Remittances To Eritrea Shrink As Refugees Spend Money On Helping Others Leave

Remittances to Eritrea, once estimated to account for about a third of the country’s gross domestic product, are shrinking with Eritreans in the diaspora now spending the money on helping people leave Eritrea instead of supporting relatives at home, an official told BBC.

Five thousand Eritreans leave the country each month, making it one of the world’s top producers of refugees, according to a U.N. commission report.

The scale of the migration has drawn Western interest and attention to conditions inside what is one of the world’s most closed countries. With a population of 3.5 million to 6 million, it’s one of Africa’s poorest countries. Eritrea is a one-party state with no functioning constitution and no independent media, BBC reported.

Youth who have risked their lives to flee Eritrea describe a long-standing system of forced labor, among other human rights violations. A U.N. commission said these may constitute crimes against humanity, according to the Council On Foreign Relations, a U.S. foreign policy think tank.

In the past, Eritrean authorities were happy for disaffected youth to leave the country, a diplomat told BBC. They were a potential threat to stability and once working abroad, were likely to end up sending remittances home if they made it safely to their destinations.

But Eritrea now faces a shortage of workers and is doing more to encourage youth to stay, including paying more. The Eritrean national service is increasing its pay from about $50 to $130-to, said Hagos Ghebrehiwet, economic adviser to the president, BBC reported.

The cost of living has shot up in Eritrea, and there are electricity and water shortages.
Families receive food subsidies for cereal, oil and sugar but other items are expensive. A liter of milk costs more than $2.

Taxi drivers, shopkeepers and hoteliers say their incomes have been cut in half since a new form of currency was introduced at the end of 2015 — part of a government effort to control smuggling and human trafficking. They say restrictions on imports and limits on the amount of money they can withdraw from banks are hurting business, BBC reported.

Conscription in the national service program is the factor most commonly cited by asylum seekers who have fled the country, according to the Council On Foreign Relations. The Eritrean government justifies the program as one that will develop the country and foster a common sense of national identity. A statutory requirement of 18 months of military or civilian service was extended in 2002, following the war with Ethiopia. In practice, many adults report serving into their 50s, often earning less than subsistence wages.
For many, desertion and immigration are the only way to leave the Eritrean national service, according to the U.N. Commission.

The Eritrean foreign ministry refutes the U.N. Commission report, saying it is part of a “politically motivated campaign to undermine the political, economic, and social progress the country is making.”

The Eritrean government is ambivalent about people leaving because it benefits from the large diaspora, the International Crisis Group reported. The government collects a 2 percent income tax from many immigrants through consulates or party affiliates overseas. In 2011 the U.N. Security Council called on Eritrea to “cease using extortion, threats of violence, fraud, and other illicit means” to collect this tax, which yielded $73 million for the country from 2010 to 2013, the U.N. monitoring group found in 2014.

According to the International Crisis Group:

After initial, sometimes brutal attempts to obstruct emigration, a symbiotic system has emerged that benefits a range of actors, including the state. The government ostensibly accepts that educated, urbanised youths resistant to the individual sacrifices the state demands are less troublesome and more useful outside the country – particularly when they can continue to be taxed and provide a crucial social safety net for family members who stay home. Meanwhile, those who remain tend to be the more pliant rural peasant and pastoralist population. Yet, the exodus is not limited to urbanised and educated youth; migrants, including an increasing number of minors, now come from a wider cross-section of society.

Eritreans in the diaspora contribute to Eritrea’s economic survival by sending their families remittances, which provide the country with foreign reserves and help families survive.

Where do Eritrean immigrants go?

About 250,000 Eritreans live in refugee camps and cities in neighboring Ethiopia and Sudan, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. In the first eight months of 2015, the top three recipients of asylum applications from Eritreans were Switzerland (7,475), Germany (5,500), and Sweden (4,645). The U.K. and U.S. have well-established diaspora communities.

Another well-traveled route for Eritrean immigrants goes through Egypt to Israel. In the Sinai Peninsula, Eritreans face torture, extortion, and rape at the hands of traffickers—at times with police and military cooperation, Human Rights Watch reported. From Sinai, they cross into Israel, where 33,000 Eritreans live, the country’s interior ministry said in August 2015.

After Syrians and Afghans, Eritreans are the third largest nationality to cross the Mediterranean Sea, Al Jazeera reported.

 

Why are Eritreans in Israel accused of being ‘impolite’?

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and former interior minister Silvan Shalom have both issued press releases in support of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki’s regime 

Currently, 42,147 asylum seekers live in Israel. Most entered through the Egyptian-Israeli border between 2006 and 2013. The majority are from Eritrea. During interviews I’ve held with workers in municipal institutions some of them complained about Eritreans being “impolite” and “not as quiet as other migrants.” Possibly this is a result of the government’s explicit intention to make the lives of asylum seekers unbearable, as former interior minister Eli Yishai explained Israeli policy as early as 2012.

Possibly it’s also because the story of Eritreans is not understood. Frustrating as it may be for Eritreans, their story is untypical for refugees, as we normally think of them. Eritrea does not have the sort of war currently taking place in Syria or which led many Sudanese to escape the Darfur genocide in 2003. This leads some to dismiss it.

