Africa's North Korea

Summary

The video delves into Eritrea's transformation into a strategic region post the Suez Canal's opening, highlighting its militaristic culture and the Eritrean People's Liberation Front's (EPLF) rise to power. It discusses the country's command economy, where conscripts form the backbone of the nation's workforce under harsh conditions. Eritrea's isolation, human rights issues, and the impact of its diaspora on the economy are also explored, drawing parallels with North Korea.

Takeaways

• 🚧 On November 17th, 1869, the Suez Canal's opening made the Red Sea, including the port of Assab, strategically significant for global shipping routes.
• 🏰 An Italian navigation company purchased Assab just two days before the canal's opening, demonstrating strategic foresight.
• 🗓 Eritrea, sometimes referred to as Africa's North Korea, has been under single-party rule since gaining independence in 1991.
• 🔫 Eritrea has one of the highest ratios of active military reserves per capita and enforces mandatory conscription for both men and women, often for their entire working lives.
• 🏭 Conscripts in Eritrea are utilized not just for military purposes but also as the backbone of the country's infrastructure, services, and administration.
• 💔 Eritrea faces significant challenges with human development, with around 800,000 citizens (about 1/5 of the population) fleeing the country by 2023.
• 🚀 Despite similarities, Eritrea differs from North Korea in key aspects, such as the absence of a nuclear weapons program and the possibility of returning after leaving the country.
• 🎖 Eritrea's identity was forged through a long history of conflict, including resistance against Italian and Ethiopian rule, culminating in a 30-year war for independence.
• 🏛 The Eritrean government, led by Isaias Afwerki, is characterized by paranoia, isolationism, and harsh punishments, including the use of shipping containers as makeshift prisons.
• 🛑 Eritrea's economy is a command economy dominated by the ruling party, with private enterprise outlawed and a significant portion of the population working in forced labor conditions.
• 🌐 Eritrea's diaspora plays a crucial role in the country's economy, with remittances estimated to contribute 20-40% of the GDP, despite the government's efforts to tax and control these funds.

Q & A

Why did the Red Sea become a strategic region after the opening of the Suez Canal?

The Red Sea became a strategic region because the Suez Canal allowed ships to sail through it instead of going all the way around Africa, making it a crucial shortcut for global trade and naval routes.

What is the significance of the Italian navigation company's purchase of the port of Assab?

The Italian navigation company's purchase of Assab was significant because it occurred just two days before the opening of the Suez Canal, positioning them strategically in a region that became vital for global shipping.

Why is Eritrea sometimes referred to as Africa's North Korea?

Eritrea is sometimes called Africa's North Korea due to its highly militarized society, one-party rule, and isolationist policies, which draw parallels with North Korea's political and social structure.

What is the mandatory conscription policy in Eritrea, and how does it affect the citizens?

In Eritrea, mandatory conscription is enforced for both men and women starting from the last year of high school until they are dismissed, sometimes in their 40s or 50s. This policy effectively turns conscripts into a mass labor force for the country's infrastructure, services, and defense, often under harsh conditions and with little pay.

How has Eritrea's history of conflict and war shaped its society and economy?

Eritrea's history of conflict, including its struggle for independence and subsequent wars, has led to a society heavily reliant on its military. This has resulted in a command economy where the government and conscripts control most aspects of the economy, leading to a lack of private enterprise and significant economic challenges.

What are the key differences between Eritrea and North Korea?

While Eritrea and North Korea share some similarities, key differences include Eritrea's lack of a nuclear weapons program, the possibility of returning to the country after leaving, more exposure to the outside world through TV and the internet, and a focus on nationalistic loyalty rather than loyalty to a ruling family.

How has Eritrea's government responded to the country's economic challenges?

Eritrea's government has maintained a command economy, with the ruling party controlling most aspects of trade, construction, and services. They have also relied on remittances from the large Eritrean diaspora, imposing a 2% tax on citizens living abroad, and emphasizing self-reliance despite economic difficulties.

What is the role of the Eritrean diaspora in the country's economy?

The Eritrean diaspora plays a significant role in the country's economy by sending remittances back home, which are estimated to contribute 20 to 40% of Eritrea's GDP. This financial support helps stabilize the economy and provides a lifeline for many families.

Why is there a lack of information coming out of Eritrea?

There is a lack of information coming out of Eritrea due to the government's control over media and communication, as well as the strict limitations on foreign reporting and the detention of journalists and citizens who challenge the government.

How does Eritrea's command economy impact its citizens and the country's development?

Eritrea's command economy, where the government controls most businesses and services, results in limited private enterprise and economic development. This system often relies on forced labor and low wages, which can lead to poverty and a lack of investment in infrastructure and social services.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 The Strategic Significance of the Red Sea and Assab's Port

This paragraph discusses the historical importance of the Red Sea region, particularly after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, which made the area a strategic global hotspot. It highlights the Italian navigation company's acquisition of the port of Assab, which was a strategic move just two days before the canal's opening. The paragraph also provides an overview of the country of Eritrea, describing it as an impoverished, highly militarized one-party state with a history of human rights issues and a large number of citizens fleeing the country.

05:02

🏹 Eritrea's History and the Impact of War on its Society

The second paragraph delves into Eritrea's history, shaped by war and military culture. It covers the Italian colonization, the subsequent British administration, and the long struggle for independence from Ethiopia. The paragraph also touches on the country's ongoing conflicts, including the border war with Ethiopia and the internal power dynamics within the ruling party, the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). It outlines the country's militaristic approach to governance and society, with mandatory conscription and the military's pervasive role in everyday life.

10:02

🗳️ The Eritrean Government's Control and Economic Policies

This paragraph focuses on the Eritrean government's control over the country's political and economic landscape. It discusses the indefinite postponement of elections, the suppression of the press, and the government's monopoly on trade, construction, and mining. The paragraph also addresses the issue of forced labor through conscription, where citizens are required to serve in the military and work for the government with minimal pay. It highlights the government's use of patriotism as a driving force for its policies and the impact of these policies on the country's development and the well-being of its citizens.

15:03

💰 The Complexities of Eritrea's Economy and the Role of Remittances

The final paragraph examines Eritrea's economy, which is heavily influenced by the government's control and the reliance on forced labor. It discusses the country's dual economy, with a command economy in urban centers and subsistence farming in rural areas. The paragraph also explores the importance of remittances from Eritrean diaspora, which constitute a significant portion of the country's GDP. It raises questions about the government's financial transparency and the impact of the 2% tax imposed on citizens living abroad. The paragraph concludes with a critique of the government's economic policies and the challenges faced by the country in achieving self-reliance and development.

Keywords

💡Suez Canal

The Suez Canal is a man-made waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through Egypt. It was opened in 1869 and drastically shortened the sea route between Europe and Asia, allowing ships to bypass the long journey around Africa. This event transformed the Red Sea into a strategic global maritime hub, which plays a key role in the script's narrative of global competition and control.

💡Eritrea

Eritrea is the African country discussed throughout the script. Gaining independence in 1991, it is often compared to North Korea due to its highly militarized government, lack of political freedoms, and isolation from the rest of the world. The script explores its history, including colonization by Italy, British control, and its wars with Ethiopia.

💡Mandatory conscription

Mandatory conscription refers to the policy in Eritrea where all citizens, men and women, are required to serve in the military starting from their last year of high school. This conscription can last until individuals are in their 40s or 50s, essentially taking up their entire working life. The script emphasizes how this system is one of forced labor, contributing to Eritrea's militarized economy.

💡Italian colonization

Eritrea was an Italian colony from the late 19th century until World War II. The Italians built up infrastructure and segregated towns during their rule, and their defeat by Ethiopia is a key part of Eritrea's history. Italian colonization laid the foundation for Eritrea's militarized culture, which persisted through its struggle for independence and beyond.

💡War with Ethiopia

Eritrea has had a long and violent history of conflict with Ethiopia, including a 30-year war for independence and a border war from 1998 to 2000. These conflicts shaped Eritrea's identity as a nation formed by war, with ongoing tensions between the two countries. The script highlights the deep militarization of Eritrean society as a result of these conflicts.

💡Conscription-based economy

Eritrea's economy is heavily reliant on forced labor from conscripts, who perform most of the country's work, from infrastructure building to administration. This system, according to the script, stifles private business and forces citizens into long-term military service with little pay. The government's command of the economy is linked to its authoritarian control.

💡Diaspora remittances

Diaspora remittances refer to the money sent back to Eritrea by citizens who have fled the country. These funds are critical to Eritrea's economy, making up 20-40% of the GDP, as many citizens live in poverty with low wages. The script explains how the government restricts access to these funds, limiting how much citizens can withdraw and even taxing those living abroad.

💡Isaias Afwerki

Isaias Afwerki is Eritrea’s president and has held power since its independence in 1991. The script describes him as a military commander who turned dictator, leading a government that has been marked by paranoia, isolationism, and harsh repression. Afwerki's rule has led to a highly militarized and controlled society, with elections indefinitely postponed and opposition silenced.

💡Command economy

A command economy is an economic system where the government controls all major aspects of the economy, including production and distribution. In Eritrea, the government-run People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ) manages industries such as mining and construction, using conscript labor. This system stifles private business and keeps the economy dependent on the government.

💡Human rights abuses

Eritrea has been widely criticized for its human rights abuses, which include forced conscription, the use of shipping containers as prisons, and the arrest of journalists, political opponents, and civilians without due process. The script describes these abuses as part of Eritrea's authoritarian control, drawing comparisons to North Korea's totalitarian regime.

Highlights

The strategic importance of the Red Sea region surged after the Suez Canal's opening in 1869.

Italian navigation company's strategic acquisition of Assab port just before the canal's opening.

Eritrea's status as an impoverished, highly militarized one-party state.

Mandatory conscription for both men and women in Eritrea, lasting up to decades.

Conscripts in Eritrea serve as the backbone of the nation's infrastructure and services.

Eritrea's high rate of citizens fleeing the country, with nearly 1/5 of the population leaving.

Comparisons and key differences between Eritrea and North Korea.

Eritrea's history of conflict and its impact on national identity.

The role of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) in the country's fight for independence.

Eritrea's ongoing conflicts post-independence and their effects on the nation.

President Isaias Afwerki's long-term rule and its impact on Eritrea's development.

Eritrea's command economy and the government's control over major industries.

The prevalence of subsistence farming in rural Eritrea and its economic implications.

The significance of remittances in Eritrea's economy and their role in supporting families.

The government's taxation of its diaspora and its impact on the national budget.

Criticism of Eritrea's economic policies and the lack of transparency in government finances.

Transcripts

on November 17th 1869 this small

Peninsula suddenly became a new Global

Hots spot why because a long ditch was

dug through it allowing ships to sail

through this route instead of all the

way around Africa almost overnight the

Red Sea became one of the most strategic

regions on Earth to control or at least

have a presence in one Italian

navigation company did just that they

bought the port of assab from local

sultants just 2 days before the grand

opening of the canal talk about good

timing and today well assab is just a

small City in the much larger country of

arria sometimes called Africa's North

Korea erria is an impoverished highly

militarized one party state it has been

led by a single leader since

Independence in 1991 and has often been

one of the bottom nations in terms of

human development not only does it have

the second highest amount of active

military reserves per capita the country

has mandatory conscription for both men

and women starting from your last year

of high school until whenever you're

dismissed sometimes when you're 40

sometimes in your 50s take that in

that's basically your entire working

Life as a conscript in the military

although many of them don't fight

because of the unique way arria's

government commands its economy

conscripts are not just used for war

they are quite literally the backbone of

everything in the country they build the

country run the services administer it

and and of course defend erria all for

very little pay suffering abuse and

harsh conditions in what is essentially

a mass system of forced labor it's no

surprise then that arria is also called

the world's fastest emptying country

because of how many citizens run away

from it around 800,000 by 2023 that's in

comparison to a home population of only

3.7 million meaning almost 1/5 of all

people born in this land have left it

real attractive but is erria actually

like North Korea that crazy hermit

Kingdom I don't know there is some key

differences for one nukes arria does not

have a nuclear weapons program and thus

is much less of a threat than North

Korea is they don't have the capability

to straight up destroy their neighbors

if the military just feels like it one

day if you were to leave arria you could

come back one day although with some

difficulties whereas if you leave North

Korea you're dead to them aans have a

lot more exposure to the outside world

through TV and the internet although the

majority still don't have access to them

yet and both are still heavily monitored

and regulated by the government and

lastly aitran loyalty is meant to be to

the nationalistic triumphant aitran

State and Military not to the family

that runs it still there are plenty of

similarities we'll run through four that

I think give you a good picture on The

house's and the wise of Africa's North

Korea first militarism look at this fun

parade all the soldiers marching as one

what do you think they might do invade

Ethiopia maybe even jibuti um I'm not

sure but I can say that erria was a

country made by War even back in the

Italian times originally the Italians

did not try to grow this dry and rocky

colony that much they wanted control

over the fertile interior mountains in

East Africa but were defeated by

Ethiopian armies in the 1890s the land

they did keep in arria wasn't all that

interesting to them despite the prime

Seaside location interest came back with

a changing government though the new

fascist Italy was obsessed with trying

to reconquer Ethiopia and where was

their starting block to invade right

here in Atria suddenly investment

infantry and Italians flooded in the new

Italians brought workers to build up

Urban infrastructure and Industry that's

why asara still looks so Italian today

and heavily subsidized The Colony

bringing in the foreign goods and food

they needed but the let's say more

conservative-minded fascist Italians

also brought new laws with them the New

Towns they built were built to be

segregated they limited air train

education to only up to the fourth grade

confiscated aitran cash crop farms and

conscripted and trained many citizens to

help the fight against Ethiopia this

obviously didn't go over too well with

the people and it created an identity

through a shared enemy otherwise this

linguistically religiously ethnically

and geographically diverse Nation

probably never would have come together

the newly trained airit Tran soldiers

never rebelled against the Italians

though because the colony was taken over

by the British in World War II the Brits

also weren't really interested in

administering arria especially when

their empire was in the middle of

collapsing the most they really did was

strip Italian made assets and Deport

many of the fascist administrators who

ran the colony many Italians left the

colony in this period so in the end the

UK and un came to an agreement in 1952

to just make arria an autonomous region

of neighboring Ethiopia funny they did

that even funnier when they were slowly

annexed by the Ethiopian Empire

officially voting arria out of existence

in

1962 atrians became second class

citizens in the Empire Independence

leaders were harassed or killed and

political parties the press and unions

were crushed under Ethiopian rule so if

you thought the rebellious military

culture was made under fascist Italy you

were wrong a 30-year War followed this

30 years yes three decades the final

straw being the fact that they would no

longer teach the majority language to

Gia in school instead opting for amhar

the language of the Ethiopian government

resistance started off as a Muslim

movement but then spread to workers and

spread even further to a general

nationalist movement eventually this

movement split up with the most

successful successor being the arrian

people's Liberation Front fighting

lasted through the cold war with all of

its Shenanigans it was decades of

fighting massacres raisings Mass

burnings sometimes even between atrians

and as time went on the atrians

continued fighting in a way that the

Ethiopians were getting tired of

fighting alongside the T plf funds and

Equipment dropping off at the end of the

Cold War and battles won in the

mountains led to arrian Victory and a

declaration of independence in

1991 and now everyone's happy and

peaceful the Revolutionary Fighters

could now focus on governing their newly

made country the eplf became the pfdj

The People's Front for democracy and

Justice what

a that would be so did the fighting stop

after Independence no this is when they

made their mandatory conscription

although for the time it was only 18

months long and didn't control their

entire Society most new government

official were commanders and officers in

the fight for independence they knew how

to run an army but not a country after

Independence arria was involved in a

small war with Yemen the first Congo War

the Second Sudanese Civil War a war in

Djibouti got sanctioned after that one

and a real doozy in Ethiopia from 1998

to 2000 you see the tplf eventually

installed the government in Ethiopia and

even though they fought with the air TRS

for Independence the two movements did

not get along the government has always

had this idea that the tplf is trying to

destabilize arria and remove them from

power so relations between the countries

soured throughout the 9s the two

countries stopped trading had border

skirmishes and an outright war broke out

in 1998 over the Tiny Village of bod

although it only lasted for 2 years

conflict between them was on and off for

two decades until a formal peace treaty

was signed with the new Ethiopian

government in 2018 hope

not for long though in 2020 they joined

the Ethiopia te Civil War fighting once

again with their compatriots just

kidding they were fighting with Ethiopia

against the tplf again they blocked food

shipments from the sea pillaged Villages

murdered citizens and even did this to

their own aitran refugee camps all in an

effort to officially crush the tplf so

if you were to add up all the Wars all

the people affected moved or killed by

constant Warfare in this time tiny

country uh it would be a lot of people

arria was made by War second is power I

should tell you more about the

government in general I guess you could

call them paranoid isolationist and

brutal with their punishments

particularly this guy is isas aferi he's

been leader for he's been leader for

he's been man at least as long as I can

remember as long as anyone can remember

that's because if we're going off the

perspective of the arrian nation he's

been president forever for 100% of the

independent history you don't rule a

country since 1991 without having some

typical dictatorial characteristics he

was a through and through military

commander who became president he

spearheaded the war efforts was paranoid

about foreign powers arrested opposition

leaders and arrested many of his own

citizens for arbitrary and unknown

reasons one of the most common ways to

do this was to detain dozens of people

people at a time inside of these

shipping containers better pray it

doesn't get too hot outside damn these

metal prisons get hot we're talking

potentially up to the 60s or 7s de C and

this barely scratches the surface of all

the torture and abuse the solders face

Maybe AAS isn't a great dude so if there

is any point where all hope of a

reasonable development plan was lost it

was definitely 1998 the militarization

of society the ongoing War with Ethiopia

was an excuse to extend conscription

from 18 months to well they just say

indefinitely but it's usually around 25

to 30 years of service AKA your whole

working career in forc labor slowly the

government eroded the powers of society

and the people elections in 1997 were

postponed to 2001 due to the war and

then postponed again because part of the

country was occupied at the time I guess

we're still waiting for this one to

happen because there have been no

elections since Independence even even

in local elections the last ones took

place in 2003 the pfdj doesn't even

trust small town Mayors newspapers were

shut down in 2001 and yes journalists

have of course been high on the list of

citizens arrested and detained for

challenging Isaias the list that also

includes many entrepreneurs and business

owners those that ran shops that weren't

pfdj owned and operated yep into the

shipping containers they went there have

even been reports of soldiers going door

to door under the pretext of data

collection or asking how service is

going for the family but it's really to

identify draft Dodgers and those who

fled the country and to flee the country

you have to get through heavily guarded

borders either through bribery or

gunfire or just see where the ocean

takes you many times if they catch you

doing this they'll get a family member

to replace you in conscription or just

arrest a family member as punishment so

I don't know personally to me isaas

doesn't really seem like a stable guy I

might even go as far to say that he and

the pfdj have ruined the nation but hey

not everything is politics there's

always the economy right so third

command how is that economy well it's a

little different to how it works in the

US or Europe or India or even China

which claims to be what erria actually

is and that's a command economy almost

everything at least in the cities is run

by the pfdj and the conscripts working

for them I say in the cities because

more accurately it's a dual economy one

based on government command and the

other on subsistence farming so this GDP

per capita number might not be too

accurate when talking about the aans in

cities like Asmara Karen and assab the

pfdj rules all I mean all private

business is outlawed in the nation

instead many farms businesses

Administration and services are run by

yes you guessed it the conscripts for

example all private construction

companies were banned in 2006 and the

government even went so far to demolish

already built homes because they were

financed from foreign money by a private

firm so infrastructure is weak only a

fifth of the country's roads are paved

industry hasn't made people richer

property rights are borderline

non-existence but hey at least forcing

people to learn how to read does

actually improve the literacy rate so

that's one good thing they've done the

pfdj and Military essenti have a

monopoly on all trade construction

markets Mining and cash crops in arria

in fact most of the trade leaving is

from government-owned mines selling to

China and the Emirates most of the stuff

coming into Atria is a little more

essential to life especially this

category food although the country

claims to be self-reliant in food

production often rejecting Aid their

Imports clearly suggest otherwise

forcing people to run Farms they don't

want to is one way to curb food

production but it might not be entirely

their fault arria is a dry country with

a very little amount of arable land most

of the food going out of the nation is a

small amount of cash crops like bananas

and peppers but most of the food coming

in are staple foods eaten every day when

you zoom in most of the food production

seems to be for small scale domestic

eating almost on a subsistence level

which is where most people work most

atrians do not live in urban centers

they live on small farms or Pastor land

small villages that depend on family

units instead of the pfdj for welfare of

course when drought and soil erosion

hits these are the people most affected

by food and water shortages but they're

also often the ones least affected by

the business band setting up what are

called micro businesses in small towns

in the cities basically just Market

stands of their crop making ends meet in

the cash-based informal economy so

besides the Market vendors working for

cash what do the conscripts work for

I'll let General sabat FM minister of

defense and Mining explain it for me

even though each of the conscripts has

between two and three children they only

receive 500 navka per month how do they

do it the reward is not a salary because

the amount they receive is insignificant

instead patriotism is the driving force

if a private firm were to take over it

would be solely driven by pecuniary

interest rather than than by patriotism

in the beginning the conscript will be

happy to receive 100 navka but soon

after he will demand more in the end

money will dictate everything nothing

can be accomplished in this way

patriotism will drive the country all

while the ones who own the mines and

businesses make a fortune off of free

labor and won't reinvest the profits

back into infrastructure or the people

maybe patriotism will drive the people

to work for only $30 a month but it also

seems to drive D them out of the country

in Mass numbers which has led erria to

for isolation a lot of aeratr live

outside of their closed borders one

thing that means is that a lot of

aerotrans send money back home to their

families called remittances despite the

whole self-reliance thing it's estimated

that around 20 to 40% of the GDP comes

from these remittances in a country with

a large level of poverty little to no

pay low foreign res reserves and food

insecurity remittances are a way for

many to keep their heads above water

maybe even to build up some savings to I

don't know flee themselves one day the

government does try to restrict them

though a family can only withdraw up to

5,000 nafka in cash every month around

$330 that's not a whole lot to subsist

with so some argue remittances have not

helped to develop Atria they've just

stabilized an unstable economy built off

of forced labor pretty ironic for a

country so insistent on its

self-reliance from the outside world

another irony the diaspora attacks every

aitran Refugee is supposed to pay 2% of

the money they make outside of the

country back to the aitran government

it's one of only a few countries on

Earth to tax their citizens living

outside of the nation I'm looking at you

America considering how many refugees

there are that's got to be a pretty big

portion of the government's Revenue

right maybe the government does not

share their income or budget the hdri

trust fund controls all state

Enterprises although no external

monitoring is allowed of it so not even

the Ministry of Finance knows where the

money goes still we could assume this

tax pickes up a pretty big chunk of the

budget pfj run businesses don't pay tax

and neither do they hard to reach rural

populations but 60% of outside air

trains report at least sometimes paying

the 2% tax and almost all said they send

es to their families small scale family

financing likely has a bigger impact

than the government's tax collection and

payments it's a confusing system I can't

tell you everything about the economy

but I think this quote from a fled

Minister sums it up pretty well in the

beginning I thought the diaspora tax was

justified but over the past 20 years

there has not been a visible thing done

in erria we don't know where the money

goes when I worked at the Ministry of

Finance I was involved in diaspora tax

issues the min Ministry of Finance has

no control over the spending of the

money it also does not control the

mining income in the end it is the

president's office and the head of pfj's

financial affairs that control

everything the pfj has a lot of

companies they don't pay tax they are

like the private property of the ruling

Elite does it raise questions that most

of the info we get about these systems

are from those who clearly didn't like

the country enough to run away sure I'm

sure there are some that exaggerate how

a TR is to get more attention than

trying to be totally honest but doesn't

it raise more questions when there is

barely any information coming out of the

country in the first place maybe it's

just me but I think I'm more inclined to

believe the refugees' stories stories of

conscription War command power held by a

few and

selfreliance that's what makes people

call arria Africa's North Korea shout

out to Yao for inspiring this video if

you like to read about economics he

writes a pretty good newsletter with a

particular focus on African economies

check them out if you're interested I

mean you're already done this video so

might as well