Leaving Eritrea Many people in Eritrea are very poor They stay alive by growing the food they need to survive Sometimes there is not enough rain in the country for crops to grow When this happens many people become sick or die from the lack of food The Eritrean government keeps tight control of the country It does not allow citizens to choose their religion or speak against the government The country does not have a constitution A constitution is a document that protects peoples rights Not everyone in Eritrea understands their rights Eritrea has mountains along its central section and lowlands to the east Asmara is the capital city Asmara 4
UN Rights of the Child Every child has rights Rights are privileges and freedoms that are protected by law Refugees have the right to special protection and help The United Nations UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a document that lists the rights of children all over the world Think about these rights as you read this book The houses in this village in western Eritrea have mud walls and thatched roofs The Eritrean government says it needs a large strong army It wants to defend itself from its neighbor Ethiopia To build its army it forces every student to do military service before finishing high school They must serve at least 1 5 years but sometimes they serve 10 years or more To escape poverty violence and lack of freedom thousands of Eritreans have fled their homeland and have become refugees Refugees are people who fled their homeland because of war and other unsafe conditions Refugees are different from immigrants Immigrants chose to leave to look for better opportunities in another country 5
My Homeland Eritrea Eritrea is one of the poorest countries on Earth It had a long war with Ethiopia that lasted 30 years It became independent from Ethiopia in 1993 Today 5 9 million people live in Eritrea More than 75 percent of them live in the countryside Many people in Eritrea move around instead of living in one place They do this to find good land to grow crops such as barley and wheat and raise sheep goats cows and camels Eritrea is located in a part of Africa named the Horn of Africa This area includes the countries of Djibouti Eritrea Ethiopia and Somalia Eritrea shares borders with Sudan Ethiopia and Djibouti Eritrea has a long coastline on the Red Sea on its east side Sudan Saudi Arabia Red Sea Eritrea Yemen Ethiopia Djibouti Gulf of Aden Somalia 6
Out of Eritrea’s Story in Numbers 188 179th countries ranked Eritrea is for its education system the freedom of its people and the standard of living This street is in Asmara and is part of the central market area People buy and sell food there 7 The colors in Eritrea’s flag represent its fight for independence red its farming green and its long sea coastline blue Asmara is the capital city of Eritrea Around 800,000 people live there It has some of Africa’s most beautiful historic buildings It has many wide streets lined with palm trees and open piazzas or squares where people meet People in Asmara have jobs in industries such as agriculture making clothing and footwear and processing meat Young people may go to one of the universities or colleges there
