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===Struggle for independence===
[[Image:Shida monument.jpg|thumb|left|The sandals worn by the fighters of independence have become iconic. This monument in Asmara was erected in memoriam.]]


Eritreans formed the [[Eritrean Liberation Front]] (ELF) and rebelled. The ELF was initially a conservative grass-roots movement dominated by [[Muslim]] lowlanders and thus received backing from [[Arab]] socialist governments such as Syria and Egypt. Ethiopia's imperial government received support from the United States which had established a radio listening base (the [[Kagnew]] base) in Eritrea's Ethiopian-occupied capital, Asmara. Internal divisions within the ELF based on religion, ethnicity, clan and, sometimes, personalities and ideologies, led to the weakening and factioning of the ELF from which sprung the [[Eritrean People's Liberation Front]]. <!-- Image with unknown copyright status removed: [[Image:EPLFrebels.jpg|right|thumb|260px|Members of the [[EPLF]]. Isaias Afwerki, the current president of Eritrea, is second from bottom left.]] -->The EPLF professed Marxism and egalitarian values devoid of gender, religion, or ethnic bias. Its leadership was educated in China. It came to be supported by a growing Eritrean diaspora. Bitter fighting broke out between the ELF and EPLF during the late 1970s and 1980s for dominance over Eritrea. The ELF continued to dominate the Eritrean landscape well into the 1970s when the struggle for independence neared victory due to Ethiopia's internal turmoil caused by a socialist revolution against the monarchy there.

The ELF's gains suffered when Ethiopia's ailing US-backed Emperor was deposed and replaced by the [[Derg]], a [[Marxism|Marxist]] military junta with backing from the Soviet Union and other communist countries, who continued the Ethiopian policy of repressing Eritrean "separatists" with increased military assistance and fervor. Nevertheless, the Eritrean resistance, which saw itself forced to retreat from most of the Eritrean countryside it had previously occupied, became instead entrenched in the northern parts of the country around the Sudanese border from where the most important supply lines came. The heavily bombarded and embattled northern town of [[Nakfa]] came to symbolize the Eritrean struggle. (The [[Eritrean nakfa|Eritrean currency]] is named after it.)<ref>Killion, Tom (1998). Historical Dictionary of Eritrea. ISBN 0-8108-3437-5.</ref>

The numbers of the EPLF swelled in the 1980s as did that of Ethiopian resistance movements with which the EPLF struck alliances to overthrow the communist Ethiopian regime, weakening and all but annihilating the precursor ELF. However, due to their own Marxist orientation, neither EPLF nor any of the Ethiopian resistance movements were able to acquire any significant US/Western or Arab support against the Soviet-backed might of the Ethiopian military which has since been sub-Saharan Africa's largest, outside of South Africa. The EPLF relied largely on armaments captured from the Ethiopian army itself as well as financial and political support from the Eritrean diaspora and the cooperation of neighboring states hostile to Ethiopia such as [[Somalia]] and [[Sudan]] (although the support of the latter was briefly interrupted and turned into hostility against EPLF and Eritrean refugees at large, in agreement with Ethiopia during the [[Gaafar Nimeiry]] administration between 1971 and 1985).

Drought, famine, and intensive offensives launched by the Ethiopian army on Eritrea took a heavy toll on the population &mdash; more than half a million fled to Sudan as refugees. Amid the culmination of Soviet support to Ethiopia and a major fall-out between Eritrean and Ethiopian anti-government rebels, the EPLF achieved two of its greatest and most decisive victories alone and unsupported. In 1985, Eritrean elite commandos infiltrated the Ethiopian- and Soviet-held air force base in Asmara and destroyed all 30 fighter jets there, suffering only one casualty. In 1988 during a massive Ethiopian military offensive against Eritrean rebels, a third of the Ethiopian army was annihilated in the northern Eritrean town of Afabet.<ref>{{cite news|last=Worthington|first=Peter|title=Needless war engulfs a unique African oasis|publisher=Toronto Sun}}</ref> Following the decline of the Soviet Union in 1989 and diminishing support for the Ethiopian war, Eritrean rebels advanced further, capturing the port of Massawa and putting the Ethiopian and Soviet naval capabilities there out of action.

During this time, both warring parties attempted to end hostilities through peace talks. In September 1989, at the request of both the EPLF and the People's Republic of Ethiopia, former [[U.S. President]] [[Jimmy Carter]] invited both parties to participate in negotiations at [[Carter Center|The Carter Center]].<ref name="CarterCenter">{{Citation|author=The Carter Center|title="Activities by Country: Eritrea"|url=http://www.cartercenter.org/countries/eritrea.html|accessdate=2008-07-17}}</ref> It was the first time in 28 years of fighting that the parties agreed to talk without any preconditions and in the presence of a third party mediator.<ref name="CarterCenter"/> Despite making progress in these negotiations, the parties continued to fight.<ref name="CarterCenter"/>

By 1990 and early 1991 virtually all Eritrean territory had been liberated by EPLF except for the capital, whose only connection with the rest of government-held Ethiopia during the last year of the war was by an air-bridge. In 1991, Eritrean and Ethiopian rebels jointly held the Ethiopian capital under siege as the Ethiopian president [[Mengistu Haile Mariam]] fled to [[Zimbabwe]] where he lives to this day despite requests for extradition by both Eritrea and Ethiopia.

