How to greet

1. How to greet | Introduction to a spiritual perspective on greetings

All over the world, regardless of race or culture, people greet one another. The purpose of a greeting can vary and the reasons behind it generally include:

• Showing attention to and acknowledgement of  the other person’s presence
  
• Intentionally making one’s presence known formally or informally
  
• Suggesting the closeness and type of relationship between people or groups
  

However, customs underlying greetings are highly specific to culture and situation and may change depending on social status and relationship. Greetings can be expressed silently, audibly or physically, and often involve a combination of them. At the Spiritual Science Research Foundation, we undertook spiritual research into the types of common greetings to understand their impact on us at a spiritual level. At a broader level, we have also conducted spiritual research using biofeedback machines to understand the changes that occur to the chakras of a person when greetings are exchanged. This is particularly while

• being in the company of certain people or
  
• when making eye contact on meeting and greeting them or
  
• while making physical contact when conversing with or
  
• reaching out and touching another person as in hugging, depending on their individual spiritual state. (‘Spiritual state’ has been defined  later on  in this article.)
  

2. Background information

Before we share the findings of our research, it would be pertinent to refer to a few spiritual concepts that we have discussed in detail in other articles. All of us differ in our spiritual capacities or spiritual levels. Accordingly, depending on whether our spiritual level is higher or lower, we become either less or more prone to attacks by negative energies from the spiritual dimension. As a result, our spiritual states may differ. By ‘spiritual state’, we mean whether a person has been taken over by an entity (demonic possession) or not. A person at a lower spiritual level becomes highly prone to being affected, if not possessed, by negative energies or departed ancestors.  Our spiritual research indicates that in current times, approximately one third of the world's population are possessed by negative energies. We have gone into considerable detail explaining this phenomenon in our section on Ghosts (demons, devils, negative energies, etc.).

2.1 Transmission of black energy

People who are possessed or badly affected by negative energies are covered with black energy. This black energy affects not only them but other people in their vicinity as well. People who have the subtle-ability of sixth sense can pick up on this black energy by perceiving the spiritually negative vibrations. People who have a sixth sense of vision can actually see the black energy emanating from a possessed person or a person affected by negative energies.

Depending on the strength of the possessing entity, the black energy covering around a person can extend out to a considerable distance. Needless to say, people in the vicinity of the affected person are at an increased risk of being affected when they actually come into physical contact with the person.

Black energy is more easily transmitted through directly looking into a possessed person's eyes, by touch, consuming food that the person has cooked, etc. Almost everyone at some stage in their lives will have some level of black covering either from being affected or possessed by negative energies or by departed ancestors.

Black energy is Tama-predominant and instigates many impediments in a person's life, which include various problems in life and obstacles in spiritual growth. Please refer to the article on Sattva, Raja and Tama - the three subtle-components of the Universe.

A black energy covering can be minimised by spiritual practice or some spiritual healing methods.  Regular spiritual practice, however, is the most reliable way to reduce the covering of black energy.

3. How to greet | Spiritual research into various greetings

3.1 Factors affecting the spiritual efficacy of a greeting

The main factors in deciding the more spiritually appropriate greeting is based on the spiritual vibrations generated, and the level of contact between the two people.

• Greetings that are more likely to generate Raja-Tama vibrations are considered spiritually harmful to us. We have elaborated on this in section 3.3.
  
• Greetings that are less likely to generate Raja-Tama vibrations and are more likely to attract sāttvik vibrations are spiritually beneficial to us.
  
• Greetings that involve physical contact increase the risk of a flow of subtle-energies between two people. As most people do not do regular spiritual practice, they are more prone to be affected by negative energies and black energy, and hence can affect others too.
• Greetings that are delivered with sattvik thoughts such as genuine love, affection and goodwill towards the other person increase the spiritual positivity of a greeting. However, these are at a psychological level. When the thoughts are at a spiritual level, such as “May this person progress spiritually” or “I am paying obeisance to the soul (ātmā) within you”, then the spiritual positivity of a greeting increases manifold.

3.2 The effects of greetings given by specific people

People in society can be affected by negative energy to varying degrees. For purposes of our study, they have been categorised as follows:

1. Possessed person: The person’s consciousness is controlled by negative energies.
   
2. Affected person: The person is affected to some extent by negative energies however the negative energy does not have control over the person’s mind and intellect. The average person falls under this category.
3. Positive person: The person is spiritually positive and is not affected by negative energies. This is generally quite rare in today’s world. In almost all cases, this person would be doing regular spiritual practice and will be above the 60% spiritual level.
4. Saint: A person above the 70% spiritual level. This is extremely rare in today’s world.
   

