Vol 22 . No. 54 Saturday, 5 September, 2015 Pages 8, Price ...50.7.16.234/hadas-eritrea/eritrea_profile_05092015.pdf · on insanity in the camp of the TPLF and its key sponsors. The

Vol 22 . No. 54 Saturday, 5 September, 2015 Pages 8, Price 2.00 NFA

Events that have unfolded in our region in the past few months have aroused anxiety and preoccupation in the TPLF regime and its sponsors.

For so many years in the past, Eritrea’s detractors have waged dogged disinformation campaigns through the daily fabrication of cheap lies and innuendos. The twin objectives of these mischievous campaigns were to hamper the normative ties of partnership that ought to have been cultivated between Eritrea and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and to create mistrust and tension between the two countries. What are revealed in the “Wikleaks” documents, now in the public domain, represent in fact only the “tip of the iceberg”.

The TPLF regime and its mentors did not conceal their satisfaction when the bilateral ties between Eritrea and Saudi Arabia remained strained as a result of their incessant disinformation campaigns. Indeed they flaunted this episode as a major “diplomatic” victory. But lies and innuendos do not have long shelf lives and dissipate with time. As it happened, truth has now prevailed. The bilateral relationship between Eritrea and Saudi Arabia has today assumed the warmth and normalcy that it warrants. Indeed, the visit of President Isaias to Saudi Arabia has opened a new chapter.

These positive trends appear to have entailed frustration bordering on insanity in the camp of the TPLF and its key sponsors. The TPLF’s saber rattling has been a common staple throughout winter. And this has been ratcheted up in the past few weeks. The TPLF regime is resorting to tactics of covert intimidation to dissuade various circles from associating with Eritrea. It has gone beyond these hints to openly assert that “it has secured a green-light from the United States to unleash war against Eritrea”. The intensive diplomatic campaigns the TPLF’s sponsors have and continue to carry out, through various means, is also well-known.

We shall explain and address other related issues in due time. For now, we say enough to attempts to foment chaos through disinformation!

Ministry of InformationAsmara

4 September 2015

Statement of the miniStry of information

newS Briefmicro credit and SavingS ProgramS

The Saving and Micro Credit Program is making vital contribution in improving citizens’ livelihood in the Anseba region.

The Micro Credit and Savings Program branch in the region indicated that the number of beneficiaries has increased from eight thousand to over ten thousand. The credit provided by the program has likewise increased to 95 million Nakfa this year thereby increasing available opportunities to target groups.

The program is playing due role in developing agricultural activities as part of the initiative to ensure food security. Most of the beneficiaries are farmers out of which 50% are female.

over 50 thouSand cattle vaccinated

More than 50 thousand cattle in Hagaz sub-zone have been vaccinated. The program was implemented in 16 Administrative areas by the Ministry of Agriculture and partners.

The Head of animal health in the region, Mr.Micael Tesfasilassie, indicated that the task which began in Hagaz sub-zone is in progress in Halhal, Habero, Hamelmalo, Keren, Elaberid and Adi Tekelezan.

Eritrean athletes were accorded heroes’ welcome on arrival on the 2nd of September in Asmara following their shinning victory at the 15th Beijing Athletics World Championship conducted from 22 to 30 August.

Residents of Asmara and its environs turned out in thousands to give moving welcome to the victorious athletes. The welcoming ceremony took place from Asmara International Airport to Bahti-Meskerem Square. The parade included the Marching band, along with nationals lining on the pavements chanting and singing.

Heads of Eritrean organizations and communities in the Republic of Sudan have asserted readiness to facilitate the implementation of national programs.

They voiced such readiness at a

The ceremony was broadcast live on ERI-TV and the national radio.

President Isaias Afwerki received the athletes at State House. The President congratulated them on behalf of the people and the Government of Eritrea. President Isaias stated that the Government and people of Eritrea are proud for the memorable victory achieved and expressed his confidence and trust in all the athletes exerting more efforts in the future for yet more victories.

Ambassador Zemede Tekle, Commissioner of Culture and

Sport, noted that the performance and victories achieved by the athletes were beyond expectations. Ambassador Zemede also thanked Asmara’s residents for the warm welcome that they accorded to the athletes.

The Gold medallist, Athlete Girmai Gebreselasie stated that this victory is an opener and a new chapter for him and the country. He said that he was speaking for all the athletes when he pledged that his colleagues and himself will work harder for higher results in the times to come.

The ceremony at Bahti-Meskerem featured various songs and cultural shows.

Eritrea stood 15th at the Beijing World Championship in which more than 200 countries participated.

heroeS’ welcome to eritrean athleteS

seminar conducted by Mr.Ibrahim Idris, Charge d’Affaires at the Eritrean embassy in Khartoum, on the objective political, socio-economic and diplomatic situation in the homeland.

Mr.Ibrahim underlined that the

eritrean organizationS and communitieS in Sudan keen to facilitate imPlementation of national ProgramS

culture of extensive and open communications between Eritrean communities and the government have been, and remain pivotal, in ensuring steady progress in the country’s developmental objectives and aspirations.

Published Every Saturday & Wednesday

Acting EditorAmanuel [email protected]

P.O.Box: 247Tel: 11-41-14Fax: 12-77-49

E-mail:profile@ zena.gov.er

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azieb habtemariam

Eritrea Profile, Saturday, 5 September, 2015 2

G. Damr

The pursuit of development and the necessity for urban renovation have become issues associated with the big cities of the late 19th and early 20th century. Generally, rapid urbanisation was behind the ma-jority of the initiatives to renovate buildings and other urban infra-structures. On the other side, how-ever, urban rehabilitation seems to have been attached to and influ-enced by urban aesthetic standards and the quality of architecture and the environment.

Greater importance, however, was given to business necessities. The growing demands for build-ings and space in the old city centre for services, businesses and apart-ments, and the conversion of resi-dential buildings for other purposes are signs of the new development approach toward urban areas in many parts of the world. It also sig-nifies the rapid urbanization and the main drive behind the tendency to renovate urban quarters instead of building new zones on the outskirts of the city.

Yet, urban renovation both as a concept and action seems to have been trapped between the need to continue and keep the history, cul-ture, and architecture of the past centuries, encompassing all the memories that come with it, and the needs to make space for the fast expanding demands of the contem-porary era.