The Ethiopian army finally capitulated and Eritrea was completely in Eritrean hands in [[May 24]] [[1991]] when the rebels marched into Asmara while Ethiopian rebels with Eritrean assistance overtook the government in Ethiopia. The new Ethiopian government conceded to Eritrea's demands to have an internationally ([[UN]]) supervised referendum dubbed [[UNOVER]] to be held in Eritrea which ended in April 1993 with an overwhelming vote by Eritreans for independence. Independence was declared on [[May 24]][[1993]].<ref>[http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576168_2/Eritrea.html Eritrea - MSN Encarta<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


===Independence===
===Independence===

Revision as of 10:41, 26 July 2008

Template:Contains Ethiopic text

For other uses, see Eritrea (disambiguation).
State of Eritrea
Hagere Ertra
ሃገረ ኤርትራ
دولة إرتريا
Dawlat Iritriya
Anthem: Ertra, Ertra, Ertra
Location of Eritrea
Capital
and largest city
Asmara
Official languagesnone at national level1
Demonym(s)Eritrean
GovernmentTransitional government
• President
Isaias Afewerki
Independence
• from Italy
November 1941
• from Ethiopia de facto
May 24 1991
• from Ethiopia de jure
May 24 1993
Area
• Total
117,600 km2 (45,400 sq mi) (100th)
• Water (%)
negligible
Population
• July 2005 estimate
4,401,009 (118th)
• 2002 census
4,298,270
• Density
37/km2 (95.8/sq mi) (165th)
GDP (PPP)2005 estimate
• Total
$4.471 billion (168th)
• Per capita
$1,000 (147)
HDI (2007)Increase 0.483
Error: Invalid HDI value (157th)
CurrencyNakfa (ERN)
Time zoneUTC+3 (EAT)
• Summer (DST)
UTC+3 (not observed)
Calling code291
ISO 3166 codeER
Internet TLD.er
  1. Working languages: Tigrigna, Arabic, English [1], [2].

Eritrea (/ˌɛrɨˈtreɪə/, Template:IPAlink-en) (Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritriya), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country situated in Northeast Africa. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The east and northeast of the country have an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea.

Eritrea was conquered by Italy and formally consolidated into a colony by the Italian government on January 1, 1890. In 1936 it became a province of Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana), along with Ethiopia and Italian Somaliland. The British expelled the Italians in 1941.[1]

Increasing unrest and resistance in Eritrea against the federation with Ethiopia eventually led to a decision by the Ethiopian government to annex Eritrea as its 14th province in 1962. An Eritrean independence movement formed in the early 1960s which later erupted into a 31 year long civil war against successive Ethiopian governments that ended in 1991. Following a UN supervised referendum in Eritrea dubbed UNOVER in which the Eritrean people overwhelmingly voted for independence from Ethiopia, Eritrea declared its independence and gained international recognition in 1993.[2] Eritrea's constitution, adopted in 1997, stipulates that the state is a presidential republic with a unicameral parliamentary democracy. The constitution, however, has not yet been implemented fully due to, according to the government, the prevailing border conflict with Ethiopia which began in May 1998.

Eritrea is a multilingual and multicultural country with two dominant religions (Coptic Orthodox Christianity and Islam) and nine ethnic groups. The country's dominant language is Tigrinya, natively spoken by around 50% of the population. Along with Tigrinya, Arabic and English are used for working languages. English is also used in all of the government's international communication and is the language of instruction in all education beyond 5th grade.[3]

History

Main article: History of Eritrea

The oldest written reference to the territory now known as Eritrea is the chronicled expedition launched to the fabled Punt (or Ta Netjeru, meaning land of the Gods) by the Ancient Egyptians in the twenty-fifth century BC under Pharaoh Sahure. Later sources from the Pharaoh Hatshepsut in the fifteenth century BC present a more detailed portrayal of an expedition in search of incense. The geographical location of the missions to Punt is described as roughly corresponding to the southern west coast of the Red Sea.


Early history

The earliest evidence of agriculture, urban settlement and trade in Eritrea was found in the western region of the country consisting of archeological remains dating back to 3500 BC in sites called the Gash group. Based on the archaeological evidence, there seems to have been a connection between the peoples of the Gash group and the civilizations of the Nile Valley namely Ancient Egypt and Nubia.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page).

1913 sketch by the Deutsche Aksum-Expedition of Hawulti, a pre-Aksumite or early Aksumite stela at Matara.

Between the eighth and firth century BCE, a kingdom known as D'mt was supposedly established in what is today Eritrea and northern Ethiopia (Tigray), with what some archaeologists speculate was its capital at Yeha in northern Ethiopia. Many speculative theories try to explain the presence of Sabaean material culture by saying that this area had extensive relations with the Sabaeans in present day Yemen across the Red Sea, but these views are not sustained by archaeological evidence.[4][5][6] After D'mt's decline around the fifth century BC, the state of Aksum arose in much of Eritrea and northern Ethiopian Highlands. It grew during the fourth century BC and came into prominence during the first century AD, minting its own coins by the third century, converting in the fourth century to Christianity, as the second official Christian state (after Armenia) and the first country to feature the cross on its coins. According to Mani, it grew to be one of the four greatest civilizations in the world, on a par with China, Persia, and Rome. In the seventh century; with the advent of Islam across the Red Sea in Arabia, and the Arab invasion and subsequent destruction of Adulis, Aksum's trade and power on the Red Sea began to decline and the empire gradually diminished and overtaken by smaller rival Kingdoms.



