብ ዝሓሸት ኤርትራ ዝምለሱ፥ ድሃይ ናይ ቀደም ቤት ትምህርቶም ክገብሩ በብጊዜኡ ጻውዒት ምስ ኣቕረበሎም ኢዩ።

The Wad Sherifey elementary school for Eritrean refugee children ended its 32nd academic school year on 21 March 2017 in the presence of invited honour guests, parents and residents of the refugee township near the Eritrea-Sudan border.

 

Started on 11 July 2016, the current academic year opened classes with 637 registered students. Of this, 22 students left the school due to various reasons, including economic problems to their parents and third-country resettlements. The school year thus ended with 615 students, 42% of them girls. Those who passed the final examinations were 88.6% of the total while 70 students could not pass the final examination. The report added that 48 of those who failed to pass from one class to the next were boys, and only 22 girls failed.

 

Wadsheriffey 2

Among the dignitaries and elders attending the ceremony were Ustaz Al-Zibai Ajak, director of non-governmental schools in the Kassala region; Father Ghebrai Bedemariam, friend of the school and director of Catholic Church schools in Eastern Sudan, and Idris Ismail, acting school supervisor who continued the work of the late Osman Ahmed who passed away six months ago. Also present were known elders like Ismail Nada, and elderly Eritrean patriot, Ali Humed Dinai and others. The school children entertained guests with Eritrean folkloric music, dances, songs, poetry, jokes and drama staged in Eritrean languages.

In his address at the school closing ceremony, the school director, Mr. Teklemaimanot Elfu, expressed profound gratitude to the Sudanese education officials in the Kassala region and to Father Ghebrai for his continued cooperation with the Wad Sherifey School Administration.

Mr. Teklehaimanot Elfu also paid tribute to the late Osman Ahmed who tirelessly served the school for over two decades. The school director also expressed deep gratitude to the Swiss charity Organization in Geneva (ASEE - Association Suisse Enfance-Erythree) and other friends of school, past and present, who have been working hard to keep the refugee school going for so many years.

Wadsheriffey 3The school was started in 1984 in make-shift tents until modern buildings were constructed in 1988 with the help of charitable groups in the Netherlands. The late Father Marino Haile of Milano further modernized the school in 2005 and ASEE of Switzerland has been active as of October 2005 to cover major expenses of the school which is administered under the Eritrean Red Cross-Crescent Society (ERCCS). Dr. Habtemichael Tekle of Sweden is the current president of the ERCCS, an old Eritrean charity which closely follows up the situation and needs of the refugee school in Eastern Sudan.  Dr. Habtemichael Tekle continually calls former students of Wad Sherifey Refugee School to come together and seriously think of supporting the continuation of this vital school for refugee children until their happy return to a democratic Eritrea. 

 

ብቤት ጽሕፈት ዜና ሰደህኤ ዝዳሎ ዕላዊ  ልሳን  ---- ሕታም ቁጽሪ 54

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‘One day, I hope, I will go’: How Trump’s ban hit an Eritrean refugee camp in Ethiopia

Natalia Paszkiewicz's picture

I saw the impact of Trump’s travel ban from an Eritrean refugee camp in Ethiopia where some people have been waiting for resettlement for years.

Migration policies may seem abstract, and when combined with representing migrants and refugees as merely numbers, they blur the human dimension of displacement.

 When I saw him a few weeks after Trump’s executive order on refugees was introduced, he looked as if he had been crying for days

One of Donald Trump’s first executive order as the 45th president of the United States of America issued on 27 January 2017 limits the annual number of refugees to be resettled in the United States to 50,000 a year, as opposed to Barack Obama’s pledge last September to increase the US’s annual resettlement targets to 110,000.

I worked in an Eritrean refugee camp in Ethiopia where I met people who were directly affected by this decision – people who have been waiting for resettlement for three years and who were due to leave for the US in February 2017.

In the last few days of January, they were told they would have to wait longer, as the programme got suspended for 120 days. And nobody really knows for how much longer.

Steady escape

In October 2016, a United Nations inquiry into human rights abuses in Eritrea reported that crimes against humanity have been committed in the country since 1991. The number of people fleeing Eritrea, which according to Amnesty International is of the most repressive, secretive and inaccessible countries in the world, has been steady, but with a recent sharp increase in child and youth refugees escaping into neighbouring Ethiopia.

On average, around 3,000 refugees cross from Eritrea to Ethiopia every month; in February 2017, according to the Adminstration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA), 3,367 Eritreans arrived in Ethiopia. More than 1,000 people arrive each month in Hitsats, the newest camp established by the Ethiopian government nearly four years ago in the Tigray region bordering Eritrea.

