Luckily this is not in my family, but I am starting to see that in the diaspora for some people mainly the young Eritreans. Even if they have family back home and even with family in the diaspora sometimes they don't want to talk to them and keep in touch. This is utterly crazy for me to even think about. I know people always bring up phones and social media but It is genuinely a factor, I genuinely believe some of these diaspora kids don't see the value in keeping in touch with their family. Any thoughts?

(F30) I’m curious to hear other people’s experiences.

I grew up in small cities without an Eritrean/Habesha community around me, and I’ve been wondering how much that shaped my identity and sense of belonging. My parents left eritrea in the 80s. I grew up being one of the few black kid in school, so I experienced racism as Well.
I always felt a bit disconnected from the eritrean community. People would tell me I didn’t look Eritrean, because of my hair, my nose and my skin tone and I’d take it way more personally than I should have. One time one guy asked to my mother (who looks habesha) if my dad was from another country in africa. But my dad looks more eritrean than me. I don’t speak Tigrinya either, so I think that made it even harder.

If you had a similar experience, what was it like for you?

I live in the northern region of Eritrea, in a village where access to healthcare is very limited. The nearest hospital for us is Massawa, but unfortunately it has almost become useless because many basic services are no longer available.

Recently, I wanted to send my sister for an ultrasound. We were told to go to Gindac instead because the service was not available in Massawa. She waited there for almost two months. First, they said there was no electricity, and finally they told us that the ultrasound service was not operating at all.

The situation keeps getting worse. I understand that medical services are expensive everywhere in the world, but at least in many countries, if you can afford treatment, you can get it.

In Eritrea, the situation is becoming more difficult. In the past, doctors would write prescriptions, and if you had family members outside the country—especially those living in Gulf countries—they could help send the medicine. However, with changes in medical policies in Gulf countries, people can no longer easily get medication without a prescription from a local doctor, creating another challenge for many families.

It is very sad to see this situation. The government talks about providing free healthcare, but what would it really cost to allow more private hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies to operate? Around the world, many countries have both public and private healthcare systems.

Unfortunately, whenever people raise these issues, the response is often to blame external factors such as sanctions or foreign countries

When I posted before about the water shortage in Asmara and how a private water business was closed, many people responded by asking: "Why don't Eritreans abroad help? Why don't they create non-profit organizations to support the government and help solve the water crisis

Many people think I am posting from inside Eritrea. I'm not. I live outside the country, and I share these posts because my family there

He's mentally ill, an EPLF vet who would suck Afwerki dry and used to be abusive(only to my mom) and hates everybody who even shows a bit of dislike to Isaias but my mom is meley but hes sorta strange hgdef he implies stuff that goes against the pfdj but claims he deeply supports them what should i do

