Eritrean Australians

Last updated
Eritrean Australians
Total population
6,863 (by ancestry, 2016) [1]
4,289 (by birth, 2016). [2]
Regions with significant populations
Melbourne
Languages
Various (languages of Eritrea), Australian English
Religion
Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, Islam [3]
Related ethnic groups
Ethiopian Australians, Sudanese Australians, Somali Australians

Eritrean Australians are a hyphenated ethnicity of Australians who are of full or partial Eritrean national origin, heritage and/or ancestry. They are immigrants from Eritrea to Australia and their descendants. Eritrea is a multi-ethnic country with the most common ethnic group being the Tigrinya, however Tigrinya speakers are more commonly found in Ethiopia than Eritrea, [4] because of this many Eritreans can be found in Ethiopian communities. [3]

Contents

Migration history

Eritrea gained independence in 1991 and many Eritreans left after independence was gained due to the Eritrean–Ethiopian War and to escape the government of Isaias Afwerki. But between 1983 and 1993, a few hundred Eritreans arrived in Australia as refugees due to the Eritrean War of Independence, they were given special condition under the Australia's Humanitarian Program which allowed an average of 100 Eritreans to migrate for the first three years of the program. But before 1983 only a few Eritrean arrived in Australia as refugees. Many arrivals before 1993 were young men whose educations had been interrupted by the war of independence. Many of the refugees settled in Victoria within the suburbs of Springvale and Maribyrnong and mostly worked in factories. [5]

The peak of Eritrean refugee resettlement to Australia came after 1993, as many Eritreans left the country after independence due to the Eritrean–Ethiopian War and to escape the government of Isaias Afwerki. Many Eritreans have suffered tragedy while immigrating to other countries, including Australia. [6]

Numbers and distribution

According to the 2016 Australian census 4,289 Australians were born in Eritrea [2] while another 6,863 claimed ancestry, [1] however the Eritrean community is a relatively new community to Australia and these numbers grow every year. [5]

About 50% of Eritreans live in Melbourne, alongside communities of immigrants from other countries in the Horn of Africa, mainly Ethiopia and Somalia; [7] they are primarily settled in the City of Brimbank and neighbouring suburbs such as Wyndham, Carlton, Hume, Moonee Valley, and Maribyrnong. Other communities of Eritreans can be found in Queensland and Western Australia. [3]

Education and employment

According to the 2016 Census, 91.3% of Eritrean-born Australians are 15 years and over in age, and only 3% have a Postgraduate Degree, 1% have a Grad Dip & Grad Cert, 11.8% have a bachelor's degree, 12.2% have an Advanced Dip & Diploma, 11.9% have a Certificate, 43.3% have a School Education only, 6.4% have no education and 10% didn't state/other. [3]

Eritrean-born individuals in Australia aged 15 years are heavily employed in the labour force at a rate of 56.2%; the unemployment rate for Eritreans was 11.4%. Of the 88.6% of Eritrean-born immigrants who were employed, 11.9% worked in a Manufacturing, 1.35% in Construction, 5.8% in Wholesale & retail trade, 1.9% in Accommodation & Food services, 14.8% in Transport, postal & warehousing, 10% in Prof, Scientific, Technical & Admin, 3.8% in Public Administration and Safety, 7.9% in Education & Training, 25.2% in Health Care & Social Assistance, 5.1% in Arts, Recreation & Other services, 12.25% in Inadequately Described/Not Stated/Other. [3] In Melbourne, some have set up ethnic-oriented businesses, such as hair salons, clothing shops, and restaurants with a mostly Habesha customer base. [7]

Religion

Religious divisions among migrants from Eritrea follow ethnic lines. Most of the Tigrayans are members of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church while most but not all of the Tigre people, Bilen people and the Nara people are followers of Islam. The Rashaida people, Afar people and the Saho people are almost all followers of Islam. The Kunama people follow Traditional African religions however some are Christian. [8] [3]

Notable people

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Demographics of Eritrea</span>

