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208:. In October 2020, court proceedings in Addis Ababa began without any foreign observers. Judges did not call local, nor international witnesses. According to the prosecution, there was one Zoom video meeting with Dutch prosecutors, no request for extradition, and that with the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Europe had not shown interest in the case. In January 2021, he had escaped and later was convicted
136:. Her father was a political activist; when he found out he was about to be arrested, he fled to Sudan, and eventually made it to Sweden. She and her mother stayed behind in Eritrea, but in 1987, could leave Ethiopia, as her father had found work in Sweden. She calls herself privileged because she acquired the Swedish citizenship through her father and could leave on
171:. Over time a clearer picture of the criminal networks emerged, a small group of Bedouin bosses in Sinai were at the top, with connections to gangs of kidnappers in Sudan, as well as agents in different cities around the world. In 2011, Estefanos published a report which showed that
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called her "the lone huntress of human traffickers". As of 2022, Estefanos deplored that no traffickers had been brought to justice, with little interest from national governments and international organisations. "If the victims were white people, yes, then things can happen."
124:, her efforts continued and uncovered criminal networks reaching into Europe. As of 2022, Estefanos deplored that no traffickers had been brought to justice, with little interest from national governments and international organisations.
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Since 2008, she has fielded cellphone calls by refugees. Eventually, she received around 100 calls a day, or if a boat is in distress, up to 500 calls a day. She started her own radio program from her kitchen studio called
152:. "For five or six years" she was a political activist, unable to reach people in Ethiopia, unable to effect change, and was not allowed to reenter Ethiopia. She decided to focus on refugees, "because could reach them".
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for life in prison, but as
Estefanos had feared, no middlemen were found and none of the networks interrupted. At that point Estefanos became depressed, also precipitated by lack of income during the pandemic.
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and been active in the human rights organization
Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights. She co-founded the International Commission on Eritrean Refugees (ICER), in Stockholm.
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showed her work helping refugees from
Eritrea, who had been kidnapped and tortured on their way to Israel in order to extort ransom money from their relatives. After the
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As an adult, Estefanos moved to
Eritrea, where she became aware of the privileges of her Swedish citizenship. She then moved back to Sweden to openly oppose the
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Estefanos, Meron; Mekonnen, Daniel Rezene (30 November 2011). From Sawa to the Sinai Desert: The
Eritrean Tragedy of Human Trafficking (Report). Rochester, NY.
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and journalist. She first became known in the
Eritrean refugee community in 2011 for helping people who had been
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Dawit Isaak Award, 2011 from the
National Press Club in recognition for her commitment to imprisoned journalist
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in order to extort ransom money from their relatives, exemplified in the 2013 documentary film
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asylum seekers in Egypt, primarily on the Sinai
Peninsula. The 2013 documentary film
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As of 2014, Estefanos was a single mother of two boys, aged thirteen and five.
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In
February 2020, Estefanos travelled to Addis Ababa, and shortly afterwards
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316:"MERON ESTEFANOS, A CONVERSATION ON ERITREA WITH THOR HALVORSSEN, 18 min"
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682:"Le prix Engel-du Tertre de la Fondation ACAT décerné à Meron Estefanos"
653:"Journalist Meron Estefanos received Isaak Prize of National Press C..."
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disaster she helped people track down missing relatives. In 2015, the
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Estefanos has been a regular writer for the exile
Eritrean news site
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estimated that she had helped save 16,000 refugees with her phone.
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kidnapped and tortured by human traffickers on their way to Israel
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349:"How this journalist saves Eritrean refugees with her cellphone"
623:"Meet the three Eritrean women who are taking on the regime"
371:"How one woman saved 16,000 refugees with her phone"
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167:Between 2009 and 2014 there were large numbers of
401:"This Call May Be Recorded... To Save Your Life"
254:Engel-duTertre Prize from ACAT Foundation, 2015.
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483:"Lampedusa boat tragedy: a survivor's story"
283:"Meron Estefanos: Eritrean Radio Journalist"
106:(born 6 January 1974) is a Swedish-Eritrean
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590:hoerspielundfeature.de (2 August 2022).
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450:"Sound of Torture (2013) - Plot - IMDb"
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132:Meron Estefanos was born in 1974 in
200:was arrested, head of the infamous
122:trafficking routes changed to Libya
501:from the original on 22 March 2014
140:to Sweden. She grew up in Sweden.
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281:Kate Zaliznock (7 October 2014).
780:21st-century Swedish journalists
775:Ethiopian human rights activists
692:from the original on 18 May 2023
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538:from the original on 19 May 2023
462:from the original on 18 May 2023
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381:from the original on 18 May 2023
369:Iris Mostegel (17 August 2015).
326:from the original on 18 May 2023
293:from the original on 18 May 2023
187:2013 Lampedusa migrant shipwreck
175:was part of the trafficking of
795:Naturalized citizens of Sweden
621:Plaut, Martin (3 March 2014).
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765:Ethiopian emigrants to Sweden
481:Nelson, Zed (22 March 2014).
158:Voices from Eritrean refugees
815:Women human rights activists
169:refugee kidnappings in Sinai
716:"Meron Estefanos - YouTube"
198:Kidane Habtemariam Zekarias
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206:human trafficking in Libya
202:Bani Walid detention camp
820:Swedish women journalists
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596:Deutschlandfunk/NDR 2022
532:Deutschlandfunk/NDR 2022
128:Early life and education
120:. After the migrant and
805:Swedish women activists
790:Women radio journalists
108:human rights activist
85:human rights activist
734:NDR (29 July 2022).
688:. 24 November 2015.
407:. 14 December 2017.
150:Ethiopian government
658:. 9 November 2011.
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218:Süddeutsche Zeitung
565:Oslo Freedom Forum
405:This American Life
138:Ethiopian Airlines
561:"Meron Estefanos"
322:. 11 April 2018.
242:Awards and honors
177:Sudanese-Eritrean
173:organ trafficking
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320:OFFinJOBURG
249:Dawit Isaak
210:in absentia
162:Radio Erena
75:Occupations
67:Nationality
759:Categories
740:www.ndr.de
259:References
81:Journalist
49:1974-01-06
495:0261-3077
216:In 2022,
690:Archived
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287:Ravishly
227:Asmarino
134:Ethiopia
94:Children
60:Ethiopia
567:. n.d.
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70:Swedish
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144:Career
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