CAMEL AIRWAYS: IS THERE HUMAN SMUGGLING IN

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASMARA 000323 SIPDIS SIPDIS LONDON FOR AFRICA WATCHERS PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/06/2016 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PINR PREL CVIS ER SUBJECT: CAMEL AIRWAYS: IS THERE HUMAN SMUGGLING IN ERITREA? CLASSIFIED BY: AMB Scott H. DeLisi, for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) As the situation in Eritrea further deteriorates and GSE restrictions tighten, increasingly Eritreans desperately search for a way out. To avoid national service and conscription into the army, many Eritreans are trying to leave. A recent report from the western region of Eritrea regarding a public execution of two human smugglers, reports of military involvement in smuggling, a rise in the reported cost of getting across the border and increasing scrutiny on the whereabouts of Eritrean citizens focuses attention on the potential for an increase in human smuggling in Eritrea. A PUBLIC EXECUTION -------------- ¶2. (C) Sometime in the middle of March, two individuals were reportedly executed in the public square in a village near Teseney in western Eritrea. Poloff spoke with a third country national who had received information that two individuals from the region were apprehended allegedly by military personnel near the border with Sudan. They were brought to a village near Teseney and in front of the village elders accused of smuggling an estimated forty people into Sudan. Immediately following the public accusation, the alleged military personnel forced the two individuals into the nearby public square and shot them. ¶3. (C) The motivation for the execution of the two alleged smugglers remains unclear. Were the alleged smugglers denied due process and killed because they were breaking Eritrean law or was it because they were in competition with the military's alleged smuggling business or did not pay a cut to the military? Or were they not smugglers at all, just two young men attempting to leave Eritrea illegally and caught at the border? THE SMUGGLER'S ONE WAY TICKET: TO WHERE AND HOW MUCH -------------- -------------- ¶4. (C) With extremely tight restrictions on the legal issuance of exit visas, many Eritreans are looking for another means of leaving the country. Locally called "camel airways", the cost per person rose reportedly from 10,000 nakfa (USD 665) to 35,000 nakfa (USD 2334) in the past two years. Private citizens, primarily locals in the border regions, and military personnel operate the smuggling networks, taking individuals to Sudan and Ethiopia. UNMEE Human Rights Coordinator reports GSE military personnel as key players in the network, alleging higher ranking officers operate as coordinators of the smuggling and the rank and file do the work. In some cases for reportedly 50,000 nakfa (3334 USD),the military will pick you up in Asmara and take you to the unguarded border crossing - a non-stop routing. ¶5. (C) Most individuals, however, will take public transportation as far as they can either to Teseney in the west or to Nakfa in the north and cross into Sudan with the assistance of a local guide/smuggler. For those crossing to Ethiopia, Senafe or Mendefera may serve as starting points for the journey through the heavily militarized border region. UNHCR reports a monthly average of 500 new Eritrean refugees arriving in IDP camps in Ethiopia and over 700 per month into Sudan. At this rate an estimate of 14,000 Eritreans are leaving per year and the number is probably higher as many do not pass through the IDP camps in Sudan and Eritrea. ¶6. (C) Crossing the border to Sudan or Ethiopia is extremely risky. Getting caught will almost certainly lead to incarceration, as many are escaping national service. In addition, several Eritrean locals and the UNMEE Human Rights Coordinator reported to PolOff that individuals caught by military personnel or police while attempting to cross the border to both Ethiopia and Sudan are shot. EXIT VISAS: THE ONLY LEGAL OPTION -------------- ¶7. (C) In order to legally depart Eritrea, citizens are required to obtain exit permits from the Ministry of Immigration usually with a one month validity. Increasingly difficult to obtain, conversations buzz about immigration officials accepting "additional and unpublished fees" aka bribes as high as 100,000 nakfa(6650 USD) in the issuing of exit visas. While the age fluctuates regularly, presently the GSE refuses to issue exit visas to children over the age of five, for fear these families will not return. ¶8. (C) Recently an Eritrean told PolOff of a 65 year old man who frequently travels to Europe and the US to visit family, including his wife who works in Europe. In the past he would receive an exit visa valid for multiple trips in the course of a year. Recently, he has had to apply for an exit visa for each trip and, for every request, prove through sworn affidavits by himself and three friends that he remained married. With each statement the three friends grow increasingly nervous, for if he does not return they worry the GSE will hold them accountable for his departure from Eritrea. Immigration required an FSN local staff obtain a signed document from her husband as one of the requirements for applying. ¶9. (C) Combined with the pressure to obtain exit visas, there appears to be increasing scrutiny paid to Eritreans applying for US visas. A recent DV winner, who has yet to even be issued a visa, received a veiled threat from an Eritrean official. The tone of the threat, given as advice reminding the DV winner that given the situation in Eritrea, "you never know what might happen to you or your family", occurred after the DV winner initiated the process at the US Embassy but before he had inquired about exit visas. IN ASMARA REGISTRATION BEGINS AGAIN -------------- ¶10. (C) In Asmara the week of March 27, the GSE directed the district offices to conduct registration again. Completed about five or six months ago, the district office must now repeat the counting and registration of their residents. Given that the registration was just done, speculation arises that the GSE is seeking to identify who remains in Eritrea and who has recently departed. In a practice begun last year, but according to an Eritrean judge not a written law, parents are detained and asked to pay 50,000 nakfa fine or bail for each child that has illegally left Eritrea. COMMENT -------------- ¶11. (C) Comment: Alone the reported public execution of the alleged human smugglers is disturbing and offers another example of Eritrea's disregard for human rights. Yet taken within the increasing number of Eritreans attempting to depart the country by any means necessary, the corruption and human rights related problems, the commerce of human smuggling may also grow. The probability of normalized relations between Sudan and Eritrea and the GOS deployment of troops in Eastern Sudan combined with the possible demarcation of the border with Ethiopia may also affect the flow of Eritreans across the border. Given the political tensions, repressive society and the crumbling economy, those Eritreans who can find ways to leave will continue to do so. End Comment. DeLisi