Day: June 26, 2021

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Attack on UN Base in Mali Injures 12 German Soldiers

BERLIN – The United Nations said 12 German troops and a Belgian soldier serving in the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Mali were wounded Friday in an attack in the country’s restive north.

The U.N. mission in the country, MINUSMA, had earlier said that 15 peacekeepers were wounded when a temporary operational base in the Gao region was targeted with a vehicle bomb. Later, it corrected the numbers.

German Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said three of the soldiers were seriously wounded. She told reporters in Bonn, Germany, that two soldiers were in a stable condition while the third was still undergoing surgery.

All of the wounded soldiers were flown by helicopter to Gao, where they were being treated at German, French and Chinese medical facilities, the minister said.

“The military operations on site aren’t completed yet,” she said.

A German medevac plane will fly to Gao overnight to bring the wounded soldiers back to Germany on Saturday, said Kramp-Karrenbauer.

Germany has hundreds of troops taking part in U.N. stabilization and European Union training missions in the West African nation.

Mali has been trying to contain an Islamic extremist insurgency since 2012.

Islamic extremist rebels were forced from power in Mali’s northern cities with the help of a French-led military operation in 2013. However, the insurgents quickly regrouped in the desert and began launching frequent attacks on the Malian army and its allies fighting the insurgency.

The extremists have expanded their reach well into central Mali, where their presence has inflamed tensions between ethnic groups in the area.

Source: Voice of America

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Zimbabwe Receives COVID-19 Shots From China

HARARE, ZIMABABWE – Zimbabwe on Saturday received a half-million Sinopharm shots against COVID-19 it bought from China, a development officials said would put its vaccination program back on track.

After the plane with the Sinopharm shots landed, Zimbabwe Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said his government would ensure that the country has no vaccine shortages in the future.

“We are receiving 2 million vaccines by end of next week, and after that we will order 1.5 million vaccines, and in the month of August will order another 3.5 million vaccines,” Ncube said. “So you can see we are very focused in terms of our vaccine acquisition agenda. We will not have a shortage at all. We are headed for herd immunity and we will get there.”

Zimbabwe is one of the African countries seeing recent increases in COVID-19 cases. On Saturday, Dr. John Mangwiro, Zimbabwe’s deputy health minister, said the government intensified its vaccination program to contain the spike in cases.

“COVID-19 disease is back via a third wave,” he said. “As a government, we are going

to target border towns for vaccination so that we make sure that if things are getting worse, our border areas are protected, because you find that most of these [new cases] are coming via our borders. We are going to target areas that are very risky and that the disease can come through. … These are tobacco-auction floors, markets, cotton sales floors. All those will be targeted.”

On Thursday, Vice President Constantino Chiwenga, who doubles as Zimbabwe’s health minister, said he wanted everyone vaccinated, starting with vendors. On Saturday, Samuel Wadzai, executive director of the Zimbabwe Vendors Initiative for Social and Economic Transformation, said his organization understood the importance of vaccination.

“But we expect the government to urge citizens to embrace the vaccination program,” Wadzai said. “That should be done through information dissemination on its importance to the country and economy. We know the pandemic has decimated economies, lives and livelihoods. But we disagree [about] forcing citizens to get vaccinated. When the program started, we were told that people would not be forced. It should remain that way.”

So far, fewer than 738,000 Zimbabweans have received their first shots, and nearly 485,000 have received their second shots since the program started in February.

Zimbabwe has had 45,217 confirmed coronavirus infections and 1,721 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Resource Center in the United States, which tracks the global outbreak.

Source: Voice of America

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MERHAWI KUDUS BRINGS ERITREAN TT TITLE TO ASTANA – PREMIER TECH

Merhawi Kudus brings another national title to Astana – Premier Tech winning the Eritrean individual time trial.

Today, the Eritrean National championships started with the individual time trial of 36 kilometres. Merhawi Kudus showed a solid performance on a flat route, at the finish winning 34 seconds to the closest rival Mekseb Debesay. Dawit Yemane completed the race podium with the third position.

