Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ASMARA197
2009-06-25 14:09:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Asmara
how-toVZCZCXRO8889 RR RUEHROV DE RUEHAE #0197 1761409 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 251409Z JUN 09 FM AMEMBASSY ASMARA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0341 INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC RUMICEA/JICCENT MACDILL AFB FL RUEPADJ/CJTF-HOA J2X CAMP LEMONIER DJ RHRMDAB/COMUSNAVCENT RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
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).
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
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