European leaders open way to Australian style detention centres in Libya
Written by Martin Plaut |
by Martin Plaut |
At their summit in the Maltese capital, Valletta, European Council leaders have agreed to do all they can to halt the flow of African refugees and asylum seekers across the Central Mediterranean.
This is effectively the last route left for men, women and children attempting to flee repressive African dictators.
The European leaders agreed on a declaration (below) which includes this phrase: They are "seeking to ensure adequate reception capacities and conditions in Libya for migrants, together with the UNHCR and IOM."
The phrase is vague, but it would appear to open the way to the establishment of Australian style detention centres in Libya - away from the European mainland.
MSF, UNHCR, IOM criticism
The declaration has already been condemned by MSF, which issued this statement tonight:
“With their 'Malta Declaration' on the Central Mediterranean, the European Council is delusional about just how dangerous the situation in Libya really is. Those we rescue on our boats tell us that people still there are starving in detention centres, harassed and abused. The last thing these people need is for the EU and Italy to join the list of predators.
This declaration is yet more evidence that the EU leaders’ only aim is “stemming the flow”. Today was not about saving lives, it's clear that the EU is ready to sacrifice thousands of vulnerable, men, women and children in order to stop them reaching European shores.
The declaration does not refer to any alternatives for people who are unable to stay in Libya and would be at risk if they were returned home. The suggested ways of improving the situation in Libya for refugees and other migrants are dangerously lacking in detail. In short, the plan, is nothing more than another attempt to keep them away from European shores.”
– Arjan Hehenkamp, General Director of MSF
Earlier today the UNHCR and IOM put out a separate appeal calling on the European leaders not to establish detention centres in Libya. (See full text at end of blog)
"We believe that, given the current context, it is not appropriate to consider Libya a safe third country nor to establish extraterritorial processing of asylum-seekers in North Africa."
Speaking to the press the Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said the plan was no silver bullet but expressed confidence it could help stem the flow of migrants from Libya.
"We know Libya is in a particular situation but this must not be an excuse to do nothing; if anything it is a reason to do more with Libya," he said at a press briefing attended also by Council president Donald Tusk and European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker.
European politicians, under intense domestic pressure to reduce the arrival of refugees and migrants, are now close to sealing the Mediterranean as an escape route.
They already have a virtual "wall" across the sea, with Libya almost the only loophole remaining. It is this that they are attempting to block.
Martin
European Council PRESS RELEASE 43/17
03/02/2017
Source: European Council
Malta Declaration by the members of the European Council on the external aspects of migration: addressing the Central Mediterranean route
1. We welcome and support the Maltese Presidency's efforts to take forward all elements of the EU's comprehensive migration policy. We reaffirm our determination to act in full respect of human rights, international law and European values, and in conjunction with UNHCR and IOM.
2. A key element of a sustainable migration policy is to ensure effective control of our external border and stem illegal flows into the EU. In 2016, arrivals decreased to one-third of the levels in 2015. On the Eastern Mediterranean route, while pressures remain, arrivals in the last four months of 2016 were down 98% year-on-year. We remain committed to the EU-Turkey Statement and the full and non-discriminatory implementation of all its aspects, as well as to continued support for the countries along the Western Balkans route.
3. On the Central Mediterranean route, however, over 181,000 arrivals were detected in 2016, while the number of persons dead or missing at sea has reached a new record every year since 2013. With hundreds having already lost their lives in 2017 and spring approaching, we are determined to take additional action to significantly reduce migratory flows along the Central Mediterranean route and break the business model of smugglers, while remaining vigilant about the Eastern Mediterranean as well as other routes. We will step up our work with Libya as the main country of departure as well as with its North African and sub-Saharan neighbours.
4. The Partnership Framework and the Valletta Action Plan have allowed us to deepen long-term cooperation with a number of partner countries, including on root causes of migration, through a solid partnership based on mutual trust. This work is already yielding results and will be intensified. At the same time, the urgency of the situation requires immediate additional operational measures at the regional level, taking a pragmatic, flexible and tailor-made approach at each and every point involving all actors along the migratory route. In this context, we welcome the joint Commission and High Representative Communication "Migration on the Central Mediterranean Route - Managing flows, saving lives".
5. Efforts to stabilise Libya are now more important than ever, and the EU will do its utmost to contribute to that objective. In Libya, capacity building is key for the authorities to acquire control over the land and sea borders and to combat transit and smuggling activities. The EU remains committed to an inclusive political settlement under the framework of the Libyan Political Agreement and to supporting the Presidency Council and the Government of National Accord backed by the United Nations. Where possible the EU and Member States will also step up cooperation with and assistance to Libyan regional and local communities and with international organisations active in the country.
6. Priority will be given to the following elements: a) training, equipment and support to the Libyan national coast guard and other relevant agencies. Complementary EU training programmes must be rapidly stepped up, both in intensity and numbers, starting with those already undertaken by Operation SOPHIA and building on its experience. Funding and planning for these activities needs to be made sustainable and predictable, including through the Seahorse Mediterranean Network; b)Further efforts to disrupt the business model of smugglers through enhanced operational action, within an integrated approach involving Libya and other countries on the route and relevant international partners, engaged Member States, CSDP missions and operations, Europol and the European Border and Coast Guard; c) supporting where possible the development of local communities in Libya, especially in coastal areas and at Libyan land borders on the migratory routes, to improve their socio-economic situation and enhance their resilience as host communities; d) seeking to ensure adequate reception capacities and conditions in Libya for migrants, together with the UNHCR and IOM (emphasis added); e) supporting IOM in significantly stepping up assisted voluntary return activities; f) enhancing information campaigns and outreach addressed at migrants in Libya and countries of origin and transit, in cooperation with local actors and international organisations, particularly to counter the smugglers' business model; g) helping to reduce the pressure on Libya's land borders, working both with the Libyan authorities and all neighbours of Libya, including by supporting projects enhancing their border management capacity; h) keeping track of alternative routes and possible diversion of smugglers' activities, through cooperative efforts with Libya's neighbours and the countries under the Partnership Framework, with the support of Member States and all relevant EU agencies and by making available all necessary surveillance instruments; continuing support to efforts and initiatives from individual Member States directly engaged with Libya; in this respect, the EU welcomes and is ready to support Italy in its implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 2 February 2017 by the Italian Authorities and Chairman of the Presidential Council al-Serraj; i) deepening dialogue and cooperation on migration with all countries neighbouring Libya, including better operational cooperation with Member States and the European Border and Coast Guard on preventing departures and managing returns.
7. These objectives shall be underpinned by the necessary resources. In line with the Valletta Action Plan, the European Union is strengthening the mainstreaming of migration within its Official Development Assistance for Africa, which amounts to €31 billion during this financial period. Some of the actions referred to above can be funded within projects already under way, notably projects funded by the EU Trust Fund for Africa as appropriate, which mobilises €1,8 billion from the EU budget and €152 million from Member States' contributions. To cover the most urgent funding needs now and throughout 2017, we welcome the Commission's decision to mobilise as a first step an additional €200 million for the North Africa window of the Fund and to give priority to migration-related projects concerning Libya.
8. We will further develop our external migration policy in order to make it resilient for future crises. We will identify potential barriers, for example in relation to conditions to be met for returns, and reinforce EU return capacities, while respecting international law. We welcome the Commission's intention to rapidly present, as a first step, an updated Action Plan on Returns and to provide guidance for more operational returns by the EU and Member States and effective readmission based upon the existing acquis.
9. We agree to act determinedly and speedily to achieve the objectives set out in this Declaration and call upon all actors to work towards this end. We welcome the intention of the Maltese Presidency, in close cooperation with the Commission and the High Representative, to present a concrete plan for implementation to this effect to the Council at the earliest opportunity, to take work forward and to ensure close monitoring of results. The European Council will review progress on the overall approach at its meetings in March and in June on the basis of a report from the Maltese Presidency.
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Joint UNHCR and IOM statement on addressing migration and refugee movements along the Central Mediterranean route
2 February 2017 | Français
Ahead of the informal meeting of the European Council in Valletta tomorrow, we call on European leaders to take decisive action to address the tragic loss of life on the Central Mediterranean route and the deplorable conditions for migrants and refugees in Libya.
