Last week, the regime in Eritrea initiated extensive round ups in Asmara, Dekemhare and Massawa.  What is noteworthy about the latest roundup, known as "giffa,"  is that the latest campaign is targeting women, including married women as old as 40.  Those netted are sent to Wia, a military camp in Northern Red Sea area where, this time of year, the temperature reaches 40 degrees centigrade (104 Fahrenheit) and a relative humidity of 75%.

The temperature is so unbearable that in August 2001, Yirga Yosief and Yemane Tekie, two University students who were forcibly rounded up, died at Wia from heat strokes.

Residents were shocked at the manhandling of the women.  Many of those rounded up are mothers of young children who were crying when separated from their mothers.

The Case of Massawa

In Massawa, the round up was supervised by the highly unpopular town administrator, Ms. Fana Tesfamariam, who is better known by her nickname Ri’esi Adghi.  She inspected the task personally, even going to the extent of visiting the rounded up women in Wia. Once there, she held a meeting with them and asked:  “are there some remnants who should have joined you?” The women responded that there were many younger women who had evaded the roundup.  Soon enough, the older women were joined by the “remnants.”

The Case of Asmara

The round-up in Asmara was even more opportunistic.  A week earlier, the Sports Federation had called on all nationals to attend a football game between Eritrea and Kenya to cheer Eritrea’s national team, the Red Camels.  Young people attended in droves. Shortly after the conclusion of the game, the round up was in full effect. The national team beat Kenya but lost the allegiance of many of their fans as a result of the round-up.

To make matters worse, the round-ups were resumed during the opening of the annual week-long festival, which is held at the Expo in Asmara. As a consequence, the festival is dominated by children see-sawing in the children’s playground and old men and women who came just to drink coke or beer, which is not available in the downtown bars.  The only conscription-age visitors are Diaspora Eritreans who are here on a visit.

“Temporary” Assignment of the 20^th Round

Meanwhile, on the 24^th of July, members of Sawa’s 20th Round  (boys and girls whose average age is 17) were dispatched to Barka and Assab. The students were told that the purpose is to acquaint them with their respective units until their matriculation results  are published and that they’d be back in time to resume their studies.  But once in Assab, they were dispersed and re-assigned to different units in remote areas.  Via mobile phones (available at 5 nakfa per call), the students are contacting their parents to complain about their situation and to request rescues.

Going, Going, Gone

In other news, the ruling party is creating the perfect environment to allow its own parastatal business conglomerate, the Red Sea Trading Corporation ,to drive out and confiscate another business. There is severe shortage of gasoline in the country and from the small supply of oil, priority is always given to the military and officers of the ruling party.  Small orchard growers have not been able to tend to their plantations due to lack of oil.   Consequently, many have defaulted on their loans and the banks are auctioning off their property.  The only “businesses” that will be able to manage the orchards are those who have priority access to gasoline: the Red Sea Trading Corporation and its affiliates.