War Between Ethiopians and Eritreans
On May 6th 1998, Ethiopian and Eritrean patrols engaged in an all out battle. While it may not have been the “shot heard round the world”, it certainly was a shot the disrupted a previously peaceful vicinity. It was also a shot that completely changed the Horn of Africa, and permanently disrupted Ethiopian economy. It was also a shot that interrupted the young life of Benyam Berhe. Benyam Berhe experienced this war in a way completely unique from anyone else in the United States, because he lived it. America hasn’t seen foreign troops on its soil since the war of 1812. Americans cannot possibly relate to hearing mortar fire from our very own homes.
When diplomacy fails to achieve what the politicians want, war is how they get what they want. This has been proven time and time again as the most expensive political jockeying invented. Politicians have been using their citizens to fight their wars of ideals for the past century. This war, the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, was unique because in this war people died for land. Since the medieval ages so few societies have fought wars over land, that the idea seems absurd. Men died for a piece of soil, called the Badime region, (Ito).
In analyzing the grand effect of this war, the individual is often overlooked. Benyam Berhe is from Addis Abbas, Ethiopia. He and I have had multiple conversations pertaining to the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Benyam maintained a largely apathetic view to most of the war in spite of the fact that the front line was less than 1000 kilometers from his porch. Though he was only 15 when it all started, he did watch avidly all the news channels as the bombs started to fall.
Accordin...
... middle of paper ...
...y World: Africa Eyewitness: Reporting the war in the Horn. Mar. 21, 1999 < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/288239.stm >.
Jes’man, Czes£aw, The Ethiopian Paradox (Oxford University Press), 1963.
Jones, A.H.M. and Monroe, Elizabeth, A History of Ethiopia Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1966.
Muluneh, Wuhib Ethiopia - Eritrea Border Conflict: The Crux of the Issue, accessed on 11/28/2003, < http://www.ethioembassy.org.uk/articles/articles/focus%20electronic-99/Wuhib%20M-3.htm >
Ploughshares Armed Conflict Reports 2003. Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies, Conrad Grebel College Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. 2003©
< http://www.ploughshares.ca/CONTENT/ACR/ACR00/ACR00-EthErit.html >
Tesfai, Alemseged, The Cause of the Eritrean-Ethiopian Border Conflict, accessed on 11/26/2003, < http://www.dehai.org/conflict/analysis/alemsghed1.html >
War is the means to many ends. The ends of ruthless dictators, of land disputes, and lives – each play its part in the reasoning for war. War is controllable. It can be avoided; however, once it begins, the bat...
Almost every state on Earth desires peace, so why do countries go to war so often? Between World War I and World War II alone, there were an estimated 81 million casualties (Primary Megadeaths). Each state has different values and desires and many are willing to do whatever it takes to ensure those values remain in their state as well as spread to others. War results in a failure of states to successfully bargain with one another. The most common reason for wars to occur is territorial control. Of the 155 wars in the past three centuries, 83 of them dealt with territory (Holsti). Adding more territory will often add more wealth to the state. One way it can do that is by providing goods, resources, or industries that a state needs, such as oil or minerals. Iran and Iraq fought a war from 1980-1988 partially because Iraq sought to take control of Iran’s southern oil fields, according to World Politics. Military strategy can also play a role in why states seek new territories. Finally, states can be interested in territory for ethnic, cultural, or historical reasons. A prime ex...
Johnson, Samuel. The History of Rasselas Prince of Abyssinia. 1759. Ed. Gwin J. Kolb. Chicago: AHM Publishing, 1962.
In the early 1920’s america reached a 47 to 8 vote to make sure that the 18th Amendment went into effect. This amendment declared that it was illegal to sell, produce, and transport anything that contained alcohol. The country had officially become dry. Although thirteen years later america had changed their mind on prohibition. The 18th amendment was soon repealed and the states were no longer dry. America had changed their mind on the ban of alcohol because the crime rate increased, the enforcement was poor, and it affected the economy.
