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Awash
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Joined: 07 Aug 2010, 00:35

Re: Suicide and trauma: Eritrea’s lost generation

Post by Awash » 09 Mar 2020, 17:20

Suicide and trauma: Eritrea’s lost generation

MARCH 7, 2020 ERITREA HUB NEWS

(Source: Eritrea Digest
Living with Trauma: Eritrea’s Youngest Generation
Posted On March 6, 2020)

Born and raised after the independence of Eritrea in 1991, the youngest Eritrean generation (“nay Hmamey”, which literally means “of my illness/sickness” that’s apparently what they call each other, which I recently heard for the first time), is perhaps the most traumatized generation of all the generations before it. By giving each other the epithet “nay Hmamey,” they are telling each other “you have the same illness, the same pain that I have.”

That sickness is their experience, their pain, and their trauma they suffered under the dictatorial regime of Eritrea and their efforts to free themselves from it. This generation, generally those under thirty, while too young to fight in the war with Ethiopia from 1998-2000, nevertheless (beginning in the mid-2000s), was forced into the slavery of “National Service” (NS). The NS was traumatizing not only because of its very harsh conditions but, by the time this generation was sent to the military training center at Sawa, the last high school grade (12th) was decreed to be taught at Sawa. Therefore, the NS began one year earlier for this generation, which meant, instead of going to military service as adults (18+ year olds), sixteen and seventeen year old underage children were forced into military service. The NS, run by unscrupulous officers and trainers, was cruel to these children. The NS recruits would be punished severely (left tied to a tree in the hot desert sun, to mention just one example) for minor infractions such as missing or being late for training due to illness.

Eritrea does not have any published census data, although population counts were conducted routinely, in the last thirty years. Therefore, we do not know what the population of Eritrea is. Various estimates are given ranges from three million to six million. We know there are hundreds of thousands of Eritrean refugees in the Sudan, hundreds of thousands more are also in Ethiopia, thirty to forty thousand in Israel, tens of thousands in the Arab countries in the middle east, and tens of thousands in Europe, North America, Australia and elsewhere around the globe. A quarter of the Eritrean population may have left in the last thirty years alone. Hundreds of thousands had fled their homes mainly from the lowlands beginning in the mid 1960s when the Ethiopian military adopted a scorched earth policy in order to fight the freedom fighters.

It was not surprising therefore that many members of this generation (as many of the generation before them) opted to flee the country instead of living in a militarized society devoid of not only freedom but also of any opportunity for decent life, education, work, and starting a family of their own. Initially, they would abscond from their units and would go back to their homes in the cities and towns or their ancestral villages around the country and hide for weeks, months and even years. Eventually, they sought to leave their country altogether.

Many of these young people managed to reach Libya crossing the Sahara desert from Sudan and attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea on rickety boats paying thousands of US dollars to human traffickers. And many have drowned in the process. The 2013 tragedy of the boat that capsized and sank near Lampedusa, Italy, took the lives of more than three hundred Eritreans with it. Some were shot dead at the border with Ethiopia or the Sudan. The shoot-to-kill policy of the regime only stopped after the “peace deal” with Ethiopia in 2018. Reportedly, some migrants were shot and killed by Egyptian security services while trying to enter Israel after crossing on foot not only the Sahara desert but the Sinai as well.

The recent news of multiple suicides among Eritrean refugees in Europe was particularly disturbing and saddening precisely because this phenomenon is occurring amongst this youngest generation. This generation, undoubtedly suffers from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a serious condition. “PTSD happens when an individual experiences a horrifying ordeal that involves physical harm or the threat of physical harm. PTSD was first brought to public attention in relation to war veterans [in the United States,] but a variety of traumatic events can cause PTSD including combat exposure, child sexual or physical abuse, terrorist attacks, sexual or physical assault, serious accidents, natural disasters such as earthquake, flood, fire, and tornado ad hurricane.“ Signs of PTSD include flashbacks, nightmares and panic attacks. Some PTSD sufferers resort to substance abuse in an effort to self medicate to alleviate their pain.

Unfortunately, not only has this youngest Eritrean generation been untreated for PTSD but they are also undiagnosed. Therefore, their condition is unrecognized and obviously untreated. Some have killed themselves after reaching their destination in Europe and elsewhere. They commit suicide because of hopelessness when their refugee status is denied or is not approved, and when their station in life becomes unbearable to them. Apparently, the trauma they have suffered weighs heavily upon them.

