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refugee women tell their story
Letters from eritrea
the strategic initiative for women in the horn of Africa (sihA)

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Foreword 
Acknowledgements 
Acronyms      
Introduction  
Testimonies of  
Eritrean Women 
14
3
5
7
8
Table Of Contents

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The independence of the Eritrean state, achieved in 1991, induced within 
the population a sense of optimism that would be thereafter held in 
the collective conscience of the generation that fought for it. SIHA as a 
network of women’s organizations in the Horn of Africa came to life only 
a few years after the independence of Eritrea. The Eritrean Women Union 
at the time was instrumental in supporting the network formation with 
many of our meetings taking place in Asmara. Surrounding populations 
looked on with great enthusiasm at the new born state, hoping that it 
would contribute to stability in a region of constant turmoil and that its 
government would learn from the past mistakes and the failed experiences 
of its neighbouring countries.
Years down the road, things in Eritrea have deteriorated rapidly. The 
regime’s engagements in regional conflicts and its focus on the 
militarization of society, as opposed to development and good governance, 
has seen the optimism turn into anxiety with the future of the country 
becoming uncertain. For the past 20 years, extreme isolation from the 
international and regional arena, alongside a lack of democracy and 
severe crackdowns on civil rights and freedom of expression, have been 
characteristic of the Eritrean regime. As a result, the Eritrean people live 
under severe poverty combined with harsh repression, extreme human 
rights violations and an absence of basic services. Together, these factors 
have led to instability and mass migration away from the country. Besides 
economic hardship and repression, the social and cultural hierarchy 
deprives Eritrean women of equal access to land, resources and more 
importantly women have limited control of their lives as human beings.
During the struggle for independence, the women of Eritrea equally  
participated. Although the Eritrean state has signed and claimed to 
domesticate the International Convention on the Elimination of all 
forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), issues of social 
justice and equality are still far from being exercised under the current 
regime. According to testimonies from Eritrean women who undergo 
compulsory military service, which can be indefinite, they are exposed 
to years of abuse, sexual assault and exploitation to the point that many 
young women leave school and marry young to avoid entering national 
service in a bid to escape the sexual exploitation by high ranking officers. 
This booklet is SIHA’s attempt to bring the case of the Eritrean women out 
of the shadows and into the light. During the past 20 years, increasing 
numbers of Eritreans have fled through fear of persecution and have 
crossed land borders to Sudan and moved on to other countries in the 
region. Women in this context have frequently found themselves the most 
vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Their stories reflect their exposure 
to grave violations of human rights and lack of protection inside their 
own country. This abuse continues in first asylum countries like Sudan 
which is the primary transit point for Eritrean refugees but also a country 
where women are subject to great repression due to its regime’s ideology. 
Furthermore, the stories of the women reflect the great risks they are 
exposed to while fleeing for their lives; dehumanization and abuse by 
their traffickers have become a norm in recent years through kidnapping, 
enslaving, sexual violence and organ harvesting. 
The process of collecting testimonies was at times difficult and harrowing 
for both the women interviewed and the interviewers and facilitators 
involved. At times, the explicit details were unforthcoming, with the 
retelling of brutal experiences re-traumatizing the survivors. It is hoped that 
in spite of these challenges, and all the more in light of these challenges, 
the testimonies succeed in conveying the harsh realities faced by the 
women of Eritrea, and provide a personal insight into the struggles and 
abuses they have endured in the hope that such testimonies may activate 
those in the human rights field to respond.  
During the period of research for this piece, it must be noted that the 
UN Human Rights Council appointed a Special Rapporteur for Eritrea, 
Ms Sheila B. Keetharuth. Such developments are welcome, however it 
is important to acknowledge that the impact of the rapporteur will only 
ever be as great as the efforts of the broader international community, 
who even the UN have acknowledged to have done too little on the 
issue of Eritrea .
Finally, having completed this booklet, SIHA too hopes to work more 
on providing support to, and to advocate on behalf of Eritrean women 
and to facilitate their role in strengthening women’s human rights in 
their country. 
SIHA Secretariat 
Foreword
 1OHCHR, Human Rights Council Session, (5th July 2012)
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SIHA is very grateful to Oxfam Novib for their support towards this booklet. Mr. Peter 
Jones who collaborated with SIHA in compiling and reviewing the stories, his efforts are 
appreciated. We are thankful for Ms. Philippa Croome who helped in drafting this document. 
Our great appreciation goes to the Eritrean women who shared their stories sincerely with 
us and the Eritrean women and men volunteers who facilitated the interviews and meetings. 
Finally I am very grateful to the SIHA team who pursued this initiative patiently, sometimes 
beyond their working hours, without their enthusiasm this booklet would not have seen 
the light.
Hala Alkarib, Director 
SIHA Network
Acknowledgements
5

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Cairo
Tel Aviv
Al arisha
Asmara
Khartoum
AallaTeseney
Port Sudan
Wadi 
Serifay
Refugee
Camp
To LIbyA
To SouTH 
SudAN, 
ugANdA
 To eTHIopIA, 
keNyA
egypT
SInAI
joRdAN
ISReAL
SudAN
eTHIopIA
yemeN
djIbouTI
SAudI ARAbIA
Red
SeA
medITeRRANeAN 
SeA
eRITReA
Source : The Guardian-July 17,2012
ErITrEA AT A GlAnCE
Population: 6,086,495 (July 
2012 est. CIA World Factbook)
Capital: Asmara
nine recognized ethnic 
groups: Tigrinya 55%,Tigre 
30%, Saho 4%, Kunama 2%, 
Rashaida 2%, Bilen 2%, other 
(Afar, Beni Amir, Nera) 5% (2010 
est.)
languages: Tigrinya, Arabic 
English, Tigre, Kunama, Afar, 
other Cushitic languages
Predominantly Muslim in the 
lowlands and Christian in the 
highlands.
Borders Sudan, Ethiopia and 
Djibouti as well as having more 
than 1000Km of Red Sea Coast.
Shagarab
Refugee 
Camp

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CEDAW  Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women 
EPlF   Eritrean Peoples’ Liberation Front 
ICCPr  International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
HrW  Human Rights Watch
nUEW  National Union of Eritrean Women 
OHCHr  Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
PFDJ  People’s Front for Democracy and Justice 
SIHA  Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa
Un  United Nations
UnHCr  United Nations High Commission for Refugees
Acronyms

