Feature - Eritrean deserters in "enemy" land

In the dry, hilly landscape of northern Ethiopia, a group of young men wanders aimlessly through a makeshift "main street", sometimes stopping to take tea or to make conversation along the way. They have nowhere to go and nothing to do. They are Eritreans - mostly deserters from the army or young people fleeing the military call-up at home. They have ended up in "enemy" territory, in a refugee camp for Eritreans. The remote Wa'ala Nihibi camp, near the town of Shiraro, was originally set up to accommodate some 4,000 ethnic Kunamas from Eritrea who fled their country in 2000, at the height of the war with Ethiopia. But this year, non-Kunamas started appearing. Small numbers of mostly young men began arriving at the camp after undergoing intensive screening by the Ethiopian authorities. As the months went by, the numbers started swelling - over 200 have crossed in the last two months alone, according to figures provided by the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, and the Ethiopian government. CONTINGENCY PLANS The numbers are significant enough to be of concern to UNHCR which is drawing up emergency plans for a large influx of refugees from Eritrea. UNHCR and the Ethiopian government's Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs (ARRA) say some 960 non-Kunamas have arrived so far this year - 823 of them Tigrinya speakers from the Eritrean highlands, and 65 of them women. The majority are crossing near Adigrat in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region. In making the journey, the asylum seekers have to cross the 25 km buffer zone which separates the two countries following their bitter two-year border war. "They are crossing because of forced military recruitment and persecution in Eritrea," says Berhe Woldemichael, the camp coordinator for ARRA, which offers protection to the refugees and administers the camp. The mostly-uneducated Kunama and the draft dodgers - many of them students - are unlikely bedfellows in this barren camp, only a few kilometres from the Eritrean border and close to the controversial village of Badme where the war erupted in 1998. They rarely mix, living at opposite ends of the camp. "Most of us are soldiers who have been taken from our homes, students forced to be soldiers," says a spokesman for the group. "We are grateful to the Ethiopian government and to ARRA, but there is nothing for us in this camp." They are bored, and he is afraid they will turn to alcohol because there is nothing to do. "The Eritrean government is exploiting the brains and power of the youth," he alleges. "For them, we provide cheap labour. We are running in order to live in peace." The deserters claim that the ages for national service in Eritrea - 18 to 40 - have either been lowered or increased. "Now, even if you are 60 you can be called up," the spokesman says. "People are being forced into service regardless of whether or not they have already completed 18 months of military service." ERITREA DENIES The claims are vigorously denied by the Eritrean government, which says there is no second call-up. "We are absolutely not changing the ages for national service," government sources told IRIN. "It's not at all sensible. We didn't do this at the height of fighting, so why would we do it now? Of course, every deserter will tell you such things." The Eritrean government accuses the dominant party in Ethiopia's coalition government - the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) - of using the refugees for political gain. "The figures given by the TPLF are nonsense," the source said. "The TPLF is just trying to make propaganda." "People are dodging the draft for national service - it happens everywhere," he said. "This is a post-war situation - it's perfectly normal for a few draft dodgers to be there, and for their soldiers to be here." "With this huge border, it's not surprising," he added. "Ethiopian soldiers are also crossing into Eritrea. We have their names. Eleven crossed two days ago, and nine some days before that." REFUGEE STATUS PROBLEMATIC The refugees in Wa'ala Nihibi camp say they live in constant fear of attack by the Eritrean army. "There are security issues," admits Berhe, the camp administrator. Wa'ala Nihibi is supposed to be a temporary camp, until a suitable site is identified further away from the border. A site was found, but the Ethiopian government said no to the move at the last minute. UNHCR, which is anxious to move the refugees, says another site is currently being evaluated. Eritrea rejects suggestions that it is beefing up its military presence close to the border. "Here in Eritrea it's business as usual," the government source said. The recent influx poses a problem for UNHCR which will end the blanket refugee status granted for Eritreans as of December 2002. "There are several options," Ilunga Ngandu, the UNHCR representative in Ethiopia, told IRIN. "Some may go home when relations between the two countries improve, but the conditions have to be right. Secondly, some may be settled locally in a viable environment. Or there could be resettlement in a third country for those who qualify." It means that each person now crossing the border will have to be individually assessed before being granted refugee status and some could be sent home. Eritrea says it will welcome back its citizens. "If they return to Eritrea, they are coming home," the government said.