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Hidden Oppression in Eritrea

By VITTORIO LONGHI In Europe’s debate about how to deal with the flow of desperate migrants from Africa, there is an important element missing: the crisis in Eritrea. Every month almost 4,000 Eritreans flee to escape

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In Europe’s debate about how to deal with the flow of desperate migrants from Africa, there is an important element missing: the crisis in Eritrea. Every month almost 4,000 Eritreans flee to escape oppression, according to a United Nations special rapporteur.

A visit to Asmara, the Eritrean capital, is revealing. In the cafes you won’t hear people talking about the government of President Isaias Afewerki, and in the streets you will never see a march or a demonstration. Any sign of protest is quickly crushed, and opponents of the government face immediate imprisonment and torture, often in underground jails in remote areas. There they are stuffed into metal containers where the heat is unbearable, and given little food or water. The right to trial does not exist, and those convicted have no recourse to appeal.

This oppression is eerily invisible. You won’t see police officers along the sunny avenues of Asmara, nor are there soldiers around. But if you have a camera and start taking pictures, people stare and point at you. In this silent, secret system of terror, reminiscent of Soviet communism, every citizen is a potential spy.

The government in Eritrea exercises control also through the “national service,” which is compulsory and open-ended for both men and women from the age of 17. It is easy to see why Eritreans will risk dangerous journeys to escape.

On Oct. 3, 2013, 366 young Eritreans drowned off the tiny island of Lampedusa. The night after the shipwreck, I watched the survivors mourn the dead. They were taken to an airport hangar to wander among long rows of dark wooden coffins, and a line of five little white coffins for the children. The weeping sounded like a howl of despair for a generation fated to live in a country where hope for a better future had been banished. It was a cry for help.

As people gathered in the main streets of Asmara after the shipwreck to view photos of the dead, the police arrived to disperse the crowd, but not before making a list of those who attended.

“Nobody will come to save us,” said a 30-year-old teacher I met on my way to Asmara in May, who asked not to be identified. At one time, she said, she worked for European NGOs, but these organizations were expelled by the government in 2006. President Afewerki denies that the country needs any aid or assistance from foreigners.

“Isaias keeps isolating our country so that nobody can see what happens here,” the teacher told me.

State workers earn an average monthly salary of 500 nakfa (about $15 at the black market rate) and represent cheap labor for both the public and private sectors, especially in mining and construction, where Chinese investments are growing. Many Eritreans rely on informal work to feed their families. In Massawa, once a major port on the Red Sea, Awate Tsegay rents his car to foreigners and hopes to earn enough money to cross the border and join his brothers in Sudan. “Military officers ask up to $1,000 per person to hide you in a car so that you can get through safely,” he said.

The government tacitly encourages illegal migration, recently introducing a 2 percent tax on remittances from abroad.

Once in Sudan, Eritreans avoid the police and take any job available, until they can hire a trafficker to take them to Libya or Egypt, where they can attempt the sea crossing to Europe. The desert crossing is perilous, and many refugees fall victim to torture and organ harvesting.

Meanwhile, President Afewerki, who has ruled for 20 years, still plays the role of the victim. He uses the pretext of the border conflict with Ethiopia to justify tight control over his people. European Union diplomats have expressed concern about the systematic violation of human rights. But if Europe were serious about addressing the causes of the exodus from Eritrea, it would put more pressure on Mr. Afewerki to loosen his grip.

Likewise, the international community has done little to resolve the border conflict. Even less has been done to support Eritrean opposition forces, which could challenge the generals and set the country on the path to democratic elections. But the Eritrean opposition is fractured and presents little threat to the Afewerki government.

“The most active democratic groups are based elsewhere, in Sudan or Europe,” says Valentina Fusari, a researcher in Asmara. Smaller ethnic groups of dissidents are in exile and too disorganized to be an option.

At this stage, without a coordinated effort by the opposition, the dictatorship will keep perpetuating terror and forcing its people to choose between the loss of their freedom if they stay, or a potentially deadly journey if they leave.

Vittorio Longhi is an Italian journalist. His latest book is “The Immigrant War: A Global Movement Against Discrimination and Exploitation.”

The New York Times

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13 COMMENTS
  • abrham October 6, 2014

    that is the real Eritrea.like cuppicino,white outside, black inside.

  • Abraham Haile October 6, 2014

    Every Eritrean should give one more chance to all OPPOSITION TO UNITE AND WORK TOGETHER UNDER one Eritrean Umbrella within a given period say 6 month and if they fail we should condemn and go with non politician organization like WEDI VACCARO, ASSENNA, Asmarino and with all other committed people and the whole society.

    It is too long to wAlk up the tortoise, let us prepare to sacrifice for our poor people before they diminished in front of our eyes. We have a lot intelligent people who are prepared to work tirelessly and should be given chance to do so like Fetsum Abraham etc….

    The one Billion question to answer is that what makes them unable to work togather since there is no Ideological differences? The whole. World is accepting the western capitalism and every one of us working for choices,. What is wrong with that?
    Do we need to waste our time with this leaders? All leaders and their followers could be tagged by PIA’S AGENTS AND I am sure PIA HAVE HIS LINKS with them. Other point to make, I beleive they have a legal doubts on them of their past and all they need are to come clean and apologise to us and get start to work together to remove the evil regime. Time is running out if we to save our people.

    • Simon G. October 6, 2014

      Abraham:
      Did you just ask: The one Billion question to answer is that what makes them unable to work together since there is no Ideological differences?
      Well, take a look at Helen’s and Wadbahr’s (no offense to both) argument, which btw I do the same with others, and you will have the picture. Unfortunate but true.

