Policies Acted: The Effect of Pluralism and Policies on Eritrean Refugees

Eritrean refugees have been migrating to Ethiopia for approximately 7 years. By registering with UNHCR, they hope to have the opportunity for resettlement in a Western country. The process of time-case resettlement has been slow, leaving many Eritreans stranded in Ethiopia for up to six years; UNHCR policies are further confounded by US polices on terrorism and immigration quotas. UNCHR and the US government have just announced that a group resettlement to the US has been approved for the majority of residents of Shimelba refugee camp. In presenting a case study of the experiences and attitudes of encamped and urban Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia, I will illustrate the "front-end" of refugee resettlement and forced migration. The intersection of US policies on immigration, international institutions that monitor these processes, local political opposition groups that insert themselves into the resettlement process, and the experiences of individuals seeking resettlement to a third country must be explored to understand the effects these processes have on the overall Eritrean diaspora community, and on Eritrean identity and consciousness. I suggest that the upcoming group-resettlement of Shimelba residents to the US has triggered a shift in subjectivity among the camp members towards that of rights-bearing citizenship. By noting patterned articulations of human rights and an emergent rights consciousness, we see where UNHCR humanitarian policy fails by defining protection narrowly, even while engendering refugees' human rights awareness. I reexamine US policies that leave some refugees stranded, and Ethiopian government policies that short-circuit the human rights regime for refugees.
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Rethinking Household Headship among Eritrean Refugees and Returnees

One of the most common generalizations concerning refugee populations is that they are dominated by female heads of households and children. It is claimed that men are either killed in the wars that prompt displacement or are left behind to fight. This assumption has continued to determine the policies of relief and development agencies, as well as governments in countries of asylum and return. On the basis of empirical data from UNHCR and household data from Eritrea, this article questions the validity of such a dominant assumption. The article also problematizes the concept of household headship by showing that it is a cultural construction whose meaning varies from one cultural context to another. There is, thus, no definition of headship that can apply cross-culturally. It also argues that since female heads of households (FHHs) are not socially and economically homogeneous, household headship is not an appropriate method of identifying the poorest of the poor for targeting or provision of emergency relief or for productive inputs in development programmes.

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Trends and Perspectives on the Eritrean Refugees and Human Rights Crisis

This paper discusses trends and perspectives on the Eritrean refugee and human rights crisis
from the viewpoint of the Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights (EMDHR). It
complements the objectives of the Eritrean Diaspora Working Group (London Meeting). As
discussed over teleconference of the prospective participants of the London Meeting, on 10
January 2008, the paraphrased objectives of the meeting are:2
· To introduce a selected group of Eritrean human rights defenders from
different regions of the world, including their advocacy work on human
rights and refugee protection, specifically in Africa and Europe;
· To define concrete strategies with regard to the attainment of the above
objectives, especially in relation to advocacy towards the European Union
(EU) – because the EU is seen as a very important actor, both in relation to
the refugee problem and in relation to human rights and the general political
situation in the region.
According to the same document, the participants3 of the London Meeting were consciously
chosen by the organiser (EEPA), taking into consideration the variety of political views
amongst the Eritrean diaspora. At a later stage, however, a broader platform of Eritrean
diaspora will be considered.4 The Working Group is expected to explore possibilities on the
optimisation of effective information sharing and dissemination of Eritrean news to key EU
officials, European NGO’s and other relevant stakeholders.
As a preparation for the London Meeting, members of the Working Group were given specific
tasks to be accomplished before the meeting. The EMDHR representative was asked to prepare
a briefing on the Eritrean human rights and refugee crisis and the response towards such crisis
in Africa and Europe. The briefing is based on past, current and future advocacy programmes
of the EMDHR in the area of human rights and refugee protection, including some discussion
on the political stand of major European players. To provide context, this document presents a
brief contextual background of Eritrea, focusing mainly on the increasing tendencies of
authoritarianism of the government that finally led to the post-2001 agonising political crisis
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The Case of Eritrean Refugees in the UK

This study will highlight what is often neglected in the immigration debate – the
experience of the very people whose lives are destroyed by the UK immigration law,
the asylum seekers themselves. The study is based on the transcripts of interviews
with more than 400 Eritrean Refused Asylum Seekers; interviews that were carried
out by the Home Office as part of their initial application for asylum*. Of those 400,
30 people were interviewed once again so that insight could be gained into their
experiences of living in the UK once their claim for asylum is rejected.
* Names have been altered in order to protect the identities of asylum seekers whose
stories are being told.
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Sudan: Influx of Eritrean Refugees

On Thursday 18 May refugees from Eritrea began crossing the border into eastern Sudan, several
kilometres from Kassala town. The influx continued over the following days and around 30,000
people are thought to have arrived already, with more expected imminently. The authorities are
anticipating up to 80,000 people could eventually arrive at a number of crossing points. The
Sudanese Red Crescent (SRCS) has been extremely active from the first day, and this appeal is to
supply urgent relief items and to enable the SRCS to continue their assistance to the refugees, in
close cooperation with other agencies.
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Emergency Education and Psychosocial Support Programming for Eritrean Refugees in Ethiopia

This case study examines an Emergency Education Program implemented by the
International Rescue Committee (IRC) for Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia. Exposure to
armed conflict contributes to a child’s internalization of a culture of violence. Education,
with the necessary psychosocial care, can help break the cycle of conflict. Started as a
pilot project between June and December 2001, IRC’s education program provided
education services and psychosocial support to refugee children and youth who were
badly affected by the Ethiopian/Eritrean conflict in order to engage them in constructive
activities and build the skills and capacities needed for rebuilding their community in the
long-term.1. In addition, IRC aimed to address the lack of education that the Kunama
youth had received during the conflict. The program attained its overall goal of helping
children cope with the trauma and loss associated with conflict and displacement and
created some stability and sense of normality. While not specifically the focus of IRC’s
program, emergency education also provided a means to engage youth who would
otherwise be vulnerable and susceptible to recruitment by combatants
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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.
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