On the Refugee Problem in Eritrea

Introduction
By the end of 2000, at least 34.5 million people—refugees and internally displaced—had
fled their homes because of war, persecution, and human rights abuses.1 Combined, the
number of people that have been uprooted roughly equals the sum of the populations of
Austria, Belgium, Switzerland, and Greece.2
Of these, an estimated 25 million people are internally displaced
in at least 40 countries.3 These people live in Kosovo,
Sierra Leone, the Sudan,Afghanistan,Colombia, and many other
countries. Afghanistan hosts the second largest community of
internally-displaced persons (IDPs), after Eritrea.4
The United States Committee on Refugees estimates that there
are over 14 million refugees worldwide5—an increase of 4 percent
from last year, with Afghanistan, Burundi, Iraq, Sudan,
Bosnia-Herzegovina, Somalia,Angola, Sierra Leone, Eritrea, and
Vietnam as the top 10 countries.6
The following analyzes the refugee crisis of Eritrea as a case
study to better understand the plight of refugees and the internally
displaced worldwide, and to identify ways that the international
community can help.
Read more