there is this Eritrean girl at my local grocery store she works at the till and I always go to her to check out my groceries for at least 2 months. I began to befriend her early on when I recognized her. began with giving her my name then talking about similar interests every time I would check out. Sports,food,etc every time she would see me she always has big smile warm demeanor and body language. Very receptive when I ask her favorite foods and this or that questions. To the point she reciprocates the questions and is keen to know my answer to the same question. I begin practicing speaking some things in her language she found it very sweet. she always remembers details about past things I’ve told her about family members or food or flowers I bought specific people for specofic ocasions. initiating that she precisely remembers. she Opened up to me about how she had to leave her country and cross borders and the challenge it posed. She told me her younger brother will be coming to the states too and he will also be working at the store. a week ago she mentioned to me that she was looking for other work and wanted to leave the grocery store that she doesn’t like it. When she told me I jokingly said well it will be boring here and who will I have to talk too. She laughed and found it funny as simple as it was. I had my number rolled up on a thin sheet of paper in my pocket that I had been meaning to give her all week but didn’t work the courage or moment too. After this conversation and the urgency that she may not be here anymore I gave it to her as I was afraid I may not see her again. When I handed it to her she said thank you and in cyclical reflex pattern tossed it in the trash. I said that’s not waste she said really what is it. She pulled it and saved it, I said you will know what it is. This was during the store closing. so I went home that night on the edge of my seat with anxiety and excitement wondering if she would text me. after 2 hours or so she texted me. I was elated I almost broke my phone after jumping up and down. We had a long back and forth via text that night. Until she fell asleep. Next couple days the texts slowed down. I noticed that her text patterns are very slow sometimes several hours or days before responding. I interpreted this as not being interested but I feel I was wrong as to everyone I saw her in the store while checking out it was the same dynamic. Warmth excitement, reciprocity. so because her text patterns are delayed or poor or dry up I overlooked it. Tried calling one night and didn’t get a response but still same behavior in the store. I realized she is away from her phone a lot. not like us Americans even in person when we talked once during her lunch she never checked her phone while my rude self checked my own phone twice maybe 3 times in a 40 minute convo But I let her know it was only because I was waiting for money to come in and sort some work things. One night I called her to see if she needed a ride home from work. Because she had told me sometimes she takes the bus late night and I told her please dont ever do that. And please don’t pay for Uber I live in the area I can help. She answered the call and said she will be done soon and I said I will come. So that night I pulled up on her as she was walking to the bus stop and with me on the phone telling me to not come because the bus will arrive. She was being polite then I arrived she hopped in and I took her home. It was a 7 minute ride maybe 10. same talking like usual. and when we got to her complex I said wait I will get your door And I got her door and she was like thank you but was nervous because it was late and there was other traffic by her house. I said hold on lm give you this and I gave her a tiny bag with a gift card and some sweets inside. She was like thank you I can’t wait to go inside and see what it is. After that night she never brought up the gift bag. I never asked if she opened it or what she though even though I was dying to know. Next few nights I would always check on her make sure she was getting home safe and she would say that she got a ride or that hwr cousin is coming. Then proceed thank you for checking on me darling I very much appreciate that. She says this a lot. The word darling and thank you for checking on me. Since that night a week ago I never gave her another ride. She always said it was sorted by co worker. I told her that I’m just gonna leave the ball in your corner if you ever need a ride lmk. but I wont trouble you about it. Also asked her to get ice cream once she said that it would be great but at that time she had a family gathering. Because her texts are so delayed and sometimes she never checks her phone I never brought up the gift or the ice cream again. a week ago I intentionally stopped checking out at her register to give her space just because the communication was inconsistent on her end and i wanted it to breathe. she had texted me in response to a text I sent that she hadn’t seen me last few days I told her I don’t want to bother her at work. She responded by saying something like no don’t say that darling you could never do that .so since then I still come and check out at her line and she gets excited about it And smiles ear to ear and we do the same talks. Latest interaction was that she asked me how my mom‘s surgery went when she saw me checking out flowers with my groceries. I asked her her opinion on the color of the flowers and she told me the one that she preferred that had really cool colors then proceeded to ask me how my mom is doing post operation today. I went to the grocery store in the early afternoon, but only for a brief moment I could see her gazing at me from my peripheral vision, but when I turned around, she looked away as if she didn’t wanna be caught staring at me sometimes when I catch her looking, she just smiles other times she doesn’t want me to know that she was looking all in all there is never any digital communication unless I initiate it and so far for the past week, I’ve decided not to initiate any text but in the store, everything is warm and has positive momentum. Can I get your guys serious take as to what I could be experiencing and what I may not be looking at objectively because I feel like I’m receiving mixed signals however I don’t wanna be the one to put words in anyone’s mouth or subjectively assess my own situation bear in mind. This girl is probably in her mid 20s and I’m 30. I forgot to mention that earlier last week she told me that it was her birthday when I asked her how her day off was I said no I didn’t know it was your birthday. Thanks for letting me know. Happy belated birthday. She told me she spent it with her brother and some family, but made it a point to let me know. It was her birthday as if she wanted me to know it was her birthday like she was excited to tell me.

Not to be that guy but i noticed many people in this sub aren't Eritreans not saying this out of racism but just wondering

Not only planting and restoring trees help fighting climate change in the country.. its actually changes its climate..make it more livable and cooler..more oxygen and fresh air...when eritrea opens up again, hope these movements will be part of our projects in the country

Hey everyone! I run HabeshaHistory.com, and one of the biggest challenges I often face when researching Ethiopian and Eritrean history is finding accurate answers, especially the further back I go or the more niche the topics...

Google, ChatGPT, and other AI search tools will sometimes hallucinate, provide incomplete information, or cite unreliable sources such as random Facebook pages or unsourced Wikipedia claims.

Because of this, I decided to create my own research bot that relies only on academic sources. I have added all five volumes of the Encyclopaedia Aethiopica, more than 100 books on Ethiopian and Eritrean history, and dozens of academic papers.

The bot uses these materials to answer questions and provides the source and page number so you can verify the information yourself & hopefully dig deeper if you want.

My goal is to make it more useful and reliable than Google and ChatGPT for researching our history. However, it is still in its early stages, and I am continuing to refine it as I use it.

You should use it as a starting point & look into the citations and read the sources to come to your own conclusion.

The bot is completely free and available in the Habesha History Discord server. Simply go to the bot channel and use the /ask command.

