Paper short abstract:

We present research about coping strategies of Eritrean diaspora and refugee communities in Europe struggling with conflicting attitudes towards their homeland and control attempts by the Eritrean regime. They retreat to sub-national communities to counter government-imposed hyper-nationalism.

Paper long abstract:

Our paper presents findings from fieldwork in Norway, Sweden, Germany and the UK among Eritrean diaspora communities in urban and semi-urban locations. In our previous work, we identified mechanisms of the Eritrean government to control diaspora communities through transnational institutions. In a second step, we have now explored reactions of diaspora communities from various ethnic, regional and religious backgrounds to attempts of the PFDJ's transnational organisations to spread Eritrean hyper-nationalism among the diaspora. We found that both long-exiled Eritreans and refugees who arrived in Europe recently are retreating to sub-national spaces such as religious communities, ethnic- or region-based networks as a silent protest against the government's vilification of sub-national sentiments. We observed conflicting feelings among our respondents, most of whom have strong feelings about Eritrea as a nation in trouble, but also find comfort among peer-groups organized along sub-national traits. We also found that the government is applying alternative mechanisms to reach out for refugees that refuse to get in touch with PFDJ-controlled transnational institutions such as Eritrean community centres (mahbere.coms). Most significantly, it is exerting strong influence over Orthodox Church communities that serve as meeting points for substantial parts of young Christian refugees by engaging a government-controlled clergy. We conclude that mutual mistrust, the persistence of ambivalence and conflicting identities characterise the diasporic space that the Eritrean nation has now become. This has resulted in a retreat into closed-minded communities, which hampers the development of a roadmap for Eritrea's future.