Exploring the Eritrean Diaspora in Italy and the United Kingdom
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Facoltà di Lingue e Letterature Straniere Corso di Laurea Magistrale in Relazioni Internazionali Comparate International Relations Tesi di Laurea Exploring the Eritrean diaspora in Italy and in the United Kingdom Relatore Chiar.ma Prof.ssa Emanuela Trevisan Semi Correlatore Chiar.ma Prof.ssa Paola Gandolfi Laureanda Marialibera Iavasile Matricola 831245 Anno Accademico 2011 / 2012 Exploring the Eritrean diaspora in Italy and the United Kingdom Marialibera Iavasile 1 To the one I love, Thanks for being always by my side. 2 Table of Contents Acknowledgement ................................................................................................................. 6 Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 7 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter One - Diaspora An Overview ................................................................................. 16 1.0 What Does the Term “Diaspora” Mean in Today’s World............................................ 17 1.1 Origins and Development of the Term .......................................................................... 17 1.2 The Different Types of Diaspora ................................................................................... 21 1.3 Diasporas and Transnationalism in the Age of Globalisation ....................................... 24 1.4 What makes up a Diaspora? ........................................................................................... 27 1.5 The Diaspora and Homeland relationship ..................................................................... 28 1.6 The Diaspora and Host Land Relationship .................................................................... 32 1.7 Homeland and Host land Relations ............................................................................... 34 1.8 Using the Shuval Paradigm ............................................................................................ 34 Chapter Two - The Case of Eritrea ...................................................................................... 38 2.0 The Country of Eritrea ................................................................................................... 39 2.1 History ........................................................................................................................... 43 2.1.1 Italian Colonisation ..................................................................................................... 45 2.1.2 British Administration ................................................................................................ 49 2.1.3 The Ethiopian and Eritrean Federation and Annexation ............................................ 51 2.1.4 The Three Decades of Eritrean War for Independence .............................................. 54 2.1.5 New Conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea (1998 -2000) ......................................... 57 2.2 Eritrean Politics .............................................................................................................. 60 2.3 International Relations ................................................................................................... 63 2.3.1 Relations with Sudan .................................................................................................. 63 2.3.2 Relations with Djibouti ............................................................................................... 65 2.3.3 Relations with Yemen ................................................................................................. 66 2.3.4 Relations with the United States ................................................................................. 66 2.3.5 Relations with the European Union ............................................................................ 69 2.3.6 Eritrean Relations with Italy ....................................................................................... 70 3 2.3.7 Eritrean Relations with the United Kingdom ............................................................. 72 2.4 Contemporary Issues that Plague Eritrea ....................................................................... 74 2.4.1 Human Rights and Freedom of Movement ................................................................. 74 2.4.2 National Military Service ............................................................................................ 76 2.4.3 Freedom of Religion ................................................................................................... 77 2.4.4 Freedom of Press ........................................................................................................ 78 2.4.5 Internet in Eritrea ........................................................................................................ 79 2.4.6 The International Response to Eritrea’s Human Rights Concerns ............................. 80 2.5 Eritrea’s Refugee Crisis ................................................................................................. 81 2.6 The Issue of Human Trafficking .................................................................................... 83 Chapter Three - The Eritrean Diaspora ................................................................................ 86 3.0 The Eritrean Diaspora .................................................................................................... 87 3.1 The Characteristics of the Eritrean Diaspora Group ...................................................... 88 3.1.1 Chronological Phases .................................................................................................. 88 3.1.2 Where did the Eritreans go? ........................................................................................ 90 3.2 Relations among the Diaspora Members ....................................................................... 91 3.3 The Role the Internet Played in the Eritrean Diaspora .................................................. 93 3.4 The Diaspora’s Attitude and Feeling Toward its Homeland ......................................... 94 3.5 Remittances .................................................................................................................. 101 3.6 Characteristics of Their Homeland .............................................................................. 103 3.7 Characteristics of Their Host Country ......................................................................... 109 3.8 Italy .............................................................................................................................. 109 3.8.1 Asylum Seeker Rights in Italy .................................................................................. 113 3.8.2 Eritreans Living in Italy ............................................................................................ 113 3.9 The United Kingdom ................................................................................................... 116 3.9.1 Asylum Seeker Rights in the United Kingdom ........................................................ 119 3.9.2 Eritreans Living in the United Kingdom .................................................................. 119 Chapter Four - Research and Data Collection ................................................................... 124 4.0 Overview ...................................................................................................................... 125 4.1 Research Objectives ..................................................................................................... 125 4.2 Methodology and Data Collection ............................................................................... 126 4 4.2.1 The Questionnaire ..................................................................................................... 126 4.2.2 Interviews .................................................................................................................. 128 4.3 Research Analysis ........................................................................................................ 129 4.3.1 Questionnaire answers from Eritrean Participants in Italy ....................................... 129 4.3.2 Questionnaire answers from Eritrean Participants in the United Kingdom .............. 138 4.4 Interviews with Eritreans Living in Italy ..................................................................... 146 4.4.1 Interview 1 ................................................................................................................ 146 4.4.2 Interview 2 ................................................................................................................ 148 4.4.3 Interview 3 ................................................................................................................ 149 4.5 Interviews with Eritreans Living in the United Kingdom ........................................... 151 4.5.1 Interview 1 ................................................................................................................ 151 4.5.2 Interview 2 ................................................................................................................ 152 4.5.3 Interview 3 ................................................................................................................ 153 4.5.4 Interview 4 ...............................................................................................................