From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Tue Jul 08 2008 - 09:41:55 EDT
Refugee Voices: No Longer Stateless, but Still in Limbo
07/07/2008
A centuries-long history of unity and separation continues to vex Ethiopia
and Eritrea. Between May 1998 and June 2000, the two countries engaged in a
border war in which tens of thousands of combatants were killed and some
650,000 civilians displaced. The Ethiopian government denationalized
citizens of Eritrean origin, and expelled 75,000 of them from the country,
alleging that they posed a state security risk and that by voting in
Eritrea's 1993 referendum for independence they had claimed Eritrean
citizenship, essentially depriving them of Ethiopian citizenship.
Individuals of Ethiopian origin were also expelled from Eritrea.
People rendered stateless by denationalization policies still seek solutions
outside Ethiopia and Eritrea. One man who managed to reacquire citizenship
before leaving Ethiopia now resides in Kenya and recently told his story to
Refugees International. The account presented below is devoid of details to
protect the individual's identity and that of his family and friends.
"I was born and raised in Ethiopia, but my parents are Eritrean," Tesfay
explained as he tried to describe the complex background of his current
situation. "My family was the first to come from Eritrea and other relatives
followed us, but everyone, including my grandparents, was sent back during
the war. We were the only ones who stayed in Ethiopia." Today, despite a
sense of relative safety in Kenya, Tesfay is still cautious about offering
details about his past or present situation. "When the war broke out, we
became stateless. We did not belong to Eritrea or Ethiopia."
Tesfay believes that it was his close association with a church and the
family's non-political, church-related activities that saved them and others
from being deported to Eritrea at that time. Nonetheless, Tesfay's mother
was told not to come back to work. His father was already retired. At
Tesfay's workplace, it was not long before the boss started to become uneasy
after government representatives started calling to ask questions about
Tesfay. After some time, the young employee felt compelled to quit his job
and initially went back to school.
"We were busy with church, but there were so many screenings to make sure we
were not supporting the Eritrean government. Police came to our house and
watched us even at church, though I didn't know it at the time. We had made
investments before the war, such as in trucking and transport, but so many
of our things were confiscated. People sent back to Eritrea, who used to be
professional, are poor. The ones who stayed are getting poorer and poorer.
They depend on remittances from friends or relatives abroad." But even in
Kenya it is not possible for urban refugees, whether recognized or not, to
work in the formal sector.
"I was born and raised in Ethiopia, so I think like an Ethiopian," Tesfay
explained. "Though deep down inside I am Eritrean. Deep down Ethiopians
don't feel what I feel." He stressed the psychological and sociological
difficulty he faced during and after the border conflict. "I didn't know who
to believe. I was torn apart. I lost several of my uncles during the war. It
was a very difficult and tense time. The head thinks one thing, the heart
feels another. I lived like that for six or seven years."
"At that time one had to blend in or disappear," Tesfay continued.
"Eritreans in Addis used to live in one neighborhood, but those houses are
government houses now. Today Eritreans are dispersed in Addis and are rarely
able to meet in groups. But in the last three or four years, we have been
allowed to get citizenship. Now I have an Ethiopian passport, but both my
passport and my identification card states that my origin is Eritrean. Many
Eritrean people in Ethiopia have identification cards like mine, but if
there was an accident or explosion, they might be arrested or detained.
Those who moved to Canada or the U.S. are OK."
Before the war, Tesfay was engaged and planning to marry an Eritrean woman.
"We were pledged to each other, but couldn't marry," Tesfay recalled. "My
fiancée couldn't come to Ethiopia, and I couldn't go to Eritrea." He
continued, "If I went there I would be forced into military service, so I
stayed in Addis Ababa. People from the church supported our family. But the
situation was nearly unbearable. Most Eritreans in Ethiopia would leave if
they had the chance. I was able to get citizenship and then leave the
country though it meant I had to abandon my family. The good news is that my
wife is now with me. But that is a very l-o-n-g story."
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