Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1991, after a thirty-year civil war. The current President, Isaias Afewerki, has been in power since Eritrea gained international recognition in 1993. The official form of government is a republic but there have been no national elections since independence, leading many to conclude that it is an autocratic form of government. Elections were scheduled for 2001, but those elections were postponed until the 20% of Eritrea's land under occupation by Ethiopia is no longer occupied. The occupation was a result of a border dispute that led to additional fighting between the two countries from 1998 to 2000. While the fighting has stopped, the dispute about certain border areas has not been resolved. The ruling party is the People's Front for Democracy and Justice. No other political parties are allowed to organize. A Constitution was drawn up in 1997 but has never been implemented.
The year 2001 marked a point of deterioration within the country. That is when the elections had been scheduled, but were postponed. In that year the government shut down all privately owned print media outlets. Outspoken critics were arrested and held without trial. Before 2001, the followers of all denominations of Christianity were allowed to worship freely, but in 2002 only those religions that were registered were allowed to operate. There are only four registered religions: the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Eritrean Lutheran Church, and Sunni Islam. Members of all other religions and denominations are persecuted. Those who are found to have secretly worshiped in a house are arrested and imprisoned without trial. When someone is arrested, no one is informed. Family members disappear. Human rights groups report that religious prisoners are tortured while in prison.
Because of the 1998-2000 border dispute, Eritrean citizens were regularly drafted to serve in the military. There was an expectation that the end of the fighting would end the enforced military service. But it didn't, another marker in the deterioration of the country. To use the term draft to describe the Eritrean military's actions conjures up an image that is much more transparent than is the case. There are no letters to welcome a man or woman with instructions on when and where to report. Instead, the military would come to a home in the middle of the night to collect anyone they considered to be of draftable age - between 18 and 55 - for shipment to military camps. In theory, once a man or woman had served in the military, they would not have to serve again, but the demobilization certificates people had were routinely ignored. Women also had to serve in the military unless they were married, motivation for many early marriages in the country.
But the military didn't just round up draftees in their homes at night. People were known to be stopped on the streets and told they must report for military duty. Those who claimed to be above military service age were told they didn't look too old so they would have to serve anyway. Those who claimed to be too young likewise received no hearing. If they looked the right age, the military would draft them.
Even during times of peace, every man and woman in Eritrea must complete a period of national service, six months of which is military training during the final year of secondary school followed by work on national reconstruction projects. Anyone who has not completed the military training will not be allowed to attend university. Many employment possibilities also require proof of completion of military service. Justification for national service is that it compensates for the lack of financial resources, reduces dependence on foreign aid, and wields together the ethnically diverse society, half Christian and half Muslim, representing nine ethnic groups into a cohesive national identity.
By the time I arrived in Eritrea, the fighting over the border had ended, but many of the local employees at the embassy were unable to obtain demobilization certificates. The explanation they each received was that the need for them to return to the military was still likely. Instead of a full demobilization certificate, the government would issue a temporary certificate valid for just one month at a time. Each month the employees would have to go to the military center to request their extensions, never knowing if they would be given another temporary certificate or be taken away to a military camp.
More than once in my short time in Eritrea, a local employee failed to turn up at work without anyone knowing what had happened. There were rumors that one or another had managed to find a way to get out of the country as well as rumors that another had been arrested. As no one was ever informed of arrests, it was difficult to learn what the circumstances were.
Early in my assignment, I went through the safe in my office to see what files were there. I found in the safe two certificates for local employees who had been awarded Superior Honor Awards. This is the highest level award that can be granted to an employee by an embassy and usually must be approved by the relevant office in Washington. Not many such awards are approved, so I was surprised to find them in the safe instead of on the wall of the local employees' offices. But I didn't recognize the names on the awards.
I asked Daniel, the HR specialist. He explained that the employees had been arrested two years earlier because of their work at the embassy. It took some time to learn where they were and it was clear that they were being mistreated. The embassy received authorization from Washington not only to grant the awards but also to continue paying their salaries so that their families would have some income while they remained in prison. So far as I know, now ten years later they are still in prison. And other Eritreans who worked at the embassy have since also been arrested because of the Eritrean government's displeasure with the United States.
Daniel and his family are now in the United States, having been granted Special Immigrant Visas (SIV), a class of visas that is available for local employees of embassies after they have worked for the U.S. government at least 15 years. The purpose of the SIV is to provide a level of protection to those who worked for us once they retired when they might be subject to pressure or persecution from the local government, conditions that are precisely what our local staff in Eritrea would face. But even Daniel couldn't get his high school-aged son out of the country with the rest of the family. First his son had to complete his military training and national service. Only afterwards, and once he receives a demobilization certificate, will he be able to join his parents in Maryland.
