Asylum or aid? : the economic integration of Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees in the Sudan

Using the case of Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees in the Sudan, the author describes and analyses the factors that influence the economic integration of refugees in the country of asylum. These include characteristics of the refugees themselves, circumstances surrounding the flight process, conditions pertaining in the host country, policies adopted by various actors to deal with the consequences of refugee influx, the history of refugee settlement in the host country, and noneconomic elements. Two different dimensions of the integration process are recognized, namely its effect on the host society and its effect on the refugees. Fieldwork was carried out in 1986-1987 in the eastern Sudan, in Kassala and the surrounding rural area, where large numbers of Eritrean refugees had settled. The author concludes, amongst others, that aid as determined by its donors has not really helped the refugees in question, nor has it been successful in reducing the burden they impose on the host country. The refugees suffer from a lack of legal rights, and the rights which they do have are violated. In that perspective, asylum, not aid, becomes the central consideration in dealing with refugee issues