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked and former interior minister Silvan Shalom have both issued press releases in support of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki’s regime. They have embarrassingly based their statements on meetings with Eritrea’s ambassador to Israel. The reality in Eritrea, however, is uniquely abhorrent.

On May 9 the UN Human Rights Council published a report on Eritrea. It concluded that crimes against humanity – namely, “enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearance, torture, other inhumane acts, persecution, rape and murder” – have apparently been being committed in Eritrea since the country broke away from Ethiopia and became independent in 1991.

They take place away from the capital, Asmara, behind the walls of detention facilities and military training camps.

Torture and rape are regularly employed against political dissenters, but also as arbitrary measurements as a means of deterrence. The report further maintains that “the façade of calm and normality that is apparent to the occasional visitor to the country, and others confined to sections of the capital, belies the consistent patterns of serious human rights violations.” Adding to the environment of persecution in the country, only four religious denominations are recognized, while members of other faiths are subject to systematic repression, along with discrimination against other minorities on ethnic grounds.

All of this is done in a country with an infamous law of indefinite conscription to the army, including for purposes of forced labor. A shoot-to-kill policy is enacted on the borders toward anyone attempting to flee military service, which frequently lasts for over a decade, including reserve duty for citizens as old as their seventies. Others apprehended are arrested and are subjected to torture and rape (both females and males) as part of investigation techniques or simply as a way of fostering fear among inmates.

The report concludes that the government of Eritrea is “not in a position to provide accountability for these crimes and violations.” It is an authoritarian state, with all power concentrated in the hands of the president and of a small circle of loyalists. The UN commission therefore recommends the Security Council refer the situation to the International Criminal Court and enforce sanctions on assets and movement of individuals complicit in international crimes.

Israel is not a member of the Security Council and so long as it doesn’t act, Israel too is greatly affected by the situation.

Last year fewer Eritreans applied for asylum in the whole of Europe than crossed into Israel via the Sinai Peninsula in the past decade. A recent report by the Knesset Information and Research Center speaks of almost half the residents of four south Tel Aviv neighborhoods coming from Eritrea.

Those “super diverse” areas, in the terms of Steven Vertovec, have a strained infrastructure: 75% of fires in the city occur in a couple of neighborhoods that are particularly overburdened; sidewalks are broken, sewage pipes flood over, roads are blocked, trash is piling up and parks require extra maintenance. These neighborhoods are not turned into complete slums thanks only to municipal efforts and resources, and despite government policy to make the lives of “infiltrators” (as it calls asylum seekers) ever harder.

In light of the horror of the Eritrean regime, the deportation and detention policies of the Israeli government to encourage a “voluntary” departure of Eritreans are particularly sinister. These policies punish those whom fate has punished already, but also end up removing the leadership of the migrant population, making it less independent and increasingly reliant upon social services that the city must provide at the local level to minimize the phenomenon of ghettos being formed and provide basic rights to individuals who reside its borders.

Actually, the government policies aimed at making the Eritrean population leave the country are not only immoral, but also counterproductive. For example, many Eritreans rightly seek to avoid detention and deportation by having children, even in their abject conditions in Israel: already now 12% of Tel Aviv’s children are of “foreign” background (born either to asylum seekers or labor migrants), and some clinics for pregnant women and young mothers cater to asylum seekers 90% of the time or more.

Given the grave situation in their country of origin and the permanent sense of temporariness that the Israeli government seeks to create, is it any wonder that some Eritreans end up being impatient and somewhat overwrought when standing in line to receive basic services from municipal institutions? A couple of weeks ago more than 2,000 Eritreans took to the streets – quite politely, actually. They demonstrated before the European Union embassy near Tel Aviv, calling for the adoption of the UN report, as well as for Israel to revise its relations with Eritrea accordingly.

For example, Israel can flag the issues of human rights violations in Eritrea in international institutions. Independently of what the Security Council or the International Criminal Court end up doing, Israel – having full diplomatic relations with Eritrea – could assist it in reforming its legislative, judicial and security sector, as suggested in the UN report. Netanyahu could even capitalize on strengthened ties with African states following his historical trip to the continent last week to do that.

Finally, Israel could follow the report’s recommendation and “provide Eritrean nationals seeking protection with refugee status.” Since Israel’s border with Egypt has been sealed since 2013, there is only a limited Eritrean population in the country. Settling their status would help municipalities, schools, hospitals and clinics work better, and help disperse the high concentration of asylum seekers in Tel Aviv to other areas in the country. Most importantly, ending the perpetual uncertainty and unending ordeal of Eritreans in Israel is a moral imperative. Once the world starts treating them fairly, who knows? They may even say thank you.

The author is a PhD candidate at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany.