To better protect refugees and migrants, we need a strong European Union that is engaged beyond its borders to protect, assist and help find solutions for people in need. This includes building capacity to save lives at sea or on land, strengthening the rule of law and fighting against criminal networks.
We call for concerted efforts to ensure that sustainable migration and asylum systems are put in place in Libya, when the security and political situation permits, and in neighboring countries.
We urge a move away from migration management based on the automatic detention of refugees and migrants in inhumane conditions in Libya towards the creation of proper reception services. Open reception centres should offer safe and dignified conditions, including for children and victims of trafficking, and respect key protection safeguards.
We hope that tomorrow’s summit will also help move towards the adoption of a common approach to migration by the European Union.
Concrete measures in support of the Government of Libya are needed to build capacity to register new arrivals, support the voluntary return of migrants, process asylum claims and offer solutions to refugees. This should include a significant expansion of opportunities for safe pathways such as resettlement and humanitarian admission, among others, to avoid dangerous journeys.
In Libya, together with partners, we have made tremendous efforts to deliver basic protection to refugees, migrants and affected local populations, which in some places are also in dire need of assistance.
Security constraints continue to hinder our ability to deliver life-saving assistance, provide basic services to the most vulnerable and find solutions through resettlement, assisted voluntary return or self-reliance. Unhindered humanitarian access remains a priority.
We believe that, given the current context, it is not appropriate to consider Libya a safe third country nor to establish extraterritorial processing of asylum-seekers in North Africa.
We hope that humane solutions can be found to end the suffering of thousands of migrants and refugees in Libya and across the region, and we stand ready to assist and enhance our engagement, conditions permitting.
Switzerland Hardens Process of Accepting Refugees from Eritrea
Written by EPDP information Office
The Federal Administrative Tribunal of Switzerland decided on 2 February 2017 that "illegal escape from Eritrea" alone cannot be presented as a justification for Eritrean asylum seekers to be accepted as political refugees. The law will be put into effect as of June 2017 by the Federal office for migration and refugees.
The Federal Administrative Tribunal, which is the supreme court in interpreting laws in the country, made it clear that any asylum seeker from Eritrea will no longer be eligible for refugee status unless he/she presents sufficient evidence of political persecution by the Eritrean authorities.
Tribune de Genève, the French daily, reported on 3 February that the Swiss authorities have collected information that a number of Eritrean refugees had travelled to their home country, Eritrea, soon after obtaining political protection in Switzerland and that this showed they have no problem to go back to their country of origin.
It is to be recalled that delegations of right-wing Swiss parties visited Eritrea in recent years and came with reports which claimed that Eritrea "is safe for the return of refugees" who fail to obtain political protection in Switzerland.
In the last few years alone, Switzerland was a destination for over 25,000 Eritrean asylum seekers.
ብስርዓት ህግደፍ ወግዓዊ ፈቓድ ንግዲ ዝተዋህቦም ኤርትራውያን ግዳይ ተደራራቢ ግብሪ ይኾኑ ከምዘለዉ ካብ ኤርትራ ዝተረኽበ ሓበሬታ ኣቃሊዑ። በቲ ካብ ኤርትራ ዝተረኽበ ንኩነታት ንግዲ ዝምልከት ሓበሬታ መሰረት፡ ነጋዶ ካብ ሱዳን ይኹን ካብ ኢትዮጵያ ዝተረኽበ ንህዝቢ ዘድሊ መሰረታዊ ነገራት ናብ ኤርትራ ከእትዉ እንከለዉ ኣብ ከም በዓል ተሰነይ ዝኣመሰሉ ናይ ዶብ ከተማታት ቀረጽ ይኸፍሉ እሞ ቅብሊት ይወሃቦም እዩ። ኣብ ማእከል ኤርትራ ምስ ኣተዉ ድማ ዋላ ዝኸፈልሉ ቅብሊት እንተርኣዩ ዳግማይ ቀረጽ ክኸፍሉ ይግደዱ ምህላዎምን እንተዘይከፊሎም ድማ ዝሓዝዎ ንብረት ከም ዝራሰን እዞም ምንጭታት ይጠቕሱ።
ብዘይካዚ ኣብ ምኽፋል ዘይፍትሓዊ ግብርን ቀረጽን ዝተዋፈሩ ናይቲ መንግስቲ ኣካላት ኣብ ፈቐዶ ድንኳናት እንዳዞሩ „እዚ ንብረት ካበይ ኣምጺእኩምዎ?“ እንዳበሉ ንዋናታት ከም ዘዋጥርዎምን ቀረጽ ክኸፍሉ ከም ዘገድድዎምን እንተዘይከፊሎም ድማ ንብረቶም ከም ዝውሰድን እቲ ዝረኸብናዮ ሓበሬታ ብተወሳኺ ኣብሪሁ።
ብኻልእ ወገን ድማ ብሰንኪ ወጻዒ ሕግታትን ምምሕዳርን ስርዓት ህግደፍ ዘማረሩን ኩሉ መዳያት ዘጸገሞምን እሞ ናብ ውሕስነት ዘየብሉ ስደት ክኸዱ ዘይመረጹን ኤርትራውያን መንእሰያት፡ ኣብ ፈቐዶ ገዳማትን ስቱር ቦታትን ክሕብኡ ይግደዱ ምህላዎም ካብ ኤርትራ ዝተላእከ ሓበሬታ የረድእ።
“When prison became a synonym for Eritrea…you can only flee.”
Written by Anna SuttererPROJECT EXILE: ERITREAN STATE MEDIA REPORTER TURNS CRITIC
“When prison became a synonym for Eritrea…you can only flee.”
In Eritrea, even being part of the East African nation’s tame state media is no protection. That was the conclusion Abraham Zere reached after years of working as a columnist for the government newspaper Hadas Erta and later for the ruling party’s magazine.
All independent media outlets in the country of 6 million were closed in 2001 amid a massive crackdown on internal dissent following the country’s disastrous two-year border-war with Ethiopia. More than a dozen prominent journalists were jailed – and to this day it’s not known how many are still alive.
Abraham Zere (courtesy)
But as Abraham has written, for state media workers Eritrea became aKafka-esqueworld of uncertainty and seemingly random detentions by security forces.
In 2006, security forcesdetained10 state media journalists who worked at the Ministry of Information without any apparent rhyme or reason–keeping some in custody for weeks. In 2009, the military raided a state educational station called Radio Bana, arresting at least 40 reporters and media workers for reasons that are still unclear. Some wereheldin prison until 2015.
Abraham had his own difficulties in 2009 after publishing a column in the ruling party’s Hidri magazine highlighting the disaffection of Eritrean youth. That led to an immediate rebuke from Eritrea’s powerful Minister of Information Ali Abdu (himself now anasylum seekerin Australia after fleeing in 2013) – who published his own column in the state newspaper labeling Abraham’s work “irresponsible and dangerous.”
“I was living in a stifling atmosphere characterized by fear and uncertainty,” Abraham says. “When prison became a synonym [for] Eritrea; when citizens were left to languish in harsh dungeons merely by association, friendship or suspicion; when you vividly see your bleak future projected, what other options do you have? You can only flee.”
Abraham escaped Eritrea in 2012 after being granted permission to study abroad. Now living in Ohio, where he co-founded the free expression group PEN Eritrea and is a graduate student at Ohio University, he spoke with Global Journalist’s Anna Sutterer about his work in a country that has ranked last in Reporters Without Borders’ World Press Freedom Index foreight consecutive years.
Global Journalist: How did you manage to get out of Eritrea in 2012?
Abraham: I left the country initially to study in South Africa after lobbying and pulling all possible contacts for more than four months. I had to go to the Office of the President in person and discuss my case with the director [Yemane Gebremeskel, now information minister].
It is still considered a big favor…I had a good excuse to leave officially to study, but I also badly wanted to escape and breathe fresh air.
GJ: Tell us about the article you wrote that angered the former information minister – and led you to think about fleeing?
Abraham: After resigning from [state newspaper] Haddas Erta, I started to contribute to the only other outlet: Hidri magazine, the official organ of the ruling party. Then in April 2009, I wrote an article in which I boldly mocked how the Eritrean youth were disempowered while the national media have been portraying otherwise.
The article outraged [former information minister] Ali Abdu, as I was teasing his ministry. The next day he wrote me a strong warning and identified me as a national security threat in the national newspaper.
