Guest speakers:
Tendayi Achiume, JD, assistant professor of law at UCLA School of Law;
Michael Woldemariam, PhD, assistant professor of international relations and political science at Boston University
The international crises in both Syria and Eritrea have
produced millions of refugees. Consequentially, more than 3.5 million Syrians
have sought refuge in neighboring countries.
These countries, which already suffered from inadequate infrastructure
after decades of regional conflict, are now stretched to the breaking point.
Eritrea has emerged as one of the leading producers of international refugees
in the world. This fact has created permanent refugee camps in Sudan and
Ethiopia, transnational human trafficking, and humanitarian dilemmas, such as
the deaths of thousands of Eritreans in the deserts of North Africa and the
Mediterranean.
This April’s International Café presentation will
discuss several topics including the question of the European Union’s and other
wealthy nations’ responsibility to resolve the refugee crisis in Syria and the
destabilizing spread of the crisis to neighboring countries such as Iraq,
Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon. We will then examine the role of the international community in addressing the Eritrean
refugee crisis and the circumstances that have driven it —which include an
unresolved border conflict, indefinite conscription, and low-wage forced labor.
The panel will also discuss the impact of the Eritrean refugee crises on the
domestic politics of Eritrea, and its destabilizing impact on other countries
in the region.
Co-sponsored by the College of Arts and Sciences, International Area Studies, and Africana Studies.
Free event. All are welcome.