“I am really happy to take the win and wear the Eritrean national time trial champion skinsuit for the first time in my career! It’s really special to represent Eritrea and wear my country’s jersey in the WorldTour! I can’t say that today’s time trial suited me well because the course was quite flat, but I managed to find a good rhythm and to keep it during the whole race. Well, we did two laps of an 18-kilometre course, so it was 36 kilometres in total. I felt good and I was able to win by 34 seconds in the end. I was really motivated to take the jersey this year and of course, now I am looking forward to the road race. It is going to be another flat race so on paper the course doesn’t look really good for me. Also, with so many riders from different teams, it won’t be easy to control the situation. But with the form I have I am really motivated and ready to give everything I have to win the road race title once again as I did it back in 2018”, – said Merhawi Kudus.

Today success of Merhawi Kudus becomes the fourth National time trial title for Astana – Premier Tech after wins of Aleksandr Vlasov in Russia, Ion Izagirre in Spain and Matteo Sobrero in Italy.

Source: Dehai Eritrea Online

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Dress- More than Meets the Eye

I would buy fashionable clothes every visit

But I, being jealous, I would not

Without it, you are beautiful and bright

Don’t shock me by denims too tight

Avoid the torn and patched pants

As the sea breaks against the rock

I crash, to see you adorned with frock

Every society has its own culture and style of clothing. Making the best possible impression is one of the paramount functions of clothing. A dress has an aesthetic and symbolic value. It shapes the projection of self, social values, and material culture altogether. Religious beliefs and ethnic identities are embedded in and communicated through clothing.

Women from the nine ethnic groups of Eritrea usually wear a modest and impressive dress that covers the whole body without obstructing the view. They dress appropriately and wear beautiful clothes. Traditionally, the woman’s dress perfectly protects the body. Women dressed humbly in a way that did not display their body structure hideously. The use of excessive accessories, strong perfume, and make-up is not common. Traditional Eritrean women dress modestly in order to prevent undesirable things from happening and to preserve and maintain the mores and morals of society. Eritreans adorn themselves with a rich repertoire of jewelry, hairdressing, and clothing.

Dress as expressed by Arthur, “provides a window through which we might look into a culture because it visually attests to the salient ideas, concepts, and categories fundamental to that culture”. Dress is not only a piece of cloth used to cover the body. It is a cultural representation of society. The dress has the power to characterize and reflect the existing conditions of a society.

Your dress says a lot about you. Appearance sends a lot of signals with different meanings. Professional appearance is, for example, a critical part of one’s professional image. Like it or not, what we wear is a direct reflection of who we are personally, socially, culturally, and historically. We should not underestimate the power of clothing. We are oftentimes judged by appearances. Today, the dress revolution is going on in both genders but, more particularly, in women. The course of design and fashion changes more rapidly than the culture as a whole. Modesty went completely out of the window for many women.

Almost every woman is going after fashion. Although it is not bad to go after fashion, we should remember that fashion does not make us perfect. It only makes us beautiful. Tight-fitting little dresses and clothes with holes are becoming common to the majority of young girls. When they show off their body, what they are really doing is advertising to the whole world: “Look at me!” If people turn around to look at you on the street, the message could also be that you are not properly dressed.

Culture is dynamic and cultural change is inevitable. However, it is important to analyze change to be able to fit with the social and cultural realities of society. The days are gone when girls used to wear like their mothers and boys used to dress like their fathers. Adorning yourself with modest dressing has lost its popularity. Graceful beauty and modest appearance are replaced by arrogant and exaggerated appearances. Cloths began to reflect anti-social behaviors that opposed or are contrary to normal social practices. Young people tend to enjoy an inflated and grandiose self-concept. But the dress of the majority of the modern youth doesn’t give confidence and elegance. Rather it puts the youth in distress. Wearing clothes with holes, stains, and tears that contradict the social mores and standards of our society has become the preferred casual dress by young men and women. Instead of being dressed for success, many are being dressed for depression. Humility is forgotten by young men and women as the best dress to wear.

The usefulness of some of the fashionable clothes is dubious. Modern fashion is no longer driven by beauty and glamour. The youth are currently attracted to wear clothes that have no aesthetic value. Some women wear a miniskirt to reveal their thighs; some wear a full dress to conceal their bodies. There is a maxim that says “You cannot choose your face but you can choose your dress.” There are a lot of things in life where we can have a choice. What we do, how we dress, what we believe, how we decorate ourselves etc. Clothes are second to the skin so they should be as important as our skin.

