Ethiopian News and Views
August 20, 2005

"Journalists and researchers have long been key players in the contested process of conceptualizing Eritrean nation-hood and this continues in the post-liberation period."

So writes Sara Dorman in a paper dedicated to the memory of Alex Naty, "Narratives and Nationalism in Eritrea: Research and Revisionism" [1]

Mr. Naty, a Kunama Eritrean professor at the University of Asmara, was summarily dismissed from his job in 2003 - likely as reprisal for attending the 15th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies. One of the last papers he wrote "Potential Conflicts in the Former Gash-Setit Region, Western Eritrea: Threats to Peace and Security" [2] must have greatly displeased the leaders of Eritrea's ruling party, the PFDJ. Mr. Naty died suddenly, shortly afterward.

That the Eritrean government felt threatened by Mr. Naty's research activities proves Mrs. Dorman's point. But why is this so? Why the vigorous cheerleading campaign by foreigners in support of official Eritrean mythology and the concurrent campaign by the Eritrean government to silence its own scholars?

Two reasons are readily apparent. The first is a concern amongst partisans of the EPLF (now the PFDJ - Eritrea's sole legal party) that the Eritrean identity is founded on unstable grounds and is too closely intertwined with Ethiopia's (or Sudan's) to survive in the long run [3]. Secondly, with few exceptions, the Eritreans themselves have yet to put together an honest appraisal of their own history. This leaves the field open for outsiders to rewrite Eritrean history to serve their own particular needs and objectives.

Outdated Illusions

The latest book about Eritrea "I Didn't Do It For You" by Michela Wrong, relies on outdated conceptual models of the Eritrean guerrilla war that have already been discarded by most serious observers of Eritrea. As the illusions fade, the diversity and dissent that was always present in Eritrea (as in any human society) is becoming increasingly difficult for even the most ardent EPLF/PFDJ supporters to ignore. [4]

Yet Ms. Wrong, half-Italian and a relative newcomer to studies in the Horn of Africa pays scant attention to these trends and blunders happily forward. She quickly latches on to the tired David vs. Goliath storyline and leaves no doubt where her sympathies lie. Using the subtitle "How the world betrayed a small African nation" she castigates a wide variety of people for not supporting the EPLF's conception of Eritrean history and nationalism. That there are other narratives and other dimensions to the issues that she exploits to support her thesis does not trouble her.

Eurocentric Theses

"As long as history is pursued purely along etic lines and is nothing but an outsider's telling of other people's history, it will remain a sterile undertaking. But when it is given an emic dimension and the insider's understanding, interpretive schemata and theories of history are taken into account, the enterprise gains a new quality, because now the outsider can learn, as it were, from the insider. By trying to understand other people's concepts and theories of history, he or she may begin to question and examine his or her own" (Ivo Strecker, 1995). [5]

Ms. Wrong's thesis is that Eritrea's national 'psyche' is largely conditioned by the multiple betrayals the Eritrean nation has experienced since the late 1800s. It is "a book about betrayal, repeated across generations," she writes, "and how the expectation of betrayal can both create an extraordinary inner strength and distort a national psyche."

Ms. Wrong never defines what she means by a 'national psyche.' The dubious merit [5a] of such a device is accompanied by the lack of any methodological awareness. The thesis is presented in Eurocentric fashion; the reader is expected to learn a great deal about various European characters while the local population is pushed to the background. The Italian colonial governor, Martini is honored with a full-page portrait and Ms. Wrong assertively declares him to be "The Father of Modern Eritrea."

Three unstated assumptions underlie Ms. Wrong's thesis:

1. Policies of the ruling EPLF/PFDJ derive from the Eritrean "national psyche."

2. A separate Eritrean nation existed for centuries and assumed modern form thanks to relatively benevolent Italian colonization.

3. The local culture or pre-colonial history of the Eritrean people is of little relevance to the characteristics of Eritrean nationalism

At the beginning of the book, Ms. Wrong tries to convey the impression that Eritreans are heavily Italianized; she takes great note of the fact that Eritreans go for evening strolls (passegiata! ) and highlights any snippets of Italian that she hears in Asmara. Due to her Italian heritage (she is half-Italian and speaks the language), it is an absorbing spectacle for her, although in actuality, the Italian language pales in significance compared to three other outside languages - Arabic, Amharic, and English - that are spoken in Eritrea.

