http://ascenteq.com/project/epdp

Part III: Tearing the Very Eritrean Social Fabric

As a note to my readers:

l   In writing an article, one must first determine who the target audience might be. One size may not fit all. Moreover, articles may have various purposes; it could be to express an opinion or commentary on current issues, an in-depth analysis, or to educate readers.

l   The next couple of articles will include long numerical illustrations to compensate for the lack of data supplied by the Eritrean regime. Both democratic and communist regimes love their numbers (statistics). Although all regimes fudge their numbers, democratic governments are subject to independent scrutiny from political opposition and public media, whereas communist and dictatorial regimes are not subject to similar scrutiny thus making their statistics highly political and unreliable.

l   The Eritrean regime is allergic to any statistics and hard data pertaining to social welfare and economic performance. The only hard numbers given in its propaganda media are the number of graduates at its so-called ‘colleges’ and ‘schools’. One would be hard pressed to find any data anywhere else. This is in sharp contrast to Ethiopia. Rather, the regime has substituted hard data for the regime’s tired media which relies on re-run of old videos showing some highly choreographed social activity or minuscule economic projects to show that it is making socio-economic progress.

l   The lack of data diverts political discussions away from the myriad socio-economic (and legal) issues and focuses on highly divisive and theoretical issues. As important it is to debate and reach consensus on basic principles that form a nation, a consensus can’t be reached without injecting hard data into our discussions. Burying data is designed to bury discussion.

l   The lack of data deprives the wider political arena, especially Eritrean youths, from understanding the myriad issues involved in political discourse and from understanding on how to construct their political stance.

l   The purpose of such discourse isn’t to divert attention in any way from current struggle to remove the regime, which is a priority, but to mingle our discussion with the wider issues that we will encounter the SECOND the regime falls. Discussion can’t start the day after the regime falls, because it will be too late. A nation with myriad of socio-economic and legal issues can’t wait for the succeeding regime to formulate a plan. We will be operating in an emergency mode soon after the regime’s downfall.

l   Opposition political parties can’t engage in discussion of complex and contentious issues without creating internal strife. Rather, such discussions should come from the wider opposition which, hopefully, can build consensus over long grinding process. Once a consensus starts to build, the opposition political parties can then begin adopting or changing their political stance.

l   As I will show below (as was in some of my past articles), the lack of statistics and data from the regime doesn’t mean we are totally blind. Rather, we can construct numerical data that will unequivocally show the kind of socio-economic challenges we face, how little the regime is doing, and the challenges awaiting the next regime.

l   I am not expert in socio-economic issues. My educational background is limited, and my experience in this areas is even less. I welcome any corrections, constructive criticisms, or for others to expand what is contained here.

Background

Regardless of ethnicity, religion, or any other groupings, family is the core nucleus of any society. It is NOT money, ideology, self-righteousness, political power, or military might that is the building block of a nation. Rather, it is a healthy family that builds a nation. The social hierarchical ladder of a nation - from the individual, to the family, to the community, is its building blocks to a viable, peaceful, and prosperous nation. One can’t separate out each of these components and claim that a nation is developing its individual citizens without simultaneously addressing its impact on the higher social orders.

When young women are taken to Sawa and given to unscrupulous male soldiers who operate above the law; when young people are condemned to lifetime slavery campaign and prevented from forming the building block of Eritrean society and nation; when there are NO young people to help old people to farm their lands; when there is no affordable housing; when there is no income to feed family; when thousands of fathers and mothers are incarcerated without due process of law; when people are fleeing in droves, even the brain dead understands there CAN NOT be a family , and by extension, there can NOT be a viable country - guaranteed.

Although we rile the regime for failing to deliver on economic development, the Eritrean regime’s greatest crime against the nation is its cruel social experiment on the Eritrean people. The social damage inflicted on the Eritrean people is tantamount to the destruction of our identity, our tradition, and our values - and of our traditions and cultures which some see as hindrance to creating a modern state. It is Mao, Pol Pot and Pinochet rolled into one.

No amount of spin or excuses by the cannon fodders such as www.wedo-geba.net (aka meskerem.net), alenalki-for-nothin’_and_excuses.com, tesfa-less.net, or dehai-of-fewer-and-fewer.org will change the fact that our rich social values and our very social fabric is being destroyed for petty politics. These cannon fodders ONLY fill their sites with so many tragic events, mostly news from war torn areas, around the world to say that Eritrea’s tragedy is less by comparison. That is temberkaknet! That is like your child coming home with mediocre or failing grades and telling you that others are doing worse, instead of comparing him/herself to many others who are doing above average. You just say, ‘Anta himak’!

