Vol 23. No.23 Saturday, May 21, 2016 Pages 8, Price 2.00 NFA

quarter century of resilience and development

The President of People’s Republic of China, Mr. Xi Jinping, the President of Israel, Mr. Reuven Rivlin, the President of the Philippines, Mr. Benigno Aquino, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Joachim Gauck, President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of the Republic of Turkey, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, Her Majesty Queen Elisabeth of the UK as well as the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Zuma have sent messages of congratulations to the People and Government of Eritrea in connection with the Silver Jubilee Independence Day.

In their messages the leaders expressed good wish to the People and Government of Eritrea in connection with the auspicious day.

In his message he sent on behalf of the Government and people of China, President Xi Jinping expressed his good wish to the Government and people of Eritrea. He also voiced readiness to advance the friendly relations and mutual beneficial cooperation between his country and Eritrea.

Eritrean nationals residing in the Diaspora and who are here to participate in the Silver Jubilee Independence Day celebrations visited historical places from 17 to 18 May. The historical places they visited include the Nakfa and Egri-Mekel trenches as well as Adi-Hallo Dam.

The nationals who came from the US, Canada, Norway, the UK, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Australia and others conducted the visit in three groups.

Upon arrival at the Adi-Hallo Dam participants of the tour were welcomed by President Isaias Afwerki and senior Government and PFDJ officials. They also received briefings on the programs to construct dams and other development activities relating with the construction of dams.

At the wreath laying ceremony conducted at Dubaruwa Martyrs Cemetery, the Administrator of

The Independence Torch which began its tour in the Central region on 9 May has reached Emboito travelling through the sub-zones of Serejeka and Berikh.

At the ceremony conducted in Tsaeda Kristian, the Administrator of Berikh sub-zone, Ms. Leul Asrat, said that the tour of the Torch sends huge message for commitment in the nation-building process and safeguarding the nation’s sovereignty. She

A photo exhibition organized by the Japanese Photo journalist, Mr. Tomoaki Nakano, in connection with the Silver Jubilee Independence Day anniversary was opened on 19 May at the Casa Del Italiani under the theme “Memories of Referendum and Feelings of Independence”.

The exhibition was officially

Messages of Congratulation Continue

Similarly, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia wished good health to President Isaias Afwerki and peace and prosperity to the Eritrean people. He also expressed readiness to strengthen the existing strong and historical relations between Saudi Arabia and Eritrea.

Likewise, the Crown Prince, Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Interior of Saudi Arabia, Prince Mohammed bin Nayef bin Abdulaziz and the Crown Prince and the Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers, Prince Mohammed bin Salma bin Abdulaziz, wished the People and Government of Eritrea happy Independence Day celebrations.

eritreans in the Diaspora visit historiCal plaCes

inDepenDenCe torCh in its seConD week in Central region

The President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin expressed, on his part expressed confidence that the development of friendly relations between his country and Eritrea would reinforce the fundamental interests of the two peoples as well as further strengthen stability and security in the African continent.

In the same vein, the Turkish President, Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, expressed good wish to the People and Government of Eritrea. He also expressed conviction that the friendly relations between the two countries would further be strengthened in all aspects through joint efforts in the years ahead.

The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Dr. Nkosazana Zuma and the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Joachim Gauck wished good health to President Isaias Afwerki and peace and prosperity to the Eritrean people.

the sub-zone, Mr. Abraham Teka, commending the initiative the Eritrean nationals residing in the Diaspora took to remember martyrs, called for reinforcing their participation for the success of the national development endeavors.

On their way to Nakfa the participants of the tour visited Elabered where fierce battle took place during the strategic withdrawal as well as Meshalit and Ad-Shrum places in which heroic feats were demonstrated in the offensive for the demise of Nadew Ez.

Upon visiting to the Egri-Mekel trenches where the Eritrean defense forces inflicted heavy human and material damage on the TPLF regime’s invading forces, they received extensive briefings.

The participants of the tour expressed appreciation for the warm welcome they were accorded in all the areas they visited. They also expressed conviction to reinforce their staunch resistance and organization in addition to play due role for the success of the national development programs.

also commended for the warm reception accorded to it by the public in all the areas it passed through.

The Independence Torch that began its tour from Nakfa on 15 January in connection with the Silver Jubilee Independence Day Anniversary has so far travelled about 3 thousand kilometers.

The final destination of the Torch will be Asmara city on 24 May.

photo exhibition DepiCting MeMories of referenDuM anD feelings of inDepenDenCe

opened by Gen. Sebhat Efrem, Minister of Energy and Mining. It depicts the political activities and the participation of the public at the time of independence as well as the ensuing development endeavors.

Mr. Tomoaki said that the emotions and feelings he observed at the time of independence were unique and expressed satisfaction for being able to organize the

exhibition in connection with Eritrea’s Silver Jubilee Independence Day celebrations.

Mr. Tomoaki Nakano has visited Eritrea more than 20 times covering the culture and traditions of the Eritrean people.

Published Every Saturday & Wednesday

Acting Editor Amanuel Mesfun

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E-mail:eritrea.profile@gmail.com

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LayoutAzmera Berhane

Sara Alem

Eritrea Profile, Saturday, May 21, 2016 No . 23 .Vol . 23 2

Semir Seid

Food remains to be one of the necessities people need. Not just food, but a balanced nutrition is preferred at any cost to get rid of malnutrition. People since their first day of their being should not be deprived of balanced diets in their day to day living. The food people eat is highly linked with their energy, endurance, flexibility, creativity, analysis, mood, and overall good functionality of the body and the mind. Because foods differ markedly in the amount of the nutrients they contain, they are classified on the basis of their composition and the source from which they are derived. Human beings require food to grow, reproduce, and maintain good health. Without food, our bodies could not stay warm, build or repair tissue, or maintain a heartbeat. Eating the right foods can help us avoid certain diseases or recover faster at times of illness.

