Eritrea: From Edge to Edge

Mussie Efrem

My article about my trip to the Southern Red Sea region, my first impressions of the region, and my visit of Bab el Mandeb on Eritrea's southern border was published two months ago. A few days ago I traveled to Qrora, an Eritrean town on Eritrea's northern border, along with five of my colleagues. During this memorable journey, I saw a variety of man-made and natural wonders, including the trenches of the north-east Sahel region, which hosted the Eritrean revolution for decades, and the trenches that stood firm on the side of the Eritrean freedom fighters.

In two months, I visited so many places, most of them for the first time, that stretch over 1200 kms of the coast line from the southern to the northern borders of Eritrea. It was a very memorable journey, and I was able to learn about the stunningly beautiful culture of the Tigre ethnic group, who make up the vast majority of the Northern Red Sea region's communities. Two of my five colleagues were former freedom fighters who spent many years in Sahel region, where many decisive battles were fought, and they are, therefore, familiar with the landscapes and the history. That gave me an excellent opportunity to learn from the former fighters more about the armed struggle for independence.

We started our trip on the Asmara- Keren route and made Afabet our first resting place. Afa’bet is a town of tremendous historical significance in Eritrean history, where the Derg regime’s Nadew Command, comprising 20 thousand battle-hardened soldiers, was completely destroyed. Our trip back to Asmara was through the Shi’eb-Gindae- Asmara route, experiencing three seasons in a few hours.

Our trip to Afa'bet coincided with the 36th anniversary of the demise of the Nadew command and the liberation of Afa'bet. The commemorative event, which was held on March 19 at Afa'bet town's square, was attended by Government officials, Army commanders, and thousands of Afa'bet residents.

The history that was made in Afa'bet by the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) marked a turning point in the struggle for independence. Through a lightning offensive that lasted for three days (17-19 March in 1988) at the Nakfa Front, the EPLF was able to not only annihilate the Derg's army at the front but also capture sophisticated military hardware that it hadn't had in its arsenal and Soviet military advisers. Mr. Basil Davidson, a prominent British historian, was so impressed with the EPLF's military prowess that he compared the operation to that of 'Dien Bien Phu,' a successful military operation in 1954 by the Vietnamese against the French Army. The offensive was a culmination of the ten-year long perseverance and resilience of the EPLF and the Eritrean people, and it was the beginning of the end of Ethiopian occupation of Eritrea.

Remnants of destroyed military vehicles are scattered all the way from Meshalit to Kisad A'shorum, and the trenches of Afa'bet are silent reminders of the history. We stopped at the notch of Kisad Meshalit, where the enemy was finally destroyed, and the former freedom fighters gave us detailed information about the 48- hour military operation.

When we left Afa'bet on the Qamchewa route, we came across the approximately 200-year-old Anagid graveyard in Kubkub, resting site of the village's noble sheiks. According to the local elders, the graveyard's masonries were made using sand and camel's milk. Not far from the graveyard within kubkub administrative area is a site of a battleground where British and Italian soldiers fought during World War II.

Dozens of seasonal streams wind down from the highlands and the mountains of the Sahel region, occasionally crossing the road during the rainy season. The 180-kilometer road from Aget to Qrora stretches across a vast desert, with its sandy expanse punctuated by sparse vegetation of rare arid climate shrubs. Camels, perfectly adapted to the arid climate, can be seen grazing on the occasional patches of seasonal grass that sprout after desert downpours. The Camel is the most common mode of transport in the deserts. Across the deserts we saw many from the Rashyda ethnic communities, who are nomadic and live mainly on trade and raising animals.

When we were around Emahmime, we saw local community members that were busy building a dam to conserve water for irrigation. The prospects for farmers of most parts of the Northern Red Sea region, and particularly those of Mel'eit administrative area, are promising. Around 5000 hectares of millet in Mel'eit administrative district, which is 20 kilometers from Emahmime, are awaiting harvest. To prevent the harmful effects of floods on the farms, farmers, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, have constructed special structures called shifters. The shifters alter the river's course and reduce its ferocity, thereby mitigating future flood risks. We finally visited Qrora, the last town on the northern tip of Eritrea. It is 450 kilometers away from Asmara. There we saw the development programs of the town, which has a modern health station and schools, from elementary to high school.

March 26, 2024