DIA’s damages on the social fabric of Eritrea will take generations to heal, if not irreparable. For comparison,

Damage                                          Time to Inflict Damage                           Time to Heal

Economic                           Immediate                                                         15 years

Political                                         Immediate                                                         25 years

Institutional                                    Immediate                                                         25 years

Legal                                             Immediate to 5 years                              A generation

Social                                            5 to 10 years                                                      Many generations, if ever

Note: The time to heal is arbitrary and thus for illustration purposes only. However, it is indisputable that the time frames required to rehabilitate legal and social institutions is much longer than the others.

For instance, a regime can usurp all the economic factors immediately for some impractical reasons - thus inflicting immediate damage - but the damage can be repaired immediately. For instance, Far East nations, including China took off economically within decades of changing their old systems. Closer to home, Ethiopia has embarked on ambitious economic development program in the last 10 years despite being doldrums for decades before that.

It is easy to cause damage, but most damages take years, if not generations, to heal!

The Social Challenges

Social issues are understood as being centred on education, health, housing, and generally the well-being of families and societies.

It would take volumes to discuss the failures of the Eritrean regime in addressing the various social issues. Instead, this will highlight some of the issues, and as repetitious as they are from my past articles, ultimately all efforts and aspirations are to improve the following,

Education

Where does one start - there are so many! The regime, which is overstretched in its military budget, that it has no funds for the education system.

Unmanageable Class sizes - have grown tremendously because the regime isn’t building new schools fast enough, if at all. It has built some primary schools in some rural areas with funds obtained from foreign donors in the past, but with funds drying up, and increasing population, class sizes have increased to over 60 students per class overloading teachers and school facilities.

Over-burdened and underpaid teachers - many teachers are national service people who feel that they are providing free service to a brutal regime that doesn’t give them any hope of leading a normal life or delivering a law-abiding and prosperous life. Enthusiasm for one-time well respected profession in Eritrea is now at its lowest - with teachers who abscond, and students who disrespect their teachers saying that one's fate as an Eritrean teacher is just slavery because teachers are either on national service or paid salaries not commensurate with standard of living. When DIA informants are making ten times the teachers’ salaries for doing nothing, what is the incentive to work harder? Shouldn’t one just flunk school and become DIA informant and earn much higher pay?

Bringing foreign teachers paid by the UNDP hasn’t improved the education system either.

Higher institutions of learning - despite the fact that the regime’s propaganda machine that keeps telling us that many are graduating from agricultural or nursing schools, possibly except the medical school, these schools are churning out graduates, who may be bright, who may not qualified because of lack of educational standards, both at domestic and international levels.   Even the medical school, Orotta Medical School, is now being sabotaged. In contrast, Ethiopia has opened over 35 universities and colleges.

Public Libraries - No new public libraries, except a couple, have been opened in the last 15 years (post G-15). As a result, the youths have no place where they can study and borrow books. How could one develop an education system if students do not have sufficient resources to stimulate and exercise their brains? How much money and resources does one need to open a library? The world is ready to send millions of books their way, but the negligence can only be characterized as deliberate efforts to destroy the youth and education system.

Sport Facilities - Shouldn’t there be sport facilities, both indoor and outdoor, to keep our youths occupied and expending their energies on positive activities? How much money would needed to build a local football field, basketball court, tennis court, volleyball court, and other facilities? The price of five tanks for the whole country, one useless fighter plane?

Overall - when students can’t dream of graduating from school and obtaining decent jobs and salaries commensurate with cost of living, students no longer have incentives to strive and excel in school. The only incentive might be to avoid the slavery campaign for 2-3 years while learning and living in military camps disguised as institutions of higher learning.

Health Care

As symptomatic of the deep health care crisis in Eritrea, veteran doctors have left the country, and the new ones are following their footsteps. This crisis is a deliberate DIA policy designed to wreck an already miserable health care system.

For decades doctors were required to work in public hospitals, but also allowed to run their own private clinics to supplement their incomes. Few years ago, out of its infinite wisdom and deliberate efforts to destroy the health system, the regime closed all private clinics in Eritrea. Public hospitals paid doctors meagre amounts despite their rigorous education.

Regime propagandists tell us that doctors shouldn’t be paid any more than any other civil servants. But this is false campaign by those who don’t live in Eritrea and thus aren’t affected by the inadequate health care system in Eritrea, or are high-level regime officials who are allowed to travel abroad for medical treatments.

