Deportations: PersonalizedEscalation of the Ethiopian-Eritrean Border Conflict

ASMARA, Eritrea September 1998

By Marc Michaelson

Saba Tekeste and her husband were sleeping soundly in their Addis Ababahome when they heard a loud pounding at the door at 4 a.m. on Friday July 31st.They awoke with a start and nervously answered. It was the police, there to pickher and her husband up and bring them to the station.

The police were polite, not rough, rude or insolent. They told her she couldbring whatever she wanted. Saba knew exactly what was happening; she hadheard from others the stories of arrest, questioning and deportation. Yet know-ing what lay ahead provided little consolation. Her mind and heart raced as shebegan gathering clothes and other items in a frenzy. The policemen tried to com-fort her and calm her down, urging her to take her time. But she couldn’t thinkstraight. What do you pack at 4 a.m. when you know you’re leaving your homefor the last time?

Eventually she stuffed an old rice sack full of clothes, and along with her hus-band and the four policemen, left for the station. Her children, three daughters(ages 21,19,16) and one son (age 13) were left behind. She and her husband wouldspend the next three days in police custody awaiting deportation.

Ultimately, the police acceded to Saba’s pleas that they not deport bothparents, leaving the four children to fend for themselves. One of the parents

would be allowed to remain.They decided her husbandshould sta as he could lookafter the children’s safety andwell-being better than shealone,

Saba Tekeste

On Monday, Saba and alargegroup offellowdeporteeswere taken to Janmeda, on thenorthern outskirts of AddisAbaba, where they began thelong trek by bus to Eritrea.They spent the first night inKombolcha and the secondin Mekelle, the capital of the

Note: Some of the names of the deportees have been altered to protect their familymembers who remain in Ethiopia.

SUDANSAUDI

ERITREA

Asmara

Decambre

Tigray Region

ETHIOPIA

0 150km

Mekelle

Addis Ababa

Bure

S

northern Tigray region. At 4 a.m. on Wednesday, exactlyfive days to the hour that she was first awakened by thepolice, Saba and the others on the bus were dumped nearFatzi, a town north of Adigrat near the disputed borderarea of Zalanbessa. The authorities yelled at them, tellingthem they’d better run fast across the border before day-break to avoid the fighting.

Saba says she and some of the other strong ones car-ried their bags on their heads or backs, tied in place withgabis (traditional white robes). Others just left their be-longings right there, knowing they would be unable tocarry them for a long distance. As itturned out, they had to walk more than10 kilometers, initially in the dark. Somesympathetic Ethiopian soldiers quietlywarned them not to deviate from theroad because the area was strewn withlandmines. Saba says tiOy were horri-fied, not knowing where they were go-ing, every step holding the chance thatthey’d be blown up by a mine. Many ofthe children among them cried as theymade their uncertain trek north.

priornotice. Fortunatelwhen the Eritrean soldiers saw thewomen’s bright white gabis, and heard the crying chil-dren, they realized it was civilians. Some of these troopsmet them, helped them with their bags and escorted themsafely along the way. The group reached Zalanbessa at 2p.m. on Thursday, ten hours after they began the scarywalk to their new homeland.

I interviewed Saba at a reception center inDecamhare, about 37 kilometers southeast ofAsmara, theEritrean capital. She and 1,040 other new arrivals werebeing registered at a makeshift site on the campus of atechnical high school in that town.

Saba is about 49 years old, but that seems a rough es-timate judging from her hearty laugh when I asked herage. There is no common profile among the deportees;they are men and women, the elderly and children of allages. Like most, Saba had been living in Ethiopia for avery long time. She was born and raised in GundetSeraye, a small Eritrean village, at a time when EmperorHaile Sellasie ruled Ethiopia and the British were admin-istering Eritrea after ousting the Italians in 1941.

Saba moved to Ethiopia 25 years ago, and has lived inAddis Ababa, where she married, ever since. Like mostof the deportees, she held an Ethiopian passport, and hasbeen a citizen of Ethiopia since long before Eritrea’s inde-pendence. Now she has joined the swelling ranks of theexpelled, havingbeen forcibly ejected from her home andseparated from her family.

Saba will be forced to restart her life and be left withthe trauma of her deportation experience. She says shewill worry about her family’s security back in Addis

Then shots rang out. The Eritreantroops, holding their positions, saw theapproaching mass of people, and in thedark of night thought it might be Ethio-pian troops launching a surprise offen-sive. One of the deportees believes this iswhy they were forced to cross at night; hethinks th.e Ethiopian authorities knewthey’dbe shot atas theyentered the Eritrean-controlled area, unidentified and with no Busload of deportees arriving at Decamhare reception center

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Ababa, wondering when she will seethem again.

The mass expulsion of more than17,000 ethnic Eritreans from Ethiopiarepresents a new, personalized battle-front in the three-month-old Ethiopian-Eritrean border confliCt.

