Eritrea: Trapped Between Political Persecution and Misery of Refugee Camps

All Africa
Banjul — In February 2013, 20-year-old Mohamed*, like hundreds of thousands of other Eritreans, fled the brutal dictatorship in that East African nation in search of a better life in neighbouring Sudan.

But for Mohamed and others like him, escaping into neighbouring countries has brought no end to their suffering. Many of them have become the victims of human traffickers and Mohamed's family believes that this was his fate too.

According to Human Rights Watch's (HRW) "World Report 2013", Eritrea is plagued by human rights abuses, and "torture, arbitrary detention, and severe restrictions on freedom of expression, association, and religious freedom remain routine." In addition, military conscription is compulsory and can last for an indefinite period of time.

"For the last 21 years, Eritrea has been ruled by President Isaias Afwerki, who turned the country into a giant prison, and isolated it regionally and internationally." -- Human rights activist and founder of Human Rights Concern Eritrea, Elsa Chyrum

The international NGO Freedom House, which conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights, stated in its "Freedom in the World 2012" report that Eritrea is one of the nine most repressive societies in the world. The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported in 2011 that 220,000 of the country's 5.4 million people have fled the persecution there.

Mohamed managed to cross the border safely. Once in Sudan, he phoned his mother and told her he had made it. A few days later, he phoned her again to say he had been kidnapped. His cousin, Eden*, believes that he was abducted by criminals who work in conjunction with Sudanese security officials.

"His mother was devastated," Eden told IPS from Banjul, the capital city of The Gambia, during a recent visit to the West African nation.

"My cousin's kidnappers were asking for a ransom of 30,000 dollars. His mother is poor, so she started asking people for donations," she said.

Eden said the last time her family heard from Mohamed, he said he had been sold to the Bedouin people of Egypt.