The real face of urban life is not the jostling at the market, bus-tling boulevards, crowded traffic, or the smog that hangs over the

urban sky. Rather it is the narrow and sometimes patched pedestrian roads, wide and jolted drive ways, well-crafted villas, beautiful public parks, and run down public build-ings; in short, it is everything but the romantic image of a luxurious life that is usually associated with it.

Urban architecture in its totality is what makes up the imagination of people about urban life. Quite often than not, people asked about what they miss from their hometown will point out the main road that strad-dles the town, a public hall, the lo-cal cinema, school or church. Food and other soft aspects of city life usually came second to buildings and public spaces in memory.

The connection people have with structures is more easily under-stood than explained. The spiritual-ity of buildings and structures to ur-ban life is embodied in the history of the city and its inhabitants - so naturally that sometimes people are heard to talk about the image of a past that could not be recovered but could be remembered by keeping buildings and other urban struc-tures well preserved.

Equally the things that are viv-idly recorded in collective memory happen to be the architecture, mon-uments, public spaces and markets. In some instances, as in the Paris of the late 19th century, erasing such memories and values were the main reason for the complete de-molition of public quarters which were feared to be the symbols of defiance.

The city centre is usually the historical core of the city, often the oldest quarter and sometimes carry-ing highly valuable and important symbols and structures, and is natu-rally an attraction to tourists and visitors.

The desire to renovate, rehabili-tate or demolish it and give space to new structures and needs is ob-viously in conflict with the need to preserve this uniqueness. In the mind of its inhabitants it is always “the first City” with its old centre and its heritage and all the bad and good memories it carries both for individuals and communities.

Asmara, as one such city built out of desire with design and passion, will naturally be ranked among the first to be faced with such incongru-ent choices. The city’s exquisite vil-las, elegant art Deco buildings, and artistic sculptures are remnants of a history still remembered no mat-ter with what kind of feeling they arouse. But they are some of the el-ements that magnify its elegance.

Due to successive colonial domi-nation, control of these structures has passed through different hands as did the city itself. Under the pos-session of administrations that see such buildings simply as pieces of property to be used as deemed by their systemic needs, many of these structures were not given the neces-sary treatment they deserve.

Several monumental buildings were left in the hands of business people who never bothered to maintain or renovate them, as they saw only their commercial value and central location. Many more were distributed to individuals to serve as residential houses. In the absence of a defined ownership, institutional care was not easy to apply to these buildings. Conse-quently the service that they were giving was what mattered more, not the service they needed.

The new land policy that was de-

clared by the Provisional Govern-ment of Eritrea after independence in 1994, however, has changed not only the status of these valuable heritages but also their prospect

for the future. By placing land un-der the control of the state, the new policy has ensured that construction and other associated activities will be closely guarded. By extension, any infrastructural development in buildings and their renovation will come under a close scrutiny.

Evidently any renovation done to historic buildings either by indi-viduals or organizations was close-ly supervised to ensure that the originality of the building was kept and respected. And in cases where renovation was not possible to be carried out by individuals, the gov-ernment has stepped in and carried out renovation. Despite the need for new buildings and more space for service or offices, the Government has discouraged any demolition or displacement of old buildings in the town centre and the construction of new ones.

This of course should not signal

that the government has blocked all renovation permits. As one can easily observe, individuals have been engaged in renovating widely throughout the city. The eagerness with which they responded to such endeavours is proof that people prefer renovation from new con-struction no matter what the reason may be.

However compared to those al-ready rehabilitated, the number of the building units that need atten-tion is huge. Such vexing situations sometimes might lead to the con-templation of demolishing entire blocks which might seem a much easier option than the painstaking work of rehabilitation.

The truth however remains that no option that will destroy the his-tory and memory of a city is good one.

The conflict between the pressure to change and the need to keep the historical essence of the “old part

of the city” in continuity calls not for a choice between two options but for a third solution. The munici-pality need to devise new planning strategies: plans that would allow the city to preserve its uniqueness, a plan that emphasizes historically significant characters of the town and one that pays attention to the inevitable importance of sustain-able development.

Protecting the historical appear-ance and fulfilling the municipal development objectives of the city can be reconcilable. By improving the façade of the pedestrian roads, boulevards, public squares, and residential and commercial areas, one can promote the development of tourism and recreation.

Also, when comparing the ben-efits from and cost of renovating public housing units in the urban area against the benefits from and cost of building new ones (along with demolishing them), the former seems a more sustainable and af-fordable development venture.

New construction provides ad-ditional units on new sites (either on newly demolished sites or on the newly acquired lands on the outskirts of the city), whereas reno-vation converts existing units into “new” ones but adds no additional units while preserving all the val-ues and memories. The two initia-tives should be viewed separately, as none can substitute the other in terms of their necessity.

From this angle, seeing them as separate instead of overlapping ini-tiatives, building new units does not reduce the need to renovate. After all they both signal one thing - the hope and vivacious life behind their intention. It is people who see deep into their future, whether the near one or a distant one, that undertake such a costly adventure as building and renovating in the urban space.

Urban Renovation: between continuity and change


It feels strange to see your name on a cassette tape recorded in 1992 in San Jose, California, and have it show up among donated research materials in 2015 in Palo Alto, California. Samsara of the archival world!

I met Professor Gottesman in 1992 when he came to San Jose to

interview me for his research on the role of literacy in the Eritrean national liberation movement. The result has been published as To Fight and Learn: The Prax-is and Promise of Literacy in Eri-trea’s War of Independence (Law-renceville, NJ, 1998). I don’t re-member what I said then (now I know thanks to the donation) but all has been preserved for poster-ity along with others in the Pro-fessor Leslie Gottesman Papers at the Hoover Institution Archives.

Professor Gottesman, a US edu-cator and writer, was born in Port-land, Oregon, in 1941; attended Columbia University where he received his BA and his MA in 1968 and1969, respectively, and his Ed D from the University of San Francisco in 1994, along with an MFA from the California Col-lege of the Arts in 2011. He is a professor emeritus of English at Golden Gate University in San Francisco, where he taught for twenty-eight years, as well as serving as the dean of the School of Arts and Sciences from 1994 to 1996 and director of general edu-cation from 2001 to 2007.

PROFESSOR GOTTES-MAN’S COLLECTION, which was donated at the beginning of the year, contains thirteen manu-script boxes, two oversize boxes,

and one card file box (6.6 linear feet); the collections includes correspondence, writings, pam-phlets, bulletins, serial issues, other printed matter, audio and video recordings, transcripts of interviews, and slides, all relating to the history of Eritrea, political and social conditions there, and education in that country.

