Eritrean issues: anxiety, alcohol, frustration, violence

Read also: An Eritrean Must Explain Everything, Volunteer Betty

Between 2014 and the middle of 2017, 17,000 Eritreans sought asylum in the Netherlands: more than three-quarters are aged under thirty, many are from the countryside and many are Orthodox. That's after the group of 44,000 to 50,000 Syrians came in recent years, the largest group of newcomers. This Friday, the Social and Cultural Planning Office (SCP) presents its qualitative research entitled "Eritrean Status Holders in the Netherlands". A total of 26 status holders and 22 experts were interviewed as part of the study. Teklemariam was responsible for part of the talks

Eritreans are very kind people, says Teklemariam. But most people do not go well in the Netherlands. Their health is deteriorating and they are withdrawing more and more into their own circle. "I'm not a negative person," she says, "but that's the reality."

According to the report: I have no contact with the Dutch. I find them distant and strange. They never greet us. I feel that they do not like us. (…) The Dutch are not hospitable. I do not need contact with them. They do not want us, why would I want to contact them? (Eritrean Female)

It is not easy to look for this group. Newcomers and experts – not just those of Eritrean origin – wanted to be interviewed only under the guise of anonymity. Quantitative research has not been successful, says Teklemariam. Eritreans are afraid of the government and speak the language badly. It is impossible to interrogate them on a large scale. According to the report of the CSP, the experts "hesitate, among other things, to contribute to the negative image or the stigmatization of this group"

. The picture that emerges is bleak: the holders of Eritrean status "have trouble finding an affiliation with Dutch company". They have little contact with the Dutch because they do not speak the language and know the Dutchman so far away. Contact with emergency services is also difficult: there is a "considerable gap between Eritreans and institutions," according to the SCP. Exclusion is threatening.

According to the report: It's not that they (…) look a lot like these women or anything at all, but women play a different role . (…) The Dutch find it weird. Because they are so lonely and so shy, it also gives them a huge distance. (Expert)

A recent SCP report on Syrian status holders presented their integration as an arduous task: most people receive social assistance and 40% have psychological problems. However, the lives of Eritrean newcomers are on the move, but the challenge is even greater, writes SCP. Most do not have work ", with the exception of a few". He "dares not say that the starting situation of the Eritrean group is even worse than that of the Syrian group".

Bet-El Teklemariam is himself an infant. eighty fled Eritrea to Germany. In 2000, she moved to the Netherlands, following her love. In Rotterdam, she has volunteered with refugees for about fifteen years. Normally for the daughter of an old priest, she said. "It's me".

Today, Teklemariam accompanies young Eritreans on behalf of Nidos, the foundation that organizes guardianship for underage asylum seekers throughout the country. She teaches Eritrean women in Alphen aan de Rijn and Dordrecht and works as a volunteer in the refugee consultation in Ommoord, Rotterdam Noordwest.

Teklemariam sees Eritreans in the room without complaining. "Just to discuss" One of the first things they must learn about the Netherlands is their arrival on time. "If you are late, your appointment at the hospital will not pass."

Excerpt from report: Volunteer 1: "You must be patient if you are a friend of an Eritrean because they are not

Volunteer 2:" You first have to motivate someone and that he actually comes to appointments, because nine times out of ten, they just do not come. " [19659006] Most questions are asked by Teklemariam on the appointment with the general practitioner, following language courses (Teklemariam: "Some language schools want to earn money and do not give lessons.") And on the job.Eritreans want to work but they often do not have the right papers and they do not succeed.

There are so many more problems, says Teklemariam, that she regularly hears domestic violence, and expectations about new life together are often unrealistic. they only lived together in Eritrea for a short time If the husband and wife come to the Netherlands separately, they have not seen each other for a few years. Sometimes they had another partner in the meantime. This causes tension. And with the arrival in the Netherlands, relationships within marriage have also changed: women are no longer forced to strictly obey their husbands. "This causes quarrels".

In Eritrea, men are the boss, they work. The women stay at home. The fact that Eritrean men are mainly unemployed in the Netherlands is a loss of status. They do not report money, it is the state. Teklemariam knows several men who mistreat their wives and sometimes their children as well. And men who spend their allowance on gambling, alcohol or soft drugs.

Extract from report: We sit still. We are quickly taken, we have a good home and we get money. The only thing they do not do well is that we have no work. We did not learn to stay at home and only eat. They think we are lazy, but we want to work. (Eritrean man)

Often, Eritreans can not turn to rescuers, says Teklemariam. They ask the Eritreans during the first meeting of the jersey. It is scary. "An Eritrean thinks then that you are from IND [Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst, red.]."

Health care providers have little regard for the experiences and background of Eritreans, she thinks. Dutch individualistic society is at odds with the rural and more community-oriented way of life. "In Eritrea, you are raised at home as a woman, you learn to cook, to take care of your children and to your husband, and all of a sudden, you expect everything to be settled on your own. You must learn them with great patience. "Eritrean status holders do not easily go to a doctor or social worker because of their problems, but ask for help from friends who are struggling with the same problems, according to the SCP investigation.

According to the report: Life in Eritrea has been a hell for me! I was assaulted by several men. Since then, I have had various symptoms for which I have asked for medical help. To date, doctors can not find any explanation. It is often thought that I make something. (Eritrean Woman)

The few well-trained Eritrean newcomers should be more used as intermediaries, Teklemariam says. Municipalities have relied too heavily on Eritreans who came to the Netherlands in the 1980s and 1990s. They are often far removed from the new group, do not take the time to be guided and are generally not competent. Well-trained Eritrean newcomers know the target group, says Teklemariam, but their expertise is barely used. They can take this group by the hand and prepare for a visit to the doctor or the municipality. "Now, Eritreans are extremely tense for every visit to the congregation or a social worker," says Teklemariam.

According to the report: I think: I just wrote or explained it, but there is another concept or word in what was difficult. And for some psychological concepts, for example, there are no words in Tigrinya either. So people express themselves much more like: I sleep badly. I have a headache. My head is full. That sort of thing. Or: I am weak. I have no strength. (expert, doctor)