Refugee: The Eritrean Exodus

Follow Chris Cotter, an American world traveler, as he searches for answers about this mysterious country’s little-reported refugee crisis. The Eritrean people are leaving their country en masse to escape the brutality of Isaias Afwerki, the Eritrean president, who has retained power for over 20 years. The film brings the viewer on a common migration path that many Eritreans desperately undertake for the slim hope of freedom and security. Chris and his crew tour never-before-seen refugee camps in Ethiopia including the desolate and dangerous Afar region. Hear the stories of Eritreans as they depict deplorable treatment in their homeland, the struggle to leave, and a vanishing hope for a better life. Chris also speaks to many experts on the ground, including Amnesty International, Physicians for Human Rights, and the Assistant Secretary of State, Anne Richard. Richard confidently claims that, “Eritrea has one of the most oppressive governments in the world.” Despite the potential dangers of speaking ill of the regime, the surviving refugees bravely reveal the profound hardships they have endured. As the refugees explain, once they choose to leave, they face being shot at the border, kidnapped for ransom, and even having their organs harvested. Their stories are unimaginable and heartbreaking, yet told with a profound dignity. Refugee challenges the audience to consider how such a large-scale injustice can exist in the 21st century, while the rest of the world remains either unaware or seemingly impotent. Witnessing the refugees’ bare humanity makes their sub-animal treatment at the hands of Afwerki that much harder to stomach. But stomach it we must, the film demands. The stakes are too high. We must watch, listen, question, and act. Only then will the plight of the Eritrean people end. Only then will they attain hope. Only then, will they finally have a place to call “home.”