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By Aaron Hagos Tesfai
This week, a young Eritrean refugee TikToker made a video; he was smiling and cheerful. He looked to be in his early 20s, not even a teenager. He told his fans:
“If you ask me, brother, where am I from?” he replied hilariously in English.
“I am from Biniam Giramy; I am from Biniam Girmay brother… Brother, you make me proud, brother, you make me proud…” repeated again and again, full of joy.
Eritreans, as well as cycling fans around the world, are celebrating the victory of the first black African rider to win a stage of the Tour de France, the world’s number one cycling competition. This TikTok video of a cheerful young Eritrean was one of many pieces of social media content that caught my attention. I’ll explain in more detail why it made me think.
Biniyam Guilmay won two stages in the 2024 Tour de France; he may win more. But his victory has become a viral story; many people are chanting his name. We saw videos from his hometown of Asmara and from mine; as he said, people are going crazy. Yes, Biniya comes from a cycling-mad country, but he also comes from a notoriously repressive regime.
When athletes win world titles, we see their hard-earned victories become a reason for joy and celebration, uniting everyone to cheer their success. I witnessed this firsthand in South Africa when the Springboks, South Africa’s national rugby team, won the 2023 World Rugby Championship. The streets where the team passed were packed with people of all ages, races and nationalities, including non-South Africans. We all celebrated together. Winning trophies on the world stage is therefore a source of national pride, giving the nation a sense of belonging and inspiration to the youth. This is why governments invest in sports, as they are important in building nations and for future generations. Bini’s victory at the Tour de France would normally have the same effect on Eritreans, but I doubt it. However, despite the lack of pride in the condition of our people, Bini’s victory at the Tour de France brought us closer to home in every way. His success has also become a source of inspiration and pride for Africans, wherever they are. Many have written and sung about his dreams, determination and success, and they will continue to do so as he continues to make history. As a result, Eritrea has also made headlines in international news media.
Refugee and migration studies literature often mentions Eritrea as one of the countries with the highest number of immigrants, with one-third of the population living abroad. Due to our widespread presence in all corners of the world, many Eritrean enthusiasts accompany Bini and other Eritrean riders wherever they go. Cycling commentators have noted the unique way Eritrean enthusiasts cheer and support riders, calling Eritrea a “cycling-mad nation.” However, they rarely mention the notoriously oppressive nature of the government. Perhaps they deliberately avoid it so as not to undermine the sport. However, it is crucial to understand what Biniam and Eritrean youth experience as riders or enthusiasts.
Bini’s victory at the Tour de France stage was like a long-awaited rain that flooded the desert for Eritreans. There have been few moments in history when Eritreans have celebrated and cheered together as a nation. Eritrea has been under a repressive rule for the past 30 years and ranks at the bottom of the list for human rights violations. The Eritrean diaspora community is roughly divided between those who support and those who oppose the Eritrean dictator. Bini’s victory at the Tour de France has brought joy and happiness to people both inside and outside of Eritrea, moistening their dry sense of joy and happiness. However, if we ask how Bini’s victory has contributed to the pride and sense of belonging of Eritreans as a collective nation, it must be analyzed through a different lens.
By the way, remember that Eritrea has been making headlines in the international media for the past two years. The emergence of the youth-led anti-Eritrean overseas government movement Brigade n’Hamedu (BNH) has been making headlines in global media (1). Since 2022, BNH has organized protests in major cities such as London, Stockholm, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, The Hague, Tel Aviv, Washington DC, Atlanta, Calgary, and Toronto. Some of the protests ended in violent clashes with police and supporters of the Eritrean regime. BNH protests have been covered by the BBC, CNN, Al Jazeera, AP News, France 24, The Guardian, and The Times, among others. Eritrea is widely portrayed in the media as a country with two flags: the red flag waved by supporters of the dictatorship and the blue flag waved by pro-democracy Eritreans. Despite the skepticism of spectators and politicians regarding the violent component of the BNH protests, the BNH protests have sparked substantive debates on transnational repression in many European countries, culminating in the passage of a strict bill against transnational repression, as seen in the Norwegian Parliament (2）.
