For the past five days I've been writing at length about Eritrea, an obscure African country on the Red Sea -- the most recent "nation" admitted to the UN -- a country which some may feel has little relevance to Canada or the world in general.
In some ways this may be true.
Yet in a world that is continually splitting into independent states, most of them impoverished and feuding with neighbours and/or torn with dissent, all seeking aid from the developed world, most cursed with corruption and wary of free choice.
Africa is especially vulnerable. Not one country has emerged from colonial status as a free and functioning democracy, free of corruption and ethnic rivalries, where human rights are respected and rule of law is paramount, where citizens feel secure, safe, content.
Why Eritrea is important -- or has the potential of being important -- is that it's in the process of making itself into a model for the rest of Africa.
Although it's one of Africa's poorest countries, with limited resources, Eritrea is unusual in that it seeks to break the habit of dependency and almost makes a fetish of self-reliance. It knows foreign aid can be a dangerous, seductive crutch -- politically, socially, economically. In the end, Eritrea must fend for itself.
![]() ![]() (Right) An Eritrean soldier helps an elderly lady of the ship. -- Photos: Reuters |
RETURN TO ERITREA PART ONE - PART TWO - PART THREE - PART FOUR |
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