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.