Doha

DOHA, Feb 24 (SUNA) — The Grand Hall of the Sheraton Hotel in Doha on Tuesday evening was thevenue for the signing of the framework agreement for a ceasefire in Dafur in western Sudan between the government of Sudan and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM).

The signing took place amidst a high-level regional and international presence led by the President of Sudan, Omar Al Bashir, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, President Idress Debby of Chad, President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea and Dr Khalil Ibrahim, the JEM Chairman.

It was also attended by Djibril Bassoule, the joint mediator for Dafur, and Professor Ibrahim Gambari, the Joint Special Representative of the African Union (AU) and the United Nations to UNAMID, and representatives of the permanent members of the UN Security Council, and other countries as well as representatives of the Arab League and the AU.

Dr Amin Hassan Omar signed on behalf of the government of the Sudan while Ahmad Tagad signed for the JEM, a rebel group involved in the Dafur conflict. The two sides shook hands and exchanged documents following the signing of the framework agreement.

The framework agreement is considered the first step towards the achievement of comprehensive and lasting peace in Darfur and it was well received by the international and regional communities as well as international organizations and relevant bodies concerned with peace in the region.

The Qatari government, its people and leadership played an important role, as mediator in the peace talks, a role highly appreciated by all concerned parties to the deal, with all parties nodding to the wise intelligent and informed role they played in the negotiations.

Chad’s President Idress Debby equally played an important role through his hosting of the initial signing and also showed the transformation in the Sudanese-Chadian relationship.

The government delegation to the event included a number of senior officials, representatives of the parties to Sudan’s government of national unity, civil society representatives, leaders from Darfur and members of the Sudan People’s Forum.

On the side of Justice and Equality Movement, those who attended the ceremony included the senior leaders of the movement who flew to Doha for the event.

The JEM declared a cease-fire as of the midnight of Tuesday as part of the implementation of the framework agreement.

JEM Chairman Dr. Khalil Ibrahim said at the signing ceremony that the agreement wais a step forward in the peace process and paved the way for negotiations for realizing peace in Darfur.

He added that the JEM was committed to the implementation of all items of the agreement, stating that the path for peace still needed great efforts, and that both parties should be ready to make concessions so that comprehensive peace in Darfur could be achieved.

Dr. Ibrahim called on the armed groups to establish a unity and partnership among them for the interest of the people and the homeland, a partnership of no loser or winner.

He called on the Emir of Qatar to sponsor the implementation of the agreement, expressing his appreciation of the great efforts being exerted by Qatar and its leader, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa bin Hamad Al-Thani.

He also thanked the Emir of Qatar for his generous donation for the rehabilitation and development in Darfur.

Dr. Khalil Ibrahim also praised the role being played by Chad, Libya, the Arab League, the African Union and the joint mediation team, led by Qatar, for realizing peace in Darfur.

Djibril Bassole welcomed the framework agreement and described it as a positive step for the comprehensive solution for Darfur issue. He appreciated the efforts exerted by all parties for the signing of the agreement by the government and the JEM.

Bassole said that the agreement paves the way for beginning the negotiations in Doha for realization of comprehensive peace in Darfur.

AU Commission Chairman Jean Ping reiterated the commitment of the African Union to help Sudan and all parties to implement all clauses of the framework agreement to bolster peace and development all over Sudan.

Ping, who described the agreement as a landmark step in peace process and a real addition to the accomplishments in this regard, urged parties in the agreement to be committed to the implementation of all clauses of the agreement.

This accomplishment would be added to the accomplishments of Africa and assured the capability of the African people to overcome their differences without foreign intervention, he added.

President Deby affirmed the commitment of Chad to co-operate with the concerned parties to boost the implementation all the items of the agreement and said that Chad would work out a plan to guarantee implementation of the agreement.

He said Chad would exert efforts toward making all the Darfurian movements and Sudan’s government sign similar agreements. He said the role of Chad was a duty that was necessitated by the fact that Chad and Sudan are neighbours.

He referred to the suffering of Chad and Sudan from the armed movements and the clashes at the joint border area, adding that there would be no return to that past.

Comment from one of our Eritrean American Readers:

I’m very ashamed of what my U.S. government is doing to my home country Eritrea. I find the baseless accusations against Eritrea to promote the agenda of neo-colonization absurd! I honestly regret voting for Barack Obama to the white house for the simple fact that not only did he fail to live up to the expectations most Americans had hoped for, but also the sermon of “change” he had preached throughout his election campaign turned out to be an illusion.

He deceived us.

Malcolm X was prophesying about Barack Obama and Susan Rice when he said, the re-colonizations of Africa will have a black face and a white mentality.

