The Eritrean National Service: Servitude for "the common good" and the Youth Exodus (Eastern Africa Series, 37)

Gives voice to the conscripts who are forced to serve indefinitely without remuneration under the ENS in a powerful critical survey of its effect from the Liberation Struggle to today. The Eritrean National Service (ENS) lies at the core of the post-independence state, not only supplying its military, but affecting every aspect of the country's economy, its social services, its public sector and its politics. Over half the workforce are forcibly enrolled into it by the government, driving the country's youth to escape national service by seeking employment and asylum elsewhere. Yet how did the ENS, which began during the 1961-91 liberation struggle as part of the idea of the "common good" - in which individual interests were sacrificed in pursuit of the grand scheme of independence and the country's development - degenerate into forced labour and a modern form ofslavery? And why, when Eritrea no longer faces existential threat, does the government continue to demand such service from its citizens? This book provides for the first time an in-depth and critical scrutiny of the ENS'sachievements and failures and its overarching impact on the social fabric of Eritrea. The author discusses the historical backdrop to the ENS and the rationales underlying it; its goals and objectives; its transformative effects,as well as its impact on the country's defence capability, national unity, national identity construction and nation-building. He also analyses the extent to which the national service functions as an effective mechanism of transmitting the core values of the liberation struggle to the conscripts and through them to the rest of country's population. Finally, the book assesses whether the core aims and objectives of the ENS proclaimed by various governmentshave been or are in the process of being accomplished and, drawing on the testimony of the hitherto voiceless conscripts themselves, its impact on their lives and livelihoods. GAIM KIBREAB is Professor of Research andDirector of Refugee Studies, School of Law and Social Science, London South Bank University. He is the author of Eritrea: A Dream Deferred (James Currey, 2009) and People on the Edge in the Horn (James Currey, 1996). Frontcover Contents List of Figures and Tables Foreword by Professor Christopher Clapham Acknowledgements List of Acronyms & Abbreviations 1 Introduction The Goals of the Eritrean National Service: Origins and Rationale/s Outline of the Structure of the Book Methodological Procedures of Data-Gathering The ENS: A Synopsis The Common Good and the ENS The Rationales of the ENS The Magnitude of the ENS 2 National/Military Service in Africa: Theories and Concepts National/Military Service: The Highest Good and Fountain of Virtue War, Solidarity and Social Capital Compulsory Military/National Service: The Antithesis of a Free Society The Institution of National/Military Service in Africa 3 The Government and the Structure of the Eritrean Defence Force National Service and Preparation for War National Service and the Border War The Narratives of Conscripts 4 The Nature of the Eritrean National Service and its Effectiveness as a Fighting Force Indefinite Nature of Service Coercion, Indefinite Service and Flight Propensity Indefinite Service without Remuneration Mismanagement The ENS: Mechanism of Enrichment The Impact of the Conflicts between Yikealo and the Warsai on Defence Capability 5 The Eritrean National Service as a Mechanism of Preserving and Transmitting the Core Values of the Liberation Struggle Conscription as a Vehicle of Homogenisation and National Integration Political Socialisation as Opposed to Political Education The ENS as a Mechanism of Transmission and Preservation of Core Values: Deserters’ Narratives Vices Learned in the ENS and the WYDC 6 The Eritrean National Service: A Vehicle for National Unity and Cohesion National Service: A Form of Mass Mobilisation against Imagined Foreign Threat The ENS: Instrument of National Integration The ENS: Mechanism of National Unity and Cohesion: Respondents’ and Informants’ Perceptions Dissenting Opinions 7 The Eritrean National Service and Forced Equality Respondents’ Perceptions as to whether the ENS Ensured Equality among Conscripts Equality, Religion and Women’s Participation in the ENS The ENS, Wealth, Class and Corruption From Badge of Honour to Unbearable Burden 8 The Overarching Impact of the Eritrean National Service on the Social Fabric of Eritrean Society The Impact of the ENS on the Country Sexual Violence Militarisation and Securitisation of Education The Plight of Deserters and Draft Evaders Mistreatment of Eritrean Asylum-Seekers in Israel and Remittance Asylum and the Eritrean Diaspora 9 Impact of the Open-Ended Eritrean National Service on Families and Conscripts Dissenting Minority Voices 10 Conclusion The Building of Eritrea’s Defence and Fighting Capability Preservation and Transmission of the Core Values of the Liberation Struggle Fostering National Unity Promotion of Equality Overarching Impact on the Social Fabric of the Polity Postscript: The UK Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) Country Guidance on Eritrea References Index The Eritrean National Service (ENS) lies at the core of the post-independence state, not only supplying its military, but affecting every aspect of the country's economy, its social services, its public sector and its politics. Over half the workforce are forcibly enrolled into it by the government, driving the country's youth to escape national service by seeking employment and asylum elsewhere. Yet how did the ENS, which began during the 1961-91 liberation struggle as part of the idea of the "common good" - in which individual interests were sacrificed in pursuit of the grand scheme of independence and the country's development - degenerate into forced labour and a modern form of slavery? And why, when Eritrea no longer faces existential threat, does the government continue to demand such service from its citizens? This book provides for the first time an in-depth and critical scrutiny of the ENS's achievements and failures and its overarching impact on the social fabric of Eritrea. The author discusses the historical backdrop to the ENS and the rationales underlying it; its goals and objectives; its transformative effects, as well as its impact on the country's defence capability, national unity, national identity construction and nation-building. He also analyses the extent to which the national service functions as an effective mechanism of transmitting the core values of the liberation struggle to the conscripts and through them to the rest of country's population. Finally, the book assesses whether the core aims and objectives of the ENS proclaimed by various governments have been or are in the process of being accomplished and, drawing on the testimony of the hitherto voiceless conscripts themselves, its impact on their lives and livelihoods. GAIM KIBREAB is Professor of Research and Director of Refugee Studies, School of Law and Social Science, London South Bank University. He is the author of Eritrea: A Dream Deferred (James Currey, 2009) and People on the Edge in the Horn (James Currey, 1996)