The camp hosts approximately 11,000 refugees, and four in five of them are under the age of 35.

I worked in Hitsats for six months, and I witnessed the refugees’ trajectories of waiting for resettlement  (ie the selection and transfer of refugees from a state in which they have sought protection to a third state which has agreed to admit them) as refugees with permanent residence status. The countries that accept most refugees on resettlement programmes include the US, Canada and Australia.

The very long waiting game

Waiting is a fundamental aspect of every refugee’s life. Men and women, some with children, queue outside UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in the camp, clinging to their ration cards and other paperwork while sheltering from the morning sun. The emotions swing from a sense of hope to resignation and despair.

Resettlement is a privilege rather than a right – It is available to less than 1 percent of the most vulnerable refugees worldwide

First, it’s waiting for an interview. Then it’s waiting for the interview’s result. The determination process involves many factors, including the resettlement country’s capacity as well as nationality preferences.

So far, there are no known resettlements in Hitsats because young, able-bodied men – the overwhelming demographics of the camp – do not generally fall within the priority category for resettlement of “Survivors of Violence and Torture” even though everyone that I spoke to was imprisoned in Eritrea.

Eritreans eat a meal they received at the Milan train station on 11 June 2015, among 100,000 asylum seekers who crossed the Mediterranean to Europe so far that year (AFP)

Merely leaving Eritrea without the regime’s authorisation carries the punishment of a prison sentence of up to five years, so every unsuccessful attempt – and I met people who tried to escape the country three to five times – leads to detention in conditions that amount to degrading and inhuman treatment, such as underground cells and shipping containers in temperatures as high as 50 degree Celsius.

Resettlement lies within the core mandates of UNHCR, specifically, providing persons under its competence with international protection, humanitarian protection, as well as permanent (also called durable) solutions. However, resettlement is a privilege rather than a right: it is available to less than 1 percent of the most vulnerable refugees worldwide.

The boat that sank in the Mediterranean in mid-January had 70 refugees from Hitsats camp on board

This leaves millions of refugees at risk of remaining in a protracted situation of exile, without an opportunity to rebuild their lives.

In Ethiopia, there was a target of 5,965 refugees to be referred for resettlement in 2015. Of this targeted number of referrals, only 2,120 cases had been resettled by August 2015. In 2016, access to resettlement for refugees in Ethiopia was limited to a target of 6,465, which constituted the largest resettlement plan in Africa.

Those refugees who are lucky enough to be accepted for resettlement – in Ethiopia, this rate is as low as 0.09 percent of the overall registered refugee population – may wait even several years to leave a refugee camp as a result of the lengthy vetting process that involves the Departments of State, Defense and Homeland Security screening together with other US intelligence, security and law enforcement agencies, including the National Counterterrorism Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as well as Interpol.

The conditions if you stay

Refugees who are not selected for resettlement face harsh conditions in the camp, such as endemic malaria, and very few livelihood and integration opportunities in Ethiopia. There are restrictions on those seeking to leave the camp, and limitations on their rights and freedoms, including lack of work permit.

Unable to envisage their future in Ethiopia, on average 1,000 Eritreans leave Hitsats every month – that is equal to the number of those who arrive

UNHCR acknowledges that extended residence in a refugee camp can have a serious negative impact on people who live there. Unable to envisage their future in Ethiopia, on average 1,000 Eritreans leave Hitsats every month – that is equal to the number of those who arrive. Those young men just cannot wait anymore. They are leaving Ethiopia irregularly, making dangerous journeys through Sudan and Libya, hoping to finally reach Europe by boat.

The boat that sank in the Mediterranean in mid-January had 70 refugees from Hitsats on board. There was mourning marked by deafening silence in the camp that is usually full of music as it hosts a remarkable number of talented young musicians.

Since the resettlement programme was established in 1980 by the UNHCR, more than three million refugees have been resettled in the US.

The executive order announced by Trump on 27 January 2017 suspended the programme for 120 days and cut the number of refugee admissions by about 37 percent compared to the post-1975 average number of annual refugees admitted – from 79,329 per year to just 50,000. This may mean that there will never be successful resettlements from Hitsats refugee camp to the US.

Stuck in the pipeline

Less than a month after assuming his role as the UN High Commissioner for Refugees at the beginning of this year, Filippo Grandi visited Ethiopia. He spoke to refugees in Hitsats camp, warning them against risking their lives by embarking on dangerous journeys to Europe: “We will do our best to create opportunities here and to improve resettlement placements and other legal ways of migration so that refugees will not expose themselves to danger.”

On 30 January, Grandi wrote that he was “deeply worried by the uncertainty facing thousands of refugees around the world who are in the process of being resettled to the United States”. Given that the US provides about 40 percent of the refugee agency’s funding, the commissioner had to tread carefully.

