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Part 5

Gash-Barka region  efforts underway to promote tourism“ By Staff Sept 1, 2007

As usual, the “shabait.com’s Staff” had come out with the announcement that the PFDJ’s regime is planning to undertake one of its many and often out of time and place programs, “to promote tourism in Gash-Barka region” (The lands of the Kunama, of the Baria/Nara and of the Beni-Amer populations). The regime’s official organ stated that “the branch office of the Ministry of Tourism in Gash-Barka region disclosed that efforts are being stepped up to make the rich natural resources and historical sites, as well as the culture and tradition of the people in the region”.

Though the above announcement appears to be incomplete and therefore not totally clear in its message, we take it to mean that “the branch office of the Ministry of Tourism in Gash-Barka” is planning to make of “the rich natural resources and historical sites, as well as the culture and tradition of the people in the region,” objects of tourists’ attraction, for otherwise, we would refuse to believe that the “branch is stepping up efforts” to enrich “the natural resources and historical sites, as well as the cultures and the traditions of the people in (of) the region.” First of all, when had the “branch office of the Ministry of Tourism,” been established in the “Gash-Barka region?”

Who are the people running it? Who will be the likely tourists visiting those “rich natural resources” and be interested in the “cultures and traditions” of those populations?

Who will be the prime beneficiary of the income from such tourism?

The “shabait.com’s Staff” went on to report that “the head of the branch office, Mr. Amine Tewelde, indicated that an information center has been set up in Tessenei sub-zone so as to enable tourists get easy access to information about the existing tourism potentials.”

Assuming from his name and surname, “Amine Tewelde, the head of the branch office,” is an Eritrean-Tigrian, originating from one of the three Eritrean-Tigrian highland (Kebesa) regions of Akele-Guzai, Hamasien and Serae. There is no doubt that most, if not his entire personnel too, is made-up also of the Eritrean-Tigrians. Up to now, this has been the normal political and administrative constellation of the regime’s regional authorities in the Gash-Barka region.

Our queries therefore are:

What does “Ato. Amine Tewelde” know of “the rich natural resources and historical sites” of such vast and diverse a territory and what can and does he, together with his entire personnel, know of the “cultures and of the traditions” of the four native populations and of the other populations, forming demographically, the most complex and culturally the most diverse society in Eritrea? As an Eritrean Tigrian, not likely to master any of the languages of the three linguistically dominant nationalities in the region, Ato Amine Tewelde cannot even adequately communicate with the local populations, let alone be able to inform the “tourists” on “the rich natural resources and historical sites, as well as on the cultures and traditions of the people in (of) the region?”

According to reliable resources, today, no foreigners are allowed to travel to the Eritrean Western Lowlands. Who are therefore and who are likely to be the “tourists” visiting the “Gash-Barka region?”

A lot of fellow-Eritreans, mostly either the regime’s supporters, sympathisers or just opportunists, paying their Summer visits to and returning from Eritrea, tell of having travelled as far as Tessenei or even beyond. Many of them, who though born and grown up in Eritrea and are now residing abroad, but not being the natives of the Gash-Barka region, had never been in that part of Eritrea before and therefore had never known of the “rich natural resources and historical sites, as well as the cultures and traditions of the people in the region”. Only today have they discovered them and become the annual regular visitors of those territories and have therefore become the “tourists” in their own country.

It should not be therefore difficult for Ato Amine Tewelde and his personnel to welcome, guide and entertain those tourists, who anyway are mostly well-to-do either American or European Eritrean-Tigrians. The statistics of the Eritreans annually visiting Eritrea are there to prove and confirm such fact. It is also worth mentioning here that those are not only “tourists,” but also business-people who had either already bought and do own large crop-fields and other agricultural plantations, housing estates or all kinds of shops in the region’s main centres, or are others looking for new business opportunities. Today, business for the Eritrean-Tigrians in the western lowlands of Eritrea is said to be booming considerably, whereas the welfare and the wellbeing of the native and local populations are said to be worsening. The cards have therefore been overturned in that the local populations have become the disadvantaged.

This is the kind of “tourism” the regime and its regional authorities are planning to “promote” and the kinds of “tourists” they are thinking of and attracting at the present times. Only now have the regime, its regional authorities and the “shabait.com’s Staf” itself, discovered that the “Gash-Barka region is endowed with spectacular landscape and diverse wild life including crocodiles, elephants, and tigers, among others. It also comprises almost all of the nation’s ethnic-groups and the historic trenches in the days of the armed forces”.

As for the statement that “it (Gash-Barka region), comprises almost all of the nation’s ethnic-groups,” let us retort that, only with the coming to power of the EPLF/PFDJ’s regime that many non-Kunama, non-Baria/Nara and non-Beni-Amer populations, mostly Eritrean-Tigrians, have been given ample opportunities, to settle in massively and freely occupy, buy, sell and trade with the land of those native populations. This is a serious issue which is and will have to have its own history written in its true light, the right explanation given and the proper solution found. The western Eritrean lowlands cannot be and remain a play-ground “of all of the nation’s ethnic-groups.” The native lands and the territorial property rights have to be given back to those populations.

The VKP/KAM’s team has been repeatedly writing and commenting on the endless reports of the “shabait.com Staff’s: President Conducts Tour (Of Inspection) in Gash-Barka region”. The intent of all those tours are solely to inspect the activities of the regime’s agencies and of its companies engaged in exploiting the region and serving the regime alone, and not the local populations. We are yet to hear a single report that the “President” has only once either met or talked to the local populations. It is therefore very clear that the “President” himself, just like his own Eritrean-Tigrian ethnic-group’s members and their “Segen Construction Company” and others, have always been interested in and care only for the Eritrean western lowland’s vast and fertile land and for its products, but never for the welfare and wellbeing of the native populations. In the sixteen (16) and more years of his dictatorial rule, Ato Isaias Afwerki had ”conducted” more of his “inspection tours in Gash-Barka region”, than in all of the Eritrean regions put together. This justifies our legitimate claim that whatever projects are being planned and carried out in the western Eritrean lowlands are only for the benefit, primarily of the regime, of his loyal supporters, sympathisers and of its opportunistically serving puppets. What our populations need and demand for today are their land rights and their rights to benefit of their native lands’ products, be they agricultural or those accruing from possible promotion of tourism.

For the time-being however, the “promotion of tourism in the Gash-Barka region” is not only very unnecessary, but also very controversial and fruitless one, as it does not have the primary aim of helping the local populations get rid of their basic problems.

“Tourism” is to and should firstly reward the local populations.

The VKP/KAM: (November 18, 2007).