Vol. 26 No. 87 Saturday, December 28, 2019 Pages 8, Price 2.00 NFA

President Isaias Afwerki in the morning hours of December 25 departed to Ethiopia at an invitation of Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

Upon arrival at the Bole International Airport, President Isaias and his delegation were accorded warm welcome by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed, Mr. Gedu Andargachew, Ethiopian Foreign Minister, Mr. Semere Russom, Eritrean Ambassador in Ethiopia, and Mr. Redwan Hussein, Ethiopian Ambassador in Eritrea and other senior Ethiopian Government officials.

The two leaders discussed issues concerning the enhancement of important bilateral relations and regional issues of interest to the two countries.

President Isaias and his delegation accompanied by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed also visited the Satellite Observatory Center stationed at Mount Entoto in the vicinity of Addis Ababa and was provided briefing on the development projects in the area. The delegation also visited the Unity Park.

On the second day of the visit, President Isaias Afwerki and Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed laid the foundation stone for the new Eritrean Embassy building in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Speaking at the event, Prime

The Governor of the Central region, Maj. General Romodan Osman Awliai, called for enhanced public participation in the realization of charted out development programs for 2020. The Governor made the statement during a meeting he conducted with the inhabitants of Serejaka sub-zone.

Stating that favorable atmosphere has been created in the region with the unfolding of regional peace

President isaias afwerki ConduCts working visit in ethioPia

governor of Central region holds meeting with serejeka residents

Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed described the occasion as “Christmas gift from the people and Government of Ethiopia to the people and Government of Eritrea”. Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed also expressed readiness in 2020 to strengthen cooperation with Eritrea in all sectors.

President Isaias on his part expressed gratitude for the hospitality accorded to his delegation and reiterated Eritrea’s resolute decision to work with requisite vigor to recoup lost opportunities by three generation to bolster new chapter of cooperation between the two countries.

President Isaias also wished Happy New Year to the people and Government of Ethiopia.

The occasion was attended by Mr. Osman Saleh, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gedu Andargachew, Ethiopia’s Foreign Minister, senior officials of the two countries and Deputy Mayor of Addis Ababa as well as invited guests.

Meanwhile, President Isaias and his delegation accompanied by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed visited Adama City, Oromia Region, and the Industrial Park there as well as agricultural and industrial projects in Bishoftu and Dukem.

President Isaias Afwerki returned home in the morning hours of yesterday, 27 December concluding

his official visit to Ethiopia.During the visit, President

Isaias Afwerki and Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed held extensive discussion on the implementation of tangible joint development programs and infrastructural linkages in 2020 in accordance with the friendship and peace agreement signed between the two countries in Asmara on 9 July 2018.

President Isaias and Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed

underlined that both Governments are working to redouble efforts to achieve peace and develop strong bilateral cooperation in several sectors.

Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed also on 26 December hosted dinner reception in honor of President Isaias Afwerki and his delegation. The oceassion was attended by President Sahle-Work Zewde, Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mokennen, Ministers, religious

leaders, members of the diplomatic community as well as invited guests.

President Isaias was seen off by Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed at the Bole International Airport.

The Presidential entourage included Mr. Osman Saleh, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Presidential Adviser Mr. Yemane Gebreab and Mr. Amin Hassan, Director at the Office of the President.

and diplomatic cooperation, Maj. General Romodan called on the public to double contribution in national development programs.

Noting that around 295 thousand tree seedlings have been planted this year alone, Mr. Kiflemariam Gebremeskel, Administrator of Serejaka sub-zone, called for reinforced popular participation in the successful implementation of charted out development programs.

Pointing out that anti meningitis vaccination coverage in the sub-zone was 82%, Mr. Kiflemariam said that the number of pregnant women delivering in health stations is still 40% and called on health practitioners to increasingly conduct awareness-raising campaigns.

Participants on their part called for the alleviation of transportation program, allotment of land for residential purposes, and construction of courtyards for schools.

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Aida Johar

Vol. 26 No. 87Eritrea Profile, Saturday, December 28, 2019 2

Ambassador Tesfamichael Gerahtu called on the youth to take advantage of the opportunities created in the sectors of education, health, agro-industry, communication and others. The Ambassador made the remark at a seminar he conducted on 24 December to students of the Hamelmalo College of Agriculture and members of the Eritrean Defense Forces in the area.Indicating that Eritrea’s diplomatic, economic and cooperation engagement with neighboring countries and the region as well as at internationally is growing from time to time, Mr. Tesfamichael called for strengthening unity and contribute due part.

