Category: General

Cameroon has offered huge consignments of food and mattresses to at least 3,000 displaced persons said to be in dire need on its eastern border with the Central African Republic. Most of the people, displaced by violence following December presidential elections in the CAR, say they lost everything and that ongoing unrest keeps them from returning home.

At least 700 displaced people from the Central African Republic turned out in Kentzou, an administrative unit on Cameroon’s eastern border with the CAR, Friday to receive assistance from the host country. One day earlier, Cameroon said it had sent a delegation led by Territorial Administration Minister Paul Atanga Nji to eastern Cameroon to help those displaced by the CAR crisis.

Nji visited several border villages and administrative units, including Kentzou and Garoua-Boulai. Nji said he distributed food and humanitarian assistance from the government of Cameroon. He said Cameroon decided to assist displaced persons after local government officials said the Central Africans were living in poverty.

He said the government of Cameroon mobilized 17 trucks to transport and donate mattresses, blankets, buckets and food to at least 3,400 displaced people. He said President Paul Biya instructed him to tell the displaced persons to live in peace and respect Cameroon’s laws. He said Cameroon wants to know when the displaced will want to voluntarily return to the CAR.

The violence that sparked the exodus involves armed groups and has been ongoing since Austin-Archange Touadera was reelected president in December. Much of the trouble is centered on border areas. It is suspected that fleeing rebels are among the displaced persons.

Nji said Cameroon was delighted that the items will improve the living conditions of the displaced persons until they go home.

Donatien Barka, the mayor of Kentzou, however, said host communities have been reporting clashes with the displaced Central Africans and that the area is no longer secure.

Barka said between 2017 and 2020, some 32,000 people displaced by the fighting have sought refuge in Kentzou. He said the influx inundated the 28,000 inhabitants of Kentzou and that theft of food and cattle, and conflicts over lodging and farmlands were reported daily. He said Cameroon reinforced its military in Kentzou in January when rebels protesting the CAR leadership came to Kentzou illegally.

Barka said he did not have updated figures of the number of displaced people remaining in Kentzou because movement across the porous border is uncontrolled. He said when there is fighting in the CAR, people cross over to Cameroon. He said his wish is for the displaced persons to return to their country.

Martial Beti-Marace, the CAR’s ambassador to Cameroon, says peace is gradually returning to the CAR and civilians who fled fighting should agree to voluntarily return to their country.

Speaking from the CAR’s capital Bangui, he said democratic institutions are gradually being put in place after the December 27 elections in which a majority of CAR civilians chose Touadera as their president. He said a majority of civilians who fled bloody conflicts between government troops and rebels in the CAR have voluntarily returned and are living in peace in their towns and villages.

Beti-Marace said Cameroon and the CAR are both struggling to maintain a collective peace because a crisis in either country affects them both. He said Cameroon and the CAR are trying to convince displaced persons to return home and contribute to the development of their country.

Violence among armed groups since 2013 has forced close to a million Central Africans to flee to neighboring Cameroon, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Nigeria.

Cameroon shares a 900-kilometer border with the CAR. Cameroon’s Territorial Administration Ministry says Cameroon has taken in and is home to more 300,000 displaced Central Africans.

Source: Voice of America

The region of Cornwall in England, UK lies in the South West corner of the UK and at this time of the year is a favourite tourist destination.

On what turned out to be a bright sunny and warm Saturday in June, Cornwall hosted a different kind of visitors.

On 12th June 2021, coach loads of Eritreans and Ethiopians made their way to St. Ives in Cornwall where the leaders of the G7 countries were holding their summit.

Hundreds of Eritreans and Ethiopians gathered outside their summit to raise their voices in unison in protest against the wrongful attempts being made to portray the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia as being the aggressors against the people of Tigray in Ethiopia, when in fact they were victims of the aggression of the Tigray People Liberation Front, a terrorist organisation.

The demonstration was peaceful as it was colourful and was an opportunity for both the Eritrean and Ethiopian communities in the UK to voice their anger against moves to undermine the sovereignty of their respective nations and huge malicious disinformation campaign being waged against Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Eritreans and Ethiopians have clearly shown the strength and depth of their feeling by taking time to travel for 5-6 hours all the way down to St. Ives in Cornwall to show those at the G7 meeting that they stand next to their governments.