When the above types of people greet each other or interact with each other various subtle-energy flows are generated. Depending on the type of people who are greeting each other and by what method, the energy transfer will differ.

For example:

• Possessed with Affected: If a person possessed by negative energies hugs a person who is affected by negative energies, there is a strong likelihood of negative energy transfer from the possessed person to the person affected.
• Possessed with Positive: If a person, possessed by a lower level negative energy, shakes hands with a positive person of the 60% spiritual level, then there could be a healing effect on the person possessed.
  
• Saint with Affected: If a Saint wishes an average affected person well, a healing effect will be experienced by the affected person.
  

In almost all cases, people cannot perceive this energy exchange as they do not have the subtle-ability or sixth sense to perceive it. However, you may have experienced a feeling of being drained whilst in another person’s company or after shaking a person’s hand. This is an indication of one being negatively affected by another person.

3.3 How to greet | Types of greetings covered through spiritual research

Whenever we communicate with or greet another person, we are at risk of being affected by the subtle-energies associated with that person. The table below gives an overview of the types of greetings we have conducted spiritual research into.

Type of greeting1	Spiritual risk2	Spiritual benefit3
Namastē	Least	High
Bow	Less – medium	Less
Handshake	Medium	None
Hug	Medium to high	None
Kiss	High	None

How to apply Scholarship

The Three Things You Need to Check Before Applying to a Scholarship

September 2nd, 2013

8

Nobody likes to waste time, right? You want your efforts to be repaid and you must remember this mantra when you are searching and applying for a grant. Too many students make the mistake of going head first and applying for all the scholarships that they can get their hands on without even taking a look to see if they are worthy of their time of not. So, here are the three things you need to look for when applying for a scholarship.
Number one is to research the Institution that offers the grant. Is it legal and trustworthy? You can check it on search engines or go deeper than that, but make sure that you will be working with the right people.
Number two is checking what the grant is all about and if you like it. It is very important to like the subject and to be into the field that they are offering a grant or a scholarship for. There is no point in studying chemistry if you absolutely hate it only because there is a scholarship on that subject. Do not do that.
And the third and most important thing is to check the eligibility criteria. There is a lot of documentation to be done for each scholarship and if you don`t check if you are eligible you might work for nothing. Go through the conditions and see if you have the right nationality or residence. Make sure you have the financial need that they are looking for and please check if you GPA is high enough to get that scholarship or grant. Check if you have the motivation to study for that course that you might be taking and see if you have the adequate college preparatory work. These are not the only conditions you have to fulfill and you only get the full list if you look for it.
All this work, small work, will save you a lot of time and effort in the future so make sure that you do it. In getting a grant preparation it is as important or even more important than actually applying. Focus your effort on grants that you really want.

Mandelan BEST speech , Author : Nelson Mandela

Author : Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela`s speech to the Free Ethiopian Church of Southern Africa

14 December 1992, Potchefstroom
The President-General of the free Ethiopian Church of Southern Africa, the Reverend W.S. Ndaba,
All officials of the free Ethiopian Church,
Delegates,
Comrades and friends,
I am greatly honoured by your invitation to me to share in the centenary celebration of the free Ethiopian Church of Southern Africa.
Mr. President, the centenary of the Ethiopian Church should have been celebrated throughout the length and the breadth of our country because it touches all the African people irrespective of their denomination or political outlook. The free Ethiopian Church of Southern Africa is the only surviving institution that is in the hands of the African people. This is a remarkable feature for which we have to give credit to the leaders of this church throughout the difficult years of final dispossession of our people. Indeed our people were not dispossessed of their land and cattle but also of their pride, their dignity and their institutions. In celebrating this century you have, my brothers and sisters, disproved the lie that the African people cannot run their own institutions.
The links between the Ethiopian Church and the ANC and the struggle for national liberation in general go back to the 1870`s when the products of Missionary education observed and recorded that, as they put it, colonialism is a one-teated cow that only feeds the whites. They soon made a very incisive observation that the son of the missionaries were now filling the various magistracies that were arising as a result of the rapid African land dispossession from the 1880s onwards.
The role that the missionaries played in the accelerated African dispossession of the late 19th century called for a response from the African people in general and African religious leaders in particular. The response took a political form on the one hand and a theological form on the other. On the political front various provincial African political associations and newspapers mushroomed in the last thirty years of the nineteenth century. On the theological front African clergymen sought to free themselves from the fetters of white missionaries by establishing African Independent Churches. One of the most celebrated breakaways was that of Nehemiah tile who founded the Tembu Church in the Transkei in 1884.
The process of founding African Independent Churches, though covering all parts of South Africa by the late 1880s, could be described as a movement until the Ethiopian Movement came into being and increased the anxiety of the various colonial governments in South Africa. The Ethiopian Movement was, Mr. President, more than a religious Movement. Though its fundamental basis was the African interpretation of the scripture it went well beyond the churches it had helped produce.
Fundamental tenets of the Ethiopian Movement were self-worth, self- reliance and freedom. These tenets drew the advocates of Ethiopianism, like a magnet, to the growing political movement. That political movement was to culminate in the formation of the ANC in 1912. It is in this sense that the ANC we trace the seeds of the formation of our organisation to the Ethiopian Movement of the 1890s.