Over 300 staff members of the Ministry of Justice from all the regions conducted tour to development sites in Gash Barka as well as Northern and Southern Red Sea regions.

During the program that was organized from 19 to 22 December, the tour participants visited the dams of Kerkebet, Tekera, Misilam, Gahtelai as well as the port of Massawa and Gedem Cement Factory.

At the sites the participants were provided briefing by project coordinators on the progress of the projects and future plans.

The participants on their part expressed satisfaction on the activities they observed and commended the youth that are participating in the projects.

tour to develoPment sites

Eritrean nationals residing in Germany, South Sudan and the Netherlands carried out various activities portraying the correct image of their homeland and strengthening organizational capacity.

According to report, PFDJ members from various cities of Lower North Germany including Bielefeld, Wuppertal, Monchengladbach, Krefeld, Dusseldorf, Cologne and its environ conducted activity assessment meeting on 15 December in Cologne.

At the event, the Head of Public Diplomacy and Media at the Eritrean Embassy in Germany, Mr. Teklu Lebasi, gave extensive briefing on the objective situation in the homeland and the prevailing peace in the Horn of Africa and its developments.

At the meeting, PFDJ branches in Lower North Germany presented

eritrean nationals in diasPoralocal news

activity reports and conducted discussion on political, economic, cultural and social sectors, and pledged to strengthen organizational capacity and contribution in the national development drive.

Head of Public and Community Affairs at the Eritrean Embassy in Germany, Mr. Kahsai Tewelde, on his part presented activity assessment report of the unit.

Noting that the Government of Eritrea has created investment opportunities with the priority of ensuring social justice and improving the living standard of nationals, Mr. Kahsai called on nationals abroad to invest in their country. Likewise, PFDJ members residing in Hanover, Germany, conducted activity assessment meeting on 16 December.

In related news, nationals in

Mr. Tesfamichael also called on the youth to strengthen organizational capacity, adhere to the noble national values and strengthen participation in the national development endeavors.

Underlining the heroic feat the Eritrean youth demonstrated in realizing the national independence and safeguarding the national sovereignty as well as in the nation-building process, Mr. Tesfamichael called for transferring the noble values to the young generation.

The participants expressed readiness to play due part in the nation-building process and called for organizing similar programs.

Juba and its environs, South Sudan, organized a seminar on 22 December.

At the seminar in which over 250 nationals participated, participants discussed on a number of topics including embassy services, organizational capacity and their objective situation. The Ambassador of Eritrea to South Sudan, Mr. Yohannes Teklemichael, also gave briefing on the objective situation in the homeland, the report added.

Moreover, nationals residing in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, the Netherlands, conducted a meeting in connection with the day of the disabled.

Speaking at the event, Eritrean Consul in the Netherlands, Mr. Solomon Mehari, reminded participants to strengthen contribution in support of the disabled citizens.

continued from page 8

in a mine in the Congo.

For one thing, he could certainly say something about the instructions given there by the superiors because he was one of the highest of them. Secondly, he could describe the working conditions in Bisha, which he is responsible for, among other things, and thirdly, make comparisons with working conditions in other countries in which he said he had worked.

But I also met guest workers from other countries who do simple work in Bisha. For example, in the departure lounge at Asmara airport, when they started their trip on vacation to New Zealand, I can

hardly imagine that these should be forced laborers. Why aren’t such people interviewed by the UNHRC-Commission of Inquiry?

Either way, at that time, I preferred to present my observations to German politicians and then publish them.

A delegation of parliamentarians of different parties from the German Bundestag was also a guest in Eritrea during the concert tour on the occasion of the 25th independence anniversary in May 2016. Among them was Christoph Strässer, a Social Democrat. I still remember how we spent a long evening together on the beach in Gurgusum and exchanged our impressions in Eritrea with the then German ambassador. At the farewell

reception in his residence, MP Anita Schäfer, a Christ Democrat, explained in a short speech: “We have to rethink a lot of what we thought we knew about Eritrea.”

