Eritrean Refugee Says Life Is Worse in Swansea

A man who fled violence in his home country of Eritrea has found life is actually worse in Swansea. The Welsh city known for its binge drinking and general extreme debauchery is the new home of 38-year-old Biniam Omar, who said he doesn't like living there after becoming a victim of a burglary.

He lives in a council house in Griffith John Street in Swansea, which is also known as "Copperopolis", as it was once the centre of the copper industry, but is now the centre of the falling-about-the-high-street-with-your-soiled-pants-round-your-ankles-screaming-at-the-man-in-the-chicken-shop-as-you-tumble-past industry.

"Whenever you open the door here there is a risk. People in Eritrea are nice and hard working – the only problem is the politics," Mr Omar told The Sun. "I feel frightened to open the door. There are many people drunk and taking drugs. They knock on the door in the middle of the night. Nobody told me what it was like before I came here – if they had I wouldn't have come."

A woman who goes by the name of Phillipa Turner pleaded guilty to the burglary, in which Mr Omar lost a laptop and some clothing. The council said that he had not complained to them and that they "do not tolerate anti-social behaviour of any type". I'm sure the mind-numbing bureaucracy of filing a complaint to a feckless council was the first thing on Mr Omar's mind after being robbed.

In July of this year, many applications for asylum from Eritreans were rejected because of out-of-date guidelines about accepting people from the country. It posited contradictory views about the nation being the "North Korea of Africa" while also stating that it would not be a risk to life to return there. Many people flee the nation because of its compulsory military service.

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