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E
rITrEA’S rich and complex history sets the backdrop to a period 
of sustained and concerted abuse of human rights for many of its 
population. The breadth of repression and the scale of cruelty can 
at times be overwhelming. However, it is important to note that the 
abandonment by the Eritrean government is by no means solely responsible 
for the brutality faced by the population, but is only the starting point. 
Many other actors inclusive of traffickers, other states such as Israel and 
Sudan have facilitated or actively contributed to the abuse of Eritrean 
population who even once outside the country face numerous threats 
to their physical, emotional and economic well-being.
A Background to Present Day Eritrea:
Eritrea’s militarised and authoritarian regime is rooted in centuries of 
regional conflict. Its current repressive and isolationist politics however 
stem from more recent conflicts involving Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen and 
Djibouti which have characterised much of the post-colonial period. 
None has impacted Eritrea so much as it’s turbulent relationship with 
its neighbour, Ethiopia.
Modern Eritrea and its boundaries were established during the European 
colonial period with the British, Italians and French carving up the region. 
Initially becoming an Italian colony in 1890, it passed to the British in 1941 
during the Second World War. Finally, the United Nations in 1952 would 
position Eritrea as a federal state with Ethiopia under the sovereignty of 
the Ethiopian Emperor. 
The threat posed by Emperor Haile Selassie to the federation saw liberation 
movements emerge from 1958 onwards with a further strengthening 
and development of these during the 1960s by the Eritrean Liberation 
Front. Eventually, the Eritrean Peoples’ Liberation Front (EPLF), under the 
leadership of Isaias Afewerki, came to prominence in the 1970s. Such 
armed independence movements laid the foundations for a military 
culture that would become entrenched and pervasive across the state 
for decades to come. 
Finally, after more than 30 years of protracted conflict with Ethiopia, 
Eritrea finally gained independence. A UN backed referendum took place 
in April 1993, and, with over 99% supporting independence, Eritrea 
was declared an independent nation. In spite of secession, the country’s 
fluid ethnic composition and boundaries would not make for a unified 
nationalist sentiment. Instead, through the EPLF positioning Eritrea as a 
state continually under threat and at 
odds with its neighbours, a military 
and authoritarian state philosophy 
could be imposed and legitimated.  
Actual conflicts and the associated/ 
on-going threat of conflict, with 
Djibouti, Ethiopia, Yemen, and 
Sudan since independence, provided 
a premise for forced conscription 
and a strict security regime. Such 
control of the population extended 
to restrictions on freedom of 
religion, movement, association, 
freedom of the press and media 
alongside many other constraints. 
In line with this, the state escalated 
"I was arrested the first 
time in 2003, when I 
gathered with some other 
young people to pray, 
even though we were in a 
private house. A group of 
paramilitary police raided 
the house and arrested 
everyone there. I was held 
in May Srwa prison for two 
weeks and only released on 
condition that I leave the 
Pentecostal church."
Medhin
Introduction
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the level of surveillance upon the population with an extensive secret 
service, network of informants and prison system to coerce compliance 
by its population.
Despite provisions for the creation of a multi-party democracy within the 
1997 Eritrean constitution, the country has been strictly ruled as a one-
party state. Since independence, national elections have never taken place 
even though they have been scheduled to do so (most recently in 2001). 
The People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) led by President Isaias 
Afewerki stands alone and unchallenged in its ability to rule.
Human rights in Eritrea:
The Eritrean population find their human rights subject to numerous 
threats by an autocratic government seeking to sustain military and 
political domination over a populace with diverse backgrounds, religions 
and ideologies. Coupled with the perceived existential threat posed 
by Ethiopia, the Eritrean government has legitimated it’s repression 
against society at large, often with women and young people the most 
vulnerable to abuse. Where the regime relies upon a sense of national 
unity to preserve itself, dissent or deviance is viewed negatively, with 
opposition voices, military deserters and refugees labelled traitors and 
subject to brutal treatment2.
1. Civil and Political rights:
From 2001 the government led a concerted attack on freedom of speech, 
closing down non-government media outlets and arresting critics of its 
policies. This militant repression of freedom of speech, in contravention 
to Eritrean legislation which provides such liberties, has seen Reporters 
Without Borders classify Eritrea in 2012 as the worst country in the 
world for press freedom 3. Journalists, critics and social commentators 
are all constrained and face arbitrary arrest and detention. Civil rights 
movements are repressed and freedom of association is limited to state 
sanctioned institutes.
2. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, Torture and Dissapearances:
Unapproved political activities, criticism of the president, evasion of 
national service, attempts to desert, practice of non-sanctioned religion 
and actions that may appear contrary to the state objectives may result 
in arrest, detention and torture4. According to Human Rights Watch, the 
number of arbitrarily arrested government officials, leaders of government-
controlled labor unions, business people, journalists, and national service 
evaders or escapees ranges from 5,000 to 10,000 – excluding national 
service evaders and deserters, who may number tens of thousands more5. 
Once in prison, conditions are brutal. Prison cells are frequently converted 
freight containers in the desert where overcrowded inmates suffer extreme 
heat during the day and cold at night. Similarly, cement bunkers are 
frequently used and overcrowded with 200 prisoners in each with limited 
ventilation. In this environment, inmates were commonly known to lose 
consciousness from the heat6. Despite legislation prohibiting torture, it 
is a common practice deployed against prisoners7. Practices include the 
binding of hands and feet in contorted positions, suspension from trees 
with hands tied behind the back, and tying people in the desert with 
sugar on them to attract biting insects8. 
Even without physical violence, the poor sanitation, food and conditions 
alongside scant medical attention has led to many deaths. Frequently, 
 2Human Rights Watch, Service for Life State Repression and Indefinite Conscription in Eritrea (2009)
 
3Reporters Without Borders, Press Freedom Index (2011) 
 4HRW (2009) Op Cit
 5HRW World Report: Eritrea(2012)
 6 US State Department Report: Eritrea (2011) p4
 7Ibid
 8 Ibid