That is why we prefer good food rather than just food to fill our bellies, and in fact we are naturally adjusted to do that. People consume various kinds of food on day to day basis. Commonly, not all, but we try to get the main nutrients. From the food we eat, knowingly or unknowingly we are able to feed ourselves some carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. And we stand still to perform small to immense activities depending on what we consume. To enlighten its audience, the Eritrean profile went through some of agricultural sectors, to discover how advanced nutrition is to society with regard to production

Food Nutrition and Security in a span of 25 yearsCommon Nutrients in Demand

and marketability, and next follows the details of it.

The first sector that was discovered was the beekeeping sector, where we contacted Mr. Samuel Simon, the head of the division, to provide us with the existent progress that has so far been registered. Environment is the main criteria to form beekeeping farming. Luckily enough, Eritrea is suitably positioned in all of its places to enable farmers harvest honey throughout the year. Most of the highlands, eastern and western escarpments, the eastern lowlands are the comfort zones for bees to flourish. Traditionally, the bee farming is an old farming activity, where people used to practice harvesting as much honey as they could, using traditional and local hives. But since the Italian period, the introduction of frame hives was made possible particularly in cities of Asmara and Segeneity. The initiative was taken to increase production, easy access to hives and simplicity. Frame hives are highly productive comparing to local hives; they are easily manageable, portable and can be constructed by local materials, local understanding and awareness yet are a bit expensive. Since independence, the importance of this kind of hives has been prioritized as we see number of bees in local hives diminishing bit by bit yet still the hives are put to function in some parts of the country. Mr. Samuel outlines bee farming as an easy income generating, environmental friendly (causes no pollution), cost effective and a biodiversity increasing project. The authority responsible for the sector is efficiently doing the required task in collaboration with major stakholdrs like Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Information, the Hamelmlo College and development partners such as

the UNDP, EU and AFRICARE. Not only that entrepreneurs and farmers are the fuel to the project, where some are formed in associations (like the Central Region Cooperative Beekeepers Association). The effectiveness of the sector as far as production is concerned is described as doubling figure from 1990’s comparing to now. And this is achieved as a result of improved awareness of farmers as the authority addresses. Today from 40 to 50 kg per frame hive at a time is extracted but in the local hives it is not possible to earn more than 10 kg per hive. The 1995’s figure shows that only 40 quintals of honey were harvested unlike the 2015’s up to 1,797 quintals from the frame hive and is distributed to the market. The high pick the frame hive registered was 2014’s where about 3,283 quintals of honey was picked out of honey combs. This shows the awareness of farmers and concerned parties is increasing to top up the production. On the other side, the traditional and local hive is decreasing it’s production due to farmers cease to use it or started to shift towards the frame hive, and number wise 2,129 quintals of the year 1995 has dramatically lowered into 941.55 quintals of honey production in the year 2015. The frame hive accessory is distributed to farmers in the past 25 years on different occasions to help them be self-employed and highly productive parties. The 2015 record was less due to the significant draught that had affected the vegetation cover the bees are in need to. Because bees are easily affected by draught, you can’t expect to get a higher production if you are not able to maintain the surroundings they are supposed to live in. The head of the sector remarked relevant trainings to assist farmer’s awareness are determinant

on boosting the honey production more than ever and it’s on the plan list.

Apart from the sweet honey, we directed ourselves into poultry farming and other sectors. The poultry farming is one of the highly organized and vigorously operated projects by the Ministry of Agriculture in Eritrea. It is a very sensitive task to takeover but with all the due cares one can manage tens of thousands of hens in a backyard and get benefitted and be a donor to the market. Same as the beekeeping farming, this poultry farming has made its origin when the country is in the periods of colonization. Meanwhile, the sector crossed the starting line with only two incubators with the capacity of hatching 3,500 each and were distributed to that times farmers. Later, five more advanced incubators with the capacity of hatching 19,200 eggs were brought; no later a 120,000 capacity hatcher and setter incubator was brought from India by the MOA. The main goal of the MOA is to make farmers self-sufficient individuals who take part in the economy of the nation. From 1992 to 2015 around 2.4 million chicks were imported and distributed to small scale farmers (25 to each farmer) and to qualified investors (500 - 20,000) with fair prices of 15 Nkf. When the investors in the sector happened to grow and own their personal incubators, the MOA advanced its endeavors focusing to help small scale farmers. The MOA is now focusing more on backyard breeding of hens and left the commercial section to investors who are exceedingly participating and regulating the local market. On a week basis around 12000 eggs are hatched and distributed to breeding centers in the five regions except the Central Region. A full package treatment is provided including vaccination by the MOA before

they got into the hands of farmers and during breeding times. The main targets of the ministry are the disabled farmers, female led families and war disabled parties.

From 1992 until the present time, 89,000 parent stock are imported. So far 1.2 million chicks are distributed from incubation and 2.4 million F1 type are imported to make up a 3.7 million total chicks are distributed over all the regions. With all the distribution, it’s obvious to witness the market will be possessing abundant supply of eggs. However, the shortage of nutrition is an emphasis that should be revised, in a quality and quantity mode. For that to be solved, Ms. Saba Ghebresilasie the head of the unit in the poultry farming suggests investors should be assisted to sustain in making the nutrition for chicken. The premix for the nutrition is not produced locally, then investors need to be aided in importing this ingredients and begin producing. The ministry is striving to avoid malnutrition and achieve on the objective, where a person eats three eggs per week.

