According to The Independent 52,000 people of all professional and class backgrounds, were deported between June 1998 and February 1999 (21 Feb. 1999). There are reports from 1998 that indicate the deportees from Ethiopia received warm welcomes upon their arrival in Eritrea (AP 21 June 1998; USCR 1999).

On 31 March 1999 IRIN reported:

Since June 1998, over 55,000 deportees have arrived, usually by bus, at various points along the border, and are being supported in temporary camps by the Eritrean government, or by relatives and friends. Each deportee receives on arrival 1,500-1,800 Nakfa (about US $200) from the government-run ERREC. This amount was originally allocated when the first 300 deportees arrived in June 1998; the government did not anticipate it would ultimately be extending such support to more than 50,000 people. The newly arriving deportees are also issued with new identity documents, and are entitled to food rations for six months and some other non-food items. ERREC reports that much of the food and cash is borrowed from other state-run enterprises. ...

Several sources corroborate the information that the Eritrean government provided financial and other assistance (USCR 1999; The Independent 21 Feb. 1999; IRIN 20 July 1999).

In March 1999, IRIN reported:

A UN official said this week the deportees were "finding it pretty tough" to rebuild their lives in Eritrea. Some had never visited Eritrea before, a few only speak the Ethiopian lingua franca, Amharic, and no Eritrean languages (31 Mar. 1999).

There are reports of poor conditions in Eritrea both for persons deported from Ethiopia and for those persons displaced internally as a consequence of the war (IRIN 24 June 1999; ibid. 15 June 1999; ibid. 15 Oct. 1999; Visafric 22 Dec. 1999; USCR 1999). The Eritrea Relief and Rehabilitation Committee reported that there had been a poor response by international aid agencies to the needs of these persons and that there had been "an increasing incidence of malaria, diarrhoea and upper respiratory diseases" as well as a "need for food, shelter, health supplies and facilities" (IRIN 15 June. 1999; ibid. 15 Oct 1999).

The only information pertaining to the treatment by Eritrean authorities of members/family of the former Mengistu regime, that could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate, is contained within a 21 February 1999 article from The Independent. The article includes a reference to a deportee to Eritrea, who served as a supreme court judge under three Ethiopian governments and who, at the time of the article, had obtained a license to practise as a lawyer in Eritrea. For further information please consult the attachment.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Associated Press (AP). 21 June 1998. Karin Davies. "Eritreans Welcome Home Countrymen Expelled From Ethiopia..." (NEXIS)

The Independent [London]. 21 February 1999. Lucy Hannan. "Mr Habtom Reluctantly Changes His Nationality." (NEXIS)

United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN). 15 October 1999. "Ethiopia: 'Poor Donor Response' to Emergency Situation." http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/somalia/19991015.htm [Accessed 24 Dec. 1999]

_____. 20 July 1999. "Eritrea: New Wave of Deportees Arrives From Ethiopia." http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/ethiopia/19990720a.htm [Accessed 24 Dec. 1999]

_____. 24 June 1999. "Eritrea: 'High Time' Donors Responded to Emergency Appeals." http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/ethiopia/19990624.htm [Accessed 24 Dec. 1999]

_____. 15 June 1999. "Eritrea: 'Urgent Appeal' Launched for War Displaced." http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/ethiopia/19990615.htm [Accessed 24 Dec. 1999]

_____. 31 March 1999. "Eritrea: Government Expects More Deportees as Displaced Numbers Grow." http://www.reliefweb.int/IRIN/cea/countrystories/eritrea/19990401.htm [Accessed 24 Dec. 1999]

U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR). 1999. 1999 Country Report. http://www.refugees.org/world/countryrpt/africa/eritrea.htm [Accessed 24 Dec. 1999]

Visafric. 22 December 1999. "U.S. Based Aid Agency Ships Medicines to Eritrean War Victims." http://www.africanews.org/east/eritrea/stories/19991222/19991222_feat3.html [Accessed 24 Dec. 1999]

The Independent [London]. 21 February 1999. Lucy Hannan. "Mr Habtom Reluctantly Changes His Nationality." (NEXIS)

Africa Confidential. [London]. July 1998 - November 1999.

Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series [Oxford]. June - December 1998.

Ethiopian Register [Avon, MN]. May - November 1999.

The Indian Ocean Newsletter [Paris]. July 1998 - December 1999.

IRB databases

Keesing's Record of World Events [Cambridge]. 1960 -1998.

LEXIS-NEXIS

New African [London]. January - December 1999.

REFWORLD

Resource Centre. Eritrea country file. July 1998 - November 1999.

_____. Eritrea: Amnesty International country file. July 1998 - November 1999.

World News Connection (WNC)

Internet sites including:

Eritrean Network Information Center (ENIC).

Search engines including:

About.Com

HotBot