Global Journalist: It’s been very difficult for foreign reporters to cover Eritrea, though recently a few have been allowed in. How free are they to report?
Abraham: The journalists have their escorts who are often extensively briefed by the ruling party’s leaders. Then they end-up interviewing tow or three media-friendly government officials.
But there has been an exception to this recently by theNew Yorker‘s Alexis Okeowo. Her main story was the Eritrean soccer team that defected in Botswana.
She extensively interviewed the players, met most of the crucial figures in the country and accurately described everyday life in Eritrea. Her article, in my view, is the best article written on Eritrea over the last decade.
Global Journalist: PEN Eritrea advocates for free expression in Eritrea. Why is it important to keep talking about press freedom there when it hasn’t changed in 15 years?
Abraham: Myself and other exiled colleagues are writing to underline the abysmal state of free press in Eritrea. Over the last year, we have done some tangible works and highlighted the cases offorgotten Eritrean journalists who have been reduced to names and numbers mainly for lack of information.
For the last year and a half, I have been extensively writing mainly on Eritrea’s freedom of expressions and human rights abuses for different media. When I publish something, in an attempt to shake the dread silence, I relieve a fraction of my guilty conscience for staying behind my colleagues who are languishing in Eritrean detention centers.
Source=http://globaljournalist.org/2017/02/project-exile-exiled-eritrean-state-media-reporter-turns-critic/
ኣብዚ ዝሓለፈ ወርሓት ቀውዒ ዝበጽሑ ደቆም ናብ ግዱድ ኣገልግሎት ዝተወስድዎም ብዕድመ ዝደፍኡ ኤርትራውያን፡ ብደቂ-ደቆም እውን ክሕገዙ ከም ዘይከኣሉ ብዝተፈላለየ ምኽንያት ናብ ኤርትራ ገይሾም ናብቲ ዝነብርሉ ወጻኢ ሃገር ዝተመልሱ ምንጭታት ሓቢሮም። ከም ሓበሬታ ናይቶም ምንጭታት እዞም ዝኣኸሉ ደቆም ብግፋ ዝተወስድዎም ሽማግለታት ካልእ መተካእታ ምስ ሰኣኑ ካብ 14 ክሳብ 17 ዓመት ዝዕድሚኦም ደቂ-ደቆም ናብ ስረሓት ቀውዒ ምስ ኣዋፋሩ እቶም ህጻናት እውን ብሓይልታት ጸጥታ ናይቲ ስርዓት ከም ዝተገፈፉን ናበይ ከም ዝተወስዱ ከም ዘይለጡን ሓቢሮም።
እዚ ከምዚሉ እንከሎ ኣብ ኤርትራ ብዕድመ ንዝደፍኡ ዜጋታት መሬት ኣይወሃብን ዝብል ዘይፍትሓዊ ሕጊ ስለ ዝወጸ ኣብ ኩሉ ኩርነዓት እታ ሃገር ተቓውሞታት የስዕብ ከምዘሎ እዞም ኣቐዲምና ዝጠቐስናዮም ምንጭታት ይሕብሩ። ዋላ‘ኳ ካብ ዝተፈላለዩ ኣካላት „መሬት እንተዘይተዋሂብዎም ደኣ ብምንታይ ክነባበሩ“ ዝብል ሕቶታት ይልዓል እንተሃለወ ላዕለዎት ሰብ መዚ ናይቲ ስርዓት ግና ክምልስዎ ከም ዘይደለዩ እቲ ሓበሬታ የረድእ። ነዚ ኩነታት ዝተዓዘቡ ወገናት ምናልባት ብዝሕን ዋሕድን ስድራቤት ወይ ተወሳኺ ኣታዊ ኣብ ግምት ኣእቲኻ ካብ ምሉእ መገበር ኣትሕት ኣቢልካ ምዕዳል ሓደ ጉዳይ ምዃኑ፡ ካብዚ ሓሊፉ ግና ንሰባት ኣብ ገዛእ ሃገሮም እሞ ድማ ኣብቲ ዝያዳ ኣላዪ ዝደልይሉ ደረጃ ዕድመ መሬት ኣይግበኣኩምን ምባል መወዳድርቲ ዘየብሉ በደል ምዃኑ ይገልጹ ኣለዉ።
ብኻልእ ወገን ድማ ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ኣብ ኤርትራ ብደረጃ ተጋዳላይ ይኹን ሃገራዊ ኣገልግሎት ከም ዘገልገሉ ዘረጋግጽ ወረቐት ዘለዎም እንተዘይክይኖም ካብዚ ውጻኢ ብዜግነትካ ኣብ ዝኾነ ስራሕ ምውፋር ከምዘይፍቀድ ንኩነታት ኤርትራ ብቐረባ ዝተኸታተሉ ወገናት ይምስክሩ።
EU navies entering Libyan waters to attack people-smugglers a step closer
Written by Martin Plaut |
by Martin Plaut |
This is something that has been on the cards for some time.
It is the latest attempt to shore up Europe's 'wall' against Africa, which Leonard Vincent and I wrote about earlier (see below).
Martin
Libya may allow EU ships to pursue people-smugglers in its waters
Source: The Guardian
UN-backed PM says foreign ships could be permitted to operate in Libyan waters alongside national military coastguard 
German navy sailors reach a migrants’ boat off the coast of Libya in March 2016. Photograph: Matthias Schrader/AP
Patrick Wintour Diplomatic editor
Wednesday 1 February 2017
Libya’s UN-backed prime minister, Fayez al-Serraj, has said Nato or EU ships could be permitted to operate in Libyan waters alongside the national military coastguard to slow the flow of people-smuggling across the Mediterranean.
The move came as a report claimed elements of the Libyan coastguard were complicit in the smuggling and said returning anyone caught on boats to coastal detention centres was risky since conditions there were horrendous.
Serraj’s comments after talks at Nato on Wednesday will be a boost to EU plans to move its anti-smuggling mission Operation Sophia into Libyan waters to help prevent migrants from reaching Europe. The EU is due to discuss a comprehensive plan for Libya at a special heads of state summit on Friday.
“If there is something to be carried out jointly between the Libyan navy and any other party interested in extending a hand to the Libyan navy, that would be possible,” Serraj said.
“Of course, we have to modernise our navy flotilla and enhance its capacities. Nato or any other friendly nation on a bilateral basis could extend a hand in this.”
Smugglers’ boats currently can only be turned back to Libya if they are stopped inside Libyan waters, but both Nato and the EU need Libyan government consent to operate inside its sovereign waters. This year tens of thousands of migrants will face the risk of drowning while the smugglers’ networks benefit from the political chaos in Libya.
Serraj, struggling to gain authority inside Libya, is under pressure not to be seen to be succumbing excessively to outsiders.
On Wednesday Italy pledged €200m (£170m) in funds to several African countries as part of its drive to reduce migration at source. The foreign minister, Angelino Alfano, said the fund – aimed at Niger, Libya and Tunisia – would help bolster the “fight against human trafficking and illegal migration”.
He said Europe was not trying to build a wall but helping countries to reduce the incentive to migrate.
A report by the Clingendael Institute, a Dutch thinktank, drawing on first-hand research, said migrants intercepted or rescued at sea by the Libyan coastguard were sent to detention centres “where they often spend months languishing with no legal recourse, subject to the whims of their jailers”.
It said some smugglers tortured migrants to secure the release of more money from their families, or forced them to work in order to continue their journey. “Moreover, migrants are reportedly sold to criminal groups if they cannot pay for their voyage across the Mediterranean: for €15,000 they were sold to groups, mostly Egyptians, who are involved in removing and selling organs. Finally, based on self-reporting by migrants, up to 40% of migrants are forced on to boats.”
The report added: “Particularly in the northwestern part of Libya, migration is accompanied with absurdly high levels of crime and violence, and migrants are subject to the whims of the group that controls the area they are in. The line between smuggling and trafficking runs thin here, as cases of kidnapping, torture, sexual violence and killings are widespread, and the situation in and around detention centres for immigration is horrific.”
Martin Plaut and Leonard Vincent
It may not be a physical barrier comparable to Donald Trump's wall to prevent Mexicans from reaching the USA, but it is nearly in place.
Europe is close to sealing the routes refugees and migrants take across the Mediterranean.
Consider the facts. These are the routes into southern Europe. (Map: Frontex Risk Analysis, Q2 2016)
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The graphic produced by the EU’s Frontier Agency is clear: the major route that Africans are taking is via Libya.
