THE POLITICIZATION OF ERITREAN MIGRATION
the politics behind the story.
According to U.S. diplomatic cables later published by WikiLeaks, a November 3, 2005 cable from American Chargé d’Affaires Vicki Huddleston in Addis Ababa described Ethiopia’s difficulty in accepting Badme as Eritrean territory.
The cable quoted UN peacekeeping officials as saying that Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s strategy was to isolate Eritrea and wait for its economy to implode.
The following day, another cable discussed a UN Security Council resolution concerning peaceful border demarcation. Huddleston wrote that the United States was pressing to delay or modify the resolution.
Then the story moves beyond borders.
A 2010 U.S. diplomatic cable discussed Ethiopia’s treatment of Eritrean refugees, while acknowledging the Ethiopian government’s continued hosting of refugees.
And perhaps most revealing was another cable, titled “Promoting Educational Opportunity for Anti-Regime Eritrean Youth.”
The cable described an American initiative to provide educational opportunities in the United States to Eritrean youth who opposed the Eritrean government.
Read together, these documents raise a larger question:
When migration becomes part of geopolitics, where does humanitarian policy end and political strategy begin?
This does not erase the individual experiences of Eritreans who leave.
It does not erase the hardships faced by migrants.
And it does not mean every Eritrean who migrates is part of anyone’s political project.
But it does remind us that migration does not happen in a vacuum.
There are wars.
There are borders.
There are sanctions.
There are refugee policies.
There are economic pressures.
And sometimes, as these diplomatic cables appear to show, there are governments pursuing strategic interests behind the scenes.
The history of Eritrean migration therefore cannot be told only through the question:
“Why are Eritreans leaving?”
We must also ask:
What political forces have shaped the environment in which they leave and how has that migration been used, interpreted, and politicized?
History is rarely a single road.
Sometimes, it is a map drawn by many hands.
And sometimes, the documents buried in diplomatic archives reveal the roads that headlines never showed.
#Eritrea #EritreanMigration #EritreanHistory #WikiLeaks #HornOfAfrica #RedSea #Geopolitics #EritreaPrevails
#Sudan’s Foreign Ministry has refused to grant an entry visa to Redwan Hussein, director general of Ethiopia’s National Intelligence and Security Service, after he requested an urgent visit to the country, according to senior diplomatic sources cited by Al-Karama, a newspaper close to the Sudanese government.
The Afar people have risen and joined the struggle. Supporters say they are now on the same path as Ugugumo and the wider anti-government alliance, and claim Afar will soon be free of Prosperity Party control.
BREAKING: The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) have seized control of the airport in the regional capital Mekelle, security and local sources told AFP.
🔴 More on https://t.co/OwhgaIH6vP
Yemane Gebremeskel, Eritrea's information minister, told Reuters that the sanctions had caused incalculable damage to the country.
"The unilateral sanctions imposed by the Biden Administration five years ago were not warranted by any metrics... In this respect, we welcome the gesture and remedial measures by the Trump Administration," he said.
Reuters
The US has finally removed the unilateral sanctions on Eritrea today.
Congratulations to the people and Government of #Eritrea for their steadfastness, resilience, and principled approach that made this development a reality.
The unilateral sanctions imposed on Eritrea by the Biden Administration in 2021 were unwarranted and caused undue damage on Eritrea. Now that they have been removed, we welcome this positive gesture and corrective measures taken by the Trump Administration.
Today’s move by the US should mark the beginning of a new chapter in the Eritrea-US relations, that we envision to be grounded in #sovereign respect, mutual interests, and the pursuit of a mutually beneficial #partnership. 🇪🇷🇺🇸
Did you know? In #Eritrea, people cannot travel freely from one city to another. To go from Asmara to Massawa, you need a permit letter from the government. This is what an open-air prison looks like.
Isyas Afworki's administration is the worst dictator's leadership!
⚠️ HORRIFYING VISUALS: Houthi fighters allegedly entered a hospital and executed wounded soldiers, injured personnel, and other patients inside the facility.
A 34 year old, 6’5 feet tall Isaias Afwerki was an eloquent speaker. 😂 Please don’t compare him to the 7th grader "7 yr discount "mayor of Addis Ababa the guy who allegedly bought his PhD from the academic black market. 💀😂
New photos obtained exclusively by CBS News reveal for the first time the widespread damage and destruction of buildings and vehicles at multiple U.S. positions across the Middle East, as a result of Iranian missile and drone attacks. The images were sent to CBS News by active service members on condition of anonymity.
"This is major damage to our bases that hasn't been communicated to the American public," one deployed service member said. "We're standing there with our eyes closed getting punched in the face."
CBS News' @JonahPKaplan has more. https://t.co/dxfBRsgLvM
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وزير خارجية إريتريا 🇪🇷
تسعى #الإمارات إلى السيطرة على الموانئ الأفريقية لخدمة مصالح الكيان المحتل، وقد طلبت منا سابقاً بناء قاعدة عسكرية إماراتية ورُفض طلبها، ولا يمكن أن نقبل بقواعد أجنبية على أراضينا.