n memory of my beloved brother Mohammed Saleh Mohammed Hagos 1953-2008

• July 25, 2008
• Written by: Seidi Mohammed Hagos

• Hagos Juhar and his mother Fatima Idris Kahssay. Soon after he was born our parents migrated to Addis Ababa leaving Mohammed with our grandfather. Our grandfather was a self made businessman who was known for his famous bakery shop in Mendefera.

Mohammed completed his elementary school at St. Georgeo School Mendefera. At school Mohammed was always a top student coming 1^stin his class. When he came 2^nd once or twice he would make sure he secured his first spot the next time around. During his school holidays Mohammed worked at our grandfather’s bakery where he had his first experiences of involvement in business. Mohammed, only about 10 years old then, would load bread on the delivery bicycle and supply shops and tearooms. The clients loved him, they would ask him to have tea and chat with them. Even at that early age his communication skills and attraction to people was there to be noticed. This experience at the bakery left him with a love of freshly baked bread. There is nothing Mohammed liked to eat more than freshly baked bread.
In 1970 Mohammed moved to Addis Ababa to join his parents and his younger siblings. By then Mohammed had completed 9^th grade at St Georgeo in Mendefera. My father wanted him to go to the best school in town, St. Joseph School in Addis Ababa where the feudal elites sent their children. Coming from remote Mendefera, Mohammed’s first challenge was to sit for a tough entry exam to join 10^th grade. Again Mohammed scored high points and got admitted.
Within a year Mohammed spoke Amharic fluently and made lots of friends at his new school. He finished in the top five in his first year and by grade 11 and 12 Mohammed was always coming 1^st.
In 1973 he joined Addis Ababa University Faculty of Science. After a year of studying at the University the Derg came to power and Mohammed had to go to do his national service (Zemecha). In 1976 he ran away from the Derg and came to the UK.
From 1976-1980 Mohammed studied Chemical engineering at Brunel University, Uxbridge and gained a Bachelors Degree in 1981. Then from 1981-1982 he went to Aston University, Birmingham to do his MBA. Typically both his Bachelors and Masters Degree were achieved with first class grades.
In 1983 he tried in various ways to set up his own business. Then in 1984 he started a very successful property development business in London. His talent in communication and lovable character gave him an advantage in business. To him work was done at leisure and he would be talking and laughing with clients whilst closing deals at ease.  Mohammed had the knack to make life appear so simple and enjoyable. He was full of energy and loved having a good laugh, he saw humour in everything. His energy rubbed off on people and even clients enjoyed his company.
Mohammed was married in August 1988 to Mensura Idris and has 3 children.  It would have been his 20^th wedding anniversary this August.
Mohammed was doing well in London. However Mohammed had a lifetime ambition to go back to his country and work there amongst the people he loved. After Eritrea became independent he started to seriously concentrate on what to do back home. The opportunity to fulfil his ambition came when the Eritrean government announced that it would privatise industries run by the government. For Mohammed it was just another deal to be made. He travelled to Asmara a couple of times and then took a trip down to Bristol in the UK to see Unilever, the Omo brand owners, and within months Mohammed had finalised and convinced the family to buy The Red Sea Soap Factory. The factory was eventually bought and Mohammed was sitting in the general manager’s office by June 1997. The factory was established during the reign of Emperor Hailesilassie with second hand machinery bought from Italy. By the time Mohammed started to work at the factory some of the machines were obsolete and the parts were not available. Often the machine manufacturers no longer existed.
From day one Mohammed went about modernising the plant and the buildings and began to construct a new factory from scratch on the land within the factory premises. I remember when, just after the 1998 – 2000 war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, the family were all in London discussing the environment in Eritrea. As we all know Ethiopian fighter jets had bombed near the factory, Mohammed was in his office when windows were shattered and shrapnel littered the compound. Some of us said that he should close and come to London as it was not safe if another round of fighting erupted. Also some of us sighted that there was problem with the business. Mohammed’s initial business plan, which was drawn up before the war, depended on large volume export sales to Ethiopia and this big chunk of revenue was affected.  We therefore advised him to come to the UK until the dust settles down.
Mohammed was not having any of these negative views. To him his lifetime ambition to help develop his country was non negotiable. He immediately tabled a further investment and expansion proposal and insisted that he must get on with it. He always viewed things in the long term even if it meant suffering in the present.
The factory went through a particularly difficult stage when it was forced to close for a short period of time due to a lack of vital foreign currency. The factory workforce were so personal to him he treated them like his own immediate family. Whether business was done or not he maintained their wages and welfare.
His contribution to his county did not stop there.  He was elected as executive member of the newly formed Eritrean Employers Federation and was elected president of the Employers Federation. Mohammed became an asset to the country. He was a regular traveller with government delegates to various countries working on Eritrea’s interests. He attended seminars in the country with courage and passion. Here is what Mohammed had to say during a seminar sitting alongside Hagos Gebrehiwot, Dr. Woldai Futur and others:
“Up until 1998, many Eritreans from outside were flowing to Eritrea to invest and do business. After the war, the flow has been either trickling or has stopped. I say this issue deserves a proper attention. I think it is important to conduct a study on what needs to be done to attract investors, be they Eritreans or foreigners, and take the necessary measures. The obstacle is not just the war; image can also be a problem. Especially since Eritreans love their country, we should do what we can to attract them. In general, we should take practical measures, small or big, that send positive signals of open opportunities to potential investors.” Hidri Magazine (April 2005, Nº 14)
Those who know Mohammed would say that he was an exceptionally able and ambitious man who had determination and an incredible capacity to mix with people of all generations and race. He always sets for himself extremely high goals and does not rest until he achieves these goals. He was so driven and loved the sense of accomplishment. He loved sharing his joy with others and people loved Mohammed’s energy. He was the type who would cry when others were troubled and laughed and celebrated when others made achievements.
To our shock and horror on 2 July 2008 Mohammed’s dead body was found just outside Asmara on the hills along the Asmara Massawa road.
On the evening of Tuesday July 1^st 2008, he had received a call from an unknown caller on his mobile insisting that he should meet them near his guest apartment in Monopolio.  We learnt that he was then handcuffed and cruelly tortured to death. Afterwards the killers drove the car with his body inside onto the Asmara Massawa road and dumped him.
The killers pushed the car down the hill. He fell out of the car about 20 meters down the hill while his car was found a further 100 meters down. Mohammed’s body was recovered and then taken to the hospital in Asmara. An autopsy investigation was carried out which took 4 days. We were eventually allowed to bury him on Sunday July 6^th 2008.
We are still waiting for the post-mortem report from the hospital and the police report of the investigation into Mohammed’s death. At this stage there has been no official verdict recorded as to why Mohammed died or who killed him.
Mohammed’s death has been a great loss not only to his dear family and friends but to the whole of Eritrea.  Mohammed had high hopes to use his knowledge and skill to help the people of Eritrea build a new and modern country that would be an example to the entire continent. To Mohammed, the “Eritrea will be a Singapore” saying was not just a slogan.  He believed that it was a viable dream.
The family would like to take this opportunity to thank all the relatives and friends from around the world who have mourned Mohammed’s death. We were overwhelmed by the hundreds of people that came to pay their respect to the man they knew and loved. In Asmara thousands attended his funeral. The quiet mourners were demanding justice in their polite Eritrean way by attending the funeral in huge numbers. The fact that he was such a well-loved person gave great comfort to the family during this difficult time.
I am sure you will all join me in remembrance of a truly exceptional man and join the family in praying that the government will bring the perpetrators of this horrific crime to pay for their actions.
His loving sister
Seidi M Hagos  seadyhagos@yahoo.co.uk

