H's Story · Refugee Week 2024

WRITTEN BY TOMMY SHARPE

British forces occupied Eritrea in 1941 and brought it into the United Nations General Assembly. In 1952, the UN general assembly voted to make Eritrea part of Ethiopia, sparking over 3 decades of conflict as Eritreans fought for independence. It gained a form of independence in the 2000s.

It is a country plagued by droughts, a one-party state, and has seen frequent conflict over the last decade. It has the least free press in the world, below even North Korea. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled from Eritrea according to the UN, including H.

H is up there as one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. He’s one of those people that would’ve been head boy at school. He knows so many names and always gives people a handshake and a hug.

He’s been in the UK for just over a year, spending most of that time in London. He lives in a hotel, stuffed into a room with 3 other asylum seekers, but he never complains. H has great English. He is going to college to improve his English even more, and has also taken up maths classes – He likes Maths. Despite living off £8 a week, he has a great fashion sense, and saves up to buy shoes and hats.

I first met H over a game of table tennis. I won the first game, but quickly learned that he let me win to be polite. He beat me 11-5, then 11-3 in the next 2 games. I haven’t played him since. Everyone wants to beat H at table tennis. He’s built a reputation, and everyone wants to be the person that topples it.