[Video and text done/written by Elias Amare, twitter: @eliasamare]
On December 23, 2009 (Resolution 1907) and later on December 5, 2011 (Resolution 2023), the US engineered and imposed unjust and illegitimate sanctions on Eritrea at the UN Security Council. At that time, there was no evidence presented to justify these sanctions.
Seven years later, despite the lack of evidence and any legitimate justifications, these unjust sanctions on Eritrea still remain in place and continue to hurt the Eritrean people. Punishing innocent Eritrea based on false premises has neither brought peace to Somalia nor security to the Horn of Africa. It’s time to end and lift the unjust sanctions on Eritrea.
Dear readers, especially the followers of my blog,
I know this particular blog post comes late, and I apologize. I apologize for not blogging as much as I use to; I’ve been a bit busy with graduate school and trying to improve my academic writing skills, both of which has made it difficult for me to go back to just good old blogging. I believe I have found a way to get around this, as well as way to develop more interesting blog posts, so please stay tuned!
My last blog post, written on 16 June 2015, titled “Context is Everything in the Case of Eritrea“, was a compilation of what I thought would be discussed and/or relevant information for those seeking to inquire more on the discourse on Eritrea, during and after the running of The Stream episode that I was part of later that evening. The episode titled “UN Accuses Eritrea of possible ‘Crimes Against Humanity‘” did a good job at displaying how passionate Eritreans can be about challenging the hegemonic discourse surrounding their country, but more importantly calls for a more nuanced understanding about the production of this discourse as well as knowledge production on Eritrea. I will not go too much into this in this particular blog post but I will do so in future ones.
The above video might cause one to generalize and think that Eritreans only argue with each other, and therefore are not able to reconcile among themselves. What might not be easily understood by s/he who does not have a nuanced understanding of the hegemonic discourse surrounding Eritrea is that the above episode of The Stream is one of the very few occasions where Eritreans who do not chose to make a career out of demonizing the Eritrean government have had a chance to speak about the reality in Eritrea. Saleh Johar, who is also in the above episode, has made a career out of demonizing the Eritrean government, especially because it was established after the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) liberated Eritrea in 1991. What many people might not know is that he has not even set foot in Eritrea in decades. In the episode, he says that he fought for his country; his animosity towards the current front (the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice – PFDJ) has roots in the fact that he was a member of the other front (the Eritrean Liberation Front – ELF) that was driven out of Eritrea in the early 1980s.
Another thing that might not become apparent to those not familiar with the details of this discourse production is that there are a lot of Ethiopians, especially those from the northern Ethiopian province of Tigray, who participate in this discourse production with the sole intention of trying to make Eritrea seem as isolated as possible. Just check out the article written about The Stream Episode; all three tweets that are posted there because they back the COI report on Eritrea (i.e. posted under the phrase “But others backed the UN position”) are most obviously from Ethiopian-promoting Twitter accounts. Tigray Legend? ThatEthioBoy? Does it need to be more obvious? This is a very sad phenomena; there are plenty of Eritreans out there who do not support the current government, and yet they are not given a voice on such platforms. I do imagine that there could be Ethiopians who are genuinely concerned for Eritreans, but I can confidently say that the below Twitter accounts are NOT, especially after experiencing their banal Twitter trolling.
In the article, there is also mention of the so-called “Freedom Friday” movement. When reports and articles started to emerge about this movement doing things within Eritrea, I had written THIS BLOG POST while I was in Eritrea, living in Eritrea. This phantom movement and the attention it has received illustrates the tragedy of the Eritrean situation where all agency is being stripped away from the Eritrean people by western media AGAIN! Only this time, instead of just completely denying agency, certain actors are now imagining scenarios of how the neo-imperial west would like people to demonstrate their agency, presenting pure fantasy as real, and major media channels are taking the bait. This fake revolution not only undermines the agency of Eritrean people inside the country, but also the intelligence of a people who brought about their own liberation (i.e. with no major backing from any other country, and where both world powers at the time – the USA and the Soviet Union – had both supported Ethiopia’s federalization of Eritrea to Ethiopia) with so much sacrifice.
There is a part in The Stream episode that, as I’ve observed on several forums and tweets, has confused many. Between the 18:34th minute and the 18:44th minute, Saleh Johar flashes his iPhone and says he has his Jordan sneakers, therefore he is not a refugee who has just arrived in the United States. To his own confession, he made that statement after being coached to do so by Selam Kidane and Feruz Kaissey. The background behind that comment is the first time I was on The Stream (which actually inspired me to create this blog) and how a comment I made about how Eritrean youth are like other youth around the world (i.e. exposed to the products of globalization), was taken out of context. In that episode I said that something along the line of ‘we (here I would like to emphasize the ‘we’) in Eritrea enjoy Hollywood movies, iPods, iPads, and Air Jordans’ (although I didn’t have an iPad at the time and have never worn a pair of Air Jordans in my life). My statement was misinterpreted as saying that people become refugees for such commodities, and I was accused of being insensitive. This is what happens when there is a single narrative, a narrative that purports that all Eritreans leaving Eritrea are only refugees. It does not say anything about the hundreds of thousands of youth (NB. Eritrea’s population is roughly 5 to 6 million) who are still in Eritrea, nor does it say anything about the thousands of youth who were exempted/released from national service but had to put their lives in the hands of human traffickers simply because there were no legal ways for them to travel to the west, nor does it say anything about the hundreds (if not thousands) who left Eritrea within the last decade and now travel back-and-forth to Eritrea, nor does it say anything about the many that dream of the day they do go back to their country after finding out that the life of a migrant in the west is very difficult. That single narrative also denies the fact that there are thousands of Eritrean people who are still refugees in the Sudan since before Eritrea’s independence, a single narrative that has kept such people hostage to subaltern status. You never hear the voices of such people in the mainstream media… unless of course their situation is presented in a way that further perpetuates this single narrative for the benefit of political actors working very hard to make Eritrea look justifiably isolated.
