Tuesday 31 March 2015

The Diplomatic Mission to Abyssinia 1903

This is "ABYSSINIA OF TO-DAY", AN ACCOUNT OF THE FIRST MISSION SENT BY THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT TO THE COURT OF THE KING OF KINGS (1903—1904)  
 
BY ROBERT SKINNER, Commissioner to Abyssinia 1903 - 1904 


https://archive.org/stream/abyssiniatodaya00skingoog#page/n10/mode/2up

                                                                                                                                                   

The report about the Marine Corps that accompanied the first American Diplomatic Mission sent by President Roosevelt to Emperor Menelik in 1903, which as usual of that period,  includes exaggerated and racist remarks, but has historical importance and can be accessed at this link: 



Sunday 29 March 2015

ELF: FIRST ERITREAN WOMEN FIGHTERS

Picture: ehrea.org

FIRST ERITREAN WOMEN FIGHTERS

(Interviews conducted by Wolde-Yesus Ammar at Rassai in  March 1982)

Jum'a Omar:
I joined the Third Zonal Command of the ELF on 18 October 1967. With me was Rahma Saleh who in 1971 went to the PLF. We attended literacy courses in the field and were later sent to Kassala in April 1968 where we worked in an ELF clinic. In October 1969, we were sent to Iraq for training in public health and returned in August 1970. We were 18 girls and 17 boys; all of us had continued to work at Kassala.

Nisrit Karar:
The first ELF women's cell in Kassala was formed in June 1963 whose key members included Jemie Bahdur, Site1 Hamid, Fatna Mahmuday, Khadija Nur, Aisha Osman, and myself. We helped organize cells in Aroma, Walfa and Ghirba. Cells were expanded after the October 1964 revolution in the Sudan. Our cells in Kassala rose to 35. We also encouraged the establishment of cells in Tessenei, Agordat and Keren. Already by 1964, Fatna Jaffar was our contact in Haicota. We in the Sudan were contributing 25 piasters per month each. Besides, we sewed flags and prepared dry food. Bekhita Abdalla joined the ELF in 1970 and had been serving as a nurse ever since then. There were ten women participants in the first ELF National Congress of 1971, eight of them nurses.

Almaz Woldu:
I became an ELF fighter in April 1973 together with Ghennet Ghebre-Hiwet. Until that time, I had been a member of a five person cell; there were many .student strikes then. In August 1973, Alem Mesfin joined the ELF in the Akkele-Guzai region. She was martyred in 1974.
Before 1973, therefore, there were no well studied plans to accommodate women in the ELF. We were given a short 20-day training as fedaeen and stayed in the Mensa area around Gheleb sewing and repairing clothes for fighters. We also helped in the preparation of food.

Almaz was my nom de querre. My first name, now totally forgotten, was Nebiyat. By end of 1973, we conducted a public meeting in the Mensa area and wanted to continue doing so in other parts of the country. There were no sexual advances made on women in those days. However, women were not accepted as fighters before us. We met many girls in the countryside who told us that they were sent back with their hair shoven by ELF units
when they asked to become fighters in the 1960s. Ghennet and I started talking to women about their rights and duties in the revolution; we addressed in gatherings like village holidays, and at matrimonial and burial ceremonies. We were later given a two-month course at Debir Sala by martyrs Hassan Bashumel and Idris Omar. In February 1974, we joined a 13-member women's committee already formed in 1973. The Constituent Congress of the Eritrean Women's General Union was held on 27 June 1974 with 40 women participants.

Talking about other women fighters, Almaz added the following:

Saadia Tesfu was one of the early and heroic women participants in the Eritrean nationalist cause. In early 1968, Saadia Tesfu agreed with two ELF fedaeen to help them liquidate Ali Bekhit (Wed-Hayget), a deserter from the ELF who was helping the Ethiopian authorities to arrest many cell members in the town. Ali-Bekhit had terrorized Keren. Many of the town's
inhabitants had some connections with the ELF, and had reason to spend sleepless nights or leave the town to become refugees. It was then that Saadia was asked to help. She soon befriended herself with Ali-Bekhit and had him killed. She left the town with the ELF men but her father was shot dead by the Ethiopians. Saadia spent five months in the field and later went to the Sudan.