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however, individuals simply disappear, with no record or information to 
indicate what happened, where or why.
3. Military Service:
Eritrean law requires that students cannot graduate high school without 
completing their final year in the Sawa military and education camp in 
the west of the country. Although intended to be 18 months long9, it 
can become indefinite up to the age 
of 50 years10, though most women 
interviewed suggested an average 
term of around 5 years. During this 
period they receive a token wage. 
One of the few exceptions is if a 
girl is married. As a result, many 
students choose to drop out after 
11th grade11, get married, or flee 
the country to avoid conscription, 
though there are reports of women 
from families connected to the ruling 
party or the old liberation movement 
receiving shorter terms of service 
or greater opportunities for study.
Within the military, dissent is not tolerated, criticism of the government 
is punished and those who attempt to flee face detention, torture and 
forced labour. For many women, the military is a place of sexual violence 
and abuse12, with senior officers exploiting the vulnerability of girls, in the 
knowledge that non-compliance could see them arrested and thrown in 
prison for dissent. The reluctance of conscripts to enter into such a brutal 
environment has served to reinforce greater threats against those who 
have entered and who may desert or not-comply with military service. 
Where conscripts are able to desert, relatives are frequently punished 
in lieu. In addition, the Eritrean government vigorously pursues anyone 
attempting to evade conscription. Punishments are arbitrary and without 
due process and prison sentences frequently last around two years13. The 
widespread abuse of conscripts has furthermore resulted in numerous 
deaths and instances of suicide as conscripts seek ways of escaping14.
Even if a conscript manages to negotiate such an abusive environment, 
conscripts find themselves, in their prime, underemployed and with no 
choice of livelihoods or chance to contribute to the economic growth. Few 
economic opportunities and poor wages see two thirds of the population 
classified as poor, with slightly more than one-third of them living in 
extreme poverty15 . Even well educated citizens are forced to work below 
their qualifications, for poor pay in government jobs. Domestic and foreign 
policies which see military spending taking precedence over infrastructure 
or social services have crippled its economy16. Consequently many Eritreans 
depend heavily on remittances from its extensive diaspora to exist. 
4. Women in Society:
Despite the technical provisions within the constitution to protect women’s 
rights which were implemented to reflect the status attained by female 
fighters during the struggle for independence, the rights of women 
across the country in reality are barely acknowledged. Eritrea has signed, 
ratified or acceded to multiple international human rights treatises 
inclusive of the International Convention for the Elimination of All forms 
of Violence Against Women (CEDAW) 17, the Convention concerning 
Forced or Compulsory Labour, the International Covenant on Civil and 
Political Rights among many others. There exists however a significant 
"Things got worse when we 
reached Port Sudan. Here 
we met a tall man with 
one Rashaida (tribesman). 
He told us to call our 
family members who lived 
and worked abroad and tell 
them to send $5000 within 
3 days, otherwise we would 
be killed and left in the 
desert."
Aster
 9Eritrea: Proclamation of National Service (No. 82/1995) accessed via UNHCR 
10HRW (2009)Op Citp 43
11Approximately 16-17 years of age, also known as Secondary school Grade 6. 
12HRW (2009) Op Cit p46
13HRW (2009)Op Cit p 28
14US State Department (2011)Op Citp2
15UNDP Eritrea Poverty Reduction(last accessed17th December 2012)
16Although currently estimates place military expenditure as around 6.3% of GDP (CIA World Factbook), it is 
known to have reached 39.9% in 1999 (SIPRI). The most recent health expenditure figures suggest 2.7% GDP 
expenditure on health (World Bank).
17University of Minnesota, Human Rights’ Library Ratification of International Human Rights Treatises: Eritrea 
(Last accessed 2nd January2013)

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disparity between the written commitments and the actualisation of 
these in Eritrean society.
Many of the worst stories are those of sexual violence, with women at 
particular risk of rape and sexual abuse in prison, during national service, 
in their marriages, and in their communities. A culture of shame around 
rape often leads to the silence of the victim. In a region of the world where 
the value of a girl is tied to her virginity and perception of purity, where 
rape renders a girl un-pure, it further renders her as “unmarriageable” 
and subsequently of lesser value. In this context, support for rape survivors 
if often un-forthcoming. 
Traditional practices such as early marriage (the ideal age for a girl is 
widely seen as between 12 and 18), polygamy and domestic violence 
are commonplace. The prevalence of female genital mutilation has been 
estimated to be as high at 97 per cent18, despite it being illegal.
A Desperate Flight:
Although legislation permits freedom of movement and foreign migration, 
in practice many restrictions apply. Persons who are undertaking 
national service for example are routinely denied permission to leave19. 
Even for average citizens between the ages of 18-50, it is difficult to 
obtain permission to leave. In spite of this, Eritrean women and men 
are increasingly fleeing the limitations of their home country, placing 
themselves at great risk at the hands of smugglers, traffickers and middle 
men who may enable them and their children to escape. 
Summary executions at or around the border areas for those caught 
attempting to leave are commonplace, and even where individuals are 
able to flee their country, relatives are subject to imprisonment, fines and 
other punishments in place of the individual that has fled20. 
18Worku Zerai A Study on Female Genital Mutilation in Eritrea(2003) 
19US State Department (2011) p17Op Cit
20HRW (2009)Op Cit
Difference between Trafficking and Smuggling:
Smuggling: A defining aspect is the crossing of borders. People 
smugglers are service providers; they facilitate the movement of persons 
who wish to move from one location to the other but would face 
bureaucratic, logistical or legal challenges to do so independently. 
The relationship between smuggler and smuggled ostensibly ends 
once the people reach their final destination and the relationship is 
consensual. Although the journey may be difficult and at times in 
degrading conditions (eg, in cramped conditions or hidden in lorries 
without access to sanitation) the individual had consented to this.
Trafficking: Trafficking doesn’t necessarily entail border crossing, 
the primary focus is upon the exploitation of the individuals involved 
and either doesn’t entail consent, or where initial consent is gained, it 
is made irrelevant by later use of force or coercion at any stage of the 
process. Trafficking is therefore less about the movement of persons and 
more about coercion, exploitation and the shadow economy of illegal 
trading in people and their forced servitude. 
Information compiled from Anti-Slavery International, International 
Centre for Migration Policy Development, European Commission, US 
Department of State and the Mixed Migration Task Force.