The last point I would like to make about this particular episode of Al Jazeera’s The Stream is to point out some nuance in the only other ‘Supporting-COI-report’ tweet mentioned in the AJ Stream article written right after the show, a tweet from Selam Kidane’s Twitter account.
The irony of the above tweet is that it purports that the COI report says what every Eritrean already knew. Saleh Johar says the same thing during the AJStream episode. It is true that such actors already knew the report’s contents because they played a very active role in writing the report. Since this particular issue deserves a proper analysis, I will get into more detail about this in another blog post. For now, I would just like to point out that Selam Kidane has been active in threatening Eritreans, who have applied for asylum in Europe, from participating in any Eritrean events that are not organized by the opposition. This includes non-political events like festivals and music concerts. The irony behind this scenario is that Selam Kidane herself had sought asylum in the UK some time in the late 1980s saying that she was fleeing Ethiopian forced conscription, when indeed the Ethiopian government did not conscript females at all. To summarize what the below screen shot says, in the Tigrinya language, Selam Kidane is warning Eritrean asylum seekers in Europe to not participate in a peaceful demonstration that took place on the 22nd of June this year in Geneva, protesting against the COI report. The whole message is not included in the below screen shot but warnings like this were disseminated throughout Eritrean-related Facebook groups by those who support (and even helped to write the report WITHOUT having ever lived in Eritrea post-independence, never serving a day in the Eritrean national service program), claiming that if asylum seekers are identified in pictures of the demonstration, action would be taken to get them deported out of Europe. This fear-mongering is all but a small example of what many in the opposition are doing to further deny agency to those that do not support their single narrative.
So, I’ve touched on a lot of issues in this blog post, but in the future I promise to get into more detail about the current discursive struggle taking place among Eritrean communities around the world. Stay tuned!
The grand majority of Eritrean people know the 24th of May as Eritrea’s Independence Day. It was on the 24th of May 1991 that Eritrea’s freedom fighters of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) stormed Asmara, bringing the largest army of Black Africa, the Soviet-backed Dergue regime of Ethiopia, to its knees, ending a 30-year armed struggle for independence. Two years later on the same date, Eritrea’s independence was officially declared. HOWEVER Eritrea was officially declared a sovereign country on the 27th of April 1993 (21 years ago as of today). How so? Eritrea’s independence and sovereignty did not come about just because the armed struggle came to an end, nor did it come about because Eritrea became a member of the United Nations; Eritrea became a sovereign country because 99.83% of its people–including freedom fighters, civilians, and Eritrean exiles in many parts of the world–voted ‘YES’ for independence in a referendum with a turnover rate of 93.9%.
Eritrea’s sovereignty to this day is a top priority for Eritreans, as their sovereignty is STILL being violated by Ethiopia, as they refuse to leave Eritrea’s sovereign territories DESPITE the final and binding decision of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (please refer to my previous blog post written on the occasion of the 12-year of the EEBC final and binding boundary decision). Let the 27th of April be a reminder to everyone that Eritrea’s sovereignty was rendered solid because 99.83% of the Eritrean people voted for independence! Not because the UN said so, not because (…containing my laugther…) Ethiopia allowed it to happen, but because the Eritrean people, after fighting for independence, being persecuted and massacred by their colonizers, and after sacrificing their lives, said so by putting the blue ballot ticket in the box.
Ballot ticket for Eritrea’s referendum for independence
VICTORY TO THE MASSES!!
For more information on Eritrea’s referendum of indepenence, CLICK HERE.
Tolerating Ethiopia’s occupation of Eritrea’s sovereign territory is affront to international law and a disservice to peace in the Horn of Africa.
Today marks 12 years since the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission issued its final and binding decision on the common border between the two countries, fulfilling a major part of the mandate entrusted to it by the Algiers Peace Agreement of 2000, a peace agreement that saw a cease fire of a 3 year border war. Unfortunately, today also marks 12 years that peace has been held hostage as Ethiopia refuses to abide by the final and binding ruling of the EEBC and still occupies sovereign Eritrean territory. If all would have gone according to plan–in other words, if Ethiopia would have honored its treaty obligations–the border would have been fully demarcated by November 2003.