Another early woman participant was Rumana Saleh who helped in the liquidation of another deserter, Abu Nurit; the latter had terrorized the town of Agordat until he was killed by the ELF in January 1975.

Mana Mussie was an important political cadre of company 97 until her martyrdom at the battle of Metekel, and Martyr Haregu Gegziabeher was a brilliant platoon leader, After 1975, the number of women fighters became very large.
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Source: Eritrea: Root Causes of War & Refugees by Wolde-Yesus Ammar pp. 147 - 149
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Interview with Jumaa Omer in Arabic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8ueJvRyraQ

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Interview with Nisrit Kerar in Arabic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dt5kE0wNzo


Friday 27 March 2015

الخلل التاريخي في التعليم... في إرتريا


الخلل التاريخي في التعليم... في إرتريا

هناك عدة عوامل  التي يمكن ان تسبب الانقسامات و التي يمكن التعرف عليها بالسهولة في إرتريا. من هذه العوامل وجود تسع لغات (لهجات)، ديانتين رئيسيتين ومنطقتين جغرافية متميزة. هذه العوامل، يمكن ان تصبح العناصر الأساسية للتقسيم في أيدي النخبة المتلاعبة بمصير الشعب الإرتري. لم تكن الإعتقادات الدينية سبب الصراعات،  ولكن الأسباب الحقيقية كانت دائما  الصراع على السلطة السياسية، المنافع المادية، الحفاظ على الهوية والكرامة الجماعية... من ضمن الأسباب الأساسية التي تسبب الإنشقاقات. لقد رأينا أن المسلمين الإرتريين كانوا يشكلون أغلبية في صفوف دعاة الاستقلال في الإربعينيات من القرن الماضي في النضال الوطني من أجل التحرير حتى عام ٩٧٥. لقد اختاروا هذا النهج والطريقة من اجل مصالحهم البعيدة المدى والتى لا يمكن ان تتحقق بإنضمامهم الى اثيوبيا بدون قيد او شرط. من ناحية أخرى، المسيحيين الإرتريين، في العموم، كانوا يأملون انّ الوحدة مع الدولة الإثيوبية، التي يسيطر عليها إخوانهم في الدين (المسيحيين الإرثوذكس)، من شأنه أن يجلب لهم "الكرامة والمساواة الحرية وفرص جديدة في جميع المجالات".

كانت مسألة الوصول إلى 'الفرص الجديدة " هي التي عمقت فجوة الانقسام بين الطائفتين الإرتريتين.
على سبيل المثال من  ١٣٨ أعلى مناصب للدولة في إثيوبيا بين ١٩٤١  -  ١٩٦٦، ٨٥ وظيفة كان يشغلها الأمحرة من منطقة شوا، ١٩ وظيفة كان يشغلها الإرتريين و٧ وظيفة كان يشغلها التقراويون (ابناء تقراي – شمال اثيوبيا)*، ارتريا  كانت المنطقة الثانية الأكثر حظا حسب  ولد يسوس عمار
(تعليقي الشخصي هو أن الارتريين يحتلون المركز الأول إذا اخذنا في الإعتبار حجم السكان) ولكن في تحليل المشاركات في الوظائف الدولة العلية في اثيوبيا  بالنسبة للارتريين نجد ان من ضمن الوظائف العلية ال ١٩،  ١٦ كانت للمسيحيين و 3 فقط منهم للمسلمين من بينهم السيد صالح حنيت، أول مسلم في التاريخ الاثيوبي يصبح وزيرا عام ١٩٦٦.

