Fear of compulsory recruitment drives Eritrean teen to flee home | Thirteen year-old risks life for a better future Gebre knew the dangers as well as any 13-year-old. He understood that to be captured fleeing his country by the #Eritrean border guards could mean jail -- or worse. And anyone taking the route to #Ethiopia via #Sudan could be held for ransom. But what was certain was that soon Gebre would be old enough to serve in the Eritrean military, where service is tough and lasts for decades. He discussed the matter with his family and together they agreed that he was better off risking a litany of woes than a life of lost opportunity. And so the night after his family paid 25,000 Eritrean Nakfa ($1,650) to smugglers, he stepped into the trunk of a car and was driven across the border to Sudan. From there, he crossed into Ethiopia and reached Mai-Aini #refugee camp. > Read the rest of Gebre's Story: http://bit.ly/GXnNbG Source: #UNHCR