East Africa: Eritrean Refugees Defy Border Closures Only to Find Hardship in Ethiopia
Posted: 22 Oct 2019, 06:56
https://allafrica.com/stories/201910220005.htmlEast Africa: Eritrean Refugees Defy Border Closures Only to Find Hardship in Ethiopia
21 OCTOBER 2019 The New Humanitarian (Geneva) By Sara Creta
Addis Ababa — The long-dormant border crossings re-opened with such fanfare between Eritrea and Ethiopia last year as a symbol of warming relations are all now closed - but that isn't stopping a steady flow of Eritrean refugees from fleeing across the heavily militarised frontier.
According to the UN's refugee agency, UNHCR, around 300 people continue to cross each day, using remote paths to avoid arrest by Eritrean border guards. They are prima facie refugees, typically escaping compulsory national service, repression, and joblessness, or looking to reunite with family members who have already made the journey.
New arrivals join roughly 170,000 Eritrean refugees already in Ethiopia, staying in overcrowded camps, or living in nearby host communities. Younger, more mobile men and women typically head to the capital, Addis Ababa, to look for work, taking advantage of Ethiopia's liberal employment policies for refugees.
Finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet in Ethiopia, many Eritrean refugees are choosing to move on, seeking better opportunities in Europe - or even further afield in the Americas - to support their families..