<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Meet Berihun, survivor from Eritrea<\/p>\n
Berihun describes his daily life as a \u201cquest for survival\u201d. Eritrea is a country in East Africa where the enjoyment of rights and freedoms are severely curtailed. Chaos has replaced rule of law.<\/p>\n
Last year, the United Nations Human Rights Council published a report accusing Eritrea\u2019s government of extrajudicial executions, torture, indefinitely prolonged national service and forced labor, and indicated that sexual harassment, rape and sexual servitude by state officials is widespread.<\/p>\n
Military service is mandatory and when Berihun completed high school he was forced to enlist for active service for four years. \u201cThe training methods of the military are sadistic. The higher the death toll of soldiers in training, the more decorated our commander became\u201d says Berihun. \u201cWe were beaten, fed contaminated food, exposed to the scorching heat of the Eritrean desert. They would pour milk and sugar on your body so that files and vermin attacked you.\u201c Verbal abuse, degradation and confinement in enclosed metal containers exposed to the heat were normal practices of punishment and provided entertainment for the military leaders, \u201cWe were tied up in helicopter position and were then beaten and spat on\u201d.<\/p>\n
Hygiene and health conditions were deplorable in the training camps; malnutrition, dehydration and diarrhea were rampant. Merihun contracting malaria.<\/p>\n
Having survived the vicious training conditions, his next call of duty was forced labor, \u201cWe were made to build houses for high level officials \u2013 we were slaves for the military. My life didn\u2019t belong to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
After several years of enduring abuse by the military dictatorship and refusing to partake in the killings of other soldiers, Berihun\u2019s family feared for their son\u2019s survival and quietly and carefully helped him flee the country.<\/p>\n
Like so many of PTV\u2019s survivors, Berihun has endured torture and human rights abuse by his own government. \u00a0As a consequence, he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He frequently has panic attacks, uncontrollable shaking, heart palpitations, chronic insomnia and intense flashbacks where he feels like he is reliving his abuse.<\/p>\n
Under the supervision of a PTV\u2019s Clinical Director, Berihun is receiving intense therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). His PTV social worker is helping Berihun write his resume and teaching him how to look for work while he waits for the US government to give him work authorization \u2014 a process that can take 6-8 months. PTV also linked him with a pro bono attorney to help him with the complicated asylum process.<\/p>\n
Today, Berihun is slowly learning how to increase his social circles and diversify his activities in his new community here in Los Angeles. He is steadily gaining back his confidence and the determination to build a new life.<\/p>\n
Will you help a torture survivor like Berihun with a donation to PTV\u2019s life-saving work?<\/p>\n
The name, image and identifying characteristics of some clients may be changed to protect client confidentiality and the safety of family and friends that still live in the client\u2019s country of origin.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Meet Berihun, survivor from Eritrea Berihun describes his daily life as a \u201cquest for survival\u201d. Eritrea is a country in East Africa where the enjoyment of rights and freedoms are severely curtailed. Chaos has replaced rule of law. Last year, the United Nations Human Rights Council published a report accusing Eritrea\u2019s government of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":{"_ml_titleColor":"#000000","_ml_titleFont":"Roboto","_ml_titleFontSize":1.1359999999999998987476601541857235133647918701171875,"_ml_titleFontWeight":"400","_ml_titleLineHeight":1.3000000000000000444089209850062616169452667236328125,"_ml_metaColor":"#708090","_ml_metaFont":"Montserrat","_ml_metaFontSize":0.67849999999999999200639422269887290894985198974609375,"_ml_metaFontWeight":"400","_ml_metaLineHeight":0.92000000000000003996802888650563545525074005126953125,"_ml_bodyColor":"#a9a9a9","_ml_bodyFont":"Open Sans","_ml_bodyFontSize":0.84999999999999997779553950749686919152736663818359375,"_ml_bodyFontWeight":"400","_ml_bodyLineHeight":1.1999999999999999555910790149937383830547332763671875,"_ml_wooPriceColor":"#666","_ml_wooPriceFont":"Open Sans","_ml_wooPriceFontSize":0.90000000000000002220446049250313080847263336181640625,"_ml_wooPriceFontWeight":"400","_ml_wooPriceLineHeight":1.270000000000000017763568394002504646778106689453125,"_ml_headingColor":"#000","_ml_headingFont":"Merriweather","_ml_headingFontSize":2.020000000000000017763568394002504646778106689453125,"_ml_headingFontWeight":"700","_ml_headingLineHeight":1.4699999999999999733546474089962430298328399658203125,"_mlglobal_userfontcolors":{"headingColorUser":[],"titleColorUser":[],"metaColorUser":[],"bodyColorUser":[],"wooPriceColorUser":[]},"_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n