In press releases and in newspapers,the Ethiopian government has admittedto deporting only a small fraction of thepeople who have been arriving by thebusload at the border. However, inde-pendent observers, journalists and UNemployees, appearing at deportationpoints without prior notice and withoutgovernment accompaniment, have wit-nessed mass arrivals at various bordercrossing and reception centers. Thedeportees are being registered meticu-lously, and impartial parties are confirming the reality onthe ground.

The Eritrean government, to this point, has not recip-rocated. Quite the contrary, they have bent over back-wards to avoid giving the impression of deportingEthiopians. When the conflict erupted in May of thisyear, many Ethiopians (especially casual laborers, butsome permanent employees as well) lost their jobs. Withno source of livelihood, many of these Ethiopianswanted to leave Eritrea, but most have been refused exitvisas. The Eritrean government wants to make sure it isabsolutely clear that all departing Ethiopians are leavingvoluntarily, and they are therefore requiring ICRC (Inter-national Committee of the Red Cross) accompanimentacross the borden This process has been extremely slow;only 330 Ethiopians have thus far been able to cross,while more than 2,000 exit-visa applications have beensubmitted to the Eritrean government.

Even the few who have been permitted to leaveEritrea have been used for propaganda purposes, creat-ing the false impression that both sides are expelling theothers’ foreign nationals. For example, after 2.8 Ethiopi-ans were allowed to leave Assab via boat to Djibouti, anAddis Tribune report (August 7) spoke of them as"deportees." The Ethiopian Government Spokespersonsaid: "They had been living and working in Assab andwere allowed to leave only if they could afford the exor-bitant cost imposed...The adults aboard considered it amiracle that they had been able to leave Eritrea and werevery concerned about other Ethiopians who had notbeen allowed to do so." This statement contradicts thevery nature of deportation. These Ethiopians wanted toleave, they were not forced to do so.

In media coverage of the deportation story, respon-

Family being registered at the Decamhare reception center

sible journalism has thus fallen by the wayside. Despitethe evidence and independent confirmations, the interna-tional press has curiously squelched the story of the de-portations. Reuters and Associated Press have refuseddeportation articles submitted by their reporters inAsmara, claiming they don’t believe them. Instead, thesewire services have pieced together wishy-washy storiesoutlining "tit-for-tat" allegations (often unverified, andsome patently false), giving readers misleading impres-sions. In these cases, responsible journalism has beenabandoned in favor of mushy and often inaccurate even-handedness.

The Ethiopian government has reserved the right todeport any foreign nationals it deems threaten nationalsecurity. During conflicts and wars, governments rou-tinely detain or expel foreigners whom they perceive to bea threat. In this case, the Ethiopian government has saidthat only spies and those sending money to supportEritrea’s expansionist military are being expelled.

However, the current deportees represent a broadspectrum of the population; and the arbitrary selection ofwho stays and who goes is hardly indicative of a disci-plined rooting out of espionage agents. Rather, the depor-tations appear purposefully designed and carefullyorchestrated for randomness and chaos. For example,sometimes the mother is sent and the father is allowed toremain; other times the father goes and mother stays.Sometimes the children are allowed to come along, some-times they are forced to stay behind, and sometimes somechildren are forced to go and others forced to stay. Thereappears to be no rhyme, reason or consistency in the de-portation selection process.

This absence of patterns is not confined to theselection of deportees; it permeates the other depor-

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tation processes as well. Detainees are held at a va-riety of sites around the city and moved frequently.The buses heading toward the border depart fromdifferent places, follow different routes, and dis-charge their passengers at different locations alongthe border, at different times of the day and night.

The breadth of expulsions- covering all ages, gen-ders, and classes indicate an odd variation on thetheme of ethnic cleansing. Ethiopian nationals of Eritreanancestry, many ofwhomWere born in Ethiopia, are beingsystematically uprooted and sent to a land they don’tknow. Others grew up in Eritrea but have spent theirentire adult lives and careers, often 20 years or more, inEthiopia. Some of the deported children have never evenbeen to Eritrea and don’t speak the country’s predomi-nant language, Tigrinya.

The populations of Ethiopia and Eritrea are intricatelyinterconnected, mixed together in families and commu-nities over the centuries. The question of identity is astrange onemhow and why does one identify as an"Eritrean"? Often, among those who have lived in Ethio-pia for extended periods of time, they say it is in theirblood or ancestry; others say it is a feeling they have, acommon language, culture, history.