Inclusively, the ministry, parallel to the previous two commodities is cultivating the horticulture sector more or less on a same scale. The horticulture sector focuses vegetables, fruits and flowers of different species. The area coverage of vegetables increases from 5.3% in 1992 to 564% in 2014. When seen in hectare measurement, it grew from 4,731 hectares to 24,450 hectares in between the years. The fruit producing area coverage showed a 2796% increment that is from 190 to 5,313 hectares. With the stated figure the demand and supply happened to get a room to be regulated in

Continued on page 8Shednet Vegetable Nursery in Southern Red Sea region

3Eritrea Profile, Saturday, May 21, 2016 No 23 .Vol . 23

Natnael Yebio.W

Eritrea isn’t just celebrating its 25 Silver Jubilee Independence Day, on the other side of all the independence celebrations, there has been another significant day to remember and celebrate as well; Africa Day.

Africa day might not be commemorated for another two weeks but, since Eritrea is celebrating its quarter century of complete independence, it seemed rather fitting to celebrate Africa day in accordance with Africa’s second youngest nation independence jollity.

Last year this time around Africa day was a one day event, as a result of its successful 1st ever African day merriment, African embassies found in Eritrea in accordance with the Foreign Affairs of The State of Eritrea as well as with the Commission of Culture and sports had decided to make this year’s 2nd annual African Day one of a kind. Instead of having to celebrate Africa day in just one day, it was decided to be held in a three day celebration from May 15th to May 17th and to be called “Africa week”. As such, the celebrations were planned in a way that could host different types of events. Sports, Documentary films, Photo exhibition and a Gala Dinner were all order of the week.

As preparations were finalized by the organizing committee the commemoration was open on the morning of Sunday the 15th May with a competition of Badminton and Table Tennis played amongst all the hosts. The competition day which was called sports day, also continued later in the afternoon with a very competitive football

Africa Week: Unity in Celebrations!

matches at Cicero. Each African Embassy in Eritrea was represented by one team each and the competition saw the participation of seven teams, drawn against each other. In what was a day of friendly foot-ball kick about, the commission of culture and sports men and women teams triumphed as the winners of the “Africa week”, sport day competitions. Personally I happened to enjoy the match between Sudan and South Sudan, brothers in a football pitch they were, only trying to win a football match, so as one of them can advance to the next stage. In a day of spirited competitions, what triumphed biggest at the end of the day was a sense of harmony, and camaraderie forged in the pitch. For the organizing committee checklist number one was successfully crossed out! Next, Movie night at Cinema Asmara!

Africa week was planned in a way that can involve each African Embassy in Eritrea to come together in a cultural, artistic and fan way, in order to achieve the desired effect of sentiment of Africanism. There is no continent more blessed with striking natural beauty and diversity than the African Motherland. And it was from this physical and genetic diversity that allowed Africans to parent the rest of humanity. Indigenous Africa is testimony to the full spectrum, of skin tones, hair textures, and rich religious and cultural practices. Africa though the second largest continent is home to 1,022,234,000 people. There are an estimated 3000 tribes in Africa and each consisting of their own unique culture, religion, history and fashion. Africa is a melting pot of skin tones as well. Great

ancient Kingdoms and empires are known to this area. Egypt, an ancient land of Pharaohs, Pyramids architectural genius and skill. Sub - Saharan Africa, though most of its history is largely unknown is the birthplace of Mankind. The inhabitants of Sub-Saharan Africa are black, which is why it’s normally referred to as “Black Africa”. In sub Saharan Africa are hundreds of Tribes and on the land once ruled Great civilizations and Kingdoms. Though slavery is normally regarded as negative because of it Mama Africa’s descendants are now spread worldwide. Scattered around Sub-Saharan Africa are Bantu-sent tribes all consisting of Darker skin peoples. The tribes have Bantu-sent tongues and all consist of similar culture/practices. The land God-given to these people is blessed in abundance with natural beauty and wealth. Plains, Rain forests and Deserts are natural ecosystems/landscapes in the area. The Masai are normally tall and thin while The Yoruba of Nigeria are normally much larger. The Himba of Namibia is light skinned. All these different looks are attributed to different tribes/areas of Africa. As genetically different as we are all Africa possesses the natural beauty of its land and the physical beauty of its people. That’s what makes us identify, our love for each other and our love for our land. All of us together celebrating our continent, a continent where it all began, a continent ravaged by colonialism and the devastating effects it left, a continent rich with natural resources and cultural diversity, simply a continent worth celebrating.

Screening night at Cinema Asmara which was open to the

public was edifying in its content, with each African embassy contributing with what they thought was the right promotional videos of their countries. The documentary films which were quite invigorating, spoke a million folds of words, from Egyptian Pyramids, South Sudan biggest Swamps, Sudan’s Black Pharos to Libya’s immaculate building architecture. Small yet big parts of Africa were immortalized in the big white screen of Cinema Asmara.

Next on the itinerary, Photo exhibition at Casa Delgi’ Italia! Tuesday 17th May 2016, after having put two hours of hard labor into turning the insides of Casa Degli’ Italia, into a photo gallery that would break par with that of London’s Hamilton’s Gallery, the black and white walls of the Gallery where filled with Pictures, Photographs, paintings, fliers, travel guides, banners & tables with books. Photography is a staple of everyday life, it’s the kind of imagery that stops us dead in our tracks and causes us to reflect on life, such was the case with African Photography’s & paintings put on display that day. Add to it cultural African Cuisines such as Egypt’s Kushari, Sudan’s Stews, South Africa’s peanuts & Chakalaka relish, Libya’s Cuscus, South Sudan’s Kisra, you have an event that would last long into the memory of the mind and taste buds of the tongue, which gave the event a certain je ne sais quoi. Africa Week was going according to plan and to its final check list on the bucket.