The donation has two unique aspects for future researchers:

One, the research is the first

systemic study on the role of lit-eracy by the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF), with a focus on the EPLF’s National Literacy Campaign 1983–87 (pre-independence) and efforts to understand the postindependence Eritrean educational policy. The research includes audio record-ings with those directly involved in the campaign as well as other researchers.

Two, the role of support com-mittees of various national libera-tion movements such as the EPLF, the African National Congress (ANC), the South West Africa People’s Organization (SWAPO),

and others in the United States has never been thoroughly studied.

As semiautonomous enti-ties, these committees developed unique literature, targeting their respective localities, that includes brochures, pamphlets, posters, flyers, and postcards.

Those groups also organized film screenings, speakers, fund-raising, community outreach, and so forth. One of the local EPLF support committees of the San Francisco branch was the Eritrea Material Aid Campaign (EMAC/1980–85). As a mem-ber, Professor Gottesman col-lected various rare publications of EMAC that are included in his collection.

Sources: kemey.blogspot.com

Professor Leslie Gottesman’s At The Hoover Institution Archives

An agreement was signed on September 2, 2015 between the Eritrean National Olympic Committee, SEISA Group and Kanagawa Prefectural Government as well as Odawara City, Hakone Town and Oiso Town with respect to pre-games training camp for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympics Games in Yokahama City.

This agreement was made to mainly create a conducive atmosphere and perform as a tool to ensure the successful participation of Eritrean athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Games, including their first time participation at the Paralympics games. It would also open opportunities for grass root exchange programs for the mutual interest of both countries’ sport families and supporters.

Governor of Kanagawa Prefecture, Mr. Yugi Kuroiwa, chairperson of the Eritrean National Olympic Committee (ENOC), Mr. Mehari Tesfay, Mayor of Odwara City, Mr. Kenichi Kato, Mayor of Hakone Town Mr. Nabou Yamaguchi, Mayor of Oiso Town, Mr. Hisao Nakasaki and the chairperson of SEISA Group, Mr. Yasuo Miyazawa signed the Agreement in the presence of invited guests and media corps.

Ambassador Norio Maruyama, Director General of the Department of African Affairs and Special Advi-sor to the Prime Minister on African Affairs within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan read a congratu-latory message conveyed by Mr. Minoru Kiuchi, the State Minister, supporting the signing of the Agree-ment. During the closing reception, Ambassador Estifanos Afeworki of the State of Eritrea also expressed the Government of Eritrea’s support and commitment to the successful implementation of the Agreement in the closing reception hosted to honor the event.

Officials of the Japan Olympic Committee (JOC), Japan Athletics Association Federation (JAAF) and Headquarters for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympics Games Cabinet Secretariat present during the signing ceremony also expressed their full support to the Accord.

The President of the Eritrean Na-tional Athletics Federation (ENAF) Mr. Luul Fissahaye attended the cer-emony and took part in a tour of the sport facilities afterwards.

September 2, 2015TOKYO

Press statement by the embassy of the State of eritrea to Japan on agreement on Pre-games training camp in kanagawa Prefecture


Natnael Yebio

For years, I have dreaded going to bars for the reasons that 1. Being the eldest in a family of six, I had to set an example 2. This particular reason had somewhat made me grow faster than I was supposed to and hence made it harder for me to socialize quite easily with my peers and 3.

The bacchanalia at the disposal of young men and women of our gen-eration doesn’t seem very much ap-pealing to me.

To digress though, I am not here to talk about why I am not fond of going to bars but what clearly bars represent and particularly, what they seem to symbolize in the Eritrean society. Bars/Pubs are one of societ-ies’ oldest and most popular social institutions and over the years, they have served quite a whole lot of pur-pose.

Besides being more than just pri-vate businesses selling alcohol, bars play an important role at the heart of their local communities.

There are few institutions that are central to Eritrea’s culture and way of life. Try to imagine downtown Asmara without Bar Royal or Bar Diana or the lush lounges of Admas and Zara for instance. Outside the home, bars and pubs are the most popular places for Eritrean people of all ages and classes to relax and socialize.

Nonetheless, the originality and genuineness of bars in our genera-tion seems to be deprived of their major purpose in social life. Bars are supposed to be a medium of in-formation and a place of intellectual discussions but as of late the oppo-site is true in our country.

Bars have gone from being a piv-otal institutional frames of reference and places where people exchanged important information during the liberation struggle to being envis-aged as merely alcohol selling busi-ness firms and a wrestling ring for the drunk.

In fact, during the armed struggle, bars served a completely different purpose. They facilitated the fight for independence from within en-emy territory. Bars such as Bar Filfil situated near Mai Chihot or Bar Ha-zhaz in Embagaliyano, among oth-ers, were places of paramount im-portance where “HafashWudibat”

(clandestine EPLF agents) assem-bled from time to time and executed missions. Having served their true purpose of existence, such bars are to this day iconic places.

Today bars are only associated with drinking, fighting and infidel-ity as opposed to reflecting a place

of interconnectedness and a place where political, economic and social cultural ideas are harnessed.

Bars have always been a place where people share news and dis-cuss about it. And there’s an un-written code in most bars dictating that people leave their degrees at the door. You could find a lawyer, a professor, a taxi driver or a farmer all talking about a topic, while at the same time indulging in their drinks and not their ranks in life.

When I asked a friend what he usually does when he goes to a bar, his high-spirited reply was “To Drink!” A predictable answer.

“Just to drink?” I retorted.“And to meet girls of course,” he

coolly replied.

Our generation clearly seems to have no clue about the real impor-tant purposes bars serve other than offering alcohol and a place where you can pick girls.

And it is for these reasons that I can’t really see myself frequenting bars, because the young or even the old people whom you expect so much wisdom from have degraded the image of bars. The name itself has been tarnished in great deal.

The other day over a conversation with my mom came up a close rela-tive of ours who used to be a good

student.“Did you know that Aman is basi-

cally wasting his time going to bars and drinking? No wonder he is fail-ing school!” she exclaimed, giving stress to the fact that he is failing mainly due to the reasons that he has resolved to spending his time in bars with a bottle of gin in his grasp

rather than at the library with a text-book.

When all is said and done, bars these days are just seen as a place that are ruining the youth’s mental-ity and robbing them of their time, and their innocence, at least accord-ing to what parents think, if not the youth themselves.