This issue of identity is already complex. Furthercomplicating the situation is a peculiar form of dual citi-zenship that has emerged since the overthrow of theDerg in 1991. The vast majority of those expelled holdEthiopian passports, and are therefore legally Ethiopiancitizens. However, during the 1993 referendum onEritrean independence, the Ethiopian government en-couraged all "Eritreans" to register and vote. Ironically,the authorities are using that very same registration listto expel those people now. After the referendum passed,most of these "Eritreans" kept their Ethiopian passports,but were additionally given Eritrean identification cards,enabling them to acquire Eritrean ci.tizenship if they sodesired. Even more curious is the fact that these"Eritreans" were permitted to and strongly urged to votein the last Ethiopian election. Needing support for theirfragile coalition government, the ruling EPRDF (Ethio-pian Peoples’ Revolutionary Democratic Front) govern-ment actively sought the "Eritrean" community’sfinancial support and ballots.

Eritrea, Africa’s newest country, officially obtained itsindependence from Ethiopia in 1993, after a 30-year lib-eration struggle. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawiand Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, leaders of the

TPLF (Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front) and EPLF(Eritrean Peoples’ Liberation Front) respectively, workedtogether to overthrow the Marxist regime of Col.Mengistu Haile Mariam in 1991. Until earlier this year,their two governments enjoyed cordial relations and co-operated closely to rebuild their war-devastated coun-tries and pursue peace in the fragile Horn of Africa.

Both Meles and Isaias were considered to be amongthe vanguard of a new breed of populist African lead-ersmfirm in principle, tough on corruption and commit-ted to development of the people, not their personal bankaccounts. The policymakers and pundits began to talk ofan African Renaissance, a new era of good governance,peace and prosperity.

In May all of that hope and those great expectationswere thrown into question. A dispute between the twonations over their border escalated, and a series of battleswere fought in the areas near Badame, Zalanbessa, andBure. Numerous diplomatic initiatives, from the UnitedStates and Rwanda, the OAU (Organization for AfricanUnity) and even Libya’s Muamar Qadaffi, have failed tobring the two sides to the negotiating table.

After all of the efforts to rebuild their war-batteredcountries, the mortars are once again lobbing shells,pounding towns and displacing citizens on both sides ofthe border. After all of the efforts to promote peace andstability in Somalia and Sudan, and to strengthen theconflict-prevention mechanisms of subregional institu-tions like the Intergovernmental Authority on Develop-ment (IGAD), Ethiopia and Eritrea find themselveslocked in a military and diplomatic stalemate of theirown. Just two months after President Bill Clinton visitedAfrica and lauded the leadership of Isaias and Meles,Americans are being warned against all travel to Eritreaand some regions of Ethiopia. How fragile and fleetingprogress can be

While the border conflict began as a largely politicaldispute, the deportations represent a massive personal-ized escalation of the conflict. This is perhaps the mostworrisome development for the long-term relationshipsbetween the two countries With some ingenuity, flexibil-ity and the swallowing of some pride (by no means aneasy task in these parts), a political solution to the bordercrisis is eminently attainable. What will not be so easy iserasing the pain, bitter feelings and tension created by theexpulsions.

Ethiopians.and Eritreans have lived together, haveintermingled and intermarried, for centuries. Differentcolonial experiences and the long liberation struggle not-

Some of the deportees were Born in’ Ethiopia, but by virtue of one or both of their parents being Eritrean, they are also classifiedas such, and expelled. There i a distinct irony in this policy as some of the highest leaders in the current Ethiopian governmenthave at least one Eritrean parent. (Ethiopia: The Top 100 People, Indigo Publications, Isabelle Verdier, 1st Ed., 1997, Paris).

The Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC) headed by Mengistu Haile Mariam that succeeded Haile Selassie in1974. In 1975 it abolished the hereditary monarchy and established a socialist-style administration.

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withstanding, there has been remarkably little animositybetween the people of the two countries. That is not tosay there are no antagonisms or points of contention.Many Ethiopian nationalists, particularly from theAmhara nobility that lost considerable power and pres-tige in the aftermath of Haile Sellasie’s fall in 1974, remainangry about the separation of Eritrea. Likewise, manyEritreans remain suspicious of Tigrayans, who they sayprovided intelligence information to the Derg govern-ment from within Eritrean towns. Much of the tensionis rooted deeply in historical power struggles beginninghundreds of years ago.

Still, most Ethiopians have proven extremely sympa-thetic to their departing neighbors. Yonas and Tekle, aged11 and 13, were deported with their mother, Tirhas, inmid-July. The bus trip north took five days. When theyarrived in Adua, Tigray, on the third day, a bitter argu-ment ensued between their mainly Amhara and Oromomilitary escorts and the Tigrayan local authorities. TheTigrayan military authorities were insisting that the es-corts leave the deportees in their hands, instructing themto return to Addis Ababa. The escorts refused, saying thatthey had been ordered to accompany the deportees all theway to the border. The argument became vicious andweapons were leveled by the two sets of Ethiopian mili-tary officials.