The regime’s argument that all civil servants should be equal in their miserable income is disingenuous. In reality, loyal regime supporters - esp. high military officers, party official, and informants - are allowed to dip into slush funds, engage in illegal and questionable commercial activities, or given exclusive import licences to enrich them as their rewards. In contrast, medical health professionals are reduced to receiving salaries less than regime informants. That is a perverse system.-

The biggest ‘kusli’ in today’s Eritrea, reward isn’t based on hard work or merit, but blind loyalty or supporting the regime illegal activities.

Housing

This issue is raised to illustrate how the regime is deliberately engaged in destroying the very Eritrean social fabric.

For emphasis again, and for the benefit of skim readers, it is worth reiterating that family is the very building block of a nation. Family is generally defined as a father, a mother, and children. A healthy and prosperous family translates to strong community, which in turns builds strong nation.

A properly functioning family needs food, clothing - and shelter, among other things. If affordable housing isn’t available, the consequences include: unwillingness of young people to marry; or if married, to stay with parents who already live in an already overcrowded housing.

The regime has not built a single affordable housing to alleviate the challenges facing Eritrean youths. Let us examine the challenges facing today’s Eritrea,

l   Domestic population is estimated at 5.5 Million (another 1 million outside Eritrea)

l   Based on typical third world country demography, two-third (2/3) of the population is under 25 years old.

l   Therefore almost 3.7 Million of population is under 25 years old

l   Assuming equal distribution of ages, each age has 148,000 people (3.7M /25 age years), i.e. for instance, there are 148,000 18-year-olds, 148,000 21 year-olds.

l   Assuming that portion of the young people in properly functioning society should be married by age of 25 or at least live on their own, assume 50% marry. Every year 148,000 people become 25-year olds with housing needs. There would be 74,000 married (i.e. 37,000 couples = one shelter) and 74,000 unmarried couples.

l   This means that minimum 37,000 affordable houses are needed to meet the needs of married people every year. If all 25-year olds are taken as bench mark, i.e. including unmarried ones - 111,000 houses need be built (37,000 couples and 73,000 singles) EVERY YEAR.

l   Every year that the regime hasn’t built affordable housing, the total shortage is minimum 888,000 (37,000 houses/year * 24 years of independence). If housing is need for single people too, then 2.6 million houses need be built.

l   Note: some may argue that 70% of the Eritrean population is rural. Even so, at least 266,000 affordable houses (30% of 888,000) would be needed. Others might say, not all youths work and thus can’t afford, etc. and may reduce the numbers again. Regardless, hundreds of thousands of houses need be built to accommodate a well-functioning family system in URBAN Eritrea alone.    

This is in total contrast to Ethiopia where affordable housing is built - mostly in Addis Ababa but also in major urban areas in the country under various financing schemes. Even civil servants are provided with adequate salaries to afford buying houses.

l   Over 300,000 built in Addis Ababa in the last 5 years

l   Overall, 960,000 affordable housing to be built around the country over the next ten years. This is still not enough, but still a major effort for developing country, and infinitely more than what DIA is doing for Eritrea - which is zilch, nada, nothing - except for top military brass that need to be bribed.

Other Indicators of Well-Being

Care of the Elderly: who takes care of the elderly in today’s Eritrea? If one is lucky to have family members living abroad, then, at least, one MAY have a source of financial support.

But that is not the typical Eritrean family in today’s Eritrea. Most likely, if you have in advanced age group, you have children between the ages of 18 and 50 year olds who are condemned to indefinite national service doing nothing, i.e. most likely not productive on national service because there are no meaningful work for vast majority of the 250,000 national service people.

For older people who live in rural areas, either as farmers or herders, they no longer have younger bodies to till the land for them or tend livestock for them. They must now rely on even younger children to fetch waters or for any errands.

For older people who live urban areas, the situation is even more dismal. They do not have pension or any other source income. Their children can’t support them because they are tied up in the politically motivated national service, or they are imprisoned.

For the elderly, today’s Eritrea is a death sentence - condemned to dishonourable discharge by the very same people claiming to speak the same language and to help them from the evil hoongoogoos.

Pension: Although confined to civil service in most third world countries, yet DIA has even eliminated this entitlement which didn’t even happen during the Derg years. As a result, civil servants must work until they die. For instance, a seventy year old ‘tegadalai’ must work until his expiration because he/she has no other source of income or couldn’t be kicked out of government housing. That is a cruel mental punishment, and has adverse impact on the civil service itself. It encourages corruption, and may impede innovation and progress. Some say that civil servants shouldn’t get any more privileges than private sector workers. But pension is a critical component of the well-being of society - and a government can’t achieve well-being by going backwards. Instead, a well-functioning government would have tried to expand a pension scheme that would cover private sector workers too.