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According to UNHCR, up to 3,000 refugees are leaving Eritrea every 
month, fleeing forced conscription, ethnic and religious persecution 
and a host of other human rights violations in their home country 21. 
The UNHCR estimates as of January 2012, there were 251,954 Eritrean 
refugees and 14,172 asylum seekers22 spread across the Horn of Africa.
Leaving Eritrea is the first hurdle, with smugglers and traffickers acutely 
aware of the unrelenting number of Eritreans seeking to find a way out. 
With such tight constraints on movements of person, smugglers are 
often essential to the plan. The risks, however, are high, and it is hard 
to know when the smuggler entrusted with arranging and facilitating 
the departure will turn trafficker and brutally exploit their vulnerabilities. 
A primary destination, due to geographical proximity, is Sudan, and once 
across the border many end up in refugee camps such as Shagareb on 
the eastern border with Eritrea. It is anticipated that by January 2013, 
around 115,000 Eritreans will be inside Sudan23. Despite the UNHCR 
presence, the international body tasked with provision of support is only 
able to assist 68,000 of those by that time, and only 1,000 more by the 
end of that year24.
With the heaviest concentration of refugees in the country, eastern Sudan 
has become a veritable hub of potential victims for human traffickers 
and smugglers. Eritrean refugees looking for work or to reunite with 
family members are at increased risk. In particular, Sudan’s legislation 
relating to refugees is restrictive. Despite having ratified the International 
Convention on the Rights of Refugees, Sudan made a reservation to 
article 26, which relates to freedom of movement, has meant that 
Eritreans find themselves formally restricted to camps with few economic 
options available25.The policy environment therefore encourages the use 
of smugglers to enable Eritreans to 
move on to major economic centres 
such as Khartoum as a means to 
earn a living. 
Although not limited to them, the 
Rashaida Bedouin26 clans who live 
in and around the border area 
between Sudan, Eritrea and further 
up towards Egypt are frequent 
actors in the kidnapping and 
trafficking business. Often, Eritreans 
are lured by the prospect of moving 
onto Khartoum or towards South 
Sudan, but have also known to be 
kidnapped around the edges of the 
camps27. Ransoms are frequently set at exorbitant fees, and hostages are 
often tortured to “convince” family members to get the money28 and killed 
if the ransoms cannot be met with their organs harvested and sold on the 
lucrative black market29. Women are most vulnerable, finding themselves 
subject to gang rapes, beatings, unwanted pregnancies, burns and other 
forms of torture30. A UN security council report this year found Eritrean 
official, Sudanese and Egyptian smuggling gangs collude in a human 
trafficking industry estimated to generate more than US$10m annually31.
Once in Sudan, Eritreans find themselves moving either South towards 
South Sudan, Kenya and Uganda, or North, towards Egypt, Israel, Libya 
and Europe all in search of greater security and life opportunities. However 
the regional approach to refugees is varied and key actors often defy 
12
"The Rashaida (tribesmen) 
found me and captured me 
and my daughter. We were 
locked in a house for a 
month and they told me 
that I had to find money to 
pay a ransom if I wanted to 
be freed. They raped me and 
they threatened to kill me. 
They also threatened to cut 
out my kidney and sell it, 
if I couldn ’t find money 
for a ransom."
Askalu
21Amnesty International Annual Report: Eritrea(2012)
22UNHCR Regional Operations Profile: East and Horn of Africa: Eritrea(2012)
23UNHCR Sudan Global Appeal 2012-2013 (2012)
24Ibid
25 UNHCR, Submission by the UNHCR to the OHCHR Compilation Report – Universal Periodic Review: Sudan 
(2010) p2
26The Rashaida are a Bedouin clan predominantly based around the Eritrean/Sudan border stretching up 
towards Egypt and the Sinai, they are closely related to the Bedouins from Saudi Arabia. They are nomadic 
people who are primarily pastoralists and merchants who move around the Eastern Sudanese region. It is 
important to note that not all smugglers involved are Rashaida and not all Rashaida are smugglers. Rachel 
Humphris, Refugees and the Rashaida, Human Smuggling and Trafficking from Eritrea to Sudan and Egypt 
UNHCR (November 2012) 
27Ian Timberlake People Traffickers Stalk Eritreans in Sudan Desert (14th January 2012)
28Mirjam van Reisen, Meron Estefanos &Conny Rijken Human Trafficking in the Sinai Refugees between Life and 
Death  European External Policy Advisors (2012)
 29Fred Pleitgen, Death in the Desert, CNN Freedom Project (2nd November 2011) 
30Mirjam van Reisenet al (2012) Op Cit

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international human rights and refugee standards.
In Sudan, a chronic lack of documentation among refugees means they are 
constantly at risk of being arrested or deported back to the Eritrean regime, 
where attempted escape is punishable by prison. Sudan’s indifference 
to human rights standards, especially with respect to non-refoulement 
saw more than 300 Eritreans forcibly returned without screening them 
for refugee status, defying a UNHCR agreement32.
In June 2012, Israel announced it would begin to implement an anti-
infiltration law, amending its 1954 Prevention of Infiltration Law to define 
all asylum seekers for crossing into Israel unannounced as “infiltrators”. 
Since 2006, tens of thousands of migrants have crossed the border from 
Egypt into Israel with the US State Department estimating two-thirds as 
Eritrean. They enter an increasingly xenophobic society where violence 
and opposition to immigration has escalated in recent years with anti-
immigration race riots taking place in Tel Aviv33 and houses with Eritreans 
being firebombed in 201234 . While the government has not moved to 
deport current refugees, neither has it granted them refugee status.
However in Ethiopia, the government has introduced an “out-of-camp” 
policy for self-sufficient Eritrean refugees who are able to live outside 
camps without assistance. The UNHCR and more welcoming host countries 
such as Uganda or Kenya receive many Eritreans, however they are already 
overwhelmed with the thousands displaced every month from Somalia, 
Sudan and the DRC as a result of regional conflicts. Despite the urgent 
need for a stronger regional approach to refugees, most Eritreans who 
manage to make it out find nothing more than uncertainty at the end of 
the line, with no authority looking out for their wellbeing in the long term.
Theirs are stories of abandonment – by the Eritrean government, by the 
smugglers who have promised to safely transfer them, as well as by the 
host governments and international agencies that have committed to 
supporting them at the end of their harrowing ordeals.
31Phoebe Greenwood, Eritrean Regime Cashes in on Arms and Human Trafficking, says UN report The Guardian 
(17th July 2012)
 32Human Rights Watch Sudan: End Mass Summary Deportations of Eritreans (25th October 2011)
 
33Conal Urqhart, African asylum seekers injured in Tel Aviv Race Riots The Guardian (24th May 2012) 
34Harriet Sherwood, Jerusalem Apartment Housing Migrants Firebombed The Guardian  (4thJune 2012)and 
Harriet Sherwood Israel Turns on Its Refugees, The Guardian (4th June 2012) 

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The stories presented here are nine of fifteen that were collected during the 
primary research. They were drawn from women currently situated in Sudan, Uganda, 
and Kenya. The selection set out to emphasise the three key aspects of the issue at 
hand; the backdrop as to why they left Eritrea, the journey leaving Eritrea and 
their experiences once outside Eritrea, in their host country as refugees.  Many of 
the stories reflect the situations or abuses that were common to many of accounts 
and testimonies given to SIHA.
TesTimonies of e riTrean Women
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15
I 
belong to the Pentecostal church, which is not registered in Eritrea and is subject 
to persecution. I was arrested the first time in 2003, when I gathered with some 
other young people to pray, even though we were in a private house. A group of 
paramilitary police raided the house and arrested everyone there. I was held in 
May Srwa prison for two weeks and only released on condition that I leave the 
Pentecostal church. I agreed to the terms, but I would not really leave my church.
I got married in early 2005 – my husband is in the same church. Not long after 
our marriage we attended the wedding of a fellow Pentecostal. The government 
forces raided the wedding and arrested all of the guests, including me and my 
husband. We were put in a prison camp called ‘Camp No. 5’ and were held there for 
two months. They put us under great pressure to leave our church.
After two months we were transferred to AdiAbeito prison, about (less than 10) 
kilometers from Asmara, where we were kept for another month. From there we 
were still not released, and were instead transferred to Wi’a, the hottest place 
in Eritrea. Here they made us stay for two months before bringing us back to 
AdiAbeito prison again.
Finally we were released, but they took my husband away and put him back into 
military service, even though he had already served since 1998. He escaped the 
military shortly afterwards and, to avoid another arrest, we decided to leave the 
Asmara area.
In mid-2006 our first son was born, but he developed several health problems. My 
husband could not work, due to problems with his back and legs. We decided we had 
to leave Eritrea for Sudan. We used family connections to find people to smuggle 
us to Khartoum. While in Khartoum I gave birth to our daughter.
However we had no papers in Khartoum so we decided to go to Shegereb camp. Here, 
life was very difficult – it was overcrowded, there was not enough food, we feared 
being taken hostage by Rashaida, and UNHCR did not help us, even with my son’s 
health problems. 
Finally we returned to Khartoum with a bigger group. Although my husband still 
cannot work, I have found work as a washwoman in people’s houses and as a 
hair-braider. Sometimes people try to convert me to Islam but, generally, people 
accept my Christianity.
Medhin