The impressionistic, superficial style continues throughout the book - it certainly makes the topic more accessible to the uninformed reader, however it fails to establish itself as a serious historical contribution.

Blatta Gebre Egziabher

"What's missing from this recitation of the history, which goes on for well over half the book, are any memorable Eritrean characters." - A review in 'The Nation' [6]

Blatta Gebre Egziabher is not in Michela's book. He doesn't fit the thesis. Blatta Gebre Egziabher was an Eritrean who escaped from an Italian prison in Aseb and established a newspaper in Addis Abeba. He often wrote on the topic of modernization. An ardent Ethiopian nationalist, he was one of the young intellectuals of the time that came to be known as the 'Japanizers' [7,8]. Blatta Gebre Egziabher was just one of many notable Eritreans in Ethiopia during this era that managed to escape from Eritrea.

Michela's retelling of Eritrean history prior to the 1970s cannot mention characters such as these. Even in the 1940s and 1950s, the major Eritrean figures of that time viewed themselves as Ethiopians or were Tigray-Tigrign nationalists, or they were early Muslim leaders who ran afoul of the EPLF and have been blotted out of official Eritrean historiography. These characters are not suitable for her thesis so she simply excludes them.

It should be noted that an entire generation of young, educated Ethiopians and Eritreans was liquidated by the Italian colonizers whose achievements are championed in Michela's book. The Italian killing spree was in retaliation for the attempt on Graziani's life by two Eritreans, Abraha Deboch and Moges Asgedom [9].

For comparison, a completely different and far more rewarding approach to historical investigation in Eritrea is given in Irma Taddia's review of current research trends [10]. Of particular interest is the work on local letters, diaries and other documents written in Amharic and Tigrinya during the Italian colonial period [11].

Queen of Sheba

Inherent in the writing of "I didn't do it for you" is a worldview that lowers Ethiopians to grossly caricatured simpletons who base their entire existence on confused myths about biblical origins. One of the central assertions in the book is the explanation of Ethiopia's claim to Eritrea. Under the heading "Curse of the Queen of Sheba," Ms. Wrong introduces the novel theory that the Sheba myth is the real reason why Ethiopia claims Eritrea - then goes on to ridicule such a weak basis for a claim.

It may come as a surprise to readers of this book to learn that the wife of Isaias Afewerki is named Sheba (Saba). Uninformed readers may also be astounded to learn that the highland Tigrean population of Eritrea traces its origin to the region of Gonder in Ethiopia, and also believes that they are descended from the Queen of Sheba. Even the official EPLF/PFDJ website acknowledges this [12]. Michela simply lacks the requisite background and humility to properly discuss ancient Ethiopian history or mythology [13].

Eritreans and Ethiopians have a deep-rooted identity that predates the era of colonialism, - it is this deep-seated cultural, religious, and ethnic identity that must be examined to account for the complicated characteristics of Eritrean nationhood. But most Eritro-philes have difficulty here, there is way too much Ethiopia in the Eritrean - it spoils the fantasy. So they try to separate out as much as they can and mock and ridicule what is left.

The people of Tigray come in for the greatest ridicule because their language, culture, and pre-20th century history is essentially identical to that of the governing elite of Eritrea. Heroic figures such as Ras Alula and Atse Yohannis represent a rival threat to Eritrean mythology. Thus they are denigrated and caricatured.

Ms. Wrong's standards shift when it comes to her own people. The racist Martini is described in adorable terms, and she trumpets the great achievements of the Italians as they built up Eritrea's facilities to serve the preparations for the invasion of Ethiopia in 1935. Meanwhile a figure such as Ras Alula, who was the first to establish Asmara as the capital of the region and centralized the trade there is ignored [13a].