Modern popular lounges among the youth such as Zara, Bar Diana, Sunshine, and Admas portray a dif-ferent atmosphere. When I said ear-lier that you are supposed to check your degree at the door, I obviously didn’t mean you should be unintel-ligent and daft.

The youth of our generation are merely interested in dressing up, drinking and engaging in gossips of the most depressing sort, where they intend to find out which boy is dating which girl; and are occupied with arguing over whether this girl is dating that person for his money or vice-versa.

Also, there is the all-consuming behemoth that is the football world. Oh! I wouldn’t even want to start on that, because I am one of those people who keeps talking on and on about football when I meet my friends.

The truth is when in bars alcohol mixed with high running testos-terone male sentiment about their

football teams is bound to lead to an inevitable fight.

Family Ayele is an example of alcohol consumption gone wrong. You see Family Ayele spends more time closed than open throughout the year. When you ask why, the an-swer is usually the same: “Someone was injured during a fight.” Quite a shame!

Personally, I like to enjoy the oc-casional indulgence of such a whim but I don’t see the point to doing it every single day and night. The concerning images about our bars is thus that, our youth seem to squan-der their precious time drinking as if they lack sagacity.

As of late though the most outra-geous scene is that the ever increas-ing number of very young girls one apparently comes across in bars. It is bewildering! I am not trying to gender discriminate but any sane human being becomes concerned when they see a teenage girl go into a bar and drink as much as (God for-bid sometimes even more than) her male friends. At any rate that is what is engraved in everybody’s head these days at the mention of bars.

Bars today are intended to be a place where we engage with each

other in a more productive conver-sation, where we are supposed to mature as intellectual human beings outside school and our homes; not intoxicate ourselves with a bottle of Vodka-Tonic, Whisky and Beer to devastating effects.

Bars indeed need to enforce an age limit to drinking and even the amount of alcohol that is sold to consumers; that is how I believe bars can tackle issues facing them in this era of wild and unpredictable youth behaviour.

When the 19th century German Philosopher and social theorist Ju-rgen Habermas was explaining the public sphere, he defined public sphere as a sphere of private people coming together to form a “Public” hence form a public opinion that stimulate academic discussions, in-fluence policy makers and enhance development.

The tools that were to strength this so called public sphere were many, of which one of those many was the Bar.

So, if bars helped facilitate inde-pendence during the armed struggle, why then should they not assist in facilitating development of Eritrea in general and the youth in Specific, in today’s independent and prosper-ous Eritrea?

bars & brawls: Thou Shall Not Drink… Too Much!

ERITREA in Mainstream Media


In his 1996 piece “ An Africa Perspective”, Yash Tandon wrote about forces, such as fundamentalism and the rise of China and the balance of economic power shifting from the Atlantic to the Pacific, that were challenging the West after the break-up of the Soviet Union. He wrote:

“…Western agents want to retain their powers (over nuclear weapons, markets and resources) and sell ideas of democracy and human rights. But the West sees enemies everywhere, particularly the poor. Thus it wants to ghettoise itself in the citadels of its cities. It erects immigration barriers against bordes of people of colour knocking at its gates. The result is increasing polarisation between the white Christian, Judaic Western nations and the rest of the world. A kind of “global apartheid” has emerged…”

The headlines today reflect this reality. Europeans are said to be grappling with a “broken European migration system”, and across the Atlantic, in the United States, the rhetoric is about “a broken immigration system”. Anti-immigrant politics are threatening America’s broader political fabric and overt racism is being legitimized…Europe is facing similar moral and legal challenges.

European governments are now admitting to a “migrant crisis” and say that over 350,000 refugees have illegally entered Europe so far this year and the media says,“Europe’s borders are buckling”. As Europe grapples with an unprecedented wave of migrants from Africa and the Middle East, as a direct result of the foreign policy of the United States and its allies in the last decade, it is notthe ordinary citizens that have adopted an anti-Immigrant attitude, but rather, it is the leadership. European leaders, like their American counterparts, have no coherent immigration policy that can adequately respond to the influx of refugees, the greatest migration seen since World War II, so they have resorted to highly inflammatory rhetoric, which camouflage deep fears and loss of control over their borders. The corporate media has done nothing to educate the public on the core issues and has instead chosen to join the fray in confusing, distorting and misrepresenting the issues.

In the United States, discussions at amongst Democratic and Republican Presidential have centered on semantics. The media is obsessed with whether or not it is appropriate to use the phrase “anchor babies”, a term used to refer to a child born to a noncitizen mother in a country which has birthright citizenship. The anti-immigrant rhetoric and language is getting uglier by the day, the public is aghast, but has been rendered impotent to do anything about it.Donald Trump undermining the “Black Lives Matter”campaign, is heard telling Black Americans, “if black lives don’t matter here go back to Africa”. Chris Christie, also a Presidential candidate has no qualms with using language that dehumanizes immigrant workers. He says he would track immigrants entering the United States “like Fed Ex packages”. Imagine if every American tourist was tagged or fitted with an electronic device when they traveled overseas.

European leaders are not faring better. Slovakia announced that it only wanted to take in “Christians”, and Prime Minster David Cameron’s unfortunate reference to the asylum seekers and migrants, as a ‘swarm of people’, a term used to describea large or dense group of insects, is upsetting many of his constituents. Such language may fuel, even if inadvertently, the anti-immigrant sentiment and xenophobia.

UK’s mainstream media and their counterparts in Europe and the United States are consumed with the issue of Eritreans within their borders. Are they “asylum seekers” or “economic migrants”?Defining the terms determines whether or not the refugees and asylum seekers are granted permission to stay in, or if theyare repatriated to their countries of origin or a third countries. By designating Eritreans as political refugees who are deserving of asylum, the United States and the Europeans as well as the United Nations, have put a premium on being Eritrean.Western states know full well that Ethiopians, Somalis and other Africans claim to be Eritreans in order to get this preferential treatment upon arrival, but have chosen to ignore this fact. The inflated refugee figuresserve a political purpose, they advance the carefully crafted narrative on Eritrea peddled for the last 15

years. But who else is migrating to Europe?

