February 13, 2018 | UHCL Staff
Dawit Woldu, assistant professor of anthropology and cross-cultural studies at University of Houston-Clear Lake, would like to clear up misconceptions about how refugees obtain asylum in the United States. He and his colleagues – Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Christine Kovic and Assistant Professor of Applied Sciences Isabelle Kusters – will discuss refugee-related topics on March 5 from 7 p.m-9pm. in the Forest Room of the Bayou Building.
Woldu is an author of the newly released book, “Faces of Oppression and the Price of Justice,” which explores the traumatic journey of an Eritrean woman’s attempt to navigate American immigration laws to free herself from a life of abuse by seeking asylum in the United States.
The woman, whom Woldu named “Natsanet” because it means “freedom” in Eritrea’s native Tigrinya language, faced an impossible life decision upon her 18th birthday. It was the same decision faced by all Eritreans, regardless of gender: Either become conscripted in the military and endure certain rape and physical abuse for no pay, or go to Saudi Arabia and work as a domestic servant.
“Because Natsanet chose to leave her country and become a domestic, she had to sign a contract saying she would pay a percentage of her salary and other fees to the Eritrean government,” Woldu said. “She ultimately became essentially the slave of a rich Saudi family on a visa sponsorship, which means that she lost her passport and came under the complete control of the family.”
Natsanet ended up staying five years in a situation in which she was terribly abused – beaten, confined, overworked and raped. “The book discusses human rights abuses in Eritrea and the country’s overall human rights standing, which ranks on par with those of North Korea,” Woldu said. “I work with organizations to assist refugees, and she embodies the population that I work with. Natsanet’s story was very touching and traumatic, and that is why we decided to write the book.”
In 2002, Natsanet was able to break free from the Saudi family who had tortured her for five years when she accompanied them on a vacation to a resort city in the U.S. “She was confined to the hotel, and told to do some ironing,” Woldu said. “The wife slapped her very hard, and Natsanet simply walked out the door and began wandering in the street.”
After finally finding some help from an Ethiopian woman and her husband, Natsanet found a lawyer who wrote a deposition that was submitted to immigration authorities to petition for asylum in the U.S.
“Her petition was denied by the judge,” Woldu said. “She was put in deportation proceedings. If she had gone back to Eritrea, she would have disappeared in a jail because under the law, she was guilty of treason for breaking her contract with the Saudi employer. She was supposed to have been sending a percentage of her earnings and other fees to the Eritrean government. The Eritrean government would have treated her escape from her abusive situation as a criminal offense.”
Woldu got involved with Natsanet’s case to help her raise the funds necessary to hire a lawyer to keep her from deportation, certain imprisonment, and likely death. “It’s a very tough legal process here,” he said. “The book highlights the impossibility of the immigration system. People think it’s easy to get in. It’s not. And if they’re here, they’re not home free. It’s one of the most difficult immigration systems in the world, and it’s well organized to protect the U.S. Receiving asylum can take years.”
He pointed out that seeking political asylum is a completely different process for refugees than the immigration process for undocumented immigrants. “Those are two entirely separate circumstances,” he said.
Woldu explained that the term “undocumented immigrants” refers to people who either entered the country illegally and did not apply for protection, people who overstayed their visa and did not apply for asylum, or people who lost their asylum case and did not leave the country.
“People who are asking for asylum need protection and cannot return to their country because they’re in fear of their life. And there are many social, cultural and communication factors that cause problems with lawyers and impede the process and people who deserve protection could possibly unfairly lose their case,” Woldu said.
Natsanet’s ending is a happy one. She was finally granted asylum in 2011 and resides in the U.S. “Her story is a way to explore the larger human rights story, the immigrants’ story,” Woldu said. “These people have a dream; they would just like to be a productive member of society. Overall, they’re good people who need protection and want to raise their families and save their own lives. This country was based on those ideals.”
He added that this was a moral issue for people of all religions. “If you’re Christian, Muslim or Jewish, what would you do? If someone is at your door and needs your help, what is the right way? This is a very human conversation,” he said.
For more information about UHCL’s Anthropology program, visit www.uhcl.edu/human-sciences-humanities/departments/social-cultural-sciences/anthropology.