Were she looking for examples of betrayal, the actions of Great Britain in regards to the Hewett Treaty of 1884 should have grabbed her attention. The Hewett Treaty obliged Ethiopia to assist the British in evacuating themselves and their Egyptian surrogates from eastern Sudan where they were trapped by the Mahdist uprising. In return Great Britain promised to return the Keren area to Ethiopia and assure Ethiopia of free transit privileges at the port of Massawa. Instead, as soon as the Egyptian troops were evacuated, the British brought in the Italians who promptly began their aggressive expansion. [14]

Identity

"The image of the Ethiopian "other" was critical to rallying Eritrean identity. It served two purposes. First, defining "Eritreanness" in opposition to Ethiopia was critical for breaking the cultural and religious link that many Tigrinya-speaking Christians felt toward Ethiopia. Second, promoting a shared enemy was a way of breaking down divisions among the diverse peoples of Eritrea and uniting them behind a common psychological identity." - Garcetti 1999 [15]

"In short, many of those who are fanatic anti-Ethiopian and anti-Woyanes in Asmara are mainly Tigreans/Ethiopians by origin and those who have had strong links and connections with Tigray in particular and Ethiopia in general." - Menghistu 2000

A most striking feature of Eritrean nationalism is the evolution of identity amongst the Christian Eritreans such that many have now become the most ardent champions of Eritrean independence while many Muslims, who launched the independence struggle, are feeling marginalized to the extent that some have begun a new armed struggle.

It is interesting to note that the father of Eritrean president Isaias Afewerki is from the Tembein district of Tigray while his mother's family originates from the Tigray districts of Adwa and Agame. Isaias' uncle (Dejazmatch Abraha) was active in the resistance against the Italian occupation of Ethiopia and was rewarded with the governorship of Wello [16]. The most prominent Christian supporter of independence, Weldeab Weldemariam was born in Tigray of Tigrean parents, and actually began his political career as a member of the unionist party. One of the top leaders in the current Eritrean opposition is a former member of the TPLF while a number of top leaders in the TPLF are former members of the EPLF.

The influential Jeberti Muslim population in Highland Eritrea traces its beginnings to the conversion of an Aksumite King to Islam in the 7th century, and the tomb of this king (Ahmed Al-Najash) in Tigray is the focus of a yearly pilgrimage. The prestige of this shrine was such that the troops of Ahmed Gragn requested leave to visit it [17].

The Habab tribe of Nakfa and the Sahel traces its authority to the Kentiba title and negarit (war drum) that was bestowed on the 6th ruler of the tribe after he visited Emperor Iyasu (1730-1755) in Gonder. The Kentiba title and the symbolism of the negarit continued through to the 20th century even after the Habab abandoned Christianity and converted to Islam. [18]

In short there are long established deep ties between the Eritrean and Ethiopian communities. What is of interest is how this history and culture influences the identity of the inhabitants. But this type of information is not compatible with Ms Wrong's thesis and her underlying assumptions therefore it is completely ignored, and this intriguing avenue of inquiry is closed off.

Federation

The unionist party was founded in Asmara in 1941 on the same day that Haile Selassie entered Addis Ababa [19]. Ethiopia obviously had little in the way of resources to support this indigenous movement. By contrast, the British and Italians had almost unlimited means to achieve their designs for Eritrea.

The UN-mandated federation of 1952 was accepted by all parties concerned. No Eritrean organization condemned it and none protested it. The foundation of Eritrean national consciousness was established during this period when the people were able to exercise their civil rights to a degree that has not been equaled ever since.

The Eritrean separatist movement began as a movement to defend and restore these civil rights that benefited all Eritreans. It was only much later that this civic nationalism was co-opted by the ELF into a largely pro-Arab, Muslim-oriented movement with strong anti-Christian overtones, and then by the EPLF into a largely Christian, pro-Tigrean ethnic nationalist movement with anti-Muslim overtones.

Ms. Wrong presents the federation as something imposed against the wishes of the Eritrean people (i.e another betrayal), but she devotes most of the chapter to detailing the petty personal conflicts between the members of the UN commission when it came to Eritrea to ascertain the wishes of the Eritrean people. The demise of the federation in 1962 is also presented as if it were a project of the Ethiopian army. In fact we know from the eyewitnesses that no such events as she describes took place [20].

Civil War

The conflict in Eritrea from 1961-1991 is always presented as a struggle between Eritrea and Ethiopia. In actuality, there was only a single battalion of the Ethiopian army in Eritrea until the late 1960s; most of the fighting until then was done by the Eritrean anti-guerrilla commandos and the Eritrean police.

Furthermore, large numbers of Eritreans enlisted in the regular Ethiopian army and achieved promotion to the level of General (e.g. Aman Andom). Important defections were occurring as late as 1986, when Major Negash Tesfatsion, an American-trained specialist in military engineering - and a member of the ruling Ethiopian Dergue no less - joined the EPLF [21]. Major Negash became deputy commander of EPLF training in 1987, and this man is now a Brigadier General in command of training for the Eritrean army [22].

