The Road Refuses Strangers

A person who flees to the United States and was persecuted in their country of origin, or who has a well-founded fear of persecution if they return, can stay in the U.S. as a refugee. However, a person cannot be a refugee if they "assisted, or otherwise participated in the persecution of any person." This persecutor exception makes sense. But what if the person was "forced" to assist in the persecution of others?

Daniel Girmai Negusie was forced to work as an armed guard for four years at an Eritrean prison camp where prisoners were persecuted because of their religious beliefs. According to Daniel, part of his job was to firmly control the prisoners, to punish the prisoners, too, by exposing them to the extreme heat of the African sun. The guards would hold a stick and follow prisoners who were being forced to roll on the ground in the sun. Because it was extremely hot, prisoners would quickly get tired and feel shortness of breath and stop rolling. They were then beaten. Prisoners typically could not survive this punishment for more than two hours. Indeed, at least one prisoner died from sun exposure while Daniel stood guard. Daniel admitted that, as a guard, he prevented the prisoners from showering and forbade them from leaving their rooms for fresh air. This form of punishment was particularly severe because the prisons were built from stone and bricks with no cooling system, no ventilation, no windows, and intolerable heat. Daniel also prevented prisoner escapes, for which the punishment was forced sun exposure. And, although he never used electricity to torture prisoners, he was aware that his supervisor did.

But Daniel, who had converted to Protestantism when he was confined as a prisoner at that same camp before becoming a guard, also testified that he did not want to persecute any of the prisoners because his new religion taught him to be merciful. Thus, at times he disobeyed his orders. On one occasion, he gave water to a prisoner who was dying from sun exposure. On another occasion, he let female prisoners take showers after they had been denied that privilege for a long time. Daniel also occasionally allowed some of the prisoners to go outside during the night and during the evenings and refresh themselves in the fresh air.

After four years as a prison guard, Daniel deserted his post and hid in a container, which was loaded on board a ship heading to the U.S. The container arrived in the U.S. with Daniel inside on December 20, 2004.

Should Daniel get asylum in the U.S.?