source http://awate.com/in-memory-of-my-beloved-brother-mohammed-saleh-mohammed-hagos/

Obituary: Emmanuel Abraham – an Ambassador, a Minister and an Educator who shaped a fortunate generation in Chercher, Hararghe [By Paulos Assefa]

Ato [Mr.] Emmanuel Abraham, a prominent educator and watershed political figure during the Haile Selassie’s Government, died at the age of 103. He had a long career span as a Minister before the Derg dislodged the despotic regime from effective political power in 1974. Ato Emmanuel Abraham died of natural causes, said a relative. He was buried at the Petros-Paulos Church in Addis Ababa on Thursday 13 October 2016 – where a mammoth crowd paid condolences.
Emmanuel Abraham, fate’s favorite from day one, was born into a family of an Oromo ancestry on March 17, 1913, in a hamlet at Benti Adere in Boji, Wollega, in the house of his grandfather Malimo Gaama. He was the only surviving child of Ato Abraham Tato and Woizero [Mrs.] Quantu Malimo, whose three sibling: two sisters and a brother, all perished in infancy. His formal education was in the Swedish Evangelical Mission where he proved himself to be prodigiously clever. In 1925, as luck would have it, he replaced a candidate in Nekemte – whose mother was unwilling to let her only son go on scholarship to remote Addis Ababa, to the newly opened modern Tefferi Makonnen School (TMS). Among his contemporaries were Major General Wakjira Serada, Haddis Alemayehu, Abossey Dufera, Alemayehu Kitata, Gobenna Ayana, Bahru Kabba, Woldemariam Nemerra and Teffera Estephanos, among others. It was also here in TMS that Emmanuel, without excessive exertion, passed with flying colors all subjects, and won an award and accolades from Emperor Haile Selassie.
In his memoir, he described vividly how after his graduation, he became a protégé of the Governor of Chercher District, Azaz Workneh Eshete aka Dr. Charles Martin, who recognized Emmanuel’s capabilities while he was a director of TMS. At the end of 1931, he took Emmanuel, when he was appointed Governor of Chercher, to the formerly called Asseb Tefferi (modern-day Chiro), a politically complicated place and diverse city, 325 kilometer away from Addis Ababa and west of Hararghe to start a modern school. Despite initial difficulties and disappointments largely placed on him from regressive and reactionary minded segments of the population, Emmanuel made his auspicious beginning with exuberant vitality and astuteness on December 1^st 1931 with a cornucopia of merely 15 students ranging from 7 to 18-years old (one of whom was this writer’s father). To this day, his students recall him endearingly, and with infectious enthusiasm, as Gash Emmanuel as they relay the story of that school to their children and grandchildren, describing how Emmanuel flung himself into teaching with great gusto and skill. Outside the classroom, there was carpentry, soccer, billiards to play, songs and military marches, all new at that time. Besides Emmanuel, Tewodros Martin (the Anglo-Ethiopian), Olana Daniel, Betera Sadiq Kassa, Major Bekele Deboch and Abossey Dufera, two other teachers with unfailing patience, gave themselves generously and were always willing to help regenerate the youth.
It quickly became clear that most parents’ fear of the old religious order was in danger in that school was unfounded. The clamor for modern education was in earnest, and the numbers of students enrollment grew exponentially year after year. Also, more importantly, parents complied when asked to fund generously, while Workneh as Governor of Chercher paid from his personal accounts to cover expenses for textbooks that were bought from overseas. On top of all this, Emmanuel’s reputation as a Headmaster soared to prominence as he established a genuine rapport with the residents. A sharp change in his career occurred when Dr. Hakim Workneh took him under his wing to the United Kingdom in mid-1935 – where he became the Ethiopian Chief Minister in London.
Before the Italian invasion in 1935, besides instilling a respect for correct English grammar and rudimentary lessons in arithmetic, geography and science, the school intensely nurtured the students with a succinct roadmap and the proper mindset for the future development of themselves as individuals and of the country at large. A most telling example of this was that one of Emmanuel’s pupils, Belachew Wondimu who died heroically while defending the town against the Fascist onslaught. Others fought by joining their parents in a guerrilla war from the mountains of Chercher as patriots during the five-year occupation. In 1941, when the British King’s African Rifles (KAR) troops came as victors, these students played a crucial role in the administration as there was a high demand for English translators and interpreters. Decades later, some of Emmanuel’s fellow students became high-profile senior civil service servants, Generals, Governor, lawyers, chef de train and district school supervisors, among other things. Despite the school’s stunning achievement over a span of nearly four years, none of the teachers, foremost Emmanuel, were ever self-congratulatory. With characteristic modesty, he would unassumingly talk of his stellar achievements: the years at Chercher were among the happiest of his life. Correspondingly, he was remembered with enormous gratitude and discerning appreciation by his students.
Early in his career in London, Emmanuel carried a heavy responsibility on his thin shoulders as a secretary and amanuensis for nearly four years, taking directives from Hakim Workneh, drafting letters and memorandum to the high officials, and translating impromptu Amharic to English, and the vice versa, as the war intensified between Italy and Ethiopia. Since he was intellectually voracious, he hunted every bookstore and library for his reading, and went to plays, museums and cultural events, which were plentiful. More importantly, the defining moment of his life was when he became a lifetime member of the United Society for Christian Literature. It was at this critical juncture that, Emmanuel was noticed by the late Hiruy Woldselassie (the Foreign Minister) who had discerned his great capacity for hard work and recommended him to the Emperor, shortly after his influential patron Workneh left for India in 1939. During his stay in London, besides Amanuel Gebra Selassie, a fellow coreligionist of an Eritrean descent and an employee of the British Embassy in Addis Ababa, that was to figure significantly in his life. It was here also he met and be befriended the literary scholar Siraq Hiruy, studying in Brasenose College, Oxford, for his degree. What even more interesting was that he worked closely with the famous Ms. Sylvia Pankhurst (the mother of the renowned Professor Richard Pankhurst) as she single-handedly campaigned for public opinion against Italian aggression. After Emmanuel went through the unbearable blitz, food rationing, hardship and nostalgia, bone-numbing cold weather, the Emperor grudgingly conceded to his appeal, brought him back home in April 1943 to Addis Ababa, and to become his General Director of the Ministry of Education.
It was fairly evident from the start that Emmanuel, who was eminently qualified for that position, faced difficult hurdles like those of his predecessor, Makonnen Desta of Harvard, in the shape of Ras Kassa Hailu Darge, a notorious eugenist, arch reactionary and a Bishop of the Orthodox Church, who had habitually nursed an outdated paranoia about Oromos being in a unique and enviable political position. Nothing prepared Emmanuel for what he would confront. Employees at his Ministry bypassed him to report directly to the Emperor. It was like a never-ending grudge kept alive by hard-edge dynastic arrogance and their-too-often-willing accomplices. He refuted this stupefying charge that there were numerically less enrollments of the student population of Amharas than Oromos under the Emmanuel administration of the Ministry of Education. The problem was that none of it was true. The Emperor saw the list of students where the number of Amharas comprised disproportionately higher than any other ethnic groups combined together, he staunchly sided with Emmanuel. Best of all, as the funds from the national coffer increased, schools were accessible to all the provinces in the country. That was a significant development for the nation that was kept illiterate for centuries by priests and Shieks. He was also falsely accused of sending abroad for scholarship academically outstanding and meritorious students from poor family background rather than the patrician caste, whose academic performances were less than zero. As a matter of fact, those who had vaccinations prepared to go to abroad were replaced at the last minute by patrician families. On June 6, 1947, the Emperor knuckled under the jingoistic pressure of a group of inflexible hardliners and the Tewahado religious zealots, and removed him with back-handed compliments and kept him in limbo for two years without offering him a position. Such, at any rate, was the bane of the precarious political life under repressive feudalistic traditions.
Meanwhile, Emmanuel settled into a respectable marriage to Ms. Elleni Alemayeh of a Gonderi descent from a noble family for 55 years. She preceded him in death by fourteen years. The couple had two sons, Amenti and Dawit, two daughters, Ruth and Sarah, and grandchildren. One of his grandchildren is Ms. Naomi Eskinder, the apple of his eye, an alumnus of Swarthmore College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
During this time, Emmanuel, who hated idleness, started working tirelessly and endlessly, bringing his expertise honed by lifetime experiences to the Mekane Yesus Church (EECMY) and brought it abreast of the International Community of the Lutheran Churches. Since he had a natural vocation for writing and editing, he immediately started translating the book Diplomacy from English to Amharic – that was essential to enlighten those who were running the country’s foreign policy and the members of Parliaments, among others, and for the benefit of the nation. Prior to this, he was also one of the delegates sent to San Francisco to sign the United Nations Charter on June 26, 1945.