According to Britain’s Theresa May:

“…Four in 10 of the migrants who came to the UK last year came with no job waiting for them…this “search for a better life” has had huge economic costs for the countries they’ve left behind…A third of Portugal’s qualified nurses have migrated; 20% of the Czech Republic’s medical graduates leave as soon as they qualify; nearly 500 doctors are leaving Bulgaria every year…”

While thousands are fleeing conflict and wars in Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Syria and Somalia, no other nationality has garnered the attention of the western media as much as the Eritreans.The coverage on Eritrean “asylum seekers” and “migrants” is daily and obsessive, but the concern is not “humanitarian”. The increase in headlines pertaining to Eritreans in Europe’s asylum system is not only well orchestrated and deliberate, it is desperate. It is a futile attempt to cover up the role of certain countries, and so-called humanitarian agencies in the luring and trafficking of Eritreans, especially the youth, and to cement in the minds of western public opinion, the long discredited narrative on Eritrea presented in the Commission of Inquiry’s Report on Eritrea to the UN Human Rights Council in June 2015.

So it comes as no surprise to see the usual culprits, headed by Amnesty International, which has been spearheading the anti-Eritrea media blitz, continue to produce daily reports on Eritrea. It is their modus operandi and Amnesty International explains its goals and how it aims to achieve them:

“…Our media team help spread Amnesty’s message through all forms of media, old and new. In 2014, we achieved significantly over-achieved our media targets. We have a target of achieving four ‘splash’ factors in a year…”

What is a “splash factor”?

According to the Amnesty International Report:

“…A ‘splash factor’ is an

occasion when coverage for the same story, initiated by us, receives coverage in at least three of the following four criteria: a) at least three national newspapers; b) at least three regional papers; c) at least three online news outlets; and d) at least one TV and one radio piece. We achieved 22 splash factors in 2014...”

Its 2014 record will no doubt be broken in 2015 as the narrative on Eritrea, initiated by Amnesty International (AI), has received unprecedented coverage in several media outfits such as the Guardian, the BBC and the latest being on RT, where Amnesty International itself has authored a furious piece. It is angry with European states, and especially the UK for trying to adjust untenable existing polices on Eritrea, to reflect the realities on the ground, and not the unsubstantiated exaggerated narratives peddled by Amnesty International and its partners. Obviously, AI does not want any changes in European policies pertaining to Eritrea as it would negate its self-serving narrative on Eritrea, which is the basis for the Commission of Inquiry (COI) report and a culmination of its 15 yearlong effort against the State of Eritrea and its leadership.

It should be recalled that Sheila Keetharuth, the Special Rapporteur and a member of the COI, was Amnesty International’s East Africa Director. In addition, the record also shows her close association with the minority regime in Ethiopia and its handlers, who were instrumental in her appointment as Special Rapporteur. Hardly an impartial Rapporteur, Keetharuth has in the past also been involved in cases filed against the State of Eritrea at other human rights bodies. The COI and Amnesty International have a vested interest in keeping the current narrative on Eritrea alive…and each “splash factor” helps to promote that narrative.

Almost every “splash factor” states that “Eritrea is not a country at war”. Not sure what the definition of war AI and its partners are using; but any sane and sober political or military analyst would know that the description is partial and flawed. Ethiopia’s 15-year long occupation of sovereign Eritrean territories is essentially a declaration of war and Ethiopia’s attempts to destabilize Eritrea using its surrogates are also war by proxy. The 6-year

long illegal, unjust and unfair US-Ethiopia engineered sanctions are a declared economic and political war against the State of Eritrea. The coordinated vilification and defamation campaign against the State of Eritrea by Amnesty International and its affiliates is part and parcel of the psychological war against the Stateof Eritrea, its people and government.

None of AIs “splash factors” tell readers about Eritreans, especially the youth, and how they were actively courted and lured out of Eritrea by western governments and the NGO networks in their employ, in an elaborate scheme to “isolate” Eritrea diplomatically and politically and weaken Eritrea’s economy. None tell about Eritrea’s youth who were targeted and lured with false promises, or explain why European states adopted preferential policies and higher asylum quotas for Eritreans at the behest of the United States. None report on the role of US agencies and how they have actively encouraged youth flight by offering Diversity Visas, Fulbright scholarships, NED grants, and recruited and encouraged “opposition” to the Government of Eritrea, evidenced in one of the US Embassy cables which says:

“…we intend to give opportunities to study in the United States to those who oppose the regime…”

Today thousands have gone to neighboring states with the hopes of getting these visas to the United States and Europe, but to no avail. Very few have been brought to the United States legally and many have perished trying to make it to Europe. Those who miraculously make it to Europe’s doorstepsface hostile immigration policies, and many find themselves languishing in detention centers and immigration holding cells, underground bunkers, and shipping containers, serving as makeshift prisons as they await processing. Many more have been rendered homeless and destitute, trekking from one European state after another, losing youthful years, faith and precious times, in search of illusive greener pastures…

Amnesty International and its partners do not want Eritreans to return to their country, as it goes against the ugly narratives that they

Eritrea: A Reality that cannot be changed by “Splash Factors”

continued on page 6

6Eritrea Profile, Saturday, 5 September, 2015

UNFPA Country Office in Eritrea would like to recruit a national consultant to conduct “Survey on Avail-ability of Contraceptives and Life Saving Maternal Health Drugs SDP’s” a study which will be conducted in collaboration with the Ministry of Health.

The general Terms of Reference are as specified below:

TOR for the Survey on Availability of Contraceptives and Life Saving Maternal Health Drugs SDP’s, in ERITREA

I. Background

In January 2007 the Government of the State of ERITREA, Ministry of Health, and the United Nations Population Fund reached an agreement concerning support for in-country strategies that enhance Reproduc-tive Health Commodity Security (RHCS).

In defining RHCS the agreement stipulated that “RHCS is achieved when all individuals can obtain and use affordable, quality reproductive health commodities of their choice whenever they need them”. In the context of the agreement, RH commodities are described as consisting of equipment, pharmaceuticals and supplies for:

Obstetrics• and maternal health carePrevention• , diagnosis and management of RTIs and STIsContraceptive• supplies including male and female condoms.

Both the agreement and the body of the UNFPA Global Programme to Enhance Reproductive Health Com-modity Security (GPRHCS) make clear that RHCS needs to embrace supply, demand and support aspects. Specifically, RHCS should focus on three issues: 1) the supply side which addresses a range of logistics func-tions including forecasting, procurement, storage, inventory control and LMIS; 2) quality of care issues such as good service provision, a range of quality contraceptives [choice], skilled and motivated human resources; and, 3) access and demand issues that encompass method use, market segmentation studies, social marketing, cost recovery, and “total market approaches that effectively reach the most marginalized populations [such as poor, indigenous groups, women and youth]”.

