Faces and Voices – Grown-Ups

Z.H. – A woman in her 30s

My husband was drafted into the Eritrean military, but then he disappeared. When I went to the military base to inquire about him, they accused me of hiding him. So they jailed me, interrogated me, beating me on the legs and back, and creating a kidney infection that continues to today. I fled to Sudan, but was caught by the Eritrean army and brought back to Eritrea. Again I escaped to Sudan, with my son. His uncle kidnapped him and took him to Eritrea. Another man in the Shagarab refugee camp in Sudan promised to help me, but he sexually abused me, my brother and my sister in the camp. My brother is now mentally ill. Dr. Alganesh [Alganesh Fessaha, an Eritrean-Italian humanitarian] brought me from Sudan to Ethiopia. Today in Ethiopia I help the other refugee women in the camp, through the Women’s Affairs Committee. I especially advise the others not to seek refuge in Sudan, where life for refugees is dangerous.