Dear family, friends and strangers,

For those who do not know me: my name is Kidane Isaac Tikue. I am a  refugee activist from Eritrea. 

Many of you know that witnessing the deterioration of the living conditions of my people due in large part to the repression of  freedom in Eritrea feeds my passion for inquiry. After more than a decade, a long-held wish is finally being fulfilled: I will continue my studies. My experiences as a citizen without rights, a political prisoner, and as a refugee in North Africa, the Middle East and Europe serve as the foundation for my real world education. Now I am eager to complement my personal experiences with rigorous academic training to better comprehend the core struggles of my own Eritrean society and others similar to it.

I have been accepted to study at Birkbeck, University of London. After finishing a one year foundation degree,  I wish to go  on to complete a joint bachelor degree in economics and law.

I completed college in Eritrea at Maihabar Technical School and was set to continue to university. The government-mandated closure of the University of Asmara, however, interrupted my studies. I was ordered to work indefinitely in a military construction company. Ironically, the only way for me to continue my critical inquiry into the world was to flee my homeland. Fearing for my life and freedom, I fled to Sudan, to Libya and eventually went to Israel where I lived for five years.

Throughout the trajectory of my migration, my fluency in five critical languages (Tigrinya, Amharic, Arabic, English and Hebrew), and natural inclination for mediation, discussion and debate made me uniquely
positioned to speak openly about Eritrean politics and the rights of African refugees in Israel and elsewhere.


In Israel, I have organised and participated in local politics: within the Eritrean community, within the wider refugee community, and within the challenging communities trying to live alongside one another in south Tel Aviv.

I volunteered alongside full time jobs to the benefit of the Eritrean community in Tel Aviv, as a translator, as a cultural liaison for NGOs serving asylum seeking communities, and as committee member for the Eritrean Committee for Political Asylum Seekers in Israel (EPASI). I have been a member of the board of the African Refugee Development Center. In all positions I advocated for refugee rights in Israel and assisted fellow asylum seekers.

I organized and spoke at press and academic conferences about the situation of asylum seekers from East Africa and the human rights situation in Eritrea. I organized and spoke at refugee community protests for a fair asylum policy and humane treatment of African asylum seekers in Israel. I was a founding-member, translated and wrote for the Refugee Voice.  


Nearly two years ago I moved  to London with my wife Laurie and our then new born daughter Tsega. Through all of the trials I faced before arriving in the United Kingdom, I continue to find stimulation reading about and discussing justice, international politics and economic development. Formal training would prepare me to contribute towards the amelioration of economic, social and political challenges globally, but more importantly in Eritrea, where there is basically no rule of law and free economic movement.  

I kindly ask for your help to realise this.  As I have not been in the UK long enough to apply for a loan, I am looking for other means to cover my fees. I would very much appreciate any contribution, small or big towards my tuition and book fees. 

Thank you for your time.

If you would like to know more about me and my activism, look out for me on google or drop me a message.

Love,
Kidane