On the evening of Tuesday night a dinner gala was held in Asmara Palace in conclusion to

Cultural Delicacies at the Exhibition

the Africa Week events, in the presence of Ministers, senior Government and Front officials, Ambassadors and representatives of international organizations, on a speech he delivered on the occasion Ambassador Tesfamicael Gerahtu, said that nation building is the establishment of a viable state, sound economy and a future predicated on progressive morality. And stressed on the fact that nation building has not been consummated in most countries of post-independence Africa and urged for an independent political stance that is liberated from hegemonic militarization driven by geopolitical interest and to acquire freedom that entails owning own decisions, promotion of self-reliance and the establishment of partnership that guarantees mutual understanding, respect and benefit based on trade and investment. Finally, Ambassador Tesfamichael Gerahtu, reminded Eritrea’s integral part of the stability and prosperity of Africa and the horn of Africa, while raising the African Unions responsibility to act on; ending the occupation of sovereign Eritrean territories by Ethiopia, oppose the unjust UN sanctions imposed on Eritrea and condemn the belligerent stance of Ethiopia, which even dreams of making regime change in Eritrea.

At last, Africa week simply signified unity in celebrations. African countries coming together to celebrate their motherland. In a sense, this could be a stepping stone towards more regional integration amongst all African nations. For regional integration, promises self-reliance and continued economic, social and cultural development.

Eritrea Profile, Saturday, May 21, 2016 No 23 .Vol .23 4

In Eritrea, more than what was written, was sung and more than what was told, was put to mystical melodies. Back in the 60s and 70s, Eritreans were denied of a say, hence, the then generation of artists, created pure soulful music with messages of hope, unity, ardent desire for freedom and expression of accord of nationals.

They also had love songs, many of them actually. So much, that an outsider might wonder if what all the Eritreans of the 60s and 70s, did back then, was falling in love, then get abandoned by their lover and always in despair pleading for their lover to come back home. And it appears that ‘this love of a love time’ goes out about to wonder in the woods, up in the mountains and in the jungle.

Unusual, right? Well, that is just how generations of then avoided bowdlerising censorships and sang in metaphors. They created exquisite, perpetual ‘immortal’ artistic works that feel fresh every time they’re on play.

Few of the many greatest musical legends of Eritrea were reminisced on a stunning concerto showcased on the evening of the 18th in Asmara. The concerto is part of the countless cultural shows that have been held for the past dozen of days and will go on even after the 24th; a month long of polychromatic cultural shows for the gala of Eritrean Silver Jubilee!

It was a concerto crafted by a classical band of concussions, alto and tenor saxophones, trumpet, lead, base and acoustic guitars, keyboards, violin, traditional musical instruments of several ethnic groups, along with the eagerness of the youngsters engineering the musical instruments, their powerhouses peers voicing the songs and the enthusiasm of the conductors and composers.

The concert started off with one the greatest hits of ‘Nesama’ma’ meaning ‘Let’s get along’. The song highlights the briefness of life spun while recalling the need for human beings to get along as well as the need of brothers and neighbours to look out for each other. Given the chronological context of the time in which the song was released, it’s quite understandable that the song reflected the Eritreans’ longing for the sense of amity and respect reigning over humanity, starting from then up to now.

Subsequently, the man that locally goes by the nickname of ‘the Eritrean Pavarotti’, our very own musical prodigy Mr. Barnabas Mebrahtu, got on the stage making the crowd anticipation rise up to the celling of the cinema hall. Before he started working his magical vocal cords, Barnabas introduced the song.

He sang ‘My Way’ by Frank Sinatra, he said that he wishes to relate the song with the Eritrean contextual framework. “Many would

The Immortals

tell you to take a certain path without having to consider your needs and desires, this is what the song is about. Which is exactly what our country has been doing from the start; wanting to walk on its own path” he said. He also expressed his greeting for the Silver Jubilee and then went on to sing. “I try to walk every highway and much more… I did it my way”. Some of the 1960s and onwards songs’ beautiful lyrics, which even sounded better when mouthed by the maestro.

Moving on to the love songs that I mentioned above, it is true, Eritrean youth always feels love for his country. However, the ‘afro’ of earlier generations outshine in expressing their lost love through their songs. Apparently all of the classic songs talking about love are far from close to the idealistic ‘Romeo and Juliette’ love story, but some superb allegorical metaphor of patriotism and nationalism. They were indeed love sick for the love of their lives: Eritrea.

Several of the classic immortal musical production, enhanced with modern arrangements while intact of their original purity, were presented at the concert. Here are two examples; Ateweberhan Segid’s ‘Bilhatu Tefiuni’ and Amine G/Kristos’s ‘Asmeretey’.

I am stressing when I am not supposed to be; I am still juvenile! Don’t the elders think? … Why would they marry you off to someone else? I am no different from any Adam’s children! But I have family that spoils me too, and won’t sleep unless I have you!

These are some of the lyrics of Ateweberhan Segid’s song of when he was member of ‘Zerai Derres’ band.

The song is about a young boy, who detests to be depresses for his young age, hopeless as there is little he can do of his girl being forced in to a marriage with a stranger. However, the boy keeps being hopeful. He is highly convinced that his family won’t just stay still and eventually will get his girl back.

Eyes and ears wide open, open your mind and one would understand that deep down the narrative is quite different. The boy is a metaphor for Eritreans, the girl being Eritrea who’s forced by the elders, the big powers, to marry to a stranger in this case: Ethiopia.