Independence

Map of Eritrea

Upon Eritrea's declaration of independence, the leader of the EPLF, Isaias Afewerki, became Eritrea's first Provisional President, and the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (later renamed the People's Front for Democracy and Justice, or PFDJ) created a government.[7]

Faced with limited economic resources and a country shattered by decades of war, the government embarked on a reconstruction and defense effort later called the Warsai Yikalo Program based on the labour of national servicemen and women. It is still ongoing and deploys the enlisted into a combination of duties ranging from military service to construction projects, health care, teaching and training/education as well as agricultural work to improve the country's food security.[8]

The government also attempts to tap into the resources of the Eritreans living abroad by levying a 2% tax on the gross income of those who wish to gain full economic rights and access as citizens in Eritrea (land ownership, business licenses and other privileges for nationals etc).[9] while at the same time encouraging tourism and investment both from Eritreans living abroad and other foreign investors.

This has been complicated by Eritrea's tumultuous relations with its neighbours, lack of stability and subsequent political problems.

Eritrea severed diplomatic relations with Sudan in 1994 citing that the latter was hosting Islamic terrorist groups to destabilize Eritrea and both countries entered into an acrimonious relationship, each accusing the other of hosting various opposition rebel groups or "terrorists" and soliciting outside support to destabilize the other. Diplomatic relations were resumed over 10 years later in 2005 following a reconciliation agreement reached with the help of Qatar's negotiation in 1999.[10][11] Eritrea now plays a prominent role in the internal Sudanese peace and reconciliation effort.[12]

Eritrea was also embroiled in a brief war with Yemen over a border dispute surrounding the Hanish Islands in 1996 which was later resolved by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague in 1998[13]. Yemen was granted full ownership of the larger islands while Eritrea was awarded the peripheral islands to the southwest of the larger islands[14]. Relations between both states have since normalized.

Perhaps the conflict with the deepest impact on independent Eritrea has been the renewed hostility with Ethiopia. In 1998, a border war with Ethiopia over the town of Badme occurred. The Eritrean-Ethiopian War ended in 2000 with a negotiated agreement known as the Algiers Agreement, which assigned an independent, UN-associated boundary commission known as the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC), whose task was to clearly identify the border between the two countries and issue a final and binding ruling. Along with the agreement the UN established a Temporary Security Zone consisting of a 25 kilometre demilitarized buffer zone within Eritrea running along the length of the disputed border between the two states and patrolled by UN troops in the mission named UNMEE. Ethiopia was to withdraw to positions held before the outbreak of hostilities in May 1998 there among Badme. The peace agreement would be completed with the implementation of the Border Commission's ruling, also ending the task of the peacekeeping mission of UNMEE. The EEBC's verdict came in April 2002 which awarded Badme to Eritrea. However, Ethiopia refused to withdraw its military from positions in the disputed areas, including Badme, and also refused to implement the EEBC's ruling and the dispute is ongoing.[15] Eritrea's diplomatic relations with Djibouti were briefly severed during the border war with Ethiopia in 1998 due to a dispute over Djibouti's intimate relation with Ethiopia during the war but were restored and normalized in 2000.[16]

Regions and districts

Main articles: Regions of Eritrea and Districts of Eritrea
Regions of Eritrea
Early morning in a Gash Barka village

Eritrea is divided into six regions (zobas) and subdivided into districts ("sub-zobas"). The geographical extent of the regions is based on their respective hydrological properties. This a dual intent on the part of the Eritrean government: to provide each administration with sufficient control over its agricultural capacity and eliminate historical intra-regional conflicts.

The regions, followed by the sub-region, are:

No. Region (ዞባ) Sub-region (ንኡስ ዞባ)
1 Central
(ዞባ ማእከል) 		Berikh, Ghala-Nefhi, Semienawi Mibraq, Serejaka, Debubawi Mibraq, Semienawi Mi'erab, Debubawi Mi'erab
2 Southern
(ዞባ ደቡብ) 		Adi Keyh, Adi Quala, Areza, Debarwa, Dekemhare, Mai Ayni, Mai Mne, Mendefera, Segeneiti, Senafe, Tserona
3 Gash-Barka
(ዞባ ጋሽ ባርካ) 		Agordat, Barentu, Dghe, Forto, Gogne, Haykota, Logo-Anseba, Mensura, Mogolo, Molki, Guluj, Shambuko, Tesseney, La'elay Gash
4 Anseba
(ዞባ ዓንሰባ) 		Adi Tekelezan, Asmat, Elabered, Geleb, Hagaz, Halhal, Habero, Keren City, Kerkebet, Sel'a
5 Northern Red Sea
(ዞባ ሰሜናዊ ቀይሕ ባሕሪ) 		Afabet, Dahlak, Ghel'alo, Foro, Ghinda, Karura, Massawa, Nakfa, She'eb
6 Southern Red Sea
(ዞባ ደቡባዊ ቀይሕ ባሕሪ) 		Are'eta, Central Dankalia, Southern Dankalia, Assab