The fashion of clothes changes fast. We should not let fashion destroy our style. Our style should endure in face of changing fashions. It is good to be elegant and fashionable but people have to keep their own style. Style is all about knowing who you are. We have to work hard to maintain and develop our own Eritrean style which is unique and yet identifiable for others. As far as fashion is concerned, fashion is not only about clothes. It’s about all kinds of change including attitudes. Fashion should not destroy moral values but it should rebuild the moral values of society. Our dress must reflect and reinforce the Eritrean character, culture, and style. That is the only way we can make beauty. There is no sufficient reason to dress like everyone else. We have to dress like an Eritrean and think like an Eritrean. We have to stand on our cultural ground and be proud.

Clothing brings the individual to the community and it is through dress that we signal our understanding of the most common social codes that help define a society. Our dress should reveal, instead of concealing, the rich cultural and historical legacy of Eritrean society. Fashion designers must focus on beautifying the Eritrean body than disfiguring it. Tailors and fashion designers have to find ways through which the Eritrean social, historical and cultural system is realized through dress. Cautious efforts are needed to preserve and improve the aesthetic and symbolic value of Eritrean costumes. Dress is a second skin presented by culture to identify our identity and culture within the larger international community. The dress we wear should promote aspects of Eritrea’s cultural heritage that are cherished by its people.

What you wear is a reflection of you and sets the tone for how you will be perceived by others. Research tells us that much of another person’s perception of you is based on how you look. We need to understand the element of truth found in the maxim “First impression is always a lasting impression.” Our dress influences our posture and our posture, in turn, can have a great deal of influence on our personal presentation and image.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

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“It’s one Thing to have Read Something and Another to have lived an Experience”

Ms. Susan Ngongi is a UN resident coordinator who has completed her four-year term in Eritrea. Following is an excerpt of her interview on Eri-TV.

• What is the extent of your knowledge and your view of Eritrea before and after you got here?

Well, before I got here, I had limited knowledge about the country. Of course, I have read few things and I had minimal knowledge. However, what helped me was that I was here in 2015 for a one-week mission with UNICEF. I was with the UNICEF regional office at the time I came to the country. So I saw the place but still didn’t know that much although it definitely helped me when I came back as resident coordinator in 2017.

• So was it the same or different from what you anticipated?

What was missing at the beginning was there was no attachment. You have read some documents, what you have at the end is you have read a lot more, you have lived a lot more and you have a lot more attachments. So, of course, it is very different at the end compared to the beginning.

• Now, tell us about your four-year term in Eritrea?

It was a fantastic four years. It was time really well spent. I came and I worked. I think we did something good like the United Nations. I had a productive relationship with the government and the team. Of course, there were challenges, which are “hargoxgox” in Tigrigna, my new favorite word. But regardless, in terms of these four years, it was time really well spent because I learned a lot of things and developed an attachment with the people. And yes, that has been very special.

• What major successes has the UN achieved with the cooperation of the government of Eritrea during the past four years?

Well, we had a partnership and cooperation framework. I think the key areas in which we have worked with the government over the past four years were in the areas of health, agriculture, and natural resource management. There has been some work done with the Ministry of Social Welfare in terms of supporting children with education and health and so on. That has gone well. However, we are in the process of developing a new partnership and cooperation framework. I will not complete the process so my successor will be completing that process and it seems to be going well. Generally, the government’s view on the UN is the most useful in supporting the work and basic social services like health, education, water, and sanitation. Those are the areas that the government has indicated to us. They think the UN can be useful.

• Was working with the government in those areas that you just mentioned a successful venture?