I spoke to one of the young refugees in Hitsats who was meant to leave for the US in February after years of being stuck in the resettlement pipeline. Over the period of six months when I saw him regularly, he seemed to gradually deteriorate. When I saw him a few weeks after Trump’s executive order on refugees was introduced, he looked as if he had been crying for days. I asked if he had any news regarding his departure. He replied, “One day, I hope, I will go.”

The new redrafted executive order was issued by Trump in March 2017, clarifying that the ban “shall not apply to refugees who, before the effective date of this order, have been formally scheduled for transit by the Department of State”. I hope that my friend from Hitsats will now be able to leave.

– Dr Natalia Paszkiewicz is an anthropologist with a particular interest in migration and refugee studies. She has been working with refugees for over ten years in the UK, Malta, Ethiopia and Djibouti. 

Source=https://martinplaut.wordpress.com/2017/03/28/how-trumps-ban-hit-an-eritrean-refugee-camp-in-ethiopia/

 

ብ24-26 መጋቢት 2017 ኣብ ፍራንክፈርት ዝተኻየደ ዋዕላ ሰልፊ ሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ዞባ ኢውሮጳ፡ መሪሕነት ሰልፊ ሓቀኛ ጽላል ናይቶም ንደሞክራስያዊ ለውጢ ዝቃለሱ ዘለዉ ኤርትራዊ ሓይልታት ኣብ ምፍጣር ተበግሶ ንክወስድ መጸዋዕታ ኣቕሪቡ። ምስዚ ብዝተተሓሓዘ መሪሕነት ሰልፊ ምስ ጐረባብቲ ሃገራት ኣብ ምክብባር፡ ናይ ሓባር ተጠቃምነትን ኣብ ውሽጣዊ ጉዳያት ኢድ ዘይምትእትታውን ዘትከለ ዝምድና ንክፈጥር ጸዊዑ። ኣብ ርእሲ እዚ ኣቲ ዋዕላ መራሕቲ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን እንደጋና ኣብ ውግእ ንዘይምእታው ሓላፍነት ንክወስዱ ምዒዱ።

2News Item 30.03

እዚ ብፈጻሚ ሽማግለ ዝተወደበ ዋዕላ ዞባ ኤውሮጳ ኣብ ሰለስተ መጽናዕታዊ ጽሑፋት እዩ ተመያይጡ። እቲ መመያየጢ ጽሑፋት፡ 1) ደሞክራሲ፡ ሕጋዊ ምሕደራን ትካላዊ ኣሰራርሓን ኣብ ሰደህኤ፡ 2) መትከላትን ፖሊሲታትን ሰልፊ ኣብ ዝምድና ምስ ኤርትራዊ ደምበ ተቓውሞን ጐረባብቲ ሃገራትን፡ 3) ሰልፊ ንምሕዳስ እንታይ ንደሊ ኣንታይከ ክንገብር ንኽእል ዝብሉ እዮም። ነዚ ኣቐዲሙ ናብ ተሳተፍቲ ተዘርጊሑ ዝጸንሐ ጽሑፋት ኣብቲ ዞባዊ ዋዕላ ብኣካል ተረኺቦም ዘቕረቡን ዝርዝር መግለጽን መብርህን ዝሃቡን ኣባላት መሪሕነት ሰደህኤ፡ ኣቶ መንግስተኣብ ኣስመሮም ኣቦመንበር ሰልፊ፡ ኣቶ ወልደየሱስ ዓማር ሓላፊ ቤት ጽሕፈት ኣህጉራዊ ዝምድናታት፡ ኣቶ ረዘነ ተስፋጼን ሓላፊ ቤት ጽሕፈት ገንዘባዊ ጉዳያትን ኣቶ መድሃኔ ህብትዝጊ ሓላፊ ቤት ጽሕፈት ጉዳይ መንእሰያትን እዮም። እቲ ጽሑፋት ብዝርዝር ቀሪቡ ኣብ ዝተዘተየሉ ብተሳተፍቲ እውን ሃብቲሙ። እዚ ዝሃብተመ ጽሑፋት ናብ ኩሎም ኣባላት ሰልፊ ክዝርጋሕ ትጽቢት ኣሎ።ተሳተፍቲ ዋዕላ ኣብ ልዕሊ መሪሕነቶም ዘለዎ እምነት ምሉእ ብምሉእ ኣረጋጊጾም፡ ኩሉ ኣባል ሰልፊ ናይዚ ካብ ሃገሩ ወጻኢ ኮይኑ ዝቃለስ ዘሎ ሰልፊ  ደሞክራሲያዊ መትከላት ከኽብርን ብሕግታቱ ክቕየድን’ሞ እቲ እንቃለሰሉ ዘለና ለውጢ ኣብ ሓጺር ግዜ ክረጋገጽ ጸዊዖም።

