My mother, Abnet Embaye, was born in Dekemhare, a small town located in the southeast of the capital city, Asmara. Her parents were Embaye Woldemichael and Tebletse Gebray. Originally from the capital city, my grandfather worked at the headquarters of the railway station in the payroll and accounting department so the family temporarily moved around the country to small towns when he travelled for work. My mother grew up at a time when Ethiopia forcefully annexed Eritrea and attempted to undermine the intellectual strength of the country by shifting all higher education to its capital in Addis Ababa. The goal was to co-opt the energy and intelligence of the best and the brightest of the country. During this time, Haile Selasie, the emperor of Ethiopia, held campaigns calling all high school students to migrate to Ethiopia. Advertisements on radio and newspapers targeted young students and provided opportunities in Ethiopia. Amharic, the official language in Ethiopia, was forcefully introduced in the curriculum in Eritrean high schools.

As a teenager, my mother vaguely remembers this phenomenon but surprisingly recalls the time with a wistful smile when she talks about it. One day, she said a neatly dressed nurse named Sister Meqdes Worq-yegzaw came to the Red Sea high school where my mother was studying commerce to recruit girls to join nursing school in Addis Ababa. The sight of this nurse and her dazzling white outfit mesmerized my mother. The nurse came to deliver a message from the emperor; it was a big deal and everyone knew about it. The mission was to recruit girls from Keren and Massawa and bring them to St. Paul’s School of Nursing in Ethiopia. This opportunity was open for high school students as young as 14 and my mom was determined to go. As a teenager and a girl in particular, it wasn’t easy for my mom to leave home. She met with a lot of resistance from her family because of the distance from home and my grandfather thought because she had a solid ground studying commerce she should stick to it and become a secretary in an office. But this shy and reserved young girl  couldn’t stop dreaming about becoming a nurse. She couldn’t get the image of the pretty nurse, her uniform, her elegance, and sophistication out of her head. It was what she wanted to become and, after months of persuasion, she joined a group of other teenage girls, one of which was my father’s sister, to go to nursing school.

In St. Paul’s School of Nursing, she was able to receive her nursing diploma which was the start of many diplomas and certificates she would ultimately acquire as a nurse. As part of one of her fist assignments, she was sent to Jima, Ethiopia, to practice as a staff nurse soon to be promoted to the role of head nurse. At this time, she had already met my father who was studying to become a medical doctor. They met when my father came to pick up his sister, my aunt, who was studying at St. Paul’s. Working in rural places as a nurse would take my mother to places where she left marks in the hearts of everyone she met. I still get messages from friends who know her through work or through my father and speak highly of what she has done for them. She then went to continue work in Weldia Hospital as a matron overlooking staff activities, management and so on. In 1979, she moved to Addis Ababa where she specialized in Mothers and Children Healthcare and she began working at Cherqos Health Center for a span of 10 years. Here she was able to branch out and sometimes help in midwife tasks but she mainly focused on the antenatal unit and continued to work in Teklehaimanot Hospital as an MCH district coordinator. Following that, from 1993-1998, she was the head nurse at the Zewditu Hospital in Ethiopia for the Mothers and Children Health Care center. At this point in her career, she had a lot of respect from her colleagues and took the lead on different projects in the district. As she moved up the ranks during her career, she had four kids and never complained a day or took time off to think about herself. Throughout our childhood, she was always there picking us up from school and helping us with homework. I remember when she used to come to school, my friends sometimes would ask me, “Is that your mother?” I would say “Yeah,” secretly feeling so proud just because she drove a car. Now that I look back, her role and confidence and modern ways set her apart for the time.

