As an entity with a name, as a body with description, as a presence with co-ordinates, Eritrea is 111 years old. 

The first fifty years, 1890 � 1940 were spent rejecting an Italian- imposed identity (�First Colony�) and processing self-awareness.  Whether the motivation was early Pan-Africanism, Pan-Arabism, anti-colonialism and Italian expolitation or regional autonomy, there were pockets of resistance to Italian rule some of which manifested as pro-Ethiopianism.  By the end of the first 50 year period, the identity of Eritrean nationalism was solid, at least on a par with the sub-national sentiments of Highlander/Lowlander, Tigre/Saho, etc.   Eritrean Nationalism was born.

The next decade, 1940 � 1950, was a test of nationalism: what are Eritreans willing to give up to retain their Eritrean identity?  The commonly held view that �outside forces� manipulated the poor, uneducated, illiterate Eritrean is wildly exaggerated.  To be sure, the �outside forces� did try.  But the two major decisions with long-term consequences were entirely Eritrean: (1) Most  Eritreans rejected the proposal to partition their country and allowing it to be absorbed to Sudan and Ethiopia.  This is significant in that whereas the rest of Africa was still mired in mini-identity, Eritreans had evolved to see themselves as Eritreans first and whatever else second; (2) Although there were Eritreans that rejected Federation with Ethiopia unconditionally and there were Eritreans who felt that Federation with Ethiopia was a poor substitute for Union, most Eritreans accepted Federation with Ethiopia conditionally.  These conditions included having an elected, representative and democratic government (the only article in the Federal Act that was not amendable); freedom of expression, freedom of press, freedom of assembly and a transparent and fair justice system.  And, yes, two official languages: Tigrigna and Arabic. (Arabic newspapers had higher circulation than the Tigrigna papers.) During this period, Eritrea already had some of the early signs of an evolving society: Welwel�s  trade union (one of the first in Africa), a bustling press, a civil society organized along common interests, and a justice system including an appellate court. Eritrean unity was tested and we passed.

1952 � 1962 was the Federation Decade.   During this period, a wily and skilled politician�Haile Selassie I�who had a near-unconditional support of Western powers, slowly and methodically, using sticks and carrots, tore down the Federal arrangement.  By the end of the decade, Eritrean politicians had �voted� to dissolve the Federation and be annexed by Ethiopia as a province.  The Eritreans� response to the acts of the Emperor and the Eritrean Assembly was typical of a civilized and �politically mature� society: it was met by demonstrations, scathing criticism by the Eritrean press and civil unrest.  The media had articulate voices in people like Welwel (Hanti Ertra), Mohammed Seid,(Voice of Eritrea), and brave correspondents like Elias Teclu and Siraj Abdu.  Some politicians were principled enough to resign when their differences with the holders of the power strings were irreconcilable (Mohammed Qadi). In the end,  thanks to the efforts of the nationalists, Ethiopia was seen no better than the last in the string of occupying/colonizing forces.  Eritreans yearning for democracy and justice was witnessed.

1961 � 1991 was the Armed Struggle Era.   While this history is too recent and too raw to merit an objective analysis at present, suffice it to say that this period was the Age of Heroes.  Altruism became a national religion; self-denial and self-sacrifice a way of life.  Each wound, each terror, each death, each birth was accepted as a down payment, an investment into the building of a free Eritrea.  The transformation of the Eritrean society was so thorough and the managers of the armed struggle so committed, and the terror of the Derg and Haileselassie so repulsive, that nearly 100% of Eritreans accepted, as fact, that Eritrea is and can be a viable state.   When this test of self-determination was formalized in the referendum process, the results of this 30-year orientation were manifest in the following: 96.5% of registered voters voted and 99.8% of those who voted, voted for forming an independent state.  Generally, these kinds of lopsided percentages are evidence of fraud and evoke skepticism but Eritreans, regardless of their political differences see absolutely no cause for cynicism here.  In fact, the only serious questioning is why didn�t those who could have registered actually register to vote.  Eritreans commitment to a freedom was tested and we passed.

1991 � 2001 is the First Decade of post-independence Eritrea.   It is natural and unsurprising that the exponents and opponents of the Government of Eritrea (GoE) and the governing party of PFDJ can give reasons to praise and condemn; to exaggerate accomplishments and setbacks.   Generally speaking, the opponents of the GoE and the PFDJ accuse them of  being too exclusive in literally every important epoch of the last decade: in the referendum process, in the constitution-drafting process, in the restructuring and rehabilitation process, in designing and implementing social, cultural and economic policies.  The GoE and PFDJ are accused of monopolizing every and all-available cultural, economic, social and political space and that instead of creating a vibrant, self-reliant society they are busy molding a defeated, malleable and PFDJ-dependent society.   That they show a remarkably cavalier attitude towards human rights and personal liberties and that they promote and are quick to resort to military solutions.  The exponents of the GoE and the PFDJ accuse the opponents of being all-talk, no-action; of unwillingness to roll up their sleeves and do the hard work of reconstruction and nation-building, that they demand too much without showing commitment to do even little; that they have their priorities all wrong, that they don�t�and never did�understand the Eritrean people; that entrusting the fate of Eritrea to their untrustworthy hands would be catastrophic for the nation.   During the decade, the attitudes of both corners have so hardened that each sees the elimination and total defeat of the other as the pre-requisite to the creation of a truly free, democratic and just nation at peace with itself and the world.