Nelson Mandela In Ethiopia

Nelson Mandela’s pistol given by Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie found?

Mandela’s Ethiopian Passport under the name David Motsamayi given to him by His Majesty in 1962 .This African solidarity is null today.Is there any African country that does this or help fleeing Ethiopian youth?One interesting thing in the above passport is the profession of Madeba;the Amharic above says Journalist.Madeba the gazetegna!

Complied By Ankober

6/02/2011

“In 1962, Mr. Nelson Mandela secretly travelled to Ethiopia for military, political and spiritual training. Haile Selassie’s Ethiopian army, on the orders of Haile Selassie himself first trained and armed Nelson Mandela in his struggle against apartheid South Africa. On the personal orders of his Majesty, the Ethiopian Colonel in charge of Mandela’s military training gave him a gun with which he was to bring down the ignoble and unhappy apartheid regime still thriving at that time in South Africa. Mandela went back to South Africa to continue his struggle. The rest is history.

A search to find a pistol owned by Nelson Mandela said to be the first weapon of the African National Congress’ armed resistance to apartheid rule and given to him while he was in military training in Ethiopia has ended under the house of a South African pop star.
The gun was given to Mr Mandela by an Ethiopian Colonel who gave him military training while he was on the run from South Africa’s white government seeking to prosecute him for his political activities.

When he returned to South Africa, just weeks before he was arrested and jailed for 27 years, he buried it in the grounds of the farm where he was staying.

Now, trustees of Liliesleaf Farm in Johannesburg believe they have established where the Bulgarian-made pistol lies. They are looking at bringing in excavators to search under a house which was built over it and is now inhabited by a local pop star.

The gun has an estimated value of 22 million Rand (£1.8 million). With 92-year-old Mr Mandela’s health fading, the trustees fear it is their last chance to find the weapon in his lifetime.

The Makarov pistol was given to him in 1962, as he toured the world seeking funding and training for Umkhonto we Sizwe, or ‘Spear of the Nation’, the armed wing of the ANC he established to fight apartheid.
In Ethiopia, he received military and political training from Emperor Haile Selassie’s army. When Mr Mandela left Ethiopia, the colonel in charge of his training give him a gun to symbolise his coming struggle – reportedly on the instructions of the Emperor himself.

Allister Sparks, a South African journalist who is a friend of Mr Mandela’s, said the gift had meant a great deal to the freedom fighter, who went on to become South Africa’s first black president in 1994.
“It was essentially ceremonial, but, to my knowledge, that may have been Umkhonto we Sizwe’s first weapon,” he said.
In late July 1962, perhaps mindful that his days of freedom were numbered, Mr Mandela wrapped the Makarov pistol in foil and an army uniform and buried it under a tin plate along with 200 rounds of ammunition in a 1.5-metre deep pit.
During his subsequent 27-year stay in jail, other properties were built in the grounds, including one on top of the suspected gun burial site.
After Mr Mandela had been released, he visited Liliesleaf in 2003 and pointed out to Nicholas Wolpe, the son of a former ANC activist and chief executive of the Liliesleaf Trust, where he believed the gun was hidden, telling him: “I hope you find it”.
Mr Wolpe says he is confident that the weapon is underneath a house adjoining the farm, 5 George Avenue, which is owned by 77-year-old pensioner Al Leenstra and inhabited by a pop singer called JMaxx.
Mr Leenstra has said he would be willing to sell the house for it to be demolished but Mr Wolpe is hoping it may not be necessary. The trust is looking into bringing in a team which normally works in war zones, using dogs which can scent ammunition.
Mr Wolpe said he believed the gun had “real personal significance” for Mr Mandela, and has made it his personal mission to find it.
“The final excavation and showcasing of this pistol is awaited by many. African nations of toady ought to learn from this historic pistol and its linked legacy.Africans should stand in solidarity – help one another-fight foreign dividers -remove jealousy- help fleeing African brothers and sisters.” Ankober recaps.