  • helen October 6, 2014

    This caught my attention “This oppression is eerily invisible. You won’t see police officers along the sunny avenues of Asmara, nor are there soldiers around. But if you have a camera and start taking pictures, people stare and point at you. In this silent, secret system of terror, reminiscent of Soviet communism, every citizen is a potential spy.”

    Yes every citizen is a spy, that is why Isias still surviving.

  • Wadbahar October 6, 2014

    “Yes every citizen is a spy, that is why Isias still surviving.”

    No, Sir. It cannot be. Of course, the number is big but the whole people cannot be spies. If the whole people are spies, on whom do they spy then? So, no need for the secret police. Such exaggerations cause self-defeatism.

    The second issue is that the Eritrean secret police cannot be more sophisticated and more brutal than the SAVAK, Shah Iran’s secret police formed under the guidance of the CIA and officers trained by Mosad (Israel’s secret police). Irrespective of sophistication, training, Western support and unprecedented brutality, the SAVAK could not stand the Revolution of February 11, 1979. Civilians seized SAVAK headquarters. Check this link: /www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8fMFCSFNZ4 So, the Eritrean secret police cannot be successful in what the SAVAK failed: keeping the status quo. If the bell rings, then “Adio”: you cannot stop the movement of the people. This is historically inevitable. It is only a matter of when. That day will definitely come but until then, yes it is horrible and we will pay valuable sacrifices. All peoples who aspired for freedom and change went through similar tragedies, but there was the last day for that. Nobody can stop the march of history.

    • helen October 6, 2014

      “No, Sir.” First i am not sir. the name is Helen..get your reading glasses. Second..i didnt write just qoute what the journalist wrote, i assume he wrote saying all are spies because he has witnessed.

  • Wadbahar October 6, 2014

    I ‘m sorry about the name. I apologize. But the sentence I quote is neither within quotation marks nor in the form of a reported speech. That is why I thought it was your remark.

  • ogbai October 6, 2014

    Allow me to say few things if I may please. In the opposition in general, you are right there is no Ideological differences because of the cold war backlash and so on. The first thing is we refused to single out who is the real enemy and why. The second thing is of the strategy how to challenge the enemy. The last one is we didn’t follow up our business of politics we are emotional people. We were excited by the fake called the Lion of Sahel we were singing and dancing day and night even though,we were paying thousands of life for with heroic action to reach our first goal. But we did nothing to achieve for our second goal or I may say the fake lion out smarted everyone in the game to out reach the second goal, which was very important for our peace and security. Then the fake Lion of Sahel origin of Tembien Abi Adi who roped us for ever the power that belongs to the Mass. The Mass as they called for covering only for name sake.It was nothing practical from the begging.
    My point is we have to get serious in our business of politics if we rely need to have a stable country. In my view few years back we have less oppositions camps and we should have following the good one and rejected the no good ones. Only if we were serious and should could encourage them. But never learn from our mistakes,and still we don’t know who to blame. Who are those called opposition we weren’t serious to check them. What their differences are or side effects. May be we were afraid from the dictator not be seen there and here we are blaming each other while the dictator is ruining our country. Even now, it is not too late to stand up for our rights with out fear and to look to the real solution. It is in our hand and reach. Let’s wake up from our deep sleep and freed our self first and to help our nation to be ruled by the rule of law nothing else is important. and balances the government in power.
    If we go back to our history of our Ghedli time even there weren’t of ideology differences ELF and EPLF. It was about power struggle and we were bleeding fighting each other like crazy even supported by foreign forces to knock out the other. No public voice were heard even part of our society were dancing and clapping and taking blind stand with the one now in power the Dictator. .

  • mulugeta besrat October 6, 2014

    Dear brothers and sisters I have the same comment with brother Ogbai if you see the opposition they like to have the presidential out of Eritrea first we oppose after we through the dictator we tell to our people this is my aim if you choose me I do this and that but our opposition party they like to have the position her where the 90% is in Eritrea.

    • ahmed saleh October 6, 2014

      Speaking about opposition , I am confused from the lack
      of understanding the length of time and the obstacles we
      face in political process . Lately we heard many newly
      formed civic and political organizations to leave suspended
      to figure our their difference . The race to grab the driver
      seat wheel prolonged the anticipated progress not to reach
      on expected stage . Unfortunately it is frustrating in this
      critical time not to show seriousness on our part since we
      can afford extended period in this present bad situations .

      • ahmed saleh October 6, 2014

        Please read as ; we can not afford ………..

  • Tamrat Tamrat October 7, 2014

    Oh, when i see the title I thought it was about people’s hidden operations against isaiasians but this is not hidden at all. This not New at all. This is not News at all. This is the sign of the end of cyber war. A web firghters started their cyber war ‘fearless’ as if they were writting their page from inside Eritrea while they are living in the Comfort of usa. Now they are recycling what they are posting 10 years ago. And their followers get surprised all what was said 10 years ago is same now too.

    For me it seams all of us wish isaiasians be removed and lows and order come back to Eritrea but we want this on silver plate by sacrificing some others. If we are ‘smart’ or Coward it is a good wish, but after 24 years it shows that all of us (except the few heros who sacrificed them selves already and those who are prisoned for life)are ‘smarts’ or Cowards.

    Imagine already in 2000 to criticize the government even outside of Eritrea in USA is called fearless. For me already in 2000 eritreans are terrorized to the extent of even expressing them selves in usa which is not part of Eritrea.

  • aus 17 October 13, 2014

    hidden oppression from whom?
    really? is it hidden? from you maybe, the oppression in Eritrea is in daylight. Even the blind man can see it!!!

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