Africa 24 Media Photography

Lying in the northern tip of the Horn of Africa, bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, Djibouti in the southeast, and by the waters of the red sea to the East, Eritrea is an exciting and wonderful land of high mountains, fertile valleys and windswept plains. Eritrea’s greatest asset though is her determined, capable and proud people. With a population of nearly 5 million people, the nation’s citizens are highly independent, and breathe an air of resilience and togetherness every time the nation is faced with a problem.

They tolerate each other with utmost openness and exude a mutual bond which reflects the heritage of a people. Eritrean people are almost always interested in meeting new people. Sit in a bus, your neighbour would want to initiate a conversation. Walk along the streets, people would always want to know more about you. Its mixed population of Christians and Muslims (the two dominant religions with approximately half of the population belonging to each faith) fought alongside each other for liberation and reflect that fact in the way they intermix and intermingle today. The Muslim-Christian relationship, its closeness and cooperation is a rare scenario in Africa today. Many languages are spoken in the country. However, unlike many African nations where English, French, Portuguese or Swahili are chosen as official languages, there is no official language as such in Eritrea, as the Constitution establishes the "equality of all Eritrean languages." Nevertheless, Tigrinya and Arabic are the two predominant languages for official purposes, while Italian and English are also widely understood. Many of the groups are bilingual, and because of the legacy of Ethiopian domination over Eritrea, many Eritreans also speak Amharic, the Ethiopian executive language. Some of the ethnic groups found in Eritrea include the Afar, Jeberti, Kunama, Nara, Rashaida, Habesha, Hedareb among others. The wealthy cultural diversity that exudes itself only so well under the golden sun in Africa does not spare Eritrea. While a typical Eritrean Tigrigna woman would leave you simply astounded on how beautiful an African woman can be, while the Hedareb woman would leave you entirely nodding at the work of the Creator, a smile from a Saho woman or the pride of a Kunama woman would make you want to visit Eritrea more often than not. But above all, a welcoming, friendly and a century’s old tradition of hospitality will always remind one of Eritrea. In their leisure time, Eritreans watch Bollywood, Italian and American films, with the latter the most common. Films by local producers also get a fair percentage of viewing, though the larger population is yet to catch the flu. Other popular past times include football and bicycle racing. However, athletics is growing and Eritrea has seen increasing success in the international athletics arena, competing with bitter neighbours Eritrea and long-distance geniuses, Kenya. With high mountains come the hearts of a people which are even higher than the mountains. Eritrea is truly a land of highs. Thirty years of fighting a war against occupying power, Ethiopia, may have devastated the nation, but it also hardened and united its people into a common bond. After thirty years of fighting, Eritreans won their independence. Now, they are putting the same fierce efforts into winning the peace and rebuilding their land.

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