Nelson Mandela In Ethiopia: A Peacemaker's Beginnings As Guerrilla Fighter

Nelson Mandela with Gen. Tadesse Beru (Left). In 1962, Mandela was issued an Ethiopian passport under the name David Motsamayi, which he used on his tour of several African countries

Nelson Mandela In Ethiopia: A Peacemaker's Beginnings As Guerrilla Fighter

By Jacey Fortin

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia -- Flags are flying at half-staff outside the African Union headquarters on Friday in honor of Nelson Mandela, whose death Thursday has the entire continent, and the world, in mourning. The activist, politician, scholar, husband, father and Nobel Peace Prize laureate fought against apartheid, a system of formalized segregation that saw black South Africans treated as third-class citizens, and helped to heal a fractured nation in the aftermath of minority rule.
“Nelson Mandela will be remembered as a symbol for wisdom, for the ability to change and the power of reconciliation,” AU Deputy Chairman Erasmus Mwencha told reporters here in Ethiopia's capital city on Friday morning. “His life and legacy is the biggest lesson, motivation, inspiration and commitment any African can give to Africa.”

Mandela death--The icon of the nation

Mandela death: Scores of world leaders to head to S Africa

Will Ross reports on the mood of reconciliation at churches in Soweto

Continue reading the main story

Mandela dies

• Daughter recalls final hours
• Celebrations, not mourning
• Ban made legend
• Reaction

Some 60 heads of state or government have announced they will take part in the memorial service or state funeral of Nelson Mandela, South Africa says.

US President Barack Obama, Francois Hollande of France and UK PM David Cameron will be among those attending Tuesday's memorial at a Soweto stadium.
South Africa's first black president died on Thursday and the nation has held a day of prayer and reflection.
Mourners in their millions visited places of worship and community halls.
At Soweto's Regina Mundi Catholic Church, a centre of the anti-apartheid struggle, the priest Sebastian Roussouw said the late leader had been "a light in the darkness".
"Madiba did not doubt the light. He paved the way for a better future, but he cannot do it alone," he said, referring to Mr Mandela by his clan name.

Continue reading the main story

At the scene

Joseph Winter BBC News, Soweto

Bishop Mosa Sono summed up the mood in this extremely religious nation when he told thousands of worshippers at the Grace Bible Church in Soweto: "Thank God for Madiba."
An image of Nelson Mandela's face was displayed on the screen, while his famous "I'm prepared to die" speech was played to the congregation, so numerous that plastic chairs had been set up outside the main hall to accommodate them.
"We are celebrating his life, not mourning his passing," said Tebeho Mahlope, 34. "He was old, he needed to rest, he has done what he needed to do," said Pamela Mpanza, 29.
The nearby Regina Mundi Catholic Church in Soweto, known as "the people's church", was used by anti-apartheid campaigners as a secure venue to plan their outlawed activities after Mr Mandela was arrested.
Here too, the priest spoke of the light and hope the "Father of the Nation" had brought to South Africa and the world.

• 'Thank God for 'Madiba'

Mr Mandela's ex-wife, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, was among the congregation at the Bryanston Methodist church in Johannesburg, where President Jacob Zuma urged South Africans not to forget the values he had stood for.

In Cape Town, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba said Mr Mandela was a powerful and continuing reminder that individuals have the power to make change happen in the world.
Over the next eight days, a series of events will commemorate the man who steered their country out of white-minority rule.
From Bono to Ban Ki-moon International leaders, global figures and celebrities will join 95,000 ordinary South Africans at the memorial service at FNB stadium in Soweto, where Nelson Mandela made his final major public appearance during the 2010 football World Cup.
The event is likely to be one of the biggest such gatherings of international dignitaries in recent years. The government said 59 leaders had so far confirmed they would be attending: an indication of the special place Mr Mandela held in people's hearts across the world, officials say.
Among those on the list are UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, German President Joachim Gauck, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, Dutch King Willem-Alexander and Crown Prince Felipe of Spain.

