Istituto Italiano Per L'Africa E L'Oriente (Isiao)

'NOT WITH THEM, NOT WITHOUT THEM': THE STAGGERING OF ERITREA TO NATIONHOOD
Author(s): Alemseged Abbay

Source: Africa: Rivista trimestrale di studi e documentazione dell’Istituto italiano per l’Africa
e l’Oriente, Anno 56, No. 4 (Dicembre 2001), pp. 459-491
Published by: Istituto Italiano per l'Africa e l'Oriente (IsIAO)
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Africa,LVI, 4, 2001, pp. 4V)-4l)l
'NOT WITH THEM, NOT WITHOUT THEM':

THE STAGGERINGOF ERITREATO
NATIONHOOD
by AlemsegedAbbay(*)
'Eritreabelongsto Ethiopia.It is Ethiopiaitselfand shouldreturnto

Ethiopia.'
- Walde-AbWalde-Mariam , NayErtraSemunaGazetta, 4 March,1946,
p. 4.
Eritreais not a richcountry.
It is one of thepoorestcountries in the
world.It belongsto Ethiopia;it was takenawayfromit by theItalians.
All Europeansand Americans wouldnotneedit becauseit wouldbe a
to them- theywouldgetno benefit
liability fromit.It has no gold,nor
anyotherminerals.
- Walde-Ab NayErtra
Walde-Mariam, SemunawiGazetta,17April,1947,
p. 4.
The 'Fatherof Eritrea',Walde-AbWalde-Mariam, was one of the

fewurbanliteratiof the 1940sEritrea.Alongwiththe agrarianeliteand
the ecclesiastics,the minisculeand nascentpetite-bourgeoisie
(teachers,
merchants, -
etc.) AntonioGramsci's'organicintellectuals' (0 - could
not imagine any infrastructural or superstructuraljustificationsfor
Eritreato go it alone.Organicallylinkedwiththedominantfeudalmode
of production,that kept Eritrea and Tigray/Ethiopia an indivisible
whole, theysaw no reason to rupturethe historicalcontinuity of the
regionthatwas onlybrieflyinterrupted by colonialism.
(*) Departmentof History,Lakeland College,Shcboygan,WI 5Ì0S2, USA.

(1) ANTONIOGRANISCI,Selectionsfrom the Prison Notebooks ed., and tras. Quintin
Hoare and GeoffreyN. Smith New York: InternationalPublishers,1992, pp.5-23.

460 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
Indeed elsewhereforces of modernityhave bifurcateda single

people into two halves.Moderninstitutions thathave takenplace since
the 1660s createdseparateFrenchand SpanishBasque identitiesacross
thePyrennes.It was also the continuity of colonialinstitutions thatgave
the Hausa of Nigeriaand Nigerseparateidentities (2). However,unlike
the Basques and the Hausa, the 1940s Eritrean'organicintellectuals',
who were responsiblefor mobilizingpeople and articulatingtheir
ideologiesand politicalgoals, refusedto accept the legitimacyof the
RiverMareb as the boundarythatsliced the Tigrayanethniein two;(3)
theysaw themselvesas Tigrayansof Ethiopia.
In many parts of Africaand Asia, colonialismhas alteredpre-
colonial identities.Resilient colonial institutionshave kept altered
intactin thepost-colonialera. This paper,however,showsthat
identities
colonialismdid not necessarilyalter identitieswhere its institutions
remainedbeyond the reach of the colonized. Furthermore, identities
based on a richpast die hard,evenin thefaceof colonialassault.Italian
colonial institutions,for instance,did not overwhelmthe Kebessa
[Eritreanhighlands]trans-Mareb identitythatwas foundedon the pre-
colonialinstitutionsoftheCopticChurch,dynasticexistence,land tenure
system{visti/ , etc.
'gulti)
Consequently, Eritreansobservedthe mergerof theircountrywith
Ethiopiain 1952 bywayof a UN-sponsored'federation' eitherin hilarity
or withequanimity. Immediately,however, Ethiopiabeganto killEritrea's
particularities,contrary to the letters and spirit of the federation,
nurturing deep grievancesamong the nascent urban elite. Sidetracking
thepoliticalstandof the 1940s 'organicintellectuals' (who had held that
neithereconomicviabilitynor a distinctidentity favoredEritreato go it
alone),the currentpoliticalactorsled a costlythree-decade-long war for
independence.Far frombeingan outgrowth ofa distinctsenseofidentity
that Italian colonialismengenderedor the possession of enviable
economic resources,the Eritreaninsurgency(1961-91) was a direct
reactionto Ethiopia'sunilateralabrogationof the federationin 1962.
Going it alone,Eritreadid in 1991. Its economicinviability and the
lack of an identitydistinctfromthatof the Tigrayansto the south of
(2) WILLIAMMILES, Hausaland Divided Ithaca: Cornell UniversityPress, 1994.

(3) Tigrayan is the dominant ethnie in the trans-Mareb;but there are minorities-
eightin the northand fourin the south of the river,with Kunama, Saho and Afarstraddling
across the border and the Agaw live in the Bogus and Abergele regionsof Eritreaand Tigray
, respectively.See Taddesse Tamrat, Processes of Ethnic Interactionand Integrationin
Ethiopian History:the Case of the Agaw, «Journalof AfricanHistory»,V. 29, 1988.

'NOT WITH THEM,NOT WITHOUTTHEM', ETC. 461
the Mareb - issues thatpreventedWalde-AbWalde-Mariamand the

other1940spoliticalelitefromimagininga politicalcommunity separate
fromEthiopia- had to be addressed. Statehoodprovidedthenecessary
matrixforthe gestationof nationhoodby inventingunique symbolsof
identitysuch as adopting the Gregorian calendar. The economic
question,however,has been more difficult. Unlikesymbolsof identity,
economicblueprintscan hardlybe inventedout of a thinair.Thus the
plan to transform Eritreaintothe 'Singapore*of theHorn of Africaand
a regional'economichub' is a farcry.Thispaperarguesthatit is Eritrea's
to meetthe criteriaof nationhood- criteriathatthe 1940s
difficulties
'organic believeddid not exist- thatled to the breakout
intellectuals'
oftheEthio-Eritrean fratricidal
warin 1998.The warwillnotgiveEritrea
a 'total freeaccess' to the Ethiopianeconomy.By default,however,it
will nurtureand seal a distinctEritreanidentity.
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462 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
ERITREA
SOCIAL GROUPS
"P Tigrinyons (Abyssiniens) fO
~
Tigroy
Boria and Kunomo (pilotes) 7_'
** B»loin ¿¿
^ __J ' Soho ^
O-¿ I Danokil Cj
- 4 MARIA ^ Tribal or Territorial Groups «g. MENSA
- ^ ' ^
Ç) / ^ ^^K ' Û* Principol Towns asmara*
' ^-
^ ■jJgJJ^^.I'trTv
- I:?a.hlaï Eritr.an Boundary
rr' 'T~- •'•*&&::/.
"• "N
f%¿.v"Z, ?Vlslonds
-V"T i/JT-fAJVVtr %-' Ç' Ia^ H>. 'SAMCC»• th» coflscti«»nom«
-J. QQ * I
ACOAOATJâV.v.-.:-.':7!!
* ' JMASSAWaWmX aa«*t*4 *6r Mi» T^rof clan« form*«
/ I I I I I TfA^v «U«r *»»• »r»ak up of th* ftrmtrBait
/ HAMASAIN^ Oi /V A^O^oy tr.k».. «* H«»«b. A« T«moriom. «w>
A4 Trtl.i..-4 Ad Sh.,MO i>
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''''w''S''< 'V
' ' ' ' ' ' ' 'V ' ' ' ' 'V>
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' ' ''' ' ' y*C*
BoundarylessTrans-Mareb
In the earlyChristianera,the AxumiteEmpire,whose tentaclesof

powerreachedArabiaand Meroe,flourished in theHorn ofAfrica.With
Adulis at the Red Sea as its principalportand Axum in the interioras
its capital,the empirehad both sides of the Mareb as its core region.
Followingits collapse in the 10thcentury,Axum was replacedby small
states.NeithertheearlyArab travelers northelaterEuropeandelegates,
explorersand travelersspoke about a distinctstatusforthe Kebessa-
the core regionof whatwas goingto become 'Eritrea'.
Consequently,priorto colonialism,theMareb was not a barrierfor
social, economic,culturaland politicalties in the region.For instance,
the people of Akkale-Guzaidid not see theirfellowKebessa people of
Serayeand Hamassienanydifferently fromthoseof Agame,southof the
Mareb. Nor was Serayecloserto Akkale-Guzaithanto Adua south of
the Mareb. As such,populationintermingling was routinebetweenthe

'NOT WITH THEM, NOT WITHOUTTHEM', ETC. 463
two sides of the Mareb and 'Scores of kinshipgroupsin Eritreato-day

claim originin an ancestorimmigrant from[the Tigrayanregionsof]
Tembien,Shire,or Agame... bringingtheirlegendsof highancestry' (4).
Among others, the Adkeme of
Melega'e people Seraye are believed to
havecomefromBora Selewain Tigray(5). The Carnesciumof Hamassien
also see themselves as the descendentsof the Queen of Sheba and King
Solomonwhose relativesare in Agame(6). People could even cross the
Mareb and establisha rulingfamilyas did the house of CantibaBakhit
in Carnescimwhose grandparents came fromAnkerein Tigray(7). The
jabarti (Kebessa Muslims) collective
memorysaysthattheiroriginalhome
was westernTigray(Walqait,Shire,Axum and Adua). They also trace
theirconversionto a Tigrayan,MohammedEl-Negash,a self-appointed
discipleof the Prophetwho lived at the timeof the Hejira. His burial
place near Adigrat,Tigray,has become a sacredsite of pilgrimage (s).
It is, therefore, hardlysurprisingthat,duringthelast quarterof the
19thcentury, Ras Walde-Mika'elSolomon of Hazzega, whom both the
revolutionary elite(9) and nationalistic
scholars(10)haveraisedto heroism
for challengingthe Tigrayan'conquerors',claimed ancestryfromthe
TigrayanRas Mika'el Suhul, king-makerin Gondar (1769-80) (n).
Identification withtheTigrayanrulinghouseswas intendedto legitimize
his claim to power in Hamassien.Many of the 1940s leaders,such as
Walde-Ab Walde-Mariam,the most celebratedpoliticalactivist,trace
theirancestryto Tigray.
Contemporary Eritreanpoliticalleaders,includingPresidentIsaías
Afewerki, too, have Tigrayanparentage.The firstmilitary leader of the
TigrayanPeople's LiberationFront(Tplf) MehariTekle ('Mussie') and
(4) STEPHENH. Longrigg, A ShortHistoryof Eritrea,Oxford, 1945, p. 31.

(5) JOHANNES Kolmodin, Traditionsde Tsazzega et Hazzega Uppsala, 1915, para. 31.
(6) ibid., par. 36.
(7) TrevaskisPapers, Oxford [Bodleian Library].Mss-Brit-Emp-S.367Boxes 1-2. 1944-
1951 Eritrea,p. 36.
(8) S. F. NADEL,Races and Tribes of EritreaAsmara. 1944. d. 75.
(9) See, among others,Ertra'n Qalsan Sahel, EPLF, 1987.
(10) See, among others,BerekeT HAßTE SELASSIE,From BritishRule to Federationto
Annexation,in BASIL DAVIDSON,LIONEL Cliffe and BEREKETHAßTE SELASSIEeds. Behind
the War in EritreaNottingham,1980, p. 33: The people of Medri Bahri ... never accepted
the rule of the Abyssiniankings . . . There was continuous resistance,even at the heightof
theirsubjugationas witnessthe rebellionsof Woldemichael of Hamassien, and Bahta Hagos
of Akele Guzai*.
(11) WILLIAMDye, Moslem Egyptand ChristianAbyssiniaNew York, 1880, p. 285;
WILLIAMWinstanley, A Visit to AbyssiniaNew York, [1881] 1969, p. 213.

