Tricked by tyrants: Eritrea's remittance trap
Coins of no return: perpetual racketeering of refugees in Europe
Out of fear of sectarian violence, the judge banned a celebrational party of an European-Eritrean association, supposed to be held in Rijswijk on Friday. The ordeal came in last minute, acclaiming the ban by the city mayor. The organizers took to court to challenge this decision.
As I have witnessed myself, those fears are justified. At a hotel in Veldhoven refugees opposing the rulers took violent action on backers from the East African dictatorship, gathered for a convention.
Lots of them came to Europe over the last decade: since 2014, over 168.000 asylum applications were registered.
Almost every Eritrean asylum seeker is granted asylum in the EU. Including the many that no fear no regime: the banned party in Rijswijk was intended for supporters of the ruling party.
Almost every Eritrean asylum seeker is granted asylum in the EU, because the country of origin is violating fundamental human rights: from 18, every man has perpetual military service. At least: that’s the law. Peeping out reportedly has been punished by folter.
What's really going on? In continuous wars since early nineties, the east-african country is run by a military regime, of communist origin. Eritrea systematically refuses international observers. Because the diaspora sends home more cash per capita every month than they would have payed in taxes, were they working in their own country.
The remittances and especially related ‘diaspora taxes’ cannot be ignored by the diaspora in Europe. People of Eritrean descent get visits at the door at their new home in the Netherlands. With a pressing message from ‘the ambassador to the Asmara tax man’, to comply. This practice -if the witness reports prove true- comes close to racketeering.
As soon as asylum Is granted, Eritrea goes for the money. Cash has to be sent back to family, plus a taxation, to begin from the first moment governments in destination countries start paying welfare benefits. Many got in financial trouble soon: payments were fit perfectly to not exceed minimal local cost of living.
When transferring euros to the mother country, you need money transfer networks of accomplices of the ruling political movement PFDJ. This is at extortionate rates: a third of the sent amount is likely be spent on 'transport costs'.
Cash cows from Europe
The regime in Asmara, for other reasons, has an interest in keeping the current situation unchanged, researcher Mirjam van Reisen (Tilburg University) pointed out a few years ago. She published many stories that she collected through oral history research. “People sending remittances from Europe, bring in more income for the state then inhabitant paying taxes.” This attitude is far from the only reason youth in the country is largely attracted by the idea to emigrate.
Ruling PFDJ regime fails out on many more demands of the people. Schooling lacks, the prospect of university is shattered by the supremacy of military service. It ruins opportunities for careers and it ruins economic growth opportunities. Western aid is scarce, countries in i.e. Europe exclude Eritrea, because of the totalitarian rule.
The popularity of gatherings such as the party in Rijswijk that is now banned shows that many new status holders have not fled political oppression at all. And by paying a one-off diaspora contribution, you can also get rid of the 'perpetual' nature of military and social service in a single payment.
However: the mere existance of this perpetual military service legislation, in itself is a human rights violation so big, that asylum protection should be granted to refugees facing this, the supreme Dutch court Raad van State ruled a few weeks ago.
Remittances protected by EHRM?
That decision was based upon the foundations of the European Human Rights Manifesto. This treaty is a fundamental set of rules, superceding national law. This way, the stay in Europe of diaspora that is forced to pay diaspora tax, is legally protected by EHRM.
These rights also imply that the EU (or lawmakers in the Netherlands) cannot easily change the Eritrean abuse of western refugee protection. To force turnover, you would have to send people back to Eritrea. A fata morgana: Even with as little as we know about human rights violations, it’s certain that lots of bastards are in business. International law and refugee treaties have been perfectly clear about what the legal consequence of this is: you do not send someone back to such a country.
Europe is now caught in these pincers, which are being squeezed by many more countries, especially Africa. With hundreds of billions of development funds, the Commission is trying to alleviate the pressure with which this is happening. But that doesn't apply to Eritrea, that doesn't bother us. Asmara have been locking Europe in a vice for many years.