Mr. Emmanuel Abraham (third from the left) as a member of the Delegation of Ethiopia to the San Francisco Conference of 1945 – where the United Nations Charter was signed.

From 1949 through 1959, Emmanuel became an Ambassador, the Envoy Plenipotentiary to India, Italy and England in succession. With his elegance and always courtly manners, he played a prominent role in Rome where the bitter legacy of the 5-year Fascist entanglement had to be sort out. He represented the Emperor and his country with great diplomatic skills. And foreigners who interacted with him particularly in London during those tumultuous years admired him as the Greatest Ambassador that Ethiopia ever had.
After his diplomatic postings were over, Emmanuel’s star was again in the ascent as the Organization of African Unity (OAU) was in the throes of birth. He assumed the position of a Minister in his Majesty’s private cabinet from 1959-61, where vile political intrigues were rife. Then, he became the full-fledged Minister for Posts Offices, Telegraphs and Telephones for six years; the Minister of Communications for three years; and finally, the Minister of Mines for five years until the government, unsuspecting and with its hands in its pockets, was overthrown in 1974 for its bungling incompetency. He was imprisoned by the Provincial Military Administrative Council (PMAC) for nine months as a high-ranking member of the imperial government charged with neglect of duty and rapacity. He was released on January 7^th 1975 with effusive apology by the military officials with fellow Ministers Menasse Lemma (an Egyptian born), Salah Hinit, Bitwoded Asfaha Woldemichael, among others.
Shortly afterwards, he served his church as the President of the EECMY for ten straight years. In this capacity also, he was a member of Executive Committee of the World Lutheran Church, where he played a significant role bringing the All-Africa Conference to this august body. In 1985, after he relinquished this post, Emmanuel, with his encyclopedic memory, decided to write his personal memoir, which had been incubating in his mind for years. The Norwegian Lutheran Church provided funds to defray the cost of publication.
Over the subsequent years, his book Reminiscence of My Life, was published in 1995 in Oslo: Lund forlag. That the reader’s reaction was staggering was an understatement. His writing style was elegant and lively in terms of a firsthand account of the imperial government from the views of a prominent Minister. The insight he brought to this picture (the outsider as the insider) is what caught the attention of this generation defrauded by Mengistu Haile Mariam, and worst of all, spearheaded by the racist views of Meles Zenawi and his cohorts currently running the country like a German Nazi concentration camp with an electronic police state. Most significantly, his memoir illuminates what has been elided from Ethiopians collective consciousness as a nation. The book is sui generis. The author received rave review from noted luminaries, such as Professor Emeritus Taddesse Tamrat, a preeminent authority on the Church and State in Ethiopia. Subsequently, this book was avidly read by university students and received the critical attention it deserved here and abroad. The memoir was praised for its even-handed and unbiased presentation. It was out of print, now re-issued by the Red Sea Press, New Jersey, and also translated into Amharic for the general public and published by Addis Ababa University Press
Throughout his whole long life, Emmanuel knew he was an Oromo and a Protestant. In a country predominately ruled by Amhara and Orthodox Christians for a century, this knowledge had never plagued him or turned him a disaffected man. Far from it, he was never a bitter man, unlike other non-Amhara, who converted their traditional religion and Amharnized their names to ingratiate themselves with the dominant culture, he remained true to himself – an authentic human being. Even more, he was generous to a fault. For this, I had firsthand experience while interviewing him for a book project that had taken a phenomenal amount of his time a few years ago. At times, he was victimized by some people who took undue advantage over him. One illustrious example of this: a person approached him with the legitimate grievance that he did not get a promotion for years, unlike his peers and colleagues with good family connections, which, of course, made this man even more envious and bitter. Emmanuel interceded on behalf of this wretched fellow and did his best to further his career, going so far to help him boost his self-confidence and lacerated ego. Unbeknownst to him, this man was the lowest scum and extravagantly ambitious, who could not work with others as equal. The irony of it was that this vicious Frankenstein’s Monster-like-character quickly turned to collude with Emmanuel’s adversaries and brought grave charges and imputations against him. Nevertheless, Emmanuel took this situation with inward smile and with supreme indifference.
A mother of two grown-up children recounted an episode to me in which, Emmanuel would go beyond the call of duty to help people. She was his secretary for a few years after graduating from the Commercial School in Addis Ababa. She announced to Emmanuel she was going to marry a young man within a few days. Shortly after he had congratulated her, he went to announce this good news to his wife, Woizero Elleni. On hearing this, she prepared a sumptuous lunch in honor of this bride. After the lunch was over, he excused himself to go to the bedroom to take a cat nap, and let the two ladies chat by themselves. In the meanwhile, his wife took this young lady by the hand into the kitchen and did what mothers do with their daughters advising her on with the day-to-day relationship in a married life. Finally, Elleni gave her a gift before she said good-bye to the bride. En route from his residence to the office, Emmanuel, who tended to speak carefully and laconically took a turn, advising her as he did years later with his own daughter Sahara before her marriage to Admiral Eskinder Desta. For this gesture, she always mentioned him with reverence as a father figure for his sage council since she lost both parents in her early years.
Nor was this all. Emmanuel, with great patience and good humor, put up with a social climber, who became a Minister for the short-lived Lij Endalkachew Makonnen cabinet, of an Amhara of Gonderi ancestry. This person, who had been to school in America was scandalized when he was young by the loose of sexual mores among the Oromos – where he grew up, compared to more repressive culture of his parents. Oblivious of how he was taking up Emmanuel’s time for such a trivial matter, he importuned the Minister to explain this cultural phenomenon to him. He did not turn on him in a fury. Emmanuel, the opposite of narrow-mindedness often bend backwards to be more helpful than critical, undertook patiently to explain out of compassion for this smug “scholar,” who was publishing a book for his incredulous reader.
Emmanuel, at age 102 – whose output never faltered – was giving interview as a repository of modern Ethiopian history without losing his early sprightliness. In Mesfin Fanta’s words, a Vice Minister who worked under him: “Emmanuel died as he lived, a truly great man.” source  http://gadaa.net/FinfinneTribune/ a/