This quick walk-through Eritrean history is necessary as a mini-rebuttal to those who see it in their interest to present the Eritrean people as people who are too backward, too illiterate, too poor to understand and stand for their rights.  Eritreans commitment to a united country was tested in the 1940s when every foreign power with a vested interest in our disintegration tried and failed.  Lesson: don�t believe whoever tells you, �without so-and-so, Eritrea will disintegrate.�  It won�t.  Eritreans know what democracy is and what justice is.  When the two are absent, they know as well.  If they are not pointing them out in a critical mass way, it is because there is still a remnant of goodwill and giving people the benefit of doubt and not because �there are other priorities.�  People did not risk life and limb because they were starving; they did so because their dignity was violated.   Eritreans are committed to an independent Eritrea.  This means that stories you are told about �so-and-so wants to sell Eritrea to so-and-so� are just that, stories.   

This website hosts a great many articles whose writers express every opinion along the continuum of bzuHat hzbi bzuHat lbi all the way to Hade lbi Hade hzbi.   To us, all  these viewpoints are worthy of consideration because they are motivated by the desire to make Eritrea a viable state.  We haven�t read a single article that calls for the disintegration of the nation; for the imposition of dictatorship, for the establishment of a religious state.  This is not surprising because every Eritrean family has paid dearly to safeguard the territorial integrity of Eritrea, and the ideal of democracy and justice.  What we have seen is a great deal of angry rhetoric.  When we first built this website, we anticipated that: voices who have not been heard are likely to scream into the microphone when given a chance.  It is making up for lost time.  We understand.  But it is time for the next stage.  We must begin with the realization that disagreement does not mean discord.  Good and honorable people can have wildly different opinions about everything.  Being,  for example, against having Arabic as an official language does not automatically mean you are anti-Arab or anti-Muslim; espousing Arabic as official language does not automatically mean that you are denying your identity and trying to borrow someone else�s.   Advocating a decentralized, region-based system of governance does not automatically make you a regionalist; espousing a centralized system of government should not brand one an authoritarian, either.   Being a Christian and supporting the PFDJ does not mean you are doing so for religious purposes (what Christian values is PFDJ upholding?); being a Muslim and being against PFDJ should not earn you the label of closet Jihadist.  What we all want is the same thing: democracy, unity,  justice, prosperity; we just disagree on how to achieve them.

The GoE and the PFDJ, as the party in power, has the responsibility to set the tone and communicate this message.  People who disagree with its message and modus operandi are not �losers�, or �traitors�, or �opportunists� or even �so few they can be counted on one hand.�  This tone marginalizes people and creates extremists out of moderates and dropouts out of committed nationalists.  The person you are too quick to call �traitor� spent decades fighting for your right to celebrate a free Eritrea.  The person you call �opportunist� (the most commonly applied term to the G-13) may have spent a lifetime trying to liberate you from the yoke of colonialism, may have worked night and day to promote Eritrean culture, may have taken a second mortgage on his house to help his country in the last war with Ethiopia, may have given up prestige and power at first rate university to donate his time and energy to his country.  If he were an opportunist, s/he would have kept his/her mouth shut and waited for payback from grateful government officials who mistake duty to country as service to government.  Instead, s/he spoke his/her mind and proposed ideas to better his/her country knowing, full well, that leaking of the information would risk his/her ostracism from an overcharged community.   By what definition is this �opportunist�?  The GoE should recognize that its voice is one of many.  It should respect the meaning of citizenship: that Eritreans rights are not gifts by the party; they were earned after generations of Eritreans paid dearly for them and the role of government can be no higher than that of a custodian of a trust.  The identity and the authority belong to the people and if the trust deteriorates, the custodian should step aside and not accuse the depositor of not having enough trust.  Inclusiveness should not be conditional.  The lyrics from a U2 song-- �You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl��are descriptive of PFDJ�s conditional acceptance of people who invested their youth trying to bring about Eritrea�s independence and now want to work for its betterment.   

May 24, 2001 will mark the Tenth Anniversary of an Independent Eritrea.  How do we mark the occasion? We can all agree that a moment---days, weeks�or thanking the disabled, the martyred that contributed towards this achievement while fighting under every banner is appropriate.   A moment�days, weeks�of celebration is also in order.  What else?  Beyond cursing the darkness, what else should we do?  What should the plan for the next decade be?  How do we bring about an inclusive, democratic, just, prosperous nation?   The president of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, is about to tell us his vision on May 24.  What is your vision?  Between now and May 24, Awate.com is soliciting your viewpoints and ideas on how to bring this about.  Please write your comments, articles, and suggestions to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it '; document.write( '' ); document.write( addy_text99768 ); document.write( '<\/a>' ); //-->\n This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it   You can also mail it to: 

Awate Foundation
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Awate.com will feature your articles in a special section called On Independence.    We will begin by posting still-classified documents we received that will show you why this historic event,  Independence Day, had to fall on May 24 to stop Herman Cohen and Co from their machination of wanting to keep Ethiopia intact.  Stay tuned.  

the awate team