Despite their diametrically opposed views on the situation in the country, both groups celebrated Binian’s victory, cheered him on, and the sense of belonging and closeness to their homeland was clearly enhanced. Many Eritreans have been sharing their memories of cycling in Eritrea and missing their homeland. But deep down, the two groups have different feelings of belonging and pride in their country. For the Blue Flag group, the sense of belonging to the country is driven by the hope and inspiration of the birth of a democratic country, where the rule of law, justice and human rights will be respected. On the other hand, the Red Flag group refuses to recognize the current state of repression in Eritrea. They see the victory of Binian and other riders as a victory for the repressive regime in Eritrea. In fact, the regime has suppressed cycling and other sports in Eritrea. It has crushed the dreams of generations of athletes and forced them to accept conscription like everyone else. For example, the Eritrean national football team is famous for disappearing. There have been several times when members of the national team or the entire team did not return to Eritrea, despite the opportunity to play abroad. They would rather live abroad and seek freedom than be conscripted into the army. Currently, Eritrea does not have a national football team. Furthermore, leaving Eritrea legally is almost impossible; the regime prohibits almost everyone from leaving the country through ports. This is why we did not see Bini celebrating his victory with his family, while other professional riders’ families cheered them on from the podium.
Many people familiar with Eritrean cycling culture would agree with me that Eritrea’s success in the Tour de France is long overdue. Eritrean riders had the potential to compete in the World Tour 20 years ago when Dr. Tewelde Tesfamariam (wedi Vaccaro), May his soul rest in heaven, he invested heavily in Eritrean cycling. Riders competed in the Olympics even before Eritrea gained independence. Eritrea lags behind in cycling and other sports because of the repressive regime that kept the country’s social, economic and political conditions in an authoritarian, militaristic state. The regime deprived two generations of the opportunity to showcase their sporting skills and experience joyful times. With these opportunities, the younger generation also lost hope, inspiration and role models to identify with. Eritrean immigrants in Israel or elsewhere who built houses and sponsored their brothers and sisters to leave Eritrea have been their role models for years. As a result, many people, including unaccompanied minors, are fleeing the country. In the diaspora, they have no one to associate with or identify as Eritreans.
Hence why I quote the TikToker: “I’m from Biniam Girmay”. I don’t know how much he thought about this, but his words speak to the identity crisis facing Eritrean refugees and others who have fled their countries of origin at a young age. Research shows that there is limited representation of role models among young refugees. Negative narratives or stereotypes in the media and society often overshadow refugees’ stories. Positive role models that young refugees can identify with are not always visible, which affects their ability to connect with them(3). The situation is even worse for Eritrean refugees, who have been without inspiration and triumph for generations. That’s why the TikToker proudly says he is from Biniam Girmay. Not Eritrean. To him, Biniam represents ambition, hope, determination, pride, one of the best cyclists, and Bini is from his home country. There is no doubt that he can identify with Biniam. The young man is clearly tired of being associated with the negativity surrounding refugees and immigrants. However, for young refugees from Eritrea, the situation is even worse. What is good, inspiring or uplifting about Eritrea? This country has failed millions; this regime has failed generations and killed dreams. Let me tell you how his video resonated with my experience.
When acquaintances ask me where Eritrea is, I jokingly say, “My friend, you either don’t study migration or you don’t like cycling.” Eritrea is well known for forced migration; now we’ve added cycling to the mix. More than 80% of the people I meet, including my academic friends, don’t know Eritrea. Yet, they are familiar with our neighbor Ethiopia and recognize me as a fellow Ethiopian. It’s been a while since I bothered to know why people don’t know about Eritrea, and I rarely try to educate them unless they ask. As an activist, I have been sharing my experiences and the situation in Eritrea. But after sharing about the serious human rights violations in Eritrea, many people questioned whether I was telling the truth or exaggerating. It’s a dehumanizing story. Sharing these experiences is not positive, inspiring, or uplifting, and I can only tell the truth. Sometimes, stories like these can feel scary and daunting, making them even difficult to share.
But now, thanks to Biniam’s determination, the support of his family, and the Intermarche-Wanty team that played a huge role in making his dream come true, Eritreans, especially the youth, have role models to follow; we can say we are cycling champions. Like today, my colleague asked me if I participated in the Durban July Races. I proudly told him that I am a fan of cycling and that an Eritrean rider is making history. Our moment has come; we can at least say we are Biniam Girmay. We have waited too long for this moment; we should celebrate, but we cannot remain silent and forget the lost opportunities and stifled dreams caused by the repressive regime in Eritrea. For many Biniams to rise, the regime must change.
(1) Democracies as spaces for repression and defence of human rights: the case of the Blue Revolutionary Movement in Eritrea – Martin Plaut
(2) Eritreans in Norway celebrate as Parliament calls on the Norwegian government to fight transnational repression – Martin Plaut
(3) Mentoring First Generation Immigrant and Refugee Youth: National Mentoring Resource Center
Aaron Hags Tesfai yes HEARD | Committed to promoting health equity in AfricaUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. His research focuses on the mental health of immigrants and refugees. He is an activist in diaspora politics and human rights. Contact him: aribanov@gmail.com, Twitter (X) – AronT @aribanob
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