 

In Support of Ato Kidane Alemayehu’s Initiative

When I first met ato Kidane Alemayehu, I thought we were auditioning for a rendition of the movie, Odd Couple. He was an Ethiopian and an Amara with a propensity of repeating the all-too-familiar “sameness mantra” I’ve heard all my life; but one that was unequivocally rejected by my own father and over twenty immediate family members who have proudly paid the ultimate price for Eritrea.  

I too was a product of my upbringing who did not feign any qualms of expressing hatred towards the Amara. Like my generation, I hated everything Amara, and took pride in not being able to speak their language. I still don’t speak Amharic, but as I got older and hopefully wiser, I am neither proud nor ashamed of it— just neutral.

The first thing that struck me about ato Kidane Alemayehu was that he is a gentleman through and through. His nobility of character, decency, and integrity was evident; but, most of all, he was very open and honest on all issues. I liked him immediately; and knew instinctively I could work with him. As the founder of the Horn of Africa Peace and Development Center, he was looking for a few good men and women from Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia. READMOREV

Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement (EIJM)

The Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement (EIJM) was formally established in 1980. A conference was held in Khartoum, Sudan where the National Eritrean Islamic Liberation Front, the Islamic Vanguard, the Organization of Eritrean Pioneer Muslims, and the Islamic Awakening merged to create and headquarter the EIJM.[1] The large majority of EIJM members are Muslim youth network members, conservative Eritreans, or refugees who have sought asylum in Sudan. In 2003, EIJM changed its name to the Eritrean Islamic Reform Movement.[2]
EIJM has three political goals: (1) jihad against the Eritrean government and its president, Isaias Afewerki[3]; (2) to create an Islamic Eritrean State[4]; and retribution for Eritrea’s history of anti-Muslim discrimination.[5] Led by Khalil Mohammed Amer, EIJM’s violent actions and insurgent operations are mainly focused in western Eritrea.[6] EIJM, the Eritrean Liberation Front, Islah, and the Eritrean Federal Democratic Movement (EFDM) created the Eritrean Solidarity Front (ESF).[7] ESF is the umbrella organization for its member insurgent groups, which still exist separately with their own leadership structures.[8] Even with EIJM’s new membership in ESF, EIJM still remains one of the most vocal insurgent groups against Eritrea, and continues to work in representing the repressed Islamic population. READMORE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyNj8zPbMLg

Egypt's Nubians: We want to reclaim our homeland

ASWAN, Egypt - Last weekend in Egypt’s south, Nubians launched an unprecedented challenge to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s government by marching in protest to their historic homeland, more than 50 years after they were forcibly displaced by the state.

The action was part of a new youth and activist-led movement that has been brewing since the 2011 Egyptian revolution.

Nubians are an indigenous African people in southern Egypt who have faced displacement by state-sponsored projects for many decades. They also say they face cultural marginalisation and colour discrimination.

READ: Just what's happening to Egypt's currency - and where does it go from here?

Cars and micro-buses conveyed the participants on Saturday morning from Balana village, blaring Nubian music and displaying signs and posters with slogans, including: “Nubia Is Not For Sale!”

On social media, activists from one of Egypt’s oldest African ethnic minorities were abuzz with excitement as the demonstration aimed to send a message to the government, demanding that the constitutionally guaranteed Nubian Right of Return be honoured amid attempts to sell their ancestral land.

The Nubian community often endures colour, language and cultural discrimination - a feeling of being perceived as 'other'

Online, some Nubians compared the action to the Native American protest at Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota, inspiring them to use the Facebook check-in feature to demonstrate solidarity.

The latest Nubian action comes amid a severe economic crisis and separate calls for protests in Cairo on 11 November, which the government has countered with a mass arrest campaign against those accused of defying the state.

Nubians gathered in micro-buses last weekend in effort to reach the Toshka region, more than 50 years after they were displaced by the Aswan High Dam (Mohamed Azmy)

Marching for rights

“The march was 15 cars with nearly 200 people from each village of Nasr al-Nuba and there were three cars from Nubian villages in Aswan,” Mohamed Azmy, head of the Nubian Union in Aswan, told MEE, referring to displaced villages that were relocated to barren regions north of Aswan.