And as the old Turkish proverb goes…

” When the axe came into the forest, the trees said: the handle is one of us.”

Shame on you Obama !

Shame on you Susan Rice !

Shame on you United Nations!

God Bless Eritrea

God Bless America

God Bless the World

Eritreans Never Kneel Down ! Never Ever !

GENEVA – (AFP) Some 5,000 Eritreans from around Europe rallied on Monday in front of the United Nations European headquarters in Geneva to protest against UN Security Council sanctions on Eritrea, police said.

The demonstrators waved Eritrean flags and carried banners such as “No to sanctions based on lies,” and “Eritrea will never go on its knees”.

The Security Council in December voted for an arms embargo and targeted sanctions against Eritrea, which has been accused of trying to destabilize the Western-backed government in neighbouring Somalia.

One of the organizers of the rally in Geneva, who declined to be named, told AFP that members of the Eritrean diaspora had travelled to the Swiss city from 14 European nations.

A spokesman from police in Geneva said about 5,000 people took part in the protest, which passed off peacefully.

Other demonstrations were staged in the Australian capital Canberra and in San Francisco, while the Eritrean community gathered in Saudi Arabia, according to an Eritrean government website.

Asmara has condemned the sanctions decision, which includes a travel ban on senior officials, as “a shameful day” for the United Nations.

The Security Council accused Eritrean leaders of aiding Somali rebels and pressed Asmara to withdraw troops immediately from disputed territories along its frontier with Djibouti. Source: (AFP)

US EMBASSY

WARDEN MESSAGE

U.S. Embassy Asmara, February 19, 2010

The U.S. Department of State warns U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to Eritrea, recommends that U.S. citizens defer travel at this time, and informs U.S. citizens that the consular section of the U.S. Embassy in Asmara is currently closed for all public non-emergency services. The Consular Section will continue to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens.

Periodically since September 13, 2008, the Government of Eritrea has repeatedly, and in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, interfered with the unfettered delivery of the U.S. Embassy’s diplomatic pouches. As a result, the Embassy is unable to receive critical supplies and materials necessary for the conduct of normal operations. Until this matter is resolved, the consular section of the U.S. Embassy has no choice but to suspend all non-emergency services.

This closure affects all routine services to American citizens, such as Consular Reports of Birth Abroad, passport services, and notarial services. The Embassy hopes to resume consular services once the Government of Eritrea resumes uninterrupted delivery of diplomatic pouches. Until then, American citizens who need routine consular services should consider traveling to the U.S. Embassies in Cairo, Egypt or Nairobi, Kenya, or the U.S. Consulate in Dubai, U.A.E.

Americans currently living or traveling in Eritrea are strongly encouraged to register with the U.S. Embassy in Asmara through the State Department’s travel registration web site, https://travelregistration.state.gov, and to obtain updated information on travel and security within Eritrea. By registering, American citizens make it easier for the Embassy to contact them in case of an emergency and provide updates on the security situations. The U.S. Embassy is located at 179 Alaa Street, P.O. Box 211, Asmara; telephone (291-1) 12-00-04; fax (291-1) 124-255 and (291-1) 127-584; web site http://asmara.usembassy.gov/.

For additional information, consult the Department of State’s Country Specific Information sheet for Eritrea and the Worldwide Caution at http://travel.state.gov. American citizens may also obtain up-to-date information on security conditions by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States and Canada, or 1-202-501-4444 from overseas.

Eritrea

East African-focused company Chalice Gold Mines Limited (ASX:CHN), developing the high grade 1 million ounce Zara Project in Eritrea, advises that new results from infill drilling at the Koka Gold Deposit continue to confirm the high grade nature of the ore body.

The results, which will form part of the final resource estimate for the Koka feasibility study, include:

• 6 metres grading 12.37 grams of gold per tonne in ZARD 135;
• 5 metres grading 21.90 grams of gold per tonne in ZARD 135;
• 10 metres grading 9.97 grams of gold per tonne in ZARD 136;
• 4 metres grading 32.76 grams of gold per tonne in ZARD 137;
• 2 metres grading 10.58 grams of gold per tonne in ZARD 139, and;
• 9 metres grading 4.68 grams gold per tonne in ZARD 141.

The new results come from diamond drill holes ZARD 135 through to 144 (results from ZARD 143 pending) which achieved significant intersections of quartz stockwork mineralisation within the Koka Main Zone.

A complete tabulation of results is provided in Table 1.