Independence does not equal freedom in Eritrea.
The year 2001 marked a point of deterioration within the country. That is when the elections had been scheduled, but were postponed. In that year the government shut down all privately owned print media outlets. Outspoken critics were arrested and held without trial. Before 2001, the followers of all denominations of Christianity were allowed to worship freely, but in 2002 only those religions that were registered were allowed to operate. There are only four registered religions: the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church, the Roman Catholic Church, the Eritrean Lutheran Church, and Sunni Islam. Members of all other religions and denominations are persecuted. Those who are found to have secretly worshiped in a house are arrested and imprisoned without trial. When someone is arrested, no one is informed. Family members disappear. Human rights groups report that religious prisoners are tortured while in prison.
Because of the 1998-2000 border dispute, Eritrean citizens were regularly drafted to serve in the military. There was an expectation that the end of the fighting would end the enforced military service. But it didn't, another marker in the deterioration of the country. To use the term draft to describe the Eritrean military's actions conjures up an image that is much more transparent than is the case. There are no letters to welcome a man or woman with instructions on when and where to report. Instead, the military would come to a home in the middle of the night to collect anyone they considered to be of draftable age - between 18 and 55 - for shipment to military camps. In theory, once a man or woman had served in the military, they would not have to serve again, but the demobilization certificates people had were routinely ignored. Women also had to serve in the military unless they were married, motivation for many early marriages in the country.
But the military didn't just round up draftees in their homes at night. People were known to be stopped on the streets and told they must report for military duty. Those who claimed to be above military service age were told they didn't look too old so they would have to serve anyway. Those who claimed to be too young likewise received no hearing. If they looked the right age, the military would draft them.
Even during times of peace, every man and woman in Eritrea must complete a period of national service, six months of which is military training during the final year of secondary school followed by work on national reconstruction projects. Anyone who has not completed the military training will not be allowed to attend university. Many employment possibilities also require proof of completion of military service. Justification for national service is that it compensates for the lack of financial resources, reduces dependence on foreign aid, and wields together the ethnically diverse society, half Christian and half Muslim, representing nine ethnic groups into a cohesive national identity.
By the time I arrived in Eritrea, the fighting over the border had ended, but many of the local employees at the embassy were unable to obtain demobilization certificates. The explanation they each received was that the need for them to return to the military was still likely. Instead of a full demobilization certificate, the government would issue a temporary certificate valid for just one month at a time. Each month the employees would have to go to the military center to request their extensions, never knowing if they would be given another temporary certificate or be taken away to a military camp.
More than once in my short time in Eritrea, a local employee failed to turn up at work without anyone knowing what had happened. There were rumors that one or another had managed to find a way to get out of the country as well as rumors that another had been arrested. As no one was ever informed of arrests, it was difficult to learn what the circumstances were.
Early in my assignment, I went through the safe in my office to see what files were there. I found in the safe two certificates for local employees who had been awarded Superior Honor Awards. This is the highest level award that can be granted to an employee by an embassy and usually must be approved by the relevant office in Washington. Not many such awards are approved, so I was surprised to find them in the safe instead of on the wall of the local employees' offices. But I didn't recognize the names on the awards.
I asked Daniel, the HR specialist. He explained that the employees had been arrested two years earlier because of their work at the embassy. It took some time to learn where they were and it was clear that they were being mistreated. The embassy received authorization from Washington not only to grant the awards but also to continue paying their salaries so that their families would have some income while they remained in prison. So far as I know, now ten years later they are still in prison. And other Eritreans who worked at the embassy have since also been arrested because of the Eritrean government's displeasure with the United States.
Daniel and his family are now in the United States, having been granted Special Immigrant Visas (SIV), a class of visas that is available for local employees of embassies after they have worked for the U.S. government at least 15 years. The purpose of the SIV is to provide a level of protection to those who worked for us once they retired when they might be subject to pressure or persecution from the local government, conditions that are precisely what our local staff in Eritrea would face. But even Daniel couldn't get his high school-aged son out of the country with the rest of the family. First his son had to complete his military training and national service. Only afterwards, and once he receives a demobilization certificate, will he be able to join his parents in Maryland.
Independence does not equal freedom in Eritrea.
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