464 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
Tplf Cc member,YemaneKidane ('Jamaica')are of Tigrayanparentage.

Theywerebornand raisedin Eritreaand used to be combatantsforthe
EritreanPeople's LiberationFront (Eplf). In factthe latteris a close
relativeof Isaias Afeworki.Whilst'Mussie' died fighting forthe Tplf,
his sisterfoughtfor the EPLF. On the otherhand, Giday Zeratsion,
formerDeputyChairmanof theTPLF,is fullEritreanwho was raisedin
Tigray.He had a couple of his siblingsfightingfor the Eritrean
LiberationFront (Elf). Ethiopia's Prime Minister,Meles Zenawi, is
partiallyEritrean.So is TewodrosHagos, a TPLF Cc member.These
maritallinks and the ties of sharedlanguage,culture,religion,ethos,
and, above all, historicalconsciousness,show the absence of any social
boundaryamong the trans-Marebpeople. The trans-Marebsense of
identityof the Kebessa was, however,juxtaposed with parochialism,
whichmade intermarriage betweenthedifferent adis/endas(parishes)an
exceptionto the rule(12).
Unlike the on-goingeffortsto transform the Mareb into a social
and politicalboundary, in thepastit was notfussyto crisscrossthe river.
For instance,in the 19thcentury, ambitiousfeudalistsfromboth sides of
the riverused the variousEritreanregions,such as the Mareb valley,as
safehideoutsdue to theirrelativeperiphery fromthecenterof authority.
From these sites,theyfreelyplunderedand organizedthemselvesto
challengeauthorities foroffice(13).The proliferationof rivalriesamong
variousleadersforprimacy,as in the case of the Hamassienhouses of
Hazzega and Tseazzega,deprivedKebessaits peace and harmony.The
appointment of the militaryheroRas Alula fromsouthof the Mareb as
its governorin 1876 gave it a remarkablepeace. Despite his popularity
forbeingjudicious,Alula,who made Asmarahis capitalby avoidingthe
traditionalseats of authorityat Hazzega and Tseazzega (14), also
encounteredoppositionin Kebessa fromfeudalistssuch as Fitawrari
(12) In a small surveyof 28 civilians I conducted in Mendefera, Seraye, in 1994, I

asked my informantswhether they would prefertheir closest relatives to intemarrywith
Tigrayans,south of the Mareb, or with the Afar and the Kunama, northof the river.'With
Seraye'was not an uncommonanswerand thatregionwas not in the choice. When I reiterated
the choices, theyemphaticallypreferredintermarriage with theirkin south of the Mareb. On
the mutual distrust of parishes, see EUGENE WEBER, Peasants into Frenchmen: The
Modernizationof Rural France 1870-1914, Stanford, 1976, pp. 45-47.
(13) On 19thcenturyrebellionsas a means of careermobilitiy,see D. Crummey,Banditry
and resistance:noble and peasant in nineteenth-century
Ethiopia,in D. CRUMMEYed. Banditry,
Rebellion and Social Protest in Africa London, 1986; Haggai ERLICH, Ethiopia and the
Challengeof IndependenceBoulder CO, 1986, especiallychapter3.
(14) TrevaskisPapers, op. cit. p. 125.

Dabab Araya(nativeof Enderta,Tigrayproper)and Ras Walde-Mika'el

Solomon (nativeof Hazzega, Kebessa).
The rampantrebellionswereconduciveforforeignexpansionists to
recruitcollaborators.The Italians,forinstance,easilyrecruitedalliessuch
as Baraki and Sebhatu (sons of CantibaiBakhitof Carnescim),Gugsa
(son of Hailu of Tseazega), Bahta Hagos of Akkale-Guzai and
Hadgembas of Dembezan(15).However,nativesof the regionsouth of
the Mareb such as Dabab Araya,who were at home in Kebessa, also
renderedtheirservicesto the Italians.
During the resistanceagainst the Italian colonialists,too, the
internationalboundaryof the Mareb did not preventthe emergenceof
trans-Mareb alliances.For instance,the chiefof Akkale-Guzaiwho had
collaboratedwiththeItalians,BahtaHagos, rebelledagainsthis erstwhile
patronsin 1894. He naturallysoughtsupportfromhis Tigrayanco-
ethnics across the internationalborderline.Thus the international
borderlinecould not keep the trans-Marebpeople apart. Sharingthe
same myths,ethos, political economy,religion,language, historical
consciousnessand freelyintermarrying, the Tigrinya-speaking people
were bound to have the same sense of collectiveidentity - an identity
thatcolonialismwithits attendantforcesof modernity failedto weaken,
much less dismantle.That was preciselywhythe people northof the
Mareb continuedto harborgrudgesagainstEmperorMenelik (1889-
1913) whomtheyheld accountableforamputating theKebessafromthe
trans-Marebregionand givingit awayto the Italians(16).
ModernitySojournsKebessa (1890-1941)
a multi-faceted
Modernity, processofbreakingthe'cakeofcustom'(17),
is a radicalmental,materialand politicalchange,whichproduces new
(15) Interview,Walde-Ab Walde-Mariam (Rome, Eplf), 2 November, 1982.

(16) KOLMODIN,op.cit. para. 286; For those who saw Menelik as 'a traitorwho had
sold Ethiopia for money',see IRMATADDIA,EthiopianSource Material and Colonial Rule in
the NineteenthCentury:the Letterto Menilek (1899) by Blatta Gara Egzïabeher, «Journalof
AfricanHistory»,V. 34 (Cambridge, 1993) and Tekeste Negash, No Medicinefor the Bite
of a WhiteSnake: Notes on Nationalismand Resistancein Eritrea,1890-1940 Uppsala, 1986.
The 'Separatists' [Lpp] echoed similar sentiment:Menelik 'sold us to the Italians and he
accepted a price forus', in Hearing: statementby spokesmanof the LPP to Council of Foreign
Ministers,Appendix 123, 18 November, 1947. That was also why Berkeleycalled Menelik 'a
traitorto his race', G. F. H. BERKELEY,The Campaign of Adowa and the Rise of Menelik
London, [1902] 1935, p. 2 and p. 5 for the moneythe Emperor received fromthe Italians.
(17) CHARLESTilly, Did the Cake of Custom Break? in JOHN M. Merreman ed.
Consciousnessand Class Experiencein Nineteenth-Century Europe New York, 1979.

466 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
attitudes,valuesand expectations (18).Intendedto be a springboardfor

Italian colonial ambitions,Eritrea became a recipientof forces of
modernity (19).
However, the transplantedWestern political and economic
institutionswere designedto servethe Italiansettlerswho staffedtheir
managerial,supervisory and clericalpositions. Even clericaland labor
jobs which required minimal skills were filled with the Italians,
particularlythosewho came fromthe southernpartof the countrysuch
as Sicily.The industrialinfrastructure, which the 1930s war economy
made mandatory, forinstance,reliedconsiderably upon Italianlabor(20).
Even by colonialstandards,therefore, the Eritreancase was an extreme
scenario.Nativesfilledsubordinateclericaland technicalpositionsin
mostothercolonialsituations, as in Nigeria,whereEuropeanswho could
fillthesepositionswerehardto come by becausethehighdeathrate(21).
In Eritrea,though,the pleasantand everlastingspringweatheralong
withtheflowofcapitaland technology thatgeneratedurbanization made
Kebessa an attractive regionfor a limited Italiansettlement.
and Commerce
Urbanization
Keeping Ras Alulas capital,Asmara,as theirseat of power,the
Italiansconnectedit withthe variousregionsby a superb road system
and a couple of railways.Capital flow and technology,erectionof
cathedralsand cinematheaters,and buildingofhospitals,hotelsand cafes
transformed the smallvillageof Asmarainto a charmingEuropean city.
Airportfacilities
weremade availablein the capital.Postal and telegraph
serviceswereinstalled.Supporting53,000 Europeansand 43,000 natives,
Asmarahad emergedas a leading cityin Africaby 1938 (22).Having
createdhomefarfromhome,theItalians,who by 1940 consistedof 12%
of the Eritreanpopulation,made generousinvestments unparalleledby
colonialstandards.
(18) SAMUELHUNTINGTON,Political Order in ChangingSocieties New Haven, 1968;

Weber, op. cit.
(19) Eritreaalso servedas a supplierof soldiers.In thetwo-decade-long Libyanwar,
4000 Eritreansoldierswerepermanently stationedin NorthAfrica.It also servedas a conduit
forEthiopianimport andexportgoods,see TekesteNegash,Eritrea andEthiopia:theFederal
Experience Uppsala,1997,pp. 15-16.
UÖ) DUNCANHUMMING,lhe UN Disposal of brttrea,«AfricanAtrairs»,V. 52, # 207,
1953.
(21) Mamdani,op. cit.,p. 73.
(22) Tekeste Negash, 1997,op. cit.,p. 17.

'NOT WITH THEM,NOT WITHOUTTHEM1,ETC. 467
However,farfromtheAsmaraurbanlife,nativeswerecongregated
in the ghettos,primarily in Enda Abba Shawul(23).Excluded fromthe
mainsectorsof theurbaneconomy,theyhad access onlyto some service
jobs. Furthermore,the fact that foreigners,particularlyLevantine,
Yemeni and Indian merchantsdominatedthe commercialeconomyof
the countrymeantthatEritrealacked the ideal breedinggroundfora
middleclass. Thus it lacked even the rudimentary formof civilsociety
and tradeunionsthatotherAfricancoloniesbegan to see by 1960 (24).
This had a detrimental impacton the rise of an anti-colonialEritrian
nationalism.
Education
In manyAfricanand Asian countries,Westerneducationgave the
colonized a lingua franca and a limited knowledge.In the 1940s,
secondaryschool educationwas offeredin AnglophoneAfricaand in
1952 therewere morethan4000 nativesattendingtechnicaland higher
education institutionsabroad (25). Nationalistleaders, such as Jomo
Kenyattaand Kwame Nkrumahwho were educatedin the West,were
productsof a, relatively,
liberaleducationalpolicy.The Frenchalso gave
some education and succeeded in producingsome black Frenchmen
(évolues).Theirdetermination to teachnativesto speak perfectFrench
was so unparalleledthattheyseverelypunishedtheirstudentsforminor
grammatical errors(26).Belgium,too, gave primaryeducationto Congo
widely(27).Consequently, the Anglophoneand Francophoneelitesdid
(23) 'Enda', followedbya nameof an ancestorof a givenparish,is thesettlement

of
a basic kinshipgroup,see S. F. NADEL,Land Tenureon theEritreanPlateau,«Africa»,V.
26, # 1. 1946,p. 5. Whatwas to becomethemostfamousnativequarterof Asmara,Enda
Abba Shawul,had been munitions storeunderDegiatEngda 'Abba Shawal',the principal
functionary of Alula, see Haggai Erlich, Ethiopiaand EritreaDuringtheScrambleforAfrica:
A PoliticalBiographyof Ras Alula, 1875-1897 East Lansing, 1982, p. 84. Abba Shawul lefthis
namefortheneighborhood. Nativeand Italianquartersnotonlyweredifferent fromeach
other,butalso had littleto do witheachother.As iftheItalianscolonizedonlythelandbut
not thepeople,thetwocommunities followedwhatFanoncalleda 'principleof reciprocal
FranzFanon,The Wretched
exclusivity', oftheEarthNew York,1963,pp. 39-40.
(24) Mahmood Mamdani,CitizenandSubjectPrinceton, 1996,pp. 19-25.
(25) JAMES COLMAN(RICHARD Sklar ed.), Nationalism
and Development in Africa
Berkeley,1994,p. 33.
(26) KWAME Appriah,In My Father'sHouseOxford,1992,p. 53.
(27) CHRISTOPHER
Clapham, Africaand the InternationalSystem:The Politicsof State
SurvivalCambridge,1996,p. 38. On theacademicopportunities colonialsubjectshad, see
theextensive
discussions
in COLEMAN, 1994,op. cit.and RupertEMERSON, FromEmpireto
NationCambridge,1960.

