Vol. 20 No. 68 Wednesday, 23 rd of October, 2013 Pages 8, Price 1.50 NFA Mr. Zemede Tekle, the Eritrean Ambassador to Italy, pointed out Inhabitants of different localities in Asmara are conducting popular campaign aimed at preserving environmental hygiene of the city and planting new trees. The inhabitants of the city center in collaboration with the People’s Army have prepared holes for planting flowers and trees, and asserted that they would step up popular participation. Mr. Habtai Tesfazgi, The inhabitants of Melebso said that they would sustain initiative pertaining to the restoration of historical battle trenches in Halhal area where extensive and bitter war engagements took place during the armed struggle for independence. Indicating that the historical site had witnessed enormous damage, they further stated that first phase of its restoration has already been completed in collaboration with members of the People’s Army, while the drawing of the plan to finalize the task has been finalized. Mr. Mohammed-Ali Saleh, Administrator of Melebso area, disclosed that the inhabitants have Farmers in Bada Administrative area, Gelalo sub-zone, are engaged in community undertaking in collaboration with members of the People’s Army with a view to renovating a diversion canal in Ragali and promoting soil and water conservation. The farmers pointed out that the diversion canal was damaged by heavy flooding last year, and that more than 300 meter wall has been constructed through the mobilization of 300 individuals. They further called for machinery support by the regional Administration and the Ministry of that the effort of the Government of Eritrea to bring home the remains of Eritrean nationals who lost their lives in the Lampedusa human trafficking crime continues. In an information the Ambassaror gave through telephone, he indicated that the call made on 9 October by the Government of Eritrea on the Italian government to speed up the corpse identification and bring them to At a meeting she conducted with sub-zonal administrators and heads of branch offices, Ms. Tsegereda Woldegergis, Administrator of the Northern Red Sea region, indicated that developing administration capacity and information system would be given special attention for they have major contribution to make timely decision making. She further explained that efforts would be exerted towards soil and water conservation so as to enrich underground water, and called EFFORT TO BRING HOME THE REMAINS OF ERITREAN NATIONALS FROM THE LAMPEDUSA TRAGIC INCIDENT CONTINUES the nation has received acceptance on 16 October , and that the effort continues. Ambassador Zemede noted that except few that have been carrying documents and information received from relatives, the corpse identification has been challenging and entails scientific approach through DNA test, and that the process would get finalized soon. He further explained that the Italian government has indicated that it would investigate the cause of the accident through its legal procedure, and that the tragedy is not only for the families of the victims but also for the entire Eritrean people. In the information it disseminated, the Eritrean Embassy disclosed that the delay in corpse identification and sending home the remains of the victims of human trafficking crimes has caused deep worry on the part of family members. Administrator of the sub-zone, indicated that the objective of the popular campaign is to preserve environmental hygiene of the city and planting new trees, and that they would enhance the activity. Among the inhabitants, Mr. Binega Mengesha and Ms. Belainesh Tsgai explained the importance of preserving sanitation in ensuring the health of the society, and commended the popular participation of the inhabitants. Lokewise, Mr. Fesehaie Mehari, Ms. Nurelhuda Abdulkaliq and Student Bersabiel Daniel noted the importance of trees in preserving soil on top of enhancing the beauty of the city, and called for reinforcement of participation on the part of the inhabitants. Reports indicate that around 300 students are participating in the popular campaign. POPULAR CAMPAIGN UNDERTAKING IN ASMARA TO PRESERVE THE CITY’S SANITATION AND PLANT NEW TREES on the inhabitants to reinforce participation. Ms. Tsegereda also noted that priority attention would be given to nurturing responsible youth adherence and respect national values, and that its success is the responsibility of every citizen. The participants explained the importance of such meetings in their daily activities, and expressed readiness to reinforce participation for the success of development programs. ADMINISTRATION CAPACITY AND INFORMATION SYSTEM WOULD BE GIVEN DUE ATTENTION: ADMINISTRATOR OF NORTHERN RED SEA REGION been calling for the restoration of the site, and that they demonstrated praiseworthy popular participation and work harmony in the venture. Likewise, Mr. Ibrahim Hamd, Managing director of the Area administration, noted the need of popularizing such sites where exceptional acts of heroic feats were witnessed, in addition to nurturing the awareness thereof among future generations. Among the inhabitants, Mr. Adem Ali Mohammed and Mr. Mohammed Hamd expressed satisfaction with the joint initiative and called for sustained follow-up in this connection. MELEBSO INHABITANTS TO SUSTAIN INITIATIVE REGARDING RESTORATION OF HISTORICAL BATTLE TRENCHES Agriculture. Among the farmers, Mr. Mohammed Ahmed, Mr. Ahmed Osman and Mr. Ismail Ali stated that the level of crop production has shown visible decline following the damaging of the diversion canal. Mr. Yihayish Gebresilasie, head of economic development in Gelalo sub-zone, said that the ongoing community venture is aimed at raising food production and soil and water conservation. Upon effective harnessing of the diversion canal, the area involves a potential for cultivation of more than 1,200 hectares, he added. FARMERS IN BADA ENGAGE IN RENOVATION OF DIVERSION CANAL IN RAGALI
Mr. Zemede Tekle, the Eritrean Ambassador to Italy, pointed out
Inhabitants of different localities in Asmara are conducting popular campaign aimed at preserving environmental hygiene of the city and planting new trees.