The character of the war can also be judged from the internal conflict between the ELF and the EPLF which culminated with the defeat of the ELF after the EPLF called for and received assistance from the TPLF - its partner Tigrean front in Tigray.

Finally, the Kunama participated in the conflict in order to defend themselves against the depredations of the ELF and EPLF. Their current continued victimization shows why they had much to fear from the triumph of the Eritrean highland nationalism.

A reader of Michela's book would not understand anything about the above dimensions to the conflict. Ms. Wrong's major focus is on the trivial and impressionistic vignettes about fighters preparing French cuisine or giving piano recitals under the constant bombardment of the Ethiopians. These eye-catching passages are intended to help market the book and assure its commercial success.

Blast on the Beach 2002

"Italian men categorized their Eritrean sexual partners as either "sciarmutte" or "madame." Sciarmutta was an Italianization of the Arabic term "sharmăta" and stood for prostitute; the term madama applied to concubines who associated with Italian men. By Italian standards the madamato (i.e., the relationship with a madama) had no legal sanction; Italians considered it something different from marriage, questioning whether or not an African woman could ever become a "real wife." Italian men devised and used this term only in Italy's colonies in the Horn because they needed a name for those relationships they considered to be different from their relationships with Italian women." - Giulia Barerra 1996 [23]

A required ingredient of any story for western consumption - if it is to have mass appeal - is some type of sexual voyeurism. Michela provides this with a photograph of the bare backsides of US soldiers (a typical ritual of young Americans known as "mooning.") No one makes much of this and it has no significance to Eritrea's history, but Michela elaborates it into an entire chapter. She actually attended a reunion of Kagnew veterans "Blast on the Beach 2002" to gather more details for her sex chapter. Her interests in this area could have been satisfied by recourse to the material in the Italian archives, but it doesn't suit her story line. Her story plot identifies Ethiopians and Americans as the main evil characters, not the Italians.

The far more widespread sexual adventures and perversions of the Italian colonists and soldiers in Eritrea would have been apparent to Ms. Wrong since these shameful episodes are abundantly documented in the diaries of one of the designated heroes of her book; Governor Martini. Other researchers have also gathered evidence to show that the Italians used Eritrea (in particular the Highland areas) as a sexual playground, and this was a major selling point in encouraging Italian men to migrate there.

[There was an Italian officer] "whose main occupation, was to raise little girls with 'tender-loving care,' to later make them concubines for himself and his comrades (poor Castellani's Cagigia called him daddy)." -Diary of Eritrean Colonial Governor Martini

The following excerpt from a research article by Giulia Barerra (1996) provides some more background:

"Before becoming madame, some women were little more than children. Many Italian males had sailed to Eritrea dreaming of Africa as a "virgin land of virgins," and at least some of them seemed determined to take full advantage of that. It appeared that for many men, possessing a young virgin was more gratifying than procuring a prostitute. Furthermore, the customary marriage age in Eritrea rendered young girls accessible, whereas in Italy the marriage age was considerably higher".

Considering Ms. Wrong's moralizing against the American soldiers, one wonders why she is silent about the prevalent sexual abuse in the Eritrean army. One foreign researcher writes in a paper on Eritrean youth: "young men say that they will not consider marrying women who have attended Sawa Military Camp because of 'damage' done to them there." [23a]

How has this abuse shaped the Eritrean psyche?. The activities of the American G.I.s seem positively innocent when contrasted to these crimes.

Betrayal

The betrayal thesis not really elaborated on - it simply serves as a framework to tie in the disparate, unrelated characters in her story. An example of betrayal would be the aforementioned Hewitt Treaty or the EPLF's attack on the rival ELF with the help of the TPLF.

But the betrayal theme is resurrected as an explanation of the Badme war. According to Ms Wrong, the Eritreans, betrayed by the treacherous Tigrayans reacted to defend themselves and an unfortunate side effect is the current political suppression in Eritrea. Eritrea reacts this way "because the colonial masters and superpowers made her so," she states authoritatively.