II. Rationale/Objectives of the SurveyThe implementation of the GPRHCS will be assessed through indicators outlined in the Monitoring and

Evaluation Framework of UNFPA. Three Outcome indicators in the framework will be assessed through a special survey to be conducted in 255 health care facilities of the country. Three indicators will be used to assess the availability of contraceptives and lifesaving maternal health drugs. These indicators are:

Number of Service Delivery Points (SDPs) offering at least three modern methods of con-I. traceptives;

Number of Service Delivery Points (SDPs) offering at least 3-5 life-saving maternal /RH II. medicines

Number of Service Delivery Points with ‘no stock outs’ of contraceptives within last 6 III. months;The specific objectives are to:

Examine the modern contraceptives offered by the facilities;

discuss the reasons why three modern methods of contraceptives are not provided in some facili-

ties;discuss the availability of maternal RH medicines bringing out the national and sub national

dimensions;capture the key essence of the indicator (availability of the 5 medicines) in the various types/

categories of SDPs in the country;discuss the incidence of ‘no stock out’ of modern contraceptives

III. MethodologyStudy designThe survey will consider the following broad categories of Service Delivery Points (SDPs) that provide

modern methods of contraceptives and maternal/RH services as stratums:Primary Level Care SDPs/facilities (Health posts and health centres)a)

Secondary level care SDPs/facilities/hospitals (Zonal and district Hospitals)b)

Tertiary level care SDPs/facilities/hospitals (Regional and Referral Hospitals)c)

Data Assessment PeriodThe tentative data assessment period is two months (September - October 2015).

RequirementsVI. The survey will require one coordinator, one supervisor and data collectors with the following specific

qualifications.Coordinator tasks:

Develop a tentative routing of visits to facilities in each region. This should be revised with each 1. team during the training sessions. This will require an updated list of all hospitals, health centers as well as the private clinics that do deliveries;

Ensure that logistics for field work are taken care of and each team has a sufficient number of 2. clean questionnaires, clipboards, pencils, per diems, letters of introduction, etc. Ensure that the MOH has sent letters to all the facilities urging their collaboration.

Ensure quality of the data – that envelopes are complete before delivering the completed question-3.

NOTICE naires for data entry. The envelope will decrease wear and tear and loss. The envelope should be labeled with Zoba, sub zoba and facility name at all times.

Contact team supervisors on a regular basis to monitor progress and help resolve technical or logisti-4. cal issues.

Track completion rate of facilities in each region and work with UNFPA point persons should some 5. teams fall behind or others finish more quickly than expected.

Liaison with the point persons at UNFPA CO.6. Make some field visits to supervise, especially if weak teams are identified.7. Compile a report of supervisors’ logs regarding challenges they faced, problems resolved, incidents or 8.

facility stories that would be of interest to the survey and its organizers.In collaboration with MOH and UNFPA CO recruit data collectors.9.

The coordinator should have good people-management skills and that s/he will be well organized. In addition to being an LMIS or medical expert, s/he should have an experience with large surveys as coordinator’s role with primarily involvement on leadership, organization, and understanding of surveys with a lot of field work.

The Coordinator should have educational qualifications at the Master’s level, preferably in public health, sociol-ogy or demography. S/he should have a minimum of 10 years of work experience

Supervisor tasks: S/he will accompany the team at all times; s/he should coordinate daily data collection and the inter-1.

viewers at each facility, Assist also with data collection. Assist the other data collectors with any technical issues.2. Assist with logistics in the field with regards to lodging, travel, clean questionnaires, pencils, etc.3. Review all the forms for each facility for their completeness, making observations as necessary on the 4.

forms or the form envelope as to any deviations.Organize the envelopes with their respective forms ensuring that each form is in its proper envelope. 5. Deliver the envelopes to the survey coordinator as they are completed or as is feasible in terms of 6.

travel and logistics.Contact the survey coordinator on a regular basis to report problems and progress. Each supervisor 7.

should have a mobile phone with SIM cards provided by the coordinator.S/he will likely be the person to introduce the team to the facility director and explain the objectives of 8.

the assessment and gain his/her permission. Each supervisor should have a letter of introduction, but the facility directors should be contacted prior to the team arrival to inform them of the team’s mission.

Prepare a short report for the coordinator about any incidents of interest, problems encountered, facil-9. ity stories or observations that might be of interest to the survey and its organizers. It would be interesting also to know how long it took for the team to arrive from point A to point B and how long it took to complete all the modules at a given facility.

Data collector tasksThe data collectors should be familiar with clinical settings and have a good understanding Supply chain

Management Systems and RH services. Their background could be nursing, pharmacists or they could be physi-cians or health officers. Previous data collection experience would be extremely beneficial. Also, strong English language skills are required.

Documents VII. Detailed Request for proposal along with Terms of Reference (TOR) can be found in the UNFPA Country Of-

fice within the UN compound round the Expo.For further information you may call the office.Administration and FinanceTel: 151852 or 151166 ext 282Fax: 151648P. O. Box 5366Asmara, Eritrea

ADS

have peddled about Eritrea and its leadership, and, the “I would rather die, than go back” stories making headlines in the mainstream media. Shattering the “persecution” narrative is the return of thousands of Eritreans to Eritrea, taking advantage of the Government of Eritrea’s amnesty for those who left the country illegally. Eritrea’s policy on returnees is clear.

“…Eritrea maintains a policy of voluntary repatriation of its national wherever they may be. And it opposes any forced repatriation or expulsions. Eritreans who are repatriated face no persecution and are encouraged and assisted to reintegrate to their respective families and societies…”

Majority of those who leave Eritrea illegally, across the border regret their decision, the minute they step on the other side. Eritrean youth in disease infested, squalor “refugee

camps” in transition countries, abandoned in the vast Saharan desert, in the shark infested Mediterranean and other seas, in urine infested train and subway stations across Europe, or in detention centers in some other capitals, are fast realizing that the grass is not greener on the other side. Eritreans who have left Eritrea illegally have found very little comfort for squandering their youthful productive years, and the opportunity to produce miracles in Eritrea. Today thousands find themselves in hostile foreign states, pawns to various political machinations, praying for miracles to save their lives and sanity.

Europeans and the United States, and also the United Nations can alleviate the suffering by calling on the minority regime in Ethiopia to end the occupation of sovereign Eritrean territories and ought to reconsider the preferential asylum quotasthat are at the root of migration from Eritrea…a stable, peaceful nation with an exemplary culture of ethnic and religious respect and tolerance. No amount of “splash factors” can change that reality….

