Support Mariam and other desperate Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia, Egypt, and Libya

George Ghebreslassie’s first contact with Mariam, an Eritrean refugee and rape survivor, was when Mariam contacted him on Facebook from Russia. The Russian government was preparing to deport her back to Eritrea, one of the world’s most repressive countries. George is a long-time activist for Eritrean refugees and a senior accountant at The Ministry of Caring—a well-established community charity that shelters the homeless and feeds the hungry in Wilmington, Delaware. George heads Surbana Vision Media & Community Services a non-profit that assists Eritrean refugees like Mariam worldwide.

Much of Mariam’s life has been about suffering from severe physical and psychological torture from the time she was a girl. But it has also been a life of strength and resilience. You would never know the pain she has endured by watching 30-year-old Mariam interact with other Eritrean migrants at the shelter for Eritrean migrants she manages in Addis Ababa, supported by George’s Surbana Vision Media organization. But her Catholic faith, her love for her ten-year-old daughter Nazret and her commitment to Surbana’ s mission to assist Eritrean refugees sustains Support Mariam and other desperate Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia, Egypt, and Libya her and gives her a vision for a better future. After Mariam’s mother died delivering her and her father was killed in war, Mariam was sent to a Catholic orphanage in Asmara, the capital of Eritrea. After 5 years there, she was sent to another school outside Asmara to continue her education and live with relatives. One of her relatives sexually abused her, so she tried to escape to Ethiopia. She did not make it. She was caught and taken to a military training camp where she was raped by a commander, still a teenager. After being treated for physical and psychological trauma at a mental health facility in Asmara, Mariam escaped to Sudan like so many other Eritreans have done

Then came the most horrific experience in her young life. Mariam was abducted by the Rashaida, a nomadic tribe infamous for kidnapping girls and women and brutalizing them until their families pay a ransom. She was turned into a sex slave for 22 days until family members pleaded with Eritreans in the diaspora to raise $10,000 to free her. Then, out of desperation, she got a Russian visa but arrested again. After being in detention in Russia for two years, she was caught trying to escape to Finland and imprisoned for six months. Russia decided to deport her and a dozen other Eritrean refugees back to Eritrea.

Mariam had to get off the deportation plane in the Addis Ababa airport before leaving for Eritrea, where she knew she would be imprisoned for the crime of escaping the country. This was when Mariam did something courageous and risky —she hid in the bathroom at the airport for three days and contacted George Ghebreslassie again. He connected her to an Ethiopian who spoke her language—Tigrinya—and she ended up at George’s shelter for Eritrean migrants. Now Mariam is managing the shelter, paying the monthly rent and the water, electricity and other bills for the shelter, located on the outskirts of Addis Ababa. She provides small transportation stipends for the refugees, while still suffering from chronic pain and bleeding from the years of sexual abuse. Mariam and the other refugees depend on Surbana to survive. The Ethiopian government makes it difficult for them to find employment. They live a precarious existence because the UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and Ethiopia’s national refugee agency have not registered them as official refugees. If they had refugee status, it would be easier for them to obtain employment, and not worry so much about Ethiopia sending them back to Eritrea. But until then, Mariam and the other Eritrean migrants like Million must rely on Surbana. Million was living in the Surbana shelter with his mother, who was experiencing severe psychological distress and was infected with HIV/AIDS, probably from rape. Million tried to commit suicide to escape from his pain. Currently, Surbana connected him to a Catholic priest for counseling and previously Surbana paid $1,000 for a surgeon to remove a kidney stone. While Million is grateful for what Surbana organization assisted him, he needs help through sponsorship to the USA. This is the best way to save his mother and his life.

Surbana desperately needs funds to keep the shelter going – to pay for rent and utilities—and help the refugees with much-needed medical care. Donations to Surbana can also enroll some of the refugees in vocational programs or assist them with starting a small business. Surbana has already sent $1,300 to our program in Addis Ababa to launch a candle-making shop that will soon be able to employ up to seven Eritrean migrants/refugees. Another resident who is from the Kunama tribe in Eritrea can only spend a few hours a day weaving coaster made from natural materials. But she would like to get assistance to do more and assist her children. As for Mariam, her dream is finding a doctor who can finally ease her constant pain and stop the bleeding from the sexual abuse, and to open a small store where she can sell groceries, while the Surbana organization continues supporting and appealing for sponsors to arrive in USA, “She’s already an expert at managing the finances for the shelter,” said George. “I know she could be successful operating a store, managing the Surbana shelter and caring for her daughter. Mariam could do it all if just given the chance.” George Ghebreslassie believes that concerned citizens around the world need to learn more about the plight of victims of human trafficking and sexual abuse in Eritrea, all of whom need psychological and emotional help.

