http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/05/africa_eritrean_cactus_picker/html/1.stmThese two pictures are from the BBC, a photo essay of cactus pickers. I was in Eritrea for parts of 2003, and it was one of the most peaceful times of my life. Life was really simple, though for me and not for most other people. For most Eritreans life was really hard, and not getting any easier as the government gripped its citizens (particularly young people) ever-more tightly.
I was with my parents, and studying the implications of Italian colonialism from 1890-1918. Very simplistically, the 20th century in a nutshell: For Eritrea, the 20th century consisted of Italian colonialism followed by the Ethiopian mandate. However, this mandate became a takeover of Eritrea by Ethiopia. An independence movement began in the lowlands (coast) and spread to the highlands (Asmara). It was a case of David against Goliath. Outside powers got involved in supplying arms in the context of cold war divisions. When Ethiopia became communist, it lost a lot of international support, most notably from the United States, and was facing internal problems. Eritrea managed to capitalise on this vulnerability, and voted overwhelmingly for independence in 1991. They gained independence in 1993. 1993-1998 was a time of a lot of hope. But in 1998, another war between Eritrea and Ethiopia began, and lasted until 2000 with great loss of life. Since then, the gains of 1993-1998 have been largely forgotten as the government has bred suspicion and paranoia.
In this light, I feel as though it's easier to understand the current insanity of the government. It was built from a resistance movement that has been unable to imagine living without an enemy. This is not to say that Ethiopia should not share guilt for the way things are.
However, the Eritrean government's complete refusal to compromise (even to the point of rejecting outside aid) means that Eritreans don't have access basic amenities. If this sacrifice was a choice that each Eritrean was making in favour of long term change and growth (in Eritrea and as a statement to the world bank and UN), I would probably admire it. But who should make such a choice for their children?
Eritrea has suffered so much at the hands of outside powers that its government wants to move forward without the interference rest of the world. The problem is that, over the course of the 20th century, our world became so interconnected that this expectation can never be realised. Ironically, it is the money sent by the Eritrean Diaspora that is preventing a complete collapse.
