Polish composer Kasia Glowicka has written and produced a radio play based on a true story of a refugee trapped in the Zintan detention centre in Libya. In the play, titled “Lilian”, the refugee Tesfay contacts a professor in Europe, linking them via WhatsApp across geography and culture. The radio play premiered on 24 September on two Polish radio stations, but is also available online.
In this week’s news highlights: 27 religious prisoners released on bail in Eritrea; Heavy floods in Sudan and Ethiopia; Six killed after bomb attack in Somalia; Ethiopian refugees repatriated from Saudi detention camps; Boat capsizes in front of Libyan coast; Prime Minister of Libya Al-Sarraj to resign; Greece pledges to build a new refugee centre on Lesbos; Germany takes in 1,500 refugees, but Greece says it will not let any leave; Migrants and refugees allowed to disembark from Maersk Etienne; Health care declined for migrants on Open Arms; and Report explores the implementation of the Global Compact on Migration amidst COVID-19.
The European Union (EU) states that it looks for ways to facilitate improvements in human rights, governance and economics in Eritrea through its development aid. The fundamental problem, however, is that the Eritrean authorities seem to show no interest in these improvements and that it actively persecuted people in its own country that have demanded these improvements. The attempts from the EU to demand structural changes from the Eritrean regime have so far been unsuccessful, mostly due to its lack of bargaining power. On 25 June several members of the German Bundestag and human rights experts discussed the relation between the EU and Eritrea in a public intergroup zoom discussion; during this discussion some of these alternatives were debated. The Zoom discussion was moderated by Bundestag member Kathrin Vogler, representative of Die Linke (the left), and Rudi Friedrich of Connection e.V., which provides international support for conscientious objectors and deserters.