Journey Toward Hope: The Long Road to Family Reunification

Eden, an eight-month-old bundle of joy, spends her days exploring her family’s cozy home in Columbus on all fours, babbling to her two adoring older sisters and her proud parents. Her giggles fill the air, a sweet soundtrack to a life of safety and possibility that her family has long fought to secure.

Blissfully unaware of the hardships her family endured, Eden represents more than just the newest member of her family—she is the embodiment of hope, resilience, and escape of systemic oppression that defined generations before her.

Her parents, Tesfay and Sahra, spent nearly two decades navigating some of life’s most grueling challenges: conscription, imprisonment, separation, war, and displacement across borders. Their story is one of extraordinary determination, perseverance, and the power of collective support, which has given Eden–and her family–the gift of a fresh start.

A Legacy of Resilience
Eden’s story begins in Eritrea, a nation known for its harsh authoritarian regime and mandatory, indefinite national service. In 2001, at just 17 years old, Tesfay was conscripted into the military alongside three of his brothers, leaving their parents without support at home. Eritrean soldiers are not paid enough to sustain their families, and Tesfay took a daring risk by using his approved leave to stay home and care for his parents. This decision branded him a military deserter, forcing him to live in constant fear of detention or forced return to service.

Despite these challenges, Tesfay and Sahra married in January 2007. Just months later, Tesfay was arrested and imprisoned without formal charges, leaving Sahra to face her first pregnancy alone. For two years Tesfay remained in prison, uncertain of his fate. When he was released in 2009, he was given fifteen days of leave before being forced to return to his military unit. That was his first chance to meet his daughter, who was already 18 months old.

Determined to secure freedom for his family, Tesfay fled Eritrea in 2011, seeking refuge in Sudan. His young daughter and wife joined him there a few short months later. But life in Sudan was fraught with instability and danger. He knew he would have to continue searching for safety and security elsewhere. Tesfay crossed the Sahara Desert by car–a harrowing fourteen-day journey–to Libya where he planned to cross the Mediterranean Sea and seek refugee status in Italy. His first attempt to cross the sea nearly threatened his life, as the vessel he and other asylum-seekers were on began to sink. A second attempt led to his capture and return to Libya. Determined to secure hope for him and his family, Tesfay braved the dangerous waters a third time. But rather than making it to Italy, he was rescued at sea and taken to Malta, where he spent the next three and a half years, first in prison, then in a refugee camp, before finally securing work in a Maltese hotel. 

While working in Malta and awaiting his resettlement, he was able to send support back to his wife and daughter in Sudan. He was also able to visit them. A few months later he found out they were expecting their second daughter.

“We Cannot Live Freely in Our Country”
In 2016, Tesfay received incredible news: he was going to be resettled to the United States. He had requested resettlement in the U.S. as Malta did not permit family members to follow.  He arrived in Boston in the fall of 2016. Sensing that there would be more opportunities and to be closer to extended family, he moved to Columbus shortly thereafter. His joy of safely making it to a permanent home was tempered by the knowledge that Sahra and their daughters were still in Sudan. Tesfay came to CRIS to initiate the process for family reunification and Executive Director Angie Plummer began working on his family’s case. At that time, Tesfay was hopeful that he and his family would be reunited in just a few short months. But nobody could have predicted what would happen next.

In 2017, just as their case received initial approval, the first Trump administration’s executive orders and new policies brought family reunification processing to a standstill. The family faced years of delays as they waited for the policy to be lifted.

With a new administration in place in 2021, there was renewed hope that their family would be reunited. But just as they were renewing medical clearances (that they had already passed through and since expired with how much time had elapsed), conflict erupted in Sudan, the U.S. embassy was shuttered and their passports, which were at the Embassy, were destroyed. This outbreak of violence not only sent the region into chaos, but it set off a series of events in Tesfay’s family to get his girls out of harm’s way. He worked tirelessly from Columbus, navigating bureaucratic channels and leveraging every possible connection to ensure his family’s safety. Angie and Tesfay stayed in constant communication with each other and with connections in Washington D.C. to get his family out of Sudan.

In April 2023, with the help of CRIS and a network of advocates, Tesfay’s family was evacuated from Sudan to Saudi Arabia. They arrived at the Jeddah airport in the middle of the night. Saudi officials at the airport did not want to allow the family into their country. After countless middle-of-the-night exchanges among Angie, Tesfay, and the U.S. State Department, the Saudi officials reluctantly agreed to allow the family to stay in the airport until morning. When morning came, Sahra and the girls were told they needed to travel overland to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia –a twelve-hour bus ride - for final processing, and they needed to complete any processing within seven days or they were told they would be returned to Sudan. Finally, with help from the U.S. Department of State, they finished all processing and were at last put on an airplane to the United States.

Tesfay, Angie, and additional CRIS staff members had the honor of welcoming Sahra and her daughters to Columbus after their unbelievable journey–an emotional reunion many years in the making.

A Cycle Broken
Eden was born in the U.S., a symbol of the stability her family has long sought. She will never know the dangers her parents and sisters faced or the fear of being forced into a life of oppression. For Tesfay and Sahra, Eden represents a new chapter—a legacy of resilience and the hope of a better future.

“She’ll never have to know a life like that,” Tesfay says.

Eden’s laughter, echoing through their home, is a reminder of what’s possible when communities come together to support refugees. Her story carries a powerful message: by welcoming those who flee hardship and persecution, we create opportunities for new beginnings.

Today, the family is thriving in Columbus, where Tesfay and Sahra are focused on their children’s education and reconnecting with their community. Through their journey and their advocacy, they are inspiring others to support families in search of safety and stability.