The protesters sought to reach Toshka, a region within the historic Nubian territory that is currently tied to a government agricultural development project.

However, the march was cut short, Azmy said, after security forces confiscated the marchers’ national identification cards at a checkpoint north of Aswan city.

“The state has reduced Nubian land by 110,000 feddan (acres) to sell it in the 1.5 million feddan national project,” said Azmy, who is also a prominent lawyer for Nubian rights. “This is a clear attempt to change the demographics before starting Nubian resettlement [to their historical homeland].”

Despite the volatile political climate in Egypt, Nubian rights groups in Aswan say their demands are not dependent on the current national politics

While few English media outlets picked up on the protest, it did not go unnoticed by those in power. By the end of the evening, the highest office in the land had responded swiftly and directly to Nubians about plans for the megaproject.

Sisi assured that “priority” in the 1.5-million feddan project would be given to Nubians. But many were less than impressed with the president’s response.

READ: Why President Sisi is a dead man walking

“This land was originally ours and this is our constitutional right and the state can’t sell us our land,” Azmy said, adding that “[Sisi’s] response came quickly because we had good media coverage and because the march was a clear standoff between us and the state. It was an attempt to keep us quiet.”

Nubians have endured a series of displacements by dams since 1902, with the first being under British rule and the last in 1963-64 with the Aswan High Dam, which was arguably the most devastating.

While the government of charismatic then-president Gamal Abdel Nasser promoted the project as a “development dream of progress” for the nation, Nubians paid the price for it by being sent to the harsh, arid and undeveloped region Nasr al-Nuba, significantly farther from their old homes along the Nile.

Some Nubians self-identify as Africans, Afro-Arabs, Nubian-Egyptians, or simply Nubians

Even though constitutional Article 236 guarantees Nubians the Right of the Return within a period of 10 years, a decree by Sisi’s administration in 2014 virtually made that impossible by zoning a significant portion of the ancestral land as “military zones”. The president has also revived a controversial Hosni Mubarak-era irrigation megaproject, Toshka, whose viability has been questioned by some experts because saltwater may mix with fresh, rendering it useless.

"I choose to join this march because it is important for us to preserve our Nubian land," said Seham Osman, a member of the Nubian Union in Aswan. "We have taken all the steps and have reached out to officials, but there is no response from the government at all."

Osman, a member of the Southern Free Women Foundation, said female participation in the protest was not large. Still, she emphasised that Nubian women are at the forefront of advocating for the Right of Return because it is an issue that has deeply affected Nubian families, often separating them.

An indigenous and African struggle

Nubians are descendants of the ancient African civilisation of Kush, which was situated between what is now southern Egypt and northern Sudan, known for its famed “Black Pharaohs” and pyramids. Nubians in Egypt today are still influenced by the changes of the initial Arab invasions, foreign occupations from the Ottoman and British empires as well as more recent migrations from the surrounding regions and countries.   readmore

Asmara: Home of Antique Cinemas

Asmara: Home of Antique Cinemas

Friday, 20 November 2009 09:05 | Written by Sirak Habtemichael |   

About Eritrea - Art & Sport

The history of cinemas in Eritrea dates back to 1920s during the Italian colonial period, when the Eritrean people were familiarized with the culture of cinemas. But not all the Eritrean citizens had the opportunity to watch movies in the cinemas which were abundant even back then. The only few privileged citizens who were allowed to watch cinemas were the ones who worked with the Italians and only with their bosses were they allowed to get in. Almost all the movies back then were in Italian, especially until early 1940s.
The construction of cinemas began in 1920s, where the first one to be constructed was Cinema Emberto and Eritro. Also among the first cinemas constructed in early 1920 and still standing as one of the finest ones architecturally is Cinema Asmara, (Theatro Azmara). The cinema has a monumental architectural style with a three story classic podium. During the first decades after its construction, the cinema was used for stage drama performances and ballet shows only to be watched by the Italian ‘first class’ families.

At present, Asmara Theatre is used for rehearsals of stage dramas and other related cultural shows, but it is not functioning as cinema now. The structure of the cinema and the area it is seated on is in the main streets of Asmara, which gives a scenic vintage beauty of art deco to the city.  

The Italians then constructed Cinema Hamassen for the local residents. It was among the first cinemas to be constructed around the area where there was a dense population of locals. This was around 14 years after the Asmara Theatre was constructed. To this very day Cinema Hamassen provides services for theatrical shows and movies.

Around 1940s, over 10 cinemas were constructed all over Eritrea, which makes it among the first, if not the first one to own grand theatres in Africa. The construction work, the sophistication of the engineering as well as the interior design of each cinema, especially the big ones captivated the eyes of a number of tourists over the years.

Cinema Roma, Cinema Impero, Cinema Capitol as well as the Odeon Theatre are four of the biggest cinemas in Eritrea. Located in the downtown streets of Asmara, the cinemas have magnificent outer view and a state of the art interior design. The first three were constructed in 1937, while Odeon Theatre followed a year after.

Records from the Eritrean Cinema Administration indicate that each and every single one of the cinemas was constructed for different purposes. The only people that were allowed to watch movies at cinema Impero and Capitol were among the first class from the colonizers, the Odeon Theatre was for the officers’ class and others.

The infrastructure, electrical installation and sound system posses a world class standard to this day. Although only a few of the cinemas underwent renovation, most of them still posses the genuine beauty and system from the time of the construction. Among the few that underwent extensive renovation is Cinema Roma, but the renovators applied great ingenuity to maintain the classic and original features of the cinema. 

Back during the days, of course the cinemas were using old equipments which still remain as monuments of antiquity in some of the cinemas. The 88 millimeter projectors and the fade cinema system which used real players are abundant in all the cinemas. The engraved wall sculptures, the monumental architectural design, the stairways to the first class VIP boxes and the red carpet hallways especially at Cinema Roma are indeed a sight to see.   After all these years, the cinemas inside Asmara and some other cities of Eritrea still maintaining the original designs and of course providing public services to this day readmore