ጋዜጣዊ መግለጺ ዲሞክራስያዊ ውድብ ብሄረ ብሌን ኤርትራ/ሆደ ገምጋምና ድሕሪ ሰላማዊ ሰልፊ ጀኔቭ 23.05.2016፣

ጋዜጣዊ መግለጺ ዲሞክራስያዊ ውድብ ብሄረ ብሌን ኤርትራ/ሆደ
ገምጋምና ድሕሪ ሰላማዊ ሰልፊ ጀኔቭ 23.05.2016፣
‘’በትሪ ሓቂ ትቀጥን እምበር ኣይትስበርን’’

ካብ ነዊሕ ግዜ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ንሓርነት ዘሚርና ደሪፍና ሰላማዊ ሰልፊ ጌርና ተኣሲርና ተሰዲድና ክሳብ ብረት ዓቲርና ሂወትናን ኣካልናን ሃብትናን ግዜናን ሰዊእና። ኣውያት ህዝብና ግን ባህግን ጽቡቕ ተስፋን እንበር ክሳብ ሎሚ ሙሉእ ብሙሉእ ኣይተዓወተን። ሰብ ክዉለድ ከሎ ሓራ’ዩ። ንሓርነቱ ከኣ መሬት ወላ ከም ኣፍ እንቚ ትጽበብ እንበር ኣሕሊፉ ኣይህብን’ዩ። ናይ 1961ዓም ብረታዊ ቓልሲ ንዕብየትን ንዝናን ናይ ዉልቐሰባት ዘይኮነ ንሓርነት ህዝቢ’ዩ ተበጊሱ። እንተኾነ ኣከዋውናና ማሕበራዊ መቆምያታትና ብግቡእ ከይተጸንዔ፣ ንድልየታታትና ብግቡእ ዝሕልዎ መርሕ ከይተጠርየ ብድልየትን ብተስፋን ስለዝተጓዓዝና ሂወትን ግዜን ወዲኡ ነቲ ዝተብገሰሉን ዝሰንከለሉን በሊዑ ፍጻሜኡ ንረብሓ ከዳዓት ኮይኑ።

ህዝብና ኣብ ናጽነት ኣሎኹ እናበለ ሂወቱ ‘’ዎጮ እንተገምጠልካዮ ዎጮ’’ ኮይኑ ኣብ ዝተዓጻጸፈ ፍርሕን ምሽቑራርን ምሕቓቕን ይነብር ኣሎ። ጉጅሌ ኢሳያስ ሃገር ብዘይ መቆምያታት ከቑሙ ክብሉ ክበርን መሰል ዜጋታት መንጢሎም ‘’ስልጣና’’ ክብሉ ህዝብን ሃገርን ይርምሱ ኣለዉ። ኤረ ሃገራውነት ብብልሕን ብቓልስን ብመስውእትን ብሕድገትን ዝነበረትን ዝመጽኤትን ሎሚ ሃገራውነት፣ ብ2%ን፣ ብባርነት ሃገራዊ ኣገልግሎትን፣ ንጻዕዳ ጸሊም ብምባልን፣ መንነትካ ብምሕባእን፣ ኮበሮ ኲናት ብምዉቓዕን ገይሮሞ ነዚ እንቢ ዝበለ ህዝብና ኣድጊ ዘይትጾሮ ወጽዓ ዪወርዶ ኣሎ። ፋሺሽታዊ ጉጅሌ ኢሳያስ ንስልጣኑ ክብል ዘይሰማዕናዮን ዘይረኤናዮን ካብ’ዚ ንላዕሊ ጭቆናን ጥፍኣትን ኣብ ልዕሌና ከውርድ’ዩ።

እንተኾነ ‘’ሓቂ ብርእሳ እንተቐበርካያ ብእግራ ትወጽእ’’ ከም ዝበሃል መሰል ዝሓትት ህዝቢ ብዝኾነ መሳርያ ኣፈራሪሕካዮ ክትገዝኦ ከም ዘይትኽእልን ሎሚ’ውን ከም ትማሊ ብዓወት ዪጎስዕ ኣሎ። ጉዳይ ገበነኛ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ፣ ‘’ቀታል ህዝብታት’ዩ’’ ዝብል ኣብ ባይቶ ሕቡራት መንግስታት ክለዓል ክጅምር ከሎ ዉሑዳት ሰባት ኔይሮም። ከም ሓለምቲ ከኣ ዪቁጸሩ ኔይሮም። እዚ ናይ ትማሊ 23 ሰኔ 2016ዓም ሰላማዊ ሰልፍን ውሳኔ ባይቶ ሰብኣዊ መሰላት ሕቡራት መንግስታት ክትርእን ክተሰሞዕን ከሎኻ ግን ኣብ ህዝቢ ምስ ዝምክት ዝስዕሮ ከም ዘየሎ ምስክር’ዩ። ‘’መን ይእኽሎም’’ ዝብሉ ዝነበሩ ፈሺሎም። በዚ ኣጋጣሚ ንህዝብና ዝንዕቁን ዘትሕቱን ዝነበሩ ኣብ ልቦም ክምለሱ ተስፋ ንገብር። ህዝብና ንሓቂ ወላ እንተቀበርዋ ኣዉጺእዋ። እዚ ጥራይ ድማ ኣይኮነን ጌና ዝቅጽልን ዝመረረን ከውርደሎም’ዩ።