And voilà, there you have it! The federation of Eritrea to Ethiopia in 1952, during which the West signed off Eritrea to be part of Haile Selassie’s Ethiopia followed by forced annexation in 1961, making Eritrea its fourteenth province. Naturally, the occurrence was a major depression for the Eritrean people; being deprived of its basic human rights while almost every other African country was being freed out of colonialism.

And guess who is the one in the family refuting to sleep until they’d get their child’s

girl back is? … The freedom fighters with the first shot by Idris Awate on September 1st, 1961 declaring the beginning of the armed struggle for Eritrea’s independence.

One the greatest legends of time, Ateweberhan Segid, strongly stood for liberation of Eritrea, he refused to sing in Amharic, and always put out songs, seemingly folk songs, with deep meanings. He was constantly put in jail, suffered cruel investigations, tortured and even lost his sight being “punished” for his proactive artistry.

The second love ballad, which was arranged to be a funk rock alignment was Amine G/Kristos’s classic entitled ‘Asmeretey’ a common Eritrean name, meaning the realization of dreams or plans. Amine G/Kristos, a martyr in the armed struggle for freedom, was born in 1932 and was a member of the police band ‘Mahber 7’.

In the original song, he released and sang live to a council of Ethiopian officials at Cinema Capitol, he literally used the Eritrean name for his love and at times even jammed in the name of his country, ‘Eritrea’. He was sent to prison and needless to say brutally tortured. At that time the song turned out to be a sensation so there were fears of a youth rebellion, he was released after he promised he’d change the name to ‘Amleset Abay’ an Ethiopian lady aristocrat.

Whose voice am I hearing out in the woods, on the hills? –It’s me the flute of the jungle. – Assist me in finding my woman. … As the sky without clouds and waters without mold do not make sense if she’s not around. … And then if you do, I promise, I’ll repay you with roasted cereal snacks.

Once again we have Juliette gone out in the woods, Romeo cannot find his girl so he counts on the jungle flute to find her for him. The flute has as a sound of ecstasy, youth and energy it is also an instrument commonly played by young shepherds.

As such, in Amine G/Kristos’s song, the flute indicates the youth fighting for independence in the jungle and its sound is so strong that is audible all the way from the jungle to town. Moreover, Romeo keeps repeating that a sunny day with no clouds and clean waters mean nothing unless he has the freedom the jungle flute and himself are looking for.

In the song Romeo is willing to repay the jungle flute with cereal snacks, and not diamonds nor gold. Given that the jungle flute is a humble altruistic servant to a modest society, the deal between young freedom fighters and the people was/is not a contract, rather a pact of promised assurances.

Alamin Abdelatif’s ‘Yuma’ is a Tigre classic highly regarded amongst the Eritrean

community, ‘Yuma’ stands for mother. Here motherly love is expressed, greetings of thanks and good wishes are directed to the mother (motherland) and her children in Keren, Ghindae and everywhere else around the nation; a classic that portrays the unity of Eritreans within their versatility.

The concert had more to offer with classics of several ethnic groups such as Tigre, Hedareb, Afar, the upbeats of Kunama, including Chinese and Latin America’s classics. It was a spectacle of harmony between traditional, modern and classical as the novel arrangements did just about to touch the souls of the audience.

The concert ended with lounge oriented arrangement of a common lowland’s ancient beat. And what to expect from the maestro of lively rhythms, Mr. Mohammed Saleh Hussein!? Each and every one awaits sensational heaven from the maestro whom every time he conducts his tuxedo goes up to his shoulders!

The antique rhythm is called ‘Shada Akuni’ in Hedareb. The rhythm in its whole essence iss an imitation of women’s delicate walk. While thinking of how to explain this ancient artistic marvel mirroring Eritrean women’s radiance, I kept wishing for the paper to sing, just once for each reader, so that I could be able to give you at least the smallest impression of the magnificence of ‘Shada Akuni’.

Indisputably the classic concert of classics arranged by Elsa Zerai, Barnabas Mebrahtu, Omer Ali Hola, Mohad Suleiman, Fitsum Yohannes (Shambel) and Mohammed Saleh Hussein, served as a time machine; a time link between local and international legends of the 60s-70s and artists of today, while at the same time it took back in recollection the older generations and wowed the youngsters with fresh compositions.

Many of Eritrean classic masterpieces are relentlessly recited, recorded and sold in regional markets outside of Eritrea. All the more so, even non Eritreans like our classics solely and merely for how they sound and not really what they imply in their versions truly directed to and cherished by Eritreans. Be that as it may, no matter how many foreign studios and modification they undergo, their sanctity is at all times a valued gem in the Eritrean context.

Cultural, historical, developmental or be it whatever else that has to do with the country and people of Eritrea, nothing is of simplicity, it might be humble yet of incomparable exceptionality. And as just, Eritrean classic songs are not any different. Even though years have gone by and the many of the singers are not alive, the folk songs of great artistry they’ve created remain still dear immortals. Every time we hear them we relate with the past and they certainly do ring a bell of consecration to previous generations.

This is a thanks to all whom worked in the making of the concert, calling for the renaissance of entirely all Classics, all Eritrea’s Immortals.

Billion Temesghen

Eritrea Profile, Saturday, May 21, 2016 5 No 23 . Vol . 23

A book entitled Eritrea: the Pearl of the Red Sea was just published by China’s World Affairs Press in Beijing in May, just before the sil-ver jubilee of the Independence of Eritrea.

The author of the above book is Yun Duan. Starting from the be-ginning of 2015,the diplomats and their spouses of the Chinese Em-bassy in Eritrea, doctors of Chinese medical teams and Chinese teach-ers of the Confucius Institute at the National Commission for Higher Education of Eritrea began their work in writing and compiling this book illustrated with beautiful pic-tures. It took them more than one year in accomplishing the work. They decided to use Yun Duan as the collective pen name, which simply means “over the clouds” in Chinese.

