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EHDR-UK in Collaboration with
NETWORK OF ERITREAN CIVIL SOCIETIES - EUROPE
The Plight of the Eritrean Family
London, 25 October 2002
It is with great sadness that we are submitting the following appeal
on behalf of the Eritrean Parents. The plight of the
Eritrean Parent is acute and beyond people's imagination. We, Network
of Eritrean Civil Societies - Europe (NECS-Europe), feel it is time
that we spoke out of horror stories that plague the household of the
average Eritrean family. We want to start by acknowledging the fact
that Eritrea has become a land of orphans, widows and childless families.
Brief Background Information
Eritrea, a country of less than 4 million people, gained its independence
in 1993 after thirty years of protracted warfare. With its small
population, many of whom are abroad, Eritrea finds itself under a system,
which is not voted in office by its citizens. Popular Front for Democracy
and Justice (PFDJ), the ruling organisation headed by President Isaias
Afewerki, has declined appeals to hold elections and has remained in
power since independence. To put it mildly, there is no constitution in
operation and as a result of that there is no rule of law in Eritrea
today.
Post-independence Eritrea faced the major task of rebuilding a country
ravaged by more than 30 years of conflict. Eritrea, after emerging
from the long-drawn-out war, its leaders plunged it into successive wars
- first with Yemen and then, more devastatingly, with its old adversary,
Ethiopia. In 1998 border disputes around the town of Badme erupted into
open hostilities. This conflict formally ended with the signing of a
peace agreement in June 2000.
The recent war with Ethiopia has left the country with severe political,
economic and social drawbacks in all aspects of life. As the conservative
figures that are given by the government indicate, more than 19,000 lives
were lost, more than a quarter of the population were displaced, over one
hundred and twenty thousand Eritreans were deported from Ethiopia. The
human loss, migration and dispersion is so immense it is difficult to
cite accurate figures - all at the expense of the Eritrean family.
Perpetual Persecution and Human Rights Violations in Eritrea
It has been two years since the cease-fire agreement has been
signed. The Government of Eritrea has stifled all attempts to
assess and improve the humanitarian situation in the country. Instead, it
has stepped up its oppression. Economic stagnation, poverty, hunger and
miserable life-style have been on the horizon for quite a number of
years; and the public has lost confidence in the leadership to improve
the situation.
Here are some examples that show the Eritrean government did indeed go
against its own people after the 2001 cease-fire:
·
On 18 September
2001, eleven high government officials have been imprisoned solely on
account of their writing a letter to the President to convene a meeting.
Their request turned into 'treason' and they have been held in detention
since September 2001.
·
Journalists were
the next victims of the government. More than 15 journalists of the
private press were arrested because they exercised their rights to freedom
of expression. After they resorted to hunger strike, they were taken to
an undisclosed confinement and were subjected to torture. They do not
have visitation rights.
·
University
Students have been arrested because they objected to government policies of
enforced labour. Some died, others were jailed and many ran away from the
country.
·
Elders and
religious leaders were arrested because they tried to mediate between the
government and the reformers.
·
The Eritrean
youth are distraught and in constant danger, as the government
periodically hunts them down under various pretexts.
The citizens are ruled by fear and terror. Strict measures are in
place to restrict active participation in social, economic and political
activities. Plainly stated, fear of one’s own neighbour is one of the
prevalent factors that rules people's lives.
In brief, in today's Eritrea there is neither individual nor collective
liberty. Freedom of speech, thought and faith simply do not
exist. For the keen observer horror stories are in abundance and
most of them involve the much-deprived Eritrean parents.
The Grim Plight of the Eritrean Parent
When the border issue with Ethiopia was arbitrated, the government
promised the parents whose children were killed in the war with Ethiopia
would be notified, and those who were at the battlefronts would return to
their homes. People waited for that promise to be fulfilled, but in the
contrary, the government went ahead with a renewed conscription
strategy. Today, around two hundred thousand youngsters are living
in the trenches along the Eritrean border. Those youngsters are not in
the regular army but they are still regarded as conscripts. After staying
for over three years in the trenches without proper remunerations, then
without any doubt their basic rights as citizens is being violated. No
one knows how long the conscription will last. We argue that Eritrea’s future generation is being
atrociously exploited. In short,
·
Students have
been derailed from pursuing their education.