In September 2018, I wrote a long article on the upcoming trip to Africa by the German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, Dr. Gerd Müller. That was shortly after Eritrea’s historic peace with Ethiopia. “The peace process is irreversible,” explained the coordinator of the UN in Asmara, Susan Ngongi-Namondo. I write what I see.

Okay, finally, what remarks do you want to stress on?

History is made by people. It

is important for me to note that migration and, therefore, cultural change has occurred and is occurring all over the world. Anyone who defines culture and languages as static phenomena within national borders has not understood how people think and feel all over the world. Our Western culture has many roots in East Africa. In Eritrea and Ethiopia there were Jews, Christians and Muslims much earlier than in Europe. Musical instruments that have been firmly in the European inventory for hundreds of years have their origin in Eritrea or Ethiopia. Since globalization, the world has become a village; anyone who describes development policy with “We” and “They” does certainly not understand that.

Thank you!

Have You Heard About Ulrich . . .

ambassador tesfamiChael holds seminar with College students

Tesenei: Epitome of Societal Harmony

3 Vol. 26 No. 87Eritrea Profile, Saturday, December 28, 2019

Kesete Ghebrehiwet

Located 357 km away from Asmara and lying on the vast plains of the Gash-Barka region, Tesenei is well known for its societal harmony. It is home to all nine Eritrea’s ethnic groups. Its residents live in harmony respecting their cultural and social values. The city is, indeed, the best example of beauty in diversity.

The residents of Tesenei are known for their warm hospitability and friendliness. Perfect strangers or visiting guests are always accorded warm welcome. There is nothing better than a glass of water for a visitor who is thirst due to the scorching sun. In cafes, restaurants and residential houses, it is customary for a

visitor to be offered first a glass of potable water to drink and later have a bath. The kind gesture and hospitality continues with other treats. What is more, pots filled with cold potable water are always available for passersby on the streets of the city.

As the city is home to all ethnic groups of Eritrea, it is common for people to be multilingual. Arabic is widely spoken in Tesenei. For this reason, Arabic words are used in naming various goods and items. Talaja for refrigerator, Ajela for bicycle and Tore’a for water pipe line are just a few examples.

It is not an exaggeration to say

Eritrea is quite well represented in Tesenai. Traditional outfits of all ethnic groups are commonly worn by all. The life style of the residents of Tesenei is a fusion of the Eritrean highlands and lowlands as well as that of the Sudan.

The people of Tesenei are cooperative in all aspects. They combat challenges together and they enjoy victories together. Assisting disabled people, nurturing the families of fallen heroes and victims of natural disaster are among their day-to-day activities. They construct roads and build houses for disadvantaged people. To make a difference, there is nothing they are not engaged in.

Car owners give free ride at

funerals for people who go to the cemetery that serves everyone whatever their religion. Marriage ceremonies are not the sole responsibility of the in-laws, and all residents are guests at every marriage event. Also, irrespective of their religion, all the residents make a visit to a common holy water Known as “Enda-Gabir”.

Tesenei, also known as a land port, has five administrative areas named after historic events and places of the country. These are: She’eb, Selam, Fthi, Meskerem, and Sewra administrative areas.

She’eb, for instance, is a place in the Northern Red Sea region, where 400 civilian Eritreans were

massacred by the Dergue regime

in 1988.

Selam (peace) refers to the long awaited liberation and peaceful environment the Eritrean people had dreamed for long. Meskerem (September) is a month when all places are filled with daffodils and Eritrean farmers look forward to a bounty harvest. This month also signals the start of the armed struggle for Eritrea’s independence.

In the evening hours residents and visitors often walk on the streets, enjoying the breeze of the night. They also prefer to sleep outdoors to enjoy the serenity and breeze of the night. The city gets livelier at night. It gets chilly in January and February. The period from July to September is the

rainy season, and it is the most liked season by the residents.

For the residents of Tesenei, refrigerator is by far the most valuable gadget. If they have a shelter and a refrigerator they do not seem to care much about anything else.

The Eritrean people are always admired by foreigners for their warm hospitality, and the residents of Tesenei are inarguably the best representatives of the entire Eritrea. Tesenei and its people are a reflection of the entire nation. Cooperation, living in harmony, the culture of work and patriotism, which are common values of the Eritrean society, are well reflected in Tesenei.

