Eritrea-Before+Refugee+Crisis

-//Fleeing Ethiopia to the borders of Eritrea after the peace was disturbed with the independence of Eritrea.//

In 2002, it was reported that there are 75,000 Eritrean people who are displaced from there homes as a result of a border war with Ethiopia. Part of the reason why there are so many refugees in this small country is that their economy is extremely poor and Eritrea is in a drought, which prevents farming. Many of the refugees in this region are dependent on charity and relief organizations for sources of income. The droughts have caused food shortages because the land is unable to support farms or anything edible. Many of the rivers and other natural sources of water have dried up, leaving the Eritrean people in desperate need. Also, because of the war with Ethiopia, businesses have been destroyed, leaving many people without jobs, and there is the constant danger of land mines and poor security for this small nation. Basically, the increasing number of refugees in Eritrea links directly back to the war with Ethiopia and Eritrea's independence from Ethiopian control. Since Eritrea is a fairly "new" country in Africa, there probably hasn't been a time where people weren't fleeing the because they've usually been at war, even violent acts occurred when peace had been declared. For this reason, there are always people wanting to get away from the oppression, violence, and overall negativity. From our interview with a refugee from Eritrea, I've come to find out that he lived a peaceful life until around 1998, when Eritrea gained its independence and he had to flee with his family from Eritrea.

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Sources: 2000. __BBC News Online__. 6 May 2007 <[|http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/world/africa/769864.stm>.] __Pain of War__. 1993. __Eritrea Birth of a Nation__. 6 May 2007 <[|http://www.dehai.org/conflict/history/birth_of_a_nation.htm>.] "World Refugee Survey 2004 Country Report." __U.C. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants__. 2004. USCRI. 6 May 2007 <[|http://uscr.org/countryreports.aspx?area=investigate&subm=19&ssm=29&cid=98>.]