The map below, from the same source, underlines the point.
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Two routes that Africans have used in the past have almost been sealed. There is next to no transit by sea from West Africa through the Canary Islands and only a limited number arriving in Spain.
The route through the Sinai and Israel has been closed.
The brutal treatment of Eritreans and Sudanese in the Sinai by mafia-style Bedouin families, who extracted ransoms with torture and rape, was certainly a deterrent. So too has been the increasing propensity of Egypt to deport Eritreans to their home country, despite the risks that they will be jailed and abused when they are returned. But this route was sealed in December 2013 when the Israeli authorities built an almost impregnable fence, blocking entry via the Sinai.
This has left Libya – and to a lesser extent Egypt – as the only viable routes for Africans to use. Both are becoming more difficult. Although the International Organisation for Migration calculates that roughly 17 men, women and children perishing every day making the crossing, or nearly one every hour, they have not been deterred.
Libya is critical to the success of the EU's strategy, as a recent European assessment explained: “Libya is of pivotal importance as the primary point of departure for the Central Mediterranean route.”
Libya: the final brick in the ‘wall’
The European Union has adopted new tactics to try to seal the central Mediterranean route.
The countries keenest to push this for this to take place are Germany and Italy, which took the bulk of the refugees that arrived in recent years. Germany received nearly 1.2 million asylum seekers over the past two years, while Italy received 335,000 arrivals over the course of 2015 and 2016.
Earlier this month Italy’s Interior Minister Marco Minniti was dispatched to Tripoli to broker an agreement on fighting irregular migration through the country with Fayez al-Sarraj, head of the UN-backed Government of National Accord.
Minniti and al-Sarraj agreed to reinforce cooperation on security, the fight against terrorism and human trafficking.
“There is a new impulse here — we are moving as pioneers,” Mario Giro, Italy’s deputy foreign minister, told the Financial Times. “But there is a lot of work to do, because Libya still doesn’t yet have the capacity to manage the flows, and the country is still divided.”
The deal has, apparently, hit a snag. The Libyan government is resisting Italy’s proposals, although their detailed objections have not been revealed.
Germany’s aid threat
While Italy’s attempting to strike a deal with Libya, Germany is issuing threats.
With Chancellor Angela Merkel facing elections in 2017 and keen to show she is no longer a ‘soft touch’ for refugees, a much harder line is now being taken with anyone seeking asylum in Germany.
Germany deported 25,000 migrants in 2016 and another 55,000 were persuaded to return home voluntarily.
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière is pushing a plan that would make it easier to detain rejected asylum seekers considered a potential security threat, and to deport them from “repatriation centres” at airports.
Germany is underling its determination to cut numbers by threatening to end development aid to countries that refuse to take back rejected asylum seekers. “Those who do not cooperate sufficiently cannot hope to benefit from our development aid,” Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel told Der Spiegel.
Europe and Africa
The Italian proposals are very much in line with agreements the EU reached with African leaders during their summit in Malta, in late 2015.
The two sides signed a deal to halt the flight of refugees and migrants.
Europe offered training to “law enforcement and judicial authorities” in new methods of investigation and “assisting in setting up specialised anti-trafficking and smuggling police units”. The European police forces of Europol and the EU’s border force (Frontex) will assist African security police in countering the “production of forged and fraudulent documents”.
This meant co-operating with dictatorial regimes, like Sudan, which is ruled by Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.
But President al-Bashir is now seen as a western friend, despite his notorious record. One of President Obama’s last acts in office has been to lift sanctions against Sudan.
What is clear from the Italian and German initiatives is that Europe is determined to do all it can to reduce, and finally halt, the flow of Africans through Libya – the only viable route left for most African migrants and refugees to reach Europe.
A legal route into Europe
While the informal and illegal routes are being sealed a tiny legitimate route is being opened. The Catholic Church, working through its aid arm, Caritas and the Community of Sant Egidio, has managed to negotiate an agreement with Italy for 500 refugees from the Horn of Africa to be allowed to come to Italy.
Oliviero Fortis, Head of the Immigration Department of Caritas, said: "We must, as far as possible, promote legal and secure entry solutions. Being able to enter Italy with a visa is an operation that works perfectly. Except at the political level, and that's the big problem! It is the Italian Church that will bear the costs, in the hope that this initiative will be a model for the acceptance of refugees that can be monitored and replicated by European institutions."
EU and Eritrea
Eritrea – among the most brutal dictatorships in Africa – remains one of the key sources of migration and refugees. Although Eritrea has fewer citizens than most other African states more Eritreans arrived illegally in Europe in early 2016 than from any other African country.
This comes at a time of unprecedented pressure on Eritrean refugees, as they make their way through Sudan and into Libya. The Sudanese government’s ‘Rapid Support Force’ – an autonomous special force headed by a notorious Janjaweed commander – has been used to round up refugees, to deport them back to Eritrea.
The EU is floundering around attempting to halt this exodus. Recently it offered €200 million in aid to Eritrean ‘projects’, but has few means of monitoring just how it will be spent. Eritrea is a one-party state, in which the ruling PFDJ has never held a congress.
The country is ruled by a narrow clique surrounding President Isaias Afwerki, which uses National Service conscripts on the farms and factories that they control.
While the EU has outlined a range of programmes it is willing to support, given the monopoly power exercised by the sole party and army commanders over the entire Eritrean society, it has next to no means of ensuring that the funds do not ultimately end up reinforcing this autocracy.
Conclusion
If the EU initiatives fail (and it is highly likely that they will) they will only serve to strengthen the Eritrean and Sudanese regimes. At the same time attempting to block Libya and Egypt as the only remaining means of reaching European soil is likely to force Eritrean and Sudanese citizens to take even longer and more dangerous journeys to reach safety.
The EU is working hard to strengthen its ties with Libya so that it can go into Libyan waters and destroy the boats and other infrastructure used to smuggle Africans into Europe.
In a report to EU’s 28 member states, Rear Admiral Enrico Credendino, who heads the European Union Naval Force Mediterranean (EU NAVFOR MED) explained that it is vital that European navies operated inside Libyan territorial waters to halt trafficking. But this cannot happen at present. “It is clear that the legal and political pre-conditions have not been met,” said Admiral Credendino, indicating that greater cooperation with the Libyan authorities was needed.
The tiny legal route offered by Italy is unlikely to meet the needs of Africans desperate to seek refuge in Europe. Instead, the increasing restrictions are likely to lead to increased deaths and despair as destitute African youths take ever-more risky routes out of Africa – and further destabilisation of an already fragile part of the world.
This is the likely outcome of Europe’s African ‘wall’.
It will neither end the flow of refugees fleeing suffocating repression, nor will it seal the borders of Europe. Thousands of people fleeing for their lives will be forced away from Europe (and away from European public opinion). Instead it will place the burden of this crisis on brutal and often racist regimes along the fugitives' routes.
And all this for what?
Refusing to accommodate, for a reasonable period of time, a few thousand young women and men who are only too eager to learn, live and contribute to European societies, until eventually circumstances change and they can return home with gratitude towards their European hosts.
It's not only a shame; it is a political mistake of historic proportions.
