OUR BLOG
October 10, 2021
The Eritrean Healthcare Professional Network Team
A Call to Condemn the Actions Against Eritrean Refugees in Libya.
The news coming out of Libya is heartbreaking to say the least. The refugees need immediate medical attention or access to medical services, food, water, safe shelter, access to UNHCR and resettlement opportunities. We call upon the international community; UNHCR, IRC, the Libyan government and other humanitarian organizations to respond with a sense of urgency to the ongoing refugee crisis in Libya.
According to sources on the ground, upwards of 5,000 refugees have been arrested in the past week, and are now being detained in extremely inhumane conditions. Eritrean refugees who fled their homes for safety and survival now find their new temporary settlements in Libya raided by Libyan government forces. In these raids, refugees are subjected to physical and sexual violence and families are ripped apart. As one Eritrean refugee in a Libyan detention center stated: “They catch us at sea, they catch us in our homes. What do they need us to be? What’s our fault in this life? They don’t think we are humans.” Eritrean refugees have suffered silently for many years and continue to be treated as subhumans in many refugee camps. It is time for this mistreatment to end.
Eritrean Healthcare Professionals Network (EHPN), calls for the United Nations, European Union, the US Government, and the Canadian government, as well as, UNHCR and the IRC; to condemn these inhumane actions by the Libyan government and intervene immediately. Furthermore, we request these governments receive the Eritrean refugees in Libya in need of safe homes.
We urge anyone reading this to use their voice and platforms to spread awareness of the crimes against Eritrean refugees in Libya. For so long, we have watched Eritreans face unsafe living conditions, forcing them to flee their home country - to then be abused by the governments of the countries they flee to. It is the duty of all citizens of the world to use their voice to urge world leaders to act on ending mistreatment of Eritrean refugees.
GOVERNMENT CONTACT INFORMATION (links to emails/phone numbers):
Website: erihpn.org
Twitter: @EHPNetwork
Email: info@erihpn.org
July 17, 2020
A letter from Elsa Tekle, MD
While in medical school, my friends and I dreamed of providing medical services to my fellow Eritreans in need.
These days, I find that many Eritrean healthcare workers suffer from a particular anxiety due to the conditions and suffering of Eritreans around the globe. We acknowledge the hardship of our fellow Eritreans; those who do not have access to basic healthcare services and/or are suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) inside and outside Eritrea. These are only a few of the many hardships Eritrean natives currently face.
Healthcare professionals in neighboring countries of Eritrea have organized and, in collaboration with their respective governments and NGOs, are successfully supporting their countrymen at home. The government of Eritrea prohibits any such program. Witnessing the success of collaboration between governments and healthcare professionals, and our own country’s inability to do the same, leaves many Eritrean healthcare professionals, like myself, feeling helpless.
As many of us know, the biggest factors that continue to deteriorate the current mental and physiological state of health of Eritreans are: constant fear of harm from the government that their families and/or themselves may face, a lack of basic human rights, prevalent malnutrition, poor living conditions and currently- most concerningly - hunger ( UN Eritrea World Report 2020). Taking advantage of the current Covid-19 pandemic, the Eritrean government has enforced a stay at home order that has made Eritreans prisoners of their own home, unable to leave for basic necessities without running the risk of their safety.
Last year, many of us wept endless tears when the government of Eritrea closed the clinics run by the Catholic Church and discontinued life-supporting services received by sick patients in the midst of their care. How devastating that must have been for the healthcare providers at the site, not to mention the families and loved ones of the victims.
I often wonder what happened to patients who were getting therapeutic feeding products for Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM)? Closing functioning clinics without an alternative in place is reflective of the dysfunction within the Eritrean health care system.
In May 2019 the government of Eritrea closed all functioning Catholic church run health clinics that were actively saving lives. Considering the recent news that the Ministry of Health in Eritrea is now collaborating with UNICEF to address the many issues Eritreans currently face, I commend UNICEF for trying to help the Eritrean people tirelessly to address malnutrition particularly, in rural areas. However, the action of the Eritrean government when deciding to shut down active clinics, is shameful and must be acknowledged.