President Zuma paid tribute to Nelson Mandela: "He believed in caring and he cared for our nation"

Three former US presidents, George W Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, will join President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and India's Pranab Mukherjee will also be there. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has not yet confirmed whether he will travel.
Leading celebrities in the anti-apartheid movement Peter Gabriel and Bono are also expected to attend as are former international leaders such as Marti Ahtisaari who, along with Mr Mandela, were part of a group known as The Elders, promoting peace and human rights.
Mr Mandela's body will lie in state in Pretoria on the following three days and he will be given a state funeral on Sunday, 15 December.
A smaller number of international dignitaries including the Prince of Wales will attend the burial in the Eastern Cape village of Qunu, where the late president grew up.
While Tuesday's memorial service will clearly be a big organisational challenge, the state funeral will be a greater logistical one because of its rural remoteness, BBC correspondent Mike Woodridge reports.

Worshippers crowded into churches, mosques, synagogues and temples to celebrate Nelson Mandela's life

Nelson Mandela's ex-wife Winnie Madikizela Mandela attended Mass in Johannesburg

Crowds continued to gather outside Nelson Mandela's home in Houghton

A stage is being built in the village of Qunu for next Sunday's funeral

'Guard of honour' South Africans have been holding vigils since Mr Mandela died at home at the age of 95, after several months of ill health.
The focal points for public remembrance have so far been Mr Mandela's house in the Johannesburg suburb of Houghton and his old home in Soweto.
Mourners and well wishers there have lit candles and laid thousands of wreaths of flowers.
Mr Mandela's body will lie in state on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at the heart of the South African government in Pretoria.
His body will be taken each morning from the mortuary to the city hall through the streets of Pretoria. Members of the public have been encouraged to line the route and form a "guard of honour".

Karen Allen in Cape Town: "Many of the congregants... have come together, drawn by what the Dean described as comfort in solidarity"

The family will view the body on Wednesday morning before the public are allowed to file past from 12:00.
The government has also given further details of the state funeral arrangements.

• Tuesday, 10 December is the day for South Africa's official memorial service at the FNB Stadium in Soweto, and will be addressed by President Zuma with tributes from other heads of state
• The memorial service will be shown on big screens at three "overflow" stadiums - Orlando, Dobsonville and Rand
• Between 11-13 December, "selected international visitors and guests" will be able to view Mr Mandela's remains at the Union Buildings in Pretoria.
• The public will be able to view the body from 12:00 to 17:30 on Wednesday and from 08:00 to 17:30 on Thursday and Friday
• His body will be transported on Saturday, 14 December, from Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria to the Eastern Cape, with a procession from the airport at Mthatha to his home village of Qunu where a traditional ceremony will be held.
• A national day of reconciliation will take place on 16 December when a statue of Mr Mandela will be unveiled at the Union Buildings in Pretoria
• Some 90 screens will be set up across the country to show all planned national events

Flags at all official buildings are to remain at half mast throughout the period and books of condolence are being circulated across the country and online for people to post tributes, record memories and express their emotions.

Continue reading the main story

Best of the BBC's archive

• Watch key moments in Nelson Mandela's life
• See Nelson Mandela sworn in as president
• Listen to Nelson Mandela in his own words
• Hear how Mandela's autobiography was smuggled out of prison
• Interview: Mandela's first steps to freedom
• Outlook: Mandela, my friend
• More from BBC World Service

A government statement recalled the former president's own thoughts when asked how he wished to be remembered.

"It would be very egotistical of me to say how I would like to be remembered," Mr Mandela said.
"I'd leave that entirely to South Africans. I would just like a simple stone on which is written, 'Mandela'."
The former South African leader spent 27 years in jail before becoming the country's first black president in 1994.
He served a single term before stepping down in 1999.
Mr Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 along with FW de Klerk, South Africa's last white president.

What is your reaction to Nelson Mandela's death? Did you meet him? What are your memories of him? You can share your views with us using the form below.

