“2016 has been one of the worst years for Eritrean refugees, which means it’s also been one of the worst years for me,” says Meron Estefanos, who runs a refugee hotline from her house in Sweden.

The Eritrean, who readily gives her mobile number to anyone who needs it, says she has taken more distress calls about kidnappings, deaths at sea and illegal deportations than ever before.

The activist’s phone rings day and night and she also presents a weekly show, Voices of Eritrean refugees, on Radio Erena from her kitchen table, offering practical advice for Eritreans navigating the asylum process in Europe.

Most of the calls she fields in the summer are from Eritreans on boats that get into trouble in the Mediterranean. “They are screaming and crying, but the most important thing is for me to get their coordinates so I can pass them on to the coastguards, many of whom have got to know me now,” she explains.

Estefanos then follows up every hour to check that a rescue mission is under way.

This year changes in the refugee policy in Sweden, a popular destination for Eritreans, have meant she has dealt with more queries about rules and regulations.

Sweden has stopped giving permanent asylum, making it much harder for families to be reunited. “It has gone from having one of the best refugee policies in the world to one of the worst. It’s really sad,” she says.

Estefanos has been repeatedly trolled by regime supporters, has received death threats and was nearly kidnapped when she travelled to the Sinai to try to stop fellow Eritreans being tortured. But none of that has deterred her. “The trolls are my motivation: the more they insult me and threaten me the more I want to do,” she says.

This year has also brought some positive developments. Estefanos’s “high point” was when the UN called for the Eritrean government to face the international criminal court for crimes against humanity. She celebrated the ruling in Geneva with thousands of other anti-regime campaigners.

 

Maeve Shearlaw in London