Worldwide Provisional Committee for Eritrean Refugees

 This is another follow up call to the one made earlier through some Eritrean websites. Thus, the background for this proposal was published earlier and can be accessed in Asmarino.com (March 3, 2011) and Arkokabay.com (March 3, 2011). As briefly described in the paper the problem of refugees in Eritrea is becoming chronic requiring a concerted effort to deal with it. Every week hundreds of young and the very young cross borders with the sole aim of landing in Europe and North America as a final destination. The tragedy is that the source for this problem still remains unattended and expected to increase in time.

Based on long term observation of Eritrean refugees two unmistakable facts emerge. One is that some refugees especially those passing through Egypt experience slavery and death at the hand of the human traffickers. Refugees are threatened for their pound of flesh if they fail to come up with the exorbitant prices demanded on them. While many of them eventually find their way to Israel, Malta and Egypt, few are also shot by Egyptian border guards trying to cross the Sinai desert and the rest are blackmailed by Libyan authorities for deportation, rape and perhaps cash.  The second and perhaps most telling stories is that few might be tricked to undertake the journey while the majority is unaware of what awaits them in their fateful journey to freedom. Almost all are oblivious of the death and slavery that is awaiting them once leaving Eritrea or the refugee camps and towns in the Sudan. Therefore, I find it urgent for the Diaspora to deal with the problem that the young find themselves through advocacy on behalf of those in Sinai and Libya as well as by educating and informing the multitude of potential refugees inside Eritrea and the refugee camps and cities and towns in the Sudan.

The task of the Worldwide Committee proposed here is to coordinate activities without assuming the responsibility of all the activities currently undertaken by various organizations advocating for the fair treatment of Eritrean refugees. I for one acknowledge with pride the accomplishment of these organizations in their relentless pursuit to alleviate the suffering of the refugees and their attempt to resettle many of them away from places known to be the worst human right violators the world had ever seen. In a nutshell, the committee will coordinate the advocacy task on behalf of the young who find themselves ‘from the frying pan to the fire’ and informing those who still believe that the ‘grass on the other side of the fence is greener’. I am confident that it is within our means to tackle these twin problems involving our young in foreign lands. I am also confident that it is within our capability to educate and inform as many as possible by venturing into the source of the problem. This way we would be able to save lives and elevate discussion concerning the refugees to a higher plain. Briefly I shall reconstitute the general theme and the methodology required to handle the problems mentioned to the point of helping stem such an uncontrolled exodus if not for its total stop.

Methods  and action plan:

1. It is absolutely essential that worldwide committees is established as soon as possible. These committees can be formed by groups or individual with primary objective of addressing the human tragedy unfolding in front of our faces. The task of the committees is to assist in providing ideas, in volunteering for action and securing resources toward this objective. We should bear in mind that the resources mustered will be used for purposes of advocacy, information and lobbying not for ransom payment. The intention is to send clear message to those involved in kidnapping and selling our compatriots to the next  highest bidder that we are not in the business of cooperating with them or anyone pretending to be a government agent in the country of their captivity. Moreover, our message will also extend to few of the alleged victims who surprisingly are willingly to be part of this diabolic scheme.

2. To link the committees to a single worldwide committee made up of well meaning personalities whose concern for the refugees is limitless. (According to Radio Assena, broadcast of March 22, 2011 we observe few individual Eritreans in US, Sweden, Switzerland, Holland, Germany, Italy etc. initiating calls for action. To this end they are sending their pleas to all concerned and  collect money towards alleviating the suffering of our compatriots in Sinai and in prisons of Cairo)

3. Engaging the Egyptian authorities to focus on the Eritrean captives and impress upon them to use all the power they have at their disposal to capture the culprits and free the Eritreans from bondage. Similarly, hoping that the dictatorship in Libya would soon give way to new government that respects the rule of law and prevent mob action against the helpless refugees to establish relationship with elements in the Libyan opposition as soon as possible. In both cases, fund permitting a delegation composed of concerned personalities with diplomatic skills be dispatched to those lands as soon as possible.

4. To launch a fact finding team to learn the intricacy involved in the human trafficking business and devise means to stop it. It is generally believed that the causes of this horrendous suffering are the involvement of not only the alien traffickers but also of Eritrean nationals. In as much as funds are forthcoming, there is little reason not to send people to the area to collect facts and suggest solutions based on the data collected.

5. To solicit the help of legal professionals within the Diaspora to prepare cases against the culprits and the governments knowingly violating the United Nations Charter on human rights.

6. to lobby for the release of Eritreans in Egyptian prisons and help them repatriate to Ethiopia and perhaps to the Sudan

7. In order to stem the flow of refugees out of Eritrea and the refugee camps and towns in the Sudan and Ethiopia to devise a means by which the horrors encountered along the way are succinctly and convincingly reflected. Some of the methods suggested is to convey an unambiguous message  to all concerned including the parents of the potential refugees are:-

• 7.1 recruit people on the ground as the first on line responders. Their task is to blend with the refugees and any person with an open plan to undertake the perilous journey and skillfully share their experience, express their misgivings and outright warnings to the ‘exodus project’
• 7.2 support and strengthen Eritrean media outlets by increasing their broadcasting capacities. The relevancy of the media outlets in Diaspora can only be noticed if financial aid is extended to the radio stations operating from Africa, Europe and the US.  If the Diaspora were capable of helping ERTV to work in full capacity in 1993, there is no reason why we can not do it to save our fellow human beings under serious stress.
• 7.3 contribute toward making the radio and TV programs in Ethiopia (Radio Weghata) focus on the issue of potential refugees with messages beamed to parents and individuals inside or outside the government to do their best to prevent or slow down the exodus.
• 7.4 stay in readiness to fill any gap that is apparent in many organizations defending Eritrean refugees. This may entail allocation of funds from the committee or facilitating joint work between one and many of them for the good of the entire refugee project envisioned.

The next step is to expedite the formation of the worldwide committee to galvanize support for the ongoing local effort underway and execute the task outlined above.

Joining hands to address the problem affecting Eritreans is not only our responsibility but also of humanity as a whole. Indeed this will be the first step toward appreciating the problem and trying to find a solution to the ever expanding problem. It will also be counted as a sign of maturity for the Diaspora to act in unison for any man or nature made disasters that may occur in the future. This national tragedy unless addressed quickly it will have unimaginable repercussion in the future.  Only those of us who may survive this tragedy will be able to witness its negative impact on the future of the nation and the generation to come.

This paper is also published in Tigrigna version

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