The inhabitants of the city center in collaboration with the People’s Army have prepared holes for planting flowers and trees, and asserted that they would step up popular participation.
Mr. Habtai Tesfazgi,
The inhabitants of Melebso said that they would sustain initiative pertaining to the restoration of historical battle trenches in Halhal area where extensive and bitter war engagements took place during the armed struggle for independence.
Indicating that the historical site had witnessed enormous damage, they further stated that first phase of its restoration has already been completed in collaboration with members of the People’s Army, while the drawing of the plan to finalize the task has been finalized.
Mr. Mohammed-Ali Saleh, Administrator of Melebso area, disclosed that the inhabitants have
Farmers in Bada Administrative area, Gelalo sub-zone, are engaged in community undertaking in collaboration with members of the People’s Army with a view to renovating a diversion canal in Ragali and promoting soil and water conservation.
The farmers pointed out that the diversion canal was damaged by heavy flooding last year, and that more than 300 meter wall has been constructed through the mobilization of 300 individuals. They further called for machinery support by the regional Administration and the Ministry of
that the effort of the Government of Eritrea to bring home the remains of Eritrean nationals who lost their lives in the Lampedusa human trafficking crime continues.
In an information the A m b a s s a r o r gave through telephone, he indicated that the call made on 9 October by the Government of Eritrea on the Italian
government to speed up the corpse identification and bring them to
At a meeting she conducted with sub-zonal administrators and heads of branch offices, Ms. Tsegereda Woldegergis, Administrator of the Northern Red Sea region, indicated that developing administration capacity and information system would be given special attention for they have major contribution to make timely decision making.
She further explained that efforts would be exerted towards soil and water conservation so as to enrich underground water, and called
Effort to bring homE thE rEmains of EritrEan nationals from thE
lampEdusa tragic incidEnt continuEsthe nation has received acceptance on 16 October , and that the effort continues.
Ambassador Zemede noted that except few that have been carrying documents and information received from relatives, the corpse identification has been challenging and entails scientific approach through DNA test, and that the process would get finalized soon.
He further explained that the Italian government has indicated that it would investigate the cause of the accident through its legal procedure, and that the tragedy is not only for the families of the victims but also for the entire Eritrean people.
In the information it disseminated, the Eritrean Embassy disclosed that the delay in corpse identification and sending home the remains of the victims of human trafficking crimes has caused deep worry on the part of family members.
Administrator of the sub-zone, indicated that the objective of the popular campaign is to preserve environmental hygiene of the city and planting new trees, and that they would enhance the activity.
Among the inhabitants, Mr. Binega Mengesha and Ms. Belainesh Tsgai explained the importance of preserving sanitation in ensuring the health of the society, and commended the popular
participation of the inhabitants.Lokewise, Mr. Fesehaie Mehari,
Ms. Nurelhuda Abdulkaliq and Student Bersabiel Daniel noted the importance of trees in preserving soil on top of enhancing the beauty of the city, and called for reinforcement of participation on the part of the inhabitants.
Reports indicate that around 300 students are participating in the popular campaign.
popular campaign undErtaking in asmara to prEsErvE thE city’s sanitation and plant nEw trEEs
on the inhabitants to reinforce participation.
Ms. Tsegereda also noted that priority attention would be given to nurturing responsible youth adherence and respect national values, and that its success is the responsibility of every citizen.
The participants explained the importance of such meetings in their daily activities, and expressed readiness to reinforce participation for the success of development programs.
administration capacity and information systEm would bE givEn
duE attEntion: administrator of northErn rEd sEa rEgion
been calling for the restoration of the site, and that they demonstrated praiseworthy popular participation and work harmony in the venture.
Likewise, Mr. Ibrahim Hamd, Managing director of the Area administration, noted the need of popularizing such sites where exceptional acts of heroic feats were witnessed, in addition to nurturing the awareness thereof among future generations.
Among the inhabitants, Mr. Adem Ali Mohammed and Mr. Mohammed Hamd expressed satisfaction with the joint initiative and called for sustained follow-up in this connection.
mElEbso inhabitants to sustain initiativE rEgarding rEstoration
of historical battlE trEnchEs
Agriculture.Among the farmers, Mr.
Mohammed Ahmed, Mr. Ahmed Osman and Mr. Ismail Ali stated that the level of crop production has shown visible decline following the damaging of the diversion canal.