One of the Amhara military escorts happened to bethe neighbor of one of the deportees on the bus. He toldhis departing friend that the Tigrayan authorities wantedthem to leave so that they could confiscate the deportees’personal effects. He and his colleagues sympathized withthe plight of the deportees, and wanted to ensure, at thevery least, their safe passage. Ultimately, the Tigrayanmilitary authorities backed down,and the buses proceeded, two dayslater, to the border where theycrossed by bridge.

Stories such as these are com-mon. Many of the Ethiopian policeand military authorities havetreated the deportees with utmostrespect and sympathy. Neighbors,friends and colleagues have alsoreached out, bringing them clothes,food and other essentials while theyare in detention awaiting departure.On the road, some deportees re-ported receiving food and waterfrom strangers. This kindness not-

withstanding, the deportation experience has been awrenching one, and will not be easily forgotten. Familieshave been divided, pride bruised, and in some cases,property allegedly confiscated. The deep resentment andanger will be harbored for decades to come.

Saba and Tirhas and her children represent the mostvisible group of deporteesmthose coming from AddisAbaba, Ethiopia’s capital. Many of the Addis Ababadeportees are prominent, wealthy and highly educatedpeople. Tirhas, for example, was a finance manager for amajorAddisAbaba company. Others include the recentlypensioned general manager from the sugar company, theprogram director of Radda Barnen (Norwegian Save theChildren), and the owner of the Nile Construction Com-pany, a $7 million enterprise. When such prominent citi-zens are expelled, people take notice. However, there isanother category of deportees and displaced, much lessvisible but equally affected: peasant farmers.

Along the Ethiopian-Eritrean border, thousands ofnationals from both countries have been displaced be-cause of the fighting. The Ethiopian government recentlyclaimed that over 200,000 of its citizens had been dis-placed by the fighting. On the Ethiopian side, Eritreanfarmers are being expelled, forced to flee with their fami-lies on extremely short notice, often on foot. Many havehad to leave their livelihoods--farm tools, livestock andmost of their possessionsmbehind. FromAugust 11-13, Itraveled to Gash-Barka Region in Eritrea’s western low-lands, where I met some of these farmers.

The capital of the Gash-Barka Region is Barentu, a

(} AsmaraShambuco

senei BarentuDecambre

4 Gash-Barka Region’"P.’.. ERITREA

/-,/Badame

Zalanbessa atz

ETHIOPIA Tigray Adua

"N./"\Adigrat

0 100km

Eritrea was colonized by Italy for 50 years and Britain for 10 years before being federated with, and eventually forcefullyannexed by, Ethiopia in 1950. Ethiopia was never colonized, but was briefly occupied by Italy from 1936-41.

Tigray, a northern province of Ethiopia, borders Eritrea. Many Tigrayans live and work in Eritrea and likewise a considerablenumber of Eritreans live and work in Tigray.

The Amhara and Oromo are two of the major ethnic groups in Ethiopia.

My traveling companions included a physician, anAssociated Press photographer, and a student from the University ofAsmara.

Institute of Current World Affairs 5

town of approximately 20,000 people, lying 250 km byroad to the west ofAsmara. Barentu’s main street is a nar-row dirt road lined with trees planted during the colonialperiod. At the entrance to the town small kiosks withclothes and basic foodstuffs dominate the right-hand sideof the road, a series of tiny cafes serving sugary tea, cof-fee and fool (a hearty bean dish with chopped egg andvegetables) line the left. Along the road leaving the citycenter heading west toward Tessenei are the govern-ments’ administrative offices, perched symbolically atopa gentle hill.

Sticking to protocol and in need of some direction, wemet with Woldemichael Ghebretnsae, the regional direc-tor for social services. His office is responsible for over-seeing the provision of services to the displaced anddeported who have been flowing over the border for thepast three months. After we presented our credentials (inthe form of a letter from the Ministry of Information ap-proving our research agenda), Woldemichael gaveus some basic information and a list of potential sitesto visit. Currently, he said, there are 8,000 deporteesand 54,000 displaced people residing in the region.Most of these are located in four affected sub-regionsbordering Ethiopia: Guluj, Shambuco, Lalagash, andMulki.

The Eritrean government has been trying to provideshelter and basic necessities (food, health care) for thesepeople, but their sheer numbers are stretching thegovernment’s capacities. Already the government hasgiven more than $3 million in cash payments to the de-ported and displaced. According to an official at ERREC(Eritrean Relief and Refugee Commission), each family isgiven 1,500 nacfa (U.S.$200) to help them get settled, aswell as a food allowance of 65 nacfa (U.S.$9) per personper month for six months. The government and some do-nors have also provided in-kind materials like blanketsand tents.

Shambuco, and we met members of four of them.

In Shambuco the deportees were being hosted by lo-cal families. As Worku Tesfaye-Mikael, the Commis-sioner of ERREC, told me when we met the previousweek, the Eritrean government is trying to aVoid settingup refugee "camps" for the deported and displaced. Towhatever extent possible, affected families are beinghosted by other families (usually relatives). While thisputs considerable strain on the host family and thecommunity’s scarce resources, it allows the displaced tofeel somewhat "at home," living in a familiar environ-ment during an otherwise traumatic transition period.Such traditional support systems are preferable to tentcamps and prevent the formation of a refugee mentality.