Previous generations of Eritreans have suffered their own trauma as well which may point to what psychologists call “intergenerational trauma.” The national trauma had begun long before 1991. In the past such trauma was not recognized as PTSD and no treatment was available for those who suffered from it.

What can we do to help? First, we have to tell their story, obviously. Secondly, we need to find them in our communities and encourage and help them to seek medical attention. In America and Europe, conditions such as PTSD are viewed now as mental health issues not as personal problems. Health insurance companies tend to cover costs of medical treatment. The youngest Eritrean generation must therefore seek professional help. In order for that to happen, our communities need to de-stigmatize mental health. Traditionally, we Eritreans looked down on people with mental health problems. We need to understand that these people (especially our youngest generation) did not bring this condition upon themselves. This isn’t VD. This is a serious illness that afflicts our young; and they need our help in order for them to heal themselves and become, once again, a productive member of society.

I hope our medical professionals, including the physician, psychiatrists, and other clinicians will lead this fight to save our young by providing their services. Let’s understand and embrace their pain and let them know that we care. For, their illness (“Hmam”) and their pain is our illness and our pain as well.

Tog Wajale
Member
Posts: 4919
Joined: 23 Dec 2017, 07:23

Re: Suicide and trauma: Eritrea’s lost generation

Post by Tog Wajale » 09 Mar 2020, 18:02

Desperation Is Killing The Dedebit Woorgach Agga*me Tigriayan Prosti*tutes Former Criminals Leaders Hiding In Mekelle And Adwa Fancy Hotels.

Awash
Senior Member+
Posts: 30273
Joined: 07 Aug 2010, 00:35

Re: Suicide and trauma: Eritrea’s lost generation

Post by Awash » 10 Mar 2020, 03:55

Moron,
The people suffer while you suckle your Agame tyrants' balls.
Suicide and trauma: Eritrea’s lost generation

MARCH 7, 2020 ERITREA HUB NEWS

(Source: Eritrea Digest
Living with Trauma: Eritrea’s Youngest Generation
Posted On March 6, 2020)

Born and raised after the independence of Eritrea in 1991, the youngest Eritrean generation (“nay Hmamey”, which literally means “of my illness/sickness” that’s apparently what they call each other, which I recently heard for the first time), is perhaps the most traumatized generation of all the generations before it. By giving each other the epithet “nay Hmamey,” they are telling each other “you have the same illness, the same pain that I have.”

That sickness is their experience, their pain, and their trauma they suffered under the dictatorial regime of Eritrea and their efforts to free themselves from it. This generation, generally those under thirty, while too young to fight in the war with Ethiopia from 1998-2000, nevertheless (beginning in the mid-2000s), was forced into the slavery of “National Service” (NS). The NS was traumatizing not only because of its very harsh conditions but, by the time this generation was sent to the military training center at Sawa, the last high school grade (12th) was decreed to be taught at Sawa. Therefore, the NS began one year earlier for this generation, which meant, instead of going to military service as adults (18+ year olds), sixteen and seventeen year old underage children were forced into military service. The NS, run by unscrupulous officers and trainers, was cruel to these children. The NS recruits would be punished severely (left tied to a tree in the hot desert sun, to mention just one example) for minor infractions such as missing or being late for training due to illness.

Eritrea does not have any published census data, although population counts were conducted routinely, in the last thirty years. Therefore, we do not know what the population of Eritrea is. Various estimates are given ranges from three million to six million. We know there are hundreds of thousands of Eritrean refugees in the Sudan, hundreds of thousands more are also in Ethiopia, thirty to forty thousand in Israel, tens of thousands in the Arab countries in the middle east, and tens of thousands in Europe, North America, Australia and elsewhere around the globe. A quarter of the Eritrean population may have left in the last thirty years alone. Hundreds of thousands had fled their homes mainly from the lowlands beginning in the mid 1960s when the Ethiopian military adopted a scorched earth policy in order to fight the freedom fighters.

It was not surprising therefore that many members of this generation (as many of the generation before them) opted to flee the country instead of living in a militarized society devoid of not only freedom but also of any opportunity for decent life, education, work, and starting a family of their own. Initially, they would abscond from their units and would go back to their homes in the cities and towns or their ancestral villages around the country and hide for weeks, months and even years. Eventually, they sought to leave their country altogether.