Eritreans and Ethiopians stand together to fight for the truth and the colourful demonstration on a warm day in June under the blue skies of Cornwall, will stand as testament to this.

Source: Dehai Eritrea Online

How could a planet that gives all be turned into an unproductive and less suitable one? Do we know that we are letting mother earth perish for a luxurious life that we don’t even need? Though the earth was marvelously green, our incessant degradations and negative transformation over the years have drained its energy. If we continue to produce and consume the way we do now, where will the earth be, say in 30 years?

Human beings, in their unrelenting pursuit of modernization, have turned into a force of destruction that undermines the ecosystem. The limitless extraction of resources and emission of waste have been upsetting the environment, threatening our very survival. We are all aware that there is no planet B we can go to; however, we are living and acting as if there are ten more that we could choose from as an alternative home for humankind. The growing demand for resources and the fast degradation of the natural environment are gradually changing the globe.

The world needs to unite to deal with environmental problems. The World Environment Day, which is held on June 5, reminds us of the importance of protecting the environment in order to sustain our future.

Eritrea is blessed with grand terrestrial and aquatic ecosystem. To make this eternal, we need to restore the beauty of the land and the waters and revive our ecosystem. Guided by awareness , willingness and responsibility, our perspectives and feelings about the ecosystem must grow strongly positive.

Since most of our people depend on agriculture for their livelihood and use fire woods as their main source of energy and for construction, the land is prone to erosions and desertification. The government has been working to halt the environmental degradation and improve soil productivity. Through a series of campaigns, a lot has been done to fight environmental degradation. Local communities and members of the defense forces often engage in planting trees and terracing lands. The greening campaign that is done every year by students during their summer holidays has been elevating the precious land’s wellbeing. Growing trees, terracing lands and cleaning up rivers and coasts are some of the greatest way to make peace with nature.

Saving our country is the duty of every citizen and so problems of the environment such as air pollution and sea contamination must get special attention from the public. The Eritrean government’s move in banning plastic bags back in 2004 did contribute toward having a healthier ecosystem making Eritrea the first African country to take such a bold action. The government’s actions and the people’s devotion to greening the environment will recover the degraded ecosystem and help conserve the areas whose natural beauty has not been undermined. Only with a healthy ecosystem can we counter climate change, stop the collapse of biodiversity and improve people’s livelihoods. The world is increasingly changing into an environment that is less suitable for its inhabitants. Taking actions now and working hand in hand with the rest of the world can guarantee our safety. Let’s all shift to using eco-friendly products and make changes in our consumption patterns. If we fail to unite and make changes to our luxurious life styles, the terrifying outcome of our ignorance is bound to happen soon. It is forecasted that in 2040 the climate change and the weakening productivity of the land will cause an increase in the price of food by 30% globally. Furthermore, in 2050, it is predicted that the increasingly dwindling harvest will result in a loss of more than 10 trillion dollars. This might force around 700 million people to get uprooted and migrate, resulting, in many instances, in unusual contact between humans and animals that has the potential to cause the spread of new viruses and diseases.

Ideas are worth nothing unless they are applied. The smallest of implementations is always worth more than the grandest of intentions. Let’s take an excellent care of the present for a colorful eternity because nature is way too valuable to be treated like it is today.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

Protesters hit Nigeria’s streets Saturday to say democracy is under threat from rising insecurity and bad governance.

The Democracy Day demonstrations came as President Muhammadu Buhari has been struggling to control terrorism, criminal abductions and separatist movements. Last week, Buhari suspended Twitter after it deleted a controversial tweet of his. Protesters blasted the act as a dictatorial punishment against free expression.

The protests started early Saturday across many Nigerian states, including Abuja, Lagos, Oyo, Ondo and Port Harcourt.

The protesters were holding placards marked #Buharimustgo and demanding an end to insecurity and what they called systemic oppression.