468 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
not only adopt colonial languages as official tongues but also

appreciated the literatureof their masters.The Leopold Senghors,
Chinua Achebes and Peter AbrahamsfrommainlandAfricaas well as
the Aime Cesairesand Franz Fanons fromthe Antillesare productsof
colonial education.
The Italians,on the otherhand,were not interestedin producing
black Italians or educated Eritreans.They built several substandard
primaryschoolsfornativechildrento studyonlyup to the thirdgrade.
Even childrenof mixed race, recognizedby theirItalianfathers,could
not attend Italian schools(28). On the morrowof Italian departure,
therefore, whilstthousandsof Italianchildrenattendedprivateschools,
only a few hundrednativechildrenattendedsubstandardprimary school.
Such limitededucation,therefore, could not give nativeseven basic
languageskillsin Italian.Thus, unlikethe restof Africathatwas given
Lusophone, Francophoneand Anglophoneidentities,Eritreawas far
from being Italophone. The kind of Faranshi (French) and Iglishi
(English)identitiesthatWilliamMiles observedamong the Hausa (29)
did not exist among the trans-MarebTigrayans.WithoutItalian as a
mediatorofknowledge, Kebessanativesdid notlearnWesternexperience
in any depth. Even basic acculturationwas minimal.For instance,
EritreansretainedtheirEthiopiancalendarand theEthiopiancustomof
naming.Other Africansadopted the Gregoriancalendarand, not only
did theytend to adopt European firstnames (e.g. Nelson Mandala,
LeopoldSenghor,AugustinoNeto), but theyalso adopted familynames.
Eritreansdid neither.Theirfirstnames,whichare notItalian(e.g. Walde-
Ab Walde-Mariam,Tadla Bairu, Abraha Tassama), are the important
namesand theyadopted no familynames.
The limitededucation produced few teacherswho could have
servedas harbingers ofenlightenment and nationalism.
However,thefew
educatedmen,such as LorenzoTa'ezaz, Dawit Oqba'zgi, AsfahaWalde-
Mika'eland EphremTawalde-Medhin, forwhomItalianEritreahad little
to offer,leftforEthiopia.Enjoyinghighand visibleportfoliosin Addis
Ababa, and far frombeing harbingersof Eritreannationalism,they
becamethechiefproponentsofEritreanunitywithEthiopia.So pathetic
was thelack of educationin Eritreathatanti-UnionistMetahit[Eritrean
lowlands]Muslimshad to look up to thesefew enlightenedEritreans,
(28) Reporton Eritrea,Four Power Commission,1948, Section V, Foreign Office 371-

69361, p. 69.
(29) Miles, op. cit.

who werein the serviceof theEthiopiancause,forleadership.Pleading

withthe Un forindependence,theyargued:
As to our politicalmaturity,
we shallconfineourselvesto mentioning that
. . . greatnumberof theEthiopianofficials
are Eritreanby origin,also that
certainmembersof the Ethiopian diplomaticcorps abroad are also
Eritreans.Some of themare,in fact,membersof theEthiopiandelegation
now here present.This all goes to show simplythat there is an able
administrativeEritreangroup.And whenwe knowthatpartof thisgroup
mightbe able to returnfromEthiopiato Eritrea,once Eritreaobtainsits
independence,we failto appreciatehow theseable Eritreanscan be used
in a foreigncountryand can not be used in theirown ... (3())
Even afterthe Italiansleftand educationwas expandedduringthe
Britishera (1941-52),therewereno Eritreanswithsufficient trainingand
skillsto be givenresponsibleadministrative posts(31).As late as 1951,
the Us Departmentof Statecould not findstudentswho metuniversity
requirements to be givenscholarshipseitherin collegesin the U.S. or
to the AmericanUniversity in Beirut(32).
The limitedexposureto the Westerneconomicinfrastructure as
wellas socialand politicalinstitutions
did notpermitthepressto develop
in the region.Printlanguageis crucialforimagininga pan-identity and
a distinctpoliticalcommunity (33).The newspaper,was instrumental in
la
inculcating patriefrançaiseamongthe 19thcenturyFrench.In Africa,
too,whatBenedictAndersoncalled'printcapitalism', helpeddisseminate
nationalistideas and racial conceptsduringthe anti-colonialstruggle.
BritishNigeria,forinstance,had 100 periodicalsowned by natives(34).
NativeEritreans,on the otherhand, had no periodicals.Nor did they
(30) Statementby the Chairmanof the Delegation of the Moslem League of Eritrea at
the 55th Meeting of the Ad Hoc Political Committeeon 24 November 1950. UN General
Assembly5th Session. Agenda item 21 (d) and (e). What is even more bafflingis that the
Eritreanrevolutiondid not treatthese Eritreans,who were instrumentalin mergingEritrea
with Ethiopia, as sell-outs.Instead, theyhave been lauded as Eritreanheroes who struggled
against colonialism at the internationalpolitical forums,see ERTRANQalsan, op. cit., p. 66.
In point of fact,these Eritreanswere rapidlyassimilatedinto the social and political culture
of the Shawan Amhara ruling clique. For instance, Lorenzo Ta'ezaz who held foreign
ministerialand ambassadorial posts was marriedto the daughterof Ras Imru Haile Selassie,
cousin of Emperor Haile-Selassie.
(31) CUMMING,op.cit., p. 133.
(32) E.W. MULCAHY,American Consul, 'Conversation with Ibrahim Sultan and
Woldeab Woldemariam',Dispatch 142, to the Departmentof State,Washington,D.C., 9 May,
1951.
(33) Benedict ANDERSON,ImaginedCommunityNorfolk,1983. p. 122.
(34) Colman, op.cit., p. 34.

470 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
have a big literateand readingpublic.Literacyand thepress,duringthe

half-a-century Italianrule,would havefacilitated
theimagining of a pan-
Eritrean political community,by inculcatingcommonalties.Shared
symbolswould have preparedthenineethniesfora commonstatehood,
as ErnstRenanhad said a century a%o'Vessenced'une nationestque tous
les individusaientbeaucoupde chosesen commun. In the Eritreancase,
the Kehessaidentified withTigray/Ethiopia and theMetahitentertained
separationor mergerwithMuslim/ Arab Sudan.
The ColonialState
Since the forces of modernitysuch as those outlined above
minimallyinteractedwith tradition,theycould not have generateda
modernpoliticalstructure in Kebessa,much less in Metahit.As Janus-
faced,the colonial state of Eritreawas organizeddifferently in urban
and ruralareas.In the formerlivedthe settlerItaliancitizensand in the
latterthe nativeEritreansubjects.This citizen-subject bifurcationof a
societyunder the same politicalroof was the product a segregationist
of
administration. Italy,the 19thcentury harbinger of the 'nation-state',
did
not serveits coloniaprimogenita as a model. Instead,it let its subjects
stickto theircustomarylaws, which had to be supervisedby Italian
authorities,givingthemwhat Mamdani calls a 'two-tieredstructureof
statehood'(35). Customarylaws, hithertoorally transmittedacross
generations,werebeingcodified.For instance,Augenidi SavoyaGeneva,
the Colonial Commissionerof Seraye (1938-40), authorized the
codificationofSera'etAdkameMelega'e,the customary law of Seraye.It
was codified by thirty-eight native authorities,including leading
personalitiessuch as Ras Kidane-Mariam Gabre-Masqal,a futureleading
proponent of the Ethio-Eritrean Union ()6).
Some of what was codified,such as slavery,was archaic and
primitive.The ironyis thattheItalianshad definedtheircolonialproject
in the Horn as a civilizingmissionof eradicatingslaveryand the slave
trade. Yet on the eve of theirdeparture,and afterhavingcolonized
Eritreaforhalfa century, theylet the customarylaw in Serayecodify
that
(3.5) Mamdani, op.cit., p. 287.

(36) The names of the nativedignitariesis listed in the introductionof Sera'et Adkame
Melega'e (Asmara, 1936 Ethiopian calendar [1943 or 1944 Gregoriancalendar]. Note that on
the eve of the Italian departure,Kebessa were using the Ethiopian calendar - in Geez
numeralsat that.

'NOT WITH THEM,NOT WITHOUTTHEM', ETC. 47 1
If a slavebearsa childfroma fellowslave,whilestillunderhermaster,

thechildshallbelongto hermaster.Ifshebearsa childfroma freeman,
thefather takesthechildbypaying15 qershiand 15ferg to themaster
... A manumitted personshallneverbe enslaved(57).
Customarylaws were not rigidand unalterable;theywere elastic
and situationally interpretable. Whenevercircumstances changedso did
the opinionsof nativeson issues,and the customary laws were alterable
accordingly. The Britishcolonialistsneeded the elasticityof customary
laws to eliminatebad customssuch as India's sati (the custom that
requiredthewifeto throwherselfon the dead husbands funeralpyre).
They also did not wantto codifycustomary laws in Kenyaso thatthey
could use its elasticityto eliminate repugnantpractices without
antagonizing thepeople,thereby, theyclaimed,elevatingAfricansocieties
'closer to the level of Britishcivilization'(38). By codifyingEritrean
customary laws such as Sera'et AdkameMelegae of Seraye,however,the
Italiansforfeited the elasticqualityof customary laws and petrifiedeven
primitivelaws of slavery.The existenceof a dual legal system-
customary laws fornativesand civillaws forItalians- was the ultimate
seal of themutualexclusivity of thecolonialsettlersand Kebessanatives.
They lived under the same politicalroofwithoutknowingeach other.
Thus, the very colonial institutionsthatdid not bringthe Italiansand
the Kebessacloseralso failedto createa deep wedge betweenthe latter
and theirTigryankin southof the Mareb in independentEthiopia.
Consequently, the feudaleconomicinfrastructure, thatengendered
the customarylaws, survivedItalian colonialism.The communalland
tenuresystem- shehena/ diesa- was widespreadin Kebessa,mainlyin
Hamassienand Akkale-Guzai.Juxtaposedwithdiesawas visti- a tenure
based on the usufructuary rightsoverland (39).The formeralso existed
in Agame,Tigray,and the latterall overAbyssinia(northernEthiopia).
In Kebessa,as in Tigrayand the restof Abyssinia,theOrthodoxChurch
maintainedits economicbase in land.
The attemptby theItaliansto catholicizethe monotheistic Kebessa
Christiansand MetahitMuslimswas a fiasco.However,theydid manage
(37) Ibid., p. 5. Qershi is a generic name for birr, dollar, etc. In this context, the
referenceis highlylikelyto the Maria Theresa silverthaler,which was untilrecentlythe most
trustedmedium of transactions.Ferg,is a high qualitycotton shawl.
(38) BRETTShadle, Changingtraditionsto meetcurrentalteringconditions':Customary
law, Africancourtsand the rejectionof codificationin Kenya, 1930-60, «Journal of African
Study", 40 (1999), p. 15.
(39) Nadel, op.cit. pp. 7-10; Crummey,1980, op. cit., p. 129.