Eritrea: A Reality ...continued from page 5

7Eritrea Profile, Saturday, 5 September, 2015

Job Title & number required Lab Technician (05)

Duties & Responsibilities

Perform daily testing requirements.Accurately sample and measure chemical and physical properties on all types of raw and finished products, environmental systems, and fuels following established laboratory guidelines.Effectively interpret and communicate analysis results within the context of the production facilities to maintain product quality.Assist laboratory head and complete set up the gold mine lab. Assist the lab head to complete the data management, security management, equipment management and personnel training. Responsible for data review and examination of team or group, supervising the personnel operating standards. Must work in day or night shift and personally operate, complete sample processing, sample analysis, check on and report the result when have finished the data saving. Assist the lab head to complete the outside and internal check of sample, to ensure normal running of the laboratory quality management system, ensure the accuracy timeliness of the test data. Complete storing the chemical reagent, dangerous chemicals and analysis sample. Assist the lab head to finish all the work assigned by the company.Maintain chemical solutions, laboratory instruments, perform standardization or calibrations, and a clean work environment.Collect and dump materials into designated equipment units ac-curately and efficiently.Responsible for minor repairs on laboratory equipment and preventative maintenance.

Knowledge & Skill Require-ment

Skillfully with operations including sampling and test methods of crude gold and 2# gold, fire analysis, cyanide test, conventional elements (such asS As Fe) test,environmental project test and other gold wet test methods. Skillfully with the operation including the standard of chemical analysis, chemical titration analysis, polyurethane foam and activated carbon adsorb the gold. Use and maintenance the atomic absorption spectrometer, spectrophotometer, analytical balance .etc. and with training ability; Skillfully with the processing operations of ore sample, using and maintenance the equipment. Be able to repair the simple failure of analysis instruments and equip-ment. Must be capable of working any shift, on-call, overtime, or seven days a week, if needed.Must be willing to be hands-on and not afraid to perform other work assigned to help the team be successful.Must have the ability to work independently in order to meet all required deadlines.Good analytical and problem solving skills.Strong attention to detail and sense self-starter. Ability to prioritize and manage multiple tasks/projects and meeting all required deadlines.Excellent communication skills and problem solving skills.Self-motivated and must be able to work independently.Ability to complete required paperwork and mathematical assignments in a scientific format.Demonstrated ability to enter and retrieve data from MS Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Education National recognized qualification of Analysis Skilled Technician College degree or above in Chemistry or Laboratory education. Has basically theoretical knowledge of chemical, understand the basic production process of gold mining, mineral processing and smelting.

Experience RequiredAt least two years working experience in large or medium-sized laboratory or equivalent work experience in the field is desired.

Physical Requirement To be able to pass a full Doctor’s examination. To be available to work in accordance with ZMSC rosters.

Job Title & number required Production Data Coordinator (01)


Enters & Validates Materials Requirements Production planning data (Bills of Materials, Process line definitions, Recipe definitions, and stock movement configurations. Maintains Raw and packaging materials warehouse bin configuration data. Validates materials us-age transactions and associated variances. Validates declared production transactions. Monitors and corrects failed material usage and declared production system messages. Validates and corrects machine hours and produced quantity transactions in support of manufac-turing efficiency reporting. Validates raw and packaging receipt information. Finalizes and complete production run data. Initiates and manages materials movement transactions in direct support of Materials Handling associates. Corrects system generated error messages (or unused transactions) related to Materials Handling functions. And as per Job Description.


Excellent skills of Microsoft Excel, Knowledge about safety regulations. Being able to effectively manage time. Strong written and spoken communication. Problem solving skills. Teamwork abilities. Having IT skills. Ability to work with high accuracy levels.

Education High School Diploma, 2 year Accounting Diploma recommended or equivalent training.

Experience Required 2 years stock and production systems experience or equivalent preferred.

Physical RequirementTo be able to pass a full Doctor’s examination. To be available to work in accordance with ZMSC rosters.

Job Title & number required Cashier (01)


Maintain cash and checks for payment. Receive payment by cash, cheque etc. Process payments according to company procedure. Pro-vide change for cash payments. Maintain accurate records of transactions. Checking daily cash accounts. Maintaining monthly, weekly and daily report of transactions. Balance sales and receipts according to company procedure. And as per Job Description.


Excellent analysis, verbal and written communication skills. Ability to collaborate with multi department teams. High-level of attention to detail. Skills of accounting software applications. Strong organizational skills. Independent work skills. Analytical and problem solv-ing skills. Strongly detail-oriented. Experience in Microsoft Office computer skills, especially the ability to use accounting software.

Education

At least Diploma in Accounting.

Experience Required Minimum 2 years work experience as Cashier in commercial organizations.Physical Requirement To be able to pass a full Doctor’s examination. To be available to work in accordance with ZMSC rosters.

General Information and other requirements: Place of work: Koka Gold Mine Site. Occasional assignment to other locations. Salary: As per Company scale.

Additional Requirement for nationals: Having fulfilled his/her National Service obligations and provide evidence of a release paper from the Ministry of Defense. Hav-ing finished registration and duty performing for the National Army, and present the release paper or registration card issued by National Army. Provide a Clearance paper from office of the Eritrean Police and present Medical Certificate from Hospital. Present Clearance paper from the current/last employer. Only short listed applicants would be considered as potential candidates for an interview. Application documents will not be returned back to the sender and/or 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: ZARA MINING SHARE CO. P. O. Box 2393. Asmara, Eritrea.

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

ADS

continued on page 5


Mela Ghebremedhin

Early Wednesday morning, live from Asmara International Airport, here I am with the local press team, ready to welcome home the Eritrean athletes upon their return from the World Athletics Championships held in Beijing. The Eritrean team came back with the country’s first-ever gold medal in the men’s mara-thon, won by the precocious, young sensation, Ghirmay Ghebreselassie.

As I rush inside the airport to get their first impression, I’m posi-tively surprised by their serenity and humility. Do they even realize the greatness of their achievements during the competition? Ghirmay Ghebreselassie, 19 years old, is ac-companied by his comrades and does not seem to realize the weight of his victory. As an English TV commentator said, “So young but he shows such maturity and stam-ina; he has a great future ahead of him.” Indeed, Eritrean sportsmen and women are increasingly under the spotlight thanks to their great feats. Last month, they made his-tory by having the “first Eritrean and African cyclists at the Tour de France,” and now they’ve given us both “the youngest marathon gold medal winner at the World Champi-onship” and “the first time ever an Eritrean won a gold medal in World Championship.” Ghirmay, a simple and young man is at the same time confident and humble. During his interview right after his victory, he first mentioned his gratitude to the Eritrean people and, again, today he tells us that without the strong support of the people (or the whole team) he wouldn’t have been able to win. “I had a dream that I would one day wave the Eritrean flag and I still can’t believe that my dream has come true.”

