Meron Estefanos is a Swedish-based Eritrean human rights activist and journalist, who works tirelessly to aid and raise awareness about the the plight of Eritrean refugees, who have been kidnapped, tortured, raped and held for ransom in the Sudan and the Sinai. In her efforts to rise up against the dictatorship in Eritrea she is engaging researchers in Ethiopia, who she has been paying with bitcoin. We’re also discussing the fact that Bitcoin can take down dictators and many human rights activists use bitcoin discreetly.

"Bitcoin helps people on the ground as a money transferring method, as an investment and even to topple a dictatorship. In Eritrea 36% of the population survive because of remittances. Banking is controlled by the government, the Hawala system is controlled by the government. The people that give out the money in Eritrea are part of the government and they need the hard currency sent from abroad. If we Eritreans and other African regions fighting dictatorships would start using Bitcoin, we'd take away the power of the government, because without money, they are nothing." - Meron Estefanos, Human rights activist

Background of Meron Estefanos
General situation in Eritrea
Human rights, living standards
Military service and women’s situation
Journeys and hardships of refugees
Traffickers taking hostages
How Meron got involved
Using bitcoin as a means of payment
Bitcoin compared to Western Union and Hawala
Is there a solution to this horrible situation?
How Meron copes with the depressing stories
How the audience can support refugees and Meron’s work

Donate bitcoin to help Eritrean refugees: bc1qr8v9s5elndezh6r9ff6g20f5kz99pq5hfemfwl

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Anita Posch is author of the book (L)earn Bitcoin (July 2021), host of the Anita Posch show and Bitcoin advocate and solopreneur. She is a member of the board at Bitcoin Austria - an educational non-profit organization.

Anita translated two volumes of "The Internet of Money" by Andreas M. Antonopoulos to German. Her research and activities around Bitcoin are discussed in media all over the world: Bitcoin Magazine, CoinDesk, Bayern2, Deutschlandfunk, Radio FM4, and ARD television amongst others.
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