·
The intellectual
development of Eritrea’s young has been stunted.
·
Due to the
extended stay in the battlefields many will not return to their old jobs.
·
HIV amongst the
young in the trenches is very high.
·
Many are fleeing
to the neighbouring countries.
All the above-mentioned facts affect the Eritrean families
directly and quite severely. Robbing them their young disrupts the
essence of the family, as the young play an extremely important role in
the traditional and modern Eritrean family. In many instances the young
are the source of income for the family. In the pastoral segments of our
society major emphasis is placed on the role of the young, for farmers
depend on them to plough the field and harvest the crops. Town and
city-dwellers depend on their young for extra income. In short, the young
are the safety net of our social fabrics.
Death Notification is Essential – it Signifies Respect and is Key to
the Healing Process
Waiting to find out if one has lost his/her young is the worst torture.
Parents and spouses who have not been notified the circumstances of their
lost children are still waiting for the government to make the
much-belated announcement. As they wait the government continues to
conduct house-to-house searches to round up more youngsters for military
training. The parents, let
alone object to their children’s arrests, they cannot ask for information
of those who are not heard of for years. Asking for the whereabouts of one’s own child who
never sent a word from the war zone is tantamount to sedition.
The burden the Eritrean families are forced to
bear is heavy and the pain they are made to endure is unbearable. They
have been silently mourning for far too long and the psychological
injuries they have sustained over the time are quite evident. The
families have the right to receive either death notification or know the
whereabouts of their children.
It is morally wrong and very much against the Eritrean culture to
withhold such important piece of information from those whose children
are literally ‘lost’.
The traces of war and post-war events are most visible in the lives of
the Eritrean families because the deprivation is multi-faceted.
·
The fundamental
nature of the family is disturbed.
·
The moral
fortitude of the Eritrean family is weakened as a result of lack of peace
of mind.
·
The economic well
being of the family is severely impeded as many suffered bankruptcy. And
many are openly begging in cities and towns of Eritrea.
·
Many households
depend on the endowments they receive from friends and relatives who live
abroad.
·
Out of
frustration, most parents secretly push their remaining children to take
major risks and run away from the country.
·
The level of poor
health amongst the Eritrean families has dramatically gone up as a result
of this trauma. Sudden
illnesses and untimely deaths are of daily occurrences.
NECS-Europe is
appealing to the international community to intervene by looking at the
human rights situation in general, and in particular, the situation
of the parents who are suffering from anticipation of their family
members’ whereabouts.
Our organisation expresses its outrage at this undignified way the
Eritrean Government is handling this matter. We believe the parents who lost their loved ones at
the war zone should be treated with human dignity. We ask all humanitarian
organisations and government authorities to investigate the human rights
situation in Eritrea.
We are aware of the fact that the government of Eritrea has
recently announced that it will send notifications to Eritrean families
who lost their loved ones at the war front. Considering the false promises the government had
given in the past, we appeal to the international community and human
rights organisations to ensure the government fulfils its promise this
time.
NECS-Europe
Eritreans for Justice and Democracy - Benelux
Eritreans for Human- and Democratic Rights - United
Kingdom
Eritrean League for National Reconciliation - Sweden
Eritrean Association for Peace and Democracy - Sweden
Popular Movement for Democracy in Eritrea - Sweden
Eritrean Association for Peace and Democracy - Sweden
Unionen För Eritreanska Kultur Förening - Sweden
Eritreans For Peace and Democracy - Switzerland
Eritrean free discussion in Baden-Würrtenberg - Germany
Coordination Committee For Eritrean Democrats - Italy
Eritrean Reconciliation Forum - United Kingdom
Eritrean Unity Forum - Germany
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