Tear gas, gunshots

Some protests in Abuja were dispersed by security agents who fired tear gas canisters and gunshots into the air, according to eyewitnesses.

Their banners and placards were also seized by state security operatives, said Cletus Uba, who was at Gudu junction, one of the protest venues.

“I was here when all these protesters were around, and I know what they’re agitating for, the insecurities in the country,” Uba said. “When they were here protesting, police, soldiers, civil defense started shooting tear gas and guns into the air.”

There was a heavy presence of armed security men and women all over the Abuja metropolitan region on Saturday, and the same was seen in many states across the country.

But 15 kilometers from Gudu — the spot in Abuja where protesters were dispersed — hundreds of government supporters gathered in a counteraction.

The inscription on their green-and-white vests read, “I stand with Buhari.”

President’s ‘great worry’

The president on Saturday morning addressed the nation through the government broadcaster and said he was fixing insecurity issues.

“Let me assure my fellow citizens that every incident, however minor, gives me great worry and concern, and I immediately order security agencies to swiftly but safely rescue victims and bring perpetrators to justice,” he said.

Buhari, a former military general, was elected in 2015 on a vow to root out security threats and grow the economy.

But his administration has been plagued by reckless attacks carried out by insurgents and bandits, as well as a booming kidnapping-for-ransom market. His cabinet has been severely criticized for not addressing those issues sooner.

Rising insecurity was not the only reason protesters were marching in the streets. They said last week’s Twitter ban was an attempt to gag free speech.

Ariyo Dare of the Nigeria Center for Liberty, one of the protesting groups, said, “The banning of the Twitter platform in Nigeria is undemocratic, irresponsible, thoughtless and very insensitive. Nigeria should be a leading light in terms of democracy in Africa.”

Nigerian authorities, who say social media has been used to promote comments that threaten the existence of the state, are now in talks with Chinese officials to create an internet firewall, according to Nigeria’s Foundation for Investigative Journalism.

But as the country marked Democracy Day, many protesters and critics said Buhari was Nigeria’s biggest threat to democracy.

Source: Voice of America

The Adi-Keih College of Business and Social Sciences in cooperation with the National Union of Eritrean Youth and Students organized a workshop focusing on cultural heritage and national identity.

The workshop was attended by 150 staff members and students of the College.

According to report, the objective of the workshop was to raise the awareness of the staff members and students of the college on the significance of preserving cultural heritage and the noble societal values and transfer them to posterity.

At the workshop 16 topics associated with cultural and national identity were raised and extensive discussion was conducted, the report added.

Speaking at the event, Ms. Mensura Ismail, head of the NUEYS branch in Higher Education Institutions and Sawa indicating that the Eritrean youth and students have the responsibility of shouldering and preserving the noble cultural and societal values as well as fully understand the challenges and opportunities at hand as people and nation, called on the participants to upgrade the knowledge they have acquired and transfer them to fellow colleagues. Dr. Estifanos Hailemariam, Dean of the College of Business and Social Sciences on his part stated that the workshop is part of the national endeavor to raise the awareness and understanding of nationals on the significance of cultural heritage and the noble societal values.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

Dessalegn Aberra Elias is an Ethiopian social media personality and activist with millions of followers on his popular YouTube channel known as Mehal Meda. Dessalegn’s works aim to bridge divides and promote peace, understanding, and unity. He has managed to garner increasing attention and influence because of the powerful messages and deep insights that frequently characterize his episodes. Recently, Dessalegn traveled to Eritrea to take part in the country’s 30th Independence Day anniversary. I caught up with him to hear about his stay and general impressions about the celebration.

• Mr. Dessalegn, thank you very much for agreeing to share your experience. How was your visit in general?

You’re welcome. It was extremely wonderful and surprisingly interesting. I enjoyed every minute of my entire two-week stay in the country.

• Could you tell me some of the places that you visited?

I toured the whole Asmara over and over again. I could not get enough of it! I got to visit Adi Halo, Gergera, Massawa, and a big dam along the road. I also toured the plastic factory in Massawa and many other development sites along the way.

• What about the 30th Independence Anniversary? Did you attend?

