Under the Gaze of the State: ICT Use and State Surveillance of Eritrean Refugees in Italy

Abstract

This study, informed from data collected through semi-structured interviews and participant observation, focuses on the perceived negative aspects of Information and Communication Technology use on the part of Eritrean refugees in a refugee shelter in Rome, Italy. Unable to return to their homeland for economic, political, and legal reasons, using the telephone and Internet have become the only ways for these refugees to maintain contact with their loved ones. And yet that very usage puts those loved ones in harm’s way because the regime in Eritrea is suspected of using the same Information Communication Technology to keep the diaspora communities under surveillance. We argue that Eritrean refugees’ apprehension with using the technology is well founded and leads to self-censorship regarding certain subject matter and, at times, complete avoidance of communicating through the technology. Furthermore, those that choose to communicate despite the perceived risks still do not have complete freedom of expression and, therefore, continue to be oppressed by the regime in Eritrea.