ክቡራትን ክቡራንን ደለይቲ ፍትሕን ተቓለስቲ ፍትሕን ህዝብታት ኤርትራ፣
ብቐዳምነት ዮሃን ነዚ ዓወት እዚ ክዉን ክኸውን ሰብ ክድቕስ ዘይደቀስኩም!! ዮሃና ናይ ትማልን ናይ ሎምን ሱዉኣትና እታ ቆጽሊ ኣዉልዕ ንስኹም ዝተኸልኩማ ትዕንብብ ኣላ!! ዮሃን ኣካለስንኩላትና ደኺምናን ተጸጊምናን ከይበልኩም ኣብ ኩሉ ሰላማዊ ሰልፊ ተመርሑና!! ዮሃን ገዲማን ተጋደልቲ ንእስነትኩም ዝሃብኩምና!! ዮሃን ሰነ-ጥበባውያን እስፖርታውያን ንሓቂ ዝመስከርኩም!! ዮሃና ሰብኣዊ መሰላት ኣብ ኤርትራ ክኸብር ብእግርን ብብርዕን ዝተጓዓዝኩም!! ዮሃና ፓልቶካትን ኩለን ናይ ዌባትን ፈይስ ቡካትን ሬድዮን ቲቭን መራኸቢ ብዙሓንን!! ዮሃና ፖሎቲካውያን ውድባትናን ሲቭካውያን ማሕበራትን ኩሉ ህዝብና ብውዱብን ብዉልቕን!! ዮሃና ኣብዚ መሪር ግዜ ምሳና ደው ዝበላ ሃገራትን ውድባትን ዉልቀ ሰባትን!! እዚ ዓወት’ዚ ግን ብዓቢኡ እኩብ ድምር ናይ ህዝብና ኣብ ዉሽጥን ኣብ ወጻእን ዝነብር ስለ ዝኾነ ዮሃና ህዝብታት ኤርትራ!!

ክቡራትን ክቡራንን ደለይቲ ፍትሕን ተቓለስቲ ፍትሕን ህዝብታት ኤርትራ፣
ዓመጽትን ሓሰውትን ክሳብ ኣብ መቓብሮም ዝኣትዉ ስርሖም ኣየቋሩጹን’ዮም። ብትግሬ ‘’ደብር ኣካኑ ኢሓድግ በዓል ኤመል ኤመሉ ኢሓድግ’’ ከም ዝብል ምስላ ኣቦታት እዚኦም’ውን ንሓሶት ከም ሮኬት ክሳብ ወርሒ ክትበጽሒ ክኮሓሕልዋ፣ ንጭቆና ከም ሞዶሻ ኮይና ሓምሓም ርእሲ ሰብ ክትሰብር ክዉልዉልዋ፣ ንህዝቢ ከናቁቱ ካብ መኻዝኖም ሐደስቲ ብልሓታት ከውጽኡ ለይትን መዓልትን ስራሖም ኣይክገድፉን’ዮም። ባህሪኦም ካብ ናይዲያብሎስ ንላዕሊ’ዩ። ኣይትገርሁ፣ ንዉላዶምን ንኣዲኦምን ዘይምሕር ልቢ’ዩ ዘለዎም። ግደፉ ንሓንቲ ብሄር ወይ እምነት ወይ ኣውራጃ ወይ ዉልቀ ሰብ ንመላእ ሃገር ንርብሓኦም ክሸጡ ዓይኖም ዘይዕምቱ’ዮም። ግብሮም ደው ዝብል ኣብ መቓብር ምስ ዝሰፈሩ’ዩ።

ኣሓትናን ኣሕዋትናን ገርህታትን ኣምሰሉታትን ተበለጽትን መዓልቲ ነጻነት መጽኤት ‘’ጽቡቕ ኣዋጅ’’ ክንሰሚዕ ኢና ትብሉን፣ ወገናን እምነትናን ዝዉክል መንግስቲ’ዩ ኢልኩም እትታለሉን፣ ሹመትን ገዛን ዙረት ሓጋይን ከይተርፈኩም ዓይንኹም ትዕምቱ እዝንኹም ትዓብሱን፣ ብኮበሮን ዳንኬራን ጃህራን ዝሰኸርኩምን ንሕልናኹም ክሳብ ክንደይ ዓመታት ክትክሕድዋ ኢኹም? መንግስቲ ብመርገምዶ ብኢድ ሰብ ሓላፋይ’ዩ። ንሕናን ንስኹምን ግን ተረፍቲ’ና። ኣድምጹና።