Eritrea Poverty Assessment

Eritrea FY96 PA • Read the Full Text (14Mb PDF) Eritrea is located in the northeastern part of Africa. The overall size of the country is 125,000 square kilometers and the population is estimated to be between 3 and 3.5 million, including about a half a million refugees in Sudan. Thirty years of war prior to liberation in 1991 and neglect and deprivation by the Derg regime devastated the country, and decades of lost opportunities for growth have made Eritrea one of the poorest countries in the world, with a per capita income of about $160-$190. Poverty Profile There has not been a full-fledged consumer expenditure survey in Eritrea yet. The income poverty measures presented here are based on a Rapid Appraisal Survey conducted in 1993–94. Because the survey was conducted so soon after the war, when conditions were still unsettled, the results must be considered preliminary. About 50 percent of households in Eritrea were estimated to be poor in 1993–94, i.e., to not have sufficient income or endowments to consume a minimum requirement of 2000 calories per capita per day, plus a few other essential nonfood commodities such as clothing and housing. In that year because of drought, 70-80 percent of the households recieved food aid; without it, 69 percent of the population would have been unable to consume the minimum basket of food and other essential commodities. More than half of the poor live in the rural areas of the highlands, the rest in the rural low lands (about 30 percent) and in the urban areas. Crop cultivation and animal husbandry account for 60 percent of rural incomes although, in the lowlands, livestock income is more important. The rest is obtained from wage, self-employment, and trade. The nonpoor have 3-4 times higher income from crops and livestock: the difference is partly explained by the availability of water and partly by the ownership of cattle, which provide both animal traction on the farms and income from livestock products. On average, the nonpoor rural household owns seven livestock units compared with two units by poor households. The really significant difference between the poor and nonpoor, however, is in income from trade and self-employment. On average, the nonpoor rural household gets eight times as much income from these activities as the poor household does. Therefore, in this predominantly rural country, opportunities for and the ability to participate in trading and service activities appear to make a critical difference. In urban areas, the poor are likely to be concentrated in low-skill occupations that require little capital, mainly in the nonformal sector. Eritrean communities have a higher than usual share of households headed by women — about 45 percent — as a result of many long years of war that killed able-bodied men. The proportion of female-headed households that is poor is not different from that of male-headed households, partly because women have had more secure access to land and other productive assets than is common elsewhere in developing countries. Communities and extended families have also provided support. The war of liberation involved many women actively, increasing their independence and participation in public and community affairs. Income poverty as described above is only one aspect of poverty. Social indicators tell the other part of the story. Eritrea's social indicators are low: life expectancy is about 46 years (compared with the average of 52 years for Sub-Saharan Africa), and infant mortality of 135 per one thousand live births (the average for Sub-Saharan Africa is 93). Furthermore, there are significant regional variations in all social indicators. There is a clear urban bias. In Asmara and Hamasien, the net primary school enrollment rate is over 40 percent, but is between 15 percent and 25 percent in most rural areas. In some parts of the lowlands, it is less than 10 percent. Child mortality is about 100 per thousand births in Asmara but about 300 in Sahil and Denalia. Distance to and lack of facilities are the major determinants of these regional differences. Even in the few years since independence, access to facilities has improved after years of neglect. (Not a single school or health clinic was built during 1976–91.) Gross primary school enrollment increased from 36 percent in 1991 to nearly 50 percent in 1995. The share of children being covered by growth monitoring and nutrition programs increased from 7 percent in 1993 to 24 percent in 1994, and the child immunization rate has increased from from practically zero at independence to 25 percent of children under one year of age. It will take a few years of sustained effort for commonly monitored indicators such as infant and child mortality and life expectancy to reflect improved health status. But a begining has been made. Discrimination in schooling on the basis of gender is generally absent in the cities and in the highlands; overall, the share of girls in primary school in the total is 44 percent. In most parts of the lowlands, overall enrollment rates are too low to indicate whether there is a gender bias or not. However, the rate of repetition is much higher for girls, and the rate of continuation is lower. Because of this, it takes two years longer for girls to graduate from primary school. Girls also do not perform as well on achievement tests: while 80 percent of the boys who appeared for the Grade 7 national examination in 1995 passed, only 56 percent of the girls did. The unsettled conditions created a large number of refugees who lived mainly in refugee camps in Sudan. It is estimated that, even after spontaneous return and the formal repatriation and rehabilitation of 25,000 people, there are still about 400,000 refugees left in Sudan. As much as 25-40 percent of refugee households are female headed and all are quite poor. Development Strategy and Poverty Reduction With the return of peace in 1991, following three decades of war to gain independence, Eritrea has embarked upon the road to development and poverty reduction. In a short period of time, it has made significant progress in restructuring institutions, establishing key elements of a functioning government, eliminating a number of restrictive policies from the colonial period, and expanding investment in human capital. As a result, economic growth averaged eight percent in the last two years after contracting by over one percent per annum during 1985–93. Although, in some ways, Eritrea is still operating in a post-conflict reconstruction phase, it is eager to move ahead to the next phase of development. The goal of poverty reduction is implicit in its development policies and programs that emphasize economic growth and the development of human capital. Because of the small size of the Eritrean economy, significant economic growth and transformation can only take place if Eritrea exploits all opportunities for export of goods and services, both traditional and new, and is open to foreign investment. In this effort, Eritrea can take advantage of its strategic location in the northeastern part of Africa, a long history of sea-trade through the two ports of Masswa and Assab, a past industrial tradition, and the skill, knowledge and wealth of its expatriate community. It should continue to implement and deepen its policies towards a liberal trade regime, the promotion of foreign and domestic investment, and the maintainence of a pragmatic exchange rate policy. It should also rehabilitate critical port and road infrastructure. Many of Eritrea's new exports (fruits and livestock products) could derive from