The Seen, the Unseen, the Invented Misrepresentations in the Making of a Colony. Eritrea

The Seen, the Unseen, the Invented Misrepresentations of African “Otherness” in the Making of a Colony. Eritrea, 1885-1896 by Silvana Palma

This essay analyses the photos of Eritreans taken by professional photographers at the beginning of Italian presence in Africa—particularly from the first Italian landing in Africa in 1885 up to the “reconquest” of Saati in 1881, after the Italian military defeat at Dogali—in order to identify their language and the extent to which they were functional to colonial rule. The photographic image is considered here as a primary element of a specific historical and cultural moment in view of the fact that it had a growing diffusion as a means of communication at the time of the “first Italian African war”, when it was already becoming a “mass” medium. The growth of the photographic market in the last twenty years of the 19th century coincided with Italy’s participation in the scramble for Africa and with the growth of the information industry, in which a very prominent role was played by the illustrated press2 which made use of photographs, particularly those taken by commercial photographers, as the preferential means of spreading Italian “knowledge” concerning Africa and its peoples.

http://modaina.com/PDF/the_making_of_a_colony_eritrea.pdf

Debtera Fesseha Giyorgis, from Yeha in Tigray, about his voyage to Italy in the summer of 1890

This is the translation of a travelogue written in Tigrinya by Debtera Fesseha Giyorgis, from Yeha in Tigray, about his voyage from Massawa to Italy in the summer of 1890. This is regarded as the first secular text published in the Tigrinya language. It was published in Rome in 1895.

According to the article, Dàbtàra Fesseha Giyorgis can be regarded as the father of Tigrinya literature. He authored at least five Tigrinya texts, of which two were published in Rome in 1895 and 1898. His manuscript “A History of Ethiopia” was published in Naples in 1897
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https://ilpaesedelleterredoltremare.files.wordpress.com/2015/04/authors-journey.pdf

Colonial Inertia and Postcolonial Capital in Asmara

Italy's Colonial Futures: Colonial Inertia and Postcolonial Capital in Asmara, a 2011 article by Mia Fuller

Abstract: The core of Asmara, Italy’s former colonial capital in Eritrea, is widely known as a unique repository of 1930s Italian architecture. In addition, its Italian food and other traces of the colonial era lend it the semblance, to foreign eyes, of a still-colonial city. This article describes this apparent colonial inertia with respect to Eritrean citizens’ and government’s interests in sustaining the illusion, and argues that they use their past as Italian colonial subjects – specifically, their postcolonial cultural capital - to fortify their sense of separateness from Ethiopians, and celebrate their independence from their African neighbor.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/5x3sou3nsqhprwm/Colonial+inertia+and+post+colonial+capital+Asmara.pdf

A confidential letter written to Haile Sellasie by a senior Ethiopian army official in 1974

A confidential letter written to Haile Sellasie by a senior Ethiopian army official, Let. General Kebede Gebre in 1974 explaining among other things that that Ethiopian army was losing the fight in Eritrea. Let. General Kebede Gebre, who occupied among other positions the Commander-in-Chief of the UN Forces in the Congo from 1960 – 1964. He was among the 60 senior officials killed by the Dergue on 23^rd November 1974. He refers to his verbal note given to Haile Sellasie and Aklilu Habtewold in 1974 (1966 E.C). He stated in his letter that the Ethiopian army has sustained big losses in its war in Eritrea and advises the Emperor to reinstate the Federation between Eritrea and Ethiopia

ሓደ ፍሉጥ ኢትዩጵያዊ ጀነራል ከበደ ገብሬ ናብ ንጉስ ሃይለስላስየ  1974 ዝተጻሕፈት ምስጢራዊት ደብዳቤ ሰራዊት ኢትዩጵያ ኣብ ኤርትራ ቡዙሕ ኪሳራ ይወርዶ ሰለ ዘሎ ፣ ፈደረሽን ክምለስ ትሓትት ።

رسالة سرية مكتوبة إلى الامبراطور هايلي سيلاسي من قبل مسؤول كبير في الجيش الإثيوبي، يدعى الجنرال كبدى قبرى في عام 1974، موضحا من بين أمور أخرى أن الجيش الإثيوبي يفقد المعركة في إريتريا، ويقترح فيها إعادة الفيدرالية

http://www.mediafire.com/file/tcytcl2qa9tskbm/G+Kebede+Gebre+note.pdf

Thanks to Jelal Yassin for sharing

ELF National Democratic Program, 1979

ELF National Democratic Program, 1979

with the following contents:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/amisat2iw97a97e/ELF+National+Democratic+Program+1979.pdf

Thanks to Prof. Kjetil Tronvoll for sharing the document

The Eritrean Peoples' Peaceful Struggle in 1950s

The Eritrean Peoples' Peaceful Struggle in 1950s

The Eritrean people resorted to armed struggle, not by choice, but after exhausting all possible peaceful protests. This ELF document lists the names of persons who wrote protest messages to the UN and the Emperor complaining that the Ethiopian Government was undermining the Federal Arrangement between Eritrea and Ethiopia

 لجأ الشعب الإريتري إلى الكفاح المسلح، ليس عن طريق الاختيار، ولكن بعد استنفاد جميع الاحتجاجات السلمية الممكنة. تسرد هذه الوثيقة أسماء الأشخاص الذين كتبوا رسائل احتجاجية إلى الأمم المتحدة واشتكوالى الإمبراطور من أن الحكومة الإثيوبية تقوض الترتيب الاتحادي بين إريتريا وإثيوبيا

http://www.mediafire.com/file/vk2zfwbsyr02jjk/ELF_peaceful+struggle.pdf

EPRP's Evaluation of the TPLF 1980

EPRP's Evaluation of the TPLF 1980

In the mid seventies, while the ELF and EPLF competed in Eritrea for space, influence and power; the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Party (EPRP), TLF (Tigray Liberation Front), Ethiopian Democratic Union (EDU) and TPLF did the same in Tigray. This is how the EPRP evaluated the TPLF

http://www.mediafire.com/file/sluuy42lqmaofft/EPRP+evaluation+of+the+TPLF+1980.pdf

Thanks to Prof. Kjetil Tronvoll for sharing

More on EPRP:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethiopian_People%27s_Revolutionary_Party