Politics and government

Main article: Politics of Eritrea
Government building of Eritrea in Asmara

Eritrea is a single-party state, run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ).[17] Other political groups are not allowed to organise, although the non-implemented Constitution of 1997 provided for the existence of multi-party politics. The National Assembly of 150 seats (of which 75 were occupied by handpicked EPLF guerilla members while the rest went to local candidates and diasporans more or less sympathetic of the regime), formed in 1993 shortly after independence, "elected" the current president, Isaias Afewerki. No time frame was announced for the alleged obscure presidency. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. Independent local sources of political information on Eritrean domestic politics are scarce; in September 2001 the government closed down all of the nation's privately owned print media, and outspoken critics of the government have been arrested and held without trial, according to various international observers, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. In 2004 the U.S. State Department declared Eritrea a Country of Particular Concern (CPC) for its alleged record of religious persecution (see below). In 2007, Reporters Without Borders, ranked Eritrea bottom in the world for overall press freedom in its annual study.

National elections

Eritrean National elections were set for 1995 and then postponed until 2001; it was then decided that because 20% of Eritrea's land was under occupation that elections would be postponed until the resolution of the conflict with Ethiopia. However, local elections have continued in Eritrea. The most recent round of local government elections were held in May 2004. On further elections, the President's Chief of Staff, Yemane Ghebremeskel said,[18] {{cquote|The electoral commission is handling these elections this time round so that may be the new element in this process. The national assembly has also mandated the electoral commission to set the date for national elections, so whenever the electoral commission sets the date there will be national elections. It's not dependent on regional elections.


Foreign relations

Main article: Foreign relations of Eritrea

Eritrea is a member in good standing of the African Union (AU), the successor of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). But it has withdrawn its representative to the AU in protest of the AU's lack of leadership in facilitating the implementation of a binding border decision demarcating the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Eritrea's relationship with the United States is complicated. Although the two nations have a close working relationship regarding the on-going war on terror, there has been a growing tension in other areas. As of September 2007, relations with the US appear to be worsening. US Assistant Secretary of State, Jendayi Frazer,has called the nation a 'state sponsor of terrorism' and the US government is considering adding Eritrea to its list of rogue states, along with Iran, North Korea and Cuba. The reason for this is the presence of Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, an exiled Somali Islamist leader, whom the US suspects of having links to Al Qaeda, at a recent Somalian opposition conference in Asmara. Economic sanctions against Eritrea could soon follow.[19] Eritrea's relationship with Italy and the EU has become equally strained in many areas in the last three years.

Within the region, Eritrea's relations with Ethiopia turned from that of close alliance to a deadly rivalry that led to a war from May 1998 to June 2000 in which approximately 19,000 Eritreans[20] and 123,000 Ethiopians[21][22] were killed.

External issues include an undemarcated border with Sudan, a war with Yemen over the Hanish Islands in 1996, and a recent border conflict with Ethiopia.

The undemarcated border with Sudan poses a problem for Eritrean external relations.[23] After a high-level delegation to Sudan from the Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ties are being normalized. Meanwhile, Eritrea has been recognized as a broker for peace between the separate factions of the Sudanese civil war. "It is known that Eritrea played a role in bringing about the peace agreement [between the Southern Sudanese and Government],"[24] while the Sudanese Government and Eastern Front rebels have requested Eritrea to mediate peace talks.[25]

A dispute with Yemen over the Hanish Islands in 1996 resulted in a brief war. As part of an agreement to cease hostilities the two nations agreed to refer the issue to the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague. At the conclusion of the proceedings, both nations acquiesced to the decision. Since 1996 both governments have remained wary of one another but relations are relatively normal.[26]

The undemarcated border with Ethiopia is the primary external issue facing Eritrea. This led to a long and bloody border war between 1998 and 2000. As a result, the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) is occupying a 25 kilometers by 900 kilometers area on the border to help stabilize the region.[27] Disagreements following the war have resulted in stalemate punctuated by periods of elevated tension and renewed threats of war.[28][29][30] Central to the continuation of the stalemate is Ethiopia's failure to abide by the border delimitation ruling and reneging on its commitment to demarcation. The stalemate has led the President of Eritrea to urge the UN to take action on Ethiopia. This request is outlined in the Eleven Letters penned by the President to the United Nations Security Council. The situation is further escalated by the continued effort of the Eritrean and Ethiopian leaders in supporting each other's opposition. On July 26 2007, the Associated Press reported that Eritrea had been supplying weapons to the Somali insurgent group Al-Shabaab, but no evidence was discovered, who is allegedly tied to al Qaeda. The incident has fueled concerns that Somalia may become the grounds for a de-facto war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, who invaded Somalia in December 2006 with U.S. assistance to overthrow the rule of the widely popular Islamic Courts Union which had stabilized the country and unified the capital Mogadishu for the first time since 1991. Amid fears of an emerging islamic and nationalist Somalia, Ethiopia with US assistance invaded Somalia, putting in place the weak and locally unpopular UN/AU-backed government which without Ethiopian support had been unable to exercise any control beyond its base in Baidoa and along the Ethio-Somali border.[31] For its part, Eritrea is hosting members of the ousted Union of Islamic Courts and the Somali Free Parliament. The Eritrean government has been accused of sponsoring, arming and hosting numerous militant leaderships and separatist rebels in the horn of Africa.[32] According to the United States, the Isaias's government is "sponsoring and supporting the rebel groups" who are "also attacking civilians and are a part of the problem in Darfur." Thus, even though the Eritrean government bringing these same rebels to the table is positive, the US claims that the Eritrean government is doing this "by effectively destabilizing Sudan, because they're paying for rebels who are part of the process of destabilizing that country."[33] The United States is considering to label Eritrea a state sponsor of terrorism which carries sanctions with it.[34]

