Category: saay on:
-
Letter from Asmara: Eritrean Exodus Since Peace Treaty With Ethiopia
An Eritrean sends a letter (read by Paris-based Erena Radio broadcasters) on “the intentional, dangerous and evil” plan to empty out Eritrea out of its citizens. This has become specially acute, she writes, since the peace treaty which endangers Eritrean autonomy was signed with Ethiopia. Excerpt of her message…. and the entire video follows. A…
-
Eritrea: Where Is Ciham Ali (Amnesty International Petition)
21 year old Ciham Ali Ahmed hasn’t seen her family in 5 years. She’s been in detention in Eritrea since she was 15 years old. Born in California, but raised in Eritrea, Ciham is a dual Eritrean and US national. In 2012 – aged just 15 – Ciham was arrested after attempting to cross from…
-
In Eritrea, the Peace Dividend Is Same As The War Dividend: Migrants
Whether Eritrea is in a state of war, in a state of no-war-no-peace, or in a state of peace, it appears to have one export: migrants. Consider: Eighty-eight (88) days after Eritrean politicians went to Addis Abeba and told us humble Abiy Ahmed is our leader; Seventy-six days (86) after President Isaias Afwerki told us…
-
Geography Foils Government of Eritrea
The Government of Eritrea, which has a long history of exhausting every bad idea before grudgingly accepting the good one, is on to its next bad idea: making peace with Ethiopia by bypassing the Ethiopia that borders it: Tigray Region. But this time, geography is conspiring against it. Whether an Eritrean’s motivation is family reunion,…
-
Contempt
Since June 5, 2018, when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expressed his government’s intent to accept the Algiers peace Agreement with Eritrea without reservation, the leaders of both countries have had dramatically different ways of communicating the blossoming peace to their people. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has held numerous meetings with his people, visiting them…
-
US To Eritrea: Nice Try, But No Reform, No Sanctions Relief
It is a bad day for PFDJ which almost always means it is a good day for the Eritrean people. The Isaias Afwerki regime appears to have calculated that if it makes peace with Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti, why, then, there is no reason for the United States not to normalize its relations and, more…
-
Finally, Our Peace Dividend
The much-anticipated opening of the Zalambesa and Bure points on the Eritrea-Ethiopia border, occurred today. Zalambesa connects Eritrea capital Asmara to Tigrayan capital Mekele and towns further south to Ethiopia, whereas Bure is a mere 60 miles to Eritrean port Asab. Both are strategic towns which were the sites of heavy casualties in the 1998-2000…
-
Refreshing: An Honest Ethiopian Reportage On Eritrea
If you have been watching Ethiopian media in Eritrea, whether due to its desire not to be a “downer”, or its fear that it will spoil the environment of peace, or because it genuinely believes it, the most generous thing one can say about it is that it has allowed its wishes to cloud its…
-
Eritrea: Promises of More of the Same
Eritrea’s Charge d’Affaires to the United States is Berhane G Solomon. A protege of Yemane Gebreab, the ruling party’s Director of Political Affairs, Berhane even has Yemane’s body language: the exaggerated hand movements, the awkward smile and, of course, flashes of brilliance. In short, he is very good at his job, a job that requires…
-
Meanwhile, in Medemerville…
The great negotiators who run the Eritrean Government gave this building to the Ethiopian government to make it its Embassy in Eritrea. This gorgeous Art Deco building is in the upscale neighborhood of Cinema Croce Rossa hills en route to the American Embassy (warehouse of Bess company) The beautiful villa was given in exchange for…
-
Pride and Happiness
What is happiness, anyway? Scientists will tell you it is about dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins. But what do they know. I mean, have you ever met a happy scientist? Plus, they are always complicating things: “Using new computer software to observe and record people’s faces, scientists mapped no fewer than 21 emotional states, including…
-
Eritrea-Ethiopia: A Confederation We Didn’t Vote On
A confederation is an institutional arrangment in which the policies of different districts are, at least in part, influenced by the preferences of voters from other districts in the confederation. In practice, this is usually accomplished through a complex array of overlapping jurisdictions, representative governments at different levels, and a legal system that allocates decision-making…