ANALYSIS: The week that the PFDJ was celebrating another milestone—graduation of the 20^th round at Sawa—the outcome of its policy of militarization was in bigger display throughout Eritrea and particularly Asmara. There were roundups to re-train those who had graduated from the 1^st to the 19^th rounds; there were attempts to retool a dying economy; and escapism to cheer up a disheartened people. The government is in a state of free-fall and everything it is doing is simply accelerating the fall.  

NEWS 

Although the trip to Sawa is free (bus fares are waived for the event), the graduation ceremony was attended by fewer people than usual.

This is because people are expected to report to mimihidar (administration) and go through a laborious process to get their ticket and, once in Sawa, to undergo 3-day “festival”—which is mostly “political seminars.”   Some could not attend the “graduation” of their child because they were too busy appealing their case on the forceful conscription of another.  Others did not attend because their child was conscripted against their will and, in any event, they do not see a different life for their child pre or post-graduation.

Giffa-Roundups

Asmara and its environs are undergoing through an extensive roundup. Armed soldiers are scattered in two’s and three’s in the streets of Asmara and have been stopping cars and even buses to search for koblelti [absent without leave] and demobilized aghelghilot [national service recruits.]

Instead of stopping cars and buses at the usual roadblocks (Adiguadad, Kurbo Embeito and Adi Abeito), the security officials have set up new checkpoints at alternate locations in the city and its environs.  

Those who were demobilized and working for the government did not have to be rounded up—they had no choice but to report to the destination place—Wia, a military camp in the arid Red Sea zone.

The Military Elite  

The on-again, off-again housing construction is on again.  In addition to demanding that the down payment required to build houses be made in US dollars, the government is now asking that purchases of all construction items—cement, reinforced steel rods, etc—also be in US dollars or an exchangeable hard currency.  Even individuals who have millions of the local currency, Nakfas, in their bank accounts cannot use their local currency to acquire the required supplies.

In the hyperinflationary market, the Nakfa has been falling precipitously and teenagers have begun to refer to it as softie- soft paper. School supplies like an exercise book cost 10 Nakfa.  

To avoid war profiteering and “corruption”, the government has virtually shut down Eritrea’s private sector.  Predictably, this has created more corruption, more shortages and an inflationary market, courtesy of the military elite. The Enda Quteba (finance department) of all divisions of the army are exploiting the  shortage of basic commodities in the nation and are selling Fino (flour), sugar, lentils etc. at the black market.

Even officials who work in departments inside Asmara are competing in the market. The trick is to inflate the number of employees and ask for more than the allocated supply.  For example, a department that overstates the number of its employees would get four quintals of sugar instead of 1 or 2 quintals. The bosses would then sell the “excess” at the black market. The employees are aware of the fraud but do not report it for fear of being either fired or transferred to remote areas.

From this “excess”, family members of the military elite can buy commodities at bargain prices—for example, a 50-kilo wheat of flour which sells for 1,000 nakfa is available to them at 500 nakfas.

Escapism

To avoid facing the reality of the harsh life, the government and the citizens are employing different approaches.  One approach used is to highlight how worse things are elsewhere—particularly in Ethiopia. This is the agenda of the Ministry of Information (MoI.)

The MoI is now overstaffed with novices from the aghelghilot, most of whom are young girls.  Consequently, the MoI has found it difficult to allocate adequate work for all and single news items are now covered by three “reporters” and most of the veteran reporters (those who haven’t escaped or been arrested) are disillusioned and frustrated at being sidelined.

The Amharic and Oromo section staff at the MoI is being ordered to fabricate blatantly false news about Ethiopia. This has been fairly easy to accomplish for the print media (Hadas Ertra) and the radio (Voice of The Masses). However, finding video clips to support the fabrication has proven to be a difficult task and the state-owned TV station (Eri-TV) has been recycling the same video clips regardless of the content of the “news.”

Despite all the hardships, there is one industry that is still enjoying brisk business: Hidmo, West End and other elite night clubs which offer a form of escapism for their clients. Most of the clientele are there to drown their frustration—which follows them to the bars because Asmara is suffering from shortage of beer.

Beer is now being sold in some standard bars for 15.00 Nakfas (up from 5) and bars can only sell two bottles per client. Areki, also in short supply, is being sold at 45.00 Nakfa per bottle (up from 30.)  Mineral water is not available because the Asmara Beer Brewery cannot provide it to Dongollo or Sabarguma factories. Most bars are closed by 8:30 pm.

The government is selling another form of escapism. In the 1990s, the PFDJ used to tell Eritrean citizens that it is modeling the state after Singapore.  Now the model state is Germany and PFDJ cadres, addressing the people, often say: "The dire economic situation in our country will improve in the near future. Germany, for example, was in the same situation after the Second World War. Look where Germany is now?”