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hen I was still in high school in Asmara one of my friends introduced me and 
some others to a guy called Mohammed who began to tell us how tough life 
would be in Eritrea. We spent some time with him among our group of friends. After 
three months of knowing him, Mohammed said he could get us to Sudan and then 
even to the United States to find a better life. Some of my friends and I decided 
to take the opportunity.
Mohammed had told us that he could take us out of the country for free, and even 
help us with visas and everything we needed. He told us he’d put us in touch with 
his brother, who would take us all the way to Sudan. 
In the run up to our departure, Mohammed would ask us about our family; if we 
had any relatives abroad, what jobs they did, that sort of thing. The day before 
we left, he suddenly told us we’d need to take money for the journey. He told us 
to bring 40,000 Nakfa35 between the three of us who were travelling, and also not 
to forget phone numbers for our family members.
The day we left we were so sad and scared to leave our families and homes but 
also excited about the future. I only took one blouse, one pair of trousers and 
500 ml of water with, along with my money. 
We began to chat in the car but the driver told us to keep our mouths shut. He 
and another man were seated in front, and they spoke to each other in a language 
we didn’t understand. 
We drove for days and days. At some point we stopped, and a guy came to us holding 
a gun and forcing us into a pickup truck, shouting at us in this language we 
didn’t know. They forced some of us to sit down in the pickup and others into the 
back of the pickup, and covered us with a blanket.
Around this point I started to get really thirsty and hungry. We had never 
thought it would be this far or take this long. Then the car broke down, and the 
driver was shouting and screaming in his language, trying to fix the car but 
also getting angry with us. He shouted at us, and we didn’t understand. Then he 
hit our friend who was helping him repair the car.
Hayat 
ibra Him
35 40,000 Nafka is approximately $2,667
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We had to sit in the desert for the whole day with no food or water. One of my 
friends fainted but the driver told me not to help her. I was exhausted and 
terrified, and even started to pray that intelligence agents would find us and 
arrest us.
The driver began to take our belongings – our phones, our bags, anything we had 
– and threatened us with his gun to make us hand them over. Just as I gave up 
hope, another pickup arrived. They forced us in and we carried on.
Later we reached a hut where they told us to drink from a big five-litre container. 
But they laughed so much as we went to drink that we became afraid of what 
they’d done to the water, and only took a little.
Things got worse when we reached Port Sudan. Here we met a tall man with one 
Rashaida. He told us to call our family members who lived and worked abroad 
and tell them to send $5000 within three days, otherwise we would be killed and 
left in the desert.
I called my sister. I hadn’t even told her I was leaving. I told her she had to 
find the money and send it, or they would kill me.
They separated us and told us not to talk until the money arrived. I was scared 
to death. One of my friends was unwell, the stress and the conditions had made 
his body swell up. He asked me to stand on his back. I stood up to help him but 
the Rashaida man came and smashed me in the face with his gun, and knocked out 
one of my teeth.
They spoke to my sister who told them to put me on the phone. They let me just 
say hello then took the phone back and demanded money. We had to wait four days 
surviving on only two litres of water and a little bread.
Finally they received some of the payments. They took the ones who had paid to 
Kassala and then on to Khartoum. From there I left to Kenya, and finally managed 
to make it to Kampala. 
Now I just want those people who cause so much suffering in this way to be found 
and to have to face justice for what they do.

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am the only child in my family. I left school early to help my mother, and 
both of my parents were very worried that I would have to leave the home to 
do national service. The police came to search for me several times, but I always 
hid at my friend’s house. My father said he would die if they took me to do 
national service.
So in August 2011 I decided I had to leave. Our neighbors’ son told me that he 
could get me to Sudan, so I agreed to go with him. I did not tell my parents, but 
when I escaped they were both arrested in my place. They will not be released 
until someone can pay a 50,000 Nakfa fine36.
It was in September 2011 that I left home with the neighbors’ son. We and four 
others – two men and two women – shared a car from Hagaz to Barentu. From Barentu 
we walked for four nights to reach Sudan. After crossing the border the group 
separated; we were told to each go by ourselves to Shegareb camp. 
I went with the neighbors’ son, and when we arrived at our camp he told me I had 
to pay him 12,000 Sudanese Pounds (SDG)37 to cover his expenses. I explained that 
I had no money and nobody to pay for me, and that he hadn’t said before that I 
would need to pay. I have no idea if the others had paid. He just said “nothing 
in life comes for free” and ‘gave’ me to a group of Eritrean boys; I don’t know if 
they paid him for me.
At first they kept me in shackles. They gave me drugs, partly because I was suffering 
a lot of pain from the abuse they were inflicting on me. But then I started to 
pretend that I would stay with them of my own free will, so they released me. 
But they still kept me locked in a house, usually with a scarf wrapped tightly 
around my head.
After about two months, a small local boy noticed me in the hut where I was kept. 
One day I was only guarded by one of the kidnappers, so when he went to the 
bathroom I locked him inside and escaped with the help of the local boy. I went 
to the UNHCR office; the kidnappers followed me there but I’d met some people 
tsega
36  50,000 Nakfa is approximately $3312 USD. 
37 12,000 SDG is approximately $2721
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from my hometown who protected me from them. At UNHCR I got my refugee ID card 
but I never said what had happened to me, because I didn’t want it to be public 
and I knew UNHCR wouldn’t do anything anyway.
I did tell the people from my hometown what had happened, though, and from then 
on we all stayed together and they protected me. I would sleep indoors with four 
other girls, while four boys would sleep outside to protect us. The kidnappers 
came often and they would see me, but they didn’t dare to try to take me again.
I still feared being taken from Shegerab, though, so me and my friends decided to 
continue towards Khartoum. We paid smugglers 300 SDG 38 per person, although my 
friends paid for me. We left Shegerab on foot up to the river, which we crossed by 
boat. We then took a boksi (pick-up) with 10 people and drove three nights until we 
were on the outskirts of Khartoum. From here we continued separately on rickshaws.
I found work at a house but the job was very hard so I left. However I had to 
return as it was impossible to find other work. I earn 200 SDG 39  per month for 
cleaning, washing and ironing. I do have my own room, which I can lock, but I don’t 
really speak to the family. I only have one day off a month. At first the family 
shouted at me a lot, but now they are beginning to speak to me more normally.
I do not want to stay in Sudan, but I have no other options. I have no direct 
contact with my parents back in Eritrea, but I know from a friend that they are 
still in prison, unable to pay the fine and punished for my own escape.
38 300 SDG is approximately $68 USD
39 200 SDG is approximately $45.35 USD