Supporting Eritrean Refugees in Ethiopia

Andrea Barron from Camp Springs, Maryland, has spent the last decade of her professional life supporting torture survivors and rape victims in the United States, mostly from Africa. She will never forget meeting an Eritrean rape survivor in New York City who told her how an Eritrean major held a gun to her head and raped her, all because the woman blamed the Eritrean dictatorship for the thousands of Eritreans who escape their country every year and end up drowning in the Mediterranean Sea.

On a recent vacation to Ethiopia, Andrea contacted George Ghebreslassie about visiting the Surbana shelter in Addis Ababa. With the help of an interpreter, she spoke to Mariam, Million and other shelter residents about why they fled Eritrea, their journey to Addis, and how Surbana has helped them survive.

“I had read widely about women held as sexual slaves before meeting Mariam,” Andrea said, “especially about the Yazidi women abused by ISIS in Iraq.” When I heard Mariam’s story, I marveled at how strong she is despite all she has suffered, that she has not lost trust in humanity and that she sees a better future in front of her. I hope Surbana can make this happen for Mariam and the other Eritrean refugees I met.

Surbana School for Eritrean Refugee Children in Cairo Prepare for Their Fourth Academic Year

In the fall of 2021, the Egyptian government began deporting Eritrean refugees back home, where they could be imprisoned and disappeared by the repressive Eritrean regime. That same fall, Surbana Vision Media took a different route—partnering with an Eritrean Cultural Center and establishing a school in Cairo for Eritrean refugee children. 

The Bana (from Surbana) Eritrean Elementary School opened in September 2021 with classes for Grades 1-6, one principal, nine teachers and two office staff. Over 200 students take classes in math, geography, science, Arabic, and Tigrinya, Eritrea’s dominant language. Surbana pays all the salaries and provides books to the children. The organization also started a vocational school for 38 women who are learning to sew so they can find employment.

The Bana School is now preparing for its academic year, starting in September 2024. The goal is for students to study through the 12th grade, which means they can become high school graduates. Without Surbana, these children would be deprived of an education in Egypt—none of the refugee families could afford to pay the $200 per child it would cost to enroll their child in a private school. 

Helping Displaced Eritreans all over the World— One Refugee at a Time

Every month George Ghebreslassie hears from 25-35 Eritreans all over the world—refugees in detention camps in Libya; women and girls trying to recover from gang rape, like Mariam; refugees attacked by armed forces from Ethiopia and from their own country too. He does this all as volunteer, in addition to his full-time job as an accountant with the Ministry of Caring in Wilmington. He files a report with the UN Refugee Agency on the individual(s) who contacted him on social media. “Sometimes the UN finds a medical professional to help sexual abuse survivors and injured people. But often it does not, then it is up to Surbana to step up with our very limited resources,” says George.

But now Surbana is running out of money. It needs your help to keep the shelter In Ethiopia open, and to give Mariam and the other residents a chance to work. And without financial assistance, the Bana School in Cairo may have to close. Surbana is seeking to raise $20,000 to cover and expand the shelter and the school for the next two years.

Surbana Vision Media & Community Services 

Surbana Vision Media and Community Services, Inc. is a registered non-profit organization, which was established to provide a temporary sanctuary to, and other services needed by Eritrean immigrants in Libya and elsewhere until they get a permanent solution. These include Libya, immigrants who have different problems; women and children with special needs; refugees who cannot get shelter. It has also opened two shelters in Ethiopia and is giving similar services. In addition, it provides vocational and livelihood training to Eritrean immigrants in Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt so as to enable them to get better work. It provides moral and legal support to sexually abused women and stands on their behalf while giving them small scale support; It enables Eritreans refugees wherever they are to communicate with the international humanitarian organizations and get services; It encourages and supports Eritrean artists (scriptwriters and actors) in Africa to contribute to the lives of Eritreans.

To support Surbana Vision Media & Community Services please visit: www.surbanalife.org/donate