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MOST meetings around a boardroom table don't begin with someone lifting a pantleg to show a thick three-inch scar roping around his leg. But when you're new to Canada and you're an Eritrean refugee who speaks only Tigrinya, the scar is a symbol of a 12,000-kilometre struggle to escape prison, persecution and possible death.
Last month, nine refugees from the east African country relocated to Winnipeg. Now the men -- outfitted in secondhand T-shirts and their first pairs of winter boots -- are the first wave of former political prisoners immigrating to Winnipeg from Eritrea after a harrowing journey. Once detained for their religious beliefs and refusal to join the military, they're now acclimatizing to Canadian life with the guidance of Manitoba Interfaith Immigration Council. "They say it's like being born again," says Ghirmay Yeibio, president of the Community of Eritrean Canadians of Manitoba, a non-profit group that represents an estimated 600 people in the province. "In Canada, it's peaceful... they say they are not scared when they see police or soldiers." The arrival in Canada is the culmination of a four-year odyssey for the men, who are between 21 and 37 years of age. Targeted by a dictator-led government for objecting to their country's mandatory military conscription or for practising evangelical religions not sanctioned by the state, the men fled in 2002, only to be returned to Eritrea, where they were imprisoned and tortured. Now, old wounds heal slowly. When asked about their names or hometowns, even the former industry they laboured in or the subjects they studied in university, the humming room and normally gregarious group falls silent. You see, they explain through a translator, while they are overjoyed to be living in Winnipeg after escaping again, they cannot allow their real names to be published or their faces to appear in photographs for fear of retribution against their family members still living in Africa. Originally escaping from Eritrea when crackdowns on religious and political dissidents intensified in 2002, the men crossed Sudan by foot with family and friends and continued on to Libya through the Sahara Desert. After leaving Libyan ports to travel by rickety seacraft over the Mediterranean towards countries in mainland Europe -- where escapees could attempt to claim refugee status -- they unintentionally landed in Malta, where they were imprisoned in what organizations like Amnesty International describe as "deplorable conditions." "They said it was hell," said Yeibio, referring to torture to the men's storage in giant metal containers in the sun and stiflingly cramped conditions. "They said it was worse than hell." Some were transported back to Eritrean jails, where the unlucky died and the luckiest would survive risky escape maneouvres -- like running away in packs when the men were taken outdoors by guards to relieve themselves. And the aftermath? One of the event's attendees stands up quickly, and unzips a pant leg to show an indented thigh where a mound of flesh is gone and messy stitch scars remain. "This is where I was shot when I was fleeing from the prison," he says, in a tone of voice that sounds more like he's ordering a cup of coffee than discussing the wounds he sustained when running from armed guards. "This is it." Yeibio said the Eritrean community in Winnipeg, one of the most cohesive in the country, now wants the Canadian government to act on behalf of those still languishing in Malta and in their homeland. "The whole world has forgotten about Eritrea and Eritrean people. Why? Why are they forgetting us?," said Yeibio, who has consistently lobbied various Canadian politicians, including Winnipeg Centre MP Pat Martin, for their assistance in bringing refugees from Eritrea to Canada. "For 30 years, they forgot us, when we were fighting to declare our independence. We had to go at it alone," said Yeibio. "And, now again, they forget us when we are under our own tyrant. Why is the Canadian government not taking action?" They men say they want Prime Minister Stephen Harper to speak out against human rights travesties in the country, which have been extensively documented by organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Their model, the men say, is a young British activist, Elsa Chyrum. Although they've never met the young woman, they said they are convinced she saved their lives with telephone calls and letters. "This lady was the first one who told the whole world about us...she did her best, she doesn't represent any organization," said another man, studying the table intently as he speaks in reverential tones. "We are sorry she is not here with us." The men however have vivid hopes for their lives in Canada, which they said has a strong international reputation. More Eritrean refugees will immigrate later this year, said Yeibio. "We heard it's country of rights, democracy, where people can work," said one man.
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source: Winnipeg Free Press |