When Eritrea gained its independence in 1991, she took a personal initiative to contribute in the country’s development through her work in different clinics going back and forth from Ethiopia to Eritrea. She worked in the small town of Keren and then she would later come to work in Asmara. The women and children she cared for say she was prepared to offer help at any hour. The rap on the door late at night from a neighbor in need was a regular occurrence and my mom wouldn’t hesitate to welcome a mother whose child was suffering from fever or dehydration. That is the generosity and character my mother has taught me growing up. Her work never stopped when she left the office. She formed friendships with people who needed her most. Even during weekends, you might walk in for a coffee break with friends and she would check their blood pressure and make sure they were feeling well. In 1998, when war broke out between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the government of Ethiopia started deporting thousands of people of Eritrean origin. I remember when three soldiers came looking for my father at five o’clock in the morning because he, a medical doctor, was considered a national threat. My parents were noticing the change way before deportation and told us that we were planning to leave anyway and that we shouldn’t be shocked by this. Two months before the war broke out, my dad was already making connections at the University of Asmara with plans to move for good.

Despite having their bank accounts frozen and losing everything they had earned over decades, my parents weren’t ones to mope about or feel sorry for themselves. Instead, shortly after deportation, my dad was named as a professor at the University of Asmara and eventually opened his own medical practice in downtown Asmara. My mother became head nurse in a government clinic.

In 2005, my father passed away due to complications related to a brain infection which was detected when it was too late. Throughout, my mom has kept our family together because of her unwavering strength and exemplary patience. Our family has had difficult times since moving to Eritrea. I will never forget the day she was dragged away by two military police who had come asking for my brother because he went missing from his unit. My mother has been hauled to prison twice for the same reason and kept in behind bars in horrible conditions. My mom doesn’t hold any political views and continues her work without a complaint. Always upbeat, she works at Sembel Hospital tirelessly. I hope and aspire to be the woman that she is and dedicate not only today but everyday to her. I also hope to see her smiling face again and hope to introduce her to my family in America one day.

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Africa Talks welcomes feedback and questions about content on the blog. If you have questions or recommendations for future content, please contact: africatalksblog@gmail.com

1. What should U.S.’s role be in securing Mali?
2. An article in the Washington Post not long after the French invasion said something to the effect of “the U.S. spent ten years building up the Malian Army and they folded overnight.” Is the ineptitude of the Malian Armed forces evidence of a failure of the U.S. project to train militaries in the Sahel?

Amb. Huddleston made a compelling argument that Mali is very different from other conflicts like Syria or the Central African Republic which are fundamentally internal conflicts. The north of Mali and its people were occupied by a foreign enemy made up mainly of Algerian extremists. In fact, she argued that now that the main cities have been retaken, the key to preserving a lasting peace might be for Algeria–the hegemon of the region—to contribute a significant peacekeeping force.

African countries in the region have a vested interest in curbing the rise of extremism from spilling into their countries. A good example of this is abductions in Algeria’s Amenas oil facility which ended catastrophically. For months before the French intervened, the African Union mission and the ECOWAS have been dawdling and delaying the creation of an African Union Mission in Mali (AFISMA). The hesitancy empowered the militants as they marched southward and forced France to intervene, something Africans should loathe to accept.

It is fair to say that since the French intervention, African troops have contributed in fighting. Chad, for instance, has been the one country from the region that appears to have stepped up its efforts to fight militarily against these radical groups. In the past month they’ve announced the killing of the former and current emir of AQIM, Mokhtar Bel Mokhtar and Abu Zeid.

Still, Huddleston believes a lasting peace will include some sort of autonomy for the north and a better job of addressing the legitimate grievances of the Tuareg and Berbere people there. Lasting peace militarily will also require the buy-in of local peoples. She recalled a trip she took up to the north when a Tuareg tribal leader told her:

“You will never control this area unless you work with us. We are masters of the desert and have been for thousands of years.”

Here is a video form the presentation where Ambassador Vicki Huddleston explains what she would advise President Obama if she had the chance. Huddleston explains the need for political solutions and how to incorporate the Tuaregs in the process.

There have been several attacks by remnants of the groups who had been controlling northern Mali (AQIM, MUJAO, Ansar Dine) including some protracted fighting in Timbuktu recently.  In order to move away from further chaos, Huddleston suggested the need for an Algerian-led force. However, some pointed out that Algeria’s own Constitution prevents it from intervening militarily in the affairs of foreign country.