Army

Government and media censorship

In the 2007 Reporters Without Borders Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index Eritrea ranked last at number 169,[35] unseating the previous holder North Korea which had been last every other year of the survey. Reporters Without Borders claims that, in Eritrea, a private newspaper has been shut down and generally exorcised from the country by the President Isaias Afewerki. Also, any journalists who criticize the president or his regime are immediately put into prison; amongst the many reporters and writers who have been put in jail, four have died in detention.[36]

Although Eritrea is new at the very bottom of the list in 2007, its positions by year are as follows:

Year Rank
2002 132 of 139[37]
2003 162 of 166[38]
2004 163 of 167[39]
2005 166 of 167[40]
2006 166 of 168[41]
2007 169 of 169[42]

Geography

A view from the Keren-Asmara Highway.
Main article: Geography of Eritrea

Eritrea is located in East Africa, more specifically the Horn of Africa, and is bordered on the northeast and east by the Red Sea. The country is virtually bisected by one of the world's longest mountain ranges, the Great Rift Valley, with fertile lands to the west and the descent to desert in the East. Off the sandy and arid coastline is situated the Dahlak Archipelago and its fishing grounds. The land to the south, in the highlands, is slightly drier and cooler. Eritrea at the southern end of the Red Sea is the home of the fork in the rift.

The Afar Triangle or Danakil Depression of Eritrea is the probable location of a triple junction where three tectonic plates are pulling away from one another: the Arabian Plate, and the two parts of the African Plate (the Nubian and the Somali plate) splitting along the East African Rift Zone (USGS). The highest point of the country, Emba Soira, is located in the center of Eritrea, at 9,902 ft (3,018 metres ) above sea level.

The main cities of the country are the capital city of Asmara and the port town of Asseb in the southeast, as well as the towns of Massawa to the east, and Keren to the north.

Environment

Eritrea formerly supported a large population of elephants. Ptolemaic kings of Egypt used it as a source of war elephants in the third century BC. Between 1955 and 2001 there were no reported sightings of elephant herds, and they were thought to have fallen victim to the war of independence. In December 2001 a herd of about 30, including 10 juveniles, was observed in the vicinity of the Gash River. The elephants seemed to have formed a symbiotic relationship with olive baboons. It is estimated that there are around 100 elephants left in Eritrea, the most northerly of East Africa's elephants.[43]

In 2006, Eritrea announced it would become the first country in the world to turn its entire coast into an environmentally protected zone. The 1,347 km (837 mile) coastline, along with another 1,946 km (1,209-miles) of coast around its more than 350 islands, will come under governmental protection.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Eritrea
See also: Eritrean Railway and Transport in Eritrea
Men in Agordat

Like the economies of many other African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The only natural disaster that sometimes affects Eritrea, drought, has often created trouble in the farming areas.[44]

The Eritrean-Ethiopian War severely hurt Eritrea's economy. GDP growth in 1999 fell to less than 1%, and GDP decreased by 8.2% in 2000. The May 2000 Ethiopian offensive into southern Eritrea caused some $600 million in property damage and loss, including losses of $225 million in livestock and 55,000 homes. The attack prevented planting of crops in Eritrea's most productive region, causing food production to drop by 62%.[45][46]

Even during the war, Eritrea developed its transportation infrastructure, asphalting new roads, improving its ports, and repairing war-damaged roads and bridges as a part of the Warsay Yika'alo Program. The most significant of these projects was the building of a coastal highway of more than 500 km connecting Massawa with Asseb as well as the rehabilitation of the Eritrean Railway. The rail line now runs between the Port of Massawa and the capital Asmara.

Eritrea's economic future remains mixed. The cessation of Ethiopian trade, which mainly used Eritrean ports before the war, leaves Eritrea with a large economic hole to fill. Eritrea's economic future depends upon its ability to master fundamental social problems like illiteracy, and low skills.

As of May 6th, 2008 Eritrea is the most expensive place in the world to buy fuel. At $9.58 per gallon, gasoline is 85c a gallon higher than in the next most expensive country, Norway.[47]

Society

Demographics

File:Eritrea-people-map.gif
A map indicating the ethnic composition of Eritrea.
Main article: Demographics of Eritrea
A wedding in Eritrea

Eritrean society is ethnically heterogeneous. Independent census has yet to be conducted but the Tigrinya people and the Tigre people together make up about 80%. These form the bulk of the country's predominantly Semitic population which are thought to have originated from massive migrations from Saba in Southern Arabia between 900 and 500 BC. The Sabean area in Eritrea is mainly to be found in the Kebessa highlands in central and northern Eritrea. There the Sabeans found the same geographical conditions as in their native Saba, suitable to terracing and their pre-existing agricultural modes of production. Later more recent migrations from Arabia includes the Arabic speaking Rashaida who arrived in Eritrea in the late 19th century and comprise less than 1% of the population.