Sources disagree as to the current population of Eritrea, with some proposing numbers as low as 3.6 million and others as high as 6.7 million. Eritrea has never conducted an official government census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Eritrea</span> Political system of Eritrea

The Politics of Eritrea and the Government of Eritrea takes place in a framework of a single-party presidential republican totalitarian dictatorship. The President officially serves as both head of state and head of government. The People's Front for Democracy and Justice is the only political party legally permitted to exist in Eritrea. The popularly elected National Assembly of 150 seats, formed in 1993 shortly after independence from Ethiopia, elected the current president, Isaias Afwerki. There have been no general elections since its official independence in 1993. A new constitution was drafted in 1993 and ratified in 1997, but has not been implemented. Since the National Assembly last met in January 2002, President Isaias Afwerki has exercised the powers of both the executive and legislative branches of government.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaias Afwerki</span> President of Eritrea since 1993

Isaias Afwerki is an Eritrean politician and partisan who has been the president of Eritrea since shortly after he led the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) to victory in 24 May 1991, ending the 30-year-old war for independence from Ethiopia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">People's Front for Democracy and Justice</span> Political party in Eritrea

The People's Front for Democracy and Justice is the founding, ruling, and sole legal political party of the State of Eritrea. The successor to the Marxist–Leninist Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), the PFDJ regards itself as a left-wing nationalist party, though it holds itself open to nationalists of any political affiliation. The leader of the PFDJ party and current President of Eritrea is Isaias Afwerki. It has been described as totalitarian.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Ethiopia</span>

The languages of Ethiopia include the official languages of Ethiopia, its national and regional languages, and a large number of minority languages, as well as foreign languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Assembly (Eritrea)</span> Unicameral legislature of Eritrea

The National Assembly of the State of Eritrea has 150 members, 75 members appointed and 75 members representing the members of the Central Committee of the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), the sole legal political party of Eritrea. According to the IPU, the National Assembly has 150 indirectly elected members. The National Assembly was composed in 1994, and its meeting place is located in Asmara.

The Tigre people are an ethnic group indigenous to Eritrea. They mainly inhabit the lowlands and northern highlands of Eritrea.

Mesfin Hagos is an Eritrean who was one of the founding members of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF). In government, he was the Eritrean Minister of Defense during the 1990s. After repression by president Isaias Afwerki against Mesfin's colleagues, Mesfin sought political asylum in Germany in 2013, where he lived as of December 2020.

Berhane Abrehe was a prominent Eritrean government official who served in various key positions within the government. Born in 1945 in Quandeba, Eritrea, he had a long and distinguished career in Eritrean politics and public service.

African immigration to the United States refers to immigrants to the United States who are or were nationals of modern African countries. The term African in the scope of this article refers to geographical or national origins rather than racial affiliation. From the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 to 2017, Sub-Saharan African-born population in the United States grew to 2.1 million people.

The Eritrean Army is the main branch of the Eritrean Defence Forces and is one of the largest armies in Africa. The main role of the army in Eritrea is defense from external aggressors, border security, and developing national cohesion. Historically, the predecessor of the Eritrean Army, the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF), played a major role in establishing and defending the country's independence from Ethiopia in 1991 during the Eritrean War of Independence. Since then, the army has continued to be involved in low-level border conflicts with Ethiopia and several other neighbors, including Djibouti and Yemen, with the most notable one being the Ethiopian-Eritrean War from 1998 until 2000, which ended in a partial Ethiopian military victory and Eritrean boundary line victory. It is widely regarded as one of the largest and more capable armies in Africa, despite the country having a smaller population than most of its neighbors with around 250,000 to 300,000 personnel due to mandatory national service. Conscription became open ended since the war with Ethiopia and no demobilization has taken place. Eritrea has 16th largest tank fleet in the world, with an estimated 1756 tanks according to Visual Capitalist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eritreans</span> People from Eritrea and its diaspora

Eritreans are the native inhabitants of Eritrea, as well as the global diaspora of Eritrea. Eritreans constitute several component ethnic groups, some of which are related to ethnic groups that make up the Ethiopian people in neighboring Ethiopia and people groups in other parts of the Horn of Africa. Nine of these component ethnic groups are officially recognized by the Government of Eritrea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eritrea</span> Country in the Horn of Africa

Eritrea ( ERR-ih-TREE or -⁠TRAY-; Tigrinya: ኤርትራ, romanized: Ertra, pronounced[ʔer trä], officially the State of Eritrea is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the south, Sudan in the west, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeastern and eastern parts of Eritrea have an extensive coastline along the Red Sea. The nation has a total area of approximately 117,600 km2, and includes the Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands.