It is a successful venture. In terms of the relationship with the UN team on the ground, I think there has been good relation over the years with my predecessor Christina Motony. In terms of the program and projects that we are undertaking with the government, there has been progressing but, of course, there is no secret that it is not easy. The way we work and the government’s own expectations on how the work should be done may differ but as far as I understand and as far as the work of the country team is concerned here, it has progressed and the relationship is growing while things are falling in line. In the past four years, at a political level, we managed to have quite a few high-level visits and discussions in the country between the UN officials and the government. The fact that those dialogues happened are signs of progress. The government is clear that the UN should support them in the areas where they think support is required and the UN system should be flexible in the support provided. The UN system is a bureaucracy so flexibility is not their middle name even though we have tried to be flexible. So there have been some adjustments that needed to be made indoors.

• Okay, Susan, would you regard yourself as having exchanged your experience with Eritrean nationals, and perhaps you yourself even learned a thing or two about Eritrea?

That’s one of the richness of the four years. I think I had a relationship with the members of society. There was work, of course, and I have dealt with the officials that I might have got interlocked within the work that I do. However, I had friends among the society, so I have heard many stories and shared the people’s experiences. I understand a little bit more with greater depth and complexity of the challenges. I think you asked if there have been changes in my view. It made my view richer, I would say. It’s one thing to have read something and quite another to have lived an experience. During the four years, I have lived an experience of Eritrea, dealing with the people that crossed paths with me or that I crossed paths with. It created a much deeper and richer understanding. So yes, it definitely changed my view.

• We are now suffering from a global pandemic. How do you think is the government of Eritrea handling the situation from the perspective of the UN?

The government was very quick to react. From the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Health was already working in terms of preparedness to make sure that the public would be protected. By April 2nd, when everyone was already in lockdown, there was a very decisive step in the early days that were required to make sure that we stop the spread. When the airspace was closed, we were all told to stay in our houses and minimized the opportunity for the virus to spread. So I think the government reacted very responsibly and gave a quick response. Recently, the situation is not the same as before. We understand the disease and we can’t always run away from it. There is a huge difference between the knowledge we now have and the knowledge we had in March of 2020. We now understand better how it functions. Also, things have opened up again. The biggest challenge at the beginning of the crisis was the health aspects. How to make sure people stay alive. Again, how we live with the virus has become our goal. The virus is not disappearing tomorrow and we need to adapt to some of the public health measures that we need to adapt like wearing masks and sanitizing our hands. However, from my understanding of the last time, we had a flu pandemic, it took about three to five years before life went back to normal. So, I think we should expect to take some time. The question will be how we are going to be able to live with the virus.

• Is there any additional advice that you would like to give to the Ministry of Health in handling the pandemic?

I think the Health Ministry knows exactly what to do. The only thing I think should be considered in the future is vaccination, which can minimize the dissemination of the disease. It is the only tool that has not been applied yet in Eritrea but I know that the authorities are considering all the options that need to be considered to make sure that the population is safe.

• Now, let’s focus on the collaboration between the Government of Eritrea and the UN under your leadership. Tell us if there is a concrete achievement that has been recorded so far and any in particular that you would say is the highlight of the collaboration?

It is hard to choose. For me, the collaborations we have had in the areas of health, education, and natural resource management have made a good contribution to Eritrea’s development plan. I’m extremely happy with that.

• What would you say is the one thing that you wish you had more time in Eritrea to accomplish that you didn’t have time for?

For me, the pandemic of the last year disappear. That one year I was supposed to travel more in the country, see more places and interact with more people and somehow that disappeared. I think that is the only regret.

• Any words of advice as you are considered an expert of life here in Eritrea?

“Words of advice,” that is big. I think two things can be mentioned. Those are to come and interact with a broad section of people. The key way to view Eritrea is by the expression of the canary. Canary is this little bird with a high metabolism and fast rate in a small body and it reacts very quickly. In their reaction you can tell canaries can protect themselves quickly. Living here and discussing with the people made me connect Eritrea with this little bird.

• Any final message to the people of Eritrea.

I think my number one message is the people should tell their stories because the perception and how people view Eritrea are quite different. I found a lot more stories here that I can’t find outside. Eritrea is a jewel of a place; you still have a much-disciplined society and very cultured and dignified people. The people have a massive asset that they are proud of their nationality.

Susan, thank you for your time and we wish you all the best.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

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Fewer Kenyan Youths Joining al-Shabab

NAIROBI – Kenyan authorities say at least 350 young people who joined the Somali Islamist militant group al-Shabab have surrendered this year and will be reintegrated into society.