Thesis & Preview of Main Points: I will discuss the culture of Ethiopia and its geography
In this section, I will provide a brief history of U.S. military involvement on the African continent, starting with the Barbary Wars and working up through the current date. This historical documentation will highlight the change in the role the United States has played in Africa [post 9-11???]. Prior to 9-11, the United States’ interactions were mainly [capture summary here]. Since [?], however, the continent has faced a marked increase in violent extremism and terrorism leading the United States to partner with many African nations in counterterrorism initiatives. These, and other initiatives, mean an increasing number U.S. service members are deploying to Africa to take part in training, humanitarian issues and military operations. These military activities are run by United States African Command, a recently created combatant command.
Africa has been an interesting location of conflicts. From the conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea to the revolutionary conflict in Libya and Egypt, one of the greatest conflicts is the Rwandan Genocide. The Rwandan Genocide included two tribes in Rwanda: Tutsis and Hutus. Upon revenge, the Hutus massacred many Tutsis and other Hutus that supported the Tutsis. This gruesome war lasted for a 100 days. Up to this date, there have been many devastating effects on Rwanda and the global community. In addition, many people have not had many acknowledgements for the genocide but from this genocide many lessons have been learned around the world.
Trupin, James E. West Africa - A Background Book from Ancient Kingdoms to Modern Times, Parent's Magazine Press. New York, 1991.
The dictionary defines masculinity as: having qualities appropriate to or associated with a man. As stated by Kimmel (2000):
"Ethiopia." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 25 Sept. 2013. .
Since its independence in 1993, Eritrean nation building is based on animosity towards the neighbouring countries particularly Ethiopia. This constitutes a major hindrance to peace and stability in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia and Eritrea belong to the same historical, cultural, language and religious groups. Until the Italians invasion, Eritrea remained as part of the Ethiopian imperial regimes. After the end of the Second World War, Ethiopia was federated with Ethiopia in 1952. The beginning of the conflict was rather a result of a naïve; too haste decision from the Ethiopian side to abolished this federal system that was arranged by the United Nations. This triggered the civil war in Eritrea in early 1960s. The civil war was used by super powers of the Cold War as proxy war and Arab nationalists and Egyptians utilize it to undermine the economic development of Ethiopia and thereby to ensure the exclusive utilization of the Nile waters. Neighbouring countries such Somalia and Sudan encouraged civil war to weaken the central government of Ethiopia due to border disputes that existed for long-time. The military junta in Ethiopia which hijacked the revolution in 1974 and took power from the Imperial regime lost the international support Ethiopian used to enjoy on its claim on Eritrea. The Eritrean conflict, for the Ethiopian governments, was a war to ensure the territorial integrity and unity; for the Eritreans, it became war for independence. Shaped by the consequences of thirty years of destructive war for independence, the Ethiopian-Eritrean relations is marked by a brief peaceful relation until the 1998 border war that led to a very high death toll both among combatants and civilians.
Smith, Charles D. "The Geopolitics of Rwandan Resettlement: Uganda and Tanzania." Issue: A Journal of Opinion (1995): 54-57. <http://www.jstor.org>.
and Dr. Whitehead, male behaviors and masculinity are not just a simple product of biological predispositions or genetic coding. All societies around the world have the cultural concept of gender, but some of them do not have the idea masculinity. The modern usage of masculinity usually describes the behaviors that result from the type of person someone is. This means that one who is un-masculine would behave differently. For example, “being peaceable rather than violent, conciliatory rather than dominant, hardly able to kick a football, uninterested in sexual conquest, and so forth” (42). The presented concept of masculinity presumes that one has to believe in individual difference and personal agency. So, it is based on the concept of individuality
In 1991, the Somalian Civil War was started. Today, over 500,000 people have been killed by this continuing conflict in this African country. Many wonder about different things that happen in a civil war, such as why it happened, but now is the time that the world needs to become concerned with how this war affects the people that live in this country. In order to understand what these people are going through, first we must understand this conflict and why it has not stopped. There are many other ways that this civil war has affected the people of Somalia; the economy, healthcare, family life, and education are all affected by this continuing conflict.