Mr. Yihayish Gebresilasie, head of economic development in Gelalo sub-zone, said that the ongoing community venture is aimed at raising food production and soil and water conservation. Upon effective harnessing of the diversion canal, the area involves a potential for cultivation of more than 1,200 hectares, he added.
farmErs in bada EngagE in rEnovation of divErsion canal in ragali
Eritrea is endowed with a variety of spectacular topographic landscapes. This allows not only three seasons in two hours but also diverse landscapes within a few hours’ distance. This includes the highlands, eastern escarpments, eastern and western lowlands, coastal areas and islands. It is endowed with rivers and river beds and natural harbours. The vibrant landforms offer the most distinctive destination for tourists. It’s natural topography which is composed of volcanic mountains, flat topped hills, wide plateaus, marvelous escarpments, rugged topography, undulating plains, unspoiled and spectacular coasts and pleasing islands provide great potential for tourism industry.
Eritrea’s landscape is naturally decorated with various rock types, fogs and mists and varied climate. It has a breathtaking beauty accommodated by clean, cool fresh air. There are volcanic landforms which include unmodified lava sheets, created lava cones, old dykes and volcanic mountains in different corners of the country. There are also numerous mountain features which are natural reservoirs of resources as they are made of rocks of several mineral deposits. Eritrea’s mountains provide ample opportunity for hiking, photographic tourism and landscape appreciation. In addition, they are very good grounds for sport-based tourism like mountain athletics and biking. Furthermore, they are prominently mentioned for their historical importance during the armed struggle for independence.
One of Eritrea’s natural attraction, the Eastern Escarpment, is found to the east of the central plateau, eastern highlands
and upper Anseba highlands. The eastern escarpment is characterized by two rainy seasons and is thus inhabited by the Green Belt whose scenery is stunningly beautiful. It is ever-green and provides excellent scenes for bio-diversity based tourism and bird watching. The ever-green tones of the Green Belt vegetation overshadow the earth colors on the steep slope platforms of the eastern escarpments. The play of light and shade on the landscape etches the shapes in relief, enhancing their coloration and making the escarpment landforms look somehow even more grand and monumental.
The other main attraction of Eritrea is its coastal area bordered by flawless and unspoiled beaches. It is defined by the presence of extensive visible corals and shells. Consequently it is a perfect venue for snorkelers. It is endowed with all the essential properties for serenity beautiful holiday destination. Parallel to this are the naturally beautiful and striking group of islands that are dispersed along the Red Sea. The Eritrean islands offer a convenient environment for the scuba diving, snorkeling, yachting, itinerating, and fishing. Thus, the Red Sea remains as “the world’s unspoiled tropical paradise”.
The Danakil Depression is also the other prominent feature of Eritrean landscape wherein the lowest point on earth is found. There are various landform features along the Danakil Depression such as headlands of lava rocks and crater of an extinct volcano.
Eritrea’s terrain features provide a great potential for the tourism sector. It offers plenty of opportunity for appreciative
Landscapes worth appreciationdebre bizen
experiences for tourists due to the fact that it is highly convenient for ecotourism, hiking, bird watching, and wildlife enthusiasm and terrain appreciation.
Landform scenery of Eritrea is, therefore, among the most powerful potential for tourism. The breath-taking mountains and coastal configuration exerts a great fascination for tourists. It creates pleasure and happiness. The magnificent topography provides an atmosphere of peace and tranquility. The landform belongs to its owners but the beauty of landscape belongs to those who behold it and appreciate it.
By: Michael Asefaw Source: Tourism special
edition 2012.
3Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 23th of October, 2013
Age is often believed to be an ad-vantage - a virtue - because people cumulatively acquire a lot of expe-riences over time. Not only we ac-quire a number of life experiences as time passes, but we also broaden and deepen our experiences in life. Hence, we can believe that we can benefit a lot from the relationships we establish with senior people both in the workplace and in the social dimension of our life. The reason is that such people can link you to the things that happened in the past. Besides, experience en-ables a person to improve his or her rationalization skills as a result of the advantage to comparatively analyze things from what he or she has stored in the form of a cumula-tive experience.
I have a workmate who is, may be, ten years older than I am. When we discuss something, especially something that is somehow relat-ed to history, since he claims that he has seen things that I was not able to see, he insists that I have to attentively listen to what he has to say even when he gets things wrong. This happens especially when things related to what hap-pened during the Haileselasie colo-nial period in Eritrea are being dis-cussed. Undeniably, he might have observed many things that I could not get the chance to observe. But more than what he may have ob-served have been documented about such things in the form of books and other mechanisms. And people who have effectively and extensively accessed these things are more likely to be more in-formed in such matters. How bad is it to preach without mentally noting whether you will be heeded or not?
I have an educated and seasoned friend who has rich information re-garding many aspects of life; he is an all-rounder. I know how much
I can learn from him. Very unfor-tunately, I get bored whenever I start to converse with him. From my experience with him and some other people who have similar in-clinations, I tend to think that if some individuals assume that they are senior in some respects, very implicitly they stop learning and they tend to be engaged in teach-ing and preaching others. Many of those who are senior or those who simply assume that they are so, in terms of age and experience are less likely to be good listeners, as far as my experience and observa-tions are concerned.