ስውእ ኢንጂኔር ተስፋሁነይ ተኽለ ተስፋማርያም ብ16 ጥሪ 2017 ልክዕ ሰዓት 6፡30 ናይ ምሸት ኣብ ሕክምና ክእለ ድሕሪ ምጽናሕ ካብ’ዛ ዓለም ብሞት ተፈልዩ። በዚ ኣጋጣሚ’ዚ ሰልፊ ዲሞክራሲ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ፡ ንስውእ መንግስተ ሰማይ የዋርሶ፡ ንስድራኡ፡ ቤተ-ሰቡን መቓልስቱን ድማ ጽንዓት ይሃቦም፡ ጠሉ ድማ የውርደሎም እናበለ ናይ ወሪድኩም ዘሎ መሪር ሓዘን ተኻፋላይ ምዃኑ ይገልጽ።
ሓጺር ታሪኽ ስውእ ኢንጂነር ተስፋሁነት ተኽለ ተስፋማርያም
ስውእ ተስፋሁነይ፡ ካብ ኣቦኡ ተኽለ ተስፋማርያም ሃብተጋብር፡ ካብ ኣዲኡ ሰማእቱ ጓንጕል ሓጐስ ብ20 መጋቢት 1943፡ ኣብ ዓዲ ዓጓ፡ ኣውራጃ ሰራየ ተወሊዱ። ኣብ ቤት ትምህርቲ ሳንጆርጆ (መንደፈራ)፡ ኣብ ቀዳማዊ ሃይለስላሰ ካልኣይ ደረጃ ቤት ትምህርቲ (ኣስመራ)፡ ኣብ ትካል ተለኮሚኒከሽን (ኣዲስ ኣበባ) ድማ ተማሂሩ።
ስውእ ተስፋሁነይ ተኽለ ፡ ካብ ካልኣይ መፋርቕ ናይ ስሳታት ኣትሒዙ፡ ኣብ ውሽጢ ከተማታት ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ብፍላይ ድማ ኣብ ኣስመራ ኣብ ዝነበረ ምስጢራዊ ስርርዓትን ስርሒታትን ተሓኤ ብተወፋይነት እተቓለሰን ብ1967 ኣብ ማእሰርቲ ኢትዮጵያ ኣትዩ ብዙሕ ስቅያት ዘሕለፈን ገዲም ተጋዳላይ ኢዩ ነይሩ። ካብ 1975 ክሳብ 1981 ኣብ ተሓኤ ተሰሊፉ፡ ኣብ ክፍሊ ፍርድን ወኪል ቀይሕ መስቀልን ወርሕን ኤርትራ ኰይኑ ድማ ኣብ ፖርትሱዳን ተመዲቡ ተቓሊሱ።
ተሓኤ ካብ ሜዳ ምስ ወጸት፡ ንኣመሪካ ተሰዲዱ። ኣብ ሕቡራት መንግስታት ኣመሪካ ትምህርቱ ኣብ ዝተፈላለዩ ኮለጃት ከተማ ቺካጎ ቀጺሉ። ካብ ትካል ተክኖሎጂ ናይ ኢሊኖይ (Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) ኣብ ናይ ኤለክትሪክን ኮምፕዩተር ኢንጅነሪንግ ብናይ ባችሎር ዲግሪ ተመሪቑ። ኣብ 1990 ካብ ቺካጎ ናብ ክሊቭላንድ ብምቕያር፡ ብማስተርስ ዲግሪ ተመሪቑ። ኣብ ናይ ኣመሪካ ናይ ጠፈር ምርምር ትካል (National Aeronautics and Space Administration/ NASA) ን24 ዓመታት ሰሪሑ።
ኣብ ዝሓለፈ 27ን 28ን ጥሪ 2017 መራሒ ህግደፍ ምስታ ኣብ ኤርትራ ብሒታ ዘላ ቲቪ-ኤረ ብድምር ናይ 210 ደቓይቕ ቃለ መጠይቕ ኣካይዱ። እዚ ቃለመጠይቕ ንነዊሕ ግዜ መጸዋዕታን ምቅርራብን ክግበረሉ ዝጸነሐ ነይሩ። ያኢ ኣብ ውሽጢ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ሕቶታት ተመሊሉስ ካብ ወጻኢ ሕቶታት ክኣቱ መጸዋዕታ ክግበር እውን ተዓዚብና። ብዙሓት ከኣ ገለን ብጉርሒ ገለን ከኣ ብገርሂ ሕቶታት ዝጸፍጸፉ ነይሮም። ካብቲ ዘቕረብዎ ሕቶታት ክንደይ ተመሊስሎም ድማ ባዕላቶም ዝጸባጸብዎ እዩ።
ኣቶ ኢሳይያስ መመሪጹ ናይ “እዝን እትን ጥራይ ሕተቱኒ” ድራማ ይሰርሕ ከም ዝነበረ ካብቲ ክሓትዎ እንከለዉ “ኣብቲ ዳሕራዋይ ሕቶ ክንመጾ ኢና” ዝብሎ ዝነበረ ምርዳእ ይከኣል። እቲ እቶም ጋዜጠኛታት እንዳተሸቑረሩን ቀልባዕባዕ እንዳበሉን ዘልዕልዎ ዝነበሩ ዝርካቡ ሕቶታት ልሙድን ሰማዕትን ኣንበብትን ዘደንዘዘ ነይሩ። ኣብ ልምዓት፡ ሓይሊ አለክትሪ፡ ማይ፡ ትሕተ-ቅርጻን ኣባይትን፡ ወሰኽ ደሞዝ ሰራሕተኛታት፡ ጉዳይ ስደት፡ ምስልጣን ሓይሊ ሰብ ዘተኮሩ ነይሮም። ኢሳይያስ ኣብቲ መልሱ ኣብዞም ዝተላዕሉ ጉዳያት ኣዝዩ ከቢድ ጸገምን ሕጽረትን ከም ዘሎ መረጋገጺ ይህብ ነይሩ። ንገሊኦም ዛዕባታትስ ወረ በቲ ድኹም ደረጃ’ውን ኣለዉ ክበሃሉ ከምዘይክእሉ እዩ ዝገልጾም ነይሩ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ እቶም ኢሳይያስ ኣለዉ ዝብሎም ዝነበረ ጸገማት ከም ዘለዉ መረጋገጺ ኣይደልየሎምን እዩ። ምስቶም ጸገማት ይነብር ስለዘሎ። እቲ “መራሒ ሃገር” ካብ ተባህለ ካብኡ ዝድለ ዝነበረ ካብዞም ጸገማት እቲ መዋጸኦ እንታይ ምዃኑ ምሕባርን ምእማትን ነይሩ። ኢሳይያስ ግና ምናልባት ግዲ “ ዝሰኣነት ኣደ ካብ እምኒ ትጸንዕ” ኮንዎስ እዚ እዩ ኢልካ ዝድህሰስ መልሲ ኣይነበሮን።
ኣቶ ኢሳይያስ ኣብ ነፍሲ ወከፍ ዓመት ኣብ ሳዋ ብውሑዱ 10 ሺሕ ክኢላ ዓቕሚ ሰብ ከም ዘብቅዕ ይገልጽ ነይሩ። ጌና እውን ተወሳኺ ዓቕሚ ሰብ ከም ዘድልዮ መዲሩ። “ተወሳኺ ሓይሊ ሰብ ዘድሊ ዘሎ እቲ ዝቐደመ ስራሕ ሒዙስ ተወሳኺ ዓቕሚ ስለ ዘድልየ ድዩ?” ኢሉ ዝሓትት ንስምዒት ህዝቢ ዝውክል ጋዜጠኛ እንተዝርከብ መልሱ እንታይኮን መኾነ? እቲ ምኽንያት ንጹር እዩ ኢሳይያስ ዝጸባጸብ ዘሎ ኣብ ወረቐት ካብ ዝሰፈረ ዝርዝር ናይቶም ናብ ሳዋ ዝወረዱ መንእሰያት እዩ። ብተግባር ግና ሎሚ ንሳቶም ኣበይ ኣለዉ ግና ፈላጢኡ እዩ ዝፈልጦ። ገለን ኣብ መደበራት ስደተኛታት፡ ገለን ኣብ ስደት ዓዲ ጓና ዝሳቐዩ ዘለዉ እዮም። ከምኡ እውን ኣብ ምድረ-በዳታትን ባሕርታትን ዝሃለቑ። ነዚ ዘብቀዖም ከኣ ከምቲ ንሱ ኢሳይያስ ንግዳማውያን ሓይልታት ከላግበሎም ዝፍትኖ ዘይኮነስ፡ እቲ ቀንዲ ጠንቂ ግናይ ምምሕዳሩ እዩ። ከምቲ “ንስኻ ተዘይትደፍኣኒ መን መጽደፈኒ” ዝበሃል።