Africa’s ‘Little Rome’, the Eritrean city frozen in time by war and secrecy

itting on the edge of a roundabout in Asmara, the capital city of Eritrea and the centre of Italy’s former African empire, the Fiat Tagliero service station is a glorious sight: art deco lettering spells out its name in both Italian and Amharic in a font worthy of a Fellini film poster, while two 30-metre concrete wings soar across the former garage forecourt below, mimicking an aeroplane.
The building’s wings are full of the bold attitude of a bygone era in Eritrean history. Built in 1938 by Italian architect Giuseppe Pettazzi, it was the year Europe teetered on the brink of world war, and in Italy, prime minister Benito Mussolini and his Fascist party were no longer just flirting with their imperial ambitions to conquer as much of Africa as possible.
Mussolini had inherited the Italian colony of Eritrea from the European “scramble for Africa” that began in the 1890s. In 1936 King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy crowned himself the Emperor of Ethiopia, a title never recognised by the international community, and from a settlement on the Eritrean Red Sea coastline, the Italians spread their colonial campaign across the Horn of Africa.
For Mussolini, Asmara was the nexus in his new Roman Empire – and the administrative centre of his Africa Orientale Italiana. He called the city “La Piccola Roma” – Africa’s little Rome. READMORE

Facebook Twitter Pinterest

The stylish Cinema Impero in Asmara, built in 1937. Photograph: Brownbook

Facebook Twitter Pinterest

Mussolini called the city ‘La Piccola Roma’ – Africa’s little Rome. Photograph: Natasha Stallard/Brownbook

Fascist Italy actively encouraged emigration to Eritrea and by 1939, according to a census of the same year, over half of Asmara’s population was Italian. Handed over as a blank canvas for Italy’s most radical architects, the city found its new role as an unlikely playground for futurist architecture.
Mussolini encouraged Italian architects and engineers to transform Asmara into an urban utopia, full of cinemas, cafés, imported bicycles and sycamore trees.

“[The Fiat] is the reason I became an architect. It’s a very peculiar building. Structurally it was very bold. Engineers nowadays wouldn’t dare to build a cantilever half the size of that,” says Mesfi Metuasu, a local architect and urban planner who has been working with Asmara’s buildings since 1995.

Cinema Impero, Asmara

Cinema Impero in Liberation Avenue is probably the most striking of Asmara’s four Art Deco cinemas. It was designed by Mario Messina and built in 1937.

Forty-five round lights decorate the front with the name Cinema Impero spelt out vertically in illuminated letters. It certainly is a landmark building, especially at night. Several pairs of doors lead into the cinema. Each door an impressive large semi-circular handle forming a full circle with its partner when both are closed.

I blagged my way in to check out the auditorium and was not disappointed. Initially I was a bit freaked out standing in the pitch black empty space but it was all worth it when the lights came on. The back wall had stylized Art Deco reliefs of impala, while along the side walls there were more reliefs of dancing figures and palm trees. A cordon of squat poles with lion’s heads on top creates symbolic separation of the seats from the movie screen.

People started coming in for the next session so I returned to the foyer and left offering sincere thanks to the guys sitting beside the doors.

In my opinion, Cinema Impero is one of the great cinemas of the world.

Reference:
Asmara: Africa's Secret Modernist City~ Edward Denison, Guang Yu Ren & Naigzy Gebremedhim readmore

Asmara's Opera

he building combines elements of Romanesque Revival and neoclassicism. The painting of the ceiling of the auditorium shows the tendencies of the Art Nouveau. Indeed, the roof has paintings by Saverio Fresa with dance images. It was one of the most famous buildings in Italian Asmara.
The building was erected on a hillside, at the eastern end of the north side of today's Harriet Avenue (the old "Corso Italia", later named "Corso Mussolini" and now the main road of Asmara) and at the corner with Beleza Street. This location made possible to make the ascent to the Opera as a monumental staircase, which is circled on both sides by a shell-shaped fountain and a Renaissance - loggia with Corinthian columns. The rest of the exterior of the building, especially the Beleza Street side facing, is castle-like, designed with battlements and towers. From the porch it is possible to reach the Foyer, which in turn gives access to the huge "Auditorium". This has, in addition to the Parquet floor, three additional levels and can have 750 spectators. The stage is relatively small and without further technical equipment.
In 1938 the international car race called Asmara circuit was started exactly in front of the Opera building, on the "Viale Roma" (now called "Sematat Avenue")^[2]
The building was named Teatro Asmara until after being purchased by Eritrea and Ethiopia in 1952 from the Italian owners far below the market value. After the independence of Eritrea in 1991/93 it was dispossessed and is now back in state-owned property^[3] In the foyer, there is now a cafe, and in a side building, the headquarters of the national telephone company Eritel.
In the Asmara's Opera were performed many "Commedie" and opera works like those of Pirandello and music by Puccini and Verdi, with soprano from the best theaters in Italy: for example, in 1951 was performed "La Patente" of Pirandello and music of Chopin.^[4]

After World War II and until the 1970s in the Asmara Opera performed even international companies with famous "artistic & musical tours", like those of Renato Rascel and Renato Carosone. The theater was still occasionally used in 2012. readmore

What (Italian) Colonialism Did To My People Of (Eritrean) Kebessa

“Suffering is by no means a privilege, a sign of nobility, a reminder of God. Suffering is a fierce, bestial thing, commonplace, uncalled for, natural as air. It is intangible; no one can grasp it or fight against it; it dwells in time / is the same thing as time; if it comes in fits and starts, that is only so as to leave the sufferer more defenseless during the moments that follow, those long moments when one relives the last bout of torture and waits for the next.” Cesare Pavese Quotes

The Name

Before the Italian invasion and imminent capture of Eritrea the highland had many names but local historians always disagreed on those names. Some historians said the name was Mereb Milash, “This side of river Mereb”, a river that now divides Eritrea and Ethiopia. Others said the name was Midri Hamasien, “the land of the Hams”.

The Italians did not bother to consult the people when they named their colony, Eritrea, though to their credit they named the new capital city they intended to build, and eventually did splendidly, Asmara, a word taken from the four villages that existed in that area when the Italians arrived. The villages were collectively known as Arbate Asmara.

The Italians took the name Eritrea from the Bible [some say from the Greeks], the biblical name of the Red Sea. Its effect on the monks and the women was immediate: they liked and adored the name and did not waste time using it.

In the highland if the monks and the women did not mind, every one else would not mind. The problem was with the sounding of the name. The pronunciation came in all varieties and forms of sounds: Eltra, Eritra, Elitrea; Eritrea; Ertra. But people didn’t mind, they just said what came to their mouth and said it proudly. It was unconscious, so no shame was attached with the sounding of what they said.

The monks liked the name Eritrea because it was in the Bible and referred to the very important event they preached and cherished: the crossing of the Jews through the middle of the Red Sea led by Moses to Mount Sinai and to freedom from slavery.