Join Here: https://discord.gg/SpaHFKxygC

Today I see very many Eritrean kids have autism, but why is there so many today?

Ofc he won’t be staying there in the country tho

Hello everyone!
I am an Australian teacher and I have quite a few Eritrean students in my class. I am a big fan of North African music, particularly Tishoumaren/Desert Blues, however was recently introduced to the grooves of Abraham Afewerki by my students and I am obsessed with him. I’d love to dive more into Tigre/Tigrinya music with similar rhythms to Abraham’s and would love some suggestions of some other artists to listen to! I have added many of his songs to my ‘world music’ playlist already however my two favourites so far of his are Meley and Bebzelenayo - as a guitarist, I am absolutely the music and have taken a lot of inspiration into my own playing.

Shukran/yeqenyley!

Hello! I'm not Tigrinya/Tigrayan, but I am a diaspora Horner (🇸🇴🇩🇯) who grew up in the Horn, and I've wanted to learn Tigrinya since I was a kid & casually discovered EriTV while switching TV channels. I understand some words from being a fluent Somali speaker (+ knowing basic Arabic) and recognizing some of our Arabic loanwords being cognates in Tigrinya, but I'm aware that's not enough to actually count for much.

I currently have quite a bit of free time, so I'll be starting by learning the Ge'ez script. The Tigrinya subreddit seems inactive, so I hope posting in here's okay. Any and all resources are appreciated! (and I hope my post doesn't come across as invasive, I'm just an autist fond of Cushitic and Semitic languages spoken in the Horn 🙂)

Hi!

I’m eritrean orthodox christian, born, and still live in Sweden. Within the past couple of years, I’ve noticed some acquaintances (they’re all from Eritrea, don’t know if that’s relevant), that used to be (or still say they are) orthodox christian, say or do some strange things.

These people (those who I know personally happen to be women) started saying things like, women should always cover their hair, not just in church, but in daily life, outside of their homes. Women should not wear pants, only long skirts or dresses. They say that coffee is the devil’s drink. They weren’t like this a few years ago, they were just normal orthodox christian Eritreans. They used to not cover their hair, wear pants and drink coffee (bun). The women I know are between 40-60 years old, and have all lived in Sweden for at least 20 years.

The priest and deacons have all said that it’s not part of our religion, culture, and tradition, and to not listen to them. I obviously agree with this (not that I’m a religious expert, but whatever).

It seems like this is spreading within the Eritrean community in my city. Is this just a thing in Sweden, or in other places too? Is this like a new religion, or just some people within our community that are making things up?

In an interview with the Eritrean state-owned television network on 8 January 2022, President Isaias Afwerki critiqued the Ethiopian  constitution by saying it was designed to institutionalize  ethnicidentity, and that the federal system it prescribed is the source of all problems in Ethiopia. These opinions are not new. In many of his interviews, Isaias has passionately reiterated that Ethiopia should engage in a centralized nation-building project and abandon ethnic federalism. However, he is not saying this out of concern for the welfare of Ethiopia.

Rather, the reason for his obsession with this topic is that Eritrean nation-building is hampered by the presence of a Tigrayan identity that transcends the current state boundaries. All of the countries in the Horn of Africa were created during European colonialism in the 19th century and have cross-boundary ethnic groups. For instance, Oromos live in Ethiopia and Kenya; Afar in Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti; Somalis in Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Somalia; and Nuer in Ethiopia and South Sudan.

Similarly, Tigrayan people live in Ethiopia’s Tigray region as well as in Eritrea. In the late 19th century, Tigrinya speakers were divided and incorporated into the Italian colony of Eritrea and the Shewan-led kingdom of Ethiopia. They are an overwhelming majority in Eritrea, mainly occupying the country’s highland areas. Isaias has been trying to construct a singular, Eritrean national identity from the nine ethnic groups in Eritrea. His nation-building project thus requires that the identity of the Tigrinya-speaking people of Eritrea be eliminated and that a new, Eritrean identity is cultivated.

However, the Tigray nation is relatively homogenous, with no clan structures and with deep social trust. The people on both sides of the border share the same language, religion, history, and territory.
Africans & Diaspora

Even many of the current leaders of the ruling People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) party, including Isaias, are either from Tigray or have parents from Tigray. Conversely, many top Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) leaders, including the late Meles Zenawi, have parents from present-day Eritrea. It is thus almost impossible to separate the Tigray nation into Eritrean and Ethiopian camps. Accordingly, Isaias is of the opinion that his nation-building project can’t easily be finalized without Ethiopia adopting the same approach.