Of course, I did. It was amazing and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was so real that I thought ‘this could not be a live show’. The flow of the programs, the songs, and the sincerity of the people who participated felt unreal. The shows were creative and also full of pride and deep emotion.

• What unique things did you observe in the celebrations?

First things first, I could feel the energy that was emanating from the people out there. There was something about the way they sang their national anthem. I was like ‘These people truly love their country!’ That is not a common national trait. And when the President went down to the stage to meet the student dancers, my amazement reached its threshold.

• Who is Dessalegn Aberra?

I was born and raised in the southern rural part of Ethiopia; I lived most of my life in Hawassa. Then I went to the United States of America seven years ago. I worked there as an accountant. Then I started practicing journalism because it was my hobby. I share my ideas on social media mostly Facebook and YouTube. I became more active by the day and quickly began to amass a lot of followers. The good thing is that even though I am an Ethiopian, I am not only followed by Ethiopians. I have diverse followers including a lot of Eritreans.

• What is the core objective of your channel?

The objective is to promote peace, understanding, and unity. As you know, my country has a diverse cultural, religious, and social structure. Though it is being worked on, the system is still kind of divisive. That is why it is necessary to use media to fight the possible divisions that arise from the difference in ethnic values. So, in my programs we discuss trending issues by inviting knowledgeable and relevant personalities. A lot of people participate through phoning-in, including Eritreans. Any type of hate-speech or anything that degrades the values of personalities is not tolerated in the discussions. I have interacted a lot with Eritreans because of the shows and that helped me to question and reconsider many of my pre-established perceptions or assumptions about Eritrea.

• Pre-established perceptions?

What I mean is that for the last twenty years we have been told that Eritreans are a “war loving” people. And that the government is even worse. Whatever happened during those years, it was blamed on the EPLF. For instance, say there were disasters or problems in society. These problems were blamed on the Eritrean government and people. Even when Prime Minister Dr. Abiy Ahmed agreed to come to Asmara, we doubted that he would come back alive. To my amazement, the people accepted him openly and cheered for him. The sheer size and passion of the crowd took my breath away.

For me, the [2018] peace agreement brought to light the hidden emotions and realities of the Eritrean people. I told myself that something must be wrong with my eyes and I thought, ‘so, these people are actually cheering for peace; maybe I was wrong’. Then President Isaias came to Ethiopia and gave a speech at the Millennium Hall in Addis Ababa. That was another point of realization that Eritrea is the opposite of what our former regime claimed it to be. Then I decided to do my own research and I approached a lot of Eritreans. The first few people admired the government so much that I thought that they must be from the Embassy. Then I asked them to introduce me to someone that does not work for the Embassy. I met this man called John and we had such a wonderful conversation. But things did not change, whether it is someone from the Embassy or not, it was largely the same attitude. Then I decided that the people of Eritrea love their country and trust their government like no other. They contribute whatever they can and are all ready to talk about their country. I believed some of the things that they said, but some others didn’t make sense to me. One of the things that they kept talking about was the peace and security in Eritrea. Nowhere in the world is there such a peace as they said there is in Eritrea, not even in the US. That is why I was eager to see for myself.

• What did you find on the ground?

When I got here, I had two big things I needed to certify. One is how peaceful Eritrea was and another is the fact that everyone is equal, from leaders to the general population. A minister is not set apart in Eritrea. Instead, they are just a person serving the people at their level. In my country and basically even everywhere else in the world, leaders are utterly privileged. Not only them, but anyone who is close to them is somehow benefited. That being what I live around, it was hard that the country and people that I thought were rogue had the peace that I have never seen before. I began to reformulate and reconsider my perceptions, beginning to agree that the country might be peaceful and not like what I have been told for years. When I arrived here and started observing the situation and the dynamics of the people’s social life, I found out that what they have been telling me is less than what I experienced. They didn’t tell me the whole story. I explored then that the peace in Eritrea is not a situation, it is a culture. It is unique and built into the system of each individual. It is not easy to craft that kind of state, it is too natural.

• You said you visited some of the major development sites in Eritrea. What common thing, among all of them, attracted you the most?

