In a very poor judgment and un-ethical journalism behavior the
Bloomberg news agency that employs a longtime critic of Eritrea has
once again committed a breech of the public trust. This is a conflict
of interest and Bloomberg must stop utilizing the false information
given to its outlet from a disgruntled Eritrean who knows very little
about the country. By attempting to paint the wrong picture of a
mining company working in Eritrea within the legal and international
norms and rules, Bloomberg has pre-judged and concluded without facts
that Alan Grayson’s family has cashed in a long-held investment in a
mining company that gets its revenue almost entirely from Eritrea. The
article written on Bloomberg Politics says,
“Human Rights Watch labeled Eritrea “a pariah state,” in part, for its
system of forced labor.”
First and foremost the majority of Floridians may not know where
Eritrea is. For the news article to mislead readers by simply accusing
this great nation one that depends on “SELF RELIANCE” rather than on
hand outs which has been sucking the American people’s tax money is
not consistent with what is taking place on the ground. To assume that
it is, should be considered “IGNORANT”. You can ask the highest
American representative and diplomat based in Eritrea if this mining
center Bloomberg claims has a “forced labor”. As Eritrean-Americans we
can almost guarantee you that you would be quite surprised to witness
the opposite of what is being written and we can back it. You can even
go and visit the place for yourself.
Nevsun has a track record of working in partnership with the Eritrean
government for over 15 years and today the company is proud to share
that it has achieved 1 injury in over 23 million hours. No American
company can say they did the same. The company makes sure that the
safety of its people is the most important workplace consideration. It
continuously promotes and trains for a healthy and safety culture and
a mindset where workers believe it is possible to work injury free,
regardless of what role they perform. This in itself is human right at
its best. All the employees are paid good wages according to the
standards of the country and are treated with the utmost respect.
Eritrea is a country that used to treat its prisoners of war with
“DIGNITY” the tradition of the basic necessities of individual rights
are a part and parcel of life in the country since its independence
day almost 25 years ago, anything otherwise would not serve the nation
right. Gender equality and inclusive hiring practices where every
Eritrean ethnic group is considered for jobs is one of the main
requirements. Heck even the area has a small farm where organic food
is grown for workers. Training on safety takes place on a regular
basis.
While we as Eritrean-Americans wish to see the best senator win this
important race, the mud slinging that is going on using ERITREA as a
scape goat is what the core problem of this country’s political system
has gotten to. It is shameful for the Patrick Murphy Senate campaign
to attack Eritrea in order to defame their competitor. It is also
shameful to see Alan Grayson pushing back saying he wasn’t aware of
the Human Rights Watch report from 2013 that criticized the Canadian
mining company in question, Nevsun Resources Ltd. He should do his
homework. There is nothing to be ashamed of. As a matter of fact every
mining company in the world should learn from this pioneering company
that allows its employees to actively work with the Government of
Eritrea to continually enhance preferential hiring for local
candidates for the Bisha Mine. Please stop this political madness and
leave ERITREA alone.
As Eritrean Americans from all over the east coast and even parts of
Florida where one of you winners will serve, we urge you both to
refrain from attacking an innocent nation and bringing it into this
important Florida campaign with out merit. We are also disappointed in
US Senator Harry Reid of Nevada for attempting to blackmail
congressman Alan Grayson because of his stock share in Nevsun. What
has American politics come to these days? Let us respect other nations
that try to fend for themselves and work in tandem for peace and
security throughout the world. Eritrea can play a huge role in making
sure the world’s interest is respected in its region and the USA must
accept the fact that it is an independent nation that leads its own
agenda. It has been doing so for 25 year as it gets ready to celebrate
its Independence Day anniversary this coming May 24th, 2016.
Thank you and Respectfully
Eritrean-Americans.
Received on Sat Feb 20 2016 - 09:18:12 EST