4 Vol. 26 No. 87Eritrea Profile, Saturday, December 28, 2019

Ruth Abraham

It is December, guys, our favorite month! Oh wait, is it your favorite too? Well, I like December because it is a month characterized by cold weather and… HOLIDAYS! There is Christmas, New Year and, for Eritreans, another Christmas. People start decorating their houses and Christmas trees early this month. It is the brightest of all seasons, only next to the Independence Day in Eritrea. Farmers have just finished their harvest and their silo is full of grains and animal food, perfect season to celebrate.

This year, all the shops have set their Christmas trees with more decorations and designs than

ever. In the cafes and restaurants, crowded with people trying to warm themselves by drinking macchiato or cappuccino, the Christmas lights give the customers a bright look. People have a Christmas tree set in their homes to welcome the holiday with a bright spirit. Decorating the Christmas tree as a family has come to be a norm in modern Eritrea. Children eagerly wait for the day to decorate their tree and get candies and chocolates. This creates harmony and unity among family members. People exchange gifts and postcards. Everything is so bright that wherever you are, you can feel the Christmas spirit in the air. This year, for instance, concerts of kindergarten students playing Joseph and Mary’s lines of the birth of Christ, the Ethiopian musicians and the exhibits of the National Union of Eritrean Women

Eritrea’s Christmas: Twin Holidayson Harnet Avenue, around the Ministry of Education, have added color to the beautiful portrait of Asmara in December, especially around Christmas.

We celebrate two Christmases in Eritrea, one on December 25 and the other on January 8. With the New Year sandwiched among the two Christmas, it seems like the holidays were arranged on purpose so that people can have a light work load and abundant rest on the last month of the year for a good start on the New Year.

The Christmas celebrated on December 25 was not as popular as it is today. Even today, it is young people in the urban areas

that celebrate it more. The elderly tend to be more attached to the Christmas celebrated on January 8.

As much as our personalities differ, we all have different ways of celebrating Christmas in Eritrea. In a normal case, people either go to church and attend the holy liturgy and special Christmas programs of their respective churches or go out with friends or families to recreational places such as fancy restaurants, clubs or simple piano bars and parties. The best part of the Eritrean Christmas is that people can go out partying on one Christmas eve and attend church services on the other. But not everyone thinks of this as an advantage.

I was once chatting with an Ethiopian facebook friend online

and we happened to talk about Christmas. He was very furious

t e l l i n g me that we Eritreans have lost most of our original taste of culture by abandoning the Geez calendar. The irony is that the addition of another Christmas does not signify the abandonment of the first. It is true that a society’s values and norms are passed on to the next generation by teaching it to the young people. The youth in Eritrea spend December 25 having fun on their own but they spend the Geez Christmas with their families doing all the things they are supposed to do during holidays, cleaning their houses prior to the big day and

slaughtering a sheep, having coffee and wishing relatives a happy holiday. So, when people ask what happened to your culture, just tell them it has become more colorful now.

Try walking around Forto, along the way to the Ministry of Information, after sunset. On the pavement, just above the Nursing school dormitory, there is a place from which one can watch Asmara

as if it has been painted on a wide canvas.

Around this time of

year,

Asmara looks like a

huge Christmas tree decorated by all the

beautiful buildings, shops, hotels, trees and, of course its people. The young people are the big city’s most attractive decoration. Girls in dresses or tights and boys in suits or fashionable jeans, in groups and in pairs, walk on the streets with loud chattering and laughter. That is when I know it is Christmas, big smiles everywhere and our big Christmas tree shining brighter than ever before. That is when I know our culture is special and beautiful.

5 Vol. 26 No. 87Eritrea Profile, Saturday, December 28, 2019

Photo: Tezaz Abraha

6 Vol. 26 No. 87Eritrea Profile, Saturday, December 28, 2019

Bisha Mining Share Company is inviting applicants for the following position for Bisha site project.

Position: Data Clerk

Department: Safety & Health

Number required: (01)

Contract type: Indefinite

Primary Purpose

Responsible for maintaining an accurate database •and filing system, with all relevant records and information. Perform data quality checks on data collected and ensure good quality of data produced.

Assists Department with necessary “secretarial duties”. •

Main Functions

Planning • Implementation • Reporting and Data Control•

Unique requirements / other information

Ability to work in a high pressure, fast paced, multicultural •environment which demands various skills and experiences to provide effective human resources services to the organization.

