The Horn of Africa is one of the most
volatile areas in the world. Due this the countries in the area
host numerous refugees who are escaping turmoil and persecution in their home.
With it’s central location, Ethiopia is an important host for
refugees from Southern Sudan, Eritrea, and Somalia.
For the last year I’ve been living in
Shimelba refugee camp which house
more than 12,000 Eritreans.
I’ve been
working with the International Rescue
Committee (IRC) as Gender-Based
Violence Coordinator. It’s
an
interesting time because I am the only
international living
in the camp, so I
have an easy opportunity to interact
well
with the refugees and the my
Ethiopian colleagues. The camp is
run
by the Ethiopian Government who
manages, secures and
provides health
care for the camp under the prevue of
UNHCR.
IRC and and another
organization called ZOA are the only
other agencies providing support. IRC
helps supply clean
water and
sanitation, education for children and
adults, HIV
and reproductive health
awareness, support for the elderly,
disabled and youth, income
generation support / trainings as well
as assistance to women who’ve
suffered sexual or domestic
violence.
ZOA provides some income
generation trainings
too.
Between 1999-2000 Ethiopia and
Eritrea
fought a bitter border dispute that killed
over 20,000
soldiers and countless
civilians. After the war, both countries
began to deport citizens of Ethiopian or
Eritrean origin to
their respective
background countries. In Ethiopia, the
government went through the roster of
people who voted for
Eritrea’s independence
in 1993 and stated that if you want your own
country you should live there and promptly
put them on buses
headed for the border.
Eritrea reciprocated. Those people
who were
deported lost everything and and had to start
all
over again. Those forced back to Eritrea
have been treated,
basically, as 2nd class
citizens. The Horn of Africa is one of
the
most volatile areas in the world. Due this
the
countries in the area host numerous
refugees who are escaping turmoil
and
persecution in their home. With it’s central
location, Ethiopia is an important host for
refugees from Southern
Sudan, Eritrea, and
Somalia.
The camp is made up of Tigrinians
(60%) Kunamas (40%), and other
ethnicities such as Afar and Saho.
The
Kunama, who are pastoralists living on
the
Ethiopian-Eritrean border, have
been blamed by the Eritrean
government for not fighting the
Ethiopians when they occupied
Eritrean land. They’d been
traditionally treated as second
class
citizens and felt that it didn’t matter
which government
pushed them
around they had cows and sheep to
feed.
Since the end of the war, many
Kunama have fled their territory
to
avoid persecution in Eritrea. have
been pushed around
throughout their
history ironically they refugees in
lands
that were once theirs and still
have towns named in Kunama, like
Shire the western Tigray regional hub,
even though Kunamas have
not been
in the area for generations. As they
say
Shimelba “It’s nice. It’s like we’ve
return home.”
Unfortunately, the
Tigrians who live their don’t think it’s
the Kunama’s home as well and the
chance of gaining their land
back
when they can return to Ertitrea is
remote as the
government has started
to send people to occupy the land.
Recognizing this, the Kunama have
been given the chance to
resettle in
the US. Many, however, want to
return and
plan to wait until the
situation suffices.
The camp is made up of Tigrinians
(60%)
Kunamas (40%), and other ethnicities such as
Afar and
Saho. The Kunama, who are pastoralists
living on the
Ethiopian-Eritrean border, have been
blamed by the Eritrean government
for not
fighting the Ethiopians when they occupied
Eritrean
land. They’d been traditionally treated as
second class citizens
and felt that it didn’t matter
which government pushed them around they
had
cows and sheep to feed. Since the end of the war,
many Kunama have fled their territory to avoid
persecution in
Eritrea. have been pushed around
throughout their history
ironically they refugees
in lands that were once theirs and still have
towns
named in Kunama, like Shire the western Tigray
regional
hub, even though Kunamas have not
been in the area for generations.
As they say
Shimelba “It’s nice. It’s like we’ve return
home.”
Unfortunately, the Tigrians who live their don’t
think it’s the Kunama’s home as well and the
chance of gaining
their land back when they can
return to Ertitrea is remote as the
government has
started to send people to occupy the land.
Recognizing this, the Kunama have been given the
chance to
resettle in the US. Many, however, want
to return and plan to
wait until the situation
suffices.
In essence, Eritrea is turning into a
North Korea on the
Red Sea and people want out. This is sad
because most
of the Eritreans that I’ve met are extremely innovative
and take initiative to improve their lives. This is the first
camp I’ve been to in which there are barbers with
swiveling barber
chairs, pool halls, generators that sell
electricity, theaters with
multi-channeled satellite TV (I’
ve got 3 channels), bars, discos,
restaurants, and cafes.
Half of the camp we call little Asmara,
because they’ve
been able to replicate a more urban lifestyle.
(It sounds
and looks amazing but when you scratch the
surface,
most of the refugees are in a very vulnerable state in
which they peddle some of their 15kg of monthly wheat
ration to
buy cloths for the children and other
household necessities.)
Sadly, the refugees could be a
great asset in developing
their new nation, if the
government recognized that creativity and
innovation
cannot be pushed and pulled but needs space and
encouragement to take off.