Even in your interaction with some senior people in the work-place in some cases, you face similar problems. Some assume they are there to teach everybody everything from their experience and what they know. Could this because if one has or if one as-sumes that he has stored in their mind enough experience, informa-tion or whatever, they have only to give , and not take? It is very prob-lematic when the people who have such tendencies are of the type of people who are less likely to keep themselves up-to-date. In this case, they preach their limitations, and their teachings, however informal they may be, become far more bor-ing and limiting.
In one of the books that have been written about Osho, there is a story about an extremely rich per-son. The person is rich enough to provide all his relatives and friends with whatever they need. So he used to give everybody what he or she needs. Unfortunately, the rich person was not happy about his re-lationships with such people whom he used to support enormously. He was so furious when he observed that the people he supported a lot were not grateful for his consider-able benevolence. For this reason,
he went to Osho for consultation. He told Osho what he did and that he was not that appreciated for what he did. Then Osho told him that it is very natural for the people whom he supported to be ungrate-ful. Osho’s reasoning is that it is very inherent in humans that they
Sharing Experience
become happy in their relation-ships when it enables them to give and receive. So he advised the rich person to enable them to exercise giving and receiving – in their re-lationships with him they should not be limited to receiving only. In other words, Osho advised him
to enable them to give. To heal his relationships with them, he had to learn to ask some favors from them so that all can be happy in their re-lationships. Man’s natural endow-ment is to give and receive. Unfor-tunately, the rich person disabled one of their endowments.
Aron Hidru
InspirationToday’s inspiration is taken from Richard Koch’s book (2004, pp. 47-49). The title of the book is: Living the
80/20 Way: Work Less, Worry Less, Succeed More, Enjoy More. In view, It is really a nice book. When he was 12, Steven Spielberg decided to be a movie director. Five years later he visited Universal Stu-
dios. He ducked out of the standard tour to find a real movie being made. The 17-year old buttonholed the head of Universal’s editorial department to tell him about the films he was going to make.
Next day, Spielberg dressed in a suit, loaded his dad’s briefcase with tow candy bars and a sandwich, and marched boldly through the gate into Universal Studios. He commandeered a deserted trailer, writing “Steven Spielberg, Director” on the door. He became a fixture on the lot, mixing with directors, producers, writers, and editors, sucking in ideas, observing how real directors behaved.
At the age of 20, Spielberg showed Universal a small movie he’d made and won a seven-year contract to direct a television series. Later, of course, he made a string of hits, including ET, one of the highest-grossing movies of all time.
Spielberg was focused. Focus is the secret of all personal power, happiness and success. Focus means doing less; being less. Focus
makes less more. Few people focus, yet focus is easy. Focus expands individuality, the essence of being hu-man.
Who are you? Who do you want to become? Life’s greatest mystery is human character and uniqueness. We craft individuality. Other animals can’t. We
share 98 percent of our genes with chimpanzees, yet the 2 percent variation makes all the difference. We are not totally subject to our genes. In creating stories, ideas, music, science, and popular culture, in think-
ing and communicating, humans do surprising things that our genes wouldn’t. Our destiny lies in becoming individuals – creating and fulfilling our unique potential. We each evolve dif-
ferently and unpredictably.Individuality implies differentiation. Becoming different requires editing, subtraction, focus. We become dis-
similar by focusing on our distinctive and authentic parts. True, we are not blank slates. Our genes determine our appearance and have a big say in many other matters.
As we grow up, our parents and family influence how we behave, think, and think of ourselves. Our teachers, friends, priests, bosses, and mentors mold us. The ideas and norms of our society, and the groups with whom we hang out, strongly sway us.
Yet subtract all these influence and there is something left: the precious and strange called our self, our unique identity and autonomy. However pronounced the pressure on us, we have our own personality. Nobody else on the planet is the same. In a big or small way, we are bound to influence the world, making it different than it would be without us.
We become individuals through subtraction. Less is more. We have the wonderful opportunity to let go of the bits ourselves that are not authentic, not ‘really us’ – the parts imposed by backgrounds, parents, and environ-ment. The authentic self is a small part of our total self. We all have special gifts, unique imaginations, our little bit of genius: the spark of life that is wholly ours.
When we focus our self, we give up doing what many other people do, thinking that what others think. Is this a loss? Of quantity, yes; but not of quality. In quality, less is more. By narrowing our interests, we deepen and intensify them. By focusing on our best, unique attributes, we become more individual, more human. We focus on our power, our singularity and our ability to enjoy life profoundly and uniquely.
Developing individuality is a conscious process. It involves deciding who you are and who you are not; who you want to become and who you do not want to become. We become more distinctive and individuals through deliberate decisions and actions, honing, and increasing what is different and best about us.
4Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 23th of October, 2013
THE STATE OF ERITREA EUROPEAN DEVELOPMENT MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE FUND
Procurement – NoticePROJECT: Support to the Agricultural Sector/ Food Security in Eritrea
Contract Title - Procurement of Veterinary Drugs, Vaccines, Laboratory Equipment & Consumables
Publication Reference: EuropeAid/134976/D/SUP/ER
The Ministry of Agriculture intends to award a supply contract for Procurement of Veterinary Drugs, Vaccines, Laboratory Equipment & Consumables in Asmara, Eritrea with financial assistance from the European Development Fund (EDF). The tender dossier is available from:
Ministry of Agriculture, Sawa Street Planning and Statistics Division,Gejeret, Sawa Street P.O.Box1048
and will also be published on the Europe Aid website: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.welcome. The deadline for submission of tenders is December 23rd, 2013 18:00 PM.Possible additional information or clarifications/questions shall be published on the Europe Aid website: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/europeaid/online-services/index.cfm?do=publi.welcome and published in the Eritrean news papers: Haddas Eritrea and Eritrean Profile
The insatiable quest for commodities and the increasing prices of most of these commodities has drawn more miners into the continent. So, mining companies should explore new market-friendly partnerships with Africa to clean up the industry. African governments and miners are bound by common interest. Miners must conform to the reforms that host countries have the right to increase governments’ takings and to make the sector more beneficial to their citizens. In return, governments must guarantee sustainable environment for the industry
by providing all the necessary things like a stable regulatory environment, infrastructure and human capital investment.
Over all, the market should encourage these efforts by Africa to ensure that Africa’s window of opportunity to use its mineral wealth to build sustainable development is not missed again. However, although it is a timely action, resource nationalism by it self is not enough to make the most out of the huge resources Africa reserve. There are indeed many factors that are equally, if not more, important to consider. African countries need to build a responsible government that is free from the cancerous corruption and direct the resource to bring
about a meaningful change in the people’s lives. Mismanagement of resources should also be addressed so that there will be effective and efficient investment on projects of utmost importance to the people. If used prudently, the resources can also render a huge opportunity for government to show social justice that will ultimately contribute significantly to the nation building process which many African countries seem to be lagging behind.
Africa has tried the other side; and now it is about time we have nationalist governments with national design. Whether this wind of resource nationalism will live up to this expectation is a test left for time to answer.
Resources . . . Resources . . . Continued From Page 6
5Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 23th of October, 2013
Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung is proud to welcome Daniel Teklehaimanot and Merhawi Kudus for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Teklehaimanot joins after spending two years on WorldTour team Orica-GreenEdge while Kudus will turn professional with the African outfit.
Hailing from Eritrea, a country fast becoming one of the strongest cycling nations, both men have already proved their worth, racing in Europe. 19 year old, Kudus, was discovered through the relationship with the UCI World Cycling Centre and has won four races this season in France, Italy and Eritrea. He also finished second on the general classification of Vuelta Ciclista a Leon. Brian Gouldie, MTN SA Chief Marketing Officer says: “MTN is thrilled at the news of the Eritrean duo of Daniel Teklehaimanot and
Daniel T/Haymanot And Merhawi Kudus Sign To MTn Qubeka
Merhawi Kudus joining Team MTN-Qhubeka p/b Samsung. We believe they will bring a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the team and are convinced that such young, talented and focused riders will contribute greatly to MTN’s commitment to profile and develop cycling on the African commitment.”
“We wish Teklehaimanot and Kudus all the best for the next two seasons with Team MTN-Qhubeka,” Gouldie concluded.
Teklehaimanot is the more experienced of the two riders and last year became the first African rider of colour to complete a grand tour when he took part in the Vuelta a España.
“I’ve chosen this team because it’s an African team from home,” Teklehaimanot said. “I’m very excited and am already thinking about next year and am preparing
for it. I believe in my talent and myself. I was excited with Orica-Greenedge when I could go to a grand tour last year and that’s what I am looking forward to with Team MTN-Qhubeka now too.
“It just made sense to come to this team for Merhawi and I. He is a very strong climber and will do well in this team. I think African cycling is in a good place and the door is open to Europe like Daryl Impey showed everyone this year. There are strong teams out there but Team MTN-Qhubeka is getting stronger and stronger and this is a great project, not only the racing but the Qhubeka project too and I feel good that I can wear the jersey and promote Qhubeka.”
“Daniel will add depth to our lineup as we prepare for our first grand tour while we’ve identified Merhawi as a massive talent for the future,” Team Principal, Douglas
Ryder said. “Merhawi a young rider but has shown maturity and ability beyond his years. African cycling is in a great place with Louis Meintjes finishing second in the under 23 road race at the world championships and Merhawi finishing fifteenth in the same event.
“We’ve brought Daniel on board to give him a leadership position as we believe he’s ability and talent deserves that. We’re investing heavily in all our athletes who are on the team and they’re not here
because of anything else except that we believe in them. The fact that we’ve not lost any of our riders this year and are adding two African and one European to the roster speaks about our environment and belief in the fruits African cycling will bear on the world stage.”
Teklehaimanot and Kudus are the second and third additions to the team following the news of Linus Gerdemann in recent weeks. The makeup of the team as of now will comprise seventeen African and seven European athletes.
6Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 23th of October, 2013
Daniel Semere
Nationalism is a word often misunderstood and used in a derogatory sense. It is usually construed as an isolationist stand and one that cannot coexist in harmony with the modern phenomenon of interactive world. This however is a misleading assertion. If nationalism means having the best interest of one’s nation at heart and before everything, then that doesn’t necessarily go against having a healthy interaction with the rest of the world. In fact it might, in many instances, encourage it when the best interest of the nation could best be served as a result of it. It is therefore, the lack of it that has rather become to constitute one of the fundamental problems facing many countries. And especially in Africa this holds more truth. Hence, the current state of affairs with regard to resource nationalism is the right way to go about a fruitful interaction with the rest of the world. But this again needs a careful scrutiny to ensure the benefit will reach to the grassroots and make a meaningful change in the lives of people.
Africa’s resources have always been the reason for much of the
ills of the continent starting from colonialism to the current ever pervasive problems of corruption, civil war and successive coups. Therefore the people of Africa have been lamenting it. On the other hand the corporations that were in any way engaged in the extraction, processing and/or transportation of this resource have profited immensely. Often times the end products of these resources are sold to the African market many times fold of the price of the raw materials. Moreover price fluctuation of these raw materials has made the economies of African countries volatile. All in all African resources were indeed a curse.
It is no secret that the corporation and countries that were reaping the benefits from African resources constantly try to sustain the status quo. From bribing corrupt officials to inciting civil wars, they have been engaged in numerous instances of destabilization. And now that some African countries seemingly started to take or rather initiate some actions to restructure their deals with these corporations, they have started to toss and roll in their bed. In their attempt to curtail these initiatives, they
Resources Nationalism
have forwarded their accusation dismissing these actions as resource nationalism. As if this is necessarily a bad thing that will hurt the business, they try to give it a negative picture. This move however, once again, shows their double standard as in many global issues.
Resource nationalism is not a new scenario that started in African continent. Australia for example has introduced a 40% mining tax. Canada, beyond establishing a state owned mining company, has also prohibited the taking over of some mining companies by
foreigners because it was deemed disadvantageous to the country’s strategic competitiveness. Some rapidly developing countries like china have also been engaged in hoarding minerals to sustain their rapid progress in the future. This all boils down to the fact that African countries have now started to make a better deal that will benefit their societies therefore, should always have been the case. Because with out it, it will be, as it has always been, nothing more than exploitation.
In most cases the exploitation of these countries was so
flagrant that it has, in some instances, prompted a retroactive punishment. The Niger government has accused Semafo, a company engaged in gold mine, that since this company started its activities, the country has not seen a single franc despite its being a 20 per cent shareholder in the mine. Guinea has also announced sweeping changes to mining code to clean up decades of corruption that left the country with nothing despite its status as the world’s largest supplier of bauxite.
Continued On Page 4
Africa’s traditional mining- abusing the sector
7Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 23th of October, 2013
Meron Abraha
A few years back I was taking French language evening classes in Asmara. One day a girl entered our class and took the seat right in front of me. I barely knew her although I was good friends with her older siblings. But I somehow thought of her as a pompous and obnoxious person just by the way she walked and talked.
“If you only knew what I thought of you! I couldn’t stand your sight let alone talk and socialize with you,” I told her one day, over a month later. Apparently, she had felt the same and had similar assumptions. To this day, we are the best of friends.
For as long as I can remember, I have always been a judgmental person. I know that assuming is technically different from knowing and even though I am familiar with the old adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover’ I’ve, nonetheless, never refrained from drawing conclusions on a particular person, issue or situation.
First impressions may be important but they are not everything. Regardless of your first intuitions of people, knowing them is what actually forms an opinion. The daily interaction, choices you make and personality are more important and can quickly erase the already formed good or bad opinions.
That’s why I don’t agree with the saying “First impression is the last impression.” But I do agree that it’s rather difficult to change it. There is actually a more contemporary version: “First impression is not the last impression but long-lasting impression.” (This I could try to live with.)
First Impressions Last… Not Always
Let’s say your friends introduce you to an acquaintance, your impression of whom is not very favorable. A few days later, you meet that person at a conference and you realize that it’s actually a nice person. Even though you know that that person gave you the wrong impression, the odds are that your new experience will influence your gut response to that person only in that particular context, with your first impression still dominating in all other contexts.
It’s like someone seeing the moon for the first time. That person may
falsely conclude it has a crescent shape because that’s how the moon looked like at that particular moment.
Just the other day, we were talking among friends how one person’s got deceived by a materialist girlfriend. He met her on a taxi only recently
where she paid for his fare after they had gotten into an animated conversation about a certain subject of his interest. It was like love at first sight and he wouldn’t accept
any of his friends’ complaints that she was apparently one of those (sorry to say) freeloaders.
In his eyes, she was the most intellectual and generous woman, and little did he know that by proposing to her he could be doing the most dangerous thing in his life. But as time went by and he began to see her true colors, things that his friends were saying started making sense.
“I never thought she would do something like that,” he said in disbelief after hearing she left for Massawa with her new Diaspora fiancé. But, that feeling of admiration and love he felt the first time, his first impression of her, persists.
Personally, I believe that most of the time the first impression we make is hardly the correct one and it may not give us the right picture of a person’s nature or habits. Follow up interactions could however play a key role in understanding better the individual.
