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Eritrea is a Model for Africa Eritrea is a valiant and noble experiment on the continent of Africa and the world should rally to its support. Now that the Ethiopian-Eritrean conflict appears to be approaching resolution, it is time to soberly reflect on what has been at stake for the future of Africa and human progress. Eritrea is an amazing example of what one post-colonial African nation can accomplish in the face of overwhelming difficulties. International awareness and understanding of Eritrea can do much to prevent hundreds of thousands of deaths and millions of people becoming destitute refugees in recurring, senseless wars over what seem to be minor boundary disputes. The present leaders of Eritrea are men and women of penetrating intelligence who are idealistically devoted to the well being of their people. Through thirty years of war to gain freedom from Ethiopia, they thought long and hard about how they would build a good country. Their thinking evolved from rigidly ideological to pragmatic with the goals of freedom, justice, equality, and economic development. The results are clearly evident in present day Eritrea. There is no corruption. The international business community knows that Eritrea is a country where business is conducted without payment of bribes to government officials and any attempt to bribe an official would be swiftly and severely punished. Corruption is widespread and blatant in other governments of the continent, and with its concomitant mismanagement results in desperate poverty where the natural resources are sufficient to provide a good life for all. Nigeria is awash in oil, yet its people are among the poorest in the world. After the recent death of its military dictator, his wife attempted to leave the country with eighteen suitcases of money. Kenya is rich in natural resources yet is among the poorest nations in the world. Its president, Arap Moi, is one of the richest men in the world because of his position. When Eritrea was under Ethiopian control, shipping companies would send port captains to the port of Assab to arrange for the berthing,, unloading, and payment of customs. They would also bring a satchel containing fifty thousand U.S. dollars, and pass it to the port manager. If the payment was not made their ship would be unloaded very slowly, and it costs about fifty thousand dollars a day to keep a ship in port. This payment of bribes is still common in most African and Eastern bloc ports and is considered a normal cost of business. After liberation, under Eritrean management, ships are unloaded in the order of their arrival at port, and bribes are no longer paid to facilitate unloading. Eritrea has nine ethnic groups and two main religions, Islam and Christianity. All live together in harmony and share in the power of governance. A careful balance is maintained between Muslims and Christians in the higher positions of government. For instance if a minister is Muslim, the vice minister is typically Christian. This conscious policy of balance has resulted in a remarkable sense of national unity in this ethnic, and religiously diverse nation. This is perhaps the most impressive achievement of the Eritrean leadership, and deserves the approbation and support of the world community. In Ethiopia, the Tigres who make up 5% of the population occupy all the top posts in the civilian government and in the military. Military units are organized on an ethnic basis, and the Oromos who represent fifty percent of the population, and have no voice in government bear the brunt of the fighting. Captured Ethiopian soldiers report that Oromo units are put in front in human wave attacks, and in the rear are Tigrean soldiers who shoot any retreating Oromo. Foreign correspondents on the front report that the dead Ethiopian soldiers are almost all Oromos, and almost none are Tigres. It is devoutly hoped that for regional peace and stability someday Ethiopia will be like Eritrea with all ethnic groups represented in the government. The list of killings for reasons of racial and religious hatreds is sickenly long. This evil cries out for removal from the human condition. Eritrea is an example for the whole world to follow. In Eritrea, basic human rights are guaranteed by laws that are applied equally to all. The concept of rule of law has yet to take root in other countries in the region. Recently, Ethiopia has summarily rounded up about eighty thousand Ethiopian citizens of Eritrean descent, some who have lived for many generations in Ethiopia, confiscated their property and expelled them under brutal conditions. This action has been roundly condemned by international human rights groups. When questioned about this matter, the president of Ethiopia, Melas Zenawi answered that he could expel anybody even if only he disliked the color of their eyes. Eritrea has spent several years drafting a constitution. Its constitution committee conducted town hall discussions in all regions of Eritrea. Prominent in the constitution are provisions for equal rights for women. During the war for liberation, forty percent of the fighters were women. The Eritrean government has been zealous in building the country for the benefit of its people. Before the present conflict the country was alive with brisk activity, rebuilding roads, rebuilding a railroad system, refurbishing the ports, constructing apartment complexes, and building a power plant to provide electricity to the whole country. Emphasis has been placed on school construction, especially in rural areas, because a goal of the government is universal education to the high school level. Clinics and hospitals are being placed throughout the country with emphasis on rudimentary medical care and public health. The agriculture of Eritrea does not produce enough food to feed its own people. Its farms in the highlands suffer from frequent and unpredictable droughts. The Eritrean government has embarked on an ambitious and unconventional program to develop sea water agriculture, silviculture, and mariculture on its deserts bordering the sea. This program is thought to be potentially more productive than conventional fresh water agriculture. In contrast, eighty percent of the arable land of Ethiopia is not farmed and the people suffer from famine. The Sudan has forty six million acres of arable land and the waters of the blue and white Nile. If irrigated and farmed, this land could feed all of Africa. The Sudanese suffer from famine. The conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been called a senseless war. It is senseless if the general perception is true. According to the Ethiopian version, Eritrea, a small country with three million population acted as the bully and moved into the territory of a country with sixty million population to occupy a small patch of territory with little value. The Ethiopians responded with all out war costing hundreds of thousands of lives and hundreds of millions of dollars all for the purpose of making a small adjustment in the border. The Eritrean version is that Ethiopian troops moved into the area that was clearly within their boundaries demarcated in the 1902 treaty between Italy and Ethiopia. When an Eritrean delegation was sent to negotiate the matter they were killed. The Eritreans then sent in troops to push out the Ethiopians. The truth will be known when and if neutral observers can question inhabitants of the region and demarcate the border. The most logical conclusion is that the border dispute was a manufactured pretext for Ethiopia to declare war, invade, conquer and annex Eritrea to gain access to the sea. The president of Ethiopia has announced that he would divide up Eritrea into little countries based on ethnicity. He has openly declared his intention to conquer Eritrea. Finally, I wish to comment on the basic decency and civility of Eritrean culture. There is little crime in Eritrea and Eritreans are basically honest. A woman of any race can walk alone in its cities at night and not even be accosted. Eritrea is a valiant and noble experiment on the continent of Africa and the world should rally to its support. Gordon
Sato July 2000 © 1998-2005, Wallace L. McKeehan, All Rights Reserved |