Without Pensions:

l   Aging people, esp. civil servants and army, won’t be able to retire. They must work even if 80 year olds.

l   Surviving spouses of civil servants who pass away have suddenly no incomes.

l   If senior civil servants aren’t encouraged to retire, new job openings for young employees can’t be made available, promotion is stagnant, and new ideas and workings can NOT be introduced.

Eritrea’s public service is stuck until it rots.

Clean Water: Aside from EU funded projects, no work has been done to expand the availability of clean water, and especially to poorer neighbourhoods in urban areas and most of the rural areas. According to DIA and its idol worshippers, water is only needed for their phantom ‘agricultural’ products and projects, for which we still are waiting to see even one kilo of crop or produce 24 years later.

How much water is needed? It is recommended that 5 litres of water is needed per person per day for drinking and cooking. One can guess the amount of water needed for washing clothes, flushing toilets (if any used) and personal showers. One can comfortably estimate the amount of water needed. For illustration, assuming a population of 750,000 people in Asmara, 1.4 million cubic meter of water is needed. If one adds for bathing, washing dishes, cloths, floors, some houses for flushing toilets, some commercial and industrial uses - all significantly more water consuming than for drinking and cooking - four (4) times the amount, i.e. 6.4 million cubic meter of water is needed, for a total of 7.8 million cubic meter of water. Tokor Dam holds 17 million cubic meter of water. Between evaporation and piping leaks, one may assume only 50% of the dams capacity is available, i.e. 8.5 million cubic meter. Fortunately of the City of Asmara, there is also Mai Nefhi Dam and direct pumping of ground waters supplies its water needs. One or two low rainy seasons puts the city at risk of no water. In reality, the regime has neglected Asmara and all other major urban areas claiming that it is a priority or urban areas shouldn’t be given any more service than rural areas, resulting in severe water shortages in most parts of Asmara. There is a plan to build Tekera Dam with a capacity of 20 million cubic metres to supply water to Asmara and other areas.

As for rural areas, if one assumes there are 5,000 villages with an average of 800 people each (about 160 families), of course large difference for agriculturalists vs. Pastoralists, only 5,000 wells (if not reservoirs) and pumps would be needed to pump water to communal water stations. If regime had built even 200 community water holes a year, every Eritrean in all corners of Eritrea would have had enough clean water by this year. Finding and pumping water isn’t a rocket science. The Egyptians, and esp. the Romans, the Greeks, and many other civilizations over 2000 years ago had perfected the technology of clean water by using aqua-ducts. What can’t this regime do better than people two thousand years ago?

Employment: If people can’t work and earn decent wage enabling them to buy the most basic things in life - food, shelter, and clothing, then this leads to breakdown of society. In today’s Eritrea, no Eritrean between the ages of 18 to 40 (in reality, closer to 50 or over), aren’t allowed to work for wages and forced to languish in national slavery campaign that has not yielded a single tangible result.

Even those who work earn salaries that can’t even cover rent. Most rank-and-file civil servants and regular soldiers earn 1,000 Nfa a month, and higher level civil servants earn up to 4,000 Nfa-a-month. Professionals such as doctors and engineers earn less than 5,000 Nfa-a-month. In contrast, a regime informant with no education earns about Nfa 3,000/month plus expenses. Compared in Ethiopia, professional engineers earn at least 8,000 Birr/month, and medical doctors earn significantly more than that. When adjusted for currency difference, i.e. 20 Birr = 1 USD vs. 55 Nfa = 1 USD, at least at face value, Birr has 2.75 times the purchasing power. As such a professional engineer earning 8000 Birr a month in Ethiopia is equivalent to 22,000 Nfa a month in Eritrea. Refer to online Ethiopian Reporter newspaper advertisements for salary scales.

Food/Proper Diet: In one of his independence speeches, DIA told us that 900 calories is enough per person. Another of Mao lectures. It is just that those who tell others to live on 900 calories can’t even survive on 3,000 calories a day. Look at the Real Housewives of PFDJ and one can quickly notice that even 4,000 calories isn’t enough.  

It is a shame when a country can’t produce enough milk for its population, and especially for its young children. Twenty five years after independence, Eritrea still faces extremely [added for emphasis] severe milk shortages. Why? This is yet another deliberate policy to stunt the growth of our children - mentally and physically. Thanks to the milk farmers of America and EU, our idol worshippers feed their kids gallons of milk a day, yet tell us that Eritrean youths in Eritrea don’t need it. Hypocrisy galore!

