The State of Independent Media in Eritrea (Tedros Abraha’s presentation at the UN)

When I was as young as twelve, I had a dream, a dream that would later overwhelm my life; a dream that dictated the decisions I made, a dream that ultimately made me who I am today, and led me to where I am today. My dream was naive and humble: to one day be a journalist like the ones I used to see on TV. My ambition to become a journalist coincided exactly with the Eritrean government’s issuance of a press law in 1996. Hence, I came to recognise that the struggle for independence was mainly fought to realise my dream. My people sought freedom with the lives of more than one hundred thousand of their loved ones; our martyrs gave their lives for my cause and for every other citizen’s cause. Freedom is sacred; that no one should live without it. People began to enjoy the fruits of their hard won independence that they had badly missed for centuries.

And the pursuit of my aspiration never looked too distant: in 1998, when I was a ninth-grade high school student, half a dozen school mates and myself sat together and raised the idea of founding a newspaper that would appeal to the high school community. At first it seemed a bizarre idea to most of the people with whom we shared our plan. And they had good reason to feel this way, as we had neither the budget nor the knowhow. Yet we were not persuaded to buckle under and abandon our dream. Everyone was ready to make the necessary sacrifices to see that dream fulfilled. Starting from nothing, the newspaper was in publication on a monthly basis from 1999 until 2001. Needless to say, we managed to satisfy ourselves and our readers. We also became a role model for other students, who took up similar initiatives afterwards. Ever since then I have had the opportunity to work with half a dozen media outlets. I also became a professional journalist aiming to take my dream to another level.

In May 2000 I joined the largest independent newspaper in the country, Setit. At the newspaper offices I met courageous and devoted journalists, who have played a vital role in helping me to realise my dreams. It was that time that I had been dreaming of, when I felt I had begun to enjoy my freedom, and I was thrilled. But, sadly, it was only the beginning of the end. I knew I had to go a long way, full of ups and downs in search of the unlimited happiness that my dream would bestow upon me. I had taken it for granted, but I was mistaken and deceived. I didn’t realise there was someone else, someone who was dreaming of stealing my dream; soon enough I began to taste it. I had not speculated that his dream could surpass mine, as I felt my dream was universal, was a dream every citizen was entitled to enjoy. To the best of my knowledge that was what the 30 years’ war of independence was all about. It was fought for me and for every other citizen, to be the master of his own destiny, not to be the slave of his master.

Now, after eight painful years, where are my colleagues? Where are those who helped me to fulfil my dream? Where are those who also have fulfilled the dream of their people, whom they so loved to the extent of paying the ultimate sacrifice, their own lives? Journalist and playwright Fessehaye Yohannes (Joshua), who was my colleague and mentor, died in prison as a result of his torture wounds. Dawit Isaak, an Eritrean who is also a Swedish citizen is still in prison, where he has been since September 2001. Seyoum Sehaye, a well known writer and photographer who once served as director of Eri-Tv, has also suffered a similar fate. Another colleague, Mulubrhan Habtegebriel, after having been conscripted in the army against his will for more than nine years, has also been detained very recently along with four other well known journalists: Meles Nguse, Bereket Misgina, Ghirmay Abraham, Isaak Abraham and Yrgalem Fesseha. However, Aaron Berhane, after miraculously escaping imprisonment in 2001, has taken shelter in Canada. Semret Seyoum, another colleague in Setit, also fled to Sweden.

These were my colleagues in Setit, but it was not the only newspaper in the country. We had also vibrant newspapers like Mekalih, Tsigenay, Kestedebena, Zemen, Admas and Wintana. The fate of the journalists who were working with those newspapers is the same as that of Setit’s staff. The editor of Admas Sied Andelkader has now died in prison; Yosuf Mohamed Ali, the Editor of Tsigenay, also died in prison. Assistant editor in chief of Kestedebena, Medhanie Haile, has also been confirmed as dead. Then who is left? We know nothing so far of the fate of Temesgen Gebreyesus, a Kestedebena reporter: Matyos Habteab, editor in chief of Mekalih; Dawit Habtemichael, assistant editor of Mekalih; and Amanuel Asrat, Editor in chief of Zemen newspaper.

I know nothing except the fact that they are incarcerated in an underground prison of Iraero, a desert prison whose temperature could reach well over 50 degrees centigrade. At the moment more than thirty journalists, including those who were working with the government, are languishing behind bars, which makes Eritrea the world’s largest jailer of journalists according to Reporters without Borders ranking. The only crime they have committed was speaking the truth. Truth, in the eyes of a government whose leader has so much to hide from his people and the rest of the world, is considered a crime punishable by death in Eritrea. Hence, the government has employed a draconian approach: the best way to kill the message: kill the messenger. The Eritrean regime has become the worst nightmare to journalists and to the entire people by extension. The destiny of our people has fallen into the merciless hands of a few opportunistic corrupt individuals, who have lost their moral value in pursuit of fulfilling the needs of their egos.

Now Eritrea is the only country in Africa without an independent media, and among the few countries in the world that don‘t have one. By many human rights organizations and media advocacy groups, it is described as the worst place to be a journalist; having left my country a couple of years ago, today I am here to testify to this statement.

Having the opportunity to work as a journalist in Eritrea from 1999 up to 2007, with private and government media outlets, I would like to share with you my first hand experience, what it means to be a journalist in my country in vain. What it means to be a journalist when you live 24 hours a day in constant fear of abduction by the security agents. When you see your colleagues vanishing in the hot desert’s confinement. When you are told the colour of black is white. When your boss has not completed high school. When your colleague is your spy and could destroy your life forever. When you speak the truth you are libelled a CIA spy. When you are constantly forced to give the password of your email. When you wake up early in the morning only to find yourself in a queue for a ration of bread and still as a journalist you can’t talk about it. When your leader shamelessly tells the entire world there is no freedom of speech anywhere. What it means to be a journalist in Eritrea, when the cloud of terror hovers around you.

I was imprisoned three times and miraculously released, and I made four failed attempts to cross the border, until I succeeded the fifth time. I barely escaped death and deportation to my country when I was in the Sudan. Many of my colleagues whom I left behind are in extremes of suffering in the refugee camps and cities of Ethiopia and Sudan. And I would like to take this opportunity to appeal on their behalf to the concerned humanitarian organizations to give them the necessary life-saving support they desperately need.

I am now exiled in Norway and became a member of the Association of Eritrean journalists in exile. Even today I am still keeping my dream alive, a dream to see justice prevailing over injustice in my home country, which is in utter devastation. But this time, I will not only dream but fight for it, using my pen as a weapon.

Thank you

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