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Mediterranean migrant crisis: why is no one talking about Eritrea?

By Sinéad O’Shea

Migrants being rescued by the Italian navy.
Migrants being rescued by the Italian navy. ‘22% of all people entering Italy by boat in 2014 were from Eritrea. After Syrians, they are the second most common nationality to undertake these journeys.’ Photograph: AP

Horror has been expressed at the latest catastrophe in the Mediterranean. Little has been said, however, about Eritrea. Yet 22% of all people entering Italy by boat in 2014 were from Eritrea, according to the UN refugee agency, the UNHCR. After Syrians, they are the second most common nationality to undertake these journeys. Many who died this week were from the former Italian colony.

So why is it so rarely discussed? The answer is essentially the problem. Eritrea is without western allies and far away. It is also in the grip of a highly repressive regime. This week, it was named the most censored country in the world by the Committee to Protect Journalists, beating North Korea, which is in second place. Reporters without Borders has called it the world’s most dangerous country for journalists.

Nobody talks about Eritrea because nobody (ie westerners) goes there. In 2009, I travelled there undercover with cameraman Scott Corben. We remain the only independent journalists to have visited in more than 10 years. There we witnessed a system that was exerting total control over its citizens. It was difficult to engage anybody in conversation. Everyone believed they were under surveillance, creating a state of constant anxiety. Communications were tightly controlled. Just three roads were in use and extensive documentation was required to travel. There were constant military checks. It is one of the most expensive countries in the world to buy petrol. Even maps are largely prohibited. At the time, Eritreans had to seek permission from a committee to obtain a mobile phone.

Dissent is forbidden. It is thought there are more than 800 prisons dispersed across the country. Some take the form of shipping containers in the desert. Torture is widespread.

The media is an arm of the government. All critical journalists have been imprisoned or killed. The news we saw entailed segments praising Eritrea and denouncing its enemies. There were long broadcasts of soldiers moving in formation to local pop music.

Despite government declarations to the contrary, there was obvious poverty, and food shortages. One interviewee was sharing a toilet with 20 families and living on just under a dollar a day.

Most people I met were highly educated but had no prospects after university. Instead, there is conscription for adult men and unmarried women until the age of 50. Bullying and sexual abuse are common within the army.

The country feels like it’s at war and that’s the justification for what goes on there. After decades of conflict Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia in 1993. Its leader, Isaias Afewerki, has consolidated his power by insisting another war is imminent. As a government supporter told me, unaware he was being recorded, sacrifices have to be made when “your existence is under threat”.

He also claimed that nobody would come to Eritrea’s aid if Ethiopia attacked it again. On this, regime critics agree. Ethiopia is a key western ally in the Horn ofAfrica. Eritrea has compounded matters by forming alliances with al-Shabaab in Somalia.

Eritreans are thus faced with a terrible choice. They must either live in misery or risk death by leaving. I met a number of people who were preparing to go. Despite a shoot-to-kill policy on the border, thousands still leave each month.

Their journey is incredibly dangerous. Kidnappings are increasingly common en route to Israel. Or there’s the Mediterranean option. For the survivors there is huge anxiety about those left behind. Relatives of escapees are sometimes arrested. The government also has spies within the ex-pat community.

For us of course it was different. We too were followed and extracting our film footage was frightening, but at least we could leave.

The Eritrean response to our films was immense. Though the links kept disappearing, they had hundreds of thousands of views on YouTube.

There were also a large number of death threats directed at me. Complaints were sent to al-Jazeera English. Yet there was little reaction from western audiences.

All kinds of solutions to the Mediterranean crisis are now being considered, including better regulation for asylum seekers. Many agree that the causes of migration must also be examined. I think wanting to know about what is happening in Eritrea is an important first step.

Source: The Guardian

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