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| Horrors of Eritrea Met With a Shrug | Horrors of Eritrea Met With a Shrug |
| (4 days later) | |
| PARIS — Thousands of Eritreans flee their homeland each month, many arriving in Europe to an uncertain welcome, with hundreds dying in the process. Biniam Simon, a 43-year-old journalist in exile, has a message for Eritreans back home who are considering the journey. | |
| Stay home. | Stay home. |
| “We always ask people to stay home because escaping is not the solution,” said Mr. Simon, whose daily broadcasts are beamed back home on Radio Erena, an independent radio station based here. “The government is the problem, and leaving doesn’t solve it.” | “We always ask people to stay home because escaping is not the solution,” said Mr. Simon, whose daily broadcasts are beamed back home on Radio Erena, an independent radio station based here. “The government is the problem, and leaving doesn’t solve it.” |
| Mr. Simon’s message comes as more and more Eritrean migrants make the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean. Last year, according to the International Organization for Migration, Eritreans accounted for 23 percent of the 170,100 migrants who arrived in Italy by sea — an astonishing proportion for a young country on the Horn of Africa with a population of 6.3 million. | Mr. Simon’s message comes as more and more Eritrean migrants make the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean. Last year, according to the International Organization for Migration, Eritreans accounted for 23 percent of the 170,100 migrants who arrived in Italy by sea — an astonishing proportion for a young country on the Horn of Africa with a population of 6.3 million. |
| It is not hard to understand why the exodus from Eritrea has been running at an estimated 5,000 a month. In a devastating report issued June 8, a United Nations commission of inquiry confirmed that Eritrea has one of the worst records of human rights abuses anywhere in the world. | It is not hard to understand why the exodus from Eritrea has been running at an estimated 5,000 a month. In a devastating report issued June 8, a United Nations commission of inquiry confirmed that Eritrea has one of the worst records of human rights abuses anywhere in the world. |
| Since it declared independence after a 1993 referendum, Eritrea has been ruled by one man, President Isaias Afwerki, who when asked when he would hold the country’s first election, said “never.” Its judiciary and news media are firmly under his control; torture and sexual violence are rampant; and its young people are conscripted into national service of indefinite duration. | Since it declared independence after a 1993 referendum, Eritrea has been ruled by one man, President Isaias Afwerki, who when asked when he would hold the country’s first election, said “never.” Its judiciary and news media are firmly under his control; torture and sexual violence are rampant; and its young people are conscripted into national service of indefinite duration. |
| Mr. Simon was himself conscripted in 1994, and many of those with whom he served are still locked into the system of forced labor, 21 years later. When he found himself, as a journalist, under investigation on spurious charges, he was able to make a dash for freedom in January 2007 with the help of the Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders. | Mr. Simon was himself conscripted in 1994, and many of those with whom he served are still locked into the system of forced labor, 21 years later. When he found himself, as a journalist, under investigation on spurious charges, he was able to make a dash for freedom in January 2007 with the help of the Paris-based group Reporters Without Borders. |
| Two years later, he set up Radio Erena, which now has four journalists in Paris and a network of 14 correspondents reporting from several countries. Radio Erena’s daily two-hour broadcast — covering a range of cultural and political news — regularly seeks out migrants to tell their harrowing stories, but still Mr. Simon urges those at home to stay. | Two years later, he set up Radio Erena, which now has four journalists in Paris and a network of 14 correspondents reporting from several countries. Radio Erena’s daily two-hour broadcast — covering a range of cultural and political news — regularly seeks out migrants to tell their harrowing stories, but still Mr. Simon urges those at home to stay. |
| “When the young people leave, old people and children are left on their own, with no one to support them,” he said. “The family is collapsing. And looking at the bigger picture, there are no young people left to oppose the government.” | “When the young people leave, old people and children are left on their own, with no one to support them,” he said. “The family is collapsing. And looking at the bigger picture, there are no young people left to oppose the government.” |
| Mr. Simon prides himself on being an independent journalist, a title that to him means simply telling the truth, something that is impossible to do inside Eritrea. “It is a dictatorship,” he said flatly. “I don’t have to be in the opposition to say that.” | Mr. Simon prides himself on being an independent journalist, a title that to him means simply telling the truth, something that is impossible to do inside Eritrea. “It is a dictatorship,” he said flatly. “I don’t have to be in the opposition to say that.” |
| The plight of Eritrean migrants made headlines in France this month after the police broke up encampments in central Paris, dispersing almost 400 people, many of them Eritreans, and many of them on their way to Britain. | The plight of Eritrean migrants made headlines in France this month after the police broke up encampments in central Paris, dispersing almost 400 people, many of them Eritreans, and many of them on their way to Britain. |
| Radio Erena covered these events, but to Mr. Simon, who has been tracking the Eritrean migration for years, they barely count as news. | Radio Erena covered these events, but to Mr. Simon, who has been tracking the Eritrean migration for years, they barely count as news. |
| “We are more focused on the people in Sudan, Ethiopia and Libya who are in a much worse situation,” he said. | |
| Besides the 357,000 Eritreans now living in United Nations-administered refugee camps in neighboring Sudan and Ethiopia, there were 34,400 Eritreans in Israel as of last March, with 464 living in detention centers under conditions ruled unconstitutional by the Israeli Supreme Court. | |
| The hardship of exile and the trauma of the exodus are an old story for Radio Erena, which began with coverage of the kidnapping of Eritreans by criminal gangs in the Sinai desert. The drowning of 366 Eritreans off the Italian island of Lampedusa in October 2013 helped focus attention in Europe, but Mr. Simon is still battling widespread indifference. | The hardship of exile and the trauma of the exodus are an old story for Radio Erena, which began with coverage of the kidnapping of Eritreans by criminal gangs in the Sinai desert. The drowning of 366 Eritreans off the Italian island of Lampedusa in October 2013 helped focus attention in Europe, but Mr. Simon is still battling widespread indifference. |
| “No big country is paying attention to put pressure on Eritrea,” he said. “The lack of interest is a big issue. When you say you are a radio for Eritrea, people lose interest because nobody cares. It is sad.” | “No big country is paying attention to put pressure on Eritrea,” he said. “The lack of interest is a big issue. When you say you are a radio for Eritrea, people lose interest because nobody cares. It is sad.” |
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