Isaias Assefaw, their trainer, also mentions that “the people trusted us to represent Eritrea during this high level competition. The love, support

and self-confidence were keys for the successful achievements of our athletes.” Additionally, as Amanuel Mesel (who ranked 9th in the men’s marathon) explains, Eritreans and friends of Eritrea were actively sup-porting the Eritrean team on vari-ous social media platforms, while Eritrean students in China as well as the Embassy played a helpful role throughout the duration of the competition. Within the team, two women represented Eritrea; one of them, Nebiat Habtemariam, 41 years old and a mother of two, be-gan participating in international competitions in 1999. Since then, she has remained active and as she says, “age is just a number, if I have the health and capability why stop? There were younger runners than me who ranked behind me.’’ This woman truly astonishes me – physi-cally tiny but so very strong.

Suddenly, the famous runner, Zer-esenay Tadesse, who won Eritrea’s first ever silver medal for Eritrea in the 10,000 meters at the 2009 World Championship in Berlin, comes in and greets the athletes. As the latter rushed to welcome him, I just stood there and watched them smile and warmly receive their role model. Zeresenay humbly sat down with them and they were listening care-fully. The mutual respect and ca-maraderie of Eritrean athletes was wonderful to witness, and bodes well for many more great achieve-ments in the future.

Ambassador Zemede Tekle then welcomed the athletes before they embarked into the long line of cars to greet the people. Throngs are waiting patiently on the side of the roads which will traverse from the Airport, through Tiravolo, Godena Harnet (Independence Avenue) to the last destination, Bahti Mesk-erem. As per local tradition, Ghir-may and his team stand up in the car and wave to the crowd. Mothers wearing colorful dresses are guiding the crowd by singing and dancing,

while people of all ages are enthusi-astically waving Eritrean flags, and young boys and girls stand proudly holding posters of their new hero, Ghirmay. The marching band and a mobile stage of singers are opening the march and set the atmosphere for the streets of Asmara. Young sportsmen and women from the Sport Commission are lining up next to the cars of their role models, probably dreaming that one day it will be their turn. Workers from fac-tories to offices and shops, students, children, elders, men and women in wheelchairs - everyone is present to see the athletes for just a couple of minutes. Fashionable groups of youngsters are happily recording every second of the unfolding cel-ebrations on their Smartphones. The happiness and smiles on everyone’s faces cannot be denied and I am overwhelmed with how proud I am to be part of the crowd and witness this shared happiness.

President Isaias Afewerki at his office then meets the athletes while the crowd assembled in Bahti Mesk-erem waits patiently under the blaz-ing sun. Government workers, Min-isters, Ambassadors, and various members of international organiza-tions are among the invitees. Ordi-nary citizens are also rushing to get a seat and be on time to take part in the official ceremony.

It’s 10.45 am. Let the show begin! Ambassador Zemede Tekle is mak-ing the opening speech and he high-lights that the success of the athletes is partly the result of previous hard work by the Commission of Sport and Culture and also all other gov-ernment bodies involved. He con-tinues by stressing that the success of Eritrean sportsmen and women will continue, not only in athletics and cycling, but also in other types of sport.

The opening speech is followed

by presentation of the athletics team to the audience, which greeted them with a standing ovation. Isaias Asse-faw addresses the crowd by repeat-ing “unqua kabzi hizbi teweledna,” meaning “thank God I was born from these people.” Locally, this popular expression is used to show one’s gratitude to belonging to the Eritrean people. The show continues with a series of cultural songs in dif-ferent Eritrean languages especially produced for our athletes.

Undoubtedly, the power of sport to bring people together cannot be denied. Throughout history, many nations have utilized sporting events to promote culture and enhancing a sense of belonging and pride. The Olympics, for instance, from its early stages were a platform used for peace, the bringing together of countries under the banner of sport, and to showcase capabilities and cultures. Wearing the colors of the national flag or having supporters wave the flag and singing traditional national hymns or chants, are all aspects of the culture of sport. The culture of sport and the participation within international competition is a sign of developed culture (as Am-bassador Zemede explained to me). Thus, for Eritrea to be represented in such competitions is sign of devel-opment and is a wonderful, effective mechanism for public diplomacy.

With international sporting com-petitions being a means of promot-ing public diplomacy, many politi-cal leaders around the world strive to ensure their nation is represented. As public diplomacy is a critical part of any country’s aims, it is important to highlight and invest in sport and culture. Tadesse Ghebru, Secretary of the Commission of Sport and Cul-ture, has been in the Eritrean sports arena for the last 37 years, and was also part of the Beijing team. I asked him about including sport into edu-cational curriculum in Eritrea, and

he mentioned that though there is sports development at the grassroots level, it is still in its early stages.

Henceforth, in the coming years, it is essential to fully integrate the culture of sport into the educational program of children and youth. In-deed, most successful nations in sport competitions can largely at-tribute their successes to their large investments and widespread support in this sector during the early years of child development.

Sport is not only helpful for keep-ing a society healthy but it is also a strong “nation branding” tool (Sport Diplomacy, June 2013). It is not solely a question of public diplo-macy but will also allow a nation to be renown, to have positive im-pact on tourism, and potentially, in attracting investors. To strengthen this, sport as a public diplomacy tool allows a country to overcome stereotypes and improve its interna-tional image (as written by Tatiana Zonova in The language of Sport is as universal as the Language of Music, 2014).

Sport has been a way of show-casing a nation’s ability and pride, and an effective tool of public di-plomacy. The Eritrean Sport and Culture Commission is aware of its important role in strengthening and increasing the participation of Eri-treans in international sport compe-tition. Surely, the legacy of Daniel Teklehaimanot and Ghirmay Ghe-breselassie is only the beginning of a long legacy of success.

“As in the theater, sport is a stage where life is played out vicariously. Its passions, dreams and prejudices are all laid bare under a canopy of objectivity. It offers a ready and cost-free opportunity for the projec-tion of national traits and ambitions. No nation should ignore its possibil-ities” (USC Diplomacy 2014).

“Welcome Home Eritrean Athletes”