THE VIEW FROM INSIDE ETHIOPIA'S ERITREAN REFUGEE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ADDIS ABABA 002749

NOFORN
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/22/2018
TAGS: PREF PREL PBTS MOPS ET ER CH
SUBJECT: THE VIEW FROM INSIDE ETHIOPIA'S ERITREAN REFUGEE
CAMPS

Classified By: CDA Deborah Malac. Reasons: 1.4(B)(D).


1. (C/NF) Summary. Acting RefCoord and PolOff visited the
Eritrean refugee camps at Shimelba and My-Ayni from September
15 to September 19 in Tigray, northern Ethiopia, and met with
Eritrean refugees, UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)
officials, Ethiopian Administration for Refugee/Returnee
Affairs (ARRA) officials, and NGO workers. UNCHR and ARRA
officials said that approximately 400-500 Eritrean refugees
were entering Ethiopia monthly, and that all new arrivals
were being sent to the newer camp at My-Ayni unless the
refugee already had family in Shimelba. They said that the
population of Shimelba was declining as a result of thousands
of refugees leaving on their own to seek opportunities
elsewhere. The population of My-Ayni was increasing with the
new arrivals, and could reach capacity within two years if
the current rate of Eritreans fleeing to Ethiopia continues.
UNHCR and ARRA officials said there was no Eritrean
opposition activity in the camps that they were aware of, but
Shimelba refugees insisted that the opposition controlled all
activity within the camp and was actively recruiting new
members from the camp population which is predominately male.
Kunama refugees said that the Kunama opposition, the
Democratic Movement for the Liberation of the Eritrean Kunama
(DMLEK),was against the U.S. resettlement program, and was
actively discouraging Kunama from participating by painting
life in the United States negatively. More generally in the
region, newly placed landmines on the roads remain a
continuing hazard as two people were killed and a third
person was wounded on September 15 when a commercial lorry
hit a landmine on the well traveled road between Shire and
Shiraro. Emboffs passed at least a dozen Ethiopian military
camps while traveling, and noticed minimal military activity
in the western border area. Lastly, EmbOffs observed a
strong Chinese presence in the region with an estimated
several hundred Chinese road engineers, many of whom were
working side by side with Ethiopian laborers. End Summary.

Eritrean Refugee Flow into Ethiopia Steady
--------------


2. (U) UNHCR and ARRA officials said that approximately
400-500 Eritrean refugees have been entering Ethiopia per
month on a consistent basis. The officials stated that once
refugees cross the border they are typically picked up by
Ethiopian military or police officials and then taken to one
of several collection points along the border. From the
collection points, ARRA transports all Eritrean refugees to
the registration site at Inda Baguna where they are screened
by ARRA and Ethiopian security officials. Once registration
is complete, all refugees are taken to the new camp at
My-Ayni unless they already have relatives at the Shimelba
camp.


3. (U) An ARRA official at Inda Baguna said that refugees
typically stay at the registration site for no more than
three days, but those who are perceived to be a threat stay
longer for additional screening. He said that a refugee
might be considered a threat if they can establish that a
refugee has a criminal background or if they are believed to
be a "subversive" of the Eritrean government. The official
declined to say what happened to a person if they were
determined to be subversive. ARRA maintains an office and
three small compounds throughout the small city of Inda
Baguna where refugees are housed. The refugees are
restricted to the compounds and not allowed to wander the
city. EmbOffs visited all four locations and observed that
each of the housing compounds was no more than a few small
rooms, too small for the number of occupants, with
wall-to-wall mattresses on a dirt floor.

Shimelba's Population Dwindling
--------------


4. (U) UNHCR officials in Shire said that with the U.S.
resettlement program, and the fact that not all Shimelba
residents would be resettled, the future of Shimelba was
uncertain. Nevertheless, the population of the camp was
continuing to decline because most new refugees were being
sent to My-Ayni, and thousands of refugees had left the camp
since the beginning of the year attempting to find better

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opportunities elsewhere on their own. Following a
revalidation of the camp population, UNCHR reported that as
of July 31 the population was down to 9,606 individuals from
an original estimate of 18,010 people. However, one refugee
thought that fewer people would leave the camp now that the
U.S. resettlement program had become public knowledge hoping
to be resettled.