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I 
got married in 2006, while my husband was doing his military service. In 2010 my 
husband escaped to Ethiopia, leaving me at home with our two-year-old daughter. 
He had told his superiors that he was going on holiday to see his wife and child, 
so when he disappeared they came to my house and accused me of assisting him. 
That was the first I heard about his escape. They put me in prison for a month 
until I paid a fine of 50,000 Nakfa40.
After this my husband contacted me through his family, and I also decided to 
escape, but I would go to Sudan. I left with two of my husband’s friends. We went 
to Tessenei, where I was handed over to a Sudanese man, an Eritrean man and two 
Adarob41 who would take me and my daughter to Kassala. We paid them 30,000 Nakfa42.
We walked at night through the forests from Tessenei towards Kassala, until we 
reached Qulsa, a border village. The two Adarob left to find water and the Sudanese 
man went to bring a car, leaving me and my daughter with the Eritrean. This man 
raped me in the forest. I tried to fight him but he was too strong. He blindfolded 
me with my scarf and didn’t care about the screams of my terrified daughter. 
After he raped me he left. An hour later the Sudanese man returned with the car 
to find me crying, but I couldn’t tell him what had happened. 
In Kassala I was taken to a Sudanese family home, where they gave me food and a 
room. The Sudanese man told me he would take me to the refugee camp, but that I 
couldn’t go there with my Eritrean ID, cell phone, money or my bag. He took them 
and said he would keep them for me, and then left.
I waited a week but he never returned. An Eritrean lady in the neighborhood 
translated my story for the Sudanese people and they said the man would not 
return. The next day I was taken to Shegerab. 
kedusan
40 50,000 Nakfa is approximately $3,312 USD. 
41 Adorob is a term used to describe any person from Eastern Sudan regardless of their specific ethnic or tribal background.
42 30,000 Nakfa would approximately be $1986.75 USD.

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I spent two and a half months in Shegerab. I reported my case to UNHCR but they 
didn’t seem to care. I was pregnant from the rape but UNHCR did nothing except 
give me a refugee card. Luckily some Eritrean families I stayed with paid my costs 
to take me and my daughter to Khartoum.
I reached Khartoum and found some work, and then my husband came to find me 
there. By that stage I was three months pregnant from the rape in the forest. My 
husband abandoned me after he found out about the rape and the pregnancy. I was 
shocked, and I became very sick and weak.
The people who brought me to Khartoum contacted my father, who came to see me. 
My father asked my husband to support me, he explained that I am the victim in 
this situation, but my husband refused and demanded a divorce. I was still weak 
and unwell, and needed a blood transfusion. My father stayed with me until I 
had recovered.
In March 2012 I gave birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy. He had all his 
vaccination shots on time. I loved him very much; he had suffered so much with 
me and was completely innocent.
One day in September he started wheezing and had a fever, so I treated him with 
some sesame oil. The next day he was still unwell so I took him to the hospital. 
Suddenly he lost consciousness due to a sharp drop in his blood circulation, and 
he died. I was devastated. I was desperate to give my baby a good life.
My husband never supported me or asked after me. I don’t want to stay in Sudan, but 
I haven’t found a way out. I am so upset about my baby son, but now I must focus 
all of my energy on my daughter. I only want for her to be healthy and smart.

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hen I was in 11th grade at high school my family arranged my marriage. In 
our tradition a girl should not be unmarried in her 20s. I was married within 
three months of the day I was told about the wedding.
Early in our marriage, while pregnant with our first child, my husband was 
called to join the military due to the border conflict with Ethiopia. At that time 
everyone joined the military, even my younger brother was there at the front. 
The conflict dragged on and life was tough, constantly waiting for money from 
my husband, which was too little in any case. I couldn’t support my children on 
my husband’s salary alone – just 500 Nakfa43 to pay for rent, food and clothing. 
It was impossible. We moved back in with my family but I couldn’t bear to see 
myself unable to support my kids and my mother. I became angry and depressed, I 
cried for days.
Then I heard through my neighbour about jobs in Arab countries that paid well 
that would allow me to support my family. Using a loan from one of my relatives, 
I organised the people to take me there, a sponsor, money for my medical check-up, 
an air ticket and a contract fee for the agent. My mother tried to stop me but 
I had to go. I sent a letter to my husband and my brother telling them I was 
leaving, and without waiting for their reply I left.
Leaving my children and mother behind was the hardest decision of my life, but I 
went to Saudi Arabia in March 2005 to start working as a maid in a family home. 
I had to wake up at 4am every day, earlier during Ramadan, and wouldn’t finish 
until 1am. The days were incredibly long, and I was only allowed to have a day 
off once a month. My monthly salary was $100.
asli
43  500 Nafka is approximately $33 USD
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At first things were okay in the job but after a while I became very upset at 
the way they all treated me and with the workload.  In the second year of the job 
the wife of the family didn’t send my wages to my family. I challenged her over 
it but she said she’d sent it. After that she began to nag me and throw things 
at me. She was always angry and would shout at me, saying she would have me put 
in jail and that I would rot in prison. I knew no one and had no rights there; I 
didn’t know where to turn. I became depressed and just wanted to die. 
Then one day I received a call – it was my husband saying he had escaped to Sudan 
and that he was going to head for Italy. He asked me to send him $500 so he could 
get to Libya then cross the Mediterranean. He let me know he had arrived safely in 
Libya and had found a place in a boat, and that in a week he would be in Italy.
I heard nothing for a month. Then one day I received a call from someone I didn’t 
know in Italy. He told me he had been with my husband in Libya, and that the 
boat my husband had been on had sunk. Everyone aboard drowned. I was out of my 
mind with grief. 