Many of these young people managed to reach Libya crossing the Sahara desert from Sudan and attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea on rickety boats paying thousands of US dollars to human traffickers. And many have drowned in the process. The 2013 tragedy of the boat that capsized and sank near Lampedusa, Italy, took the lives of more than three hundred Eritreans with it. Some were shot dead at the border with Ethiopia or the Sudan. The shoot-to-kill policy of the regime only stopped after the “peace deal” with Ethiopia in 2018. Reportedly, some migrants were shot and killed by Egyptian security services while trying to enter Israel after crossing on foot not only the Sahara desert but the Sinai as well.

The recent news of multiple suicides among Eritrean refugees in Europe was particularly disturbing and saddening precisely because this phenomenon is occurring amongst this youngest generation. This generation, undoubtedly suffers from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a serious condition. “PTSD happens when an individual experiences a horrifying ordeal that involves physical harm or the threat of physical harm. PTSD was first brought to public attention in relation to war veterans [in the United States,] but a variety of traumatic events can cause PTSD including combat exposure, child sexual or physical abuse, terrorist attacks, sexual or physical assault, serious accidents, natural disasters such as earthquake, flood, fire, and tornado ad hurricane.“ Signs of PTSD include flashbacks, nightmares and panic attacks. Some PTSD sufferers resort to substance abuse in an effort to self medicate to alleviate their pain.

Unfortunately, not only has this youngest Eritrean generation been untreated for PTSD but they are also undiagnosed. Therefore, their condition is unrecognized and obviously untreated. Some have killed themselves after reaching their destination in Europe and elsewhere. They commit suicide because of hopelessness when their refugee status is denied or is not approved, and when their station in life becomes unbearable to them. Apparently, the trauma they have suffered weighs heavily upon them.

Previous generations of Eritreans have suffered their own trauma as well which may point to what psychologists call “intergenerational trauma.” The national trauma had begun long before 1991. In the past such trauma was not recognized as PTSD and no treatment was available for those who suffered from it.

What can we do to help? First, we have to tell their story, obviously. Secondly, we need to find them in our communities and encourage and help them to seek medical attention. In America and Europe, conditions such as PTSD are viewed now as mental health issues not as personal problems. Health insurance companies tend to cover costs of medical treatment. The youngest Eritrean generation must therefore seek professional help. In order for that to happen, our communities need to de-stigmatize mental health. Traditionally, we Eritreans looked down on people with mental health problems. We need to understand that these people (especially our youngest generation) did not bring this condition upon themselves. This isn’t VD. This is a serious illness that afflicts our young; and they need our help in order for them to heal themselves and become, once again, a productive member of society.

I hope our medical professionals, including the physician, psychiatrists, and other clinicians will lead this fight to save our young by providing their services. Let’s understand and embrace their pain and let them know that we care. For, their illness (“Hmam”) and their pain is our illness and our pain as well.

Follower
Member
Posts: 2303
Joined: 16 Feb 2013, 01:19

Re: Suicide and trauma: Eritrea’s lost generation

Post by Follower » 10 Mar 2020, 05:32

Lol bankruptcy and desperation ለይገብሮ ይብሉን።

ጀለሰ (jealous)=budy
I hope you dont twist this too,,and say "the Ethiopians and Eritreans are feeling jealousy of our tigray people ,,they call each other ጀለስ" :lol:

sebdoyeley
Member+
Posts: 5507
Joined: 14 Feb 2020, 04:27

Re: Suicide and trauma: Eritrea’s lost generation

Post by sebdoyeley » 10 Mar 2020, 05:35

Follower wrote:
10 Mar 2020, 05:32
Lol bankruptcy and desperation ለይገብሮ ይብሉን።

ጀለሰ (jealous)=budy
I hope you dont twist this too,,and say the Ethiopians and Eritreans are feeling jealousy of our tigray people ,,they call each other jealous :lol:
don`t give time to a desperate agame he may kill himself. an agame this days should be taken politely, :lol: :lol:

Abdelaziz
Senior Member
Posts: 11365
Joined: 29 May 2013, 22:00

Re: Suicide and trauma: Eritrea’s lost generation

Post by Abdelaziz » 10 Mar 2020, 05:42

tran'gender hamasenay qebenit andirty gallo campolpolo: Hamasenay ho'mos like you have only cli'toris. My anaconda is a million times your hamasenay an'al cli't. I'm 100% sure you know it is 100% true…. that is what is keeping you sleepless and always curious to be imagining being penetrated by me. I truly sense it and my anaconda feels you're trying to take as much as you can into your ximb hamasen holes.

Awash
Senior Member+
Posts: 30273
Joined: 07 Aug 2010, 00:35

Re: Suicide and trauma: Eritrea’s lost generation

Post by Awash » 10 Mar 2020, 08:45

Speaking of bankruptcy, the morally bankrupt Agame junta has nothing to show for its brutality towards the Eritrean people.
Suicide and trauma: Eritrea’s lost generation

MARCH 7, 2020 ERITREA HUB NEWS

(Source: Eritrea Digest
Living with Trauma: Eritrea’s Youngest Generation
Posted On March 6, 2020)

Born and raised after the independence of Eritrea in 1991, the youngest Eritrean generation (“nay Hmamey”, which literally means “of my illness/sickness” that’s apparently what they call each other, which I recently heard for the first time), is perhaps the most traumatized generation of all the generations before it. By giving each other the epithet “nay Hmamey,” they are telling each other “you have the same illness, the same pain that I have.”

That sickness is their experience, their pain, and their trauma they suffered under the dictatorial regime of Eritrea and their efforts to free themselves from it. This generation, generally those under thirty, while too young to fight in the war with Ethiopia from 1998-2000, nevertheless (beginning in the mid-2000s), was forced into the slavery of “National Service” (NS). The NS was traumatizing not only because of its very harsh conditions but, by the time this generation was sent to the military training center at Sawa, the last high school grade (12th) was decreed to be taught at Sawa. Therefore, the NS began one year earlier for this generation, which meant, instead of going to military service as adults (18+ year olds), sixteen and seventeen year old underage children were forced into military service. The NS, run by unscrupulous officers and trainers, was cruel to these children. The NS recruits would be punished severely (left tied to a tree in the hot desert sun, to mention just one example) for minor infractions such as missing or being late for training due to illness.

Eritrea does not have any published census data, although population counts were conducted routinely, in the last thirty years. Therefore, we do not know what the population of Eritrea is. Various estimates are given ranges from three million to six million. We know there are hundreds of thousands of Eritrean refugees in the Sudan, hundreds of thousands more are also in Ethiopia, thirty to forty thousand in Israel, tens of thousands in the Arab countries in the middle east, and tens of thousands in Europe, North America, Australia and elsewhere around the globe. A quarter of the Eritrean population may have left in the last thirty years alone. Hundreds of thousands had fled their homes mainly from the lowlands beginning in the mid 1960s when the Ethiopian military adopted a scorched earth policy in order to fight the freedom fighters.

It was not surprising therefore that many members of this generation (as many of the generation before them) opted to flee the country instead of living in a militarized society devoid of not only freedom but also of any opportunity for decent life, education, work, and starting a family of their own. Initially, they would abscond from their units and would go back to their homes in the cities and towns or their ancestral villages around the country and hide for weeks, months and even years. Eventually, they sought to leave their country altogether.

Many of these young people managed to reach Libya crossing the Sahara desert from Sudan and attempted to cross the Mediterranean Sea on rickety boats paying thousands of US dollars to human traffickers. And many have drowned in the process. The 2013 tragedy of the boat that capsized and sank near Lampedusa, Italy, took the lives of more than three hundred Eritreans with it. Some were shot dead at the border with Ethiopia or the Sudan. The shoot-to-kill policy of the regime only stopped after the “peace deal” with Ethiopia in 2018. Reportedly, some migrants were shot and killed by Egyptian security services while trying to enter Israel after crossing on foot not only the Sahara desert but the Sinai as well.

The recent news of multiple suicides among Eritrean refugees in Europe was particularly disturbing and saddening precisely because this phenomenon is occurring amongst this youngest generation. This generation, undoubtedly suffers from severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). PTSD is a serious condition. “PTSD happens when an individual experiences a horrifying ordeal that involves physical harm or the threat of physical harm. PTSD was first brought to public attention in relation to war veterans [in the United States,] but a variety of traumatic events can cause PTSD including combat exposure, child sexual or physical abuse, terrorist attacks, sexual or physical assault, serious accidents, natural disasters such as earthquake, flood, fire, and tornado ad hurricane.“ Signs of PTSD include flashbacks, nightmares and panic attacks. Some PTSD sufferers resort to substance abuse in an effort to self medicate to alleviate their pain.

Unfortunately, not only has this youngest Eritrean generation been untreated for PTSD but they are also undiagnosed. Therefore, their condition is unrecognized and obviously untreated. Some have killed themselves after reaching their destination in Europe and elsewhere. They commit suicide because of hopelessness when their refugee status is denied or is not approved, and when their station in life becomes unbearable to them. Apparently, the trauma they have suffered weighs heavily upon them.

Previous generations of Eritreans have suffered their own trauma as well which may point to what psychologists call “intergenerational trauma.” The national trauma had begun long before 1991. In the past such trauma was not recognized as PTSD and no treatment was available for those who suffered from it.

What can we do to help? First, we have to tell their story, obviously. Secondly, we need to find them in our communities and encourage and help them to seek medical attention. In America and Europe, conditions such as PTSD are viewed now as mental health issues not as personal problems. Health insurance companies tend to cover costs of medical treatment. The youngest Eritrean generation must therefore seek professional help. In order for that to happen, our communities need to de-stigmatize mental health. Traditionally, we Eritreans looked down on people with mental health problems. We need to understand that these people (especially our youngest generation) did not bring this condition upon themselves. This isn’t VD. This is a serious illness that afflicts our young; and they need our help in order for them to heal themselves and become, once again, a productive member of society.

I hope our medical professionals, including the physician, psychiatrists, and other clinicians will lead this fight to save our young by providing their services. Let’s understand and embrace their pain and let them know that we care. For, their illness (“Hmam”) and their pain is our illness and our pain as well.

Awash
Senior Member+
Posts: 30273
Joined: 07 Aug 2010, 00:35

Re: Suicide and trauma: Eritrea’s lost generation

Post by Awash » 10 Mar 2020, 08:53

UN REACTS TO ERITREA’S WIDESPREAD ABUSE, CALLS FOR REFORMS

Photograph — Richwainwright     

A United Nations investigator has reacted to the current crackdown in Eritrea, a problem that has resulted in human rights abuses, infringement of basic and spiritual freedom, according to a new report.

The country, led by President Isaias Afwerki, is not operating a functional constitution and has never held a national election. Arbitrary detention is commonplace, and citizens are required to perform national service, often for their entire working lives. 

Eritrean secondary education also serves as a conscription machine that subjects students to forced labour and physical abuse as they are groomed for indefinite government service. The Global Slavery Index estimates that 93 out of every 1,000 citizens are living in a form of modern slavery in the country, which ranked second-worst in the world.

In 2018, there were hopes that after a historic peace settlement with Ethiopia, it would institute reforms. That is yet to be materialized, however, with a UN report on its human rights conditions discovering widespread human rights violations, together with arbitrary arrest, enforced disappearances, sexual violence, and torture.

An investigation on the state of affairs of human rights in the eastern country by Daniela Kravetz condemned the federal government’s repression of spiritual freedom. According to her, Christians worshipping without authorities’ approval are arrested while Muslims are also arrested and jailed.

Recently, the government closed down Catholic-run schools and hospitals, saying it was imposing old regulations that stipulate that religious bodies cannot run such institutions. In this regard, the government, with no respect to the human right, had given a directive to bar the Ethiopian Catholic priest, Berhaneyesus Demerew from entering the country.

The cleric was due to attend an event marking the 50th anniversary of the construction of Kidane Mehret Cathedral in Eritrea’s capital, Asmara. He had arrived at Asmara airport but was obliged to return to Ethiopia the next afternoon after fruitless attempts to reach the crowd gathered to welcome him.

Kravetz sees no justification for the country’s failure to reform its obligatory nationwide service. Also, the government’s failure cannot be justified on the grounds of the financial challenges in the country, where there are no job creation or wage hikes for conscription, she added. 

“There are, nonetheless, speedy measures that the authorities might take that don’t rely upon financial reforms, resembling stopping the continuing roundups of youth for compelled conscription, separating secondary training from navy conscription and putting in mechanisms to watch and stop abuses towards conscripts, specifically towards feminine conscripts,” she stated.

Kravetz further called for the release of all political detainees and other prisoners that were locked up of conscience. “People are arbitrarily arrested because of their opposition to the government or their beliefs as conscientist objectors,” she said, also noting that many of the prisoners have been jailed for decades without any recourse to justice or relief.

Meanwhile, Eritrean Ambassador to the UN, Tesfamicael Gerahtu, calls the report “politically-motivated and ill-intentioned,”  adding that it portrayed his country in a negative light and does not reflect any of its positive achievements. 

Defending the African government, Gerahtu noted the fact that the eastern country is at peace after two decades of conflict but in the process of resolving the social and economic problems that have arisen in the past.

By Ahmed Iyanda.
http://venturesafrica.com/un-reacts-to- ... Dt_oTnw54k

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