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Introduction
A refugee is someone who has crossed international borders fleeing war or persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, or membership in particular social and political groups and is protected by several international conventions (Toole and Waldman, 1993). An ever-growing number of young Eritrean people have fled over the last decade, frustrated by open-ended national service – initiated in 1995 and expanded during the 1998-2000 border conflict with Ethiopia (International Crisis Group, 2014). Eritrean refugees began fleeing into Ethiopia after the outbreak of war between Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1998. Tensions between the countries had been high since Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1991 following a 30-year war, and in 1998, a broader dispute sparked a two-year conflict that cost the two countries hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of causalities (UNHCR, 2010). Despite the unresolved animosity with Eritrea, Ethiopia hosts 131,660 Eritreans, who fled the repressive regime in four camps in Tigray region in northern Ethiopia and two others in the Afar region in north-eastern Ethiopia (Mogos, 2016).
Ethiopia has been one of the most important host countries for refugees in the world. It is often stated that, hosting refugees in Ethiopia, dated as far back as to the coming of follower of the prophet Muhammad. The country had experienced a large influx of refugees over the last two decades reaching the level of close to one million. This is mainly conditioned by the fact that the country is bordered by the most volatile and conflict ridden countries (Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea) in the region-Horn of Africa. Ethiopia has an “open door policy” toward receiving refugees and is a signatory to all United Nation (UN) and Organization of African Union refugee conventions and protocols (Administration for Refugee and Returnee Affairs, 2011).
The country has been receiving refugees mainly from countries, such as Somalia, Sudan, and Eritrea. Many Eritreans have fled military conscription and come to refugee camps in the Tigray regional state of Ethiopia. A large number of the new arrivals are unaccompanied minors who require special protection (International Crisis Group, 2014). What is unusual is that most of the Eritrean refugees fleeing to Ethiopia are young educated men from cities, unlike most refugee situations where the majority of refugees...