The Ambassador also discussed the roots of the conflict in Mali and other countries along the 15th parallel, a geographic distinction. She reminded the audience that colonial borders continue to contribute to the conflicts in Africa. More provocatively, she said that some colonial borders were purposely drawn to thrust ethnically or religious enemies together so they would fight each other and be unable to unify to oppose their colonial masters. Here is a brief history from the presentation on how the conflict in Mali started.

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Initiated by Douglas McElhaney, a former ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina from 2004 to 2007, and hosted at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, the first annual St Petersburg in the World Conference was held from March 28 to 29. The conference brought together a panel of experts to speak about important foreign policy issues. Speakers including former diplomats and ambassadors, academic experts, members of the military and the media who shared their experiences and expertise from across various fields. Critical international issues were examined with several of the speakers laying a particular emphasis on Africa. The subjects discussed were so diverse that I have decided to divide it into several sections for Africa Talks.

Part I: Africa and the International Criminal Court 

During the conference, the first topic on the agenda was “Africa Today: Breadbasket for the World or Continued Dependency?” This looked at several issues including agriculture, the economy and an overall look at governance and democracy around the continent. Dr. William Felice, a professor at Eckerd College who specializes in international politics, international law, international organization and human rights highlighted the continent’s complex juxtapositions of plight and promise. Most of the speakers agreed that Africa’s political, social and economic landscape is mixed, but all an international audience tends to hear about is “the plight of Africa, and it is most visible in Sudan, Chad, Congo, Northern Uganda, the Horn of Africa,” said Felice.

“We read about genocide, crimes against humanity and related development such as sexual violence against women, child soldiering, refugee displacement, poverty being prevalent and so on and we read about efforts to address it but they seem not adequate for example, the International Criminal Court attempt to address some of these issues.” Felice believes that the court can bring “justice or a modicum of justice for some of the victims of the horrors that we read about in the press.”

The Kenyan Elephant in the Room: Leaders Before the ICC

Kenya is an interesting example because it is a country where one can identify both plight and promise working side by side, Felice said. In 2010, Eckerd College launched an initiative including academic study, activism and a community awareness program, titled “The Plight and Promise of Africa.” Quoting Kenyan anti-corruption whistleblower John Githongo, Felice pointed to the heavy stew of factors existing in the nation: “Kenya is one of the most unequal societies in the world, when you have systemic corruption, conspicuous consumption and stark inequalities, and you ethnicize all these inequalities, that is absolutely toxic.” Corruption has been a well-documented problem in the country. A recurring issue also brought up during an interview with Ambassador Michael Ranneberger.

How does corruption play into Kenya’s politics and implementation of the rule of law? Well, author Michela Wrong has been taking heat for criticizing the 2013 elections after Kenya’s Supreme Court upheld the contested election for Uhuru Kenyatta. Wrong said “Courts are by nature conservative, so Saturday’s announcement was only to be expected. But in confirming the election of a man indicted by the International Criminal Court for allegedly orchestrating the ethnic cleansing  that followed Kenya’s 2007 polls, Chief Justice Willy Mutunga did more than solve a national wrangle over a ballot count. He secured Kenya’s place as a shining international symbol of impunity.”

But critics such as the Bush-era U.S. diplomat Jendayi Frazer, took the opportunity to stand on a soap box to criticize the ICC and claimed that the court has veered off from its “ideals of global justice.” The irony in this is that Ms. Frazer’s record toward the rule of law in the Horn of Africa has been sketchy in principle during her time working in the region. She was instrumental in pushing to reopen a closed “final and binding” ruling by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission. That being the case, observers should pay close attention to understand why a former diplomat is slamming another U.S. diplomat from a subsequent administration.

I caught up with Mr. Felice after his presentation and asked two burning questions:

1) What should the role of the ICC be when an indicted candidate runs for election to a national office and wins?

2) How do you view criticism that claims the ICC has been politicized? How can the court move forward?

Stay tuned for more interviews about security, economy and the media in upcoming parts on Africa Talks.

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The U.S. has stated early and often that the terror group Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) that roams parts of the Sahel region including Niger, Algeria and Northern Mali is considered as a direct threat to its national security. Cautious of the fact that direct involvement has produced mixed results in the past in other parts of the world, the U.S. is instead engaged in bolstering security either by training local forces or by offering technical assistance to those battling extremists around the continent.

One specific example of such assistance was evident during France’s military intervention in January. Shortly after France’s intervention, president Barack Obama announced in February that about 100 American troops have been deployed to Niger in order to provide drone surveillance as a continued effort to combat terrorism. In a letter to Congress he wrote that the troops will:

In line with recent developments, on Thursday, April 3, Ambassador Vicki Huddleston is scheduled to visit the University of South Florida in an event sponsored by  the Center for Strategic and Diplomatic Studies. The conversation will be about the conflict in Mali and will be moderated by Dr. Mohsen M. Milani, the executive director of the Center for Strategic & Diplomatic Studies.

The event to be held at the Patel Center for Global Solutions, will feature an introductory remark by Lieutenant General Martin Steele, a retired United States Marine Corps and the associate Vice President for Veterans Research and the executive director for Military Partnerships.

Ambassador Huddleston has served as the U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, U.S. Ambassador to Madagascar and to Mali, Principal Officer of the U.S. Interests Section in Havana, and Chargé d’affairs ad interim in Ethiopia.

You can click here for the interview with the Ambassador  and find out the answers to questions about Mali, how it got to this position and what its future holds.

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“If you don’t like someone’s story, write your own.”

“until the lions have their own historians, the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter”

“We cannot trample upon the humanity of others without devaluing our own. The Igbo, always practical, put it concretely in their proverb Onye ji onye n’ani ji onwe ya: ’He who will hold another down in the mud must stay in the mud to keep him down.’”

“While we do our good works let us not forget that the real solution lies in a world in which charity will have become unnecessary.”

“My weapon is literature.”

“Storytellers are a threat. They threaten all champions of control, they frighten usurpers of the right-to-freedom of the human spirit — in state, in church or mosque, in party congress, in the university or wherever.”

Also take a look at this interview on CNN’s ‘African voices’

Chinua Achebe was a Nigerian novelist, poet, professor and critic.  (16 November 1930 – 22 March 2013)

In a phone interview, Africa Talks caught up with Ahmed H. Adam, a visiting scholar at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights.

To learn more about Ahmed H. Adam, you can click here. Here’s a brief biography adapted from information on the school’s website:

Born in 1968 in Darfur, Mr. Adam studied law in Khartoum in 1996 and subsequently received an LLM in International law in 1999, from the Westminster University, in London. Mr. Adam represents the people of Darfur in peace negotiations with the government of Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir. Mr. Adam is also the official spokesperson of Darfur’s armed and political group, the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), where he manages the public relations and media outreach.

Part I: Issues discussed during phone interview: 

1) It’s been almost ten years since the world became aware of the Darfur war and I would like to know your perspective about what life is like for people in Darfur today?

“…the humanitarian situation is getting worse and worse…security situation is very bad, air bombardments against the civilian population and their livestock, the militias are killing people…rape cases in the IDP camps have increased…Darfur is like a black box, nobody is talking about it”

2) The man who is indicted by the International Criminal Court with charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and other war crimes [Omar Al-Bashir] is still not held responsible. I want to pick your brain about what credibility the court and the international community have after this and what precedent is that setting for other similar cases?

“The international community and the International Criminal Court are setting a very dangerous precedent…Darfur is a case of failure of the international community, in many aspects, in humanitarian aspect and in security aspect …other violators of human rights, a lot of them right now,  they can do a lot of things without being actually held accountable by the ICC.”

3) Do you think the answer to hold rogue leaders to account is by adding sanctions and putting more pressure? How would that cause Bashir to go along with the request of the international community?

“…Sanctions are not robust but if the international community has the political will, I think they have a lot to do…if they want to be really serious about Sudan…and send a strong message to other human rights violators around the world that impunity is not tolerated in the world.”