This strategy and attitude emerged from the long andhard-fought liberation struggle, when many people weredisplaced due to Ethiopian air bombardment of Eritreantowns. Now, in an ironic historical twist, the new Ethio-pian leaders, who were trained by and fought alongsidethe EPLF to overthrow that very Ethiopian government,is creating another set of Eritrean "refugees." Historysometimes repeats itself in strange ways.

Among those we met in Shambuco was GebrenguseHabtekere, an elderly man who came with his wife anddaughter from their hometown of Bagoweini in Ethiopia.Gebrenguse was born in Eritrea, but had lived inBagoweini since he was 18 years old. When the borderconflict erupted, he recalls, the Ethiopian army arrivedwith large units of soldiers, tanks and trucks. The militaryauthorities called all the residents together and told themthey had to leave within one day.

Because of this abrupt departure, Gebrenguse wasforced to leave behind nearly all of his possessions, in-cluding ten cows. He had planted maize and other grains,but will have no harvest this year. He says his Ethiopian

The humanitarian needs are considerable,but the international community has beenrelatively slow in responding to this crisis.However, that may soon change as our trekwas preceded by two major assessment mis-sionsmone from the United Nations OCHAfOffice for the Coordination of HumanitarianAssistance) in Geneva and the other byUSAIDOFDA (Office of Foreign Disaster As-sistance).

After meeting with Woldemichael, we setout for Shambuco, 35 kilometers east ofBarentu on the main road to Mendafera.There we met Kidane an Franco, Sham-buco’s Administrator and Vice Administra-tor. They provided us with a guide to helplocate the deportees in town and a municipalgovernment official to accompany our group.Seven deported families have taken refuge in Gebrenguse Habtekere

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Mereb River to the villages of Follina andSifreye Genet. Some 30 tents are scatteredalong the hillsides of Follina. In areas wherethe local population can not adequately ab-sorb arrivals, the Eritrean government hasprovided tents as temporary housing. De-ported and displaced farmers have beentrickling over the border on foot and wadingacross the Mereb for the past two months.

A visitor holding Fiore, the 8-month-old son ofBaju Gereweller, who is sitting in the background

neighbors were also forced to leave Bagoweini, but theyfled to other Ethiopian towns.

Two of the other families staying in Shambuco weremuch larger and both came from Heret village. AberetMbaye came with 12 people, including her husband, chil-dren and grandchildren. One of her daughters, BajuGereweller, sat shyly in the doorway with her eight-month-old son Fiore, as we chatted. Dawit Berhe arrivedin Shambuco with his wife and six children. Both Aberet(48 years old) and Dawit (35) were born in Heret, Ethio-pia. They have lived in Ethiopia their entire lives and areEthiopian citizens, but they have Eritrean "blood," anEritrean identity. When the border conflict broke out,they were forced to leave their lifelong homes to resettlein the land of their ancestors.

The most vocal and fiery of the deporteeswe met in Shambuco was a woman namedZait Mehare from Dembe Jefecke village, nearBadame (one of the key contested townsalong the border). Zait said she was put inprison for two weeks and continually askedwhere she was from. She says the authoritiesdidn’t believe her when she told them shelived in the Ethiopian village of DembeJefecke. Eventually, they released her and in-structed her: "Go to Badame, your place;" theyour was emphasized with disdain. Zait’s sonis still in prison, and she is clearly embitteredby the experience. She had to leave be-hind three cows and a donkey. If giventhe opportunity, she says she would go back,"to get her things," but never again to live inEthiopia.

From Shambuco we headed south on arocky backroad, twisting down towards the

Our group heard similar stories fromfarmers in these two villages. In Follina, afterwe interviewed Beyene Belaye and his wifeNgisti Gebrehiwot, our guide from the sub-regional administrative office in Mulki,Habteab Fessehai, was surrounded by menfrom the tent village. They rifled off a slew ofquestions and requests, asking for certain ser-vices (like health care) and supplies (blankets,cooking utensils, water containers) to supple-ment what they’d already received. Habteabappeared somewhat overwhelmed at first,

but handled them calmly and with poise. After a halfhour of this ad hoc meeting, Habteab turned and askedif we were ready to leave (he needed to be rescued). As weleft, Habteab told them he would do what he could. AtSifreye Genet, this scene was repeated, albeit in muchabridged form; it was late in the day, and time to headback to Asmara.