Arms Length Acceptance

At the beginning it was not the look of the Italians that bothered the monks and thus the women. In Eritrea there were Eritreans with very pale skin, pale faces, straight noses, thin lips and soft hairs so the white skin was not absolutely something new or strange. So was the hair. The language was also not a concern for the Monks and the women who literally believed in the story of the tower of Babel, that God gave people different tongues. It was also good for the monks who did not want any rapport between the Italians and the people, because they knew direct communication always leads to understanding that leads to tolerance and eventually influence. No communication meant every one kept his own values. In a nutshell, it was the religion of the Italians that bothered the monks: the Italians were Christians but not “real” Christians.

Out of many the two fundamental values the monks wanted the people to watch out were the dietary rules and the printed (revised) Bible. In due faith diligence the Monks dictated their followers not to eat anything the Italians touched or handed, even in time of scarcity, and not to touch any printed Bible lest they face excommunication exactly as they did with the Swedish missionaries.

Special warning was also handed specifically to the women concerning sugar, sweets and bleached wheat flour which the people call fino. The Monks said the Italians might use the power of sweets and bleached flour to woo first little kids and then eventually the women.

The monks knew the women were the pillars of the faith. A convinced woman was an iron curtain. But they also knew women fight for survival. What would the women do if draught or locusts destroyed their yields and the Italians offered something? Would they say no and forgo survival? Or would they succumb to their survival instinct and diminish their faith?

The monks were wise and creative. Like they allowed the woman to have coffee, sensing the hardy highland woman had her share of weaknesses, they also allowed her to take flour from the Italians but only if she was in dire need. But to the surprise of the monks and more to the Italians she refused to touch the flour and instead she asked for grain to grind herself which the Italians happily provided.

As for the sugar, against the advice of the monks, the woman did not refuse the opportunity to take if the Italians offered and started using it to sweeten her bitter coffee.

The monks were not worried with the flour or sugar, for they knew they were harmless. Their biggest worry was the Italians might use those as baits for conversion or worse influence new eating habits that transgressed the Church rules. So when the woman stuck with her faith and values albeit using sugar, the monks celebrated like nothing before and their trust towards the woman was cemented forever.

The men were not of too much concern for the monks because they knew men would err, but would eventually come back to their faith, the faith of the woman that raised them in her back and her lap.

Italian Attitude To Women

Italians of now and Italians of then, loved and respected women. Though they came as colonizers, they never went out of their way to harm or upset the women. Actually the Italians found the women of Eritrea resembled their mothers back home in character and behavior.

Those few Eritrean girls who were hired as maids, quickly adapted to their new surrounding and to the amazement of the Italians quickly mastered the language and were also quick learners to any task showed and assigned to them but initially they would not touch the Italian food; would not sleep in the house and the only things they willingly took if given were sugar, soap and fabric.

There were three things the Italians brought that made the hardy woman always remember and remain grateful to them: the flour mill, soap, and shoes.

The introduction of the mill signified her emancipation from manual grinding, a tedious, painful and non-ending back breaker. Because manual grinding was time consuming, the mill also freed up time for her to rest or do tasks that otherwise was set aside due to scarcity of time.

Soap not only made cleaning clothes easier but also for the first time it enabled her to look after herself. As for the shoe, she took it as something that came from heaven like Manna to save her from that dreadful thorn of curse.

The women used to use Shibti as detergent, a very fine white seed from a plant that grew along side streams. But due to its scarcity and seasonal availability she could not use it through out the year. When the Italians introduced soap which they call “sapone” the women took the word literally and called it Samna. Everything that cleans became samna, even the powdered detergent called Omo became a universal detergent and not a brand name. Until today the woman, whether in Eritrea or abroad calls any detergent Omo. That was how she was attached to it.

Women of the highland loved white fabric, and would die for it if it was emblazoned with flowers. They had special word for it: tsada mdru ms inbaba. Knowing this, the Italians started importing fabrics so the women could buy them for clothes. Until recently, the first item a bride-to-be orders her groom-to-be is a white fabric with flower design.

Italian Character

For the Italians, Eritrea was their first colony. So as soon as the colony was established many civilian Italians, some volunteering, some adventurous and some who were forced because of their political tendencies came to Eritrea. All of those civilians had some kind of skill they brought with them from Italy and immediately ventured working in their field of expertise.

Italians are compulsive and sentimental people. If given the opportunity, they prefer to stay in their home country until death. If not, they would emulate everything they know to their new surroundings; in other words, they recreate little Italy everywhere they go. If they did this as immigrants, imagine what they did as colonizers. readmore

