EGYPT: Dabbas Haile, "When life is hard, you have to be tough"

Photo: Emmanuel Dunseath/IRIN

Having escaped from prison in Eritrea to reach the streets of Cairo (pictured), Dabbas Haile, not his real name, did not want his photograph taken

CAIRO, 3 November 2009 (IRIN) - Officially, there were 1,638 Eritrean refugees registered with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Cairo in September, the fourth largest group after the Sudanese, Iraqis, and Somalis.

UNHCR said Eritreans arriving in Egypt must undergo comprehensive refugee status determination interviews to assess whether they can be registered or not.

IRIN spoke to Dabbas Haile (not his real name), 35, about why he left Eritrea, and the prospects he has in this host country.

“I come from the Gash Barka region of Eritrea, near the Sudanese border. I escaped from prison and left my country on 1 January 2004 to come to Sudan and then Egypt, where I was jailed again.

“I used to work for the Ministry of Defence in Eritrea, although I hate politics. Because my mother is Ethiopian, I had fewer rights than other full Eritreans. My father was Eritrean but died long ago.

“When the war was going on between Ethiopia and Eritrea [1998-2000], the authorities kicked my mother out of the country and sent her to Sudan. Later on I went to visit her there but didn’t get the required permit to leave the country. On my return they put me in jail in Omhajer, near the Ethiopia-Sudan border.

“I managed to escape from jail with an Ethiopian friend and cross the border illegally into Sudan. I stayed there one year and two months. It was a very difficult time because there were bad relations between Ethiopians, Eritreans and Sudanese.

“I decided to go to Egypt and crossed the border alone on foot, illegally. The Egyptian police caught me in Aswan and jailed me for being illegal in the country. I spent 14 months in prisons in Aswan and Cairo. It was pretty rough, but when life is hard, you have to be tough. The good thing was that I learned to speak Arabic fluently.

“While I was in jail, I did a UNHCR application and interview for refugee status, because I was being persecuted in my own country. I was successful and so released. I get assistance from UNHCR and CARITAS [a Catholic NGO and UNHCR implementing partner in Egypt], who I do some work for as an interpreter because I know Arabic.

“I live in the Mohandiseen area of the capital with a few other Eritreans. There is no organized community here for us so we organize ourselves and help each other out. No one depends on the embassy to help them. Most Eritreans and Ethiopians don’t speak Arabic, so it’s very difficult for us to integrate or get work in Cairo. Many do not even speak English. Some of us have relatives in other countries who send us money. But for the rest, we just pray to God for better times.

“Some don’t have money for food or a house and must borrow from those who do. And they would never sleep in the street as it’s considered shameful. For those who are not registered refugees or had their applications turned down, there is always the risk of being arrested and thrown in jail.

“I can’t go back to Eritrea until the government changes. Who knows when that will be? And resettlement to third countries is just for families or single mothers or health cases. So for single guys like me, it looks like I’ll be in Cairo for a while.”

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