The book is composed of four

chapters. Chapter one is about the basic national conditions of Eritrea, chapter two tourism resources of the six Regions, chapter three useful

‘Eritrea: the Pearl of the Red Sea in China’

information of Eritrea, and chap-ter four recollections about work and life in Eritrea. Specifically, chapter one covers Eritrea’s geog-raphy, history, people and culture, economic and social Development; chapter two introduces briefly the Regions of Eritrea and their most famous natural and cultural attrac-tions and heritages; chapter three provides many useful information about traveling, work, transporta-tion and hotels etc. in Eritrea; chap-ter four collects some articles writ-ten by the Chinese nationals who have once worked, lived in Eritrea or enthusiastically participated in China-Eritrea friendly exchanges, in which they have recounted their work, life, traveling experiences in and thoughts about Eritrea from different perspectives.

Part of the preface of the book reads as the following: “The State of Eritrea is located in Eastern Af-rica facing the Red Sea to the north. Eritrea has honest and kind-heart-ed people with beautiful sceneries, colorful national cultures, tradi-

tions and long-lasting civilizations. Eritrea won national independence in 1991. The State of Eritrea was founded on May 24, 1993, and therefore is one of the youngest na-tion states on the African continent. As Eritrea is a young state, most Chinese readers still don’t know much about her. As Eritrea is a new developing country with abundant resources and huge potential for development, and in the meanwhile a country with a long history and civilization dated back to ancient times, this is a country worth know-ing and studying in a in-depth way by Chinese readers. The purpose of the author in compiling and writing this book is to present Eritrea from different perspectives to Chinese readers, and provide them with information about Eritrea’s geog-raphy, history, culture, economic and social development, tourism resources, and practical guidance for Chinese readers in a objective, accurate and comprehensive way to the best of the author’s capabili-ties. And the book tries to present a diversified, multi-dimensional and

vivid Eritrea to the readers, thus promot-ing a deeper understand-ing of Eri-trea and her people, and e n h a n c i n g the friendship between the Chinese and Eritrean peo-ples.”

It should be noted that the World Af-fairs Press was founded in 1934, and is one of the most presti-gious publish-ers in China. The focus of its pub-lications is on foreign relations and foreign studies. Many of its publi-cations won awards at provincial or national levels in China. So far, the World Affairs Press has published

about 6000 kinds of books, and now it publishes about 300 kinds of new books on average annually.

Embassy of the PRC in Eritrea

Zahra Ahmed Baduri

Festivities that hold memories of a lifetime are worthwhile, especially when everyone, regardless of age, nationality or even culture come together to share those moments under the light of the unshakeable ability of grasping once sympathetic emotion of attention. That was what the concerts of City Park brought on its ground. The 17th of this May, was the start of that very feeling, which the past three cultural evenings at City Park initiated. At 7:30 the show started with a series of old songs sang in honour of previous independence celebrations since 1999- 2011 orchestrated by the Eritrean police band and directed by Solomon Teweldemedhin.

About 12 singers who sang those specific songs back at the time where present except the late ‘Abraham Afwerki’, ‘Helen Meles’ and ‘Temesgen Yared’.

“City Park concerts rejoice in the glory of the 25th”Abraham’s song ‘Erena’ which he had sang in Asmara stadium in 1996 for the 5th independence celebration was sang by a young man called ‘Yohannes Tesfay’. While ‘Helen’s’ song ‘Mesilka we’ of 2000 and ‘Temesgen’s’ song of 2013 were sang by young vocalists ‘Ariam Zemicheal’ and ‘Frehiwet Brihu’ respectively.

As a result, those songs took the audience far back to evoke moments passed with friends and loved ones whom, some are not present momentarily, while others are not even alive any more.

Moments like these bring back memories that are dear beyond what the participant’s facial expirations showed. Proceeding, various musicians from abroad like the crane performers of Uganda who previously came in 2011 to celebrate Eritrea’s national festivity, put on an enthusiastic demonstration with their cultural show and circus.

Alongside that, new groups like the ‘Atlanta Horns’ of USA, the ‘Star light Excess & Reheated’ of Germany made a pleasant appearance, performing, rock, blues, jazz and soul music genres of old famous vocalists. Nevertheless, next to the lead singer of the ‘Atlanta Horns’ Mr peter Peterson , was a young ‘Abi Gail Obi’ from Johannesburg south Africa. I myself was lucky enough to meet with the band and talk to them before they had went on stage, and they expressed how much at home they felt, from the very beginning of setting foot in Eritrea’s Asmara airport. They duly appreciated the history of our resilience and progress that we have made so far, along with what is in the making.

Beyond all the preparations and the wonderful shows that had been going on since the 17th of this May in the city of Asmara near city park café and restaurant at ‘Harinet’ avenue. The composition of its

life form is all credit to people like ‘Yared Tesfay’, ‘Elias Luqas’ and ‘Gebru Kibriab’. While folks like ‘Domoz Risom’, ‘Ermias Mengisteab’, ‘Mebrahtu Berhane’ and others behind all the stage setting, design, technique and photography have joined together in giving life to the set, attracting many young fans of the music genres being played along with children and Eritrean diaspora who came to join the festivity.

Overall, street bands and performances haven’t rested a hand in making the celebration of

our beloved nations 25th birthday an archive of honour in our future history. In that regard the show will go on till the 24 of May.

As so, twenty five years is not something to be seen lightly in the life of a human being, let alone in the lifespan of a whole nation. I think by venerating our quarter century of joy, we are preparing ourselves for the coming 25 years of prosperity, resilience and hard work in seeing Eritrea far greater on its golden jubilee, yet this is just the beginning.

