Via The NY Transfer News Service * All the News that Doesn't Fit from the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) MIM Notes, Issue 70: November, 1992 Eritrea, A Victorious People's Revolution by a comrade [On September 29 Dan Connell, a freelance journalist and professor of journalism, gave a talk entitled "Eritrea: The Challenge of Peace" in Cambridge, Mass. He presented some of the most up-to-date information on the Eritrean struggle MIM can find, mostly from first-hand travels to the area. This article is based on information presented in this talk. Connell has a book forthcoming from Red Sea Press about Eritrea.] Eritrea is a small country of about 3.5 million people in the Horn of Africa. The Eritrean people fought a 30-year war for independence from an Ethiopia government that was backed alternately by the United States and the Soviet Union with additional aid from Cuba and Israel, among others. In May of 1991, the Eritreans emerged victorious, liberating not only Eritrea, but also Ethiopia from foreign domination. According to Connell, Eritrea is now the only tranquil spot in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea is a modern-day example of the power of people -- in spite of lack of technological resources, lack of funding, and lack of formal training and education -- to fight and win a war against a country far more wealthy in resources, training, arms, and funding. Even before victory, the Eritrean Peoples Liberation Front (EPLF) was organizing health care and education in the liberated areas, so people could begin to fight famine and create a more advanced society than the backwards structure that was bred by forced colonization. Formed in the 1960s, the EPLF was trained and educated in Maoist warfare and political theory, and many of the original members studied in China (see MIM Notes 54). The EPLF never openly supported Maoism or claimed to be a Maoist revolutionary party but they clearly retain many of the lessons of Maoism, from their method of guerrilla warfare, to their use of "barefoot doctors" in the countryside. In colonized Eritrea women were bought and sold into marriage. They needed permission from a man to go to the market. Genital mutilation was commonplace. In the liberated areas the EPLF organized women and men around the need for change through education of both men and women and the political motivation of women. They carried out a major education campaign around marriage laws and other backwards laws regarding women. These reforms were implemented at the village level when the village people were convinced of the need for change: none of the changes were legislated by the EPLF. While carrying out this education the EPLF itself was setting an example by enacting progressive policies in the armed forces that included abolishing marriage laws and abolishing laws banning women from owning property. Women and men were trained separately for the army, but after training they were joined together to fight. These pre-victory practices have been carried over into post- revolutionary society as the elected governments in the communities are now 25-30% women. Everyday life in Eritrea evidences women in a far better position than before the revolutionary struggle began. When Connell visited, he found that the police of the provisional government in Eritrea did not carry guns. The area was very safe, without the need for armed force. There were no longer restrictions on people's movement. And for the first time in many years of war there was no curfew and people were not afraid to walk around in daylight. As a result of the long war and the Ethiopian attacks, backed up by 10 to 12 billion dollars in arms from the Soviet Union, almost all of the cities in Eritrea were decimated with the noted exception of Asmara. The major port in Eritrea, Masawa, was destroyed. There are still many land mines in some of the most fertile fields and people are injured on a daily basis as these continue to go off. In addition, a 12-year drought has left Eritrea with very little livestock, compounding the problems from lack of irrigation and a ravished countryside. But in spite of these difficulties, the Eritrean people are beginning to build a new society. Eighty to 85% of the population is living off of donated relief (a small amount from some major governments and most from independent sources), but they are also constructing a society that can be self-sufficient. And unlike the many corrupt programs of relief distribution prevalent in colonies experiencing famine, Eritrea has created a very efficient system of distribution that gets food to all the people. Every village has a committee in charge of making sure that everyone receives grain, according to need, and Connell could find no evidence of corruption in the relief effort. The EPRDF has been working without pay for reconstruction for the past year since the end of the war, reflecting the dedication of the government and the commitment of the people to build a better society. The Eritrean people are beginning to build basins and irrigation. The provisional government uses the relief as food for work, and provides the population with jobs rebuilding society. All over there are reconstruction projects underway: people work on constructing roads, terracing hillsides and building houses among other necessary tasks. Eritrea's land does have the potential to provide enough food to sustain its people, and as these projects advance, and with the help of the recent rains, they will be able to move closer to this goal. The provisional government has also expanded the education and health care programs that were first implemented in the liberated areas. And very shortly after the end of the war the provisional government opened new schools in four different languages. Eritrea is made up of nine nationalities, and the new schools reflect the provisional government's desire to allow each nationality to retain its distinct heritage. The transitional government of Ethiopia -- run by the EPRDF -- has an agreement with Eritrea to hold a referendum in April on the question of Eritrea's independence, in which the Eritrean people will almost certainly choose to continue along the path of independence. The struggle in Eritrea should hold several lessons for anti-imperialists. It demonstrates the ability of the masses, when properly organized, to fight seemingly insurmountable odds and win: liberation struggles are not a thing of the past. People often ask how any country could hope to fight the enormous might of a superpower like the United States, anti-imperialists should point to Eritrea as an example of this hope becoming a reality. The Eritrean people appear to be pursuing a path of integrated economy: some socialism and some capitalism. While MIM does not have much information right now as to exactly how they will carry out the task of rebuilding their society and economy, we learn from the history of the Nicaraguan revolution, where capitalism was never eliminated, and the Cuban revolution, where independence was sacrificed for dependency on the Soviet Union's aid. Without an independent self-sufficient socialist economic system, Eritrea may soon find itself unable to defend against foreign domination, as was the case with Nicaragua and Cuba. In spite of potential differences over the direction post-revolutionary construction should take, MIM stands firmly behind the Eritrean people and applauds their revolutionary success. Struggles like this one, widely ignored by mainstream as well as "left" media, are the reason why we need an independent revolutionary press. For further reading on the history of Eritrea MIM recommends "Never Kneel Down," by James Firebrace. Send $9 to MIM for a copy postpaid. Subscribe to MIM Notes: Individual: Institutional: 1 year domestic $12 1 year domestic $48 2 years domestic $20 2 years domestic $90 1 year overseas $36 1 year overseas $60 Make checks payable to "ABS" or send cash. MIM, PO Box 3576, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-3576 --- email: mim%nyxfer@igc.apc.org NY Transfer News Service * All the News that Doesn't Fit Modem: 718-448-2358 * Internet: nytransfer@igc.apc.org