‘ It remains to be seen whether this crisis will change attitudes’ Professor Gaim Kibreab left Eritrea as a young man, fleeing first to Sudan and then to Sweden where he gained refugee status and completed his PhD. He is course director of LSBU’s MSc in Refugee Studies
Before the current migrant crisis, Eritreans were the most prominent group of asylum-
seekers coming to Europe. In absolute terms, the numbers were not so huge but as a proportion of the population they were enormous. There are around 6.5 million people in Eritrea, and the diaspora is about 1 million. Eritrea is a dictatorship, and until the government relinquishes its grip on every aspect of life in the country, people will continue to flee. ‘The main driver for people
leaving the country is the draconian National Service regime, which came in after the victorious fight for independence from Ethiopia. Service is open-ended, and conscripts get pocket money. Once you’re in, it’s almost impossible to leave, and anyone who tries is subject to inhuman treatment. ‘For these individuals, it’s
a clear violation of their human rights, and the impact on the country as a whole is catastrophic: if everyone of working age is doing National Service, the economy collapses. Under these circumstances, the natural response is to
flee. People are travelling up across the Sahara and into Libya and across the Mediterranean, taking huge risks along the way. ‘In a way the solution to
the Eritrean crisis is very simple: the government needs to change. The country can survive as an independent entity. Yes, it’s poor, but the people are dynamic and enterprising. The big challenge will be in demobilising the 500,000- plus conscripts, who are armed and disaffected. They need education, training and support to start businesses. And you need to create an environment that allows the diaspora to be engaged so that the country can benefit from their capital, knowledge and experience.
‘Similarly, for the countries
that are the source of the current wave, like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, the first part of the solution must be to tackle the problems at home, so that people no longer need to flee. In many of these countries, Western intervention has failed to deliver the promised benefits. Take Iraq, once the most prosperous country in the Middle East. Is it a more stable place post-Saddam? Ditto Libya. Meanwhile in Syria, I believe the West must engage with Assad. We have to be prepared to compromise on that. ‘The second part involves
the transit countries, such as Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey and Sudan. They need support to develop clear policies
for dealing with displaced people, and substantial aid. And third, we need greater cooperation within the EU and a commitment to accepting our fair share of asylum-seekers. That’s something the UK is failing to do at the moment, and we’re not alone in that. ‘There is no doubt that
the current crisis is raising awareness, but it remains to be seen whether that will spark a change in attitude. I was in Calais over Christmas, and it’s shocking to see such misery and suffering, particularly in an affluent, developed country. It just goes to prove how impossible it is for these people to live in their own countries. They wouldn’t be here otherwise.’
lsbu.ac.uk/alumni | South Bank_21
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