The most innocent and vulnerable of the deporteesare the children. UNICEF has conducted a series of inter-views and surveys, elaborating deportee profiles anddetermining their conditions and priority needs. AUNICEF report expressed concern for children left be-hind (when one or both of their parents is deported),some ofwhom are left with inadequate care. Fifteen per-

Zait Mehare

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ported a month earlier and his mother isstill in Addis--he came with his uncle.That seemed curious, since most childrenwere deported with one of their parents. Iasked him why he came with his uncle,and he said he wanted to Come because hispeers were tormenting him, yelling"Shabia, Shabia, go away!"8 He cried to hismother to let him leave; when his unclewas detained, she agreed to let him go.

Dawit’s face was emotionless as hegave this account; he seemed withdrawnand exhausted, probably in part due to thelong journey he’d just completed and thetrauma of being uprooted in such a man-ner. However, when I asked him how hefelt about coming to Eritrea, he smiledfaintly and said "I’m happy to be here."

Tent camp at Sifreye Genet

cent of the children were left with no caretaker at all.

Asmarom Legesse (retired emeritus professor of an-thropology, Swarthmore College), has also collected nu-merous deportee case studies and written a series ofarticles published in Eritrea Profile, the sole English lan-guage newspaper in Eritrea, published weekly by theMinistry of Information. In a piece published in the Au-gust I edition, Asmarom catalogs the deportees’ humanrights that have been violated, including articles 9 and 10from the Convention on the Rights of theChild: the forcible separation of childrenfrom their parents and denial of the rightto family reunification.

I also spoke with two girls, HarnetKidane (age 12) and Senait Berhe (10).

Harnet emits toughness; she is a tomboy with thickbraids and searing eyes. Senait, by contrast, is soft-spo-ken, shy, and can’t help but smile and giggle every fewseconds.

Senait was born in Addis Ababa and was a fourthgrader before being deported with her father. She cameto Eritrea once, when she was five years old, to visit hergrandparents. She speaks no Tigrinya, the primaryEritrean language, only Amharic. Senait’s father was

On the day I visited the Decamhare re-ception center there were large numbersof children deportees around. Many clungclosely to their parents or guardians, oth-ers Wandered around the campus in smallgroups. I spoke with three of these chil-dren to hear their stories and get their per-spectives on what is happening to them.

Dawit Gebremariam is 13 years oldand was born in Addis Ababa, where herecently finished the fourth grade. Both ofhis parents were born in Asmara, but hehad never been to Eritrea. This is his firsttrip.

Dawit told me that his father was de- Dawit Gebremariam

Shabia is an Arabic word that refers to the EPLF (Eritrean Peoples’ Liberation Front) and Woyane is a counterpart term for theTPLF (Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front). In Ethiopia, particularly since the beginning of the border conflict, Shabia is spoken withderision to identify the "invading" government of Eritrea and the Woyane are the "heroes" repelling Eritrean aggression. InEritrea, Shabia is a word used with pride to describe the heroic revolutionaries who liberated the country and are protecting itfrom the "expansionist" Woyane government in Ethiopia.

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born in Asmara, but was working as adriver in Addis Ababa. Her mother isstill there, with her two sisters aged 14and 7. I asked Senait why she was de-ported; she just shrugged and bowedher head. My translator pushed the issuewith her, and she smiled and said "Idon’t know. I’m only a kid."

Harnet interjected confidently, "Iknow why. We were sent because there’sa fight between Ethiopia and Eritrea,and both of my parents are Eritrean."Harnet was deported with her uncle andone sister. Her father was deported amonth earlier, and her mother is still inAddis Ababa with her two brothers andthree sisters.

Harnet was detained for three days,Senait for two days, before being de-ported. Both said they were not treatedbadly while in custody. As for the trip,Senait said she was afraid and cried often. Harnet, evertough, says she wasn’t afraid, but she was sad to leave hersisters and mom behind, so she cried as well. Their ac-counts of the bus trip and late night drop-off at the bor-der matched Saba’s description of events. Theymay haveboth been on buses in her convoy. When asked if theywould ever go back to Ethiopia, both replied no. Harnetsaid she has learned from the experience.

Most observers are baffled, finding it difficult to un-derstand the true objectives of Ethiopia’s deportationpolicy. Clearly it is not merely an effort to root out spiesand collaborators. Dawit and Senait hardly qualify as se-cret agents. Some people contend the deportations areretribution for defeats the Ethiopian military suffered onthe battlefield. Others believe they are designed to dis-tract and burden the Eritrean government, forcing themto divert resources and manpower to provide for the newarrivals. Perhaps more alarming is the possibility that thedeportations may signal a defensive move in preparationfor a prolonged war looming on the horizon.

In the short term, the deportations are increasing ten-sions in an already sensitive, dangerous conflict situation.Pride means a great deal to both Eritreans and Ethiopi-ans, and the deportations are wounding pride. While thebullets have subsided over the past six weeks, the propa-ganda war has intensified. Both sides are launching accu-

Senait Berhe and Harnet Kidane

sations of inhumane treatment of their nationals. As theaccusations continue, it is becoming increasingly difficultto separate fact from fiction. Misunderstanding and sus-picion are becoming more and more pervasive.

