These are the causes which led us to leave the country
Hannan Abdullah
28th of October 2017
The United Kingdom
The most beautiful places in the world are those where parents, friends and loved ones live. In Eritrea, for decades, its nationals had dream of returning to the country even after decades of having to resort to neighbouring countries and even to America and Europe. No one wanted to live in the diaspora.
Moreover, hundreds of those Eritreans who were born in the Sudan, Ethiopia and other countries joined the Eritrean revolution, contributing to the declaration of the revolution against the Ethiopian occupation aimed at liberating the country and declaring independence. Not only that, but many youth and elderly people left their universities and jobs abroad and returned back to home to join the Eritrean Defence Forces, when the government called on citizens to defend the national sovereignty in May 1998 when Ethiopia declared an open war and threated to invade their beloved country.
In the era of the Ethiopian occupation and because of the scorched earth policy adopted by the successive Ethiopian regimes, many Eritreans found themselves forced to flee abroad for fear of their lives and to seek education and better opportunities for their children to live in dignity and peace.
Consequently, in a time of war and instability, it was justified and understood that the Eritrean citizen would abandon his country and seek shelter in other countries. But what happened to the situation after the withdrawal of the foreign occupier, whereas the conditions of citizens deteriorated more than before and caused hundreds of youths to flee the country in waves, similar to what happened during the wars with Ethiopia, but in higher scales and against all expectations.
Yes, the situation in Eritrea, until this moment, is so dire that many observers and analysts are puzzled. BUT, for us those who experienced the reality before and after the independence moment by moment, it was clear and understandable and we were not surprised at all. Without going into many details, the regime that ruled the country and still from the moment of the complete defeat of the Ethiopian army and the liberation of the country, did not rise to the level of simple ambition of the citizen in work and education and freedom of movement even within a single city.
As I am now reminded of how much we were suffering when we, females, moved between the neighborhoods and alleys of the city of Keren and as well we were afraid of the armed soldiers at the checkpoints between cities and towns until reaching Asmara on the high lands or Tessenei in the western part of Eritrea. The fear of rape, kidnapping and abuse by the security men who dealt with us was like enemies of citizens. Because of our fear of all forms of abuse, our families preferred to keep us at home or to marry us without consent, so to keep us from the oppression of the regime. As a result, many of my classmates were forced to quit going to school to become wives prematurely.
Therefore, in a hurry, with the hope of returning to this subject at later, I say at the moment about the causes behind the escape of people from Eritrea and in big numbers despite their real desire to refuse to live far away from it and longing for it,: these causes are:
-The first of these reasons, as I mentioned is the citizen's sense that his dignity is not protected,
-Secondly: the sense of individuals that no law protects them from violations of the security staff and the army,
-Thirdly: the lack of any opportunity to engage in any commercial activity of any kind because of the monopoly of the security apparatus for all economic activities, Fourthly: the boredom of people of empty political slogans, while not allowing for the exercise of multi-party programs,
-Finally, there is a suffocating living crisis with a high cost.
Hence, the aforementioned factors which are the direct results of the tyrannical regime`s wrong internal, regional and international policies, which led us and many Eritreans to leave the country as a strong sign of refusal to president Isaias Afeworki and its failed ruling.
Thanks until other writings soon.
1