http://www.voanews.com/content/eritrea-denies-food-shortages/1204717.html
Eritrea Denies Food Shortages
Peter Clottey
Last updated on: June 14, 2012 10:25 AM
This is Part Four of a five-part series on Eritrea Today
Continue to Parts: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5
Over the past several years, the Horn of Africa has experienced grave drought. Aid agencies say it has been the worst drought to hit the region in decades, and the ensuing famine has forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes and sometimes cross national borders in search of food.
Eritrea, alone in the region, officially denied any food shortages within its borders and refused food aid.
In a recent interview with VOA, agricultural minister Arefaine Berhe repeated the official denials. He maintained that there was enough food to feed Eritrea's people during the the drought.
“We really don’t have hungry people…because in Eritrea some of the people are involved in the production of crops, some of them are in horticulture, poultry and beekeeping," he said. "All of these, at the end of the day, help them to get their basic food. If that is not possible, we have a responsible government. It makes sure that serious crops and other food stuffs are available on the market, unlike what we see elsewhere,” said Berhe.
“The prices of crops have been steadily decreasing in Eritrea since 2008," he added. "Now the price that you have this year is much less than the price of last year, and the one of last year, is much less than the price of the previous year. So that is not true, we don’t have hungry people in Eritrea, we have a very good coping mechanism.
However, in contrast to government assertions, aid officials and journalists in the region reported thousands of Eritreans had streamed across the border into Ethiopia in search of food. In July 2011, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State Johnnie Carson said many of the refugees from Eritrea were suffering from malnutrition, and he criticized what he called Eritrea's "repressive regime" for failing "to provide data on the humanitarian needs of its own people."
And according to Human Rights Watch, President Isaias Aferwerki in 2009 acknowledged in private to the UN that his country was suffering from famine.
He said Asmara was disappointed after IGAD failed to uphold a U.N. Security Council resolution, which called the respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Somalia.
He explained that Eritrea suspended its membership after Ethiopia “invaded” Somalia. Ethiopia sent troops into Somalia in 2006 in support of the country’s Transitional Federal Government. It was fighting Islamists, including the Islamic Courts Union, a group of Sharia Courts that controlled much of southern Somalia at the time. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said his country’s borders were threatened by rebel forces within Somalia, and that the TFG had invited Ethiopian troops to enter.
“We felt that the rights of one member state, Somalia, was ignored by our sub-regional organization,” said Gebreab, “when the Ethiopian invasion came in 2006… IGAD gave its blessing to the violation of Somalia’s integrity and sovereignty, and Eritrea felt that that was not acceptable,” said Gebreab.
“The situation has not changed since [we suspended our membership] then but we felt that we had made our point, and resuming our activities in IGAD will help a more constructive approach by IGAD in the regional organizations.”
Gebreab called on IGAD to shift its focus from conflict management and resolution to fostering strong bilateral relations among member states for development, which he said will significantly improve the lives of citizens in the Horn of Africa.
“While that is important, we feel the focus needs to be on regional integration. We are key proponents of the idea that we need to improve infrastructure in Africa,” said Gebreab.
“Everyone knows that it is easier to go a neighboring African country via Europe, and everyone knows that that needs to end. We feel in our sub-region we need to develop railway links [and] road links between our countries….This needs to be the focus of IGAD.”
Despite its enormous potential and natural resources, the Horn of African has often been plagued with drought and sometimes famine.
Last year, the Horn experienced its worst drought in six decades. The United Nations said more than 12 million people in the region needed urgent food aid.
Gebreab described the situation as unfortunate.
“The Horn of Africa is a very rich part of the continent, [and] we should not be suffering drought, our people should not be dying from lack of food or famine in the 21st century with all the resources we have,” he said.
Gebreab expressed hope about the prospects of the region despite what he said were decades of opportunity lost to conflict.
“We are going to come out of this period of our history, and I think that you will see the Horn of Africa emerge as a very active dynamic part of the continent… It will provide a boost to the continent as a whole,” Gebreab said.
Gebreab said Asmara will continue to work with members of IGAD to strengthen relations and bolster security in the region.
Aid and dependency
Aid workers and diplomats have criticized Eritrea for refusing to provide statistics for the number of its people needing assistance and “arrogantly” refusing any food aid.