5. (U) Shimelba's population is primarily divided between
Tigrinya and Kunama refugees, each with their own section of
the camp, with a small number of other minority groups. The
Tigrinya section includes what camp residents refer to as
"downtown" where industrious refugees have established income
generation activities that consisted primarily of well
stocked bars, cafes, pool houses, video shops, and grocery
kiosks. The camp is approximately 15 miles from the Eritrean
border, and is open with no security perimeter making
movement in and out of the camp easy and uncontrolled.

My-Ayni Expected to Grow Quickly
--------------


6. (U) UNCHR reported that as of July 31 the population of
My-Ayni, which was opened in May 2008, was 1,149 people, but
unofficially as of mid-September ARRA officials assessed that
the population exceeded 2,000 individuals. UNHCR estimated
that My-Ayni's capacity was somewhere between 9,000 and
10,000 individuals suggesting that with approximately 400-500
new arrivals a month the camp could reach capacity within two
years. My-Ayni's perimeter, like Shimelba's, is open, but
unlike Shimelba which is isolated, My-Ayni straddles a major
north-south artery making it easier for refugees to obtain
transport and leave the camp.

Eritrean Opposition in the Camps?
--------------


7. (C/NF) UNHCR officials declared that they were unaware
of any Eritrean opposition activity within Shimelba, though
one Protection Officer noted that some Tigrinya refugees had
requested urban relocation due to opposition harassment in
the camps. ARRA officials stated that opposition activity
within the camps was not permitted, but a handful of Shimelba
Kunama refugees insisted that, in fact, the opposition
"controlled" activity within camp and moved in and out
freely. They also alleged complicity between ARRA and the
Tigrinya and Kunama opposition. They said that the Kunama
opposition, DMLEK, ensured that all elected Kunama officials
to the refugee council were either DMLEK members or
sympathetic to the opposition. According to the refugees,
DMLEK used intimidation tactics to force compliance from
uncooperative refugees by threatening to use DMLEK's
"relationship" with both ARRA and UNHCR to ensure that the
offending individual "would never leave the camp." One
refugee, after refusing to join DMLEK, claimed he was
arrested by the Ethiopian police on a trumped up charge and
held for several weeks. Another refugee, who was a veteran
of both the Eritrean liberation struggle and the 1998-2000
border war, said that when he arrived in Shimelba, ARRA
offered to send him to Addis Ababa, and provide him with a
vehicle, if he agreed to work in the opposition's radio
station. When he refused he was told he would never be
allowed to leave, and that he would never be resettled.
Another refugee said that the largely Tigrinya "Sedeg'e"
opposition group tried to force him to join by telling him
that if he did not, he would never leave the camp. (Note:
Sedeg'e is also known as the Eritrean Revolutionary
Democratic Front (ERDF),and is one of the three groups that
joined together to form the Eritrean National Salvation Front
(ENSF). The DMLEK and the ENSF are both members of the
Eritrean Democratic Alliance (EDA). End note.)


8. (C/NF) The refugees said that armed persons could often
be seen in the camp. They said sometimes the armed persons
were local Tigrayan (i.e. Ethiopian) militia, but other times
the armed men were opposition. The refugees said that some
DMLEK members had family living in the camp and would come
and go regularly. (Note: PolOff saw several armed Tigrayan
militia walking through the camp at various times.)


9. (C/NF) PolOff could not find any Tigrinya refugees who

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would speak as openly as the Kunama, but the Kunama refugees
said that the Tigrinya were dominated by Tigrinya opposition
groups just as the Kunama were dominated by DMLEK. The
Kunama refugees asserted that some Tigrinya refugees
regularly left the camp to receive military training for
short periods of time, and then would return. At one point
during a conversation between PolOff and contacts in the
camp, the contacts visibly stiffened, and warned PolOff that
they were under observation by what they termed as a
"politically active" Tigrinya refugee.