4) In fact, you have written extensively about how how shunning Bashir has pushed him to align with nations such as Iran and is being used as a launching point for Iranian military and intelligence operations. Can you expand on that? (You can read Mr. Adam’s article here).

“right now, Bashir is developing a very serious and dangerous alliance and coalition with Iran and that’s not only against the people of Sudan but also against the international community…and because Bashir is feeling isolated, Sudan is becoming a dangerous military and intelligence base for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard…Sudanese are very peaceful people, they don’t want their country to be a battlefield for regional and international powers or forces…the Iranian alliance of Bashir is not an alliance for the people of Sudan. It is an allaiance for Bashir’s survival and it is going to make Sudan a haven for international terrorism…Iranians are not there for prosperity or supporting the people but to support Bashir with a military machine to kill his own people and beyond.”

Part II: Issues discussed during phone interview: 

5) There have been reports of student revolts and an attempted coup. How stable do you think the regime is? Is there change coming from within?

“coup leaders were regime supporters…right now the regime is so weak, it is shaking…but they are not looking for reforms, they are trying to continue the same kind of politics…However, the civil society in the country can bring positive change…”

6) I would like to talk about recent agreements between South Sudan and Sudan to continue oil exports. As recently as Sunday, South Sudan has started removing thousands of its military out of a buffer zone. Do you think such mutually beneficial economic agreements would bring eventual peace between the two nations despite disagreement about Abyei?

“…after any agreement, we hear about violations to the agreements. I’m very pessimistic about what is going to happen. In order to make peace, we have to be really cautious because this has to do with Bashir’s strategy…I know that the international community is behind negotiations but what percentage has been achieved? The regime is divided…we are not speaking about a coherent regime that is committed to any kind of agreement.”

7) If you had to look into the future of Sudan, what would you say?

“…the people of Sudan deserve change, they deserve democratic change….what I dream is for Sudan to be a peaceful, democratic and prosperous nation but provided that Al-Bashir is not in power.”

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Inspiration for today also comes from a group of African women listed by the Guardian through its Guardian Africa network series. Take a look at top 25 incredible African women nominated by the public to celebrate International Women’s Day here and get inspired!

Last but not least, I would like to share videos below. I was honored to sit among a group of highly-accomplished women journalists as part of a program hosted by Global Journalist in honor of International Women’s Day at the Missouri School of Journalism in 2011. Even though I am a relative novice compared to the women I was with, I was able to pitch in from my experience and perspective as a female journalist working in Eritrea. I am recommending the video below to showcase the amazing group of women in the industry. Happy International Women’s Day to all the women journalists out there who are working hard to uphold the true meaning of the profession and inspiring us all.

In February this year, Kerry was sworn in to replace Hillary Clinton, a trailblazer who has broken barriers as a woman and has become an assertive prominent figure in U.S.’s foreign policy, by announcing to work for peace. How will Kerry’s peace mission be different from what’s been done before? How will it translate in U.S.-Africa policy?

The mention of the World War II era method could give observers possibly pivotal indication in what Kerry intends to accomplish during his term for several reasons. One fact is that despite being a continent with an increasing youth bulge, Africa has the highest number of aging leaders who mostly hold an ideology from the WWII time frame. Second and equally important is Kerry’s message to “re-engage” with countries,  for instance Sudan.

After pushing for reform in Congress, Kerry embarked on a 3-day trip to Sudan in 2011 as the chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee leading a congressional delegation. The message from the Obama administration to Khartoum, or to Omar Al-Bashir who is indicted for crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court, was an offer to remove its label as the state sponsor of terrorism if it adheres with the agreements of the referendum of South Sudan.

What Kerry signaled is that U.S.’s engagement with dictatorships might be inevitable. The excerpt from his first speech to implement a Nixonian method in order to re-engage with countries that the U.S. has severed ties with is what’s new in a sense. Regardless of increasing military presence in the continent, Kerry’s “peace” mission highlights what Obama plans to accomplish in his second term: Push for collaboration with African nations for regional security and stress diplomatic ties by any means necessary, even if it means dealing with dictatorships. In his words, “deploying diplomats today is much cheaper than deploying troops tomorrow.” Whether this strategy will be successful or not remains to be seen.

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In 2003, when the government of Eritrea sent out orders to ban Amharic music in public, there was no official announcement made but simply oral orders passed around in public places such as bars and music shops. The owners of such businesses were told to stop playing music. Of course, that didn’t mean that the government was able to systematically monitor every household and stop people from listening to music.

In fact, people listened to Amharic music in public places including public transportation. I remember driving in a bus to travel outside of Asmara and listening to Amharic songs loud enough for all to hear. Today, the government has its own programs in Amharic and Oromigna (both languages spoken only in Ethiopia by the Amhara and the Oromo ethnic groups) on its state-owned television station Eri-TV where it broadcasts programs specifically containing political and entertainment programs mostly targeting the Ethiopian people.

Last week, there was similar news grabbing everyone’s attention on social media. I first learned about it on February 2nd when the Peninsula, a Qatar-based media outlet announced that Eritrea has blocked Al Jazeera news. The report said that orders came after the TV channel covered widespread protests in major cities abroad. Protests were also well-documented by different outlets and social media with videos from Europe and the U.S. in support of a day-long military mutiny on January 21st in Eritrea at the ministry of information. Diaspora groups not only demonstrated out in the streets but also stormed Eritrean embassies grabbing the attention of international media and incidents at embassies were covered by Al Jazeera’s The Stream.

The news, however, came back again with a fresh twist on Tuesday February 5, when Reporters Without Borders claimed that the government not only blocked access by citing Qatar-based newspaper Al-Sharq, but also issued a statement ordering public places to stop broadcasting the TV channel.

Reading this report was a stark reminder of the way orders to ban Amharic music passed around by word of mouth in 2003. Contrary to what government apologists repeat—philosophical reasons why there is no need for independent media—people in Eritrea are hungry for information. Rumors run rampant in Asmara and get around quickly. However for people who have lived in the country for years, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. It bears repeating that the government doesn’t have the capacity to control every household and television dish which stream international programs into private homes. And most importantly, it doesn’t have the capacity to block all international satellite in the country.

The claim that Al Jazeera was banned resurfaced again on Iran’s television network Press TV when journalist Afshin Rattansi mentioned it during an interview with the Eritrean Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Tesfamicael Gerahtu. Issues broached during the interview include: the January 21st mutiny that the government has refused to give details about despite reports of arrests of high-ranking government officials and military officers and questions of human rights abuses made official by the United Nations human rights chief, Navi Pillay. Rattansi asked if reports say that there are 5,000 to 10,000 political prisoners in Eritrea, why not give access to human rights groups to visit prisoners? The Ambassador didn’t have answers but instead blamed the usual suspect, the media. He, however, can only recite talking points with information available to everyone. This woefully inadequate response should remind all those watching: issues in Eritrea are not all that complicated. Explanation cannot be given until permission is granted from the top.

The root of the problem is a pattern that people fail to recognize. Even when one of the most loyal ministers, the Minister of Information, Ali Abdu, defected, some observers gave the minister too much credit. Even though he held the position for over a decade, what people fail to see is that he was not the puppet master as he may have appeared from the outside. The propaganda machine is not sophisticated. Any other person or minister who is posted to the same position of Information Minister could perform the task as long as orders come from top. After the minister’s defection was made public on the Expressen, a Swedish newspaper, Ali’s brother, who also runs a prominent opposition website based in the U.S. explained the truth loud and clear. It is this simple truth that explains the lack of accountability and transparency in the country and holds the answer to most questions about Eritrea. Here’s a translated verbatim excerpt from the interview .

“It is taboo to ask about things that are not related to one’s job to do. There is an old guerrilla culture in the country. It carries out orders without asking why.”

“It is routine to suspected dissidents arrested without court papers, without any documentation. Those who do the work, oral orders. Sometimes, there is over the phone and in coded language. They are afraid of being intercepted by Western intelligence services.”