Eyewitness Account

Update on Famine Situation

Fri - 30 Oct Written by Mussie Hadgu (from Eritrea)

The conditions in Wi’a concentration/training camp in the past 7- 9 months have worsened more than any other time. Food rations were reduced further to 3 pieces of sorghum bread per person per day without any supplements such as sauce except limited ration of tea. The shortage of food is compounded by the closure of the camp for family visits which used to facilitate the supply of food from families and relatives to the prisoners/trainees. The shortage of food combined with the very poor sanitation conditions, harsh environmental conditions, fatigue resulting from training exercises and almost non-existent health facilities and health care services in the camp has lead to sustained outbreaks of meningitis, typhoid and scabies resulting in alarming mass deaths.

Most of the deaths are mainly attributed to meningitis. Meningitis has been in the camp even before three years and had killed many but it has never been in this scale before. The death rate increased from June onwards and continued at alarming rate until the camp was closed in September. After hesitating for long, the government has finally decided to close the camp as an emergency measure after many (estimated to be in hundreds) have died. It is difficult to know how many have exactly died but sources from the camp tell that initially 37 people have died in the spot without being transferred to the Gedem military hospital near Massawa. Hundreds were transferred to Gedem hospital but the majority of them have not survived indicating that the death toll is in hundreds.

An Assassination Attempt on President Isaias Afewerki

Fri - 14 Aug Written by BerQi # 93

On 13 August, 2009, around 4:00 PM, in the vicinity of Mai-Ata’l, an assassination attempt on the President of Eritrea, Isaias Afewerki,was conducted.

In this failed assassination attempt, the president was barely able to escape death. The man who tried to kill the president though, a former freedom fighter First Lieutenant Daniel Habte Yihdego, after an exchange of fire with the President’s security, was shot to death. He was 43 years old.

Government of Eritrea making business out of poverty

Thu - 13 Aug Written by Mussie Hadgu

Since last month the government of Eritrea is preoccupied in advertising and facilitating the exportation of poor women to Kuwait for exchange of hard currency. The scheme is designed to raise hard currency to the government by sending the poor women who are suffering from extreme poverty as the result of the government policy to work in Kuwait as cleaners- exploiting them for being poor. Under this scheme the poor women enter contractual agreement for a period of two years with a Kuwaiti company to work as cleaners and will be paid monthly salary of USD 173. The criteria to get permission to make the contractual agreement deal are:

Picture from Eritrea: People queing for a few available Fish in keren

Sat - 25 Jul Written by Administrator

I took these photos on my visit to Keren last few weeks.
The photos shows people queing for a few available Fish in Keren.

Please send us images and brief description of the images at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Eritrea Update: Famine and Resettlement Program

Wed - 15 Jul Written by Mussie Hadgu

Now it has become apparent that the situation is getting out of control: there is a real humanitarian crisis in the country. If not for the blocking of the people from crossing to the neighboring countries, people would leave the country in hundreds of thousands to save their lives. In general, the government is not responding to the famine and even if there are some responses in some areas, these responses to the crises are disappointing. The responses are large scale mass resettlement of the people suffering from hunger. As of last week of June 2009, the government is busy transporting thousands of households mainly from Debub and Anseba Regions to Gash – Barka- around Kachero (Omhajer), Gergef and Aligeder. What is more surprising is that the resettlement activities are taking place in unplanned and haste manner during the rainy season (June – September is the rainy season for most parts of Eritrea). During the rainy season it is not conducive to plan resettlement activities for the following reasons

Update on the Famine Crisis in Eritrea: the Landless and Beggars

Sat - 09 May Written by Mussie Hadgu

As the result of the land expropriation, endless national service programs, crop expropriation and restrictions of trade of food and other items as well as the result of the impact of last crop season’s drought, the Eritrean population has been subjected to famine and hunger. Since my last report the prices for grain has almost remained constant because the government has to some degree loosened the control over the movement and trading of specific crop items such as sorghum in the past months while still tight control is being imposed on other food items such oil, wheat, wheat flour, sugar, etc. The implication is the prices for some items such as sugar, oil, pasta has increased by 30 to 40% since my last report. But even so prices have been extremely high for such a long time that for the population of Eritrea with no income sources the main problem at this time is more of lack of affordability. Even the rations that were supplied through the so called “fair price shops” have been slashed or are being distributed occasionally – for example, oil is only being distributed occasionally. The crisis of supply of energy is unresolved yet. Thus the situation is so severe and with every passing day it is getting extremely difficult for people to cope bye. And it is further anticipated that the availability of food crops will be reduced and prices will further rise up because the government has again tightened the control over the trade of food crops and other items as per the 28^th of April, 2009.