Qualifications:Grade 12 + 2•

Knowledge and Experience:2-3 years relevant experience •

Technical SkillsComputer Literacy (MS Office, Excel, PowerPoint– •Advanced); Planning & scheduling; Attention to detail; Data management skills and Problem solving skill.

VacancY annoUnceMenTBehavioral Skills

Communication (English and Local language); Assertiveness; •Interpersonal Relations; Integrity; skillPrioritizing skills & multi-skilling; Accuracy; Ability to work •towards strict deadlines; High level of accuracy; Discretion and Self-motivation.

General Information and other requirements:

Place of Work: Bisha.Salary: As per Company salary scale.Type of Contract: Indefinite

Additional requirement for Nationals:

Having fulfilled his/her National Service obligation and provide evidence of release paper from the Ministry of Defense.

Present clearance paper from current/last employer.

Testimonial documents to be attached (CV, work experience credentials, a copy of your National Identity Card etc.).

Only shortlisted applicants will be considered as potential candidates for an interview.

Application documents will not be returned to sender.

All applications should be sent through the post office.

Deadline for application: 10 days from the day of publication in the Newspaper.

Address: Please mail your applications to; Bisha Mining Share Company, P. O. Box 4276 Asmara, Eritrea

Note to Non- Eritrean applicants: Please send a copy of your application to Aliens Employment permits Affairs,P. O. Box 7940 Asmara, Eritrea.

7 Vol. 26 No. 87Eritrea Profile, Saturday, December 28, 2019

Bisha Mining Share Company is inviting applicants for the following position for Bisha site project.

Position: Human Resources Officer 1. Department: Employee Services

Section: Human ResourcesNumber Required: One (01)

Primary PurposeJob responsibilities cover a wide range of areas including being •actively involved in employee recruitment, managing the hiring and onboarding process, assisting with and resolving employee queries related to their employment, managing employee performance, terminations, transfers and promotions and the enforcement of Human Resources policies and procedures.

Main FunctionsAdministration•Recruitment•HR Documentation•Performance Management•Terminations•Reporting•Promotions/Transfers•Others•

Unique requirements / other informationAbility to work in a high pressure, fast paced, multicultural •environment which demands various skills and experiences to provide effective human resources services to the organization.

Qualifications:Diploma/Degree in Human Resources / Degree Business •Management

Knowledge and Experience:1 – 3 Years experience in general Human Resources•Customer Service experience; Previous experience on HR •software package1 – 3 years in Administration•

Technical SkillsComputer Literacy (MS Office – Intermediate); Proficient in HR •System; Attention to detailKnowledge of Policies, Procedures and Processes; Ensure that •HR audit requirements are metAddress HR issues; Business Communication skills; Knowledge •of current legislationAdministrative skill; Report writing skills•

Behavioural SkillsCommunication (English and Local language); Assertiveness; •Interpersonal Relations skillAbility to meet deadlines; Accuracy; Confidentiality; Integrity/•EthicalAbility to work under pressure •

Position: Air Conditioning Technician 2. Department:Process StreamSection: Engineering process PlantNumber Required: One (01)

PRIMARY PURPOSEPerform services and repairs to Air Conditioners, Freezers, Chillers •and Coolers ensuring optimal availability and performance of all such air conditioning equipment.

Main FunctionsKnowledge and communication to Plan work tasks•Practical hands-on work to Implement plans.•Documenting and Reporting work outputs- including possible future •improvements.Working together as a team with other technician and end users•

•

TASK DESCRIPTION EXPANDED TO CORE PERFORMANCE AREAS

Maintenance and repairs of Refrigeration equipment in camp and •outside services according to the Maintenance plan.Strip, repair or replace worn components, assemble and commission •machines.Assess risks involved in executing tasks and carry out work in a safe •manner.Perform installations and commissioning of new equipment.•Do fault finding and repairs in the event of equipment breakdown.•Plan job to maximize efficient use of •available materials, time and manpower

Unique requirements / other informationCandidate employment age 45 years maximum•Candidate must be physically medically fit to be able to work outside •exposed to Heat ,wind and dusty environmentsMust be able to work at Heights•Clean police Clearance record•Military clearance•

Qualifications:Grade 12 for locals (Technical School) •and Technical College Electrical Diploma

Knowledge and Experience:5+ years relevant practical experience in maintenance and •installation of air con systems.Eligible for BMSC certification as a L3 Artisan.•Required Eritrean nationally recognized certification as an air •con technician.Highly desirable (but not required) Eritrean nationally recognized •certification as an Electrician Technician.Highly desirable (but not required) Eritrean Driver’s License •(minimum Code 2)

Technical SkillsAttention to detail; Proficient in HR System; Analytical •skill;Problem solving skill;understanding and practical ability to install; repair and maintain Air conditioning electrical systems;understanding and practical ability to install; repair and maintain Air conditioning filter and air ducting;understanding and practical ability to safety handle and operate gases.

Behavioural SkillsCommunication; assertiveness Integrity;Interpersonal Relations •and High level of accuracy;prioritizing skills & multiskilling;ability to work towards strict deadlines;Self-motivation and Dedication safety.

General Information and other requirements:Place of Work: Bisha.Salary: As per Company salary scale.Type of Contract: Indefinite

Additional requirement for Nationals: Having fulfilled his/her National Service obligation and provide evidence of release paper from the Ministry of Defense. Present clearance paper from current/last employer.Testimonial documents to be attached (CV, work experience credentials, a copy of your National Identity Card etc.).Only shortlisted applicants will be considered as potential candidates for an interview.Application documents will not be returned to sender.All applications should be sent through the post office.Deadline for application: 10 days from the day of publication in the Newspaper.

Address: Please mail your applications to; Bisha Mining Share Company, P. O. Box 4276 Asmara, Eritrea

Note to Non-Eritrean applicants: Please send a copy of your application to Aliens Employment permits Affairs, P. O. Box 7940 Asmara, Eritrea.

VacancY annoUnceMenT

8 Vol. 26 No. 87Eritrea Profile, Saturday, December 28, 2019

continued on page 2

Hello and thank you for your time. Would you please introduce yourself to our readers?

I am Ulrich Coppel. Professionally, I am a classical guitarist; I have worked, for 25 years, as an instrumental-pedagogue, musician and music-manager. However, I am also a journalist. Here, I specialize in classical music and cultural politics in the feuilleton section. As a political journalist, I have specialized in the fields of East Africa / Eritrea, migration and human rights. I am very interested in the field of medicine and bioethics, and

especially in organ transplantation. I did a lot of research and published some things.

Music has also made you active in Eritrea with young Eritrean music students. How did it start?

On the occasion of the Independence Day of 2015, I was on the concert tour of the Leipzig Philharmonic as a sound manager. Later on, for the 25th anniversary of independence, I was a guest with a rock band. For some time now I’ve been teaching classical guitar at the Asmara Music School.

The journalist you are, how did you start writing about Eritrea? And why?

Up until a while ago I was deputy director of a small cultural association in Münster, the city where I live in Germany. In late autumn

Have You Heard About Ulrich Coppel ? Q&A, Talks to Him.Billion Temesghen

He is no guest in Asmara, and neither is he a stranger to the country’s affairs. Ulrich Coppel, a journalist and a musician, has for long been interested in Eritrea and its people. He has written articles and given interviews tackling political and regional issues relevant to Eritrea in the global context. Meet Ulrich Coppel.

2014, there was a lecture evening by the then young NGO, Archemed, which provides medical help for children in Eritrea. In his lecture, Archemed’s co-founder Dr. Peter Schwidtal described a completely different Eritrea than I knew from the reporting of numerous German and Western media. Not “North Korea of Africa”, but a young, self-building state, whose people had to fight hard for the independence of their country for a long time. That made me very curious about this country. A short time later I came to Eritrea with a very renowned German documentary filmmaker

and a cameraman for my first research trip.

Back in Germany, you’ve published a number of articles depicting a different side of the Eritrean account, tackling several issues that the Western media normally tells shabbily. Can you please give my readers a brief description about the articles you have so far written about Eritrea? What areas are you interested in and why? What do you aim to achieve by doing so?

In spring 2015, I reported for WESTFÄLISCHE NACHRICHTEN about the activities and projects of the then relatively young NGO, Archemed, after I visited the pediatric clinic at the Orotta Hospital in Asmara, and two more in Keren and Barentu followed by a visit in Dorok near

Keren where I met a lot of children in a primary school. My report was also based on a visit I paid to Tokombia along with Archemed. There we witnessed an anti-FGM project. A very short time after the publication of my Archemed-Eritrea reportage, the human rights officer of our federal government at the time, Christoph Strässer, contacted me.