Assays have now been received from 15 holes of the 31-hole, ~5,000 metre infill diamond drilling program (Figure 2). Results received to date are consistent with previous drilling that indicated a decline in quartz stockwork development and gold grades at around 150 metres depth (Figure 3).

All 31 holes have now been completed with the last five holes currently being logged prior to processing through the sample preparation facility in Asmara and transport to Genalysis Laboratories in Perth, Western Australia for analysis. Further assay results will be released to the market as they become available.

Following completion of the infill drilling program, one of the drill rigs has moved to the Koka East Zone, which lies 80-100 metres into the hangingwall of Koka Main Zone. Planning for drilling of the Koka South Zone is in progress. In the meantime one of the rigs will be employed on tailings dam foundation testing.

Four geotechnical holes have also been completed which will provide data on ground conditions in the pit highwall that will potentially allow a redesign of the pit to a lower strip ratio.

Koka, which is the flagship deposit at Chalice’s 80 per cent-owned Zara Project, has JORC compliant Indicated and Inferred resources of 944,000 ounces.

Table 1: Significant Koka Prospect Diamond Drill Assay Intercepts:

About the Zara Gold Project

The Zara Joint Venture comprises four Exploration Licenses and two Prospecting Licenses covering an area of 615 km2 situated in northern Eritrea, approximately 160 km northwest of Asmara city (Figure1). Chalice holds an 80% interest in the project with the remaining 20% held by Dragon Mining (ASX: DRA). The Koka Gold Deposit within the project contains an estimated resource of 5 million tonnes of ore containing 944,000ozs gold, grading 5.8grams of gold per tonne. Metallurgical test work indicates +95% recovery with ~60% recovered by gravity.

DR DOUG JONES

Managing Director

22 February 2010

Competent Persons’ Statement

Aight people back to the fabulafricana interview part of the blog, this time meet Eritrean model and journalist student, Elsabel Yemane.

I wanted to interview her because I wanted to know about the experience of an Eritrean fabulafricana . I wanted to know who she was at the heart, why she became a model, why she was inspired to be a journalist student at the same time while she could have just gone and focus on her modelling career. She’s signed to Elite/South Africa and Profile Models.

Let’s gooooo!!

1- How do define yourself?

I would define myself as an all around fun loving, social, caring person. I can be shy sometimes, over confident other times. I try to adapt to people and my surroundings.

2- How long have you been modelling and how hard is it for you to pursue both your studying and your modelling?

I’ve only recently took on studying and modelling at the same time. My new agency, Profile Models, are great. They’ve been putting me forward for a lot of jobs and I’m lucky to only be studying 3 evenings a week, therefore the two don’t often collide.

3-Why did you pick journalism? how challeging is it, what year are u?what is your ultimate professional goal?

I love writing, its so easy and almost therapeutic to write and just flow everything to paper.

I definitely want to pursue a career further in the fashion industry and a Fashion Journalism course perfectly suited me. Freelance journalism for top fashion publications and online/TV documenting would be fun to work on but i actually do want to go more into the business and management sides of fashion. I’m a passionate maniac when it comes to planning and organising projects and events. Succeeding in Fashion Management & Journalism would be my ultimate goal Alongside Modelling!

4-How do define yourself as an eritrean woman and is there a huge eritrean community in england where you reside?

I’ve been living here in london since i was about 6 so I’ve very much moulded into the British culture. However, I’m lucky to go back home to an Eritrean household everyday. I live with my sisters, we speak our Eritrean language with my mum, who occasionally cooks the most delicious Eritrean food! I think there are strong morals and values set for females in our culture, as they is for any other culture. But its refreshing to see the ladies of Asmara have a healthy balance of happiness and love of fun that compliments there manners, self respect, and respect for others.

5- For someone who’s never been to your country if they were to visit where would you take them and why?

Ive only been back home to Asmara once. I’m hoping to go back again very soon. I would say it’s one of those places where you can just trust where the wind takes you eventually stumble across all the different sides and characteristics, the country has to offer. After all, its not a big country!

6-In your blog i feel like you are really try to empower other through postive thinking, how did u get to be so positive?

Naturally, as I’m growing up I’m learning to be more aware of my emotions and my attributes as a young woman. I cant really say i exercice positivity well, or through, but i try to. I’m aso learning my ways with others. I’d like to think I naturally have good intuition with people, feelings and emotions. Reading books like “The Power of Now” and basically learning from my ongoing experiences in life, have taught me to be more conscious of many things.

7-Which eritrean people that you admire you wish the rest of the world knew about?

I love a special song called “Emotions”, by a European Eritrean artist, Winta ( also my sisters name). She has that lovely Aaliyah feel to her music. I hope she becomes more popoluar over here.