When talking about impressions there are those that we make of people (whether incorrect or accurate) and those that people
make of ourselves. But to begin with, what is impression?
Event tough our looks and appearance is part of our impression, it is not necessarily the only things
that matters. Our impression is our overall personality, which includes the way we carry and express ourselves, our behavior and mannerisms, our communication skills and the way we treat others.
And it takes only a few seconds or even just a glance for a person to make a judgment about us.
Have you ever been told that someone’s first impression of you was wrong? (It doesn’t have to be everything about you but just one major thing).
Me lots of times! And the funny thing is that the part people get wrong about me is always the same thing: overconfidence (pride … or somewhere along those lines).
I know that people make their impressions of you when you least expect it. It could be when you are walking down the street or just passing through a place, where people around you hardly matter to you.
When I asked my friends what I could have possibly done to give onlookers or passersby the wrong impression, they had no idea. But then of course I don’t blame them
because they are my close friends and they know what I’m like. I wouldn’t expect them to be of the same opinion as someone who’s meeting me for the first time.
But if a stranger has this wrong impression of me, (and I know that I’m not what the other person is thinking or assuming about me) then all I can do is just keep being me as the reality will eventually come in the fore figure.
Of course, like what happened with my friend, if this stranger wants to be my friend then he/she is going to have to accept me for who I am, regardless of their first impression. Often, we forget that first impression we had, and make it a joke over time.
Things are not always, what they appear to be and I am of the opinion that we should be slow to judge others. After all, Aesop did warn us that “Appearances often are Deceptive.”
The truth is often hidden from us. The Holy Book also cautions us “not to judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
I don’t think prejudging makes us bad people however; it’s instead our inability to overcome those prejudices. As people, we tend to be more interested in correcting their image than they are in correcting themselves.
In the end, I think it all comes down to one single truth: being comfortable with who you are as a person.
The Greek philosopher Socrates had said it plain and simple: “The shortest and surest way to live with honor in the world is to be in reality what we would appear to be.”
I’ve been pondering for some time now about something. There are quite a handful of people that I will admit I didn’t think highly of but getting to know them and interacting with them has led me to wonder why we as people believe it is our right to judge others. What about you people? Do you judge others by first impressions? And have you ever been told that you give people the wrong first impression? Have your say…
8Eritrea Profile, Wednesday 23th of October, 2013
Libya’s Prime Minister Ali Zeidan has warned against ‘forces’ seeking to hinder development in the country, saying the government faces major difficulties in establishing order.
“There are forces who want to obstruct the construction of the state,” Zeidan told a group of journalists on Sunday, which was the second anniversary of the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.
The Libyan prime minister also stated that the government “is swimming against the current and, in fact, it’s very hard.”
He said “various parties” were to blame for hindering the establishment of an effective military and police force, adding that there are “people who want to hijack the state.”
Zeidan commented on his abduction by militants on October 10, accusing two lawmakers, Mustafa al-Tariki and Muhammed al-Kilani, from the rival GNC party, of involvement in orchestrating the brief kidnapping.
A former rebel group known as the Operations Cell of Revolutionaries claimed responsibility for the abduction.
New research conducted by American researchers indicates that sleep acts like “waste removal system’ in clearing away some toxic proteins in brain.
Researchers suggest that sleep activates brain’s own network of plumbing pipes during which waste material is carried out of the brain, according to the study appeared in the journal Science.
Intensive exercise improves the academic performance of teenagers, according to new research.
The study, of about 5,000 children, found links between exercise and exam success in English, maths and science.
It found an increase in performance for every extra 17 minutes boys exercised, and 12 minutes for girls.
The study by the universities of Strathclyde and Dundee found physical activity particularly benefited girls’ performance at science.
The authors said this could be a chance finding or reflect gender differences in the impact of physical activity on the brain.
Children who carried out regular exercise, not only did better academically at 11 but also at 13 and in their exams at 16, the study suggested.
Most of the teenagers’ exercise levels were found to be well below the recommended 60 minutes a day.
The authors speculated what might happen to academic performance if children got the recommended amount.
They claimed that since every 15 minutes of exercise improved performance by an average of about a quarter of a grade, it was possible children who carried out
The head of the UN body tasked with delivering a global climate treaty broke down in tears at a meeting in London as she spoke about the impact of global warming on coming generations.
Christiana Figueres told the BBC that the lack of an agreement was “condemning future generations before they are even born”.
Ms Figueres said this was “completely unfair and immoral”.
Despite the slow pace of negotiations, she said a deal can be done by 2015.
Costa Rica-born Christiana Figueres has been the Executive Secretary of the United Nations
French President Francois Hol-lande has expressed “deep disap-proval” over claims the US Nation-al Security Agency secretly tapped phone calls in France.
In a phone conversation with US President Barack Obama, he said this was “unacceptable between friends and allies”, demanding an explanation.
The White House said the claims “raise legitimate questions”, seek-ing to ease French concerns.
The NSA has recently spied on 70.3m phone calls in France, it is claimed.
Officials, businesses and terror suspects are believed to have been tracked in just 30 days between 10 December last year and 8 January 2013.