472 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
to force the EritreanOrthodox Church to severe its ties with the

EthiopianChurch,therebyinjectinga senseofillegitimacy on itsleaders.
Aftertheirdeparturein 1941,however, thequestby theEritreanChurch
- a repositoryof Ethiopiancultureand tradition- for recognition
fromthe EthiopianChurchtransformed it into an arch Ethio-Eritrean
Unionist(40).
Despite the immenseinvestment of Italiancapitaland technology
unparalleledby colonial standards,nativeshad no access to Italian
quarters;theycould not socializein places whereItaliansfrequented.As
such, the settlers kept their subjects quiescent, acquiescent and
benighted.Eritreawas thuscut intotwo and the frontiers thatkeptthe
nativesand the Italiansapart were not onlywhat Franz Fanon called
'barracksand police stations'(41),but also language,economicinequality,
values,culture(calendar,names,etc.) and religion.
Withinthe nativeworld,too, therewere numerousfrontiers that
kept religious,linguisticand culturalgroupsapart.The denial of access
to the capitalistinfrastructure and the concomitantabsence of social
mobilizationkeptthe nineEritreanethniesso farapartand so insulated
in their respectivecommunalniches that people from Adiquala in
Kebessa , Hirkikuoin the coast and She'eb in the westernMetahitdid
not see each otheras fellowEritreans.There was not a pan-Eritrean
which could onlyhave been a 'trajectory
identity, across the different
institutional of
settings modernity' (42).
Even the Tigrinya-speaking Kebessa Christianslacked a distinct
Their
identity. threecomponents-Hamassien,Akkale-Guzai,Seraye-
were perceivedas "different 'countries'in the true sense of the word
with differenthistory, different character,even different customs"(43).
Their differences were epitomizedin theirdivergentcustomarylaws:
Meem Mehaza (Akkale-Guzai), Gabre-Kristos or Dekki Teshim
(Hamassien) and AdkameMelega'e (Seraye).Juxtaposedwiththis sort
(40) Telegram1/84730, GO. Commander-in-Chief to theWar Office,18 February,

1943, FO 371-35626.This supportsJohnArmstrong's argument thatpre-modern ethnic
identities
existin societieswithmonotheistictraditions.
JOHNARMSTRONG, Nationsbefore
Nationalism ChapelHill, 1982;see also ANTHONY SMITH,NationalIdentity(Reno,1991),p.
34. Even ERNSTGellner, who arguedthatthereis nothingpre-modern aboutnationalism,
concededthatgroupswith'literatehighculturethrough conversionto a worldreligion...
werebetterequippedto developan effective Nationsand Nationalism,
nationalism,' Oxford,
1983.n. 83.
(41) Fanon, op.cit.,p. 40.
(42) ANTHONY GIDDENS, and Self-Identity
Modernity Stanford,
1991.d. 14.
(43) Nadel, 1944,op.cit.,p. 67.

ofparochialism was a balancingsenseoftrans-Mareb commonality based

on the Orthodox Church,the Tigrinyalanguage,a sedentarysocio-
economiclifeand a historicalconsciousnessthatgrewout of a shared
statehood.The ancientAxumitehistorybelongsto both Eritreansand
Tigrayans/Ethiopians. In the recenthistory,
Ras Alula,nativeof southof
theMareb,is exaltedas a military heroacrosstheriver.He is particularly
reveredin Kebessa as a judicious ruler(44).Consequently, the Kebessa
share all thatmade the Tigrayans'culturalaristocrats'of Ethiopia(45).
Indeed,theyperceivethemselves moreor less likewhatAnthonySmith,
in reference to groupslike the Amhara,called,'aristocratic
ethnies'(46).
In anycase, the parochialpeasantsof theadi in the three'countries'of
Kebessa were integratedwith the trans-Marebpolitical systemby
economic interdependence,a rich past, as well as by what Eric
Hobsbaum calls ideological devices of 'kingship' and 'church'(47).
Otherwise,the internal dynamics that transformed'peasants into
Frenchmen'(4S)were absentin the Eritreaof the natives.
'Not WithoutThem': Pan-Tigrayanism

in Eritrea(1941-52)
'I haveno desireto separateEritreans fromTigrayans and Eritreafrom

Tigray.I amsincerely forthetwonotto drift
struggling apart.Andwhen
I speakaboutEritreaand Tigray, it is certainthatI am speakingabout
thewholeofEthiopia'.
- Walde-AbWalde-Mariam, «Nay Ertra SemunawiGazetta»,28
November, 1946,p. 4.
The modernbodypoliticdiffers froma traditional
one in thescope
of politicalconsciousness,politicalinvolvementofitspopulationand the
natureof its politicalinstitutions
(49).The trans-Mareb'cake of custom'
was so intactthat in the 1940s Eritreanpoliticallandscape, 'organic
intellectuals'
such as Abune Marcos and Qeshi DimetrosGabre-Mariam
(44) See Alemseged Abbay, The Trans-MarebPast in the Present,«Journalof Modern

AfricanStudies», 35, 3, 1997.
(45) JOHNYOUNG,Peasant Revolutionin Ethiopia: the Tigray an People's Liberation
Front 1975-911 Cambridge, 1997, p. 31.
(46) Smith, 1991, op.cit., p., 55.
(47) On the politicalconsciousnessof the peasantry,see ERIC HOBSBAWM, Peasantsand
Politics,«Journalof Peasant Studies», v. 1, # 1, 1977, p. 17.
(48) Weber, op.cit..
(49) Huntington, op.cit., p. 89.

474 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
fromthe Church played vital roles in unitingEritreawith Ethiopia.

Noted feudalistssuch as Ras Tassama Asbarom and his son Degiat
Abraha Tassamawho had a securedpower base in Akkale-Guzai,too,
'Behere-Agazi'['Nation of the Free'] depictingthe sense, of territorial

identityof the 'EritreaforEritreans'movement[LiberalProgressiveParty]in
theiremblem.Note theRiverMareb is not markedon themap. It is thestream
of Alewa, whichseparatesthe Tigrinya-speaking fromthe Amarinya-speaking
populations,that is in
highlighted double lines.The proponentsof thisconcept
such as Walde-Ab Walde-Mariamused 'Eritrea',Tigray-Tigrignie', 'Behere-
Agazi' interchacreably.

played a centralpart in the Tigray-Tigrignie movementof bringing

Eritreaand Tigraytogether(50). Even relativelyenlightenedEritreans
such as Tadla Bairu and Walde-Ab Walde-Mariamdid not opt to go it
alone. The formerwas a Unionistand the lattera pan-Tigrayan activist
who harboredno aversionto Ethiopiauntilmuchlaterwhen Ethiopia
made sevenattemptson his life.
Since it is with modernity, as in 19thcenturyEurope, that mass
politics of ethnic collectivitiesseek statehood,the Kebessa peasant
masses,withminimalpoliticalconsciousness, did not seek independence
for Eritrea.They were merelyfollowingwhatevertheirvillage chiefs
{chiqaadi) and districtheads {meslene)said. Politicalconsciousnesssuch
as patriotismis an urban thoughtand la patrie [adi abo] has no
significanceand 'existsno morein local speechthanin local hearts'(51).
Consequently, two of the majorpoliticalpartiesin the Britishera did
not want to severeEritreafromTigray/Ethiopia. The UnionistParty,
whichsoughtmergerwithEthiopia,and the Liberal ProgressiveParty
(Lpp), whichsoughteitherindependenceor autonomyforEritreaand
Tigray (Tigray-Tigrignie) withinthe Ethiopian empire-state, did not
imaginea separateEritreanpoliticalroof.
The politicalgoal of the Lpp ('Eritreafor Eritreans')was fluid
betweenautonomyand independencefor'Eritrea',whichwas notlimited
to the formercoloniaprimogenita but includedTigray(see map). The
Lpp came into existencein 1947 witha pan-Tigrayan (Tigray-Tigrignie)
agenda, aspiring to bring the Tigrinya-speaking people, and the
minorities who lived amongthem,into an independentor autonomous
state under the Ethiopianempire-state. Its activistsclaimed that their
'country,Tigray-Tigrignie,is knownin the whole world for being the
cradleofstatehood,Christianity and civilization'(52).Theyidentifiedwith
Tigrayans,grieving as theirleaders died or suffered politicalsetbacks.
(50) The institutions of Gulti (fief)and Church,whichwere intertwined withthe

traditionalpoliticalsystem,remainedintactin Eritrea,havingenduring linkswithEthiopia.
The Church,forinstance, resistedtheItalianattempt to giveit an identity distinct
fromthat
of the Ethiopianchurch.Ultimately it emergedas a bastionof unitywithEthiopia.Gulti
continuedas an economicand politicalbase of traditional leaders.It nourishedthewarrior
ethosof feudalAbyssinia, see Crummey, 1986,op.cit.
(51) WEBER, op.cit.,pp. 98-100.Duringmysurvey, 'fatherland'[adi abó] did notcarry
anypoliticaltoneor meaningformostof mypoliticaleliteand civilianinformants.
(52) DegiatAbrahaTassama,Takafelti ena ['We sharei.e. theagonyofTigray], «Nay
ErtraSemunawiGazetta»Asmara,20 December,1945,p. 3.

476 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
When Degiat Kassa Sebhatof Agamedied, forinstance,Degiat Abraha

Tassama, wrote 'Big Mourning' in «Nay Ertra Semunawi Gazetta»
(Asmara), 15 November1945 (p. 3), statingthat the death of Degiat
Kassa was a griefnot onlyforTigraybut forthe whole of Eritreaas
well. He further lamentedthe confinement of Ras SeyoumMangasha,
grandson of Yohannes IV in Addis Ababa by EmperorHaile Selassie as
a loss ofa potentialleaderofTigray-Tigrignie. As such,he was notmerely
expressingsympathy out of sharedsocio-cultural but he was
affinities,
clearlymakinga politicalstatement.The extraditionof Degiat Haile
Selassie Gugsa, the great grandsonof Emperor Yohannes who had
collaboratedwiththe Italianinvaders,fromBritishSeychellesto Addis
Ababa, was also strongly opposed by theEritreanelite(53).Moreover,in
apparent reference to the House of Tigray,Walde-Ab exhortedthe
political leaders: (In my opinion, if Eritreais going to merge with
Ethiopia,... in steadof sayingit willbe ruledby an Eritrean,it is better
to say it will be administered by a Tigrinya-speaking Ethiopian'(54).As
in the case of the House of Savoy of Sardina during the Italian
risorgimento, theHouse of Tigraywas assuminga royalstature.And the
Kebessaelitebegan to look up to it as a dynasticbasis fortheirTigray-
Tigrignieautonomousor independentstate. Pre-existingconquering
dynastieswere consideredas necessaryprecedenceforemergingnation-
states:'une nationest avanttoutune dynastiereprésentant une ancienne
conquête* (55).
It was in recognition ofthehighregardtheHouse ofTigrayenjoyed
in EritreathatEmperorHaile Selassie,who was anxiousto gettheregion
back in his empire,triedonce more to make a marriagetie with the
descendentsof Yohannes.As a gestureof goodwillto the Eritreans,he
wed his favoritegranddaughter, PrincessAida Dasta, withYohannes's
greatgrandson,MangashaSeyoum(56).
The pan-Tigrayan 'EritreaforEritreans'[Lpp]arguedthetrans-Mareb
people had to sticktogetherin a politicalunitbecause theyhave 'one
(53) Cipher message fromBma to Medeast For Civil Affairs,War Office 230-126.
(54) WALDE-AB WALDE-Mariam, Ertra namen [Eritrea for whom?], «Nay Ertra
Semunawi Gazetta», 29 May, 1947, Part V, p. 4.
(55) Renan, op.cit., p. 11.
(56) AmericanLegation, Addis Ababa, to the Secretaryof State, Washington,D.C., 8
February,1949. Two previous attemptsof marriagewith the Tigrayansfailed. In the early
1930s, the Emperor wed the teen-ager Crown Prince, Asfa Wassen, with Walete-Israel
Seyoum, the widowed of two kids and great granddaughterof Yohannes. He also wed his
14-year-olddaughter,Princess Zanaba Worq, to the 32-year-oldDegiat Haile Selassie Gugsa,
governorof Eastern Tigrayand great grandsonof Yohannes.

language,one history and one ethnicidentity. Even the Italianskeptthe

people together. It is a onenessthatwas knownto thewholeworld'(57).
AlienatingTigrayanswas discouraged.Ironically,it was the Unionist
Tadla Bairuwho attempted to alienateTigrayanssuch as Walde-Abfrom
theEritreanpoliticallandscape.Walde-Abrespondedthathe was 'pleased
and honored',like mostEritreans(exceptsome such as Tadla Bairu),to
have Tigrayanancestry. He saw no need to bifurcatethe trans-Mareb
people who, accordingto him,were one and the same(58).An 'Eritrea
for Eritreans'activistfurtherchallengedanyonetreatingTigrayansas
aliens:'Who are you [Eritreans]?What is yourlanguage?What makes
you different fromTigrayans?... Let us faceit - withTigray,we share
the same language,the same history, the same ancestry' (59)
Othersblamedthe AmharaKing of Shawa (thefutureEmperorof
Ethiopia) Menelik for betrayingthe TigrayanEmperor of Ethiopia
YohannesIV and inviting the Italiansto divide'a hithertohonoredand
fearedpeople'. By summoning the past,theyarguedforthe onenessof
theTigrinya-speakers: 'Independencebased on history is lastingbecause
it has a solid foundation' i60).Theycontinued,'By forgetting the history
ofTigray, letus notsayour homeis Entoto[thehillsin AddisAbaba]' (61).
They constructeda pan-Tigrayan identityvis-à-visthe Amharaand as a
means of avoiding unitywith them, the memoryof the atrocities
committedby the state duringthe TigrayanWeyaneinsurgencywas
invoked:
In 1943,... theheroicpeopleofTigrayroseagainstoppression.Realizing
slaverymeansdeath,and deathforthesake of freedom is martyrdom,
theyrebelled. Too alarmed,
theShawansmercilessly bombedthemarket
ofMakelle, theTigrayan with
capital, borrowed fighter close
planes,killing
to fivethousandwomen,children, and elderly... Then the Shawans
unleashed theirarmedforcesuponthecivilians
to lootandrape.. . When
(57) Interview,Walde-Ab Walde-Mariam,(Orota, Eplf), 6 September, 1987.

(58) WALDE-ABWALDE-MARIAM, Beza'eba Ertra Kczareb mesci zeiewo de'a men kon
yeke'ivun'['Then who has the Rightto Speak about Eritrea?],«Nay Ertra Semunawi Gazetta»,
28 November, 1946, p. 4.
(59) Gabre-IGZI Andom, 'Elama Natsenet'en Harnet'en Ertra' ['The Objectives of
Freedomand Independenceof Eritrea], «Hanti Ertra» (Asmara), 4 February,1950, p.2. See
also his Wegid hasab memeqeqal adekan barenetShatvan' ['Shun the idea of dividingyour
countryand Shawan slavery'],«Hanti Ertra», 18 February,1950, p.2.
(60) Alemayehu ALULA,Tarikentezeyehlumestiraymetegalsen'['If therewas no history,
secretsivould not have been Revealed'], «Hanti Ertra», 18 February,1950, p.2.
(61) ALEMAYEHU ALULA,Zelenayogezie kehalefserahenagen heyawkoynukenabareyu'
['The time we live in will pass, but our deeds last'], «Hanti Ertra», 4 March, 1950, p. 4.

478 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
thepeopleled bytheirpriests
it becameunbearable, wentto pleadwith
thechiefofthearmy,Ras AbebeAragay, thattheirwivesand daughters
werebeingrapedandtheywerebeinglootedandbeggedthishadtostop.
Ras Abeberesponded:'You arenotbeingtreated
toobadly.You deserve
worse.'Beforewe get oppressedlike our Tigrayanbrethren, let us
ourcountry
administer Thatis whyI said 'Whenthebeardof
ourselves.
yourcomradeis beingshaved,wetyourownbeard(62).
Yet, the LPP had no aversionto 'Ethiopia' and they alluded it
belonged to them. They made a distinctionbetweenTigray-centered
'ancientEthiopia' and Shawa-centered'modernEthiopia'. The future
'Fatherof Eritrea'Walde-Ab,forinstance,did not totallyseverehis ties
withEthiopiaas the conclusionof one of his writingsshows:
Longlivefreeand independent
Eritrea
Long liveancient
Ethiopia
LongliveAfricaand Africans
(63)
The five-decadesojournof modernity in Kebessa,therefore, failed
to legitimizethe 'illogical partitionset up throughthe center of a
homogeneouspopulation'i64).Realizingthe minimalimpactmodernity
made in the region,a formerBritishgovernorof Eritreawished 'how
obvious and how salutaryit would be to join thesetwo halves [of the
Tigrayanethnie]into a compactunit whichethnologyand economics
alikedictate'(65).The 1940s politicalactors,too, as alreadyshown,used
historical,culturaland economiclinkswithTigray/Ethiopia as building
blocks forKebessas nationalistideology.
The Eritrean scenario, therefore,markedly contrasts with
nationalismin the rest of Africa where initiatorswere the very
intellectuals
and professionalswho benefitedfromcolonialism.The strict
denial of educationduringthe Italianera effectively preventedthe rise
of the Kenyattasand Nukhrumasin Eritrea.What the Kebessa had -
(62) ABBAYGabre-Abzigi, Cheheme betsaykakeletses chihemekamai lek'a, «Hanti

Ertra»,8 April,1950, p.2. It is worthnotingthattherehas neverbeen any conclusiveevidence
to show that there existed links between the pan-Tigrayanmovementnorth of the Mareb
with the Weyane insurgencyto the south, despite theircontemporeinty, see Gebru Tareke,
Ethiopia: Power and ProtestCambridge, 1991, pp. 102-3.
(63) WALDE-Ab Walde-Mariam, 'Tehutqal selamtane'kuburhezbi Ertra' ['Polite words
of greetingsto the honoredpeople of Eritrea'],«Hanti Ertra», 15 April, 1950, p.l.
(64) HAROLD COURTLANDER, Gura Eritrea, to Freanklin D. Roosevelt, Washington,
D.C. 22 March, 1943.
(65) STEPHENLongrigg, The futureof Eritrea,«East Africa and Rhodesia», 6 June,
1946, p.993.

'not withthem,not withoutthem*,
etc. 479
a rich past - the Africanstatesmissed(66).What the latterhad -

Westernizedliterati- the formermissed. Yet, the currentpolitical
actors,unliketheirpredecessors,disavowedthe trans-Marebpast and
came up withthe mythof a more 'developedand modernizedEritrea'.
'Not withthem':MakingEritreans
ImaginingModernity: The CacciaviteFactor

Identityis an imagined and abstract concept that does not
necessarilycorrespondto the realityof language, culture,etc. It is
subjective.Yet, it is not imaginedout of a thinair.The Britishand the
Swiss do not imaginetheiridentitiesex nihilo.The Irish,Welsh,Scots
and Englishare attachedto theirCrown,Parliamentand rule of law.
The Italians,Frenchand Germansof Switzerlandhave theirdemocratic
traditionsundertheSwisspoliticalroof.Eritreadid notgetsuchsymbols
of identityout of colonialism,not even a linguafranca.For both the
Metahitand theKebessa,Italianwas arcaneand,fortheformer, Tigrinya
too was remote.Thus the Metahit preferredArabic for an official
language(67).A languagetheycould notunderstand, Arabicwas elevated
to a symbolof theirIslamicidentity. To the peasantry,thus,Eritrean-
ness had littlemeaning.
The post 1960 politicalelite,however,triedto make Eritreansout
of the peasantryby claimingcolonial experienceand exposureto the
Westerncivilization. Whateverresiduesofmodernity wereavailablehave
been used as the basis of imagininga 'developedEritrea'.For instance,
in a conferenceon the political economyof Ethiopia held in John
Hopkins University, at the School of Advanced InternationalStudies
(Sais) in 1988, a distinguishedEritrean anthropologist,Professor
AsmeromLegessei68)gavea talkon Eritrea'spotentialforeconomicself-
reliance and viability.As in soccer, he asserted, Eritreans have
internalizedtechnology, and theircountrywould have littledifficulty
developingan industrialeconomy.Illustrating his point,he said, when
(66) ANTHONYSMITH, The mythof the 'Modern Natihn' and the Myths of Nations,
«Ethnic and Racial Studies», v.ll, #1, 1988, pp. 10-11.
(67) For a Loyal and Fair Application of the United Nations Resolution for Eritrea,
Memorandum of theMoslemLeaguein Eritreato the Commissioner
of UnitedNationsfor
H.E. EduardoAnzeMatienzo,10 October,1951,p.13.
Eritrea,
(68) Authoror Gada:ThreeApproaches
totheStudyofAfrican
SocietyNew York,1973.

480 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
he leftAsmaraas a youngman foreducationin Addis Ababa, he had

a screwdriverwith him. Not knowing what it was, his Amhara
schoolmatescalled it tabanjamafcha(a tool fordismantling guns). For
the professor, thiswas an indicationof how much moreEritreanshad
internalized Westerntechonology thanthe Ethiopians.And, thus,come
independence, Eritreans could build a viable economybased on the
industrialinfrastructure. A participantin theconference, Professor James
McCann, asked the panelist what the Tigrinya word for a screwdriver
was. Smilingin embarrassment, ProfessorAsmeromsaid therewas no
word forit in Tigrinya, withoutmentioning the Italianword
cacciavite,
used in thelanguage.This was how the post-1960sEritreanelite,unlike
the 1940s 'organicintellectuals', beganto perceivetheirdistinctidentity
vis-à-visthe 'rural'Ethiopianothers.
A littleexposureto Westernculturebecameas dangerousas a little
knowledge; so much so that the yardstickfor modernitybecame
knowledge of small things such as cacciavite.Indeed, Professor
Asmerom'sperceptionwas representative of a widelysharedimageof a
'developed Eritrea'. When an anthropologist, who knows modernity
entailsmuchmoreprofoundand broadersocial changes,entertains such
an image,it is notdifficult to figureout thelayperson's imagined Eritrea.
Not surprisingly, the Professordid not say whyhe and otherEritreans
who 'internalized technology'had to trekto Addis Ababa forschooling.
When Eritrea was annexed by Ethiopia in 1962, the Eritrean
politicalelitebegan to see themselves differently fromtheirkin southof
the Mareb. ClaimingItalianEritrea,theybegan to feeltheywere better
exposed to modernity. For instance,theyrememberwithnostalgiathe
freight-carrying ropewaythat stretchedfromthe port of Massawa to
Asmara,.The Italiansbuilt it when theyinvaded Ethiopia in order to
relievethetraffic on theroad and railway. However,as thewar economy
collapsed, after the defeat and subsequentdepartureof the Italiansin
1941, so did the utilityof the ropeway.Yet, for the Eritreanpolitical
elite,it was the symbol of their level of progress,althoughtheynever
used it and had neitherthe meansnor the skillto maintainit.
Since nationalism is mainlya modernphenomenon,the factthatit
was weakin the 1940sand 1950sEritreais an indication, in and of itself,
that the forcesof modernity in the regionwere weak. The 'shock of
Modernity'(69)did not significantly perturbthe nativesociety.Nor did
(69) MICHAELWATTS,The Shock of Modernity:Petroleum,Protest,and Fast Capitalism

in an Industrializing
Society,in ALLANFRED and MICHAELWATTS,ReworkingModernityNew
Brunswick,1992.