I often feel broken, but I refuse to give up. I trust in myself and the rest of my fellow Eritrean healthcare professionals to be part of the solution.
I am encouraged by the many goodhearted and highly accomplished Eritrean healthcare professionals who are eager to contribute their services to Eritreans in need.
If we work together, I am confident we have the resources, the knowledge, and the manpower required to meet the challenges our people face. I am very close to achieving my medical school dream of supporting Eritreans in need and am excited to collaborate with those who share that dream with me.
June 3, 2020
COVID-19 Relief Fundraising Update
Our COVID-19 relief fundraising efforts by the Eritrean diaspora reached Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia a couple of weeks ago.
ERDA delivered food, soaps, alcohol and masks to Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia. The global crisis has exacerbated the difficult conditions for Eritrean refugees resulting in an enormous need for assistance. A very big thank you to the people on the ground who made this effort possible.
December 5, 2019
The Best of Times, The Worst of Times, By Abiel Tsegai
Charles Dickens famously wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity (unbelief), it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” These words aptly describe this current era for Eritreans around the world, an era that is paradoxically displaying grand promise on one hand and heart-wrenching pain on the other.
In one sense, many Eritreans around the world have greatly benefited from vast resources, education, technology, and a tremendous amount of freedom and opportunities. Many Eritreans around the world have scaled the heights of economic stability and educational and work-related success. In another sense, however, many Eritreans back home find themselves in despair and utter hopelessness due to forced indefinite conscription, arbitrary arrests, and from lack of various human rights and opportunities in Eritrea. Many youth in Eritrea flee the country and take perilous journeys across the Sahara, Sinai, and the Mediterranean Sea in hopes of finding liberty and opportunity. If they are fortunate enough to make it safely to their destination, many nevertheless continue to suffer from numerous mental, economic, spiritual, and cultural hardships in Diaspora.
NO ONE COULD HAVE PREDICTED
It bears reminding that after winning a thirty-year war of independence from Ethiopia in 1991, no one could have foreseen the events we are witnessing today - a new thirty years characterized by mass exodus and uncertainty about the future of our nation Eritrea and its people. Yet, this is what has transpired. And who can predict what these next thirty years will bring? While we can’t say for sure what the future holds, we can assent to the wise proverb that affirms, “failing to prepare is preparing to fail.” Thus, in our hope to see a positive future for Eritrea and its people, we should all desire to stay informed and to use our resources and talents to help Eritreans in need.
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
According to the Wall Street Journal, approximately “5,000 [Eritreans]...flee Eritrea [each month] and brave the world’s deadliest migrant trail, across the Sahara and the Mediterranean to Europe.” In fact, Eritreans trail only the Syrians and the Afghans in the number of people crossing the Mediterranean Sea in search of hope and relief. During their treacherous voyage, many Eritreans are subjected to dangers from bandits, ISIS, organ traffickers, hostile governments, and perilous seas and deserts. As a result of of their trials both in Eritrea and abroad, many suffer from PTSD, depression, and anxiety at seemingly epidemic levels.
EHPN RISING TO THE CHALLENGE
In our earnest desire to mobilize resources to help our brothers and sisters in need, several of us as healthcare professionals from various fields have created a non-profit organization called Eritrean Healthcare Professionals Network (EHPN). Our vision is to become a trusted source of health-related education and charitable acts for Eritreans around the world. It is our mission to unite and mobilize Eritrean medical professionals with their various expertise for the purpose of improving the health and well-being of Eritreans around the world. In practical terms, we want to bring hope and relief by providing web-based medical information through videos and conferences and by rendering various charitable acts and resources, with a focus on underprivileged Eritrean communities and individuals around the world.
Indeed, as a people, in the midst of many trials, we have been divided for far too long and our thoughts have been scattered far and wide. Yet every challenge paves before us a road of possibility for making a difference and forging greater unity among our people. Charles Dickens spoke of two cities. And our current opportunities and hardships may be taking place in many cities but may our united efforts resoundingly declare that we are but one people and one country. Will we rise to the challenge?