Eritrean, Somali refugees leave Ethiopia to US
By Tesfa-alem Tekle
August 21, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) – A group of 44 Eritrean and 23 Somali refugees, screened from different refugee camps flew out of Ethiopia after years of exile, Ethiopia’s Administration for Refugees and Returns Affairs (ARRA) said.
The refugees left Addis Ababa International Airport on Monday as part of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR)-Assisted resettlement program.
According to ARRA, which is an implementing partner of the UN high commissioner for refugees (UNHCR) thousands of others mainly Eritreans are finalizing preliminary process for their Resettlement to a third country.
The 44 Eritrean refuges due for resettlement on the United States are part of the total 6,800 Eritrean refuges that the US pledged to receive.
After UNHCR, IOM and the government of Ethiopian jointly began resettlement operation years back, over 4000 Eritreans are resettled to different western countries to begin a new life.
The USA has so far received 100 Somalis and 472 Eritrean from refugee camps in Ethiopia.
Currently, some 36,000 Eritrean refugees are residing in three Ethiopian camps on the disputed Ethiopia-Eritrea border.
They crossed in to Ethiopia in protest to alleged persecution and harassment by the Eritrean government.
UNHCR is determined that many of the Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia can’t return home for safety reasons and resettlement is the most appropriate option.
Ahead of departure, refuges take part in extensive orientation programmes to help them adapt new western life styles and to avoid culture shock, up on arrival
Recent figures indicate that in Ethiopia, there are over 110,000 refugees from neighboring countries of Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and Kenya.
(ST)