Note on Ethiopian Nationals returning from Eritrea1
Notes on
Ethiopian Nationals Returning From Eritrea
Prepared by Yves Guinand
UNDP - Emergencies Unit for Ethiopia
Addis Ababa
26 October 1998
Note on Ethiopian Nationals returning from Eritrea1
Table of Contents
1. Introduction1
1.1 Introductory note on description of people arriving from Eritrea1
1.2 First arrivals1
2. Federal Government strategy and approach concerning Ethiopian Nationals returning from Eritrea 1
3. General processing and handling of Ethiopian Nationals returning from Eritrea 2
3.1 Border crossing2
3.2 Transport and reception2
3.3 Screening and registration3
3.4 Transit camps4
3.5 Settlement and reintegration5
3.6 Educational and professional background of Ethiopian Nationals returning from Eritrea and their reason for departure 6
4. Conclusions and recommendations7
5. Annex9
Note on Ethiopian Nationals returning from Eritrea1
Notes on
Ethiopian Nationals returning from Eritrea
prepared by Yves Guinand UNDP-EUE
1.Introduction
1.1Introductory note on description of people arriving from Eritrea
UNDP-EUE office in consultation with UNHCR agreed to describe people arriving from Eritrea as ‘Ethiopian Nationals returning from Eritrea’ rather than ‘expellees’ or ‘deportees’. Both of these latter terms have certain undesirable connotations for use within UN organisations. Another possible description would be ‘Ethiopian Nationals displaced from Eritrea’. GTZ’s ‘Reintegration and Rehabilitation Programme’ is using this description for people who arrived in 1991 after Eritrea’s independence declaration (GTZ, 1996). In the National Fund Raising Committee Report, released 25 September 1998, those people are referred to as ‘people expelled from Eritrea’ (NFRC, 1998a). However, throughout this report, the term ‘returnees’ is used synonymously with the phrase ‘Ethiopian National returning from Eritrea’ and should not be confused with the use of the word in the context of recognised refugees returning home from a country of asylum.
1.2First arrivals
The first Ethiopians who left Eritrea due to the conflict, were coming from Assab and arrived end of May 1998 in Ethiopia (Addis Tribune, June 12). During the first two months of the conflict an unconfirmed number of people returning from Eritrea may have dispersed in Ethiopia without having received assistance.
At the beginning of June 1998, Ethiopia expelled more than 700 Eritreans, in line with a government statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Those first identified for ‘forced leaving’ were Eritreans working in ‘security sensitive positions’ such as the state power and telecommunications companies and those who occupied senior government or public institutions positions (AFP, June 15).
To date, more than 25,000 Ethiopians who arrived from Eritrea have been registered and are entitled to relief and rehabilitation assistance. These people are receiving assistance in various centres in the following eight regions: Tigray, Afar, Oromyia, Gambela, Harrari, SNNP, Amhara Region and in Addis Ababa Administration (NFRC, 1998a). In Addis Ababa there are a variety of centres which received ‘returnees’. ‘Shiro Meda Assab’ centre in Addis Ababa shelters 250 people who arrived end of August. In September, the National Fund raising Committee (NFRC) counted 3,306 Ethiopian Nationals who returned from Eritrea and arrived in Addis Ababa.
2.Federal Government strategy and approach concerning Ethiopian Nationals returning from Eritrea
The Federal Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission (DPPC) is in charge and is co-ordinating relief and other activities concerning ‘returnees’. The Federal Government through the National Fund Raising Committee elaborated a proposal in September 1998 concerning the handling of ‘returnees’ (see NFRC, 1998a). The proposal aims at bringing to the attention of the international community the ‘relief-rehabilitation-package’ which the Federal Government has initiated for the Ethiopians recently returned from Eritrea.
The Federal Government expects the international donor community to provide the necessary food and additional relief items. The Federal Government is giving money originating from private national contributors for cash allowances and clothes. The government encourages also the involvement of partnering NGOs for the materialisation and implementation of the proposed rehabilitation and reintegration programme for Ethiopian National returning from Eritrea (NFRC, 1998a).
According to the NFRC, the relief-and-rehabilitation-package should ideally be composed of a 1,000 Birr allowance for a single headed household, 1,500 Birr allowance for a couple and 100 Birr per additional family member e.g. children. The allowance will be paid once as a one-time rehabilitation support. Furthermore, the relief package will consist of: Food rations for nine months, household utensils, a number of blankets for families, depending on the families’ sizes, clothing, and if necessary, transportation expenses from transit locations to the place of settlement. Only registered and therefore recognised ‘returnees’ are entitled to receive the proposed relief and rehabilitation package (NFRC, 1998a). The relief package is handed over to the entitled persons and families upon arrival in their settlement area, i.e. the package is being put together at Zonal level.