The rest of the population comprises the smaller nations of the Saho, Hedareb, Afar, Bilen who constitute the cushitic stock of the population and are thought to be some of the oldest inhabitants of the Horn of Africa region along with the nilotic peoples who are represented in Eritrea by the Kunama and Nara.

Each nationality speaks a different native tongue but, typically, many of the minorities speak more than one language.

There exist minorities of Italians and Ethiopian Tigrayans. Neither is generally given citizenship unless through marriage or even more rarely: having it conferred upon them by the State.

The most recent addition to the nationalities of Eritrea is the Rashaida. The Rashaida came to Eritrea in the 19th century[48] from the Arabian Coast. The Rashaida do not typically intermarry, are typically nomadic, and number approximately 61,000, less than 1% of the population.


Ethnic groups with low population do not influence life in Eritrea. The major influencing ethnic groups are Tigrinia people and Tigre, Nara and Kunama people (Tigre, Nara and Kunama people are blacks).

Languages

Rashaida children in the Eritrean lowlands.
Main article: Languages of Eritrea

Many languages are spoken in Eritrea today.The country has two official languages Tigrinya and Arabic. Italian and English are also widely understood [49]. The two language families that most of the languages stem from are the Semitic and Cushitic families. The Semitic languages in Eritrea are Arabic (spoken natively by the Rashaida Arabs), Tigre, Tigrinya, and the newly recognized Dahlik; these languages (primarily Tigre and Tigrinya) are spoken as a first language by over 80% of the population. The Cushitic languages in Eritrea are just as numerous, including Afar, Beja, Blin, and Saho. Kunama and Nara are also spoken in Eritrea and belong to the Nilo-Saharan language family. English is spoken to a degree by more educated Eritreans. Italian is a legacy of colonial times.

The local Tigrinya and the wider Arabic language are the two predominant languages for official purposes.

Education

Main article: Education in Eritrea

There are five levels of education in Eritrea: pre-primary, primary, middle, secondary, and post-secondary. There are nearly 238,000 students in the primary, middle, and secondary levels of education. There are approximately 824 schools[50] in Eritrea and two universities (University of Asmara and the Institute of Science and Technology) as well as several smaller colleges and technical schools.

One of the most important goals of Eritrea's education policy is to provide basic education in each of Eritrea's mother tongues, as well as to develop a self-motivated and conscientious population to fight poverty and disease. Furthermore it is tooled to produce a society that is equipped with the necessary skills to function with a culture of self-reliance in the modern economy.

The education system in Eritrea is also designed to promote private sector schooling, equal access for all groups (i.e., prevent gender discrimination, ethnic discrimination, and class discrimination, etc.) and promote continuing education, both formally and informally.

The education in Eritrean include kidergartens for young kids for both genders.

Barriers to education in Eritrea include traditional taboos, school fees (for registration and materials), and the opportunity costs of low-income households.[51]

Religion

Main article: Religion in Eritrea
Enda Mariam Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Cathedral, Al Khulafa Al Rashiudin Mosque (in the foreground, rear left, and rear right respectively) in the capital Asmara.

Eritrea has two dominant religions, Islam and Christianity, with approximately half of the population belonging to each faith. Most Muslims follow Sunni Islam. The Christians consist primarily of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, which is the local Oriental Orthodox church, but small groups of Roman Catholics, Protestants, and other denominations also exist.

Since May 2002, the Government of Eritrea has officially recognized the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, Sunni Islam, Catholicism, and the Evangelical Lutheran church. All other faiths and denominations are required to undergo a registration process. Among other things, the Government's registration system requires religious groups to submit personal information on their membership to be allowed to worship. The few organisations that have met all of the registration requirements have still not received official recognition.

Other faith groups such as the Jehovah's Witnesses,[52] Bahá'í Faith, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and numerous Protestant denominations are not registered and cannot worship freely. They have effectively been banned, and measures have been taken against their adherents. Many have been incarcerated for months or even years. None have been charged officially or given access to the judicial process. In its 2006 religious freedom report, the U.S. State Department for the third year in a row named Eritrea a "Country of Particular Concern", designating it one of the worst violators of religious freedom in the world.

There is one last native Jew in Eritrea, formerly from a community of hundreds in Asmara, whose ancestors had crossed from Aden in the late 19th century.[53][54]

Walfare

The walfare system in Eritrea is one of the most advanced in the whole world. The adminstration of the major part of the walfare system is through land walfare allocation. every citizen in eritrea is entiltled to a land allocation since the age of eighteen (18). for an Eritrean citizen to be entitled she or he has to provide evidence to the local walfare office in e.g. Batsi town. She or he has to provide the evidence to prove that she or he fulfils the requirements of land walfare allocation. Economic Publishers assume that because Ethiopia has diseases, it is difficult for eritrean citizens to benefit from the land allocation walfare system and make unrealistic econimic and quality of life reports everywhere including the United Nation. Another major part of the walfare sytem is the health system. Hospitals in eritrea are always planned to be accomodating for many health sciences and patients from distant places can come to the hospitals because of ease of transportation. Eritrea also has finacial and housing walfare system for victims of war and their relatives and also people with physical problems. Kids who do not have accomodation can have finacial walfare and there are families that are encourage to accomodate them using financial walfare allocation.