8-Do you feel connected to the rest of africa, for example have u visted other african countries, do you have good friends from other african countries?

I’ve been to Lagos ,Nigeria for new year. I spent 3months in Cape Town modelling and also saw part of Johannesburg. I kind of felt bad being in these African countries, because i felt i should of spent that time in my own country, visiting my family especially my grand- parents.

I didn’t really feel connected to these countries though. They had there own culture but it was special to experience other African ways of life.

9- Where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?

Graduated, in business and marketing, a well experienced model venturing into new paths and succeeding. Hopefully engaged and soon having a baby!

10-Who are some of your fav’ african writers, musicians, photographers, painters ?(if any)

Wow, I’m a bit unfamiliar with the works of African artists. I visited wonderful antique stores just outside of Cape Town. I loved all the south African crafts and sculptures, but i don’t really follow any one in particular.

11- What’s the biggest misconception about eritrean people in your opinion?

That the country doesn’t even exist! Most people haven’t even heard of Eritrea. It’s probably one of the newest countries. We only recently gained Independence from Ethiopia, through Italian colonisation. I think people just instantly see us as Ethiopians.

12- How do u get your hair to be so healthy and beautiful?

I’ve actually just been online searching for a fabulous new lace wig. My agency have had me keep my my natural curly afro hair to shoot in for a while. I’m so used to straightening my hair or having a nice weave. I’m so fed up with the funky, natural look. Aussie hair conditioning treatment is the best for softening hair. I comb it through and leave it on when i go to the steam room. Smooth hair with serum after while still wet, hair creams are a bit light and grease is too thick and clumpy!

13-What’s one african political event that took place that you will never forget (besides obama’s election)

I think this is where my blond hair dye really wants to come out.  I don’t follow politics either. I really should as a journalism student right?!

14-What would people be surprised to know about you?

I can be really shy sometimes. I’m a geek for TV documentaries and the discovery channel. I love organising dinner parties and i can cook!

15- How important is financial stability for you, are there some good books on the matter that help you?

Well, its as important as all your responsibilities- money probably handles all your responsibilities. Having a good job is obviously important for a secure, regular income but be happy with what you do. Start up some savings accounts. One you cant touch at all, a not so secure one for dipping into now and again and maybe another for when your saving for something particular.

16- How important is spirituality for you and what faith do you practice?

My mum is a born again Christan. I don’t really go to church, I’ve had my moments of going for a couple months here and there. But I believe in God and i confide in him in my prayers.

17-What do u wish men knew about women?

We are emotionally more advanced. They should understand us more. And i guess we should understand them more too, as they’re logically more advanced. Being a bit too fair here, sorry ladies.

18-Are you involved in helping your eritrean community how or do u plan to and how?

I hope to start a charity one day where I will personally donate money to the disadvantaged people back home and even all around the world. I would personally work on organising projects to better lives.

19-Whats the nicest compliment u’ve ever received?

I just got a nice one, from my friend on facebook chat.”You’re like my little sister, I tell everyone that”.

20-What do u know for sure in life?

Everyone is different, with different opinions and knowledge from life experiences. Try your best to be happy and make others happy in the process.

Here’s her blog:

http://elsabelonline.blogspot.com

You can follow her on twitter:

twitter.com/y_elsabel

You can find her profile at these 2 model agencies:

www.profile-models.com

http://www.elitemodel-world.com

Thank you for this very honest interview Elsabel, we wish you the very best in all aspects of your life…Thanks for reppin’ for us on the runaway, on editorial pages, and on paper as a future establised journalist

Djaa my Eritrean sistas sont trop dedans:)

Eyeee Wayee:)

Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)- Kuwaiti Ambassador to Sanaa Salem Gasab al-Zamanan presented his credentials as a non-resident ambassador to Eritrea during a meeting with President Isaias Afewerki in the Eritrean capital Asmara on Saturday.

During the credentials presentation ceremony that was attended by the Eritrean Foreign Minister, Osman Saleh, al-Zamanan conveyed greetings of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah to President Afewerki.

Al-Zamanan told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) that he discussed during the meeting with the Eritrean President bilateral relations and ways of enhancing them.

He added that the Eritrean officials have praised the role played by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED) in support of infrastructure projects in Eritrea, as five projects have so far been constructed at a total cost of approximately USD 81 million in Eritrea.

Eritrea ITB

Eritrea will participate in the world’s largest tourism exhibition ITB in Berlin taking place March 10-14.

Organizers are expecting 11,000 companies and organizations from over 180 countries keen to promote their tourism products.