عادة، التعليم كان وصيلة للحصول الى مناصب علية في الدولة ومنافع مادية، والفرص كانت اقل ولم تكن متاحة للمسلمين كما كانت لمواطنيهم المسيحيين. في عام ١٩٦٦، ٥٠ ٪ من الأطفال فوق سن العاشرة في أسمرا كانوا يعرفون القراءة والكتابة. ٢٨ ٪ من الأطفال من الفئة العمرية ٧ - ١٢  أيضا ذهبوا إلى المدرسة في عموم إرتريا. ولكن الحصة بالنسبة لأبناء المنخفضات  في فرص التعليم كانت منخفضة للغاية. وبالمثل، أظهر التسجيل في مؤسسات التعليم العالي الاثيوبية نسبة عالية جدا بالنسبة للإرتريين. في المتوسط، كان هناك ٨٣٠ طالبا ارتريا  في جامعة هيلا سيلاسي الأول خلال ١٩٦٣ - ١٩٦٨ ، مما يمثل ١٦,٦ ٪ من مجموع الطلاب الجامعيين في الجامعة في تلك الفترة. ولكن من تلك النسبة من الطلاب الارتريين، أقل بكثير من ٢٪  كانوا من غير الناطقين بالتغرينية من المنخفضات الارترية.

هذا الكاتب (ولدي ايسوس عمار)  مسيحي الديانة أكمل الصف الثامن-  مع  ٨٦ من زملائه في مدينة كرن في يونيو عام  ١٩٦١.  وفي الصف التاسع في إمتحانات القبول الوطنية (الإثيوبية) حيث كان النجاح في اللغة الأمهرية شرطا اساسيا للإستمرار في الدراسة، أربعة فقط (جميعهم من المسيحيين) تمكنوا من الحصول على علامات النجاح. كان هذا بسبب انّ اللغتين التغرينية والأمهرية تستعملان الأبجدية  الجعزية والتي درسوها الطلاب المسيحيين منذ البداية على حسب المنهج التعليمي الذي كان متبع في تلك المرحلة (المسلمين كانوا يدرسون باللغة العربية والمسيحيين باللغة التغرنية). كان يشكل المسلمون ٩٠٪ من ذاك الفصل وجميعهم لم ينجحوا في  إمتحانات القبول. بعد ذلك ذهب العديد منهم إلى العالم العربي للدراسة أو التحقوا بالثورة الإرترية للنضال من أجل التحرير خلال بداية الستينات.

المصدر: إرتريا: الأسباب الجذرية للحرب واللاجئين – تألبف: ولد يسوس عمار، 1992،  صفحة ٨٦ - ٨٨

وهذا جزء منما فعله النظام الارتري

من مجموع 512 مدرسة  ابتدائة في عام  1996 كانت 354 منها اي 70% منها كانت تدرس بالتجرينية في حين 96 كانت تدرس بالعربي و 25 منها كانت تدرس بالتجراية و 13 بالكنامة و 14 بالساهو. اما بالنسبة للمدرسين كان 15% فقط منهم في
المنخفضات. فيا تري مافعله هذا الاختلال عبرالسنين في تقرنة المجتمع
----------
شكرا  Hamid Idris Awate  للترجمة 

Wednesday 25 March 2015

The historical educational imbalance in Eritrea



The historical educational imbalance in Eritrea

There are factors that cause easily identifiable divisions in Eritrea. These include the presence of nine languages, two major religions and two distinct geographical zones. These factors, however, become essential elements of division in the hands of manipulative elite. Otherwise, it was not religious faith but the struggle for political power – the source of material benefits, the preservation of group identity and dignity – that has caused disunity. We have seen that the Eritrean Muslims constituted the majority in the ranks of the independentists in the 1940s and in the liberation struggle until 1975. They acted in the way they did mainly because they perceived that their interests in the long-run would not be satisfied in a political relationship with Ethiopia. On the other hand, the Eritrean Christians in general hoped that unity with the Ethiopian state, dominated by their co-religionists, would bring them “dignity, freedom equality and new opportunities”.