ክቡራትን ክቡራንን ደለይቲ ፍትሕን ተቓለስቲ ፍትሕን ህዝብታት ኤርትራ፣
ዝተረፈ ከም ዘሎና ንኣኹም ዝንገር ሕቡእ ምስጢር ኣይኮነን። ህዝብታት ኤርትራ ንሓርነቱ ክቓለስ ድሉው ሙዃኑ ኣብ ጅኔቫ 23.06.2016ዓም ሰላማዊ ሰልፊ ኣመስኪሩ’ዩ። እንተኾነ ውደባ ልዕሊ ውደባ፣ ውድብ ልዕሊ ውድብ፣ መራሒ ልዕሊ መራሒ፣ ርእይቶ ኣብ ልዕሊ ርእይቶ እናእምጻካ ንቀዳማይ እናፍረስካ ዳሕራይ ክትሃንጽ ምፍታን ካብ ደዉ ዝበልካዮ ሓንቲ ስድሪ እኳ ፍንትት ክንብላና ከም ዘይኽእል ተሞኩርናሉ ኣሎና። እዚ ሰላማዊ ሰልፊ ንኹላትናን ናይ ኩላትትናን ፍትሓውያን ጽላል መርሕዎ፣ እንተዝኸውን!! እናበልና ዊዕልና። ንሕና ፍትሓውያን እና በሃልቲ ንሃገርን ንህዝብታት ኤርትራ እቶም ካልኣይ ገጽ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ወይ መተካእታ ሙዃና ዘርኢ ዝተእማምን ጽላል ክነቑዉም ኣይበቓዕናን። ካብ ዝጭቁኑ ዘለዉ ኣሕዋትና እንኮ ዝፈልየና እኮ ንሕና ፍትሓውያን ሙዃና’ዩ። ካልእ ፍልል የብልናን። እንተኾነ ኣነንትነትን ዕብለላልን ነብርኩን ባህሊ ሒዝና ፍትሓውያን ክንከዉንን ሓደ ሃገራዊ ጽላል ክንምስርት ዘይሕሰብ’ዩ። እዚ ሓርነታዊ ቃልሲ መበገሲኡን መዕረፊኡን ፍትሒ’ዩ። ፍትሒ ደልና ኢና ንቓለስ ዘሎና። ፍትሒ፣ ድማ ኣብ ሓድነትን፣ ኣብ መሰልን፣ ሕድገትን’ያ ትርከብ። እዚ ባህሊ እዚ ንኣና ጋሻ ኣይኮነን። ናይ ህዝብና ባህሊ ካብ ጥንቲ ካብ ትቕምቲ’ዩ። እዛ ሃገር ብሽርክነት ጥራይ ከም ትዋሓስ ኣሚና ደረትና ኣይንስገር። ሕድገት ዘይገብር ህዝቢ ሃገር ከቑሙዉም ኣይክእልና’ዩ። ሕድገት ንልመድ። ብሄራትን ውድባትን ምንቅስቓሳትን ሲቪካውያን ማሕበራትን ኮሚኒቲ (ዓዲ ወረዳ ኣውራጃ) እምነታት ኩሎም መቆምያታት ሃገር ኢዮም። ነዚኦም ብልፍንቲ ብመርፍእን ብፈትል ክነስምሮም ከም ቀድማይ ዕላማ ንበገሰሎም። ፋሺስቲ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ‘’ናተይ ዪሰማዕ’’ ክብል ሃገርን ህዝብን ዪሸምም ኣሎ። ነዚ ባህሊ እዚ ካብ ሱሩ ካብ ማእከልና ንእለዮ። ዝኾነ ሰብ ወይ ኣኩብ ማሕበር ሓሳቡ ክገልጽ ከሎ ዶብ ክንገብረሉ ኣይንፈትን። ምኽንያቱ ኩልና ሓደ መሰል’ዩ ዘሎና። ሓደ ንሓደ እዚ ተዛረብ እዚ ኣይትዛረብ ኢሉ ዝወስነሉ መሰል የብሉን። ምኽንያቱ ብባይቶ ሃገርን ህዝብን ዝቆመ ቁዋም የብልናን። ኣብ’ዚ ጉዕዞ ሓርነት ፍልልያት ርኣይቶን ኣቛቁማን ክህልወና ናይ ግድን’ዩ። ነዚ ንፍልልያትና ከም ጸጋ እንተወሲድናዮም ከማዕብሉናን ከዕዉቱናን’ዮም። ከም ጸገም እንተወስዲንዮም ‘’ብትም በል/ሊ’’ እንተመኪትናዮ ከኣ ንጥፍኣትና ክኾኑ ዪኽእሉ’ዮም። ዲውድብብኤ ብዘይቅድመ ኲነት ነቲ ናይ መጠረሽታ ሽቶና ክነዕዉት ሕድገትን ተጻዋርነትን ፍትሕን ተወፋይነትን ክስስን ክሰርሕ’ዩ። ናይ ኩልና ዕላማ ከኣ ንሱ ክኸውን ንጹዉዕ።

ዲሞክራስያዊ ውድብ ብሄረ ኤርትራ/ሆደ ንመጻኢ ወስታ ቅሩብነቱ እናገለጸ ብዝተዓትረ ዓወት ንኹሉ ህዝብና ኣብ ዉሽጥን ዲያስፖራን ንዘሎ ዮሃና እናበለ ንድገፍትና ሕብረት ኣፍሪቓን ኣባላት ኢጋድን ንባይቶ ሕቡራት መንግስታት ሰብኣዊ መሰልን ንኹሎም ኮሚቴታቶምን ብስም ህዝብና ይምጉስን ንቐጻሊ ፍትሓዊት ኤርትራ ክሳብ ትረጋገጽ ኣብ ጎንና ደዉ ክብሉ ዪጹዉዕን።

ግዜጣዊ መግለጺ ዲሞክራስያዊ ውድብ ብሄረ ኤርትራ/ሆደ
ውድቐት ንፋሺስታዊ ጉጅሌ ኢስያስ!!!

ዓመጸኛታት ኢሳያስን ጉጅሌኡን ኣብ ፍትሒ ይቅረቡ!!!
ዝኽርና ንስዉኣት ብፍትሒ ምንጋስ ይኹን!!!