Security agencies in Kenya’s coast region say fewer youth are crossing to Somalia to fight for the group in a sign that counterterrorism measures are working.

Kenyan counterterrorism officials are in the county of Mombasa this week to help sensitize the community against violent extremism and to assist former al-Shabab fighters.

Their efforts are targeting six counties directly affected by the terror group’s activities along the Kenya-Somalia border.

Canon Harun Rashid, chief officer in charge of preventing violent extremism at Kenya’s National Counter Terrorism Center, said the center is processing more than 300 former al-Shabab fighters who are seeking to re-enter society.

Understanding the crimes

“It’s not just a blanket returning program,” Rashid said. “All these individuals who are coming in, there is a process of filtering them and understanding the kind of crime they have committed, and the legal system is also waiting to see prosecutable areas once these returnees are put into such a program. Then there is the sensitization part of it, the deradicalization part of it.”

For more than a decade, the militant group has used local and historical grievances to get Kenyan young people to join its violent activities.

A few thousand Kenyan youths are still fighting alongside al-Shabab in Somalia, but increased security operations and awareness campaigns inside Somalia and Kenya’s northeast and coastal areas have reduced youth recruitment.

Rashid said the counterterrorism programs now target security officers who are involved in fighting terrorism, so they can understand the process of radicalization.

The security officers need “to understand the radical drivers, to understand the legitimacy behind the radicals calling for their agenda,” Rashid said.

Nairobi-based security analyst Richard Tuta said Kenyans who joined al-Shabab could return to Kenya if the government accepted them.

Some sought income

“Remember, some of these young people did not go there because they were radicalized,” he said. “They went there because of other factors — like, for instance, to get a source of income, because one of the ways used to induce them to cross over is because they are promised even to be paid in dollars. So when the government gives them an amnesty, it makes it easier for them to make a comeback.”

Munira Hamisi, head of youth affairs and community empowerment in the county of Mombasa, said her county was ready to provide economic opportunities to more than 100 youths who return from Somalia.

“As a department, we have a Mombasa County revolving fund that has an economic stimulus package for our young people, where youth-led business licenses have been waived,” she said. “We also have a revolving fund where we are giving out soft loans to businesses that are owned by young people and women.”

The counterterrorism center campaign plans to expand and target 12 counties in all in the hope of encouraging more Kenyan youths to forsake terrorism.

Source: Voice of America

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NICE: Striving to Benefit the Public

The National Insurance Corporation of Eritrea (NICE), which was established in 1992, has come a long way to become an organization of great reputation. It has three operation centers, Asmara (Head Office), Massawa, and Assab, and markets its services through a network of agents across the entire country and globe.

NICE, the only insurance corporation in Eritrea, gives life and non-life insurance services and believes strongly in the virtues of reinsuring insurances. Reinsurance is a case where multiple insurance companies share risk by purchasing insurance policies from other insurers to limit their own total loss in case of disaster. The goal is to ensure that no insurance company has too much exposure to a particularly large event or disaster.

In explaining the rationale behind the corporation’s decision to practice reinsurance, Mr. Zeru Woldemichael, General Manager of NICE, said, “Our insurance company cannot possibly insure a 750 million USD worth aircraft. We have business deals with different international companies and we reinsure the damaged good to the concerned companies.”

NICE began its operations with small capital and limited income. As Mr. Zeru put it, “to initiate insurance in the new country was very tiresome and demanded making efforts constantly. That is why we contacted insurance companies in Germany and England to create linkages.”

NICE then signed agreements with the international reinsurance corporations and continued operating with a capital of five million Birr. The Insurance sector is big and complex and there were not many experts in the field in Eritrea back then. This meant that the corporation had to deal with the challenges of building its human resources almost from scratch.

From1995 on, NICE has been organizing courses and professional exams with Charter Insurance Institute (CII) for its employees. The march toward building the professional capacity that started in 1995 still persists with even more insurance educational institutions involved. Mr. Zeru was an executive member of the CII which agreed to make Eritrea an international exam center for the CII. Unlike many other businesses, the insurance sector cannot run without employees that have certified knowledge and skills, and NICE’s partners sought such certificates. This acted as a major driving force for NICE’s commitment to building its employees’ capacity. Today the corporation boasts a mature organization and management.