Victory to the mass!!!!

Eritrea Profile, Saturday, May 21, 2016 No 23 . Vol .23 6

7 No 23 .Vol .23Eritrea Profile, Saturday, May 21, 2016

Job Title & number required Human Resources (HR) Officer - ሁማን ርሰውርሰስ ኦፊሰር - (01)

Duties & Responsibilities

Provides advice and assistance to supervisors and staff. This may include information on training needs and opportunities, job descriptions, performance reviews and personnel policies of the company. Provides advice and support to supervisors and staff selection committees and ensures that they have accurate and timely information in order to make effective decisions. Ensure that accurate job descriptions are in place. Provide advice and assistance with writing job descriptions. Provide advice and assistance when conducting staff performance evaluations. Identify training and development opportunities. Organize staff training sessions, workshops and activities. Process employee requests for outside training while complying with policies and procedures. Provide basic counseling to staff that have performance related obstacles. Provide advice and assistance in developing human resource plans. Provide staff orientations. And as per Job Description.

Knowledge & Skill Requirement

Supervisory skills, Team building skills, Problem solving skills, Basic counseling skills, Negotiations skills, Effective verbal and listening communications skills, Computer skills including the ability to operate spreadsheets and word processing programs at a highly proficient level, Effective written communications skills including the ability to prepare reports, Proposals, Policies and Procedures, Effective public relations and public speaking skills, research and program development skills, Stress management skills Interviewing skills, Time management skills.

Education Diploma or Bachelor Degree in Human Resources or Business Management or Personnel Administration.

Experience Required

Minimum 5 years work experience in Human Resources Department. Mining experience is preferable. Knowledge of administrative and clerical procedures, managing files and records, designing forms, and other office procedures. Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, compensation and benefits, Labor relations and negotiation.

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

INVITATION FOR BIDS (IFB)

TENDER:No.06.2/04/FP/NCB/NAP/IFAD/GRANT/DSF-8107-ER/NAPHL/ST/2015The Government of ERITREA has received a Grant from the International Fund for Agricul-tural Development towards the cost of National Agricultural Project (NAP) and it is intended that part of the proceeds of this Grant will be applied to eligible payments under the contract for the supply of: - LOT.1 Supply, Installation and Commissioning of Laboratory Equipment

The Eligible bidders should have a professional experience and renewed license for the year of 2014/15 appropriate for lot.1 Bid shall be Valid for a Period of 90 days after Bid opening, and must be accompanied by a bid Security of 2% at any Eritrean Bank and delivered to Procurement and Supplies Manage-ment Unit Office on or before June 23, 2016 local hours 14:30 PM and will be Opened On the same date at 15:00 PM Local hours in the presence of the Bidders or Bidders’ Representatives who wish to attend. Eligible bidders may bid for a complete lot. Bid for partial lot will be rejected as non respon-sive. A complete set of bidding documents may be collected by any interested eligible bidders from the address below. Ministry of Agriculture, Procurement and Supply management Unit, Sawa Street, Tel: 181077/76 Fax: 181415, P.O.Box:1048, Asmara, Eritrea. Bids will be opened in the presence of Bidders’ representatives who choose to attend at 3:00 Pm Local Time hrs on June 23, 2016.

The Ministry of Agriculture reserves the right to accept or reject this bid fully or in part if it Finds any option better than this IFB without needing to justify the grounds for it doing so and Compensation which the bidder may incurred in preparing its bid. MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE

STATE OF ERITREA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE

NATIONAL AGRICULTURE PROGRAMME (NAP) IFAD

The state of Eritrea has received a Grant from Global Fund to Fight HIV AIDS, Malaria TB, and intends to apply a portion of this fund to eligible payments under the below mentioned consultancy .

Now The Project Management unit of Ministry of Health seeks consultant firms for the following assignment:-

1. To support integration of the different Network Infrastructures, Net-work Management and Ministry of Health Mailing system

Hence it requests the submission of Technical and Financial Proposals for the above cited assignment on or before June 15,2016

Requirements:- a) The consultant should be registered and having license 2015.b) Masters with a major in Information Management system or related field c) Having Network management experience at least of three years d) Willingness to station himself in NHIS office e) Should submit evidence of working document in similar areaf) Who will submit the deliverables with in the agreed time schedule of the contract

Please note that you can collect all documents in soft copies ( RFP,Terms of reference) from the office - Project Managements Unit of Ministry of Heath ,Asmara, Eritrea during office hours .

Tel: PMU/MOH - 291-1-122978/ 124360

REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) FOR CONSULTANCY SERVICES

quarter century of resilience and development

Eritrea Profile, Saturday, May 21, 2016 No 23 .Vol . 23 8

Billion Temesghen

About you

Hi. My name is Yirgaalem Asmelash, I was born in 1977 in Asmara, and so I am 38 now. I am an operator, I got my education and trainings for teleporting at the army. And here I am, still working as an operator but now in offices.

How did you get into the army?

I joined the sixth round in Sawa and the war with Ethiopia broke soon after a couple of months we finished the military trainings. At that moment Sawa was a military base and not a big boarding school like it is now. As obvious students would go to Sawa for few months, complete their secondary school and get basic military trainings.

The first offensive occurred surprisingly when every national went to the field in rush. We had to fulfil our duties, and that is how I got to be a soldier. I took trainings for radio operating, and so in the war I carried my radio, set and deployed, alongside my compatriots.

Warsay Soldiers

I don’t know where to begin. For us the whole situation was a matter safeguarding our country, by pushing back the invaders as to stop them from attacking our people and invading more of the land that was freed by heavy price.