But Berhe said one of the government‘s major priorities is to attain food security for its people within the next five years.
The agricultural minister said food aid has never been a solution to any problem, adding that it encourages dependency, brings about misery and worsens the conditions of the targeted population it is intended to help.
“Rejecting food aid is not a question of arrogance. It’s a question of the very clear principle of self-reliance. This is not something that we just introduced. It was there even during the [struggle for independence], we said self-reliance is the best solution,” he said.
Berhe expressed confidence the country will soon be exporting food crops based on what he called pragmatic agricultural schemes the administration has been implementing.
“We are enlightening our farmers on how to prepare the land better and how to use improved seeds," he said. "We are introducing machinery so that we can plow the land and cultivate it better. We are also making sure that our research institutions and our extension schemes address basic farming problems in Eritrea.”
He added, "we are now building the necessary [foundation] for Eritrea to export at least high value crops like vegetables, fruits and flowers and so on. The basic background is being laid,” he said.
Eritrea Tells Why it Left – and Rejoined – Regional Bloc
http://www.voanews.com/content/eritrea-explains-history-with-regional-bloc/1204715.html
A political advisor to Eritrea President Isaias Afewerki says the country has reactivated its membership in the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), an East African sub-regional bloc.
Yemane Gebreab, who is also head of political affairs at the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), said Eritrea suspended its membership from the group in protest after the sovereignty of a member state of was “violated.”
He said Asmara was disappointed after IGAD failed to uphold a U.N. Security Council resolution, which called the respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Somalia.
He explained that Eritrea suspended its membership after Ethiopia “invaded” Somalia. Ethiopia sent troops into Somalia in 2006 in support of the country’s Transitional Federal Government. It was fighting Islamists, including the Islamic Courts Union, a group of Sharia Courts that controlled much of southern Somalia at the time. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said his country’s borders were threatened by rebel forces within Somalia, and that the TFG had invited Ethiopian troops to enter.
“We felt that the rights of one member state, Somalia, was ignored by our sub-regional organization,” said Gebreab, “when the Ethiopian invasion came in 2006… IGAD gave its blessing to the violation of Somalia’s integrity and sovereignty, and Eritrea felt that that was not acceptable,” said Gebreab.
“The situation has not changed since [we suspended our membership] then but we felt that we had made our point, and resuming our activities in IGAD will help a more constructive approach by IGAD in the regional organizations.”
Gebreab called on IGAD to shift its focus from conflict management and resolution to fostering strong bilateral relations among member states for development, which he said will significantly improve the lives of citizens in the Horn of Africa.
“While that is important, we feel the focus needs to be on regional integration. We are key proponents of the idea that we need to improve infrastructure in Africa,” said Gebreab.
“Everyone knows that it is easier to go a neighboring African country via Europe, and everyone knows that that needs to end. We feel in our sub-region we need to develop railway links [and] road links between our countries….This needs to be the focus of IGAD.”
Despite its enormous potential and natural resources, the Horn of African has often been plagued with drought and sometimes famine.
Last year, the Horn experienced its worst drought in six decades. The United Nations said more than 12 million people in the region needed urgent food aid.
Gebreab described the situation as unfortunate.
“The Horn of Africa is a very rich part of the continent, [and] we should not be suffering drought, our people should not be dying from lack of food or famine in the 21st century with all the resources we have,” he said.
Gebreab expressed hope about the prospects of the region despite what he said were decades of opportunity lost to conflict.
“We are going to come out of this period of our history, and I think that you will see the Horn of Africa emerge as a very active dynamic part of the continent… It will provide a boost to the continent as a whole,” Gebreab said.
Gebreab said Asmara will continue to work with members of IGAD to strengthen relations and bolster security in the region.
Official: Education Investment Key To Eritrea Development
http://www.voanews.com/content/eritrea-education-investment-key-to-development/1204707.html
Eritrea’s education minister says the country invests 45 percent of its annual budget on schooling as one of the main tools for human resource development.
Semere Russom said Eritrea places emphasis on technical education as a means of producing the necessary manpower for the country’s development.