Later on, I had also organized the “Münster against PEGIDA” demonstrations. We wanted to set an example against racism and xenophobia. The Münsterers succeeded impressively with the two largest demonstrations ever seen in our place. Christoph Strässer, who I originally met after he saw my reports on Archemed-Eritrea, gave a speech in Münsterers. Back then, my Archemed-Eritrea reportage and the shared “Münster against PEGIDA” experience gave Christoph Strässer a reason to inquire about my Eritrean experiences. And that, in turn, was how I met documentary filmmaker, Prof. John Kantara, and we worked together in Eritrea.

Soon after, in June 2015, an investigative report on the human rights situation in Eritrea, a three-person commission, mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council, led by Miss Sheila Keetharuth, was published. This charged the small country with very numerous serious human rights violations, even crimes against humanity. Diaspora Eritreans from around the world demonstrated on the day of publication in Geneva, Switzerland, where the World Human Rights Council is based.

In Germany and the EU, above all, this and a number of other similar publications led application of undue pressure on the Eritrean government. For example, just a few days later, a question time took place in the German Bundestag, the German parliament, on the occasion of the publication of the investigation report. Without exception, all parties represented at

that time in the Bundestag poured out their pitch-barrel over Eritrea. But none of the speakers ever seemed to have stepped on Eritrean soil with their own feet.

I wrote a number of questions to the UN Special Rapporteur, Miss Keetharuth. “What criteria did the commission follow in the process of choosing the respondents? Was anyone who claimed to be a victim of human rights violations in Eritrea interviewed, or were there reasons to exclude questioning? If so, what were the reasons for exclusion, and how many potential interview partners were excluded from questioning? Were there individuals among the respondents who gave contradictory statements concerning the same human rights violation, or were all respondents in unison regarding the details, such as the method of torture used? Were there any accounts from the interviewees, which the commission considered implausible?”

In response to the mail with my questions, I also received quite a remarkable answer from the office of the special rapporteur: “Dear Sir, Your email has been conveyed to the COI secretariat.

SR support“

At that time, I believe the then UN Special Rapporteur for Eritrea, Miss Sheila Keetharuth, was also the chairperson of the 3-member UN Commission of Inquiry. So she wrote to herself and used this email to not only reach me, but also the UN Human Rights Council and the Foreign Office, including the forwarding of my question email, in the open CC.

I found the fact even strange that Miss Keetharuth was correct in a discussion panel broadcast by Al Jazeera on June 16, 2015 of a participant close to the government, at whose objection hundreds of letters with testimony from diaspora Eritreans investigators’ report had not been recorded. [...] “I have checked with the commission of inquiries staff in terms of whether the secretariat received any letters from the diaspora, asking to speak to the commission; No - there were no letters to the commission of inquiry. They were letters to the

special rapporteur, and one needs to make the difference. That was a separate situation, and these are two different mechanisms.”

After this exposing experience about the methodology of the investigative commission, I decided to do a double interview with presidential adviser Yemane Gebreab and Christoph Strässer on the then and still now relevant topics. They both liked the idea. It seemed to both that it would be a lot better to talk to each other before you talk about each other. Their interviews were published in August 2015.

Among other things, in the said UN-Human rights council investigation report, it is said that there was forced labor and tortures in the mines.

But, in 2015, I went to Bisha and saw that there is a medical center. The equipment corresponds to modern western standards, as German doctors have assured me, to whom I have shown my photos from there. There is a large sports facility in which workers trained under floodlights in their free time, several air-conditioned canteens with fresh, healthy food and salad buffets and a pub with a huge flat screen, in which a Champions League game was being broadcast live, which was Eritrean, and looked at workers from other countries. I hardly believe that you can dismantle such Potemkin villages as soon as the German journalist has left. I saw one of the Eritrean workers from the pub in Bisha by chance a week later in a restaurant in Asmara. Then he explained to me that the wages paid for work in Bisha were much higher than the wages for Asmara workers. Why should he say this to me if that wasn´t true? All of these are measures that promote the health and motivation of Bisha workers. With torture you do the opposite. In my eyes, that doesn’t match. I also wonder why the UN-Investigators didn´t ask foreign guest workers as witnesses. They come from all over the world and work in large numbers there. I met a British manager there who said he had previously worked