There were two major things that blew me away. One is the efforts of the country to preserve and wisely use water. At all the sites, I could see how much the government and people realized the importance of water, particularly given that the country is located in the sub-Saharan Africa. Everyone is striving to preserve water at all costs. That could be the reason why water policy in Eritrea is very well planned and executed. I never realized the importance of water; I mean, I know the general importance but not in the Eritrean sense of water preservation. It is a priority in the country.

The other surprise is the amount of young people involved in all the development sectors. Especially Adi-Halo’s workshop, it is a den of young creators and aspirers. That was a big surprise. I hear a lot of young people fled the country which I know they don’t fail their nation wherever they go, but I did expect to see less young p e o p l e . In a nutshell, I see a lot of good things happening in the country but the development has a uniform pace in all areas. The advancement is not only concentrated in the cities but extends to the furthest and most remote parts of the country. I talked to many young people in the development sites and to my amazement, they do not just talk about the work they do. They are aware of the challenges from outside and promise over and over again, to thrive with resilience. One of the young people that I talked to said “I do not work for money. I can go somewhere and earn money but I cannot go anywhere and earn a country”. That was well said. Everyone I talked to spoke about the regional issues at the moment openly and I stopped being amazed at the project infrastructure. The human infrastructure in the country is more marvelous. People from a lot of countries do not pay heed to the dynamics of the political situation of their nation. These people are pressed on by sanctions and unfair international treatments and war, but they are still very composed. I feel like Eritrea is a unique and quiet country.

• Do you think Eritrea’s self-reliance policy aligns with what is being done on ground?

I was wondering about this the whole time. Self-reliance is in everyone’s mouth. One of the many things that surprised me is the usage of highly political words such as self-reliance, resilience, and thrive. For me, that is abnormal, because, we usually hear such words from politicians and leaders during grand ceremonies and speeches trying to work their way into people’s hearts. This in itself is an integral part of the Eritrean culture. But here, ordinary citizens are declaring self-reliance. I did not expect the country to be any different than a war-wrecked land because of the wars and the sanctions. I saw those development sites and I asked myself ‘what if there was peace in the region and these people did not have to face all the pressures, unfair international policy, and sanctions? What could they have done?’ Everything was beyond my expectation.

People in rural areas have access to services and opportunities, which reflects the government’s focus on equality. This is opposite to what has been the norm in Ethiopia for a long time. In my country, a city is built and is well advanced in a couple of years. It is good for the media but the rural areas are lagging in terms of development. People then migrate to the urban areas to get a better life and that crowds the cities. With 85% of the population in the rural areas, however, the Ethiopian government should copy this policy.

Another shock was the Eritrean women, their concept of equality and the way that they carry themselves in public, at work, everywhere. It is out of this world. Most women around the world beg for their equality. The women here have earned it, not only through armed struggle but even now, I could see women in all sectors of the development of the nation. I visited the National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW) and I saw their history since before independence. Well documented! It was a shock to know that the struggle recognized the concept of equality and worked towards it while fighting battles.

• How was your impression of Massawa?

I felt at home! All the people that I met were super welcoming and the hospitality in Massawa is…I don’t have words for it. They make you feel like they know you forever, like you are at home. The sea is like no other in the world; it is in its natural state, very clean and original. The fish there has an exceptional flavor. I toured the whole city and I think Massawa is not just a city, it is a treasure. Eritrean and world treasure. I saw that every building has its own taste of the Eritrean history from before the rise of city states. It needs to be preserved as a world heritage site. I admire the government for keeping the city in its original state. All the history it ever has entertained is engraved in the walls of the buildings. I hope the new generation will take on the tasks of holding onto these world treasures. The former regime in Ethiopia has destroyed a lot of historical records. It heavily invested in wiping the entire history and writing it in a way that they see fit. When you go through the records, you can feel that something is missing. In Eritrea, when I go around looking at things and reading the records, it has a smooth flow. I could read, see, and feel it. That’s how I know it is a full package. I visited the museum and in just a day, I felt like I learned a lot about Massawa and the Eritrean people as a whole. The way the documents are handled is very precious, leaving you no choice but to believe it.