Every troop, no matter where we came from, we all were convinced and agreed on our priorities. We lived as if the war was a wedding ceremony, we enjoyed being together, we danced and laughed and every single troop was ready to be sacrificed. We thought so little of the AK47, everybody wanted to carry a bigger gun and get on bigger missions.

I wouldn’t know how to explain why we didn’t even for once thought that dying means the end. We thought of martyrdom as an

The All-time Heroine OperatorShe has a slim figure, a medium height, dark complexion skin, small eyes, long stretched hair and a charming smile. At first sight, and even at the second, third and more it would

be hard to imagine that the lady ever set a foot out of her house. Anyone would just get an instant impression of a fragile lady. But no, she is not fragile, and like many countless women of Eritrea, she is courageous, strong and forthcoming. Like always the Eritrean tradition of humbleness and not boasting for oneself was on the way, but I got something and I want to share it with you. Today’s Q&A gives you Yirgaalem Asmelash, a keen soldier.

earnest sacrifice. But then again, I don’t know how, but that is how Eritreans are tuned when it comes to the quest of safeguarding their motherland and their people. They are extremely selfless towards these matters.

And so I respect profoundly, not only Warsay soldiers but Warsay in general, even the youngest generations.

You were young at that time. Weren’t you scared?

I was only 19! I was scared. Very much scared in fact.

Clenching the teeth

My unit moved to Mereb area which is literally on the border with Ethiopia and we stationed behind a hill. Villages are around there were like neighbours, they live almost together, they had a common market and have matrimonial ties amongst them. So the Ethiopian soldiers kicked many Eritrean villagers out of their land, it was absurd, because these villages are few kms apart. Anyways, one day and I can say that I was still a novice, we were in trenches and I saw a woman running towards us, bare footed, no clothes and with nothing on. Apparently the woman was a newlywed living in village on the Ethiopian land and when she got caught by Ethiopian soldiers, they stripped her unclothed and kicked her exposed.

I was so mad. So angry. Afterwards I clenched my teeth and the little girl’s fears I had in me were all gone after seeing the injustice brought upon a woman just like me. And after that specific day, more days came along in which I needed to be strong and always on my feet for everything.

More days?

Yes more days that now feel like scenes from a war movie. What I am trying to say is that, when I look back at those days I keep thinking

of them as motion pictures. We are talking of a tough reality that makes you forget that you are even a human being.

One day, for instance, my unit leader and I climbed on top of a hill with some bushes. He was about to observe the general situation and I was there to report whatever he told me through the radio. As soon as we got there an RPG landed, literally next to me and in no time we were under attack with bullets flying towards us. As such, there was nothing we could do but shelter behind a big stone and wait for the shooting to finish. But as we waited for the end of the shooting, we also consciously waited for some bullets to land on us. We should have been feeling some sort of fear but we actually kept cursing them. Eventually after a long bombardment my unit leader, Amahadari, got four bullets, and as he got more, he and I would wait for one more because there was no way out as the rescue team fails to reach on time.

At the end, because we remained still they stopped the gunfire and we were rescued by the rescue team. Amahardari is now a war handicap. As for me, I could have got wounded in my back but my radio set took the bullet instead.

So those days made us stronger and we totally leaned on each other in bad and good times.

Do you remember the Independence Day?

Yes, but I was young, so young and naïve that when freedom fighters arrived in Asmara I felt bad for the Ethiopian soldiers wondering if they had anywhere to go. On the contrary unlike their inhuman treatment to Eritreans, we sent their war prisoners in all respect, rightful to every human being.

Also I remember vividly the freedom fighter’s hair style, way of dancing and the little shorts they wore, it left a vibrant picture in my mind. Everybody was out in the streets for days celebrating and dancing. Schools were closed, nobody was going to work, and

there was plenty of free food and fruits for every one… it was just stunning.

Message of congratulation

Thank God I was born an Eritrean, and if I were to die and be born again I’d choose to be born from these superb people. I am glad to be part of a people that looks out for each other and is always ready to sacrifice anything for their liberty, so I forward my most sincere greetings to the Eritrean people.

I wish for our young students to do well in their studies, and build our country to be advanced and strong because now is the time for development.

the market. Though the export standards are yet to be advanced, the sector looks forward to work on it. To prevent perishability and failure in production, stores are on a restructuring and renovating stage as well as tomato paste and banana factories are established in Afhimbol, Alebu and Elabered respectively. When statistically seen, this time is the ultimate stage of the sector producing fruits and veg’s. The outcome of vegetables from the above mentioned hectares in a span of 25 years ranges from 42,579 to 288,700 tons. As of fruit side, it made a positive and huge result to register a 102,388 tons in 2014 which was only 1,330 tons in early days. Not only that, particular fruits that are categorized as cool climate ones are being cultivated in various parts of the country. Fruits like Apple, Peach and Olive Oil can be mentioned. Besides that, an 8 hectares of modern green house (indoor) and an outdoor and plastic tunnel of 22 hectares (a total of 30 hectares) is kept for

cultivating various sorts of flowers. What’s more with the help of the Chinese Embassy and initiative of the government of Eritrea, the introduction of Mushroom is made possible and already supplied in the market. Experiments were made and achieved a 5 quintal production with a 200,000 dollars expense made for accessories and building the necessary site for developing the seeds.

From the leading plans of the sector that are on list to be performed are like developing the export standards of veg’s and fruits, introducing relevant technologies and organizing and improving service associations for producing parties and so much more.

In general, the ministry is highly devoted in operating with farmers, investors and interested governmental and non-governmental institutions in all sectors just to pursue and prove what it began 25 years beforehand.

Food Nutrition and Security ...Continued from page 2