Eritrean refugees should get appropriate support: House

Jan 01, 2020; Tigray: The foreign relations and peace affairs standing committee of the HoPRs remarked; “The refugees from Eritrea camped and residing in Tigray region should get appropriate support” after visiting them at their places.

The committee visited the refugee immigrants at Enda Aba-guna, My-ayni, Adi-harush, Hitsets and Shimelba camps for Eritrean incomers. It came across the fact that the refugees in those camps are running short of food, shelter, clean water, latrine and medical services.

In addition to the limitation of supplies from the Ethiopian gov’t, the Eritrean refugees expected support from international charity organizations become too confined to an extent that the refugees couldn’t bear at all, the committee realized. The special supports in education and medical services, which were promised also to the regional people living close to the camps, are also denied, according to the additional information.

Ato Diribu Jemal, member and coordinator of the committee in his feedback appreciated; the social capital built by refugees with the community in the vicinity. He also greeted their access to the Ethiopian Sim-cards that gives them opportunities to roam. Their awareness of the Ethiopian proclamation for refugees was another point that Ato Diribu raised as a good action for the actors involved in the process.

The coordinator stressed, the Tigray region and people shall persist in their support of refugees as strong as possible. The international organizations and other NGOs shall also offer support to the refugees ultimately was an additional comment by him. He advised close ties among stakeholders to resolve grievances from any side, finally.

Head of the Eritrean refugees’ coordination office, Ato Tekiea Guebreyesus on his part disclosed; 60 thousand of the 2 hundred 40 thousand registered Eritrean immigrants reside in camps. And according to him, the regional gov’t is exerting all efforts to culminate the challenges which the refugees are facing.

Enda Aba-guna’s refugee camp coordinator Ato Hadush Kidane on his part told the committee, the average number of Eritrean refugees crossing the border oscillates between 3 and 4 hundreds per day, which seeks more budget and man-power to deal with.

The communities where the refugees are situated requested the gov’t to act as the promises it pledged to fulfil the infrastructures that serve both purposes.

The Eritrean refugees on their part praised everyone on their way to the camps due to their humble accommodation. They expressed their hope that the shortcomings that are affecting their life in the camps would be solved. Yet, they requested the Ethiopian gov’t to bring back the ceased education opportunity for the Eritrean refugees.

Translated by Asrat Addisu

        House writer