ውሳኔ ባይቶ ሰብኣዊ መሰላት ውድብ ሕቡራት-ሃገራት ኣብ ልዕሊ ማፍያ ህግደፍ

ውሳኔ ባይቶ ሰብኣዊ መሰላት ውድብ ሕቡራት-ሃገራት ኣብ ልዕሊ ማፍያ ህግደፍ

ኩቡራት ኣንበብቲ መደብ ንሰላም፡ ብሕጽር ዝበለ ኣገባብ መረዳእታ ህዝብና ክርደኦን ክፈልጦም ኣለዎ ኢልና ዝሓሰብናዮ ካብቲ ነዊሕ ጹማቛት ጽሑፋት ሓጺር መረዳእታ ንኸይስልችወኩም መታት ብሕጽር ዝበለ ጽሑፍ ነቕርበልኩም።

እቲ ብባይቶ ሰብኣዊ መሰላት ናይ ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ኣብ ልዕሊ ማፍያ ህግደፍ ዝተወሰደ ውሳኔ ናብ ኩለን ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ዘጣቓለለ ማሕበራት እቲ ውሳኔ ተዋሂቡሎ። ናይዞም ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ዓቢ ታራ ዘለዎም ማሕበራውያን ማለት እቶም ሹዱሽተ ( Organization – ኦርጋኒዛሹን ) ኣካላት ናይ ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት መሓውር እዮም። ንሳቶም ከኣ በዞም ሹድሽተ ኣካላት ሓቢሮም ጉባኤ ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ዝባሃሉ ኢዮም።

ንምፍላጦም መኖም ምዃኖም ኣዚዮም ኣገደስቲ ስለ ዝኾኑ ንኣፍልጦ ሓፈሻዊ መረዳእታ ንኽህልወና ሓጋዚ ስለ ዝኾነና ንሳቶም እዞም ዝስዕቡ ኢዮም፡-

  1. ናይ ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ሓፈሻዊ ጉባኤ ጀነራል ኣሰምፕሊ ( General Assembly )
  2. ዓለማዊ ናይ ሕጊ ቤት-ፍርዲ ኢንተርናሽናል ኮውርት ጃስቲስ ( International Court Justice )
  3. ቤት ምኽሪ ባይቶ ጸትታ ሰኩሪቲ ካውንስል ( The Security Counsil )
  4. ቤት-ምኽሪ ኤኮኖሚያዊ ማሕበራዊ ጉዳያትን፡ ኤኮኖሚ ሶሺያል ካውንስልን ( Economic Social Council )
  5. ቤት-ምኽሪ ባዓል ሓደራ ተወኪሉ ዝሰርሕን ዘተግብርን ትራንስፈር ሽፕ ካውንስል ( Transfer Chip Council )
  6. ቤት-ምኽሪ መዛግብን፡ ጽሕፈትን፡ ሰግረታሪያትን እዮም።

 

በዞም ኣብያተ ምኽርታት እዚኣቶም ተማሓላሊፉ ዝስራሕ መስርሕ ነንዝምልከቶም ጉዳዮም ኢሪኡን ኢውስኑን ኢሰርሑን። በብጉዳዮም ንናብናይ ገበናት ብዝተፋላለየ ሰብኣውነት መሰላት ኣብ ዝጋሃስሉ እዋን ናብዚኣቶም ኢዩ ዝማሓላለፍ። በዚ መሰረት በቲ ልሙን ኣሳራርሓን ተሞክሮን ናይ ባይቶ ሰብኣዊ መሰላት መስርሕ ኢካየድ።

ብቀትታ ናብ ባይቶ ጸትታ ኢኹን ናብ ኤኮኖሚያዊ ማሕበራዊ ጉዳያትን ካልኦትን ኣካላት ዝሓልፍ መስርሕ የለን። ኩሉ በብመስርሑን ብሕግን ብስነስርዓትን ዝኾነ ኣጋባብ ኢዩ ዝኸይድ።

ብዛዕባ እቲ ገበናት ኣንጻር ሰብኣውነት ምግሃስ መሰላት ኣብ ኤርትራ ከም ዝተፈጸመ ኣብ ጉዳይ ማፍያ ህግደፍ መስርሕ እንተወሲድና ካብዞም ኣብ ላዕሊ ተጠቒሶም ዘለዉ ሹዱሽተ ኣካላት ማኽበራውያን ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ካብዚኣቶም እቲ ናይ ቤት ምኽሪ ባይቶ ጸትታ ወይ ሰኩሪቲ ካውንስል ( The Security Counsil ) ኢዩ። ስለዚ ናይ ማፍያ ህግደፍ ገበን ምስ ጸትታ ዝታሓሓዝ ስለ ዝኾነ።

እቲ ኣብ ጀነቫ ዝሓለፈ ሪዞሎሹን ( Resolution ) ማለት ቢይን ወይ ውሳኔ ናይ ማፍያ ህግደፍ ክሲ ኣብ ዝመጽእ ዘሎ ወርሒ መስከረም ኣብቲ ኣብ ኒዩዎርክ ዝጋባእ ሓፈሻዊ ጉባኤ ናብ ጀነራል ኣሰምፕሊ ኢዩ ክቐርብ። ሓፈሻዊ ጉባኤ ናብተን ሹዱሽቲኤን ማኽበራውያን ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ክዝርጎሖ ኢዩ።

ኣብዚ ክርዳኣና ዘለዎ ሓደ ነገር ኣሎ ብሩህ ኮይኑ ከነስተውዕለሉ ይግባእ። ጉዳይ ማፍያ ህግፍደፍ ብሓድሽ መስርሕ ወይውን ሓድሽ ፋይላት ዝኽፈት ጉባኤ የለን፡ ኣብ ነፍሲ ወከፍ ኤርትራዊ ነዚ ጉዳይ እዚ ክርደኦ ኣለዎ።