Isaias has long understood that without Tigray’s complete assimilation into Ethiopia, Tigrayans in Eritrea would not give up their identity, and this would stymie the project of constructing a common Eritrean identity.
Constitutional Law & Civil Rights

Accordingly, for his project to be successful, the Ethiopian federal arrangement that protects and promotes group identities should be abolished and the assimilationist nation-building project needs to be revitalized. Once Tigray is sufficiently assimilated into Ethiopia, his hope is that the national consciousness of Tigrinya speakers in Eritrea will weaken, which will help in realizing his project.

This demonstrates that the core reason for the rivalry between Isaias and the TPLF was the fact that the latter defended ethnic federalism.
TPLF’s original objective was to establish Tigray as an independent nation-state. But, these ambitions evolved over time.
The Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) was by far the most powerful rebel group fighting the Derg regime. TPLF thus sought support from EPLF and compromised its original objective of securing Tigray’s independence.
According to Isaias, the alliance made TPLF shift its goals. TPLF half-heartedly changed its program from establishing a republic of Tigray into staying in a federated Ethiopia.

Isaias’ expectation during the immediate post-Derg era was that TPLF would rule Ethiopia as a unitary state, or at least not as an ethnic federation.
But, to his displeasure, the 1995 constitution not only adopted a multi-national federal system but even gave the nations, nationalities, and peoples of Ethiopia a self-determination right that included a constitutional right to secede.
In an interview, he said, “Not just Article 39, but the whole spirit [of the constitution] is not one that you would crave for nation-building….In my reading, it is not good for the people of Ethiopia or any other people.”

Isaias also thinks that Eritrea is justified in meddling in Ethiopia’s affairs for national security reasons.
In the same interview, he said, “We can’t say [Ethiopia’s domestic] affairs are their own. What we saw during the past sixty or eighty years over three generations is that [our affairs] are directly related to the situation in Ethiopia. We can live in peace, brotherhood, collaboration, and respect [with Ethiopians]. But, first, the stability of Ethiopia needs to be determined.”
He also revealed his disappointment with the Ethiopian  governmentpulling out its armed forces from most of Tigray last June, while also implying that Eritrea could continue its military intervention in Ethiopia with greater intensity.

Although its present-day borders were created by Italian colonialism, Eritrea was one of the oldest and most powerful civilizations in the world during the Aksumite Empire.
It was the cradle of the Ge’ezcivilization and the Axumite trading empire across the Red Sea, while Adulis was the trading hub for global merchants.
Politics

Despite being an independent Italian colony, Eritrea was denied sovereignty by the United Nations after World War II. At the time, it was in the interest of the US and allied powers that Eritrea was yoked in the name of federation with Ethiopia. The invasions and encroachments made Eritrea’s history full of agony and resilience. Finally, Eritrea secured independence in 1993 and restored its dignity.
Even after going through a destructive war of independence from Ethiopia between 1961 and 1991, Eritrea had a solid potential for industrialization, in part due to the infrastructure built by the Italians.
Constitutional Law & Civil Rights

Yet, thanks to Isaias’ authoritarianism and nation-building effort that he embarked on a few years after independence, Eritrea has been experiencing a post-independence stagnation. His brutal nation-building scheme has isolated the country from the international community and put its potential to waste. His disastrous policies have created an all-around socio-economic debacle. But, Eritrea can’t be a role model for diverse Ethiopia, as Eritrea is a de facto nation-state with an overwhelming majority of Tigrinya speakers. Therefore, a balance of power should be put in place to prevent the hegemonic ambitions of Isaias or any one of these three  politicalforces.

The force that can defeat Isaias’ ambition is Tigrayan nationalism. Freedom fighter veterans who served during the armed struggle for independence under the EPLF are now forging such a movement. They are also mobilizing the youth in the diaspora. This movement is already delegitimizing Isaias in the diaspora.
Even the internal political dynamics of Tigray are being shaped by the explosion of Tigrayan nationalism that is challenging any hegemonic ambition that TPLF might have.

I am sure 3 million is not the correct answer. It was said to be 3 million in 1999/2000 and from there it has been 3 million.

There must be a way to guess approximately even if the gov does not release stats

How much time do you think it takes to cover these areas if Ethiotelecom or Safaricom is asked to help?

Hi everyone,

I'm planning a trip to Eritrea later this year and I'm trying to understand the best way to travel between cities.

For example, I'd like to visit Asmara, Keren and Massawa. Is it easy to use public transport, or do most visitors hire a private driver?

If hiring a driver is the best option:

• How do you usually arrange one?
• Can hotels help organize transportation?
• Are there any reliable local agencies or drivers you would recommend?

I'd also appreciate any general advice on getting around the country as a foreign visitor.

Thanks in advance!