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hen I left school I worked as a cleaner in a chicken farm. There I started a 
relationship with a co-worker who said he wanted to marry me, but when I got 
pregnant he left me. My family also threw me out of the home when they found 
this out.
After the birth of my daughter in March 2005 I went to Asmara and took a job as 
a domestic worker. I was treated badly by the family and was scared that I would 
be called for national service, so I decided to leave. I went to the border town of 
Tessenei and worked selling water at the bus station. The money was barely enough 
for me and my daughter to survive, and I could not save anything.
So in August 2010 I left on foot for Sudan, carrying my daughter on my back. I 
met some nomads on the road and walked with them to their destination. From there 
they showed me the way and I continued alone.
However the Rashaida found me and captured me and my daughter. We were locked in 
a house for a month and they told me that I had to find money to pay a ransom 
if I wanted to be freed. They raped me and they threatened to kill me. They also 
threatened to cut out my kidney and sell it, if I couldn’t find money for a ransom. 
While we were captured by the Rashaida my daughter asked me why we were locked 
up like this, and said: “It’s because you don’t have money, isn’t it?”
I had the number of a friend in Khartoum, and this friend contacted my sister. 
My family had thrown me out, but my sister stayed loyal to me and went to the 
mosque to collect 2500 SDG to buy my freedom – back then in 2010 the ransoms were 
much lower than they are today.
Once they received the money, the Rashaida released me close to Kassala. My sister 
sent me some money there. I’d heard that Shagarb is very bad so I decided to go 
straight to Khartoum, where I have found work and my daughter is now in school. 
However my status is still uncertain, I still have no papers.
I just want my daughter to have a better life than I have had.
askalu
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A
fter the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia broke out I was assigned to the 
military hospital in Ala, because I had first aid training. It was an awful 
experience, beyond what I could bear. I was far too young and unprepared for 
what I saw there. Watching the young men and women suffer and die terrified me.
I decided I absolutely had to avoid national service, because at that time the 
fighting was very bad and I would likely have been sent to the front. I moved to 
Asmara, where my brother lived, and started class there. When school finished and 
I was expected to start national service, I hid at home. 
It was very stressful to live in hiding from the authorities. I always had to 
keep a look out for military police in the streets before I left home, and it was 
impossible to leave Asmara as there are so many checkpoints around. I felt like a 
prisoner in my own country.
At first I got through security checks using my high school ID, and once that 
expired I had to rely on luck. Once I had to run away from the military police, 
and another time they came to my house in the middle of the night but I’d hidden 
between the bed and the wall. Luckily they didn’t search too thoroughly .I gave 
thanks to Allah after each escape. We have all seen so many lives ruined by 
national service.
After I got married, I had to carry my marriage certificate with me as a pass. After 
many years my husband won a scholarship to go to South Africa to study for his 
masters. While he was there the political crisis in Eritrea worsened, especially 
between students and the government, so it wasn’t safe for him to return. Because 
I hadn’t done national service I wasn’t officially allowed to leave the country 
to join him.
A man I was introduced to offered the possibility of escaping to Ethiopia. I hadn’t 
made any decision, but a week later two security agents came to my house early 
in the morning and arrested me. They put me in a cell with three women, and told 
me I was arrested for trying to leave the country.
awatif 
abdela

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It turns out they had found my name and address with someone who had tried to 
escape with the man I’d spoken to. They were caught crossing the border, and must 
have said something because now the security agent was certain I was leaving 
too. Later they accused me of working with the man who was helping people to 
escape. Maybe one of the people they caught said this; the security agents will 
interrogate prisoners until they give up names – any names. They did the same to 
me, interrogating me endlessly asking for names of the people I was working with.
They moved me to a new prison where the interrogator was very harsh. He slapped 
me a couple of times, threatened and humiliated me, talking to me as if I were 
trash. They expected me to break at some point, but I had nothing to give them so 
they decided to move me to the worst prison, a detention centre called Mai-Srwa.
At Mai-Srwa the rooms are metal containers. There were nine women in one container. 
Most of the others were there because of their religion, and some had been there for 
six months. We were only allowed out twice a day, for 30 minutes. It was unbearably 
hot in the day and freezing at night. The food was terrible, and visitors weren’t 
allowed to bring food to us. Most prisoners weren’t even allowed visitors.
I’d spent the previous four weeks hoping to be freed because I knew I was innocent. 
But at Mai-Srwa I lost all hope. They had moved me here even though they had no 
proof and I had denied all their accusations.
In Eritrea the authorities don’t need to file charges to arrest you or to keep 
you in prison. That is the way the system works and no one complains in public; 
you can’t rely on someone in the outside world to take up your case. Some of the 
prisoners didn’t even know why they were in jail. 
Often someone from national security will arrest you and put you in jail. Even 
the police officers may not know why you are there. The police are not supposed 
to ask you anything or interrogate you. They will just keep you under custody 
until the person or unit in charge comes for you. These things are handled mostly 
by the military officers and not the police.

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They put me in the police station and no police officer ever talked to me about 
my case or why I was there. When I ask them why I was there, the police officers 
told me they didn’t know anything and that those who put me there will come to 
open my file and interrogate me. 
I was held there for over three months. They interrogated me at random times, any 
time of the day or night, and always asked the same questions.
They told me that if a sentence was passed on my case I would be in prison for 
two years. I was desperate and pleaded for my family and friends to find a way 
to get me out. Finally a friend made a breakthrough and convinced a high-ranking 
official to secure my release. But I knew that I could be arrested again at any 
time. I had to escape my country – there was no authority in Eritrea to protect me. 
At first they refused me an exit visa because my husband was out of the country. 
Eventually I had to divorce my husband to obtain an exit visa, and I escaped.

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I 
left Eritrea to escape national service, because everyone knows the terrible 
conditions of the training and the horrible treatment by the officers. 
In the big towns it is sometimes possible to escape national service, but where I 
come from everyone knows everyone so it is impossible to hide; someone will report 
you to the authorities. I tried to escape once in 2009 but was caught with fake 
papers and sent back (to an underground prison Aderser and latter to Wia – a 
prison and military training camp). I left again in July 2010, through the Tesenai 
border. I was told we would take a car but we had to walk all the way to the 
border. We started at 8pm and didn’t arrive until 9am the next day. Eventually 
we made it to Shegerab refugee camp in Sudan. 
I didn’t stay long there because I heard people talking about a better life in 
Israel, so I made connections to go there. 
Some men separated those of us who wanted to go to Israel and kept us in a hut 
for a couple of days. From there we walked for three days and were transferred 
to other Rashaidas who had a pick-up truck. They made us all get in – there were 
20 of us in total.
We drove through the desert for eight days and nights with no rest. We were given 
just a small piece of cake for each day, and there was hardly any water. They 
even mixed some kerosene in the water so that none of us drank too much of it.
The pickup was far too overcrowded; the route was long and we were exhausted 
and terrified. The desert was so tough; it was so sunny, hot and windy. I couldn’t 
see anything but sand. I have no idea how they knew the road. We were so scared 
that we would get lost out there. 
Hiwot
Sent to botH priSon S and 
military training and 
tH en a SSigned to do H er 
national S ervice

