What Is in This Book Leaving Eritrea 4 My Homeland Eritrea 6 Dawit’s Story Growing Up in Eritrea 8 The Conflict in Eritrea 10 Dawit’s Story Fleeing Eritrea 12 Fleeing the Conflict 14 Dawit’s Story Life in Adi Harush Camp 16 Life in a Refugee Camp 18 Dawit’s Story The Journey to Europe 20 Reaching a New Life in Europe 22 Dawit’s Story Life in the Netherlands 24 Challenges Refugees Face 26 You Can Help 28 Glossary 30 Learning More 31 Index and About the Author 32
Leaving Eritrea Many people in Eritrea are very poor They stay alive by growing the food they need to survive Sometimes there is not enough rain in the country for crops to grow When this happens many people become sick or die from the lack of food The Eritrean government keeps tight control of the country It does not allow citizens to choose their religion or speak against the government The country does not have a constitution A constitution is a document that protects peoples rights Not everyone in Eritrea understands their rights Eritrea has mountains along its central section and lowlands to the east Asmara is the capital city Asmara 4
UN Rights of the Child Every child has rights Rights are privileges and freedoms that are protected by law Refugees have the right to special protection and help The United Nations UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a document that lists the rights of children all over the world Think about these rights as you read this book The houses in this village in western Eritrea have mud walls and thatched roofs The Eritrean government says it needs a large strong army It wants to defend itself from its neighbor Ethiopia To build its army it forces every student to do military service before finishing high school They must serve at least 1 5 years but sometimes they serve 10 years or more To escape poverty violence and lack of freedom thousands of Eritreans have fled their homeland and have become refugees Refugees are people who fled their homeland because of war and other unsafe conditions Refugees are different from immigrants Immigrants chose to leave to look for better opportunities in another country 5
