REFUGEE CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS THE PLIGHT OF ERITREANS, OTHERS
Members of the Eritrean community in Toronto called on Ottawa to speed up the process for Eritreans who have applied for refugee status to help end a mounting crisis that has left thousands stranded in camps in Kenya, Egypt, Sudan and Libya.
Conference organizers wanted to alert the public and federal government about the situation and urge them to condemn the actions of countries that violate the safety and basic human rights of these refugees.
They urged Canada to call on the international community to take action so that Eritrean refugees are protected.
They also urged the government to increase the number of government and privately sponsored refugees to Canada and ensure the fairness of eligibility requirements of Eritrean refugee claims. They said there was a need to examine each individual case.
The Eritrean community, which numbers some 20,000 living in Toronto and the GTA, has been devastated by continued reports of the Eritreans forced to flee their country applying for refugee status in Canada only to find they must wait as long as five years in refugee camps in some cases.
The wait time seems unusually long, given that in most refugee cases, applicants from other countries who qualify for refugee status may wait only 18 months and some only six.
The call for action came at a conference called "Plight of the Eritrean Refugees throughout the World," that was sponsored by the members of the Toronto Eritrean community and the Office for Refugees of the Archdiocese of Toronto (ORAT). The conference was held at St. Patrick's Church on Saturday, November 14, 2009 in Toronto.
Catholic Charities through its Social Justice and Advocacy program participated in the day-long conference and provided some support for it.
The situation, say Eritrean community members, has reached a critical point. It was illustrated recently in the deaths of some 70 Eritrean refugees who died while trying to reach safety crossing the Mediterranean, heading for Europe.
While fleeing for safety, many refugees die from hunger, thirst and exhaustion, and those who survive the initial ordeal face stiff penalties for "illegal migration" such as immediate deportation or imprisonment under horrible conditions.
According to Human Rights Watch, hundreds of Eritrean refugees pour into camps in Sudan and Ethiopia; many more try to reach Europe, despite a very risky journey across Libya and the Mediterranean.
"What is really sad is no one has ever called for an official inquiry of the tragedy, as if the lives of these poor escapees are cheap and easily deposable." said Fr. Vittorio Boria, one of the organizers of the conference.
"We have to claim protection for our brothers and sisters," he said. "If we don't do it, no one will. If we don't do it now, tomorrow will be too late."
The Eritrean community plans to continue to highlight the plight of Eritrean refugees. They also plan to bring to the attention of the federal government human rights violations that are occurring. They also plan to set up a website and document the situation of Eritrean refugees. They will continue to provide financial and moral support to those now in camps and engage the public toward finding a solution.
More than 120 members of the Eritrean community plus speakers from government and non-governmental organizations, working with refugees, attended the conference.
They examined the current situation and discussed ways to meeting both immediate needs and finding long term solutions especially through government and privately sponsored refugee programs.