AN ERITREAN IN SUDAN

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASMARA 000197 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/E AND DRL LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/21/2019 TAGS: PREF PREL PGOV SU ER SUBJECT: AN ERITREAN IN SUDAN REF: ASMARA 196 Classified By: Ambassador Ronald K. McMuellen for reason 1.4(d). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Nafa Ashie, an Eritrean refugee in Sudan, fled his home country in 2005 to escape the Isaias regime. He explained that during his seven years of national service, he saw little opportunity for Eritrea's youth and eventually decided to flee the country. His description of national service almost a decade ago and his flight from Eritrea are substantially similar to those experiences today. End Summary. NATIONAL SERVICE: GOING NOWHERE -------------- ¶2. (C) Nafa began his national service in 1998, just before the Border War with Ethiopia. He told Poloff national service was not mandatory at this time, but was one of the few options available, even for college graduates. Nafa started as a military communicator near the Sudan-Eritrea border, rotating to a variety of positions over a seven-year period. He had no say in his duty station or position. After the first few rotations, he realized national service would be an endless commitment with no chance for promotion or development of marketable skills. Low pay ($3.33 per month at the time) and travel restrictions contributed to the abysmal conditions of his service. ESCAPING FROM ERITREA -------------- ¶3. (C) According to Nafa, most Eritreans who flee to Sudan pay large sums of cash, upwards of 50,000 nakfa ($3,333),to be transported from Eritrea to the Sudanese border city of Kassala. Eritrean troops posted along the border and border-straddling members of the Rashaida ethnic group are often complicit in these deals, taking bribes from potential escapees in order to assist with the smuggling operation. Nafa chose a much cheaper route. When it came time for his two-week home leave, he requested that his travel permit include the border town of Golej. His commanding officer hinted that he knew what Nafa was planning, but issued the permit nonetheless. Nafa traveled to the border and made his way by foot to Sudan. He stated Eritrean troops along the way did not stop him and were mostly sympathetic to conscripts fleeing national service. Nafa stated that his parents were not forced to pay the usual 50,000 nakfa fine as it was only applicable to those whose children leave while directly under their parents' care. Once in Sudan, Nafa stopped by a UNHCR refugee camp to register and continued on to Khartoum, a process that more and more Eritreans are following (Reftel). LIFE IN KHARTOUM VS. LIFE IN ASMARA -------------- ¶5. (C) Nafa is now a taxi driver in Khartoum, working six hours a day and earning between $300 and $1,200 per month, with rent expense of about $200. He's doing well enough to send remittances to his father, a security guard and former independence fighter earning $40 a month in Asmara. Although Nafa would like to return to Eritrea at some point, he stated he will not repatriate "without political change." ¶6. (C) COMMENT: Post has reported increasing signs of desperation and suicide among Eritrea's youth whose future is as bleak now as Nafa's was seven years ago. Young people continue to flee in large numbers as the political and economic situations deteriorate. Without any sign of change, stories like Nafa's will continue to be commonplace. MCMULLEN