ሎሚ ኤርትራዊ መንእሰይ ኣብ ዓድን ወጻእን ዘሕልፎ ዘሎ ከርፋሕ ህይወት ኣይኮነንዶ ንሕና ዓለም ዝፈልጦ እዩ። ኤርትራውያን መንእሰያት ካብቶም ኣይካብ ትምህርቲ፡ ኣይካብ ሃብትን ሓዳርን ኣጉል ዝተረፉ መንእሰያት ዓለም ቅድሚ ዝስርዑ ምዃኖም ፍሉጥ እዩ። ኣቶ ኢሳይያስ ግና ነዚ ባዕሉ ዝዛረብ ሓቂ ጓስዩ “ ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘለዉ ስራሕ ዘይፈትዉ። ብናይ ካልኦት ረሃጽ ብዝተረኽበ ገንዘብ ዝሕሽሹ መንእሰያት ኣለዉ” ዝብል ሃየንታ ክዛረብ ሰሚዕና። “ኣብ ኤርትራ ስራሕ እንዳሃለወ ክሰርሕ ዝደሊ መንእሰይ የለን” ክብል እንከሎስ ሰማይ ዝሃገሩ ሰሚዑ ንኣበሃህላይ ዝኣምን ሰብ ክረክብየ ማለቱ ደኾን ይኸውን።
እቶም ሰለስተ ኩነታት ዝሓርበቶም “ክቡር ፕረሲደንት” መውጽእ ኣፎም ዝገበሩ ጋዜጠኛታት፡ ሞያዊ ሪም ኮይንዎም እንተዘይኮይኑ፡ እቲ ዘቕርብዎ ሕቶታት ከም ዘይምለስ ከም ዝዓገቡ፡ ካብቲ ኩነታቶም ምርዳእ ይከኣል ነይሩ። ካብ ከይተላዕለ ዝተርፍ ተላዒሉስ ተዘይተመለሰ ይሓይሽ ብዝብል እዩ ዝመስል ፖለቲካዊ ሕቶታት እውን ወስ ኣቢሎም ነይሮም። ሓደ ካብኡ ምንዳፍ ሓድሽ ቅዋም ዝምልከት ነይሩ። እቲ ኣብ ኢዱ ዋላ ሓንቲ ዘይነበሮ መላሲ፡ ኣቕጣጫ ንምቕያር ብዝመስል መልክዑ ነቲ ቅዋም “ስርዓተ-መንግስቲ” ዝብል ሓድሽ ስም ኣጠሚቕዎ። ከምዚ ዝገብር ዘሎ፡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣስማት ቅዋም ምቅይያር ዘይኮነስ ዝሰርሕ ቅዋም ይጽበ ከም ዘሎ ጠፊእዎ ኣይኮነን። ብዝኾነ እቲ ነደፍቱ፡ ኣገባባት ኣጸዳድቑኡን ክኽምታእ ዝተታሕዘሉ ቆጸራ ዘይፍለጥን ቅዋም ኣበይ በጺሑ ምስ ተባህል ከም ዓሚ ቀሪብና ኢና ዝብል ካልእ መጠበሪ ቆጸራ እዩ ሂብሉ ሓሊፉ።
እዚ ብኣምለኽቱ ስሙ ንዘይምልዓል “እቲ ሰብኣይ” ዝበሃል መላኺ፡ ከምስል’ኳ “እቲ ወሳኒ ኣተሓሕዛ ውሽጣዊ ጉዳይና እዩ” ዝብል እንተነበረ፡ እቲ ዝበዘሐ ዝተዛረበሉ ግና ቀዳምነቱ ዘይኮኑ ጉዳያት እዩ። እቶም ጋዜጠኛታት ነቲ ሕቶታት ቅድም ዘቤታዊ ደሓር ድማ ዞባውን ዓለማውን ኢሎም ምስረዖም ንቡር ይሃቦም ዝበሃል ኮይኑ፡ ንሱ ዝህቦ ዝነበረ መልሲ ግና ምስኡ ደቂ ሓደ ዜጋ ብምዃንካ ጥራይ ዘሕፍርን ዘሸቑርርን እዩ። ናቱ ኣበር ኣቐሚጡ ካብ ክሊንተን ክሳብ ኤንገላ መርክል፡ ካብ ኣሜሪካ ክሳብ ኣፍሪቃ ክጸርፍን ክዘልፍን ቀንዩ። ኣብ ገዝኡ ዘሎ ጎዱፍ ዘየጽረየስ ናይ ዞባን ዓለምን ፖለቲካዊ ኣሰላልፋ ክምህር ምፍታኑ ከኣ ብሓጺሩ ዘተዓዛዝብ’ዩ። ዞባውን ዓለማውን ጉዳያት ስለ ዝጸልወካ ብዛዕባኡ ምዝራብ ነውሪ ኣይኮነን። ናትካ ዕዮ ገዛ ከይትግበርካ፡ ብናይ ካልኦት ምውርዛይ ግና ኣብ ትዕዝብቲ ዘውድቕ እምበር ዝህቦ ፋይዳ የብሉን።
ድሕሪ ከምዚ ዓይነት ኩነታት ነቲ ቃለመጠይቕ ኣብ ዝምልከት ምዝራብ ዝተለምደ እዩ። ሰሚዕካዶ ኣይሰማዕካን? ካብቲ ዘረብኡ እንታይ ሓድሽ ነገር ረኺብካ? ካብዚ ተበጊስካ ኣብ መጻኢ እንታይ ሓድሽ ለውጢ ትጽበ? ካብቶም ልሙዳት ሕቶታት እዩ። ዝምልከቶም ሰባት ድማ ከከም ስምዒቶም ይምልሱ። እንታይ ሓድሽ ከምጽ ኢሉ ኢለ ኣይሰማዕኩዎን። ቁሩብ ክሰምዖ ጀሚረ ከምቲ ልሙድ ምህውታት ምስ ኮነኒ ገዲፈዮ። ምስማዕስ ብምሉእ ሰሚዐዮ፡ እንተኾነ “ነዚ ክትግዕታዶ ትርህጻ” ካብ ምባል ሓሊፍካ ዝጭበጥ ትሕዝቶ ኣይረኸብኩሉን፡ ዝብሉ እውን ብዙሓት እዮም። ኣነ ድማ ምስ እዞም ዳሕረዎት ዝበልዎ እየ ዝሰማማዕ።
ራዲዮ ድምጺ ሓርነት 28/01/2017 إذاعة صوت الحرية
Written by Radio Voice of Liberty Sweden
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Harnnet Tigrinia Magazine Issue 53 Dec 16-Jan 17
Written by EPDP Information OfficeHarnnet Tigrinia Magazine Issue 53 Dec 16-Jan 17
Written by EPDP Information Office
ግርጭት ኣብ መዓልታዊ ስራሓትና ይኹን ምስ ደቂ ሰባት ኣብ እንገብሮ ርክባት ዘጋጥም እዩ። እቲ ግርጭት ብንእሽቶ ይኹን ብዓቢ ጉዳይ ዝለዓል እኳ ይኹን እምበር፡ ኣብ ዘይዕግበትን፡ ንናይ ካልኦት ጸገማት ዘይምርዳእን፥ ኣነ ጥራሕ እየ ነቲ ጉዳይ ዝርደኦ ዝብል ዝተሓላለኸ ድሌታት ምስ ዝውሰኾ ናብ ግርጭት የእትወካ። ምኽንያቱ ኣብ ክብርታት፡ ድሌታትን፡ ረብሓታትን ዝተመርኮሰ፥ ምስ ካልኦት ክመሳሰል ዘይክእል ዝፍጠር ፍልልያት እዩ። ብፍላይ ድማ ኣብ ሃይማኖት፡ ፖለቲካ፡ ወይ እውን ካልእ ዘሎካ እምነታት ዝፈጥሮ ፍልልያት፥ ተጻዋርነት እንተዘየልዩ ኣብ ምስሕሓብ ክእቶ ናይ ግድን ኢዩ። ግርጭት ካብ ስግኣትን፡ ቁጠዐን ዝነቕለሉ ኣጋጣሚታት’ውን ኣሎ።
ግርጭት ብግቡእ ተዘይተታሒዙ ንጥዑይ ዝምድናታት ናብ ጽልእን ተጻባእነትን ክልውጥ ተኽእሎ ኣለዎ። ኣብ ከምዚ ኩነታት እቲ ዝጸንሐ ሰላም፡ ምትእምማንን ስምምዕን ይፈኮስ ወይ ይልሕልሕን እሞ ነቲ ዝነበረ ጥዑይ ዝምድና ይዘርጎ። ነፍሲ ወከፍ ኣብ ግርጭት ዝኣተው ኣካል ከመይ ይዋስኡ ከኣ ነናቶም ዝተፈላለዩ ጠመተን ተረድኦን ይውንኑ’ሞ ኣብ ክረዳድእሉ ዘይክእሉ ደረጃ የብጽሖም። ስለዚ ግርጭት ንኹሉ ሸነኽ ዘዕግብ ስምምዕ ክብጻሕ ኣብ ዘይከኣለሉ ወይ እውን ክልቲኡ ተሰሓሓቢ ወገናት ነቲ ግርጭት ኣብ ክንዲ ናይ ተዓዋቲ-ተዓዋቲ ናይ ተዓዋቲ-ተሰዓሪ ፍታሕ ምስ ዝጽበዩ ናብ ተሪር ጐነጽ የድህብ።