The ultimate implications of the deportat.ions and theborder conflict generally are not yet known. Certainly thedeportees have been deeply scarred by the experience.Hard-working, law-abiding citizens and innocent chil-dren have been treated like criminals. Just months ago,many of them were respected, prominent members of theAddis Ababa community. Today they are refugees, home-less and trying to pick up the pieces. The farmers amongthem lived a fragile subsistence existence before theirempty-handed deportation. They will find it even morechallenging to rebuild their livelihood.

In a very real sense, the peoples of Ethiopia andEritrea and their futures are intimately connected. Whatharms one ultimately harms the other. The mutual inter-ests of the two countries are inseparable. From continuedconflict and war will inevitably emerge losers peoplewill die, recently rehabilitated infrastructure and newindustries will be destroyed and international investmentwill be repelled. The same is true of the deportationsbreaking up families and separating people by ethnicityand nationality can only end negatively. The deportationsare a subtle and unwitting form of self-mutilation; theyneed to stop before the pain becomes further heightened,and their damage enduring.

Institute of Current World Affairs 9

AddisAbaba 1.3, 1.4

Adigrat 3.2Ark of the Covenant 1.6

Asmara 3.2

Aweke, Aster 1.5

B

Badame 3.4, 3.7BagoWeini 3.6Barentu 3.6Bole airport 1.1, 1.3Bure 3.3

C

coffee ceremony 1.7

culture 1.7

Debre Zeyit 1.4Decamhare 3.2Dembe Jefecke village 3.7

deportation 3.2

Derg government 3.5doro wot (stew) 1.7

EPLF (Eritrean Peoples’ Liberation

Front) 3.4Eritrea 3.1Eritrea Profile 3.8ERREC (Eritrean Relief and Refugee

Commission) 3.6

Ethiopian Orthodox Church 1.4

Ethiopian-Eritrean border conflict 3.3ethnic groups 3.5

Amhara, Oromo 3.5

F

Fatzi 3.2Fessehai, Habteab 3.7Follina 3.7

Gash-Barka Region 3.6Ghebretnsae, Woldemichael 3.6

Habtekere, Gebrenguse 3.6Heret village 3.7

injera (flat bread made from fermentedbatter) 1.3

Intergovernmental Authority on Devel-opment (IGAD) 3.4

Isaias Afwerki 3.4

Janmeda 1.6, 3.1

khat 1.8kitfo (ground beef with spiced butter) 1.8Kombolcha 3.1

lakes 1.4Bishoftu 1.4

Legesse, Asmarom 3.8

M

Mariam, Mengistu Haile 3.4media 3.3Mehare, Zait 3.7Mekelle 3.1Menelik 1.6Mereb River 3.7Mulki 3.7

O

OAU (Organization for African Unity) 3.4

P

pickpockets 1.7police 1.7

Q

Qadaffi, Muamar 3.4

R

religion 1.4

S

Shambuco 3.6Sheba 1.6

Sifreye Genet 3.7

Solomon 1.6

T

tabot (holy slab) 1.6tala (barley beer) 1.8

tej (honey wine) 1.8

Tesfaye-Mikael, Worku 3.6the Derg 3.4tibs (sauteed meat) 1.4

Tigray region 3.2

Tigrinya 3.8Timket, the Ethiopian Orthodox

Church’s celebration 1.6TPLF (Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front)

3.4tradition 1.8

transportation 1.4

U

UNICEF 3.7

United Nations OCHA (Office for theCoordination of Humanitarian

Assistance) 3.6USAID OFDA (Office of Foreign

Disaster Assistance) 3.6

W

White Horse Whiskey 1.8

Z

Zalanbessa 3.2, 3.4Zenawi, Meles 3.4

10 MM-3

Institute Fellows and their Activities

Adam Smith Albion. A former research associate atthe Institute for EastWest Studies at Prague in theCzech Republic, Adam is studying and writing aboutthe republics of Central Asia, and their importance asactors within and without the former Soviet bloc. AHarvard graduate (1988; History), Adam has com-pleted the first year of a two-year M. Litt. Degree inRussian/East European history and languages at Ox-ford University. [EUROPE/RUSSIA]

Shelly Renae Browning. A surgeon specializing inears and hearing, Dr. Browning is studying the ap-proaches of traditional healers among the Aboriginesof Australia and the indigenous peoples of Vanuatu tohearing loss and ear problems. She won her B.S. inChemistry at the University of the South, studied phy-sician/patient relationships in China and Australia on aThomas J. Watson Fellowship and won her M.D. atEmory University in Atlanta. Before her ICWA fellow-ship, she was a Fellow in Skull-Base Surgery inMontreal at McGill University’s Department of Oto-laryngology. [SOUTH ASIA]

