Country Eritrea: a brief description, features and interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:54

The African country of Eritrea is located on the western tip of the Horn of Africa, on the warm and arid coast of the Red Sea, after the Greek name of which it got its name from the colonial authorities of Italy. Despite its small territory, the country borders on three states, has a long coastline and owns several large islands in the sea.

Traces of ancient civilizations

On the territory of modern Eritrea, sites of the most ancient human predecessors, who had a skeletal structure similar to modern people, were discovered.

The arid climate of these parts made it possible to find numerous evidence of the presence of ancient people on the Horn of Africa. Not only fossils have been preserved at Neolithic sites, but also numerous drawings in caves.

Along the Red Sea coast, international teams of explorers regularly find ancient human tools that they used to harvest marine resources such as mollusks and their shells, as well as fish using primitive fishing hooks.

In addition, some linguists believe that modern Afro-Asian languages trace their ancestry to languages that first appeared in the Horn of Africa.

Ancient Kingdom of Aksum

Although in the present state of Eritrea nothing reminds of its former greatness, nevertheless it has a rich and long history. On the lands along the coast of the Red Sea, long before the advent of Christianity, there was a state with a highly developed culture. The inhabitants of these lands produced exquisite household items, among which were copper products, which are presented in abundance today in the Museum of Antiquities in the Eritrean capital.

And although not only Eritrea, but also Ethiopia claims kinship with this culture, the largest city of the old kingdom is still on the territory of Eritrea and is called Aksum.

Political instability and humanitarian crisis

The country of Eritrea is considered one of the most disadvantaged on the African continent. This is due to the economic and political crisis that the country has been in for more than a decade. In addition, there are serious problems with the observance of human rights by the state.

Eritrea is probably not well understood by most ordinary Europeans, but the country is attracting close attention from international human rights observers. And I must say that today many human rights activists are close to accusing the government of this country of massive war crimes.

FirstThe turn of criticism from the UN is the massive involvement of children in the military service. Due to the political instability caused by the political crisis and the recent war over the disputed territories with Ethiopia, the country has almost no control over the state border, which allows various bandit formations to freely cross the borders with Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti, which is mired in a humanitarian crisis. Gangster groups recruit children into military units with the intention of using them for robbery and piracy. Very often, such recruitment involves violence against the child's family: fathers are often killed, mothers and sisters are abused.

The Eritrean army is one of the largest in Africa, but it is not considered effective enough. Both men and women are officially required to serve for a year and a half, but according to Reporters Without Borders and human rights committees, service can last decades or even a lifetime.

However, international organizations are not yet able to radically influence the situation.

Capital of the African country Eritrea

The city of Asmara is home to over one million people. Like many other capitals, this is the largest city in the country, in which, in addition to government institutions, the main capital, industrial production and intellectual resources of the country are concentrated in the university and museums.

The city is on a significantaway from the sea in an arid climate zone with not too hot summers and moderate winters. However, like the rest of the country of Eritrea, the capital is located in an area with negligible rainfall during the three summer months. During this period, the amount of precipitation does not exceed 8 mm, which, together with an increase in air temperature, creates the necessary conditions for rapid desertification. This means that efficient agricultural production in these areas is impossible.

Metropolitan culture

Despite serious conflicts between Eritreans and Italians, the Italian colonial authorities did a lot of good for Eritrea. They were mainly engaged in the construction of transport infrastructure and the development of production. The capital of the African country of Eritrea is the city of Asmara, which has retained its functions since the days of the colonial Italian administration.

Asmara during the Italian occupation is compared by many architects with modern Dubai, where architects are limited only by the flight of their own imagination, and the state is ready to finance the most daring experiments. From those wonderful times, the first cinema in the country, the opera house and the building of the state bank have been preserved. In this city, Benito Mussolini wanted to recreate a colony similar to those of the Roman Empire.

Unfortunately, during the independence from Italy, Eritrea experienced a series of serious military conflicts, during which the country's economy was almost completely destroyed. Urban colonial architecture is also seriouslysuffered.

But, despite the serious problems in the economy, the State University and the Technical Institute function in Asmara, where citizens can receive technical and humanitarian education in various speci alties. The capital of the country of Eritrea can become the city in which the economic revival of the country will begin.

Dictatorship and freedom of the press

The country of Eritrea is the subject of interest of many human rights organizations. One of the most striking and egregious cases of human rights violations was the story of journalist David Isaac. This journalist, who has dual citizenship of Eritrea and Sweden, spent 15 years in an Eritrean prison without being charged and without waiting for a court decision.

This story began in 2001, when Isaac, along with other journalists, published an open letter addressed to the authorities and calling for the observance of the Constitution.

This publication was immediately followed by mass arrests of the journalists who signed the letter, and despite the efforts of international organizations, the fate of many of them is still unknown. At the same time, Isaac was released only in 2016, after fifteen years in prison. Immediately after his release, UNESCO decided to award him the Guillermo Cano Prize for his diligence and honesty in journalism.

Country Eritrea: Minerals

In the structure of the economy of Eritrea, minerals do not occupy the most importantplaces. This is primarily due to political instability that hinders investment.

The share of industry in the country's economy does not exceed 29%, and most enterprises are in extremely poor condition or completely destroyed. As for fossil resources, most of them are extracted in an artisanal way and do not affect the country's export potential. A significant share in exports is occupied only by sea s alt, extracted from sea water using a primitive evaporation technology.

Wars and terrorism as barriers to growth

Throughout its history of independence, Eritrea has waged wars with its neighbors, sponsored terrorist organizations operating in neighboring states, or actively repressed its own citizens.

The current state of the Eritrean economy and society was achieved as a result of a senseless war with Ethiopia that began in 1998 and ended two years later.

During this time, tens of thousands of citizens of both states became victims of the war. Both countries actively involved minors and women in hostilities, as a result of which the border between armed people and the civilian population was erased, and the number of innocent victims increased. The war ended with the defeat of Eritrea, and the UN decided to deploy a small number of armed observers in the country.

The country's economy has never recovered since then, the political elite is mired in intrigue and abuse, and the number of refugees from Eritrea has increased significantly in Europe, many ofwho overcame great distances at the risk of their lives, swam across the Mediterranean Sea to find themselves on the territory of southern European countries, but primarily in Italy.

The role of the international community in crisis management

The international community sends huge amounts of humanitarian aid to Eritrea, but given the fact that Eritrea is primarily a country in Africa, stabilization of the situation will be impossible without the active participation of African countries. However, the Eritrean government, according to the observations of UN officials, is not making due efforts to resolve relations with its neighbors.

For example, there are reports from the Somali government of Eritrea's support for the terrorist organization Islamic Courts Union, which is fighting against the Federal Government of Somalia. But there is still hope for the peaceful coexistence of neighboring countries, because, like other countries of the world, Eritrea is a member of the UN and is forced to comply with the decisions of its executive bodies.