Eritrea’s educational system starts at pre-school, and continues through elementary, junior secondary, senior secondary and tertiary levels.
Russom said the formal education system collapsed prior to independence due to over three decades of armed struggle to attain freedom. Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia 21 years ago.
“Educational opportunities were disrupted, but after independence, our educational system was on track, and for the last 21 years it has been going on very well,” Russom said.
For over two decades, official records show, the government has increased the number of pre-primary schools from 91 to 476, including 237 kindergartens and 239 community care giving centers.
At the elementary level, the government says enrollment jumped from 160,000 in 1991-1992 to about 311,700 in 2010-2011. Records show that over the same period, middle school enrollment increased from 28,000 to more than 100,000, and the number of technical schools also increased from two to six.
Education minister Russom said the government has also established the Eritrea Institute of Technology and six other colleges in different parts of the country.
But the U.S. State Department notes that there remains a shortage of schools and teachers at all levels, and in rural areas girls often stop going to school at a young age, in order to work at home. The report also notes that though primary education to grade 7 is tuition-free, students are required to pay for uniforms, supplies and transportation, costs which are prohibitive for some families.
In addition, in order to graduate high school and qualify for higher education, all students are required to spend their final year at a military camp -- but the State Department report says many students drop out or attempt to leave the country after grade 11 to avoid going to the camp.
And State Department also reports that Eritrea restricted academic freedom, including sanctioning teachers for their writing, research, or curriculum.
In 1991, Russom said the new nation had to begin from scratch to build up the education system, including new curriculum.
He said the government recently initiated a reformed curriculum, which he said better equips Eritrean students to compete globally.
“Students who went through our educational system in the country have been going for further education in different parts of the world [including] South Africa, United States, [the Netherlands], universities in various countries in Europe," Russom said.
"All these students have not only coped with the educational systems of these different countries but [also] they proved that they are capable of carrying whatever is needed of them and they have been doing it very successfully,” Russom said.
He said the government supports sending some students abroad to further their studies, but mandates that upon completion of their programs they return home to participate in building the country.
“We are employing a sizable number of foreign expatriate teachers from international markets. But we have an exit mechanism, whereby students who are going abroad for their further studies come back to their country and then replace the expatriate teachers,” Russom said.
Some education expert groups have sharply criticized Eritrea’s “poor and substandard” educational system. They said the system falls below international standards and is not capable of equipping students to compete on the global stage.
But, education minister Russom disagrees with the assessment.
“I wonder on what their evaluation is based," he said. "What other proof is needed to attest that the educational system of the country is sound? These students have been through our system and you found them capable of coping with the rest of the world’s higher education wherever they are going.”
He said the government realizes that education is a foundation for Eritrea’s development. He cited the government’ five-year strategic plan to help improve and transform the country’s educational system.
“In this plan, all evaluations of the education system has been made and recommendations and future plans are set for action to be taken in the five years and further as well….Human resource development is a priority in the country, and we are working very hard [to emphasize] this issue,” Russom said.
Official: Progress for Eritrea Women
http://www.voanews.com/content/progress-for-eritrea-women/1204753.html
A prominent Eritrean woman has expressed pride in the significant role her countrywomen played in the 30-year struggle for independence from Ethiopia. Eritrea became a separate nation in 1991.
Luul Gebreab, president of the National Union of Eritrean Women, said despite documented successes, more needs to be done to improve the status of women.
Experts say Eritrea women formed about 30 percent of the country’s fighting army during the independence struggle. This, Gebreab said, led many men to change their views about the role of women in what is considered to be a male-dominated society.
“The Eritrean woman [like those in] any other patriarchal society had to fight during [the struggle] against Ethiopian colonialism and also against the patriarchal society that existed,” said Gebreab.
She credits the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) for creating the necessary environment for women's empowerment. She said the move was a catalyst for women to fight for their rights as well as for liberation of their country.
Gebreab said her organization is working to achieve social justice for women and to elevate their status.
“We have been working to first change the political scenario whereby women can have equal status in the different decision making roles starting with the household, community, and the high echelons of government. Secondly, we have been working to fight for the girl child to get an education, and the third is the issue of women's health, especially reproductive health. The fourth is the economic empowerment of women,” said Gebreab.
