E.U. will send thousands of migrants back to Africa, many from Eritrea

(Examiner) — In aconfidential draft leaked from an emergency summit held in Brussels today, it was learned that the European Union plans to allow only 5,000 migrants to resettle in Europe. Some 150,000 migrants are likely to be repatriated, many from Eritrea(AIR-i-tree-a), a small country on the Horn of Africa.

The Guardian reported yesterday that nearly 37,000 Eritreans applied for asylum to 38 European countries in the last year. Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki, the country’s ruler since it gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, is said to be a ruthless leader.

According to Wikipedia, 50 percent of Eritreans are Christian and 48 percent are practicing Muslims.

Although mainstream news media has indicated most of the refugees boarding human trafficking ships from Libya are sub-Saharan, many who have paid astronomical passage have fled Eritrea’s repressive regime.

Yesterday, two men were charged in the horrific human disaster at sea that left more than 800 people dead earlier in the week. An overloaded ship capsized in the Mediterranean Sea with a reported 900 people on board; all had hopes of landing safely in Italy. Mohammed Ali Malek, the Tunisian boat captain and Mahmud Bikhit, one of the crew members, were charged with manslaughter and are being held in the Sicilian city of Catania. Both men are in their mid-twenties.

According to the information seen today, the vast majority of the migrants who actually make their way into Europe will be sent back as “irregular migrants under a new rapid-return programme co-ordinated by the E.U.’s border agency”, reported the Guardian. More than 36,000 boat survivors have reached the countries of Greece, Malta, and Italy, in the first four months of this year. It is thought many of the migrants from sub-Saharan Africa will try to reach relatives who live in France; many of the migrants are French speaking.

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