Such a clumsy thesis may be acceptable amongst unknowing western readers, but it makes little sense to the hundreds of Eritreans fleeing to Tigray every month [24], or those still trapped inside Eritrea's police state. As for the war from 1998-2000, the events are so well documented that Ms. Wrong's narration adds nothing other than revealing her own anti-Ethiopian bias - of interest is her implication that Fighter Pilot Bezabih Petros deserved to be executed because he was once a prisoner of the EPLF, and numerous factual distortions such as her reduction of the number of people killed at Ayder from 48 to 12.

Apologies

Among the more absurd facets of this book are the passages where Ms. Wrong berates Sylvia Pankhurst, John Spencer and anyone else who supported Eritrea's union with Ethiopia. One wonders what she would have said to Blatta Gebre Egziabher. One wonders whether she would have berated Abraha Deboch. One wonders whether she would have mocked Zerai Deres.

Conclusion

From some quarters the misguided Eritrean ilillta welcoming this book has reached a fever pitch, but those with a modicum of self-knowledge may realize that she really didn't write it for them.

"I didn't do it for you" is not a serious work of scholarship, and would not have been written (or receive wide attention) were the topic Britain or Italy. What her approach - and the resulting rave reviews - reveals, is the contours of her own attitudes towards Africa and the low professional standard for European writers on Africa. The book's clumsy thesis cannot withstand scrutiny and fails to explain the significant features of Eritrea's complex political history.

Ms. Wrong says she got the title for her book from the example of a British Officer insulting a celebrating Eritrean woman after the defeat of the Italians at Keren. But how different is she from this man? Her work in Eritrea is accomplished on whose behalf? One wonders whether she has ever paused to examine the way in which she has approached the topic. Her book, while it may succeed commercially, is a failure in most other respects. It will soon be forgotten as the new trends and new research on Eritrea becomes more accessible to the wider public.

FOOTNOTES

1. Dorman, Sara 2005. Narratives and Nationalism in Eritrea: research and revisionism: dedicated to the memory of Alex Naty (1957-2003)In Nations and Nationalism, Volume 11, Number 2, April 2005, pp 203-222, Blackwell Publishing.   Earlier version of this paper Eritrea’s Nation and State-building:Re-assessing the impact of ‘the struggle’ can be downloaded in pdf format.

2. Naty, Alexander 2003. Potential Conflicts in the Former Gash-Setit Region, Western Eritrea: Threats to Peace and Security

3. See for example Kjetl Tronvoll (1999) in Borders of Violence - boundaries of identity: demarcating the Eritrean nation-state: "The cultural, political, religious, and historical configuration of the Eritrean frontiers makes it difficult to demarcate a particular Eritrean identity, distinguishing it from Sudanese ethnic and religious identities, or historical-politico and ethnic Ethiopian identities"

4. An example of new trends in Eritrean studies is the paper by Christine Mason, Gender, Nationalism and Revolution: Re-assessing Women's Relationship with the Eritrean Liberation Front (2001). Although herself lacking objectivity in a wider context, Ms. Mason recognizes that research on Eritrea occurs within a framework "dominated by a narrow historical national narrative that largely excludes dissenting voices in order to maintain an artificial unity."

5. Strecker, Ivo 1995. Ethno-History and its Relevance for Ethiopian Studies. Journal of Ethiopian Studies, Volume 28, No 2. December 1995. This quote is more relevant for anthropological studies but it seems to apply here as well.

5a. In the introduction to the book Re-thinking Nationalism in the Arab Middle East Gershoni and Jankowski (1997) present an overview of nationalism theory, and state: "Concepts such as a nationalist 'psyche' or 'mind' have been dismissed as essentialist reifications that distort the complexities of history. The pretensions of nationalists themselves to speak on behalf of the nation are no longer taken at face value, as such factors as ethnicity, regional loyalty, class, gender, religion and subculture are acknowledged to have produced competing and sometimes drastically different concepts of nationalism within the body of a single nation."

6. Rice, Andrew 2005. Revolutionary Suicide Review of the book "I Didn't Do it For You" by Michela Wrong. The Nation, June 13, 2005.

7. Clarke, JC 2000. Mutual Interests? Japan And Ethiopia Before The Italo-Ethiopian War. Also see: Blatta Gebre Egziabher Gila Mariam and his Work: A Sketch towards a Political Biography of a Nationalist. In Negash Tekeste, ed., No Medicine for the Bite of a White Snake" Notes on Nationalism and Resistance in Eritrea, 1890 - 1940.