Isaias - Reshuffles Some of His Ministers

Fri - 24 Apr Written by berqi #93

Well- placed observers believe that this ministerial reshuffle will have no significant impact on the direction and quality of governance of the crisis riddled régime. All ministers in Eritrea do not have any latitude to administer their respective ministries. The “change” is a cosmetic ploy intend to refocus the attention of the people away from the regime’s gripping economic and political crises.

The timing and message of this meaningless reshuffle can only be interpreted as an attempt by Isaias to demonstrate his total control of the nation. With the magnitude of the national crisis reaching a critical mass this kind of gimmick will only further expose the regime’s inability to tackle the overall problem of the country

(III) Eritrea, a Nation in Overall Crisis: Coping Strategies in Hard Times

Thu - 16 Apr Written by Mussie Hadgu

Begging: begging has now entered the domain of the main coping strategies. People who have had respectful and dignified living and who had never thought in one day in their life’s time they would be beggars have now become beggars. If we take Asmara as and example there are countless beggars everywhere, in every street and corner. The main public places such as bus stations, market places, mosques and churches are overwhelmed by beggars comprising mainly of women.

RELATED: ERITREA A NATION IN CRISS
(I) NGOs and food aid
(II) Land Expropriation

PFDJ arrests 45 hungry mothers

Sat - 11 Apr Written by Berqi #93

The Eritrean government has arrested 45 mothers in the Hazhaz District of Asmara for attempting to inform local authorities about the excruciating hunger they and their children are facing.

The arrests occurred on April 4, 2009 after the local Hazhaz administrator interrogated them for one hour. The administrator held that their appearance before him as a group amounted to a revolt.

(II) Eritrea, a Nation in Crisis: Land Expropriation

Sat - 28 Mar Written by Mussie Hadgu

As the construction of houses costs hundreds of thousands of Nakfa, they are not affordable by the people who are national service recruits or even those salaried people inside the country. Thus they have to sell half of the lot to raise fund for construction of the remaining the other half. The government views this practice as dangerous and a threat to its land expropriation and selling business because the villagers and the government compete for the same market, those customers being the people living abroad having financial capacity to buy houses or land. For this reason the government has banned and outlawed the sale of “tiesa” land.

(I) Eritrea, a Country in overall Crisis: NGOs and food aid

Mon - 16 Mar Written by Mussie Hadgu

As the result of the cumulative of effect which have been piling up due to economic, social, political and environmental crises and the current drought, the humanitarian situation has escalated to a previously unseen dangerous level. Already people are starving; the prevalence of malnutrition level ranges from very high to extremely high. As the government has blocked the provision humanitarian assistance from outside, thereby denying the Eritrean population their rights to basic needs, there is a real humanitarian catastrophe looming unless some preventative actions are soon taken to address the crisis.

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Categories

Eyewitness Account

Update on Famine Situation

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Article

Hoping for a sign

Eight years is a long time for me. It is considerably longer for Dawit. In those eight years that they took away from my brother, I have got so many new friends. I got myself a wonderful and caring girlfriend, with whom I am happily living now. And now, to top it all, I have got a lovely daughter. And what is more, these last eight years I have been moving and speaking freely – something that I don’t take for granted any more. And yet, I can equally say they have been the most painful years of my life; that is because I could not be with my beloved older brother. It pains me so much not having him by my side. If I am this much in pain, imagine what my brother Dawit must be feeling; this must be a complete nightmare for him.