agriculture. Moreover, the fact that 80 percent of the poor in Eritrea live in rural areas and depend on agriculture suggests that increasing agricultural production and productivity will have a widespread impact on poverty. A chronic dependence on food aid is risky. Even in a good agricultural year, about half of Eritrea's food consumption is from food aid. While food self-sufficiency at any cost is not the right objective for Eritrea, to the extent that agricultural production can be efficiently increased, it will make an important contribution to the income and food security of the poor. The data base of Eritrean agriculture is, at this time, limited. However, it is estimated that there are significantly large tracts of sparsely populated land available for rainfed development in the southwest lowlands. Private development of these lands through granting of leases is probably the best option for increasing agricultural production in the short to medium term. However, it will be neccessary to plan this expansion carefully since these lands are grazing grounds for animals owned by pastoralists and agro-pastoralists and the rivers provide water for their animals as well. A comprehensive land capability and land use plan is neccessary. Water is not plentiful in Eritrea although a full assessment can only be made after the Water Resources Study currently ongoing is completed. The expansion of small irrigation microdams and wells, the testing of improved crop varieties, and the selective introduction of fertilizer where rainfall patterns justify its application, are the other elements of an agricultural strategy. Since livestock generate considerable income and serve to cushion the impact of a drought, the foremost objective of a livestock policy should be to protect the national herd from major epidemics. Beyond this, developmental strategy has to be differentiated according to agroecological zones: provision of water points and market information, introduction of forage in farming systems and development of dairying around market towns are options that deserve careful study and experimentation. Social Sector Strategies The average attendance at health facilities — less than one visit per person per year — is low, even compared with the average of 1.5-2 visits per person per year for Sub-Saharan Africa. Public spending on health is less than two dollars per person, compared with nearly five dollars on average in Sub-Saharan Africa. The main health problems faced by Eritreans are amenable to primary health care interventions — the top five diseases in terms of life-years lost being perinatal and maternal diseases, diarrhea, respiratory infections, tuberculosis, and malaria. In addition, the prevalence of HIV infection is higher than thought earlier, presently occurring mainly in the urban centers. The strategy for improving the health status of Eritreans must, therefore, concentrate heavily on improving access, particularly in the rural areas and the lowlands, and on increasing public spending to provide quality care that people will demand. The government has rightly adopted primary health care as the main objective, and the number of facilities and coverage of programs have increased rapidly. It has also instituted a schedule of user charges (with exemptions for those in need of them), collections from which should complement the health ministry's resources. But analysis indicates that many important primary health programs, such as malaria and HIV prevention, are inadequately funded. At the same time, public spending on hospitals is higher than justified by the rate of utilization of these facilities for in-patient care. Adequate funding of primary health programs should be assured, and any expansion of hospitals should be minimal, based on cost-benefit analysis and designed to sustain basic health services. As in the case of basic health, the problem facing basic education is primarily a lack of access, particularly in the rural and lowland areas. The rehabilitation and building of new schools (which the government has already begun), flexibility regarding the size, location, and capacity of schools, and the provision of adequate recurrent expenditures for teachers, books, and teaching materials are all important for ensuring a good-quality basic education for all children. A second priority is the provision of secondary and technical education. Because of fewer social benefits, there is more scope for cost recovery at these higher levels of education, a principle that the government has accepted. The shortage of technical skills is evident in both the public and private sectors. The experience worldwide is that vocational training institutions in the public sector are generally ineffective in gauging labor market needs and responding to changes quickly. But Eritrea's special conditions after three decades of war, during which little skill could be accumulated and where the private sector is in a nascent stage, may require some innovative approaches. Therefore, in the first instance, it may be necessary for the government to invest in a few new vocational centers and, at the same time, test other approaches that involve the private sector so that a more appropriate strategy can be developed in the medium term. Special Issues The government's strategy for the distribution of food aid has recently undergone a change in the right direction. Recognizing the disincentive effects that free food aid was having on incentives to produce and to work, it has decided to monetize food aid and use the proceeds to provide cash assistance to those who are truly in need and cannot work. Many implementational details of the monetization program are still evolving, but it is important to focus attention on a few critical parameters. First, the price at which the food is monetized and sold to consumers should cover the (notional) cost of imports, as well as the costs of transportation and handling, i.e., on average, it should be close to the import parity price. Otherwise, monetized food will have a similar disincentive effect as free food aid. Second, large-scale trading activities by a parastatal should be avoided; it has been the experience of other countries in the region that such activities are financially costly and that costs are rarely fully recovered, resulting in large subsidies from the budget. The reintegration of nearly half a million refugees will be a challenging task. Many have returned spontaneously but, for the most part, are waiting to be repatriated. In a pilot phase, the government has rehabilitated 25,000 refugees on nine sites in the southwest lowlands. Based on the lessons learned and the experience gained, the government expects to repatriate the rest of the refugees in the near future. A Land Reform Act was enacted with the purpose of ensuring all Eritreans equal access to land. The new law makes the state the owner of all land and provides lifetime (and inheritable) usufruct rights to all Eritreans over the age of 18. It replaces a variety of complex local systems of land tenure, some of which may have reduced incentives for improvements to increase productivity. The implementation of the new law on a nationwide basis has yet to begin and, at present, the allocation of land for housing in peri-urban areas is the main concern. Because traditional land holding and tenure systems in Eritrea have been relatively equitable, the preoccupation with urban issues may not adversely affect poverty. However, uncertainty regarding the pace of reform may continue to discourage on-farm investment, and the government needs to be aware of this possiblility.

