Amanda Poole, Professor of Anthropology in the Anthropology, Geospatial and Earth Sciences Department, published a feature article in The Migration Information Source titled “Severe Repression in Eritrea Has Prompted Decades of Exodus.” Co-authored with Jennifer Riggan, Professor and Chair of the Department of Historical and Political Studies at Arcadia University, the article examines how vital destinations for Eritrean refugees, such as Ethiopia, Sudan, and other Eastern African countries, are becoming increasingly dangerous and hostile.
This article explores how decades of militarization, repression, and forced conscription have made Eritrea one of the largest sources of refugees worldwide. Despite its relatively small population of around 6 million, as many as one-third of Eritrean-born people now live abroad. In 2023 alone, approximately 71,600 Eritreans applied for asylum—a number representing more than 2 percent of the country’s resident population.
The Migration Information Source is a publication of the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) — a leading independent, nonpartisan think tank focused on improving global immigration and integration policies through research, analysis, and innovative policy solutions. Poole’s collaboration with the Migration Policy Institute builds on years of research in the region. By combining ethnographic insights with migration data, Poole and Riggan’s work provides policymakers, humanitarian agencies, and the general public with a clearer understanding of why Eritreans continue to flee—and why safe refuge grows increasingly elusive.