Kunama Opposition Against Resettlement
--------------


10. (C/NF) The Kunama refugees also said that DMLEK was
opposed to resettlement of the Kunama refugees, and
therefore, pressuring people not to resettle. The refugees
stated that DMLEK wanted the people to stay to be used as a
resource, and wanted the young men to join their organization
to fight Eritrea. They said that DMLEK was spreading
misinformation about life in the United States including
showing the movie "Roots," alleging that the Kunama would be
treated like slaves in America. One refugee noted that in
the last year, positive reports from Kunama who had already
resettled were beginning to counter DMLEK's negative message.

Newly Placed Landmines a Continuing Danger
--------------


11. (C) On September 15, a commercial lorry detonated a
probable anti-tank landmine at 08:00 hrs on the road between
Shire and Shiraro killing two people in the truck and
critically wounding a third passenger. The mine was placed
within one kilometer of an Ethiopian military camp, and local
security officials assessed that the mine was placed the
night before, intended to catch early morning military
traffic. No group has yet to claim responsibility for the
attack, but local security officials speculated that Eritrean
supported insurgents were responsible. UNHCR officials said
that the Ethiopian military uses local Tigrayan militia to
check the roads each morning for mines, but the militia's
methods are believed to be crude and far from comprehensive.
An ARRA official at Shimelba told PolOff that whoever was
placing the mines did not want to close the road, but simply
to remind Ethiopian authorities that the insurgents continue
to operate. The official also criticized UNHCR's security
practices noting that UNHCR makes too many unnecessary trips
between Shire and Shiraro, and drives too early in the
morning before the roads have been checked. The September 15
incident is the first reported landmine detonation in this
area since December 2007, but it is possible that previous
incidents could have gone unreported.

Ethiopian Military Activity Minimal
--------------


12. (C/NF) During the course of the week, EmbOffs passed at
least a dozen Ethiopian military camps in what is one of
Ethiopia's most sensitive border areas near the disputed town
of Badme. EmbOffs observed minimal military activity in the
camps where soldiers could be seen playing volleyball and
soccer throughout the day, and little military traffic on the
roads. Soldiers walking along the road, and in village bars
and cafes, were most often not in full uniform, and engaged
in recreational activities. Local NGO workers said that the
area had been generally quiet with no unusual military
activity in recent weeks.

Chinese Flags Flying in Tigray
--------------


13. (U) While traveling between Axum and the refugee camps,
EmbOffs observed Chinese engineers working along side
Ethiopian laborers on the roads, and in the various Chinese
worker camps and road construction way stations EmbOffs saw
People's Republic of China flags flying sometimes alone, and
sometimes along side the Ethiopian flag. For example, every
few kilometers between Axum and Shiraro Chinese engineers
were building culverts and grading and widening the roads.
On multiple occasions EmbOffs also saw likely Chinese
engineers being driven around in Ethiopian military Toyota

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Landcruisers. As a testament to the number of Chinese in
Tigray, many of the children in the villages called out
"China, China" when Emboffs passed by, rather than the
typical Amharic "ferengi," meaning foreigner.

Comment
--------------


14. (C/NF) The presence of Eritrean opposition activity in
the camps was not surprising. The defensive tone in EmbOffs
discussions with UNHCR, ARRA, and international NGO officials
suggests that they had a vested interest in denying any
knowledge of it, otherwise they might be required to address
opposition harassment of refugees. The visit was yet another
reminder that a priority of ARRA's refugee program was to
address Ethiopia's national security concerns with Eritrea.
Post cannot confirm complicity between ARRA and the
opposition groups, but we do note that ARRA, as an
organization, falls under the purview of the Ethiopian
National Intelligence Security Service. End Comment.
MALAC