About Eritrea
Eritrea is located to the East of Sudan and to the West of Yemen.
With its nine ethnic groups (Tigrinya, Tigre, Saho, Kunama, Bilen, Rashaida, Afar, Beni, Amir and Nera) it is a country with a very diverse culture.
History
Under successive colonial rule, the country has had it's fair share of battles. In 1941 Italy was defeated by the allied forces and Eritrea was then administered by the British. It was decided by the UN that Eritrea was to be federated with Ethiopia in 1952 however Ethiopia voided the Federationagreement with Eritrea being forced to
Eritrea is located to the East of Sudan and to the West of Yemen.
With its nine ethnic groups (Tigrinya, Tigre, Saho, Kunama, Bilen, Rashaida, Afar, Beni, Amir and Nera) it is a country with a very diverse culture.
Women in Eritrea played an important role in the struggle for independence with women representing around one in three fighters, many in combatant roles.
The Eritrean liberation movement paid a lot of attention to the empowerment of women however, much of Eritrean society remains traditional and patriarchal and most women have an
become the 14th province of Ethiopia. The Eritrean people were lead by the Eritrean Liberation Front and declared war against this act, they struggled to liberate Eritrea. Ethiopia committed many atrocities against the Eritrean people including burning villages, killing civilians, destroying crops and live stock. As a result of this thousands of Eritreans fled to their neighbouring country Sudan. Eritrea eventually won in 1991 and the Ethiopian forces were defeated. a Provisional Government of Eritrea was established. The Eritrean people overwhelming voted for independence in the UN sponsored referendum, independence was declared in 1993.
Refugees
Pre-independence, Sudan hosted 750,000 Eritrea refugees. Refugees from rural backgrounds were settled in refugee camps while those from urban areas settled in cities. Post-independence many refugees repatriated back to Eritrea.
Currently, Amnesty International estimated that 3000 Eritreans fled the country every month mostly to Sudan and Ethiopia. Many of those fleeing were young people escaping the indefinite national service conscription.
In Australia Eritrean refugees began to settle in Queensland in the early 90s. Most of them came through Sudan and Cairo. The total number of Eritreans is estimated to be about 1200, including children. Most Eritreans reside in the South-side of Brisbane where Mu'ooz is situated.
From 1998-2000, Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a war that killed more than 70,000 people and displaced more than 600,000 people from areas near the border. The current ‘no war and no peace’ situation and dictatorship government in Eritrea causes a lot of trouble for many Eritrean people. Because of that there are many Eritreans fleeing the country and those that still live in refugees camps.
Women in Eritrea played an important role in the struggle for independence with women representing around one in three fighters, many in combatant roles.
The Eritrean liberation movement paid a lot of attention to the empowerment of women however, much of Eritrean society remains traditional and patriarchal and most women have an inferior status to men in their homes and communities. In practice, males retain privileged access to education, employment, and control of economic resources with more disparities in rural areas than in cities.