Heart of Africa… reviving the African dream…Heart of Africa is a radio programme dedicated to examining matters affecting Africa from a Pan-African Christian perspective, as Africa and her friends envisage the revival of the African dream. Click on picture to go to their website.
A couple of weeks ago, I had the honor of being part of the Heart of Africa radio program where I discussed the issues that are close to my heart, the issues that I write about in this blog. I felt quite nervous about giving the interview knowing how easily people have misinterpreted my words in the past, but this interview was different. On that note, I would like to thank the host, my sister, Kudakwashe, for her professional and humble conduct. Everything she mentions in the About page of the Heart of Africa is absolutely true. Kudakwashe indeed aims to resound the voice that calls for righteousness, justice, prosperity, peace, unity, liberty, restoration and life – for the land of Africa, her people, natural resources and wildlife. Kudakwashe indeed believes that, it is the turn for this generation to carry the mantle for the radical transformation of Africa, with her people – who are capable leaders – being the masters of their own destiny. Heart of Africa is indeed the right learning environment for young Africans!
Below is the full article written in correlation with the radio interview. Here is also the radio interview:
This week on Heart of Africa Kudakwashe hosts Eritrean Pan-African Activist and Prolific Writer, Rahel Weldeab in a discussion fundamentally on Eritrea, as well as the issues she examines and advocates for emerging from this Horn Of Africa country.
There is a need to teach African youth in the diaspora to keep their identity while also providing them with opportunities to play a role as active citizens in their countries of origin. Eritrea has vibrant examples of this.
The role and contribution of Eritreans in the diaspora in the struggle for independence cannot be undermined. As many young Eritrean students migrated to North America, Europe and the Middle East during the 1970s, they became the key in supporting the armed liberation struggle for independence that was taking place in Eritrea at the time. This participation has laid the foundation for today’s diaspora’s nationalistic participation in the country’s development. (more…)
I’m sure that, just like me, there are many Africans who can sing African songs whose lyrics they don’t understand. Africa being enriched with hundreds of languages and nations, many of us grow up to enjoy the tune, melody and strong voice of those who do not share the same mother tongue as we, and yet we still some how feel and understand the message.
One particular singer that I truly admire for her strong, beautiful voice is Zahara of South Africa. Besides having such a strong voice, this singer-songwriter-poet also knows how to rock the acoustic guitar. I had the pleasure of seeing her perform live in Pretoria when she joined us at a flag hand-over ceremony hosted by the ANC Youth League and the National Youth Development Agency of South Africa.
A telephone may be considered a weapon to some, but say that to a population that has access to AK-47 Kalashnikov rifles; if they don’t laugh, they’d get pissed off at how a fake revolution simply undermines their intelligence.
I haven’t conducted any type of survey or scientific research; I only have the feed back that I have received from those Eritrean youth and adults that I have asked: did you get a call or have heard of it? What was your reaction and what do you think about the message?
Journalists have Reporters without Borders; who do we citizens have to protect us from journalists with no credibility?
It was bad enough that Mr. Issa Sikiti da Silva would write an article that purports such a serious allegation against the Government of Eritrea, saying that it supplied rebels of the Central African Republic with weapons. But to have followed up that article in the a crass and unprofessional way in which he did, citing Eritrean citizens as spies and hit men for asking him to write with credibility, was way out of line.
Does being an “award-winning” author gives someone impunity to spread serious allegations against a nation, with no evidence whatsoever, and to reduce a country’s citizens as “unknown”? Is it now okay for journalists to reduce concerned citizens to spies and hit men just for asking them to provide the sources of his/her information?
When I first started this blog, I said that I was going to write about human trafficking. Well, I haven’t found the time do do so yet. The article I’m posting now is not of my own writing, but of a good friend of mine Simon Tesfamariam. I couldn’t have written something better than this. This is the most informative, well-researched, well-referenced and well-written articles I’ve ever read on the subject. I’m still mind-bogged on how Simon, a med-student, found the time to write such an amazing piece. On that note, I’m going to find more time to blog. Work load and ‘not finding time to write’ can no longer be the excuse!
I know you will enjoy this article. It was originally posted on Simon’s blog and later featured on the Black Agenda Report website.
Human Trafficking and the Human Rights Agenda Against Eritrea
Introduction
On March 1, 2013, Joel Millman of the Wall Street Journal published a piece entitled “Ruthless Kidnapping Rings Reach From Desert Sands to U.S. Cities.” The article chronicles the touching personal accounts of Eritrean refugees being kidnapped and taken for ransom in Egypt’s Sinai desert. As disheartening as this piece may be to even the most apathetic observers, Eritreans are growing increasingly aware of the fact that similar articles highlighting the trafficking of Eritreans are becoming a regular occurrence. Although human trafficking, smuggling, and migration have been longstanding problems that have plagued the so-called developing world, it seems somewhat curious that Eritrea is suddenly getting the brunt of the international attention. Why now? Although increased international attention may be positive in that it sheds needed light on the plight of the affected migrants, the reality is that pieces like this are often politically motivated, lacking context, skewing the facts on the ground, and serving as part of larger campaign to vilify and isolate Eritrea.
The Real Rahel 