Culture

The typical Kitcha fit-fit is presented here with a scoop of fresh yogurt and topped with berbere (spice).
Main article: Culture of Eritrea
See also: Cuisine of Eritrea, Literature of Eritrea, and Music of Eritrea

The Eritrean region has traditionally been a nexus for trade throughout the world. Because of this, the influence of diverse cultures can be seen throughout Eritrea. Today, the most obvious influences in the capital, Asmara, are that of Italy. Throughout Asmara, there are small cafes serving beverages common to Italy. In Asmara, there is a clear merging of the Italian colonial influence with the traditional Tigrinya lifestyle. In the villages of Eritrea, these changes never took hold.

In the cities, before the occupation and during the early years, the import of Bollywood films was commonplace, while Italian and American films were available in the cinemas as well. In the 1980s and since independence, however, American films have certainly become the most common. Vying for market share are films by local producers, who have slowly come into their own. The global broadcast of Eri-TV has brought cultural images to the large Eritrean population in the Diaspora who frequents the country every summer. Successful domestic films are produced by government and independent studios with revenue from ticket sales typically covering the production costs.

File:Kunama Eritrea.JPG
A traditional Kunama herder posing for a picture near Barentu, Zoba Gash-Barka.

Traditional Eritrean dress is quite varied with the Kunama traditionally dressing in brightly colored clothes while the Tigrinya and Tigre traditionally dress in bright white costumes, resembling traditional Oriental and Indian clothing. The Rashaida women are ornately bejeweled and scarfed.

Popular sports in Eritrea are football and bicycle racing. In recent years Eritrean athletes have seen increasing success in the international arena.

Almost unique on the African continent, the Tour of Eritrea is a bicycle race from the hot desert beaches of Massawa, up the winding mountain highway with its precipitous valleys and cliffs to the capital Asmara. From there, it continues downwards onto the western plains of the Gash-Barka Zone, only to return back to Asmara from the south. This is, by far, the most popular sport in Eritrea, though, as of late long-distance running has garnered its own supporters. The momentum for long-distance running in Eritrea can be seen in the successes of Zersenay Tadesse and Mebrahtom (Meb) Keflezighi, both Olympians.

See also

References

  1. ^ Eritrea Regions
  2. ^ "Eritrea – The spreading revolution". Encyclopædia Britannica Article. Retrieved 2007-10-16.
  3. ^ "Template:PDFlink. Library of Congress. Retrieved 18 July 2006
  4. ^ Matthew Curtis, New Perspectives for Examining Change and Complexity in the Northern Horn of Africa during the First Millennium BCE. In The Archaeology of Ancient Eritrea, eds. P. R. Schmidt, M. C. Curtis, and Z. Teka. Trenton, NJ: Red Sea Press, 2008, pp. 329-348.
  5. ^ Stuart Munro-Hay, Aksum: An African Civilization of Late Antiquity. Edinburgh: University Press, 1991, pp.57.
  6. ^ Taddesse Tamrat, Church and State in Ethiopia: 1270-1527 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1972), pp.5-13.
  7. ^ http://www.dehai.org/conflict/history/birth_of_a_nation.htm#Referendum_Results
  8. ^ Warsai-Yikalo Campaign for Radical Development Change
  9. ^ Eritrea
  10. ^ Sudan-Eritrea: Reconciliation Agreement Signed, 5/3/99
  11. ^ Sudan, Eritrea resume severed diplomatic relations
  12. ^ allAfrica.com: East Africa: Darfur And Somalia - Two Peace Efforts, Different Strokes (Page 1 of 3)
  13. ^ PCA - Documents: Eritrea-Yemen Award - CHAPTER I
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  21. ^ Claimed on 8 April 2002 by the Voice of the Democratic Path of Ethiopian Unity, an Ethiopian clandestine opposition group operating from Germany. The claim also stated that each family that lost a member in the war would receive $350 in indemnity, but this number has not been verified, although it has been often cited by other groups (see Number of war dead soldiers reportedly 123,000 – internet news message; and clandestineradio.com audio button), and no indemnities have been paid as of 2007. Shinn, Historical Dictionary of Ethiopia, p. 149
  22. ^ "Ethiopia: Number of war dead soldiers reportedly 123,000" (in Amharic). Wonchif. 2001-04-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)
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  27. ^ "Q&A: Horn's bitter border war". BBC. 2005-12-07. Retrieved 2006-06-07.
  28. ^ "Horn tensions trigger UN warning". BBC. 2004-02-04. Retrieved 2006-06-07.
  29. ^ "Army build-up near Horn frontier". BBC. 2005-11-02. Retrieved 2006-06-07.
  30. ^ "Horn border tense before deadline". BBC. 2005-12-23. Retrieved 2006-06-07.
  31. ^ ""U.N.: Eritrea giving arms to Somalis tied to al Qaeda"". CNN. 2007-07-26. Retrieved 2007-08-04.
  32. ^ Accounts of rebels in Eritrea
  33. ^ Eritrea's role in Sudan criticized by America
  34. ^ "US considers terror label for Eritrea". Guardian Unlimited. August 17, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-16. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  35. ^ Reporters sans frontières - Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index - 2007
  36. ^ Reporters sans frontières - Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index - 2007
  37. ^ Reporters sans frontières - Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index - 2002
  38. ^ Reporters sans frontières - Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index - 2003
  39. ^ [http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=11715 Reporters sans frontières - Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index - 2004]
  40. ^ [http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=15331 Reporters sans frontières - Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index - 2005]
  41. ^ [http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=19388 Reporters sans frontières - Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index - 2006]
  42. ^ Reporters sans frontières - Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index - 2007
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  45. ^ "Economy - overview". CIA. 2006-06-06. Retrieved 2006-06-07.
  46. ^ "Aid sought for Eritrean recovery". BBC. 2001-02-22. Retrieved 2006-06-07.
  47. ^ "U.S. gas: So cheap it hurts". CNN Money. 2008-05-06. Retrieved 2008-05-20.
  48. ^ Alders, Anne. "the Rashaida". Retrieved 2006-06-07.
  49. ^ Languages of Eritrea - Tigrinya
  50. ^ Baseline Study on Livelihood Systems in Eritrea. National Food Information System of Eritrea. 2005.
  51. ^ Kifle, Temesgen (2002). Educational Gender Gap in Eritrea.
  52. ^ "Jehovah's Witnesses—Eritrea Country Profile". Office of Public Information of Jehovah's Witnesses. 2007-07-01. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
  53. ^ "Asmara's last Jew recalls 'good old days'". BBC. 2006-04-30. Retrieved 2006-09-26.
  54. ^ "Eritrea's last native Jew tends graves, remembers". Y Net News. 2006-05-02. Retrieved 2006-09-26.

