By Annelies Müller, Give a Hand.ch Association          

I work as a counsellor for the Swiss charity: Give a Hand.ch, which aims to help vulnerable refugees find a decent life in Switzerland. We want them to find fulfilling life and come to be an integral part of our communities.

Of all the young Eritreans I meet, I can say that almost all – perhaps 95% – hope to find a peaceful and quiet life in Switzerland. It is something they long for, after the terrors and stress that they have left behind to make the hazardous journey to come here.  

The youths first have to get used to living in a country that respects fundamental freedoms, but with a little guidance they soon come to appreciate these rights and no longer want to do without them. Finally want to distance themselves from the regime they fled to escape.

Events like those in Giessen, Germany, when the ruling party in Eritrea (the PFDJ) held a so called ‘festival’ designed to reinforce the regime, was a slap in the face for all these young Eritreans who are trying to make a new life in Europe. It can easily retraumatise these refugees, because it underlines tot hem that although they have left the country, they have not escaped from the influence of the regime, which is still persecuting them.

German politicians tried to sum up the situation by saying that “foreign conflicts have no place on German streets.” This is a completely inadequate response since it tries to suggest that the fault lies equally between the regime supporters and the democrats who are protesting against the abuses in their country!

Of course it is shocking that 26 police were injured in the confrontation. But this was a situation that could easily have been predicted. Indeed, the democrats who oppose the Eritrean regime warned the situation could escalate!

The Eritrean ruling party uses paramilitary forces, sometimes called ‘Eriblood’ to patrol its events and attack any protesters. If the politicians had bothered to sit down with the young refugees they would have understood how deeply hurt they were to have the regime parade some of its leading members and politicians in the country to which they have fled!

The Norwegian report into the pressure exerted by the Eritrean regime on members of the Eritrean community living in Norway (Pressure and control: A study of economic, ideological or religious pressures originating in countries of origin, directed towards people with an immigrant background in Norway) shows all too clearly the extent of the pressure exerted on the Eritrean diaspora.

If 1,000 German police officers are deployed to protect an event that even the Bild newspaper described as a “dictators’ festival”, then faith in the German rule of law, and in the political establishment, suffers enormously – and not only among the protesting Eritreans.

The Norwegian report shows the balancing act that has to be managed by our institutions between guaranteeing constitutionally granted fundamental rights (such as the right to freedom of assembly) and measures to curb the influence of foreign regimes.

Or, to put it another way, what do we do when foreign regimes abuse our constitutionally guaranteed fundamental rights, which they withhold from their people at home, to keep their own diaspora here in line by means of threats and abuse?

In future it will certainly not be enough to loudly proclaim that foreign conflicts have ‘no place on European streets.’

These foreign conflicts are already here. We must have the intelligence and courage to recognise this fact: to call them out and confront them through our democratic structures and the law. Playing down and hushing up abuse and aggression against vulnerable young people is just a way of pandering to populist politicians who want to profiteer from the demonstrations electoral reasons.

The aims of an efficient security policy measures must be to:

 effectively protect refugees from the influence of the regimes from their countries of origin;

 to curb the anti-democratic influence of foreign states within their diaspora; and

 strengthen pro-democracy forces within the diaspora.

To achieve this sufficient human and financial resources must be made available by the political decision-makers. In addition, the various institutions in contact with the members of the diaspora, as well as the responsible decision-makers in various departments, must work together to find solutions that are justified under the rule of law. Increasing security policies alone are not enough.

If such measures are not taken, there is a risk of further explosive confrontations which will result in injuries to the emergency personnel, as we witnessed in Giessen at the beginning of July.

In the long run, leaving the Eritrean diasporas to themselves, by turning a blind eye on these ‘transnational repressions’ (as the Norwegian report describes them), will be very detrimental. It will result in a complete loss of confidence in the institutions within the receiving countries and a profound distrust in their rule of law and their executive bodies, such as the police.

This may well result in the emergence of parallel, underground societies, violent conflicts and a rise in anti-democratic and anti-constitutional groups – both within the diaspora and within the receiving societies.