The allegations were carried in France’s Le Monde newspaper and are based on leaks from US ex-intel-ligence analyst Edward Snowden.
John Kerry talked about “protect-ing the security of our citizens”
The claims prompted President Obama to call his French counter-part to discuss the issue on Mon-day.
Mr Hollande said that such prac-tices “infringe on the privacy of French citizens” and demanded “explanations” from Mr Obama, according to a statement issued by French presidency.
A White House statement said the two presidents had discussed the lat-est disclosure, “some of which have distorted our activities and some of which raise legitimate questions for our friends and allies about how these capabilities are employed”.
It said: “President [Obama] made clear that the United States has be-gun to review the way that we gath-er intelligence, so that we properly balance the legitimate security con-cerns of our citizens and allies with the privacy concerns that all people share.”
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington would continue “bilateral consultations” to address the issue, describing France as “one of our oldest allies”.
French President Hollande Berates US Over Spying Claims
The allegations were carried in France’s Le Monde newspaper and
are based on leaks from US ex-intel-ligence analyst Edward Snowden
They say this cleaning system (glymphatic system) has a big role in the fixing of memories in the brain and learning.
The sleep researchers believe that brain’s failing to clean toxins play significant role in its abnormalities.
“The brain only has limited energy at its disposal and it appears that it must choose between two different functional states - awake and aware or asleep and cleaning up,” said study researcher Dr Maiken Nedergaard, a professor of neurosurgery at the University of Rochester.
Brain analysis of mice revealed
60 minutes of exercise every day could improve their academic performance by a full grade - for example, from a C to a B, or a B to an A.
However, the authors admitted this was speculation given that very few children did anywhere near this amount of exercise.
Dr Josie Booth, one of the leaders of the study, from Dundee University said: “Physical activity is more than just important for your physical health.
“There are other benefits and that is something that should be especially important to parents, policy-makers and people involved in education.”
The authors of the study, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, said further research backing the findings could have implications fore public health and education policy.
The study was funded by a grant from the BUPA Foundation to the University of Strathclyde.
The Libyan premier added that Libya has lost nearly five billion dollars from protests and strikes in its major oil hubs.
Since the overthrow of Gaddafi in 2011, the Libyan government has been struggling to tackle the presence of armed militants, who fought against forces loyal to the former regime.
The eastern city of Benghazi was the birthplace of the 2011 uprising in the country. It is largely governed by militias in the absence of unified Libyan security and military forces.
The former rebels refuse to lay down their arms, despite efforts by the central government to impose law and order.
Over the past few months, the capital, Tripoli, and its suburbs have been hit by violent clashes between rival militias who participated in the uprising against Gaddafi.
Those who did the most exercise did better academically according to
the research
that the glymphatic system became 10-times more active when the animals were asleep.
The image of brains demonstrates that cells in the brain, typically the glial cells which keep nerve cells alive, shrink during sleep.
The shrinking increases the size of the gaps between brain tissues and consequently allows more fluid to be pumped in and wash the toxins away.
“There is good data on memory and learning, the psychological reason for sleep. But this finding is the actual physical and chemical reason for sleep, something is happening which is important,” said the independent sleep expert Dr Neil Stanley.
Meanwhile, many of Alzheimer’s researchers are very keen to know whether damage to the brain’s waste clearance system could lead to diseases like dementia.
Some experts believe that the recent findings can be considered a new approach to Alzheimer’s prevention particularly how sleep affects levels of beta amyloid.
Beta amyloid concentrations continue to increase while a person is awake, and then after people go to sleep that concentration of beta amyloid decreases. This report provides a beautiful mechanism by which this may be happening,” explained Alzheimer’s researcher Randall Bateman, professor of neurology Washington University.
Study: Sleep flushes out brain’s toxic proteins
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) for the last three years.
Taking over after the failure of the talks process in Copenhagen in 2009, Ms Figueres has carefully steered the parties forward.
Delegates agreed in Durban in 2011 that a new global deal must
be signed by 2015 and come into force from 2020.
But Ms Figueres’ passionate approach to progress has been tested by the slow, tortuous UN process, where consensus is the only way forward.
“I am always frustrated by the pace of the negotiations, I was born impatient. We are moving way, way too slowly, but we are moving in the right direction and that’s what gives me courage and hope,” she said.
Speaking to the BBC on the sidelines of a climate conference at Chatham House in London, Ms Figueres became tearful when she
reflected on the impact that climate change might have on coming generations.
“I’m committed to climate change because of future generations, it is not about us, right? We’re out of here,” she said.
“I just feel that it is so completely unfair and immoral what we are doing to future generations, we are condemning them before they are even born.”
“We have a choice about it, that’s the point, we have a choice. If it were inevitable then so be it, but we have a choice to change the future we are going to give our children.”
Libya swimming against current: Zeidan
Libyan Prime Minister Ali Zeidan speaks to journalists in Tripoli
UN climate chief’s tears over future generations
Ms Figueres is shown here addressing delegates at the last major meeting of
negotiators at Doha in 2012
Exercise ‘boosts academic performance’ of teenagers