3.General processing and handling of Ethiopian Nationals returning from Eritrea
3.1Border crossing
Safe border crossing is organised at Zala Ambasa and Rama in the Tigray Region, Bure and the border crossing from Djibouti in Afar Region. The Federal Government and DPPC are informed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) of planned crossings. ICRC communicates the number of ‘returnees’, the date and the place of their arrival in Ethiopia. ICRC secures a safe border passage and accompanies people who have to walk from the Eritrean to the Ethiopian side before being again taken by buses.
In Afar Region, besides providing safe border passage at Bure, ICRC provides emergency assistance with a Toyota Land Cruiser transformed into a mobile medical clinic. A quick health screening is done and needy people are grouped and if needed, these can directly be sent to Dubti hospital or to the clinics in Mille and Logiya for further treatment.
To date, numbers announced and numbers of arrivals from Eritrea diverge in that usually a lot more are announced than actually arrive. Each arrival generally does not exceed 500 people, yet over 1,000 are usually announced. This may have to do with transport availability on the Eritrean side. Anyway, also on the Ethiopian side it is easier to manage and cope with 500 and less at one time than with over 1,000.
3.2Transport and reception
Transport from the border to the transit camps and from the transit camps to subsequent locations, is organised by central DPPC authorities which provides buses. If buses are not available people get a daily transport allowance of 25 Birr to travel to their respective settlement areas. This transport allowance is provided by the central DPPC office and is channelled through Regional Governments to the various Zones.
Reportedly, especially in Dessie, town administration and DPPD (Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Department) representatives faced problems due to imprecise information communicated concerning the arrival of buses with people returning from Eritrea.
3.3Screening and registration
Initial registration in transit camps
‘Returnees’ are screened and registered in four different transit centres: Adwa and Adigrat in Tigray Region, Loqiya and Mille in Afar Region. Since the beginning of September, central DPPC and Administration of Refugees and Returnees Affairs (ARRA) representatives are jointly in charge of the initial registration. In addition, a first screening is done at the border by military authorities.
In Mille and Logiya transit camps in Afar Region, the following procedure has been adopted and proved to be effective for the initial registration: to avoid local and other people being registered or people from Eritrea who previously arrived and have already been registered to benefit from transport, food and other allowances, central DPPC representatives join buses with people coming from the border before their arrival in the camps and distribute identification cards to each bus passenger. These cards must be presented and handed over afterwards for registration in the transit camps. People are grouped and registered according to their subsequent destination. Destinations to be chosen from are Nazereth, Dessie, Mekele, and Addis Ababa. From these locations people will be further dispatched.
The registration lists for the various destinations also contain information on age and sex of registered persons and family size. These lists are transferred to central DPPC offices in Addis Ababa and to the respective subsequent destinations.
In case of a renewed outbreak of hostilities, Federal Government authorities and the UN are expecting a minimum of 50,000 and a maximum of 100,000 ‘returnees’. Data on ‘returnees’ is compiled at DPPC in Addis Ababa. But to date, no aggregated data has been made available.
Initial registration and the case of separated families
Concerns were expressed by several persons who arrived form Eritrea about families being separated in Eritrea. Apparently the authorities in Assab register families wishing to leave the country, but when people are put on buses, it happens that families are being separated involuntarily. Separated family members arriving in Ethiopia do not want to be processed quickly to subsequent locations because they want to await the arrival of the rest of the family. Interviewed separated family members in Mille transit camp insisted in waiting because they suspect that initial registration lists made in Mille are not kept in the camp, but sent to Addis Ababa and to further locations. Therefore, later arriving family members will not be able to trace previous arrivals. Central DPPC representatives in Mille gave assurances that they are keeping copies of all registration lists.
Registration and ID-card issuing in subsequent transit locations
In the case of Dessie, which is one of the subsequent transit camps, to date, 6,373 persons coming from Eritrea have transited through and been registered. On average, ‘returnees’ stay for 4 days before they are dispatched onwards. The Zonal DPPD issues an ID-card upon registration and authenticity verification. The ID-card includes the beneficiary’s name, i.e. name of the family head, the number of family members and the type of assistance the family is entitled to.
The ‘Screening Committee’ in Dessie
As mentioned earlier in this report, in May and early June an unconfirmed number of people returning from Eritrea may have dispersed in Ethiopia without having received assistance. There is a high probability that quite a number of those persons and families became stranded in Dessie. One reason to believe so is the fact that many daily labourers and families who used to earn a living in Assab emigrated decades ago from North and South Welo. Apparently, they headed back to their places of origin. The Dessie town administration and DPPD are facing a situation wherein many unregistered people are begging for support. The issue became of such importance that the Zonal Government decided to form a ‘Screening Committee’ composed of representatives of a variety of institutions and government departments, i.e. DPPD, Culture, Tourism and Information Department, Department of Labour and Social Affairs, Trade and Industry Department, Dessie Town Administration and a few persons who used to live in Assab. Unregistered people, who arrived earlier this year, have to present a valid Eritrean ID-card or an ID-card issued by the Ethiopian diplomatic corps in Eritrea, confirming their status and situation.