Afewerki, Afwerki or Afewerk is an Eritrean name that may refer to

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ethiopian Australians</span> Ethiopians who resides in Australia

Ethiopian Australians are immigrants from Ethiopia to Australia and their descendants. However, as Ethiopia is a multi-ethnic country with significant inter-ethnic tensions, not all individuals from Ethiopia accept the label "Ethiopian", instead preferring to identify by their ethnic group. In particular, various Oromo people use the term 'Oromo Australian' instead. In contrast, there are many individuals who prefer to label themselves as Ethiopian Australians. This is because they oppose labelling themselves based on their ethnicity as they see it as divisive and politicising their ethnic identity. This is common among the Amharic-speaking community along with ethnically mixed individuals, compared to others who stand by their ethnic identity.

Eritrean Americans are an ethnic group of Americans who are of full or partial Eritrean national origin, heritage and/or ancestry.

The 2013 Eritrean Army mutiny was mounted on 21 January 2013, when around 100-200 soldiers of the Eritrean Army in the capital city, Asmara seized the headquarters of the state broadcaster, EriTV, and allegedly broadcast a message demanding reforms and the release of political prisoners. The mutiny was the first major incident of resistance to the rule of Isaias Afwerki since the purging of a group of fifteen ministers who demanded political reform in 2001. Details about the mutiny remain murky, with several government officials denying it even took place, while opposition sources claimed it had been an abortive coup attempt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red Sea Afar Democratic Organisation</span> Guerilla and political organization in Ethiopia

The Red Sea Afar Democratic Organisation is a political organisation and armed insurgent group based in Ethiopia. The organisation is made up of mainly ethnic Afar people, and was founded in early 1995-1996 following a revolt by the Red Sea Afar people led by Ahmed Humed, after the UN-supervised Eritrean independence referendum was held in 1993. The primary goal of RSADO is to achieve autonomy for the region known as Dankalia, inhabited mainly by the Red Sea Afar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tigrinya people</span> Ethnic group in Eritrea

The Tigrinya people, also known as the Biher-Tigrinya, are an ethnic group native to Eritrea. They speak the Tigrinya language. There also exists a sizable Tigrinya community in the diaspora.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eritrea–Sudan border</span> International border

The Eritrea–Sudan border is 686 km (426 mi) in length and runs from Eritrea and Sudan's tripoint with Ethiopia in the south, to the town of Ras Kasar in the very south of Eritrea. The border has been the site of several tensions, with deportations, border conflicts and colonialism by the United Kingdom and Italy. The border has also seen illegal acts such as human trafficking and hundreds of illegal crossings made by Eritreans. Due to the Tigray War, Sudan saw a surge of Eritrean and Ethiopian civilians cross its border with Eritrea and by 2023 there were nearly 130,000 refugees and civilians confirmed living in the country.

References

  1. 1 2 "Ancestry - Australia - Community profile". .id. ABS. 2016. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  2. 1 2 "Birthplace - Australia - Community profile". .id. ABS. 2016. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Eritrea-Community-Profile-2016-Census" (PDF). Victoria State Government. 2016. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  4. "The World Factbook". Archived from the original on June 13, 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Community Information Summary" (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. 2018. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  6. Afeworki, Samuel (2015). "Journey from Eritrea to Australia". Australian Institute of International Affairs. Retrieved 2020-02-15.
  7. 1 2 Gow 2001
  8. "Africa :: ERITREA". CIA The World Factbook.

Sources

Further reading