The Eritrean-Italian love affair

The Eritrean-Italian love affair

Eritrea as an entity, with its current borders, was an artificial creation of Italian colonialism; as were the majority of African countries. We (except very few individuals, Bahta Hagos from Akle Guzai was first allied to the Italians but later revolted against them) embraced Italian occupation wholeheartedly. We did not resist like the Ethiopians and Libyans or the Sudanese who resisted British colonialism. We served the served the Italian army loyally and fought their colonial wars in Ethiopia and Libya; but we resisted Ethiopian occupation for 30 years and defeated it.

Why did we embrace Italian occupation? Many questions come to the mind. Was it because we were pragmatic (we were not in a position to resist them therefore we saved our new entity destruction? Was it because they created us and introduced us to modernism, to limited education, to roads and railways and modern architecture? They even introduced us to the catholic faith. They protected us from the raids of our southern neighbours. They made us feel superior to our neighbours and to other Africans. A psyche that we maintain even today and that was reinforced by the liberation movements. A culture of the ‘knife and fork’ that Meles Zenawi referred to during the Eritrean-Ethiopian war. Before Fascist Italy introduced an apartheid system, the Italians were popular. Some of the Tigrait speakers referred to them as ‘Beit Ali Tzaada’ and one of the folk songs in Asmara (after the Italians were defeated by the British) run like this: “ጥልያን ኣቦድኻየ ሕጂ ዶ ሓይሽ ከማን ምስ በሉኻየ”

An old person, who survived both Italian colonialism and British Administration compared Italians and British this way: The Italians were talkative, emotional but nice and generous but the British were cunning, greedy and cruel. He said if the Italians had extra food they would give it to the people, but if the British drank from a canned tin, they would pierce it so that no one made use of it.

BUT the big question is why did we embrace Italian colonialism and resist Ethiopian occupation? Was it because we felt we were superior to them? Was it because they were black? Our Ethiopian neighbours take pride in being the first African army that defeated a colonial army at Adwa. They call us Banda. How did Italian occupation affect our social, psychological and political make up? Your thoughts
لماذا احتضنا الأستعمار الأيطالي وقاومنا الأثيوبي

ንምንታይ ንጣልያን ግዝኣት ሓንጎፋይ ኢልና ተገቢልናዮ ን ኢትዮጵያ ግን ተቃዊምናያ?