እቲ ንመራሕቲ ህግደፍን ገበናቶምን ሳዕቤናቶምን ዝምልከት ኣብ መበል ሳላሳን ክልተን ኣኼባ ናይ ሰብኣዊ መሰላት ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ኣብ ጀነቫ ብኹለን ኣባላት ሃገራትን ብመርማሪት ኮምሽነርን ዝተወሰነን ዝጸደቀን ዝሓለፈን ጉዳይ ስለ ዝኾነ፡ እቲ ጉባኤ ኣብ ኒዩዎርክ ዝጋባእ፡ ነታ ጉዳይ ወይ ነታ ፋይል ብቐትታ ናብ ቤት ምኽሪ ባይቶ ጸትታ ሰኩሪቲ ካውንስል ኢዩ ነታ ጉዳይ ንኽመርሓ ዘማሓላልፋ።

ቤት ምኽሪ ባይቶ ጸትታ ሰኩሪቲ ካውንስል ነቲ ብኣባላት ባይቶ ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራትን ብመርማሪት ኮምሽንን ኣብ ጀነቫ ዝሓለፈ ጉዳይ ጸዲቑ ዝመጾ ውሳኔ በቲ ልሙድ ኣሳራርሑን ተግባርነቱን ከከምዘለዎ ኢዩ ዝቕብበሎን ዘጽድቖን ንትግባረ ዝመርሖን። ኣብዚ መስርሕ እዚ ንዝተፈላለያ ሃገራት ብኣብነት እንተወሲድና ናይ ሲድ-ኮሪያ ክረኤ ኢካኣል’ዩ ብኾምኡ ከኣ’ዩ እቲ መስርሕ ዝሳላሰል።

ብተወሳኺ ሓደ ካብቲ ኣብ ጀነቫ ዝሓለፈ ሪዞሎሹን Resolution ማለት ቢይን ወይ ውሳኔ ኣብ ጉዳይ ውሳነ ባይቶ ሰብኣዊ መሰላት ንቤት ፍርዲ ኣፍሪቃዊ ሕብረት ናይ ውድብ ሓድነት ኣፍሪቃ ገበናዊ ቤት-ፍርዲ ( African Union Court of Justice ) ከምኡውን ናይ ሮም ውዕል ( Rome Statute ) የሕሊፉ ኣሎ። ሃገራት ኣፍሪቃ እተን መብዛሕትኤን ዝኸተማሉ ውዕልን ዝተሰማማዓሉ ዓለም ለኻዊ ኣባል ኣፍሪቃዊ ማሕበራት ናይ ኣባልነት ኣወዳድባ ዘለወን ኢየን። 

ሓደ ካብኡ፡-

  • ኣብ ሕጋዊ ቤት-ፍርዲ ናይ ውድብ ሓድነት ኣፍሪቃን Africa Union court of Justice 
  • ብሮም ውዕል Rome Statute ዝፍለጥ ንሰብኣዊ መሰላት ዘኽብር ሕግን ቤት-ፍርድን ( International Criminal Court ICC ) ኢንተርናሽናል ክሪሚናል ኮውርት ኣይሲሲ ዘጠቓለለ ኢዩ።

ማፍያ ህግደፍ ኣብዚ ኣባልነት ናይዚ ማሕበር እዚ ከምዘይ ፈረሙን ኣባል ከምዘኮነን ተፈሊጡሎ።

ባይቶ ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ኣብ ኣፍሪቃ ዝግበሩ ግህሰት ሰብኣዊ መሰላት በዚ ትካል ኣቢሉ ኢዩ ንኽካታተልን ንኽሰርሕን ዝውስንን። ውዕል ሮም ( Rome Statute ) ብኢንተርናሽናል ክሪሚናል ኮውርት ኣይሲሲ( International Criminal Court ICC ) ዝፍለጥ ብዛዕባ መሰል ሰብኣውነት ዝምልከቱ ጥርዓናትን፡ ዝሰምዕ፡ ዝጣበቕ፡ ዝሕግግን፡ ንዳንነት ዝመርሕን፡ ኣባልነት ዝኸተማሉ ሃገራት ኣፍሪቃ ስምምዕን፡ ኣባታት ዘለዎ ሃገራት ዓለም ዝተሰማማዓሉን ኢዩ። እዚ ኸኣ ኣብ ወርሒ መስከረም 2002 ዓ.ም. ሕጋውነቱ ነዲፉን ኣጽዲቑን ዝሰርሕን ዝቖመ ትካል ኢዩ።

ማፍያ ህግደፍ ኣባልነት ስለዘይብሉ ስለዝኾነ እዩ ብቐትታ ብባይቶ ጸትታ ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ኣቢሉ ናብ ኣህጉራዊ ገበናት ቤት-ፍርዲ ኢንተርናሽናል ክሪሚናል ኮውርት ኣይሲሲ ገበናቶም ክማሓላለፍ ዝተገደደ።

ቤት ምኽሪ ባይቶ ጸትታ ሰኩሪቲ ካውንስል ኣብቲ ወርሒ መስከረም ኣብ ኒዩዎርክ ዝጋባእ ጉባኤ ነቲ ናይ ማፍያ ህግደፍ ጉዳይ ኣጽዲቑ ናብቲ ናይ ኣፍሪቃዊ ሕብረት ቤት-ፍርዲ ክመርሖን፡ ቤት-ፍርዲ ኣፍሪቃዊ ሕብረት ከኣ ብዑቱብ ክታሓዞን ማዓልኡ ከብጾሖን ምክትታል ዘይፍለዮ ናይ ባይቶ ጸትታ ውድብ ሕቡራት ሃገራት ዘለዎ ኢዩ።

