I dream of running away
To somewhere where I’m not known or recognized
Where life seems tolerable, and all my past is forgotten
Where the grass is as green as it could ever get
And the tunnel is just beaming with light
I dream, because I know it’s nowhere to be found
At least not in this dunya that is riddled with hate
So I close my eyes and envision...
A place larger than life, besieged by beauty
Overwhelmed by peace, love and acceptance
It knows no sadness or tears, no anger or fury
No confusion, disappointment, hatred or ire
Just peace, love and acceptance
But before I know it, it’s time to wake up.
Friday, September 23, 2011
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Refugees in Eastern Sudan: On a Transitory Route to Freedom
Over the past 40 years, thousands of refugees from Eritrea and Ethiopia have been flocking in to Eastern Sudan – a region where the Taka Mountains with their rocky, majestic peaks are located. Fleeing grim political, economic and social conditions, they stream every month into neighboring Sudan, which is known for its open-door policy on refugees.
With most camps located in Eastern Sudan, most refugees opt to settle in camps situated in the state of Kassala, while some relocate to Khartoum in pursuit of employment and better opportunities. For many of them, Eastern Sudan is merely the first among many stops in a lengthy migration process and is no more than a transitory route to freedom.
The First Arrivals and the New Influx
Up until 2004, Sudan hosted over one million refugees who came during the First Eritrean Civil War in the 1970’s. Over the years, many of the displaced Eritreans either returned to their homelands, or moved on to other neighboring countries. Those who were left behind or chose to remain – numbering around 60,000 refugees, with 60% of them being children – re-built their lives in refugee camps and successfully integrated into the surrounding community. Their integration came naturally as they share the same background as the Sudanese locals, speak the same language and practice the same religion – Islam. Along with their children, who were born in Eastern Sudan, these refugees consider themselves to be authentic Sudanese.
Since 2005, another wave of refugees have been introduced to the region. The Shegerab Refugee Camp, often referred to as ‘Little Eritrea’, is a camp that sits at the end of an unpaved road in Eastern Sudan, and receives 1,600 to 1,800 new arrivals every month. The majority of these new arrivals are young and educated Eritreans, Ethiopians as well as Somalis between the age of 18-25 who flee military regimes and consider Sudan their launching pad towards a new life.
The rest come from the Eritrean Highlands and are Christians who do not speak Arabic and do not share the same background as the Sudanese people – and hence they do not encounter the same ease of integration as the first arrivals. They face difficulties blending in with the community, and shortly after their arrival they cross over to other countries like Egypt, the Middle East, Israel and Europe in a quest for acceptance and better opportunities.
Until recently, most of the refugees were young students and national service escapees. More recently, refugees include teachers, soldiers, civil servants, army commanders and professionals of all ages. Each one of them has horrific story to relate – stories of arrest, torture, witnessing the death of others, fear and escape. Not only are these stories brought into the camps, but sometimes the same realities are repeated too with arrests, robbery, rape, violence and harsh living conditions all featuring in the daily lives in the camp.
The UNHCR and the Refugee Commission
For the last 40 years, UNHCR – the UN refugee agency - has been funding and providing most of the basic requirements at the refugee camps, including facilities such water, sanitation, schools, clinics and shelter.
“For the past 40 years, Sudan has been kind to refugees with its open-door policy. What we, the UNHCR do is step up our efforts together with the Sudanese Refugee Commission to grant refugees citizenship. Many of them have been living in Sudan for decades and their children were born here... they feel Sudanese, they behave Sudanese, they should be identified as Sudanese,” said Felix Ross, a Senior Protection Officer at the UNHCR in Kassala speaking to “Islamonline”.
“We believe refugees contribute a lot to the economy of Sudan. They often work as waiters and drivers, and the women take up jobs as housemaids. They are part of the economy here, and a lot of them are young, intelligent and educated,” he added.
Compared to that of exercising one’s right of return, Sudanization it seems is the better alternative. Refugees who flee in order to escape National Service (i.e. military service which is mandatory on men and women), and political repression are often subjected to imprisonment, life imprisonment and may even face death upon their return. The UNHCR and the Sudanese government have expressed the view that the penalty accorded to returnees is unproportional to the act and identify it as a human rights violation; and therefore acknowledge their status as refugees.
Another phenomenon that has been on the rise lately is the abduction of refugees, who cross over to Khartoum. These abductions are carried out by smugglers who are heavily armed criminal groups, who often abduct the refugees and demand ransoms ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 from the refugees’ relatives. Hostages are mistreated, beaten and threatened, and the women are raped. They are also often killed.
“We see such cases 20-30 times a month, but we believe we only see the tip of the iceberg” said Ross to “Islamonline” and added, “It has become an industry for these criminal groups to make a lot of money out of these abductions, and we are trying our best to combat them”.
In addition to UNHCR, the Sudanese Refugee Commission offers numerous services to refugees. Funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), it provides them with aid such as medical assistance and scholarship programs.
In the capital
In the capital Khartoum, thousands of refugees are packed into the popular neighborhoods of Al-Daim, Al-Gireif and Al-Sahafa. They do odd jobs and many of the young women make a living, cleaning houses.
Abdelrahman drives an amjaad (local rental cab) around Khartoum to make ends meet. “I came from Eritrea 10 years ago because I didn’t want to enroll in the army. If the government allowed us to continue our education and have jobs I would never have left. I do okay in Khartoum and there’s a large community of Eritreans here, but I’m just waiting for the arrival of a new regime in Eritrea so I can go back and see my family. I miss them,” Abdelrahman said to “Islamonline”.
F.A. was a police officer in Ethiopia, but he fled to Sudan in 1995 due to problems with the regime. He is now living and working in Khartoum. “I have a good job and a good life compared to other refugees. I consider myself very lucky. I went into exile because of the military regime in my country. Ethiopia claims to be a peaceful and democratic country, it does not even recognize that there are so many Ethiopian refugees around the world,” he told “Islamonline”.
“Generally I feel protected, but I feel the Sudanese people are the ones protecting me and my people, not the government, not the UNHCR or any other organization. Sudan is my home, I feel very comfortable here even though it is very difficult for me to be away from my family. It has been 16 years since I left, and I am waiting for an opportunity to arise for me to go back. If I return now, I will be considered a political criminal and will be persecuted for deserting the military,” he remarked.
This article was first published on IslamOnline.net
TweetWith most camps located in Eastern Sudan, most refugees opt to settle in camps situated in the state of Kassala, while some relocate to Khartoum in pursuit of employment and better opportunities. For many of them, Eastern Sudan is merely the first among many stops in a lengthy migration process and is no more than a transitory route to freedom.
The First Arrivals and the New Influx
Up until 2004, Sudan hosted over one million refugees who came during the First Eritrean Civil War in the 1970’s. Over the years, many of the displaced Eritreans either returned to their homelands, or moved on to other neighboring countries. Those who were left behind or chose to remain – numbering around 60,000 refugees, with 60% of them being children – re-built their lives in refugee camps and successfully integrated into the surrounding community. Their integration came naturally as they share the same background as the Sudanese locals, speak the same language and practice the same religion – Islam. Along with their children, who were born in Eastern Sudan, these refugees consider themselves to be authentic Sudanese.
Since 2005, another wave of refugees have been introduced to the region. The Shegerab Refugee Camp, often referred to as ‘Little Eritrea’, is a camp that sits at the end of an unpaved road in Eastern Sudan, and receives 1,600 to 1,800 new arrivals every month. The majority of these new arrivals are young and educated Eritreans, Ethiopians as well as Somalis between the age of 18-25 who flee military regimes and consider Sudan their launching pad towards a new life.
The rest come from the Eritrean Highlands and are Christians who do not speak Arabic and do not share the same background as the Sudanese people – and hence they do not encounter the same ease of integration as the first arrivals. They face difficulties blending in with the community, and shortly after their arrival they cross over to other countries like Egypt, the Middle East, Israel and Europe in a quest for acceptance and better opportunities.
Until recently, most of the refugees were young students and national service escapees. More recently, refugees include teachers, soldiers, civil servants, army commanders and professionals of all ages. Each one of them has horrific story to relate – stories of arrest, torture, witnessing the death of others, fear and escape. Not only are these stories brought into the camps, but sometimes the same realities are repeated too with arrests, robbery, rape, violence and harsh living conditions all featuring in the daily lives in the camp.
The UNHCR and the Refugee Commission
For the last 40 years, UNHCR – the UN refugee agency - has been funding and providing most of the basic requirements at the refugee camps, including facilities such water, sanitation, schools, clinics and shelter.
“For the past 40 years, Sudan has been kind to refugees with its open-door policy. What we, the UNHCR do is step up our efforts together with the Sudanese Refugee Commission to grant refugees citizenship. Many of them have been living in Sudan for decades and their children were born here... they feel Sudanese, they behave Sudanese, they should be identified as Sudanese,” said Felix Ross, a Senior Protection Officer at the UNHCR in Kassala speaking to “Islamonline”.
“We believe refugees contribute a lot to the economy of Sudan. They often work as waiters and drivers, and the women take up jobs as housemaids. They are part of the economy here, and a lot of them are young, intelligent and educated,” he added.
Compared to that of exercising one’s right of return, Sudanization it seems is the better alternative. Refugees who flee in order to escape National Service (i.e. military service which is mandatory on men and women), and political repression are often subjected to imprisonment, life imprisonment and may even face death upon their return. The UNHCR and the Sudanese government have expressed the view that the penalty accorded to returnees is unproportional to the act and identify it as a human rights violation; and therefore acknowledge their status as refugees.
Another phenomenon that has been on the rise lately is the abduction of refugees, who cross over to Khartoum. These abductions are carried out by smugglers who are heavily armed criminal groups, who often abduct the refugees and demand ransoms ranging from $1,000 to $10,000 from the refugees’ relatives. Hostages are mistreated, beaten and threatened, and the women are raped. They are also often killed.
“We see such cases 20-30 times a month, but we believe we only see the tip of the iceberg” said Ross to “Islamonline” and added, “It has become an industry for these criminal groups to make a lot of money out of these abductions, and we are trying our best to combat them”.
In addition to UNHCR, the Sudanese Refugee Commission offers numerous services to refugees. Funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), it provides them with aid such as medical assistance and scholarship programs.
In the capital
In the capital Khartoum, thousands of refugees are packed into the popular neighborhoods of Al-Daim, Al-Gireif and Al-Sahafa. They do odd jobs and many of the young women make a living, cleaning houses.
Abdelrahman drives an amjaad (local rental cab) around Khartoum to make ends meet. “I came from Eritrea 10 years ago because I didn’t want to enroll in the army. If the government allowed us to continue our education and have jobs I would never have left. I do okay in Khartoum and there’s a large community of Eritreans here, but I’m just waiting for the arrival of a new regime in Eritrea so I can go back and see my family. I miss them,” Abdelrahman said to “Islamonline”.
F.A. was a police officer in Ethiopia, but he fled to Sudan in 1995 due to problems with the regime. He is now living and working in Khartoum. “I have a good job and a good life compared to other refugees. I consider myself very lucky. I went into exile because of the military regime in my country. Ethiopia claims to be a peaceful and democratic country, it does not even recognize that there are so many Ethiopian refugees around the world,” he told “Islamonline”.
“Generally I feel protected, but I feel the Sudanese people are the ones protecting me and my people, not the government, not the UNHCR or any other organization. Sudan is my home, I feel very comfortable here even though it is very difficult for me to be away from my family. It has been 16 years since I left, and I am waiting for an opportunity to arise for me to go back. If I return now, I will be considered a political criminal and will be persecuted for deserting the military,” he remarked.
This article was first published on IslamOnline.net
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