እቲ ዘጓንፍ ግርጭት ብሃናጺ ኣገባብ ፍታሕ ክርከብ እንተኾይኑ፥ ክልቲኡ ዝገራጮ ኣካላት ንሓባራዊ ረብሓ ቀዳምነት ምስ ዝህብ ምትእምማን ይፈጥር፡ ምሕዝነት ይድልድል፡ ቀጻሊ ርክባትን ሓባራዊ ድሌታትን ይወሃሃድ። ምስ እዚ እውን ኩሉ ሸነኽ ተዓዋቲ -ተዓዋቲ ናብ ዝብል ሓሳብ ይዝንብልን፡ ሕድገታት ይቕበልን። ብኣንጻሩ ካብ ጸቢብ ኣተሓሳስባን፡ ናይ ውልቂ ረብሓን፡ ብምንቃል ዝግበር ናይ ግርጭት ኣፈታትሓ ኣሉታዊ ውጽኢት ጥራሕ ዘይኮነስ እቲ ዝጻረሮ ሸነኽ ክሰዓር ወይ ክዓኑ ብዝብል፡ ኣብ ውልቀ መጥቃዕትን ጽልእን ገጹ የዘንብል። እቲ ፍታሕ ከኣ በቲ ንሱ ዝደልዮ ጥራሕ እምበር ናይ ሓባር መልክዕ ከትሕዞ ኣይህቅንን። ኣብ ከምዚ ኩነታት ኣብ ግርጭት ወይ ኣብ ፍልልያት ዝኣተዉ ወገናት ነቲ ግድል ሓባራዊ ግድል ምዃኑን ኣብ ምፍትሑ ከኣ ሓባራዊ ረብሓ ምህላዉ እንተዘይኣሚኖም እቲ ግርጭት ብድሌት ሓደ ሸነኽ ጥራሕ ክፍታሕ ኣይክእልን እዩ።
በዚ ኣብ ላዕሊ ተጠቒሱ ዘሎ ምኽንያታት እምበኣር፥ ነፍሲ ወከፍ ኣብ ግርጭት ዝኣተወ ወገን፡ ናይ ጠቕምን ሓሳብን ፍልልያት ስለ ዝህልዎ ግርጭት መወዳእታ የብሉን። ንፍልልያትን ግርጭታትን በቲ እወንታዊ ሸነኹን ኣገባቡን ከመይ ይምእከልን፡ ንኹሉ ብዘርብሕ እወንታዊ ለውጢ ከምጽእ ዝኽእል ተጸዋዊርካን ተኸኣኢልካን ፍታሕ ንምንዳይ ክገትኣና የብሉን። ናብዚ ንምብጻሕ ግን ብናትካ ወይ ብጉዳይካ ጥራሕ ኣብ ክንዲ ምሕሳብን፥ ኣብ ህልውን ግዚያውን ጥርይ ምጥማት፡ ኣብ መጻኢ እንታይ ክፍጠር ምዃኑ ምግንዛብ የድሊ።
ኣብ ፖለቲካዊ መዳይ ዘጋጥም ግርጭት ንምእላይ ህዝቢ ጉዳዩ ስለዝኾነ ክነቕሓሉን ክዋሳኣሉን ይግባእ። እዚ ከኣ ሰልፍታት፥ ስቪላዊ ማሕበራትን፥ መራኸቢ ብዙሃንን ናተይ ኢሉ ብጥብቂ ከጽንዖምን ክከታተሎምን ሓላፍነቱ ምዃኑ ክኣምን ኣለዎ። ምኽንያቱ እቲ ቀንዲ ፍልልያትን ክሳብ ኣብ ግርጭት ዘእቱ ምፍሕፋሓትን ካብዞም ዝተጠቕሱ ሰለስተ ትካላት ዝንቅል ዘይምርድዳእ እዩ። ፖለቲካዊ ሰልፍታት ምስ ስቪላዊ ማሕበራት ክወዳደራ እንተኾይነን እዚ እቲ ቀንዲ ግርጭት ዝለዓለሉ’ዩ። መራኸቢ ብዙሃን ነቲ ጭቡጥ ዝኾነ ኩነታት ናብ ህዝቢ ከቃልሖ እንተዘይበቒዑ ፍሕፍሕ ኣብ መንጎ ሰለስቲኡ ክርከብ ናይ ግድን እዩ። እዚ ከምዚ ዝኣመሰለ ሽግራት ወይ ፍልልያት ክፍታሕ እንተኾይኑ ህዝቢ እዩ ቅኑዕ ፍርዲ ክህብ ዝግበኦ። ነዚ ንክበቅዕ ከኣ ካብ ኣድልዎን ሻርነትን ድሑር ዝምባሌታትን ስምዒታትን ናጻ ክኸውን ይግባእ።
ልክዕ ኢዩ ሎሚ ኣብ ኤርትራ ብሰንኪ ጨቋኒ ስርዓት ሃገርና ጠንጢንና ናብ ስደት ክነምርሕ ንግደድ ምህላውና ዘይከሓድ ሓቂ እዩ። እቲ ናብ ስደት ገጹ ዘምርሕ መንእሰይ ንድሕሪት ተመሊሱ በጃ ሃገሩን ህዝቡን ክስለፍ ይትረፍ፡ ነቲ መሰሉ ዝገፈፎ ስርዓት ኣብ ምግጣም እጃሙ ካብ ምብርካት ዛሕቲሉ ኣሎ። ነዚ ስንኩፍ ጎኑ ንምሽፋን ከኣ ኣብቶም ቅድሚኡ ተቓልሶም ሃገር ዘውሓሱ መዓት የውርድ። እዚ ንገዛእ ርእሱ ፍታሕ ዘድልዮ ግርጭት’ዚ ኣብ መንጎ ገዲምን ሓዲሽን ዝፍጠር ዘይምርድዳእ፥ ስልጣን እቲ ጨቋኒ ስርዓት ክናዋሕ ናይ ግድን እዩ። መንአሰይ መሰሉ ስለዝተገፈ ኣብ ሃገሩ ቅሳነት ረኺቡ ብሰላምን ናጻን ክነብር ኣይከኣለን። ንከምዚ ዝዓይነቱ ስርዓት ንመሰሉ ክብል ኣብ ውሽጢ ኮይኑ ዝቃለሰሉ ዕድል ምስ ሰኣነ ናብ ደገ ገጹ ጠሚቱ፡ ኣብ ደገ ምስ ወጸ ከኣ፡ እዞም ዓበይቲ ኣይሰርሑን፥ ውድባት ኣይረብሓን እናበለ ተስፋ ዘቑርጽ ጭረሖታት ብምጭራሕ እቲ ስልጣን ጨቢጡ ዘሎ ስርዓት ብኮራርምቱ ክስሕቕ ዕድል ረኺቡ ኣሎ።
እቲ ዘጋጥም ዘሎ ግርጭትን ምስሕሓብን ናይ ሓደ ክፍሊ ሕብረተሰብ፡ ውልቀሰብ ወይ እውን ናይ መንፈሳዊ ትካል ኣይኮነን። እንታይ ደኣ ናይታ ሃገር ብመላኣ ሽግር እዩ። ኣብ ኤርትራ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ምንቅስቓስ ይኹን ውደባ ተዓፊኑ ህዝቢ ከምድላዩ ከይዛረብን ከይቃወምን መስሉ ተገፊፉ ስለ ዘሎ፡ እቲ ግርጭት ናይ መላእ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ እምበር ናይ ውሱናት ከምዘይኮነ ርዱእ እዩ። ነዚ ግርጭታትን ፍልልያትን ናይ ሓባርና ሽግር ምዃኑ ምእማን ከም ቅድመ-ኩነት ክሰፍር ዝግበኦ እዩ። ነዚ ዘብቅዕ ነቲ ጸገም ካብ ሱር መሰረቱ ምሒዩ ቅኑዕ ፍታሕ ዘረክብ ሃገራዊ ዘተን ዕርቅን ክህልወና ምእንቲ፥ ካብ ባሓትን ኣግላልን ኣተሓሳስባ ወጺኣና፥ ይምልከተኒ እዩ ንዝብል ኩሉ ወዲ ሃገር ዝሳተፈሉ፡ ካብ ናተይ ጥራሕ እዩ ቅኑዕ፥ ናብዚ እተዉ ወይ ተጽንበሩ ወይ ንዓይ ስምዑ ዝዓይነቱ መላኺ ቋንቋ ናጻ ኮይኑ ዋናታትን ሰብ ብርኪ ናይቲ ውጽኢትን ክንክወን ዝኽእል ዘተን እንካን ሃባን ምፍጣር መሰረታዊ መፍትሒ ናይ ሽግራትና እዩ።
Refugee pushes Canada to help asylum seekers in Israel
Written by Jillian D'Amours
TORONTO, Canada –“No more prison! We are refugees!” the crowd chanted outside the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem this week, as more than 1,000 African asylum seekers rallied to demand that their asylum requests be fairly heard.