In one of the articles that Dawit wrote in 2001, he asked, “Why does the PFDJ prefer silence?” Now I am asking the PFDJ not to be silent, and imploring it to give us a sign of hope.

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Interview

Eritrean interests “well represented” at EU Meeting

European and American officials are joining hands with Diaspora Eritrean politicians and activists aimed at ending relentless human rights abuses under a ruthless dictatorship in Eritrea. The two-day conference underway in Brussels is discussing, among other things, the urgent need to coordinate EU and US policies on Eritrea and the Horn Region. The meeting is being closely watched by many governments and the world media especially because of Eritrea’s alleged involvement in terror and piracy ridden Somalia. Michael Abraha had a phone interview Saturday with Abdurahman Sayed, Executive member of Citizens for Democratic Rights in Eritrea (CDRiE) and spokesman for the Eritrean group at the Brussels event. Michael first asked him what the criteria were to choose panelists for the conference:

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Press Release

Eritrean Journalists Thank Swedish Pen

The Association of Eritrean Journalists in Exile (AEJE) would like show its gratitude to the Swedish PEN for presenting the Tucholsky Award to our compatriot, Mr. Dawit Isaak who has been in Eritrean jail since September 23, 2001. This award is another remarkable addition to the serious of tireless efforts and achievements of Swedish human right groups and NGOs to take up the cause of freedom of expression in Eritrea in general and the case of Dawit Isaak in particular. It can be recalled that last month, Dawit Isaak had been honoured to be a finalist for European Union’s Sakharov Prize.

We exiled journalists can’t miss the symbolism of the prestigious Tucholsky Award. We acknowledge that this award not only highlights the persecution of Mr. Dawit Isaak and his fellow colleagues but it also recognizes the struggle of Eritreans for democracy and justice.

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News

Eritrea sanctions planned

A draft resolution, seen by AFP, was circulated on Wednesday by Uganda, part of a six-nation east African regional bloc that has been calling for months for sanctions to be imposed.
There will be no vote on the proposal before December to give time for experts and ambassadors from the 15 members of the UN Security Council to debate the move, diplomats said on Thursday.

The draft foresees a ban on weapons sales both into and out of Eritrea as well as freezing the funds of the "Eritrean political and military leadership" and restricting its foreign travel.

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News Analysis

ERITREA MEDIA WATCH

Eritrea’s Lingering Malnutrition

Awate.com’s Divisive Publications

The only leader who thinks it is o.k. to preside over a nation with the worst record in press freedom is Eritrea’s strongman Isayas Afewerki. He argues there is no such thing as “free press”. Of course there isn’t. But the rest of humanity agrees it is vital to have systems which enable people to freely express ideas and exchange information. “Free press” is not an absolute standard but is meant to serve as a guideline in the establishment of free and united communities. Even Denmark at the top of the list of 175 countries does not have a perfect “free press”. But it is striving towards that goal. And it is never too late for Eritrea to join the civilized world in the fight against darkness. Repression and ruthless censorship create intellectual retardation and hinder progress.

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Blood Money

UN Sanctions may affect Canada's Nevsun, foreign companies

(Reuters) Eritrea's most advanced project is Bisha, run by Canada's Nevsun Resources Ltd (NSU.TO: ??). Its 27 million tonnes of ore are believed to contain 1 million ounces of gold, 700-800 million pounds of copper and 1 billion pounds of zinc.

The momentum towards imposing sanctions on Eritrea for its alleged role in war-torn Somalia has grown in recent months. It remains unclear how they may effect foreign companies, but according to one analyst, any disruption to the burgeoning mining industry would put pressure on Asmara.

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Editorial

Asmarino Arabic Pages Starting Next Week

We are glad to inform our Arabic-speaking audience that, finally, Asmarino.com is ready to start its Arabic Pages section no later than next week.

As you might have noticed the sign “Arabic Pages – Coming Soon” has been in Asmarino.com’s front page for quite some time. We understand that “coming soon” has not been soon enough. Hopefully, you will forgive us for holding you in suspense for such a long time.

Given that our staff works on voluntary basis, it is only understandable that it took some time to find dedicated and competent individuals who will soon be entirely at your service.

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