Further reading

  • Ancient Ethiopia, David W. Phillipson (1998)
  • Cliffe, Lionel; Connell, Dan; Davidson, Basil (2005), Taking on the Superpowers: Collected Articles on the Eritrean Revolution (1976-1982). Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-188-0
  • Cliffe, Lionel & Davidson, Basil (1988), The Long Struggle of Eritrea for Independence and Constructive Peace. Spokesman Press, ISBN 0-85124-463-7
  • Connell, Dan (1997), Against All Odds: A Chronicle of the Eritrean Revolution With a New Afterword on the Postwar Transition. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-046-9
  • Connell, Dan (2001), Rethinking Revolution: New Strategies for Democracy & Social Justice : The Experiences of Eritrea, South Africa, Palestine & Nicaragua. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-145-7
  • Connell, Dan (2004), Conversations with Eritrean Political Prisoners. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-235-6
  • Connell, Dan (2005), Building a New Nation: Collected Articles on the Eritrean Revolution (1983-2002). Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-198-8
  • Daniel Kendie (2005), The Five Dimensions Of The Eritrean Conflict 1941 - 2004: Deciphering the Geo-Political Puzzle. Signature Book Printing, ISBN 1-932433-47-3
  • Firebrace, James & Holand, Stuart (1985), Never Kneel Down: Drought, Development and Liberation in Eritrea. Red Sea Press, ISBN 0-932415-00-8
  • Hatem Elliesie: Decentralisation of Higher Education in Eritrea, Afrika Spectrum, Vol. 43 (2008) No. 1, p. 115-120.
  • Jordan Gebre-Medhin (1989), Peasants and Nationalism in Eritrea. Red Sea Press, ISBN 0-932415-38-5
  • Hill, Justin (2002), 'Ciao Asmara, A classic account of contemporary Africa'. Little, Brown, ISBN 978-0349115269
  • Iyob, Ruth (1997), The Eritrean Struggle for Independence : Domination, Resistance, Nationalism, 1941-1993. Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-59591-6
  • Jacquin-Berdal, Dominique; Plaut, Martin (2004), Unfinished Business: Ethiopia and Eritrea at War. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-217-8
  • Johns, Michael (1992), "Does Democracy Have a Chance", Congressional Record, May 6 1992
  • Keneally, Thomas (1990), "To Asmara" ISBN 0446391719
  • Killion, Tom (1998), Historical Dictionary of Eritrea. Scarecrow Press, ISBN 0-8108-3437-5
  • Mauri A., "Eritrea's Early Stages oin Monetary and Banking Development", International Review of Economics, Vol. LI, n. 4.
  • Müller, Tanja R.: Bare life and the developmental State: the Militarization of Higher Education in Eritrea, Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 46 (2008), No. 1, p. 1-21.
  • Wrong, Michela (2005), I Didn't Do It For You: how the world betrayed a small African Nation. Harper Collins, ISBN 0-06-078092-4
  • Ogbaselassie, G (2006-01-10). "Response to remarks by Mr. David Triesman, Britain's parliamentary under-secretary of state with responsibility for Africa". Retrieved 2006-06-07.
  • Pateman, Roy (1998), Eritrea: Even the Stones Are Burning. Red Sea Press, ISBN 1-56902-057-4
  • Rena, Ravinder (2006-01-12). "Student-Centered Education is the Best Way of Learning". Retrieved 2006-06-07.
  • "Eritrea-Ethiopia versus western nations". 2005-12-09. Retrieved 2006-06-07.

External links

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