it unleashenergiesto be harnessedby nationalistforceswhichwould

have destroyedold allegiancesand builta new nation.
EPLF and TPLF: Odd Bedfellows
The Eritreanarmedstruggle forindependence, whichwas launched

in 1961,receivedconsiderableoutsidesupportparticularly fromtheArab
World(70). However,internaldivisionsand themightier Ethiopianarmy
effectivelykept the insurgency at bay untilthe mid-1970s.It was the
beginning of the Tigrayaninsurgency in 1975 thatgave it a jump-start.
Not onlydid the TPLF keep the regime'sattentionand energydivided,
but the Tigrayancombatantsalso directlyfoughtforthe EPLF.
Despite much intimacy,albeit intermittent, the EPLF and TPLF
perceivedeach otheras separate.For the EPLF,the mutualsupportwas
not due to havinga commonpoliticalagendabut sheerstrategicalliance
againsta commonenemy.The toneand contentof theirlanguagealways
highlighted the 'us' and 'them'dichotomy, a processthatcontinuedafter
independence.'By historical accident,'said Eritrea'sfirstambassadorto
Ethiopia,'the people of Tigrayand Eritreastruggledagainsta common
enemy.Because ofthis,thereis a specialand strongrelationship between
them'(71).What the simultaneousconvergenceand divergenceof the
EPLF and TPLF shows is that, for political entrepreneurs, beyond
diacritical factors (language, culture etc.) and a shared history,
nationalismis firstand foremost, the politicsof power.
Their militaryalliances and joint operations impressed the
EthiopianrulingDerg [military junta:1974-1991]thattheywereaspiring
fora commonstate.Despitetheimmenseand fairlyaccurateintelligence
data theywere getting,the Derg could not believethatthe two Fronts
had divergent programs.The DergleaderMengistuwas publicly(72)and
in Politbureaumeetings (7Î) statingthatthe EPLF and TPLFwerefighing
to createa 'GreaterTigray'state.For him and the restof the political
elite in Addis Ababa, it was axiomaticthat the TPLF was a mere
brainchildof the EPLF: 'We thoughtthe brainof the TPLFwas in Sahel
(70) JOHNMarkakis,Nationaland Class Conflictin the Hornof AfricaCambridge,

1987,especiallychapt.5.
(71) «Weyin»(AddisAbaba),#71,Sene 1985[June 1992],p. 4.
(72) «AddisZemen»(AddisAbaba),Taqamt9, 1982 [19 October,1990],p.5.
(73) 105thRegularMeetingsof thePolitbureau,
Maskarem20, 1982 [30 September,
1990],p.15.

482 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
[Eplf's base]. We thoughtthe TPLFwould die when we hit Sahel. But

due to the favorableconditionscreatedforit,it has grownstronger (74).
Not onlydid the EPLF and TPLF have different goals, the former
forindependenceand the latterfor a 'democratic'Ethiopia,but their
relationshipswere also all but smooth.Perceivingthemselvesas the
seniorpartners,the EPLF enjoyeda relationship thatwas neitherequal
nor reciprocal.Primarily, the TPLF helped them clear theirprincipal
domestic rival the EritreanLiberationFront (Elf) out of Eritrea.
Althoughthe EPLF denythe involvement of the TPLF'foreigners' in the
Eritreandomesticaffairs, boththeElf and TPLFadmitthe decisiverole
the Tigrayansplayedin bringingthe 11-year-oldEplf-Elf civilwar to
an end in 1981.
Secondly,halfof TPLFs regularforcesfoughtalong withthe EPLF
fornine monthsin Naqfa, during'OperationRed Star' when the Derg
launcheda massivearmyto defeatthe Eritreaninsurgency once and for
all. The TPLF got engaged in Eplf's trenchand conventionalwar, a
strategy thattheybelievedwas untimely. Theytried,in vain,to persuade
the Eplf to switchto mobilewarfare.Yet, knowingthe Dergs victory
in Eritreawas goingto adverselyaffectthem,theyreluctantly agreedto
a
pay costlyprice.
After successfullydefendingNaqfa, the Tplf returnedhome
withoutany of the capturedheavyand lightweapons: 'We were not
interestedin weapons ... When we agreedto shed our blood in Sahel,
capturedweaponswerenotissueswe wantedto bargainabout.We took
none and lefteverything there'(75).Althoughthe EPLFdo not speak and
writeabout the TPLF participation, the Derg admittedit was the cause
fortheirsetback:
DuringOperationRed Star,whenwe didnotthinktheTigrayan bandits
wereso organized
andwhenwe thought theywerenotofmuchthreat to
us, theyplayeda decisiverole in disrupting
our efforts
to breakthe
weakenedNaqfafront (76).
The Derglaunchedanother'OperationRed Star'in 1985,thistime
in Tigray',in orderto take advantageof the sudden weaknessof the
(74) SeventhEmergencyMeetingof the Politbureau,Magabit 20, 1980 [17 April, 1988],

p. 6.
(75) Mohamed Yonus, [chiefof Ethiopia's ground forcesduringthe war with Eritrea],
2 March, 1994 (then aged 37).
(76) President Mengistu, 97thRegular Politbrureau Meeting, Yakatit 22, 1981 [30
February,1989], pp. 6-7.

Tplf by the Naqfa war and the faminethat struckthe region.The

Eritreansrefusedto help theirerstwhile partners.Usingmobilewarfare,
unlike the Eritreantrenchand conventionalwarfare,the Tigrayans
managedto survivetheDergoffensive all by themselves.But beforetheir
sense of betrayalsubsided,theywere stillwillingto supportthe Eplf.
Accordingto the Dergs Ministerof Security,TesfayeWalde-Selassie,
Yemane Kidane (Jamaica') of the Tplf promisedto give the Eplf
Tigrayancombatantsif theyshiftedto mobilewarfare(77).
Insteadof beingcementedby thecommonblood theyshed against
theELF and theDerg,therelationship betweentheEPLFand TPLFbroke
down between1985 and 1988.The EPLFblockedthe road to theSudan,
denyingTigrayanfaminevictimsaccess to food. Accordingto the EPLF,
it was politicaldifferenceson issues such as whetherthe USSRwas a
thatcaused the rupture.Therewas also Eplf's refusal
'social imperialist'
to endorseTplf's optionforsecession.The Eplf wantedthe Tplf to
fightonly for the 'democraticunity' of Ethiopia(78). They wanted
independenceto be a privilegeforEritreaalone,givenitsuniquecolonial
experience.Tigray'squest for independencewould have diluted their
'colonial'claim,which,alongwiththeTigrayan, wouldhavebeen dismissed
as a secessionistmovementthatwas aspiringto dismantlethe Ethiopian
bodypolitic.Further, theEPLFhaveneverbeen comfortable withtheTPLF
positionof voluntaryunityand theirargumentthat self-determination
appliesto the Eritreanethnies,such as the Afar,as well(79).Apparently,
theEPLFmustalso haveknownthatunlessthefriendly-TPLF tookthereigns
of powerin AddisAbaba, theirquestforindependence would have been
unimaginable. In the post-independence era, too, theywould not have
thoughtthedreamof economicintegration withEthiopia(80).
(77) 46thRegularMeetingof thePolitbureau,AddisAbaba,26 Ganbot,1978 [3 May,

1985],p.8.
YemaneGabre-Ab,(42), Eplf's Head of PoliticalAffairs
(78) Interview, Department,
14July1994,Asmara;see also Ye ErtreaHezb TagalKayatWadayet!(Gamgama), TPLF,1979,
pp.231-3.
(79) JOHN YOUNG, The Tigrayand Eritrean Peoples Liberation Fronts: a Historyof
Tensionsand Pragmatism, «Journalof ModernAfricanStudies»,34, 1, (1996), p. 112; J.
Abbink,Briefing:theEritrean-Ethiopian
BorderDispute,«AfricanAffairs»,
97, 1998,p. 556.
(80) Now theTPLFhaveequatedthis'economicintegration'or 'interdependence'
with:
'ResourcesofEritreaforEritreans
only,buttheresourcesofEthiopiaforbothofus [Eritreans
and Ethiopians]',see AbbayTSEHAYE[founding memberof theTplf] , 'Dergenmashenef
hezabmashenaf
malet,ye'etopiyan meslowachew kehone,telaqsehetatwoosteyegebu naw,1['If
they(Eplf) thinkdefeating
theDergmeansdefeating theEthiopian people,theyare makinga
hugemistake],«Reporter»(AddisAbaba),Sene 8, 1990 [16 June,1998]

484 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
'Not withoutthem':The Economicsof Going it Alone
The idea [of independence] looks good. But, if [Eritrea] becomes

independent,how willitbe administered . . . Does ithave revenuedeposits
or is thereany one out thereto lend it moneyto manage its hospitals,
courts,schools,agriculture and industries... Yes, it is good to yearnfor
[our] own government, but [we] have to have confidencein our revenues
and thewealthof [our] country. I think,our land is thepoorest,themost
barren[in the world] ... and [it] can not supportitself.
- Walde-GabrielDabassai,"Baza'eba'Ertrana Ertrawyan"
['On 'Eritrea
«NayErtraSemunawi
forEritream"], Gazetta»,24 April,1947,p. 2
Indeed, the gap between the economic inviabilityof Eritrea
observedby the 1940s 'organicintellectuals'and the dreamto make it
the Horn of Africa's'Singapore'by the currentleaders is glaring(81).
When the EPLF liberatedEritreaand enteredAsmara,theyfoundthe
buildingsof a once shiningcityagingand itsboulevardswiththeirlined
palm treesempty,reminiscent of a 1930s Italian provincialcityin the
midstof ruralAfrica.Withthe Europeansgone, Eritreawas merelya
shadow of its past. Long gone was its modernity. The 1930s booming
war economycollapsedalongwithl'AfricaOrientaleItaliana.Therewas
neitherthe ropewaynor the railroadthat once linked Massawa with
Asmara.The roads were also old and freeof traffic. The capital,skills
and technology thatonce madeEritreathemost'developed'in theregion
leftfor Italy.In 1991, the EPLF enteredAsmaraonly to find Gurage
engineersfromcentralEthiopia(once chidedfornotknowingcacciavite)
designingthe city'sconstructionworks. Far fromhome, modernity's
sojournwas longoverbutit survivedin theimagination oftheliberators.
Furthermore, in termsof food production,Eritreahas neverbeen self-
at least not in the 20thcentury
sufficient, (82).In termsof trade,too, its
(81) See,forinstance,
theregional in BerheHabte-GiORGIS
hubstrategy TheDirection
of the EritreanEconomy:Some Thoughtsabout Strategy',in Gebre Hi WETTesfagiorgis ed.
EmergentEritrea:Challengesof Economic Development,Asmara: Provisional Governmentof
Eritreaand Eritreans forPeace and Democracyin NorthAmerica,1992.
(82) For a tradetensionin theearlypartof thecentury betweentheTigrayanrulers
Ras Sebhatand DegiatSeyoumMengesha(whentheyrefused to sendfoodacrosstheMareb)
and the Italiangovernors of Eritrea,see Gabre-HiwetBaykadagn,Mangistena ya hezh
astadadarAddisAbaba,[1910s]1960,p. 81. In the1940s,NADEL(1944,op.cit.,p.7) observed
thatnoteventherichestregionof Eritrea,Seraye,was self-sufficient.Food had to go from
'therichgranary of theTigraiin Ethiopia'.Today,Eritreacan onlyproduce20% of itsfood
needs,see 'Eritrea'seconomy: structural
challenging problems,'U.S. Embassy,Eritrea,
March
1998.