Official statics showed 80 percent illiteracy rates among women before independence. But Gebreab said the government has helped reduce that figure by half and is working to eliminate illiteracy altogether. She says women are also making large strides in education.
“If our women [had been] at the elementary and secondary level non-existent, now they are at 40 percent at the secondary level and almost 50 percent at the elementary level,” said Gebreab.
But UNICEF reports a large gap remains between primary school enrolment rates of boys and girls. According to the UN agency, 2008 data showed 69 percent of boys were enrolled in primary school, compared to 56 percent of girls.
Some observers also note very few Eritrea women are in cabinet positions in government. They say the administration has yet to implement an African Union proposal to guarantee women half of all available positions in government.
But Gebreab said women are advancing economically and politically.
“What we have achieved so far has been great because [of] where we were and what changes have we achieved. [Even] if we have a few women at the high echelons [of government] and [yet] their status at the grass root has not changed, I really do not see this as [real] change in society,” continued Gebreab.
“We are working in parallel at the grass root level and at different echelons of society. This is sustainable rather than having certain quota at certain level and if you could not maintain it, what is the use of that?”
Eritrea Favors Investment Partnerships Over Aid
http://www.voanews.com/content/eritrea-favors-investment-partnerships-over-aid/1204758.html
A political advisor to Eritrea President Isaias Afewerki says the Horn of Africa country rejects any forms of international aid, and only seeks strategic investment partnerships.
Yemane Gebreab, who is also head of political affairs at the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), said Eritrea has a policy of self-reliance that sharply opposes international food or financial assistance.
“Our experience and the experience of the developing countries is that aid is disabling, debilitating [and] prevents people from making use of their resources, from tapping into their own potential, [and] from exercising their own minds, from achieving independence of thought and policies,” said Gebreab.
“Aid has not worked [and] to some extent aid works for the countries that are said to be providing [it]. It’s a means of influencing African countries, of entering African markets. It hasn’t worked for Africa and for the developing world.”
Gebreab cited the conclusion of a 2011 conference in the southern port city of Busan, South Korea that examined the effectiveness of aid over the years as further proof that international assistance to developing countries has failed to yield positive results.
He said since its independence in 1991, Eritrea has mobilizing its resources to build the country, despite serious security and logistical challenges.
Gebreab underscored his government’s policy of self-reliance in spite of what he described as the country’s scant natural resources.
“[What] a policy of avoiding aid dependency, mobilizing our own resources has done is that it has enabled us to build local national capacity. It has enabled us to build very strong relations with our population, because at the end of the day we will have to depend on our people…So politically as well as economically, it has been a success,” said Gebreab.
He said African countries endowed with "rich natural resources" could learn from the Eritrea’s example rather than depend on foreign aid.
“Sometimes we look at them and we wonder why a country that has an income of millions of dollars from its natural resources has to wait for 10-20 million dollars of aid from any country in the world. We really don’t see any need for it,” he said.
Gebreab said many African nations have come to a consensus that international food or financial assistance over the years has often undermined the resourcefulness of developing nations. He said some Africans who financially benefit from external aid will continue to resist the idea that the continent does not need it.
Gebreab said with proper management, Africa can wean itself away from dependency.
“People are coming to the conclusion that Africa has within itself the capacity to develop its own economy. When we talk about self-reliance, we are not talking about [isolating] ourselves [and not interacting] with others. We develop our economies on our own in order to become global actors,” said Gebreab.
“So, I think we need to change the paradigm, and we need to tell ourselves that we can do it on our own. We are the ones who are transferring money from Africa to the north. It’s not vice versa.”
Gebreab called on African countries to invest in each other as well as abroad.
Human Rights Watch says since independence, the country has received modest amounts of financial support from China, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Qatar and until the overthrow of Muammar Gadhafi, Libya.
HRW says Asmara continues to accept UN funding for health, sanitation and safe-water projects, though it has ended its relationship with the World Bank.
The U.S. State Department web page notes that the Eritrean government requested an end to bilateral assistance from the U.S. However, it notes U.S. interests include encouraging Eritrea to contribute to regional stability, and to develop a democratic political culture and promote economic reform.
Received on Thu Jun 14 2012 - 12:58:47 EDT