• As a social media personality and activist, what do you think is the role of people like yourself in harmonizing your own people and the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia?

Social media is a powerful instrument. You can kill or heal using the medium. I am trying to use it to heal the differences and conflict in my country and between our two countries. I try to see the truth and pass it on so people can decide based on the truth and not propaganda. Nowadays, you do not need to have a comprehensive knowledge of things; one can witness the truth and share it to the world. Let’s just use social media properly and we can solve many problems. I think that if used wisely, the medium is an amazing gift for this generation. I know Eritrea now because I heard about it in the medium, came to see for myself, and I am sharing it with the rest of the world. That way, we can use this gift to unify. Enough is enough. This region deserves peace, prosperity, and harmony. We are no different from those who are living in peace. They have their differences but they worked through them. It is not good to fight for no reason. At this point, we have no option but to understand each other because we now have everything except peace and collaboration. And as neighbors, we have the responsibility to commit to peace and harmony inside and between our countries. We should use whatever means at hand to nourish a peaceful environment and pass it on to the next generation. Social media is one of the best tools.

• How do the youth respond to your activities?

People are tired of listening to constant news of war and conflict. This channel, Mehal Meda, is pretty new but the scope of influence and feedback is increasing. This is proof that our people are peace loving and that they will respond to anything that comes with good intentions and civility.

On the other hand, there are a lot of extremists and war loving people and they have equal access to social media. It is a battle in which we cannot claim to have won one’s heart because there are always new evils and divisive ideas that we have to tackle. So it is an unending battle. And now that I have seen Eritrea, I feel more responsible to share how peaceful and welcoming its people are.

• In one sentence, how do you describe your visit to Eritrea?

It was a life changing visit. And if I may add, I am astonished by the peace, hospitality, law abiding culture, and nice weather. The whole experience makes me feel good and I want to visit the country over and over again.

• What is your last message to the Eritrean people?

I love Eritrean people! I feel connected to them and I am not the same at all towards Eritrea. I understand the people of Eritrea much better now and I want to plead with them to maintain their strength, keep fighting and liberating this region, and show us that things never stay the same. I visited the famous Tank Graveyard in Asmara and it shocked me. I cried when I saw it, but I was like, “these people are something else, you cannot break these people”. I have seen what the current and the past generation can do and I cannot wait to see how the next one will turn out. I hope it carries on the legacy of past generations. So, I want to say just keep being Eritreans, the rest you can get through.

Source: Ministry of Information Eritrea

GENEVA – The U.N. refugee agency is repeating its call to Tanzanian authorities to stop forcibly deporting asylum seekers back to Mozambique, where their lives are in danger.

Two-and-a-half months have passed since Islamist militants attacked civilians in the gas-rich coastal town of Palma in northern Mozambique, killing dozens and displacing more than 70,000.

While the level of violence has diminished, the U.N. refugee agency said armed conflict and insecurity continue to displace thousands of people.

Desperate search for safety

UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch said people are fleeing daily in a desperate search for safety both in Mozambique and across the border in Tanzania.

“9,600 desperate people trying to seek a refuge across the border inside Tanzania and being forced to return to a situation of danger is really grave and it is a dire situation … Refugees must not be forced back into a situation of danger,” Baloch said.

That, he said, violates the principle of non-refoulement or no forced return. International human rights law states that no one should be returned to a country where they would face torture or other treatment that could cause irreparable harm.

Forcibly returned

Baloch said UNHCR teams along the Tanzania-Mozambique border say people being forcibly returned to Mozambique arrive in desperate condition. He said many become separated from their family members adding to their anguish.

“Those pushed back from Tanzania end up in a dire situation at the border and are exposed to gender-based violence and health risks as many are sleeping in the open at night in extreme cold without blankets or a roof over their heads,” Baloch said. “There is an urgent need for emergency relief items including food.”

Humanitarian agencies estimate nearly 800,000 people have been displaced in Mozambique’s northern Cabo Delgado province since armed groups, some affiliated with Islamic State militants, launched attacks in the region in 2017.

Source: Voice of America