'not withthem,not withoutthem1,
etc. 485
two portsby the Red Sea, Massawa and Assab, are the naturalportsof
Ethiopiathatotherwisehave littleeconomicvalue.
SubsidizedIndependence and Conflict
The countrythatrequireda protractedand costlyarmedstruggle
for political independencenow needs a much tougherstrugglefor
economicindependence,givenits modestnaturalresourcesand lack of
skilledmanpower.The TPLF,whichhad givena crucialmilitary support
in bringingabout the independenceof Eritrea,continuedto subsidize
its economicrevival(1991-97).
At de factoindependencein 1991, Eritreahad neitherthe money
nor the currency notesto go it alone. Therefore,moneywas transferred
to the Eritreanbanks fromEthiopiaand at the timeof the conflictin
1998, they owed Ethiopia 1.2 billion birr(Sî). Moreover,de facto
Ethiopiancitizenshipgave Eritreanbusinessmenaccess to loans from
Ethiopianbanks. By the same token,Eritreanscould freelyinvestin
Ethiopia,a privilegenot accordedto otherforeigners. The EPLF did not
and
reciprocate giveEthiopians in Eritreathesameprivilege.Theylevied
duties on Ethiopian goods enteringEritreawhile theirscame in to
Ethiopia dutyfreei84).Ethiopia was leasingits formeroil refinery in
Assab fromthe Eritreangovernment, paying58 millionbirrand 20%
of the refinery'sproductioneach year(85).
Eritreanswereallowedto use theEthiopiancurrency, birr,withwhich
they could buy 80% of the food they needed from Ethiopia.They also
conductedtwothirdsoftheirentireexternaltrade,whichis withEthiopia,
in birr(86).Withthe birr,theyused to buy the dollarat regularforeign
exchangeauctionand exportableitemssuchas coffee, whichearnedthem
substantialhardcurrency.President Isaíasarguedthatthecoffeehiscountry
was buyingin Ethiopiaand exporting forhardcurrency was onlya leftover
fromEthiopia'sexports(87).This arrangement made Eritrea,accordingto
a diplomat,'a sortof a vacuumcleanerformosthardcurrencies' (88).
(83) Abbink,op.cit.,p. 559.

(84) SOLOMONINQUAI,Key Determinantsof Ethio-EritreanCrisis,A paper presented
at a workshopon Ethio-Eritrean crisisheldat theInstitute
of Social Studiesat Dan Hague,
Holland,Sept.7, 1998.
(85) «The EritreanNewsletter» (Bonn,Elf-Rc),July/August 1997,#77, p.31.
(86) U.S. Embassy,op.cit.
(87) ISAÍASAfeworki,Presidentof Eritrea,in «Asen>,#10,Magabit-Ganbot 1990
[March-May 1998],p.9.
(88) L. Santoro, At theRootofan Odd African War:Money,«The Christian Science
Monitor»,22 June,1998.

486 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
Nationalismhad been invaluablein the struggleforthe statehood

of Eritrea.However,the emotionit generateshas been hardlypertinent
to nation-building. Againstall economicexigencies,nationalismpushed
Eritreato issue its own currency,nakfa.Worsestill,the Eritreanleaders
took it forgrantedthatthe nakfaand birrwould have parityand they
would circulatein both countriesfreely(89).However,the naturallaws
of economicswere incompatiblewith the logic of nationalism,as an
Ethiopianleader stated:
I don'tthinkthey(Eritreans) hadseriouslyconsidered
theimplicationsof
a separatefinancial structure
and the responsibility
of an independent
currency... Theywantedtotalfreeaccessto oureconomy and we tried
to preventit ... Theyhavetoacceptalltheimplications
andconsequences
of beingan independent country,
including fortheirown
responsibility
economy (w).
The expectationof the Eritreansmay appear extraordinary; but

given the unlimited subsidythey had been enjoying,they saw nothing
abnormal.However,thistime,the Ethiopiansfeltit was too suicidalto
allow the Eritreans'totalfreeaccess' to theireconomy.They refusedto
let the two currencies, whichpursuedivergent policies,have parityand
circulatefreelyin both countries.Since the birrs exchange rate is
controlledand thatofnakfais not,theirvaluewouldfluctuateand create
instability.For PresidentIsaias, Ethiopia'snew trade policy that was
triggeredby the new financialstructure in Eritrea,was a manifestation
of 'greed' on the part of the Ethiopians(91).The Ethiopians,who had
toleratedthe unequal relationship withthe EPLF fortoo long, became
increasingly assertiveand abandonedtheseemingpolicyof appeasement.
They told the Eritreansthattransactions had to be carriedout in hard
currency (92).Desperate and furious,the EPLF violatedthe 'freeport'
agreement theyhad signed(93)and raisedtaxeson Ethiopia'simportand
export items, forcingthe Ethiopiansto shiftall theirexternaltrade to
Djibouti.Theyalso raisedthe priceof refinedoil fromAssab as well as
theirshare of output,makingit cheaperforthe Ethiopiansto import
(89) At the time of the conflict,one birrwas fivenaqfa, see Abbink,op. cit., p. 559.
(90) ABBAYTSEHAYE,8 June,Makalle, Reuters.
(91) See the extensiveinterviewhe gave in «Hewyet» (Asmara), #14, 1998, p. 17.
(92) Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, in «Aser» (Addis Ababa), #9,
December-February1998, p. 8.
(93) See, THE ECONOMIC INTELLIGENCEUNIT, Ugûnda, Ethiopia, Somalia, Djibouti
London, 1992, #1,p.31.

fuelfromelsewhere.This led to the closureof the refinery, costingthe

Eritreansmillionsofdollarsa year.Frustrated bytheself-generated crisis,
they invaded borderlands, masking the conflictas a 'border war'.
Admittedly, theborderwas notwelldefined;but theEthio-Eritrean
bordercommission was workingon issuesof demarcation. The occupied
territoriesof Badme, Alitena,Burre and Zalambessa were not under
Italian rule.Eritreansare askingto demarcatethe borderon the basis
of 'colonial maps'. Colonial maps and treatiesmay give some helpful
clues. However,theirrelevanceneed not be overstated.Eritrea'sraison
d'etrewas actual Italiancolonialism.Withoutthe latter,therewould be
no Eritrea.Therefore, anyterritory thatwas not detachedfromEthiopia
and administered by the colonialists,irrespective of what treatiesand
maps say,ipso facto,is not Eritrean.What legitimacycould colonial
treatiesand maps, which were prepared by the Europeans for the
Europeans,have today as long as theywere not implemented?Those
thatwere implementedare legitimatebecause theyare responsiblefor
real,perceivedor claimedunique identities.
In the so-called 'border war', Eritreans targeted economic
infrastructure and civilians. They tried to bomb the Adigrat
pharmaceutical plantand damagedtheMakallecementfactory, twosmall
industriesthat appeared to signal the offingof a vibrantEthiopian
economy.The appearanceof a handfulof small industriesin Tigray
alarmed the Eritreanleaders, frustrating theirdream of an Eritrean
'Singapore' that would be a 'production hub', a 'distributionhub' and
a 'corporateheadquartersand technicalserviceshub' (94).The Eritrean
exacerbationwas revealedwhenPresidentIsaias candidlyexpressedhis
dismayat the installationof small leather,textileand otherplants in
Tigraywhentherewere similarplantsin Eritrea.The existenceof such
industriesin Tigray,he argued,willadversely affecttheEritreaneconomy
because theywould have to competefor the limitedmarketand raw
materials in northernEthiopia. He dubbed Tigray's attempts at
industrialization 'protectionist'(95). Minor infrastructural changes in
Tigray,therefore, made it apparent that the Singaporemodel was, at
best,whatMarinaOttawaycalled a 'distantdream'(%).
(94) See Berhe Habte-Giorgis, op.cit., pp.46-48.

(95) ISAÍASAfeworki, in «AseD>, op.cit., p. 11. The Tigrinyaword he used is atsatvi,
lit. "blocker".
(96) MARINAOTTAWAY,Africa's New Leaders: Democracy or State Reconstruction?
D.C, 1999,p. 58.
Washington,

488 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
Eritreaseems to be trappedin the collisionof mythand reality.

The Eritreathathas been imaginedis la coloniaprimogenita, withthe
ItalianindustriesthateffectivelykeptTigrayas their
economic backwater.
The entirenorthern Ethiopiaused to supplyEritreawithfood and raw
materialswhile the Italian industriesprovidednorthernEthiopia with
finishedproducts.The EPLF were thushopingto resurrect the colonial
statusquo antewhereEthiopiawould be a dumpinggroundforEritrean
finishedproducts(97).
In the processof buildinga nation,Eritreanscontinuedto invent
a distinctidentity.Invalidating kinship,ethnicand religious
pre-existing
allegiances, the EPLF introduced new administrativestructuresthat
crisscrossearlierboundaries(98).Ratherthanlettingforcesof modernity
taketheirnaturalcourseof bringingsocial mobilization, theyembarked
upon a consciousinventionof identities,in effectassaultingthe past.
Building a nation by rejectingthe past is not an easy job because
nationalism,by its verynature,is janus-facedthatlooks forwardand
backwardat the same time("). In theirquest forbeing different, the
EPLF have refusedto summonthe richand romantictrans-Marebpast
because it is not serviceable.Instead,theypreferto scour the colonial
era forsymbolism so muchso themorethe Italianheritagefadedto the
annalsofhistory, themorefanciful theclaimofWesternheritagebecame.
For instance,theGregoriancalendarwithJanuary1 as its New Year has
been adopted,althoughnativeEritreanshave neverused it. They use
theEthiopian(Geez) calendarwithSeptember11 as theirNew Year(10°).
Further,despitethe factthatalmostall Eritreansknow nothingabout
the Latin script(morethan80% of themare illiterateanyway),cars in
independentEritreahave been givenlicensesin theLatin alphabet.This
is not a mere nostalgiaof the 'good Italian era' but also a means of
canalizingboundarywith theirkin south of the Mareb who use the
indigenousGeez script.Thus,by abandoningthe richtrans-Mareb past,
whichwas so reveredby the 1940s 'organicintellectuals,' and focusing
on the future,nationalismin Eritreais betrayingthe overalllogic of
nationalistpsychology.
Unlikethe 1940s Eritreathatwas imaginedon a solid moralbasis
(97) This is addressed repeatedly in Emergent Eritrea: Challenges of Economic

Developmentop. cit.
(98) KjETIL Tronvoll, The Processof nation-building
in post-warEritrea:createdfrom
belowor directedfromabove?«Journal of ModernAfrican Studies»,v. 36, #3,1998.
(99) TOMNAIRN, The Break-üpofBritainNorfolk,1977,p. 349.
(100) See, forexample'«Nay ErtraSemunawiGazetta»,13 September, 1945.