3.4Transit camps
For the moment, four initial transit camps exist in Adwa and Adigrat in Tigray Region, and in Mille and Logiya in Afar Region. Since begin of September, initial transit camps are administered by central DPPC representatives.
Length of stay in transit camps
The average duration of stay in transit camps depends mainly on two major factors:
1. the availability of transport and
2. the number of free places for accommodation at the next destinations, e.g. Nazereth, Addis Ababa, Dessie, Mekele etc.
Nevertheless, in Mille and Logiya transit camps in Afar Region people did not stay more than two weeks. On average, people have to wait for a few days until transport is available. If for one reason or another, transport is not available, people are given the amount of money necessary to travel by themselves to their destination.
Camp infrastructure and assistance
Generally camp infrastructures in camps and locations visited are adequate for the time being.
In Mille and Logiya the camps consists of four and five Rubbb Halls respectively. Those Rubbb Halls have been set up by the central DPPC begin of September. Camp capacity is 1,500 to 2,000 for Mille and 3,000 to 4,000 in Logiya. The latter camp in Logiya further consists of several houses and rooms, some of which are presently used to accommodate 150 displaced Afar people. Both camps have a water tank which is supplied daily by a water tanker which gets water from bore holes nearby. Médecins Sans Frontières-France (MSF-France) has installed 20 sHallow latrines in Logiya camp where showers are presently also available. In Mille, latrines and showers are missing but for the time being sanitation seems adequate and fits the actual requirements in both camps.
In Adwa, people are sheltered in the compound and meeting hall of the Adwa municipality, where they are given three meals a day and medical attention. Sanitation facilities and water are also available. The municipality hall can shelter a couple of hundred people (exact number not available).
In Dessie, one Rubbb Hall has been installed at the ‘Hottie Ground’ near the Dessie-stadium. The Rubbb Hall has a capacity to shelter 350 people. The Zonal DPPD (Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Department) is actually also installing electricity and water for the ‘Hottie Ground’ camp. Before the arrival of the Rubb Hall, ‘returnees’ were sheltered in 11 different Kebele halls.
In Addis Ababa, the ‘Shiro Meda Assab’ camp, shelters 250 people who arrived end of August 1998 in the Kebele compound and hall. Water and sanitation facilities are available.
Presently assistance for people arriving from Eritrea has improved. In Afar Region, two relief teams from central DPPC are taking care of the camp administration and the processing of people returning from Eritrea. A medical team from the Ministry of Health in collaboration with Médecins Du Monde (MDM) in Mile and MSF-France for Logiya assists people from Eritrea who need medical care. MSF-France provides supplementary food for all malnourished children that are less than 80% weight-for-length. Faffa porridge and one cup of tea are given twice a day until the time of departure from the camp. This food is reported to provide a total of 1,200 kilocalories of energy. In addition, there is a new clinic in both locations of Mille and Logiya, built by MDM. And MSF-France is in charge of the hospital in Dubti around 20 km away from Logiya. Drugs are provided by central DPPC and both NGOs (MDM and MSF-France). In Adwa, Dessie and Addis Ababa medical assistance is guaranteed and should not pose serious problems as those camps are settled within towns with adequate infrastructure.
Food supply for people returning from Eritrea is a bottleneck in Afar region. Most of the time only biscuits and water are provided. Central DPPC’s planned feeding set up for the transit camps was not operating satisfactorily. Ideally each person in the camp should be provided with three meals a day consisting of tea, water, Ingera and additional ingredients such as Shiro Wot. The food should be prepared by contracted local restaurants and hotels. But these have problems to prepare sufficient food for all camp occupants. Afar is rather dry and poor and there is hardly enough food for the local population and the hundreds of lorry drivers passing by each day and who are having their meals in those local restaurants and hotels. This food problem may be one of the reasons why central DPPC authorities are trying to process ‘returnees’ as quick as possible so that they do not stay longer than necessary. In Dessie, Addis Ababa and reportedly in other locations as well, people are given mainly biscuits and a cash allowance with which all necessities have to be purchased by the camp occupants. This cash allowance amounts to around 4 to 5 Birr per person a day. But sometimes payments are delayed or cut due to lack of money.
3.5Settlement and reintegration
Choice of location for settlement and reintegration
Central DPPC office in Addis Ababa says there is free choice of location for settlement and reintegration to ‘returnees’. But this issue remains unclear. A number of ‘returnees’ interviewed in various locations declared that Ethiopian authorities, e.g. central DPPC representatives in Mille and Logiya as well as in other transit locations, register and dispatch people according their places of origin. Therefore, it seems unlikely that a family originating from Amhara Region will have the possibility to ask for reintegration other than in its Region of origin.
Ethiopian Nationals displaced from Eritrea in 1991