Recalling La Dolce Vita in Eritrea

e star of the show, and for good reason, is the Fiat Tagliero gas station, designed in 1938 by Giuseppe Pettazzi to look like an airplane, a spaceship or possibly a bat. Mr. Pettazzi’s extraordinary flourish was the concrete wings that jut out a total of more than 90 feet. The municipal authorities at the time required him to build pillars under the wings so they wouldn’t collapse, which was an unforgivable insult to Mr. Pettazzi. According to local legend, Mr. Pettazzi installed detachable pillars, and at the station’s opening, he pulled out a pistol and forced the builder to remove the supports. Needless to say, the wings are still there.
We saw many of these modernist gems as we strolled around Harnet Avenue. The whole city, with its broad boulevards and wide sidewalks, was laid out with the passeggiata, or evening stroll, in mind. At sunset, thousands of people hit the main drag and you can feel the communal spirit, going back to the days of the struggle. “Do not talk about self,” read one sign in English. “It will be done when you leave.”
It was in this collective, understated spirit that Eritreans built a most original war memorial. Eritreans chose not to put up a statue of Mr. Isaias or some other famous man but of a pair of giant sandals — yes, sandals. The shida sandal, a $3 black plastic shoe that is actually quite uncomfortable unless you’re hiding in a bunker and have bigger worries, is the official symbol of the struggle. In the center of town is a pair of 20-foot-long sheet metal shidas. In the 1980s, Eritrean rebels built a mobile shida machine underground that survived countless bombings. The sandals became legendary.
We found most people here friendly, unless the subject was politics, which then seemed to bring out a prickly side. Eritreans are fiercely proud of their independence and reluctant to criticize their government, which has jailed political opponents. “The problem with Eritrea,” explained an Eritrean friend who has left the country, “is that half of my friends are in prison and the other half put them there!”
After a few days in Asmara, we headed to Massawa, Eritrea’s swelteringly hot and therefore not surprisingly sleepy beach town. We took the steam train about a quarter of the way and then had a driver meet us and went by road for the rest. The train was built by the Italians starting in 1887 and still operates, though mostly for tourists. Along the way, the train stopped many times to load up on coal.
“The engine’s good,” the train’s equally ancient engineer, Seyoum Kidane, reassured me. “Just a little leakage.”
Massawa is hot, moist, quiet and battle-scarred. It’s a place where you can see the cost of the struggle, like the Ottoman-era buildings with their roofs blown off and sea walls raked by machine-gun fire. There is a beautifully decrepit old bank building along the water where we picked our way through the cobwebs and rubble and found an enormous safe still half open (somebody had already cleaned it out).
Some of the world’s most spectacular diving is in the Red Sea. There are a few dive shops in Massawa with rentable gear and boats to take you to the Dahlak Archipelago, which includes more than 200 islands and dozens of wrecks.
At night, when it cooled down a bit (it was still probably about 90 degrees), we took a stroll. The roads by the port are straight, wide and empty. The 300-year-old Ottoman quarter, on the other hand, is a maze of little alleyways and crumbling coral houses. The smell of frankincense wafted from under the beaded curtains of the bars. Shirtless old men sat at tables in the open air, draining beer from unmarked brown bottles and slapping down dominoes.
There is not a lot going on in Massawa but that’s part of the appeal. We had dinner at an outdoor fish restaurant called Sallam. The fish was barbecued Yemeni-style by slicing it in half, smacking the whole thing against the walls of a fire pit and baking it to a black crisp. It arrived on plastic plates with the meat dropping off the bone by the handful. It was cheap — $20 for four. And delicious.
In many ways, the story of Eritrea is the story of modern Africa, so much promise melting into so many problems. In just 15 years, Eritrea has gone from being the darling of the West, the egalitarian, crime-free, little-country-that-could, to a struggling, closed-off society, which, in a way, makes it all the more interesting to peek into.
Modernity will eventually come, hopefully peacefully, and until then Eritrea will remain a remarkably authentic, singular place to visit.
IF YOU GO
GETTING THERE
One of the cheaper ways to get to Eritrea from the United States is to fly on EgyptAir (www.egyptair.com.eg) from New York to Cairo and then connect in Cairo to Asmara. A round-trip ticket is around $1,700. Other flight options include Lufthansa (www.lufthansa.com) from Frankfurt, with a short stop in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Or Eritrean Airlines (www.flyeritrea.com) from Frankfurt or Rome. There is also Nasair (www.nasairgroup.com) from Nairobi, Kenya, which we used.
A good travel agent to finesse these details is Travel Inn, in Marbella, Spain (34-952 82-9017; www.arrakis.es/~travel_inn/).
WHERE TO STAY
Italia Albergo (13 Nakfa Avenue; 291-1-120740; www.albergoitaliaasmara.com) is a gorgeous old-school hotel right in the center of town. The Albergo was actually Eritrea’s first hotel, opened in 1899 and refurbished three years ago. Its lavishly appointed suites include big marble bathrooms, Corinthian columns and balconies that swing open to the street. Single rooms are $88 and double rooms are $132. (In Eritrea, prices are typically quoted in either dollars or nakfa, the local currency, with a current exchange rate of 15 nakfa to the dollar.) Book ahead for October and November, the busiest tourist time of year, thanks to the idyllic weather. The hotel does not accept credit cards.
In Massawa, we stayed at the Red Sea Hotel (291-1-552839), right on the water. The rooms were clean, simple and, thankfully, air-conditioned, with a double room costing $32.
WHERE TO EAT
Asmara has excellent, inexpensive food. Lunches are usually no more than $10 and dinners $20.
The Albergo serves up tasty Continental cuisine in a dining room that is nothing less than elegant.
We also enjoyed Casa Degli Italiani (Mengesha Yohannes Street, 291-1-120791), the old Italian club from the Fascist days, with a huge Italian flag still flapping. The service is slow, but it lets you admire the pigeons in the courtyard. Most importantly, the mozzarella is home-made and the spaghetti Bolognese (110 nakfa, or about $7) is excellent.
There are also some great local finds, like the Blue Bird Restaurant (291-1-117965). Eritrean food is a lot like Ethiopian food: mashed-up lentils; beef with peppers; spongy injera bread — all washed down with tej, a honey wine served in grenade-shaped decanters. Dinner for two should run about 160 to 200 nakfa.
We found a very helpful travel agent in Asmara — Tedros Kebbede, of Travel House International, (291-7111-487, www.travelhouseeritrea.com). Mr. Kebbede can arrange guided tours, drivers and trips on Eritrea’s steam train. He can also help with hotels in Massawa. readmore

Why do EU leaders still think they can engage with Eritrea's regime?

As the European parliament hosts another Eritrean politician in the hope of reducing the number of refugees fleeing the small African state, the fact that the regime has been found guilty of “crimes against humanity” by the UN has once again been overlooked.
The event, organised by Irish MEP Brian Hayes and attended by Eritrea’s minister of information, Yemane Gebremeskel, is the latest example of the EU’s attempts to tackle the refugee crisis by reaching out to repressive regimes.
Since the small Red Sea nation gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Europe has made repeated attempts to build a relationship with the government, but to no avail. Which leaves open the question: what crime must Eritrea commit to be condemned by the international community?
In 2001 when the president, Isaias Afwerki, cracked down on all political opposition and jailed more than 10 independent journalists, the Italian ambassador to Eritrea presented a letter of protest to the authorities. He was promptly expelled and other European ambassadors were withdrawn. The EU presidency said relations between the EU and Eritrea had been “seriously undermined”.
At first Europe demanded that Eritrea improve its human rights record before normal relations could be resumed. But President Afwerki did nothing of the sort, assuming that he could outlast the EU’s anger. He was right: it was the Europeans who buckled.

As time passed the EU reassessed its relations with Asmara. Although there had been no sign of movement on human rights it was decided to try to have a “new beginning” with Eritrea.
In May 2007 the president was invited to visit Brussels and was warmly welcomed by the then EU development commissioner, Louis Michel.
By August 2009 Michel was sufficiently encouraged that progress could be made that he visited Asmara, after receiving assurances from an Eritrean diplomat that Dawit Isaak, a Swedish-Eritrean journalist imprisoned in 2001, would be released into his care. Having booked a ticket for Isaak to return with him to Europe, Michel flew to Asmara.
But once he arrived it became apparent that the president had no intention of allowing the journalist to go free. Michel was not even permitted to visit the prisoner and returned home humiliated.
Despite these setbacks, the EU remained wedded to attempting to improve its relationship with Eritrea.
In 2009, European and American diplomats discussed whether to strengthen military sanctions against the country. A US diplomatic cable, released via WikiLeaks, revealed that EU representatives called for engagement with Eritrea rather than isolation.

The Italians described Eritrea as governed by a “brutal dictator” and noted that it had “not gotten results from its efforts at engagement”, while at the same time cautioning against “creating another Afghanistan” by imposing sanctions. The French said that while engagement was “useless”, they would continue on this track as there was no other option. Readmore