ኣብዚ ምሕዳስ ሰልፊ ካብ ሕጂ ክሳብ’ቲ ኣብ 2019 ዝግበር 3ይ ጉባአን ድሕሪኡን ብዝምልከት ዝተኻየደ ምይይጥ ህጹጽ ኣገዳስነት ተሳትፎ መንእሰያትን ደቂ ኣንስትዮን ብልዑል ተገዳስነት ተዘትይሉ።ጐኒንጐኒ’ዚ ተሳተፍቲ ዋዕላ ተወፋይነት ኣባላት ኣብ ጉዳይ ሰልፎም እውን ኣሕዲሰምዎ። በዚ መሰረት ምዑታት ተሳተፍቲ እቲ ዋዕላ ብዝወሰድዎ ተበግሶ ሽዑንሹ   ልዕሊ 5.000-ኤውሮ (ሓሙሽተ ሺሕ ኤውሮ) ንሰልፎም ለጊሶም። ብዘይካ’ዚ ነዚ ወፈያ በቶም ዝወከልዎም ጨንፈራት ኣቢሎም ብዕጽፍታት ከዛይድዎ  ቃል ኣትዮም።

3News Item 30.03

 እዚ ዋዕላ ሰደህኤ ዞባ ኤውሮጳ ኣብቲ ሳልሳይ መዓልቱ 26 መጋብቲ 2017 ብፍሉይ ተራኺቡ ናብ መሪሕነት ናይ ተግባር ለበዋታት ኣቕሪቡ ናይ ሓባር መግለጺ ብምውጻእ ተዛዚሙ።

Swiss Secretariat for Migration and EU Diplomats Pressure Eritrea to Return Asylum Seekers

Chief Swiss Official on a Delicate Eritrea Mission

Software Translation from German

www.tagblatt.ch  | March 29, 2017

The Deputy of the State Secretariat for Migration and Diplomats from EU countries is putting pressure on Eritrea for the return of asylum seekers. So far only a few have voluntarily returned home.

At the beginning of the year, ranghohe diplomats from Switzerland, Germany, Norway and Sweden traveled to Asmara for talks with the Eritrean government. The four states, which are among the most important target countries of Eritrean refugees, hope that they will achieve more together. Last week, a joint delegation was again held at the Horn of Africa. They met Presidential Advisor Yemane Gebreab and Foreign Minister Osman Saleh. For Switzerland, the head of the Department of Sub-Saharan Africa of the Foreign Department and Vincenzo Mascioli, Vice Director of the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM), took part; This is confirmed by a speaker on request.

Simonetta Sommaruga (SP), the former personal assistant to the Minister of Justice, has been in charge since the beginning of the year of international cooperation, which is responsible for the return of rejected asylum seekers. The Federal Administrative Court recently supported the federal government in a basic decision, which in 2016 intensified the practice for Eritrea. This did little, however, since recirculations are only possible voluntarily. According to the SEM, eleven Eritreans returned to their homeland last year. By way of comparison: in 2015 alone, asylum applied for 10’000 people in Switzerland.

First positive signals, deep expectations

The migration was one of the four topics of the talks that Mascioli and the delegation in Asmara led with government representatives. The issue of the return was also addressed, says SEM spokesman Lukas Rieder. Eritrea does not allow any refugees to be forced to return from any European state. Norway tried unsuccessfully to negotiate an agreement. This is not an issue at the moment. But there are at least small positive signals. The parties agreed that the discussions on migration and human rights should be deepened. In some cases, the Eritrean authorities have answered identity requests to rejected asylum seekers, as the SEM confirms. Identification is often difficult as refugees from countries such as Sudan indicate a false origin,

According to Urs von Arb, the predecessor of SEM’s vice-director, Mascioli, in 2015, after an Eritrean mission, he concluded that the country is not North Korea. Civilian politicians have long demanded that Berne negotiate with Asmara about a return agreement, while leftists are skeptical. Whether or not there is movement depends mainly on the Eritrean regime. Observers warn against high expectations. The influence of Western states is limited, even with an expansion of development aid. China, for example, has granted the isolated country interest-free loans.

As a result, asylum seekers from Eritreans fell slightly earlier this year compared to 2016. These are still the largest refugee group in Switzerland. The most important causes of massive migration are the lack of prospects and the national service. The delegation of the four like-minded states also asked Asmara to explain its operation.

Source: http://www.eastafro.com/2017/03/29/swiss-secretariat-for-migration-and-eu-diplomats-pressure-eritrea-to-return-asylum-seekers/

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