8. Zewde, Bahru 2002. Pioneers of Change in Ethiopia: The Reformist Intellectuals of the Early Twentieth Century. Addis Ababa University Press.

9. "The greatest slaughter began after 6 o'clock in the evening... During that awful night, Ethiopians were thrust into lorries, heavily guarded by armed blackshirts. Revolvers, truncheons, rifles and daggers were used to murder completely unarmed black people, of both sexes and all ages. Every black person seen was arrested and bundled into a lorry and killed, either in the lorry or near the Little Ghebi [the present Addis Ababa University building], sometimes at the moment when he met the blackshirts. Ethiopian houses and huts were searched and then burnt with their inhabitants. To quicken the flames, benzine and oil were used in great quantities." The Graziani Massacre

10. Taddia, Irma 2002. Notes on Recent Italian Studies on Ethiopia and Eritrea Metodo, 2, 2002.

11. Taddia, Irma 2000. Correspondence as a New Source for African History, Some Evidence from Colonial Eritrea Cahiers d'etudes Africaines, 157, 2000.

12. Beyene, Tewelde 2005. History of Eritrea: The Beja Kingdoms, population movements, and the early expansion of Islam (8th-13th C.AD) an article published on the official Eritrean government website Shabiat.com

13. Ms. Wrong also mocks the Ethiopian claim to the Ark of the Covenant. In a similar vein, there were those who mocked the explorer James Bruce for claiming that the Book of Enoch could be preserved in a primitive country such as Ethiopia, but he proved the skeptics wrong by returning from Ethiopia with three manuscripts in 1773.

13a. Erlikh, Haggai 1996. Ras Alula and the Scramble for Africa: A Political Biography 1875-1897 "People from all over Hamasein were mobilized to construct the government headquarters."

14. Ibid. (Erlikh, Haggai 1996)

15. Garcetti, Eric 1999. Civic and Ethnic Allegiances: Competing Visions of Nationalist Discourse in the Horn of Africa. Paper presented at the International Studies Association, 40th annual convention. Note - although the quoted text succinctly summarizes the challenge of Eritrean identity, Mr. Garcetti misconstrues 'civic nationalism;' It cannot be imposed from above by the PFDJ/EPLF, and will only develop from a deepening of civil society within a democratic culture.

16. Menghistu, Fisseha-Tsion 2000. Isayas Afewerki: Eritrean or Tigrean-Ethiopian?

17. Ahmed, Hussein 1996. Aksum in Muslim Historical Traditions. Journal of Ethiopian Studies, Vol. 29, No. 2. Also see Futuh Al-Habasa: The Conquest of Abyssinia by Sihab ad-Din Ahmad bin Abd al-Qader bin Salem bin Utman. Translated by Paul Lester Stenhouse with annotations by Richard Pankhurst

18. d'Avray, Anthony 1996. Lords of the Red Sea: The History of A Red Sea Society from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Century. The author describes the ruler of Habab visiting Gonder to obtain protection from raids by the nobles of Hamasien: "Ebtes was fully conscious of his Ethiopian roots, and he invoked them: he went to Ethiopia to try to obtain a reduction in the volume of raiding that was going on. The reigning Negus was Iyasu (1730-1755), and Ebtes made personally to him an act of submission, asking for protection. Iyasu accepted his homage and invested him with the rank of Kantibai, giving him as marks of that title, a drum (a negarit), a robe of the dignity of a Kantibai, and a gold bracelet. The investiture was made in the presence of Ebtes' own notables and dependants."

19. Negash, Tekeste 1997. Ethiopia and Eritrea: The Federal Experience

20. Ayele, Negussay 2000. Review of the book: 'The Eritrean Affair (1941-1963) During the Reign of Emperor Haile Sellassie I'

21. Carol Berger, Africa Report, March-April 1987

22. Shabait Official Eritrean Website, July 25, 2005: http://www.shabait.com/articles-new/publish/printer_3736.html

23. Barerra, Giulia 1996. Dangerous Liaisons: Colonial Concubinage in Eritrea 1890-1941 Program of African Studies, Working Papers, Northwestern University.

23a. Dorman, Sara 2004. Past the Kalashnikov; Youth, Politics, and State in Eritrea

24. Eritrean Deserters in "Enemy" Land IRIN, November 22, 2002