It was the question of access to the ‘new opportunities’ that widened the gap of division between the two Eritrean communities.

Take the access to state power in Ethiopia. Out of 138 highest state posts between 1941 to 1966, 85 went to Shoan Amharas, 19 to Eritreans   and 7 Tigriyans.* Eritrea was the second most favoured region (my own comment is that Eritreans came first if you take it proportional to population size), but the breakdown of the 19 posts made a difference locally; 16 were Christians and only 3 Muslims. Among them Saleh Hinit, the first Muslim in Ethiopian history to become cabinet minister in 1966.

Education, which was usually the path to high state posts and material benefits, was less accessible to the Eritrean Muslims than their Christian compatriots. In 1966, 50 % of the children over the age of ten in Asmara were literate; 28% of the children of the  7 – 12 age-group also went to school in Eritrea as a whole. But the share of the lowland peripheries in educational opportunities was very low. Similarly, the enrolment in Ethiopian higher institutions of learning showed a very high percentage of Eritreans. In average, there were 830 Eritrean students in the Haile Sellasie I University at any given year during 1963 – 1968, making 16.6% of the total university student population. But out of those Eritreans, much less than 2 % came from the non-Tigrinya speakers of the Eritrean lowlands.

This writer (meaning Wolde Yesus Ammar) a Christian, completed grade 8 with 86 mates in the town of Keren in June 1961. In the 9th grade entrance (Ethiopian) national examination, in which a pass in Amharic was a pre-condition for further studies, only four (all Christians) obtained pass marks. This was because both Tigrinya and Amharic written in Ge’ez Alphabet which the Christians studied from the beginning. The Muslims constituted 90% of the group all failed, Many of them either went to the Arab world or joined the liberation struggle during the 1960s.
-----------------------------------------------------

Source: Eritrea: Root causes of War and Refugees by Wolde-Yesus Ammar, 1992, pp.86 -88


·        Christopher Clapham, Haile Sellasie’Government, 1969. P.81 quoted in
the book

And here is the educational imbalance during PFDJ:

Out of 512 elementary schools in 1996, 354 (about 70 %) taught in Tigrinya, 96 in Arabic, 25 in Tigrait, 13 in Kunama and 14 in Saho in a population where Tigrinya speakers are estimated to account for about 50 % of the population. The same pattern prevails in the distribution of teachers in the lowland provinces of Barca, Denkalia, Semher, Senhit taken all together formed simply a mere 15 %. One wonders how much of this has influenced the social engineering of the society through the years
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Source of the Statistics: Fouad Mekkis article, “Nationalism, State Formation and the Public Sphere in Eritrea 1991 – 1996 p. 483 quoting an article by Jenny Street and a Report of the Ministry of Education


Saturday 21 March 2015

A rare video: Life in Eritrea under Italian colonization some 100 years back

A rare video film on life in Eritrea under Italian colonization some 100 years back:

Can be downloaded Here:

http://www.europeana.eu/portal/en/record/08602/avCreation_luce_it_IL_avCreation_IL3000096025_1.html?q=L%27Eritrea+-+Cinematografia+eseguita+dai+PP.+Cappuccini.


Details of contents:

L'Eritrea - Cinematografia eseguita dai PP. Cappuccini.

Old video: Italians moving the remains of Italian soldiers killed at the battle of Adwa to Adi Quala

An old Italian video film that shows how Italians moved the remains of Italian soldiers killed at the Battle of Adwa to Adi Quala                                                                       

Picture: Wikipedia

http://www.europeana.eu/portal/record/08602/avCreation_luce_it_IL_avCreation_IL3000094009_1.html?start=12&query=Eritrea&startPage=1&qf=TYPE%3AVIDEO&qt=false&rows=24

Details of the film:

