Yet another bad news has put Eritrea’s name in the mix of major international developments over the past week. The whole world has, by now, become familiar with the suffering of the Eritrean people at the hands of the totalitarian regime in power. Most reports about the East African country refer to it as the “secretive state” or the “North Korea of Africa.”
Various media outlets reported that Eritrean soldiers escorting convoys of army conscripts opened fire on a group of recruits after they attempted to escape in the capital Asmara killing several of them along with civilians who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. Asmarino.com reported:
On 03 April 2016 conscripts who jumped from vehicles were shot at in cold blood in front of many people. As a result, some died, some were wounded from the shooting and others were injured when they jumped from the vehicles. A total of 29 conscripts were killed or injured. Six were killed on the spot and eighteen were taken to hospital. Five of those in Halibet hospital have since died of their injuries. The remainder are under heavy guard. Reliable sources reveal that some of those still in hospital are in a critical condition. The number of fatalities may rise.
The Sudan Tribune website, on the other hand, provided a detailed account of the brutal act by the Eritrean military. The website went on to explain that unknown numbers of the young conscripts have also managed to escape from the convoy. It wrote:
Following the incident armed police are said to have continued raiding residents and venues in a bid to hunt-down those escaped. According to Eritrean opposition media outlets, the conscripts were en-route from training camps in Western Eritrea to the town of Assab where they allegedly were being deployed to work at a plannedAssab-Massawa road construction project. Civilian casualties were also reported after some of the recruits’ friends and relatives used a bus to block the road in a bid to help them escape. Eritrean opposition news outlet,Gedab said the escape attempt took place in Shuq, in the crowded down-town Asmara where many friends and families of some of the conscripts had been waiting for them to help when they jump off the trucks. The drivers are said to have been given strict instructions to not stop under any circumstance while crossing the capital but friends and families of recruits used a bus to block the convoy when they saw them approaching.
Despite the 18 months legal limit on mandatory military service, the Eritrean government reportedly forces conscripts to serve indefinitely in various governmental projects. The result has been the massive exodus of Eritrean youth out of the country through any means possible. Eritreans are nowadays considered as one of the major social group in international migration.
The command economy followed by Isaias Afewerki’s regime has largely left the country out of touch with the realities of contemporary international trade and development endeavors. Eritrea has grown to become an isolated nation with few economic and diplomatic engagements with the world.
The Economist Intelligence Unit website states “external pressure on the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice, and the president, Isaias Afewerki, continues, with the government accused of destabilizing the sub region, as well as committing human rights abuses at home. The UN Security Council’s sanctions are thus expected to remain in place. Activity in the mining sector will lead to robust real GDP growth, but this will have little impact on broader income levels given the government’s economic mismanagement.”
Mining and remittance account for a considerable section of Eritrea’s economy with conditions in both sectors looking grim for the future. Reports indicate that remittance has been decreasing in recent years exacerbating the already harsh economic realities of the East African nation. Mining in Eritrea is synonymous with the Bisha mine that produces copper, silver and gold as it is the country’s only active mine.
However, this national resource has generally not been used for the benefit of the Eritrean people apart from some names with close affinity to IsaiasAfewerki himself. On the contrary, the Bisha mine is a platform for the abuse of the Eritrean people. In August, 2015, the Guardian ran a story entitled: “Canadian mining company accused of exploiting Eritrea’s forced labour.” The story disclosed that the United Nations denounced Nevsun Resources, the Canadian company owning a majority share of the Bisha mine, for making use of men conscripted into the country’s indefinite military service. The report indicates that the Canadian company has repeatedly come under fire over the use of conscripted labour since construction of the mine began in 2008.
The Guardian quotes a former labourer as saying “The climate was very hot, and I was given no protective safety equipment,” said one, who asked for his name to be withheld. “We were not given enough food to eat, so I was always very weak and exhausted by the end of the day. Health problems like difficulty passing urine and diarrhoea abounded. I lived in a compound housing about 600 people, sharing 10 toilets and 20 showers.”
In December, 2014 three Eritreans filed a lawsuit against Nevsun in a Canadian court over allegations that it forced them to work long hours for little pay.Nevsun has denied that forced labour has been used at its mine, and the company has said it will “vigorously defend itself” against the lawsuit.
In its section on Eritrea, the 2016 index of economic freedom states that about 9% of the population has fled the country in recent years. Considering the awful economic conditions in Eritrea expressed in terms of diminishing income per capita and highly skewed wealth distribution, it is no wonder that people desperately seek to leave the country. The fragile state of rule of law that allows state agents to attack citizens at will and get away with it has added to the latter’s frustrations prompting actions to leave the country.
As neighbors and former fellow citizens, Ethiopians and Eritreans have close cultural and social ties. Accordingly, Ethiopia has been actively taking in Eritrean refugees fleeing the repressive regime of Isaias Afewerki. With a highly contrasting reality apparent in Ethiopia, the historical brotherhood of the two countries dictates that Ethiopia shares its economic and social successes with those fleeing the unfortunate realities in Eritrea.
The security and stability, double digit economic growth, rapidly improving infrastructure, considerable foreign and local investment and improving living conditions in Ethiopia put the country in a good position to provide migrants from Eritrea with important services. Accordingly, it has been providing Eritrean migrants with shelter, food and medication along with educational services.
Until the situation in Eritrea clears up for the better one way or another, Eritreans can count on their brothers next door to stand in solidarity and support. For the recent aggression by the repressing regime in Asmara, we send our condolences to the families of the victims and the Eritrean people in general.