Eritrea At Least 10,000' Political Prisoners

Eritrea Has 'At Least 10,000' Political Prisoners, Reports Amnesty International

Agence France Presse  |  By Posted: 05/09/2013 10:45 am EDT

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Eritrea's hardline regime has jailed at least 10,000 political prisoners, many in "unimaginably atrocious conditions", rights group Amnesty International said in a report Thursday criticising the situation in the Red Sea state.
With political opposition banned, independent media quashed and religious minorities targeted, the ex-rebel government uses a system of underground cells and shipping containers to house the prisoners, the report read.
"The government has systematically used arbitrary arrest and detention without charge to crush all opposition, to silence all dissent, and to punish anyone who refuses to comply with the repressive restrictions it places on people's lives," said Claire Beston, Amnesty's Eritrea researcher.
The report says "at least 10,000" prisoners have "disappeared into secret and incommunicado detention" in the Horn of Africa nation, but warns it is impossible to know the exact figure.
The report was released ahead of Eritrea's celebrations of 20 years of independence on May 24, which followed an overwhelmingly vote by the people to split from arch-foe Ethiopia after years of bitter war.
Eritrean rebels battled far better equipped Ethiopian troops -- backed first by the United States, then the Soviet Union -- for three decades until victory in 1991, which was followed by a referendum two years later.
A subsequent border conflict with Ethiopia from 1998-2000 still simmers, which analysts say Asmara uses as an excuse for its continued iron-rule.

"Twenty years on from the euphoric celebrations of independence, Eritrea is one of the most repressive, secretive and inaccessible countries in the world," Beston added.
Opposition parties are banned and anyone who challenges President Issaias Afeworki is jailed without trial, often in the harshest of conditions.
Reporters Without Borders lists Eritrea below North Korea as the worst country in the world for press freedom.
"In the vast majority of cases, the prisoners' families are not informed of their whereabouts, and often never hear from their relative again after they are arrested," Amnesty added. "Torture -- for punishment, interrogation and coercion -- is widespread."
There was no immediate response from Asmara.