December 14, 2009
KASSALA – Samuel*, a 65-year-old Eritrean, father of two sons, escaped to Sudan in August when the government threatened to detain him unless he brought back his 37-year-old son, who fled forced conscription to the army.
Now living at Shagarab refugee camp in eastern Sudan with Takhleed, his 15-year-old disabled son, Tesfi spoke to IRIN:
“I have a son, and he escaped from Eritrea when he was in the army. The government told me that you have to bring your son. They told me, ‘We’ll put you in custody if you don’t bring your son’. They put a lot of pressure on me. Because of that, I came here.
“I did not know that my son had left the army. But they told us he left, and you should bring him. I don’t know where my son went.
“They told me to bring him, and I told them that he’s with you and I can’t bring him. After that they became rough with me.
“The government also said they would stop providing medical assistance to my mentally ill son, Takhleed, if I do not bring back my older son to duty. Takhleed is 15 years old.
“Takhleed’s mother died when she was giving birth to him. When he was young, he fell from the bed, and he became mentally ill.
“One month after the government started pressing me to bring my older son back to duty, I left Eritrea. They told me they would not give medical assistance to my son, so I came here to get him help. I walked for three days with my son Takhleed to reach Sudan.
“Now we have been here in the camp for three months. We don’t have shelter, we don’t even have a blanket. We sleep here in the flat area. My son received no help.
“I need medical help from any organization. Secondly I need food security.
“I do not want to stay in Sudan, because there is no employment. If possible, I want to go to some [other] country, wherever I can get medical treatment for my child.”
* The name has been changed
