Eritrea: The Making of a Nation

Eritrea is developing 1,680 modern homes and shops in Asmara's Sembel, Space 2001 and Halibet districts 

Eritrea: The Making of a Nation

By Hillal,


The making of a nation is difficult. If it were easy, the African nation making horror stories, tragedies and nightmares would have been a thing of the past. But, if we make history as our guide, it isn't an African only and only dilemma.

The American Civil War, French, Soviet, Chinese revolutions, European wars, Latin American military Juntas, Asian wars, coups and revolutions and the Arab feudal monarchs are all parts of the mosaic of nation building heartaches.

Today in the name of freedom, liberty and democracy destabilizing nations is the modus operandi of the powers that be. The Color, Twitter, Facebook and the so called Arab Spring revolutions are becoming the recipes for disaster for the targeted nations and peoples.

Studying the Eritrean experience gives us a glimpse at the painful struggle we went through in the first 15 years of the armed struggle. Eritreans had to fight Eritreans to make certain that the correct political line was followed to assure the destiny of a future united, strong, democratic, progressive, dynamic, assertive and self reliant Eritrea

US international policy makers tried to make the nation making agenda as their top policy priority. They failed miserably at implementing it. Today, the mere mention of it sends shock waves down the spines of all the American policy makers.

Declaring independence, waving a national flag, writing a constitution, conducting electrons and having a parliament aren't in themselves sufficient enough to build a nation which is united, democratic, strong and stable. A nation requires a leadership of high caliber that can lead and has the ability to listen to the heart beats of the masses.

A certain degree of economic development and a vibrant middle class are the key ingredients for democracy to flourish and to be nurtured. These requirements should be augmented by the increased level of political awareness of the masses. Without these preconditions in place talking about democracy is just an exercise in futility.

Timing is everything. No one with the right frame of mind in Eritrea is against the implementation of the lofty ideals and programs that are enshrined in the National Charter and the constitution. After all, the long protracted struggle for our liberation than and now is to make these ideals a reality on the ground.

We have a clear understanding of where we were, where we are now and where we are going, and what type of a nation we want to build. Above all, we definitely know who our friends and enemies are. The Eritrea of our dreams and worthy of our Martyrs sacrifices is a work in progress.

First and foremost though, the security and stability of the nation had to be secured. If a cloud of war is hovering above and the security of the nation is uncertain, speaking about democracy and civil liberties would be just an academic exercise.

Any Kind of political, economic, social, cultural and security changes we introduce in the country should be based on the subjective and objective parameters of the nation. Change for the sake of change, cosmetic change to look politically correct or be part of the pact, change prescribed by external powers or copying political models as they are from other experiences are not part of the Eritrean/Shaebia political culture.

Learning from other experiences is a noble trait but it could be effective only and only if our own rich experiences be it political, economic, social, cultural and security cultural dimensions are given paramount importance. The time has come not only for Eritrea but for all of Africa to have our own African agenda.

Democracy and good governance aren't European or American private domains. Their claims of being the champions of human rights and rule of law are blatant lies. Today, thanks to the Neocons megaphone and gunboat diplomacy, the internet, Wikileaks, Snowden and Bradley there is nothing left for the imagination. The financial meltdown and the corporate media becoming a propaganda organ of the state and special interest groups makes our doubts more authentic

Every African nation should devise its own model suitable to its internal dynamics. Especially, today when the loft ideal of liberty, democracy, justice, rule of law and human dignity are used as a cover up to intimidate, harass, bully, exploit, rape and molest nations it's urgency becomes more poignant.

The wisdom of multi party democracy, conduciveness of participatory democracy, creation of a political class and a robust system of checks and balances in an African contexts should be studied. A new democracy with African roots, by Africans, for Africans and of Africans is what Africa and Africans need..

Those that are in the habit of preaching us about these lofty ideals - the powers that be and their NGO merchants of misery - are always after their own economic and security interests and have none of Africa's best interest at heart. Greed, domination and hegemony are the tentacles of the morally and ethically bankrupt Unipolar and globalized world.

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