The refugees, mostly from Eritrea and Sudan, have been fighting for years for Israel to ease its harsh restrictions on their daily lives and put an end to indefinite detention and threats of deportation.
“You, the justices of the High Court, are the only ones who have the authority to save Israel from committing the injustice of deporting vulnerable asylum seekers in violation of all international agreements,” March for Freedom, the group that organised the protest this week, said in a statement,according to the Jerusalem Post.
“Our fate is completely in your hands,” the group said.
The protest comes only a few weeks after an Eritrean refugee, who is now living thousands of kilometres away in Canada, began working once more to expose the harsh treatment African asylum seekers are subjected to in Israel.
Dawit Demoz left Israel last March after more than six years in Tel Aviv, where he became a leading activist in the struggle to protect the rights of the country’s marginalised and maligned African asylum seekers.
Now a Canadian permanent resident, the 30-year-old is studying psychology at York University in Toronto and working part-time at a local grocery store.
But he can’t forget the tens of thousands of African asylum seekers still in Israel.
“I can’t just come here, and forget everything I left behind. It’s hard. I think about it all the time,” Demoz told Middle East Eye from a café in Toronto’s west end earlier this month.
“I cannot forget about the people that I left behind. The situation is getting worse there, there’s no hope that the situation in Israel will change. I said to myself, ‘I have to do something.’”
Human rights abuses
The dire living conditions of African asylum seekers in Israel have been widely reported since tens of thousands of mainly Eritrean and Sudanese refugees began making the journey to Israel in the last decade.
More than 40,000 asylum seekerscurrently live in Israel, the vast majority of whom are originally from Eritrea and Sudan. Many refugees reached Israel after a dangerous journey across the Egyptian Sinai desert.
In its history, Israel has recognised less than one percent of all asylum claims. Last year, it granted refugee statusfor the first timeto a Sudanese national, Mutasim Ali, a young activist and protest leader.
For years, the government gave asylum seekers from Eritrea and Sudan “temporary protection” in the form of short-term visas, which allowed the government to avoid actually processing their asylum claims.
Today, most African asylum seekers must renew temporary visas to remain in the country, and they live under a risk of being summoned to Holot, a detention facility built in the southern Negev desert.
Israel also signed a secretive deal to deport asylum seekers to third countries. The Israeli government says the agreementposes no risk to the deportees; a representative for the Israeli Justice Ministry said last year that at least 3,000 people had been sent to Rwanda and Uganda.
But it’s a policy that refugee advocates say puts the asylum seekers in danger and leaves them in a state of legal limbo. Some asylum seekers have reported being repatriated to their home countries after their deportation from Israel, where they may face imprisonment, torture and other abuses.
‘Expedited’ immigration process
Demoz, who recently organised a film screening and fundraiser in Toronto to benefit the Eritrean Women’s Centre in Tel Aviv, said he is encouraged by Canadians’ desire to help Eritreans.
The first goal of the event was to raise awareness, and provide information for how Eritreans can be sponsored to come to Canada, he said.
“I want you to know about the situation of Eritreans, but at the same time, there are things that you can do now. If you are ready or if you’re interested to help, you can sponsor Eritreans,” said Demoz, who was privately sponsored by a Canadian group.
Canada’s unique private sponsorship programme allows community groups (known as private sponsorship agreement holders) to sponsor individuals in need of resettlement. These groups are then financially responsible for the refugees’ first year in Canada.
"If you are ready or if you’re interested to help, you can sponsor Eritreans” - Dawit Demoz
Officially, the Refugee Protection Division within the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada is tasked with holding hearings andinvestigating claims for refugee protectionmade in the country.
It recently gave Eritreans access to an “expedited process” to make their claims. Syrian and Iraqi nationals are the only others to have access to this process in Canada.
This means that the IRB has recognised a “pattern of human rights abuses” and can grant refugee status to individuals from these countries more quickly, said Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees.
“An expedited process is good for them to try to move [through] obvious claims quickly,” Dench told Middle East Eye. “From the claimants’ point of view, it can [mean] you are saved what can be a very traumatising hearing process. It makes it an easier and friendlier and potentially a slightly faster process.”
Between January and August last year, 3,081 Eritreans received permanent residency in Canada: 2,773 were privately-sponsored refugees, while the remaining 308 people were sponsored by the government. That’s an increase from 2015, during which 1,648 Eritreans received Canadian permanent residency.
But Dench said Canada should also put a suspension of removals in place for Eritrean nationals, given the dire human rights situation in their home country.
In 2015, United Nations said the Eritrean government was responsible for “systemic, widespread and gross human rights violations” that may amount to crimes against humanity.
Eritreans are forced into indefinite conscription, where they are subjected to hard labour, torture, physical and sexual abuse. Dissent is stifled, imprisonment and enforced disappearances are widespread, and hundreds of thousands have fled the country.
“It is not law that rules Eritreans – but fear,”the UN reported.
Having a clear policy that blocks deportations to Eritrea would allow the refugees to get work permits and be in a better position than simply waiting for Ottawa to deport them.
“It’s well established that there are massive human rights abuses going on, and yet there is very little international coverage of it,” Dench said. “I think that’s one of the reasons why we don’t have a temporary suspension. If people have been paying more attention, it would have been in place long ago.”
Can Canada help Eritreans in Israel?
Individuals cannot apply directly for resettlement in Canada, but they must instead be referred, either by the United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR) or other organisation, or a private sponsor, explained Rémi Larivière, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
In the case of Eritreans living in Israel, Larivière said Canada has no specific agreement with Israel to resettle them, and the IRCC department has not requested referrals from UNHCR for refugees in Israel.
“However, Canada always remains open to considering urgent or vulnerable cases the UNHCR may identify as being in need of resettlement anywhere in the world,” Larivière said.
Since 2012, Canada has instituted caps on the number of new applications it will accept each year from sponsorship agreement holders.
"Canada always remains open to considering urgent or vulnerable cases" - Rémi Larivière
Last year, a cap of 350 new applications was put in place in Tel Aviv “due to a growing backlog of applications and concerns over long wait times,” he said.
This year, the cap on private sponsorship applications is set at 7,500 people globally, and Canada expects to resettle 40,000 refugees and protected persons.
Larivière added that Canada has committed to welcoming 4,000 government-sponsored Eritrean refugees currently in Sudan and Ethiopia before the end of 2018.
According to Dench, there are political considerations involved in how Canada approaches the possible resettlement of Eritreans currently living in Israel.
“If you resettle somebody out of their country, then you are indirectly acknowledging that the country is not providing appropriate protection and a durable solution to the refugees that are there, and a country like Israel might not take well to that,” she said.
Meanwhile, Demoz said that his new life in Canada has showed him just how unjust the situation in Israel really is.
“Canada is a country of immigrants and both the Canadian government and the Canadian public see this as an asset… They say diversity is our strength,” he said.
“In Israel, it’s completely different. [They say], ‘You’re not part of us; you’re a different colour, you’re a different ethnicity, you’re a different culture so you’re not part of us. We don’t want you.’
Source=http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/refugee-pushes-canada-help-asylum-seekers-israel-821337504