What about other food groups - milk, meat and fruits - luxury! Asmara Dairy produces pathetic 9,000 litres a day.

In short, 24 years after independent, a country that can’t make enough milk available for its kids has no interest in social programs. That is pathetic even by African standards.

I will discuss the state of agriculture in my next article.

Welfare of the Young People: Suffice to say the epic proportion of the refugee crisis speaks for itself. Nothing is more telling about the dire future of Eritrea than the destruction of the youth population. DIA is creating hopelessness, anxiety, while encouraging selfishness, myopic thinking, and sowing crisis mentality.

Nothing is more telling of the destruction of the youth population than depriving them of decent livelihood through gainful employment and affordable housing.

In contrast, the Ethiopian regime, esp. in Addis Ababa, has been building tens, if not, thousands of affordable houses. The ideologues may argue that why should urban population benefit at expense of rural population. But this is the mentality of those who believe in lose-lose outcome and racing to the bottom. The ‘can-do’ mentality functions within positive trajectory only.

As if Eritrea doesn’t have extreme housing shortages, the regime has recently begun destroying ‘illegal’ houses in large numbers. Aside from its adverse impact on the well-being the families, the regime’s behaviour is yet another glaring manifestation of its own utter disregard for the ‘rule of law ‘.

Garbage disposal and Sewage Treatment: I have raised this issue more as illustration the challenges of administrating a growing urban areas. Many countries dealt with it centuries ago. The Italians felt important enough to build sewage system over 100 years ago. Instead of building on this infrastructure, the regime has neglected urban centres giving the lame excuse that urban centres shouldn’t get better services than rural areas, but this is a recipe for destroying a nation. Instead of formulating long term plans to bring municipal services to growing rural areas, we are turning them a urban centres into rural ones, with adverse health consequences due to nature of urban centres. It is an excuse for destruction.

  

Crime and Security: the clearest example of Eritrean people’s culture is its respect for law and order. Eritrea is known for its safety NOT because of efficient state security apparatus but the population is one massive ‘community/neighbourhood watch’, aside from its respect for law.

It is corruption, rather than any other form of crime, that is the biggest threat to the security of the nation. In mid-1990s, DIA told us that the rampant corruption in African countries is due to inadequate civil service salaries to afford decent living. In one of the independence speeches in early 2000s, DIA told us the biggest threats to Eritrea are, in this very order: corruption, AIDS, and Woyane. So what does DIA do, precisely proceed to create the most corrupt system.

                                

Ironically, the noticeable increase in crime and breakdown in law-and-order and security is directly attributable to the regime’s purposeful efforts to forestall any potential threat to his power. Some of the regime’s blatant schemes and activities include;

1. At the core is corruption within military designed to buy the loyalties of military officers. They are encouraged to enrich themselves through front-men who engage in business on their behalf. Turf wars leading to assassinations and revenges on Cosa Nostra (Mafia) level.
2. Again corruption within military that at the very centre of human trafficking. It is unfathomable that traffickers call from within the bosom of the regime, from within Eritrea, without the regime’s intricate web of snitches knowing it.
3. Again corruption within military that allows male military men to abuse our sisters and daughters in Sawa. It is a crime; it is a war against the future mothers of Eritrea.
4. Corruption, embezzlement, and bribery within civil service were forced upon civil servants by purposely turning salaried staff into ‘national servicemen’ with only 150Nfa a month. This is also true within the military. This includes selling ‘administrative leaves’ to national service slaves and/or allowing company, platoon, or higher leaders to claim or steal pocket monies of national service slaves who do or allowed to abscond.

Religion and Faith: The regime has declared war on religion since it ascended to power in Eritrea. It has been accosting fear, schism, and intolerance towards other faiths. It is communist ideology where religion is viewed as nothing more than a source of societal division that needs to be eliminated. Soviet Union, China, all the Eastern bloc countries banned all religious institutions to no avail. It failed and instead creating even bigger monsters - religious intolerance, i.e. radicalization.

We don’t live in ancient times when rulers and invaders imposed their belief systems and values on others. In today’s world, world interconnectedness brought about by instant communication has significantly more impact on our belief systems than rulers. Unfortunately, the world is moving towards less tolerance through a vicious cycle. Political systems that predicate their survival on intolerance will only sow the seeds of destructions due to domestic situations exacerbated by importations of intolerance.

Creating a mess has nothing to do with building a nation. THE REGIME IS FAILING EVEN BY AFRICAN STANDARDS.

We shall overcome!

Berhan Hagos

October 23, 20