ኣብዚ ክፍለጥ ዘለዎ ጉዳይ ብመሰረት እቲ መርማሪት ኮሚሽነርን፡ ባይቶ ሰብኣዊ መሰላትን ዘሕለፍዎ ውሳነ ኣብናይ ኒዮዎርክ ጉባኤ በታ መርማሪት ኮሚሽነርን ናይ ባይቶ ሰብኣዊ መሰላት እቲ ናይ ክልተ ዓመት ስርሓ ዓጺያ ወዲኣያ። ንልዕሊ ክልተ ዓመት ማንደት ወይ ትሰርሖ ሓላፍነት የብላን።

እቲ ምግሃስ ሰብኣዊ መሰላት ብመራሕቲ ህግደፍ ዝኸይድ ዘሎ ክሳብ ዘየቋረጸ፡ ክሳብ መወዳእታ እግሪ እግሮም እንዳኸደት እትከታተሎም ሓንቲ ማሕበር ኣላ። እታ ስፐሽያል ራፖርተስ (Special Reports ) ናይ ባይቶ ሰብኣዊ መሰላት ኢያ። እዛ ስፐሽያል ራፖርተስ እዚኣ ውሱን ግዜን ዕለንት ዓመትን ገደብ የብላን። እቲ ግህሰት ክሳብ ዘሎ እዛ ስፐሽያል ራፖርተስ ንፉልይ ማፍያ ህግደፍ ጉዳይ ክትከታተል ክትህሉ ኢያ። ምክትታልን ዘሕለፈቶ ጸብጻባትን ናብ ሰኩሪቲ ካውንስል ( The Security Counsil ) ኢያ ከተማሓላልፎ።

Fear in Eritrea

A man recalled the day he was sent, along with his friend, to Wi’a military training camp in Eritrea. The day after he arrived, the guards sent them on a training exercise that entailed a 15 kilometre hike to collect firewood.

Eritrean refugees wait for protection and assistance, May 2014. © EPA/YAHYA ARHABOn the way back his friend became terribly ill. He continued to struggle. The guards became enraged and started to beat him until he fell to the ground. A guard said he would suffer when he reached the camp. Four people would end up carrying him back to the camp. A guard later tied him up and beat him.

“He left my friend tied up on the burning ground,” he recalled. “Soon after my friend vomited blood through his mouth and nostrils and died on the spot.”

This tragic testimony is one of 833 interviews conducted by the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea in order to investigate gross violations of human rights in the country.

The Commission issued a new report on their findings, which stated that over the past 25 years crimes against humanity have been committed in a widespread and systematic manner in Eritrea – not on the streets of Asmara, but rather behind the walls of detention facilities and in military training camps and other places throughout the country.

Since 1991, Eritrean civilians have also been subjected to various human rights violations including enslavement, imprisonment, reprisals for the conduct of family members, discrimination on religious grounds, enforced disappearance, torture, persecution, rape and murder.

Indefinite military service

Eritreans are forced into indefinite military service subjected to horrific abuses, often being used as forced labour. This is a main driver for so many people trying to leave the country. In 2015, 47,025 Eritreans have applied for asylum in Europe.

According to a former military trainer at a military training camp at Sawa, trainers are given strict instructions to abuse their trainees. He reported a trainer who once tied up two people and left them in a tent. “He tied them up so tightly that we heard them screaming,” he said. “Later, one was dead and the other’s hands were crippled.” But, he said that if trainers don’t treat the trainees this way, they could end up in prison.

Without a trace

The Commission interviewed several Eritreans who have family members that have been arbitrarily detained or disappeared and have never been heard from again. A woman interviewed said her husband was arrested outside their home in 2009 and she has never found out what happened to him. “I searched for him, but the authorities finally told me just don’t bother coming back; there’s no point.”

A man also reported that he hasn’t seen his father since 1999 when he disappeared. “There is no law,” he said. “We couldn’t do anything. You can’t ask about someone who has disappeared. You risk being arrested yourself.”

Raped and tortured

Life in Eritrea continues to be a struggle for many women and young girls. Girls are being forced into early marriage and removed from school. Women and girls who try to flee the country are also at a bigger risk of being raped and tortured. Rape and domestic servitude in military training centres and detention centres are being ignored. A woman imprisoned for six months at a police station said she was raped every day by the officers. “After he finished, he threatened me not to say anything,” she said. “He told me that if I would report the rape he would find me wherever I go and kill me.”

No rule of law

These abuses continue without any consequences because rule of law in the country is virtually non-existent. Eritrea has no real constitution, an independent judiciary or any democratic institutions.

“There is no genuine prospect of the Eritrean judicial system holding perpetrators to account in a fair and transparent manner,” said Mike Smith, Chair of the Commission. “The perpetrators of these crimes must face justice and the victims’ voices must be heard. The international community should now take steps, including using the International Criminal Court, national courts and other available mechanisms to ensure there is accountability for the atrocities being committed in Eritrea.”

See more: