In exile in the U.S., Ethiopian journalist struggles forward

In exile in the U.S., Ethiopian journalist
struggles forward

13 November, 2010 | By Alia Ahmed/CPJ Guest Blogger
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After almost a year in exile in

America, an icy ocean away

from

his home in Ethiopia,

journalist Samson Mekonnen,

left, only

recently received his

work permit in Washington. In

the interim,

like most journalists

undergoing the emotionally and

financially

grueling resettlement

process, he has relied on friends,

family, and

international

organizations like CPJ to support himself and his family while his
petition for asylum navigates the bureaucratic waters.

Back in Ethiopia, Mekonnen reported on everything from
government corruption and famine to sports and social issues,
earning the ire of the authorities as a result. After suffering nearly
seven years of increasingly aggressive state brutality, the journalist
told me he fled for his life in November 2009, along with his then-
expecting wife.

"What makes life here so difficult is that nobody can understand
the pain of what I've been through in Ethiopia," said Mekonnen.
"It makes everything hard. I can't forget."

Journalists under extreme threat have two painful options before
them: to either remain in their home countries at the risk of
suffering a fate like Sri Lankan journalist Lasantha
Wickramatunga, who prophesied his own murder in an editorial
written shortly before his death, or to flee and entirely and forsake
the profession for which they have endured so much. At least 85
journalists fled their homes worldwide between June of 2009 and
2010, 42 from the continent of Africa alone, according to CPJ's
June 2010 exile report. Ethiopia, along with Somalia and Iran,
marked the nations with the highest exile rate this last year, with
15 Ethiopian journalists leaving the country compared to only two
between 2008 and 2009.

Less than one-third of all resettled journalists continue to work in
the field, CPJ research shows. Even after surviving the lengthy
bureaucratic asylum process with no legal allowances to support
themselves, the linguistic and cultural differences they contend with
can force accomplished journalists to take any employment
opportunities they can find.

"Of course, I wish I could work as a journalist here in the U.S.,"
Mekonnen told me recently, "But how am I to do it? My English
skills are a barrier, I have no contacts. How can I be recognized
for my experience? Where am I to start?" Even once asylum has
been granted, there are few adequate resources--such as cultural
orientation, affordable language classes, or job training services--
for refugees.

As part of Ethiopia's diaspora community, Mekonnen says he that
expatriates cannot truly reach their countrymen even if they were
to start reporting again. Only Internet-savvy users can circumvent
the widespread censorship of foreign-based Web sites about
politics and human rights, including CPJ's homepage, which the
Ethiopian government has blocked. Few Ethiopians regularly
access the internet; connections are tiresomely slow. "Any news
Web sites founded by overseas Ethiopians won't reach the people
back home," he said. "The government would ban them right
away, and, in any case, not many people have proper access to
the Internet."

However, despite the harsh realities of resettlement, Mekonnen is
still optimistic. "Whatever else is said, we don't give up in
Ethiopia," he insisted. "Even if we cannot reach the Ethiopian
people from abroad, we can still reach the international
community, and the USA, and urge them not to support a
government which brutalizes its own citizens."

Since the move to America, Mekonnen and his wife have been
taking care of their months-old infant, born after their arrival. Now
that his work permit has finally come through after almost a year
of anxious waiting, the journalist says he and his family can
embark on the heavy task of rebuilding their lives.

Alia Ahmed, a former journalist in Pakistan, is an intern in
CPJ's Journalist Assistance program. She has lived and
studied in the United States, South Africa, Lebanon,
Pakistan, and France.

Courtesy