10-the Group stops in the area occupied by the troops from Ethiopia;11-the caravan parades in front of the Governor;12-men resume their March towards Adi Quala.13-Gasparini and Eritrean troops parading between two wings of the natives;14-Eritrean troops affiliated to Italian Army have weapons in honor of the fallen;15-the funeral ceremony in honor of the fallen officiated by pro Vicar Apostolic;16-the religious ceremony ends with absolution and blessings of mortal remains;17-a light aircraft flying at very low altitude;18-the transfer of mortal remains of fallen continues on the streets of Adi Quala.19-an Italian flag flies atop a building [probably the Governor];1-Long caravan to the passage of the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, near Adi Quala: marciano together African and Italian Italian army aggregates [most likely Ethiopians];20-Italian and indigenous troops wait in recollection;21-the caravan leaves the town and continues off-road;22-the row of camels with load of crates containing the remains of the dead in battle;23-ascari deployed in meditation before the crates;24-the Governor of the colony and other Italian officers in uniform reaches the area where they were gathered Tomb chests;25-Gasparini mounts to horse and salutes before leaving;2-some of the men proceeded on horseback;3-many of the natives, wrapped in white cloaks, they are walking with bayonets on their backs;4-row of camels from soma;5-the caravan walking on sandy knolls and stops in a clearing;6-the camera delivers the crates containing the remains of Italian soldiers and officers who died in the battle of Adua [the shots to make swings hard cracking images];7-among the natives wrapped in white cloaks a child;8-arrival of a posse of ascari on horseback and with the insignia of lance [this is, most likely, of Eritrean ascari] together with Italian officers ride and the Governor of Eritrea Jacopo Gasparini;9-open the group a bearer of the flag of the Italian Kingdom.At Adowa Italian troops suffered a disastrous defeat in the clash with the Ethiopians: remained dead on the 4000 between Italian officers and soldiers and about 2600 ascari. The documentary shows the transport of mortal remains at Adi Quala in Eritrea.

Friday 20 March 2015

Hedgait: Three months old, humble start and kicking


Hedgait: Three months old, humble start and kicking

Hedgait, which means ‘the narrator’ in Tigrait, was launched on the 21st of December and this is a stock assessment on how it has done so far, some statistics:

-       It has more than 40, 000 views
-       It has 339 posts
-       Views per day varied from 43 - 1087
-       Viewers from 46 countries (most of whom are regular visitors and assume most are Eritreans spread worldwide with few Ethiopians, Sudanese, Djiboutians)
-       Few regular visitors from Eritrea
-       Few  visitors (mostly regular) from countries such as Japan, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Angola, Uganda, Ukraine, Belgium, Finland, Malaysia, Turkey, Bahrain, Jordan, South Africa
-       The top six countries where visitors originate from, in descending order: are USA, UK, S. Arabia, Sweden, Egypt and Canada
-       The items most read are rather personal stories than political issues: The top six most read items, in descending order:

o   http://hedgait.blogspot.com/2015/02/1928.html (Arabic Newspapers since 1928 – in Arabic)
o   http://hedgait.blogspot.com/2014/12/picture-central-committee-of-general.html (Picture CC of the General Union of Eritrea Women – affiliated to the ELF)

Hedgait will remain a window to Eritrean history, mainly the hidden untold stories. Knowledge is power and knowledge is to be spread to reach a wider audience, not be monopolized by few. There are two schools of thought in the scientific community: those who want to make knowledge freely available to all, and those who want to commercialize it. There has been a lot of progress in terms of making knowledge accessible. You will have the opportunity to get access to articles and books and other media outlets on Eritrea that are freely available.

Thanks to all who collaborated with me by providing documents and pictures, particularly Jelal Yassin and Ibrahim Gedem. Though I plan to concentrate on a bigger project on Eritrea the next months, I will continue to update the blog with more materials, from time to time.

 Your feedback and constructive criticism will always be valuable.

“Spring is the time of plans and projects.”
Leo Tolstoy in Anna Karenina as quoted in ‘goodreads.com’