'NOT WITH THEM, NOT WITHOUTTHEM1,ETC. 489
- built out of a shared culture,language,economyand, above all,

historicalconsciousnesswith Ethiopia's Tigray,the EPLFs Eritrea is
inventingnon-Tigrayan In this process of nationbuildingon
identity.
inventedsymbolsofidentity, theTigryans, southofMareb,are presented
as the relevant'others'because it is inherently nationalistic
to seek the
'bad others'.The clusterbombingof Tigrayanprimaryschool children
in Makalle by Eritreanson 5 June,1998, a townmilesaway fromany
military mayalso have had the objectiveof acceleratingthe
installation
inventionof the Tigrayan'others'.More than 180 people were either
woundedor killed.Irrespective and politicalsignificance
of the military
of the clusterbombing,it does deepen the 'us' and 'them'boundary.It
appears to have killedthe hope as well as the fearthatEritreawould
be federatedwithEthiopia.It has assuredthe criticsof the EPLF - Tplf
intimacy (101)thatEritreansdo businesswiththe Tigrayansbut theydo
not identify with them.Even beforethe eruptionof the conflict,the
EPLFroundedup and deportedthousandsof Tigrayansfromthevarious
Eritreantownsin 1997(102).In fact,nationbuildingbegan in 1991 with
cleansingEritreaof co-ethnicTigrayans.The firstthingthe EPLF did
upon assumingpower was to expel thousandsof Ethiopians,mostly
Tigrayans(103).Since the outbreak of the war in 1998, Ethiopians
reciprocatedby deportingEritreansfromthe various towns of the
country.These aspectsof the war have the potentialof polarizingand
crystallizing identities.As the Napoleonic wars enhancedRussian self-
consciousness(104), the Ethio-Eritreanwar and the concomitant
deportationsof Tigrayansout of Eritreaand Eritreansout of Ethiopia
maypetrify the'us-them'dichotomy amongtheTigrinya-speaking people
of the two sides of the Mareb.
(101) Oppositiongroupssuchas theELF,«The Eritrean Newsletter»,

July/August 1997,
#77, pp.15-16.
(102) «The Eritrean
Newsletter»,#77,998, p.12.
(103) I he numberot victimsvariesiromJohnYoungs (1997,p.297Jover 100,000
1993,v.34,#9'some200, 000'.
to «AfricaConfidential's»
(104) HUGHSeton-Watson,RussianNationalism in Historical in ROBERT
Perspective,
CONQUEST ed. TheLastEmpireStanford, 1986.On howpastatrocitiesareceaselessly
recycled,
nurturingthe sense of victimization, play out in identityconfigurations, see RENE
Lemarchand,BurundiCambridge, 1994and LlISAMalkki,Purity and Exile Chicago,1995.
On the role of war in identity in general,see ANTHONY
crystallization SMITH,War and
theroleofwarfare
Ethnicity: in theformationofselfimagesandcohesionofethniccommunities,
«Ethnicand RacialStudies»,v.4,#4,1981and also hisEthnicSurvivalCambridge, 1981;and
Chrles TILLY,EuropeanRevolutions 1492-1992Oxford,1993.

490 ALEMSEGEDABBAY
Will Eritrea'sNationhoodCome of Age?
'EritreawithoutAbyssiniahas smallmeaning'
- Harold Courtlander[a U.S. historian],Gura, Eritrea,to PresidentF.
D. Roosevelt,the WhiteHouse, 1943.
'Rich or great,Eritreawill neverbecome; it may,indeed,disappearas a
politicalunitcompletelyfromthe map'
- StephenH. Longrigg[formerBritishGovernorof Eritrea],1945.
'If Eritreadoes not mergewithEthiopia,it will die'
- Walde-AbWalde-Mariam,1947.
WhatmakestheEritreancase so uniqueis thatcolonialismdid not

engenderEritrean-ness. Unlike in manyAsian and Africancountries,
colonialismin Eritreahas not been a basis forthe social construction of
identity because in the Eritrean case, it did not allow modernity to
interactwithtradition. Hence, Italiancolonialismdeprivedthe regionof
crucialsymbolsnecessaryto developa post-colonialidentity. Therewere
no major infrastructural characteristics,which could have permitteda
limitedinteractionbetweentheItaliancitizensand theirEritreansubjects.
The resilienceof the pre-colonialpast and the failureof Italyto
giveits coloniaprimogenita new symbolsof identityhas leftthe current
Eritreanleaderswiththeburdenofinventing an Eritreanidentity
distinct
fromthatof theirkinto thesouthof theMareb.Inventingsymbolsfrom
the Italianculturalstuff,whichtheyhad not internalized until1941,the
yearItalyleftthe region,has been partof theirroutinedutyof nation-
building.
However, the desire to be different has been frustratedby a
fledgling economy - an economic failure that pushedEritreato invade
Ethiopia in 1998. As such, the war has put Eritreanidentityand
economic viabilityto the test. Granted that 'the stupidestwar' ever
foughtin Africadefiesall economiclogic,one harksback to the 1940s
wisdomof Harold Courtlander, StephenLongriggas well as Walde-Ab
Walde-Mariamand the restof the Eritrean'organicintellectuals'and
wonderhow Eritreawill reach nationhood.Althoughthe war will not
subdue Ethiopia into becomingan economicbackwaterof the wistful
Horn of Africa's'Singapore',itwill,in all likelihood,becometomorrow's
social and political boundary - a victorythat the geographical
borderlineof the RiverMareb has all along failedto achieve.
Alemseged Abbay

RÉSUMÉ
Avant que le colonialisme italien crea, au nord du fleuve Mareb, l'Erithrée, les
populations de cette region partageaientle même sens d'identitéfondé sur culture,valeurs,
religion,langue et conscience historiquecommuns. Ce sens d'identiténe fut pas balayé par
le colonialisme car les italiens ne consentirentpas que leurs éléments de modernité
interagissentavec les traditionsde leur colonie. Cela, avec la faible economie du pays,
conduisit,dans les années '40, l'élite érithréenne,
dont Walde ab Marian étaitun représentant,
à tenterune fusionavec l'Ethiopie. Toutefois après la fusiontotale de 1962 l'élite plus jeune
commença à considérer l'Erithrée une region avancée digne d'avoir l'indépendance,
indépendance qui arriva en 1991. Malgré le généreux support de l'Ethiopie (1991-98)
l'Erithréene réussitpas à se tenir sur sa seule économie. En plus ses leaders voulaient en
fairela Singapore de la Corne d'Afriqueque auraienttrouvédans l'Ethiopie un marché pour
ses produits finis. Cette situation provoqua des tensions économiques avec l'Ethiopie
entraînantà la fin un conflitsanglant,déguisé par l'Erithréeen une guerre frontalière.La
guerre,un test importantpour la crédibilitéde l'état érithréen,n'a pas réussi par contre à
obliger l'Ethiopie à devenirl'arrière-payséconomique de la souhaitée Singapore de la Corne
d'Afrique.
RIASSUNTO
Prima che il colonialismo italiano creasse a nord del fiume Mareb l'Eritrea, le
popolazioni al di là del Mareb condividevanoun comune senso di identitàbasato su stessa
cultura,valori,religione,lingua e coscienza storica.Tale senso di identitànon fu spazzato via
dal colonialismoin quanto gli italianinon volleroche i loro elementidi modernitàinteragissero
con le tradizionidella loro colonia primogenita.Questo, insieme alla debole economia del
paese, portò, negli anni '40, l'élite eritrea,di cui Walde - Ab Walde - Mariam era un
esponente, a tentare una qualche fusione con l'Etiopia. Tuttavia, dopo la totale fusione
avvenuta nel 1962, l'élite più giovane cominciò a considerare l'Eritrea come una regione
progreditadegna di essere indipendente.L'indipendenza fu raggiuntanel 1991. Malgrado il
generososupportodell'Etiopia (1991-98) l'Eritreanon riuscìa reggersisulla sua sola economia.
E tuttavia,i suoi leaders volevano farnela Singapore del Corno d'Africache avrebbe trovato
nell'Etiopia un mercato per i suoi prodottifiniti.Questo portò a tensioni economiche con
l'Etiopia e infinea un conflittosanguinoso che l'Eritreacamuffòin una guerradi confine.La
guerra,un test impegnativoper la credibilitàdello stato eritreonon è riuscitaa costringere
l'Etiopia a diventareil retroterra economico dell'agognata Singapore del Corno d'Africa.


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'NOT WITH THEM, NOT WITHOUT THEM': THE STAGGERING OF ERITREA TO NATIONHOOD

Author(s): Alemseged Abbay

This content downloaded from 185.44.77.82 on Tue, 17 Jun 2014 14:05:05 PM

'NOT WITH THEM, NOT WITHOUT THEM':

'Eritreabelongsto Ethiopia.It is Ethiopiaitselfand shouldreturnto

The 'Fatherof Eritrea',Walde-AbWalde-Mariam, was one of the

(*) Departmentof History,Lakeland College,Shcboygan,WI 5Ì0S2, USA.

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Indeed elsewhereforces of modernityhave bifurcateda single

(2) WILLIAMMILES, Hausaland Divided Ithaca: Cornell UniversityPress, 1994.

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the Mareb - issues thatpreventedWalde-AbWalde-Mariamand the

'E T H/ r^' 0 /' P I a ' / / /

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//// '''''''>'' ' vi

x I I III IIIII III l'''''''' 'N' ' >La

In the earlyChristianera,the AxumiteEmpire,whose tentaclesof

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two sides of the Mareb and 'Scores of kinshipgroupsin Eritreato-day

(4) STEPHENH. Longrigg, A ShortHistoryof Eritrea,Oxford, 1945, p. 31.

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Tplf Cc member,YemaneKidane ('Jamaica')are of Tigrayanparentage.

(12) In a small surveyof 28 civilians I conducted in Mendefera, Seraye, in 1994, I

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Dabab Araya(nativeof Enderta,Tigrayproper)and Ras Walde-Mika'el

(15) Interview,Walde-Ab Walde-Mariam (Rome, Eplf), 2 November, 1982.

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attitudes,valuesand expectations (18).Intendedto be a springboardfor

(18) SAMUELHUNTINGTON,Political Order in ChangingSocieties New Haven, 1968;

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(23) 'Enda', followedbya nameof an ancestorof a givenparish,is thesettlement

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not only adopt colonial languages as official tongues but also

(28) Reporton Eritrea,Four Power Commission,1948, Section V, Foreign Office 371-

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who werein the serviceof theEthiopiancause,forleadership.Pleading

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have a big literateand readingpublic.Literacyand thepress,duringthe

(3.5) Mamdani, op.cit., p. 287.

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If a slavebearsa childfroma fellowslave,whilestillunderhermaster,

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to force the EritreanOrthodox Church to severe its ties with the

(40) Telegram1/84730, GO. Commander-in-Chief to theWar Office,18 February,

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ofparochialism was a balancingsenseoftrans-Mareb commonality based

'Not WithoutThem': Pan-Tigrayanism

'I haveno desireto separateEritreans fromTigrayans and Eritreafrom

(44) See Alemseged Abbay, The Trans-MarebPast in the Present,«Journalof Modern

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fromthe Church played vital roles in unitingEritreawith Ethiopia.

'Behere-Agazi'['Nation of the Free'] depictingthe sense, of territorial

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played a centralpart in the Tigray-Tigrignie movementof bringing

(50) The institutions of Gulti (fief)and Church,whichwere intertwined withthe

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When Degiat Kassa Sebhatof Agamedied, forinstance,Degiat Abraha

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language,one history and one ethnicidentity. Even the Italianskeptthe

(57) Interview,Walde-Ab Walde-Mariam,(Orota, Eplf), 6 September, 1987.

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(62) ABBAYGabre-Abzigi, Cheheme betsaykakeletses chihemekamai lek'a, «Hanti

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