Chenoa Egawa. An enrolled member of the Lummi In-dian Nation, Chenoa is spending two years livingamong mesoAmerican Indians, studying successfuland not-so-successful cooperative organizations de-signed to help the Indians market their manufactures,agricultural products and crafts without relying onmiddlemen. A former trade specialist for the AmericanIndian Trade and Development Council of the PacificNorthwest, Chenoa’s B.A. is in International Businessand Spanish from the University of Washington inSeattle. [THE AMERICAS]

Paige Evans. A playwright and former Literary Man-ager of the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City,Paige is looking at Cuba through the lens of its perform-ing arts. With a History/Literature B.A. from Harvard,she has served as counselor at the BuckhornChildren’s Center in Buckhorn, Kentucky (1983-84), asArts Editor of the International Courier in Rome, Italy(1985-86), and as an adjunct professor teaching acourse in Contemporary American Playwrights at NewYork University. She joined the Manhattan TheatreClub in 1990. [THE AMERICAS]

Whitney Mason. A freelance print and television jour-nalist, Whit began his career by founding a newspapercalled The Siberian Review in Novosibirsk in 1991,then worked as an editor of the V/adivostok News andwrote for Asiaweek magazine in Hong Kong. In 1995he switched to radiO- and video-journalism, working inBosnia and Korea ,for CBS. As an ICWA Fellow, he isstudying and writing about Turkey’s role as nexus be-tween East and West, and between traditional andsecular Islam. [EUROPE/RUSSIA]

Marc Michaelson. A program manager for Save theChildren in The Gambia, Marc has moved across Africato the Horn, there to assess nation-building in Eritreaand Ethiopia, and (conditiOns permitting) availing andunavailing humanitarian efforts in northern Somaliaand southern Sudan. With a B.A. in pblitical sciencefrom Tufts, a year of non-degree study at the LondonSchool of Economics and a Master’s in InternationalPeace Studies from Notre Dame, he describes his post-graduate years as "seven years’ experience in internationaldevelopment programming and peace research."

[sub-SAHARA]

Jean Beno’t Nadeau. A French-Canadian journalistand playwright, Jean Benot studied drama at the Na-tional Theater School in Montreal, then received a B.A.from McGill University in Political Science and History.The holder of several Canadian magazine and inves-tigative-journalism awards, he is spending his ICWALfellowship years in France studying "the resistance ofthe French to the trend of economic and culturalglobalization." [EUROPE/RUSSIA]

Susan Sterner. A staff photographer for the AssociatedPress in Los Angeles, Susan received her B.A. in Inter-national Studies and Cultural Anthropology at EmoryUniversity and a Master’s in Latin American Studies atVanderbilt. AP gave her a wide-ranging beat, with as-signments in Haiti, Mexico and along the U.S.-Mexicanborder; in 1998 she was a co-nominee for a Pulitzer Prizefor a series on child labor. Herfellowship topic: the lives andstatus of Brazilian women. [THE AMERICAS]

Tyrone Turner. A photojournalist (Black Star) whosework has appeared in many U.S. newspapers andmagazines, Tyrone holds a Master’s degree in Govern-ment and Latin American politics from GeorgetownUniversity and has produced international photo-es-says or such topics as Rwandan genocide and miningin Indonesia (the latter nominated fop a Pulitzer). As anICWA Fellow he is writing and photographing Brazilianyouth and their lives in rural and urban settings.

[THE AMERICAS]

Daniel B. Wright. A sinologist with a Master’s Degreein International Rel,tions from the Nitze School of Ad-vanced International Studies of the Johns Hopkins Uni-versity, Dan’s fellowship immerses him in southwestChina’s Guizhou Province, where he, his journalist-wifeShou Guowei, and their two children (Margaret andJon) will base themselves for two years in the city ofDuyun. Previously a specialist on Asian and Chineseaffairs for the Washington consulting firm of Andreae,Vick & Associates, Dan also studied Chinese literatureat Beijing University and holds a Master of Divinity de-gree from Fuller Theological Seminary of Pasadena,California. [EAST ASIA]

Institute of Current World Affairs 11

Institute of Current World AffairsFOUR WEST WHEELOCK STREETHANOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE 03755

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Chosen on the basis of character, previous experience and prom-ise, Institute Fellows are young professionals funded to spend aminimum of two years carrying out self-designed programs of studyand writing outside the United States. The Fellows are required toreport their findings and experiences from the field once a month.They can write on any subject, as formally or informally as theywish. The result is a unique form of reporting, analysis and peri-odic assessment of international events and issues.

Author: Michaelson, MarcTitle: ICWA Letters-subSaharan AfricaISSN: 1083-429X

Imprint: Institute of Current World Affairs,Hanover, NH

Material Type: SerialLanguage: EnglishFrequency: Monthly

Other Regions: Mideast/North Africa; South Asia;The Americas; Europe/Russia; East Asia