Insurance companies are classified by the type of insurance service they provide as life and non-life insurance, and many operate on both. NICE works with big insurance companies of different kinds. For instance, it has reinsurance deals with airplane insurance companies in England and contacts with South African Insurance Corporation, one of the biggest in the world for mine insurance and many others.

In 2004 and 2013 NICE sold shares to Eritrean citizens and the decisions have paid off in the form of building a strong insurance corporation. At present it has a net worth of 105 million capital and 750 million shareholders’ capital. It has over two thousand shareholders, and 56% of the shares are owned by Eritrea’s Ministry of Finance while 44% belong to Eritrean individuals and institutions within Eritrea. The corporation invests in various international and domestic businesses. For example, it is a shareholder in African Reinsurance Corporation, with headquarters in Nigeria, known as Africa-Re or ZEP-Re PTA Reinsurance Company, NESICO Insurance Company, with headquarters in Juba, South Sudan, where NICE has been working from the beginning. NICE has shares in COMESA Zebra Company, where members of its staff are elected as board members from time to time. It also works in close partnership with the largest Chinese insurance company known as People’s Insurance Company of China (PICC).

NICE also invests in many domestic ventures such as Shishay Animal Feed Factory, Roof Garden Restaurant, located on the fifth floor of the NICE building, Shemshemya Commercial Farm in Tokombia sub-zone, Gash-Barka region, which engages in modern agriculture and livestock. In addition, NICE manages the Eritrean Government Pension Scheme and Martyrs’ Fund, for which it charges service and management fees.

Worldwide, NICE is one of the most internationally recognized and respected corporations. It promotes its image and the image of Eritrea. Mr. Zeru said, “We do know we have our drawbacks, but we are constantly striving to bring them down.”

NICE covers many types of insurance; in fact, there is none that it cannot cover because NICE’s dependence on reinsurers gives it absolute security. When there comes a devastating calamity, it is not NICE that carries the burden but the companies it is reinsured in. Whatever type of insurance is sought, there are four international brokers associated with the corporation that link it to the desired insurance market. For example, motor insurance is mostly handled in Eritrea but if it exceeds five million, we bring it down to the international insurance market with the help of our brokers.

Life insurance is quite new in Eritrea. Not many people are aware of its benefits and the collective progress it begets but NICE is working on it. The law of large numbers works well when there is a massive number of insurance clients of different ages and health conditions. The larger the number of the insured is the further the extremes are evened out.

NICE has managed to ensure clients up to the age of 80-85. Most insurance corporations in the world limit the age to 75 or below, but NICE can take up to that age because it ensures the clients in big numbers. If, say, it ensures members of the teachers association, it figures out how many of them are above the age of sixty or have threatening diseases or are likely to get into accidents per year. The number of those who are not likely to claim benefits tends to exceed the number of those that would seek reimbursement. This balance drags back the average age of the insured to about 45, which is very attractive in the reinsurance market. At this rate NICE is working to ensure the Eritrean population as a whole. Worldwide, this is the trend in insurance technique and it is indeed effective. What percentage of the whole population is likely going to need medical care in a year? It is very small, indeed, considering the ratio of healthy members of the population to the unhealthy ones.

In the past 29 years, NICE has been built to be a strong insurance corporation, with its efficient management and well-educated personnel. It has raised its capital from 5 million to 105 million Nakfa and managed to provide sufficient insurance services to its clients. It has an excellent corporate image both in Eritrea and abroad.

NICE regularly analyzes the capacity of its employees and works to develop them, which is mandatory for the outstanding job it performs.

The corporation is working extensively on life insurance and raising people’s awareness about it. It funds a sitcom that is aired on Eri- TV and dramas on varied themes, including those that emphasize the functions and importance of insurance.

“People say an insurance agreement with NICE is the same as a decent marriage; no promises are broken. The corporation is widely recognized as trustworthy and is loyal to the needs of the insured,” Mr.Zeru said in his closing statement during the interview.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea