Background:
This interview took place in Eritrea during the Eritrea-Ethiopia border war (1998-2000). The conflict started over a border dispute between the two countries for the control of the town of Badme.
After World War II, Ethiopia claimed Eritrea as part of its national territory, once both nations were liberated from the Italian occupation. In 1950, the United Nations General Assembly granted Ethiopia's wish and Eritrea became part of Ethiopia as a province.
In 1991, Eritrea achieved its independence after a 30 year war with Ethiopia (1961-1991). Finally after 30 years of fighting, the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front finally (EPLF) consolidated Eritrea’s independence.
Side A:
On this first recording, we hear Abeba Haptoum talking about her personal background, how she was raised by her father, and the fact that she had access to a good education largely because of her father’s efforts.
For Abeba, joining the armed struggle was a matter of moral obligation. After finishing school in the United States in 1976, she decided to join the Eritreans For Liberation in North America (EFLNA) movement, though this move was against her father’s wishes. After a year in the EFLNA, Abeba made the radical decision to travel to Eritrea in order to fight in the armed conflict.
Abeba mentions that, for her, staying in the United States was not an option. Due to her education and way of life, she knew she had to do something about the conflict in Eritrea. For Abeba, the breaking point came during the massacre of Keren in 1972, when 2000 people were killed at the hands of Ethiopian forces.
Abeba further stresses the fact that sometimes the desired outcome cannot be achieved by political means; therefore joining the fight was a necessary thing to do, even if it put her life at stake.
Flying directly to Ethiopia was not an option, Abeba says, because she would have been captured. The only way she could travel was through Sudan. At this point, everything changed for her, from the food to the climate. Everything was different, she said. After six months of military training in Sahel, were she was trained not only in military and guerrilla tactics but also educated in political and historical matters, she was assigned to a social affairs unit due to her educational background.
Abeba elaborates on the fact that the political education she had during training was not Marxist oriented but rather social-democratic oriented.
Side B:
Abraham W. Michael begins this portion that-for him the political education was more focused on achieving gender equality so that both men and women were able to perform the same tasks.
According to Abraham the underground movement that he was part of from 1973 until 1978 when he was captured was an important and essential component of the resistance. Their mission was to collect money to support the armed struggle and to distribute information. Although it was a huge risk being part of the underground movement due to the fact that they could have been discovered at any time, Abraham mentions that in his opinion, it was worth it. He stresses that being part of the underground movement was dangerous, and you could only join it if you were asked to.
Once he got out of prison, Abraham decided that it was time to join the army instead of remaining with the underground movement. He mentions that his military training was the same as his wife’s, and for him it was the first time that he had to do things like cooking and washing. For Abraham, this was like starting from scratch.
