Democracy, autonomy and freedom : concepts that many of us take for granted , yet still remain distant realities for many Eritreans.
Since independence from Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea has never held a national election , and is described by Freedom House as a militarized authoritarian state , with President Isaias Afwerki at the centre of its political system. The People’s Front For Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) remains the only political party dominating Eritrea’s governance. However, the absence of competing parties is not simply a lack of political choice ; the government has actively restricted the conditions that would allow alternative organisations to emerge.
The U.S. Department of State reported that authorities did not allow political parties other than the PFDJ and severely restricted citizens’ ability to criticise the government. Human Rights Watch reports that perceived dissidents , government critics , human rights defenders and journalists have been subjected to enforced disappearance , with some remaining unaccounted for years or even decades. The fate of 11 former senior government officials and 10 independent journalists arrested in 2001 remains unknown. A significant example is that of Berhane Abrehe, Eritrea’s former Minister of Finance and a critic of President Isaias Afwerki, after publishing a book calling for democratic reforms , Abrehe was detained incommunicado in September 2018 . He remained in detention without a public trial or known charges until his death in August 2024.His case illustrates the risks faced by prominent figures who publicly challenge the government. Which begs the question: How many voices must disappear before their silence is heard?
The impact of Eritrea’s political state extends far beyond those who speak out against the government. For many Eritreans, it is something that shapes everyday life ; from education to access to information, basic things that remain out of reach for most Eritreans.
One of the clearest examples of this is Eritrea’s National Service System; Since the late 1990s, Isaias Afwerki and his party have exploited prolonged national service as a way to maintain control over the Eritrean population. Although President Isaias Afwerki has continued to defend this system, framing it as a ‘way of providing jobs for the country’s youth in the absence of a functional economy’ , the United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Eritrea has described the system as slavery- like. Each year , thousands of teenagers are forcibly taken from their homes all over the country and forced to serve in Sawa , despite the fact that the legal length of national service in Eritrea is 18 months , being conscripted to the military is almost unavoidable. In attempt to escape Sawa , young girls would often opt for early marriage and motherhood and young boys would purposely fail classes or drop out of school altogether. Despite these methods , the students are left vulnerable to government roundups , where young people who are not enrolled in secondary school are routinely caught and sent directly to the military.
However , the consequences of attempting to evade military service extend beyond the individual , affecting their family members as well. Human Rights Watch reports that : older parents as well as women with younger children have been temporarily detained for days , some reportedly longer , and have been expelled from their homes during government searches. Although Laetitia Bader, deputy Africa director at Human Rights Watch said “Eritrea should immediately end its collective punishment of relatives of those who refuse to comply and instead focus on reforming its ruthless indefinite military system” the latest conscription drive was only 4 years ago where authorities targeted people considered draft evaders. In what can only be described as a desperate effort to enforce military service , the government went as far as calling up men, primarily ages 50-60 to undertake military duties. Despite Eritrea’s information minister telling the media that “only a tiny number” of reservists were being called up , the true scale of the mobilisation remains unclear. For some , the only way to escape this modern-day dystopia is to leave their home country altogether. But leaving home means more than crossing a border; it means leaving behind family, childhood and the place they have always known. For those who leave, the journey is not a rejection of their home , but a search for a life they feel is impossible to build there.
Yet leaving Eritrea is not the end of the struggle; for many, it is only the beginning of another dangerous journey. In early 2015 UNHCR reported that almost all female survivors of the trafficking in Sudan had been sexually assaulted or raped and many kidnapped. The kidnappers were either traffickers or Eritrean agents that would capture the asylum seekers and drag them back to Eritrea to be imprisoned, tortured or killed. For those who continue, the journey can take them across deserts and the Mediterranean Sea , where some often witness fellow travellers lose their lives along the way. They endure these dangers for the chance of a life built on safety, freedom and opportunity.
After all, what are democracy , autonomy and freedom worth if they cost you your life?
References:
https://freedomhouse.org/country/eritrea
https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/afdr/2008/af/129843.htm https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2025/country-chapters/eritrea
https://www.hrw.org/report/2019/08/09/they-are-making-us-slaves-n ot-educating-us/how-indefinite-conscription-restricts
https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/02/09/eritrea-crackdown-draft-evade rs-families
https://eritreanrefugees.org/crossing-the-border/