Eritreans are taking to the seas because of worsening conditions at home – ECONOMIST

The Economist logoSome 30,000 people reached Italy illegally in boats in the first nine months of 2013, three times as many as in the whole of 2012, according to Frontex, the European Union’s border agency. Many hail from Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia, three countries in varying stages of civil strife. But the largest batch came from Eritrea, a country that has supposedly been at peace for the past 13 years…

… The main reason for the mass flight is that a growing number of Eritreans feel they are living in a prison camp, rivalled—some say—only by North Korea. … Read the full text here.