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We have heard that so many people lost their lives in the desert for different 
reasons: cars that break down in the middle of nowhere where you can’t get help; 
sometimes the car has too many passengers and they just force some out and leave 
them behind, or the car gets stuck and can’t move anymore; some who got lost and 
didn’t know the way back; others who finish the water or didn’t bring water at 
all, to save space to take extra passengers. Even if you get sick on the way no 
one will care for you. They’ll just leave you in the desert. 
We saw so many human skeletons on the way. All we could do was pray to get out 
of that desert quickly and safely.
Finally after eight days and nights we reached the Sinai. After three days there 
60 of us were transferred from a small town back to the desert. From there we 
were made to walk for 13 hours to reach the Egypt/Israel border. 
The route from Sinai to the Israeli border is very risky. Sometimes the two sets 
of soldiers – Egyptian and Israeli – open fire and kill refugees. The Egyptian 
soldiers are almost always the ones who shoot. Sometimes the Israeli border guards 
give the refugees cover by firing back. I don’t know why the Egyptian soldiers 
hate us so much, even when we are leaving their land. They just don’t want us to 
reach Israel safely; they do whatever they can to stop that.
Once we made it to the border we were handed over to Israeli border guards, who 
kept us there for a few days before transferring us to a camp. After two weeks 
in the camp I was able to go to town, but we weren’t given permission to work 
in Israel. We had to work, though, so while evading authorities we did jobs like 
cleaning, working on construction sites and in kitchens.
However the people in Israel hated refugees and wanted us to leave their country. 
The future wasn’t promising; I felt permanently insecure because the citizens didn’t 
want us there. And now we hear about the race riots in Tel Aviv, so I’m glad I 
left to come to Kampala instead.

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I 
was born and grew up in Ethiopia, but when Eritrea won independence my family 
and I went there. I studied at the University of Asmara and earned a degree in 
animal science. While in Eritrea I had to do military training and then national 
service. 
I ended up at the Eritrean Naval Base at the port city Massawa, working as a 
telephone operator. I’d studied for four years for a degree in animal science, 
and now my assignment was to transfer calls. Anyone can do this work. It was a 
real setback for me. I had asked to do something related to my studies but they 
ignored me. I was so frustrated.
Worse, the government was arresting all the Christian people on the base. By the 
time I arrived, almost all the Christians had been locked up. I am also a Christian, 
and they took away my bible and some spiritual song cassettes. I was threatened 
and told never to talk about Christ or act like a Christian, and to never associate 
with other Christians who live on the base.
The authorities were arresting Christian students who were serving in the chapel 
at the University of Asmara. They would interrogate people and intimidate them, 
demanding the names of other Christians. They forced Christians to denounce their 
religion and sign a paper never to practice their religion again. Those who refused 
were taken to military prisons in remote areas and treated very badly. They won’t 
set you free unless you accept their terms; it’s not like you’ve been sentenced and 
will be released after a certain time. 
I was in the choir in (university) chapel, so I felt very threatened. Life became 
very difficult for the Christians on the base. The authorities closed all the 
evangelical churches. We couldn’t read the bible or listen to gospel songs, and we 
were getting arrested just for being Christian. Not only was I working in a field 
I didn’t want to be in, but now I felt threatened due to my belief. 
Nebiat

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I feared arrest every day. Eventually, I decided to leave the country. I needed 
a good reason to get an exit visa, so I signed marriage papers with a friend and 
managed to escape to Kenya. Life in Kenya is so expensive, so I had to find a job. 
It is very difficult to find work in Nairobi. I worked in a restaurant kitchen 
chopping onions and tomatoes and cutting beef into pieces, and got paid $50 per 
month, which didn’t even cover my rent. For my $50 I had to work Monday to Sunday 
from 7am to 8pm.
Later I found another job in an Internet cafe. I worked Monday to Sunday, from 
8am to 10pm. The pay was better here but my boss began abusing me. He didn’t pay 
me on time, and then he began to abuse me. At first he would just say, “you are 
beautiful, you are smart,” that kind of thing. But later he began to try holding 
my hand and touching me here and there. I didn’t like to be treated like that 
and I told him so, but he didn’t stop. Eventually one evening he turned up when 
I was closing the cafe. There was no one but me. He tried to rape me. I got away 
but I couldn’t take it anymore and even though I needed the job I had to leave.
It is so annoying. Many men who have money think that they can just buy a girl. 
I’ve faced many different kinds of abuse, all of which undermined my dignity.
The incident also made me feel very insecure. He is a man; he’s physically stronger 
than I am so I feared that, if he got the chance, he would come and attack me 
again. It makes me feel very insecure around other men as well. I stay home most 
of the time and avoid him as much as I can. I never answer his calls or talk to 
him; I try to keep myself safe.
Of course I can’t go to the police about this; the police are the number one enemy 
of the refugee population. 

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The walk home from work was always very difficult for me because I would usually 
get stopped at least two or three times by police who demanded money simply because 
I’m a refugee. If you say you don’t have money they tell you to call someone to 
bring cash. If you say you don’t know anyone to pay for you they say they’ll 
throw you in jail. Once you’re in jail it’s even worse, because you’ll need to pay 
higher officials a large sum of money to get out.
Even if you have official papers to live in the country as a refugee, or with a 
valid passport and visa, once you are in the hands of the police, none of that 
will help. Passports and refugee papers get torn up by the police so no one dares 
show or give their papers to them. Negotiating and paying the agreed amount of 
money is the only way out.
There are also many thieves who carry guns or other weapons. If someone is attacked 
in the middle of the road no one here tries to stop the thief or help the victim. 
Even if you’re in an accident the people here will rob you instead of helping. 
There are also numerous reports of rape, which makes life very tough for women. 
Even if it hasn’t happened to a particular woman, she always fears that she may 
be the next victim, especially because you can’t rely on the police or the law for 
protection.

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33
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35
SIHA network 2013
First published 2013
All rights reserved. materials may be freely 
disseminated and used for educational, activists, 
non-profit purposes, with due acknowledgement 
of the source. otherwise, no part of this publication 
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system 
or transmitted in any form or by any means, 
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording 
or otherwise without prior written permission 
of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn 
of Africa.
Produced and edited by: SIHA Network
Cover photo by: Ayman Hussein
Design: peter kyambadde

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SIHA Secretariat
plot 15 upper east Naguru
p.o.box 5, Ntinda
kampala, uganda
+256 414 286 263
Uganda Office
Ahmed khair Street, khartoum 3
p.o.box 185, omdurman, Sudan
+249 183 571 789
sihahornofafrica@gmail.com
www.sihanet.org
Sudan Office
Strategic Initiative for Women in 
the Horn of Africa (SIHA)