Over 30 African countries will promote their national tourism products and destinations. Despite the global economic crisis, Africa is enjoying the world’s highest growth rates for international arrivals.

Air traffic to Africa increased in the first quarter 2009 by 33 percent fuelled by growing business, government tourism investments and improved quality standards.

Euromonitor International has estimated that 42 million international tourist are going to visit Africa in 2010 with the World Cup in South Africa, increasing business and tourism, and a growing African Diaspora community contributing to that.

In 2007 Eritrea started to actively participate in the ITB together with Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Niger and Benin. During last year’s ITB organizers introduced Eritrea with the following statement,

“Although the country faces numerous hardships, it paradoxically remains one of Africa’s most peaceful, secure and welcoming destinations. Eritrea’s nine colourful ethnic groups are diverse and individual, and are a major highlight.”

The stand of Eritrea will be in Hall 20./127 for more information visit  ITB

Eritrea’s  Exhibitor profile reads as follows:

LOCATION: N. E. Africa, by the Red Sea. Latitudes 12° to 18° N; Longitudes 36° to 44° E.

Eritrea MapAREA: 124,330 Sq. km.

POPULATION: 3.5 to 4 million.

RELIGIONS: Christianity & Islam.

LANGUAGES: Tigrinya & Arabic; English & Italian spoken.

HISTORY: Former Italian and British colony, federated with Ethiopia. Later annexed by Ethiopia, but liberated in 1991 after 30-year war.

CLIMATE: Climatic Zones – Highland plateau (2,000m.) including capital, Asmara, 10° to 22°; Western lowlands, cool to warm; Eastern coastal plain, pleasant in winter months & hot in summer. Rainfall – Short rains in March & April. Longer heavier showers with occasional hailstorms from late June to end-August.

GETTING THERE: By air through Cairo, Dubai, Frankfurt, Khartoum, Nairobi and Sana’a. By land through Sudan, Ethiopia and Djibouti by sea through Red Sea ports of Massawa and Assab.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS: Passport with appropriate visa obtainable from any Eritrean Diplomatic Mission abroad. No visa required for i.) Employees of air/shipping lines represented in Eritrea travelling on duty; ii.) Boat tourists arriving in Massawa and Assab for 48 hours, but shore pass required. Visa on arrival available to Group Visitors, upon prior notification through travel agents or tour operators in Eritrea.

CUSTOMS: Personal effects admitted free. Duty free allowance of 1 litre alcoholic beverages, 200 cigarettes and ½ litre perfume. Fire arms prohibited.

Gold Wave

ASMARA, Feb 19 (Reuters) – Eritrea granted a mining exploration licence to Bermuda-based Sahar Minerals on Friday as the Red Sea state continues its drive towards a highly anticipated mining boom, industry officials told Reuters.

Sahar is the 16th foreign mining company now operating in the country, joining groups from Australia, Canada, China, Libya and Britain.

Eritrea sits on a patch of the Arabian-Nubian Shield, a geological feature that stretches from Saudi Arabia and Yemen in the east to Sudan and Egypt in the west.

Foreign investors are attracted to Eritrea because of its liberal mining laws.

“In the last 12 months we have assessed opportunities all over east Africa where there is a lot of similar geology and prospective areas, but Eritrea’s offer to foreign companies is by far the most attractive,” Alasdair Smith, Sahar’s managing director, told Reuters.

Sahar Minerals was established in 2009 by mining professionals specifically to target opportunities in east Africa. Eritrea is its first licence.

“Eritrea has the most advanced mining act in the region,” said Smith, who has been working in the local industry for 10 years. “We will begin drilling by the middle of the year.”

In 2008, Eritrea set the government’s stake in any mining project at 10 percent with an option to buy a further 30 percent, a small claim compared to other countries in the area such as Egypt, which mandates a 50 percent stake, or Sudan at 60 percent, according to industry experts.

Analysts say the country’s impending mining boom will challenge neighbours to make it easier for foreign firms to prospect across the Arabian-Nubian Shield.

The mining surge may prove a lifeline to Eritrea’s agriculture-based economy that has suffered from irregular rains and the global economic downturn.

Asmara is not expected to see a return on its mining investment until 2012. But some of Eritrea’s poorest people are cashing in on the nation’s mineral potential, working in family groups to collect rocks and crush them by hand.

Apart from this small-scale artisanal mining and some minor extraction by Italians during the colonial era, Eritrea’s mining potential is largely unexploited.

Sahar’s license covers 373 square km (144 square miles) near Sudan. Gold and base metals are the main interests.

The most advanced projects are at Bisha, run by Canada’s Nevsun Resources Ltd (NSU.TO) with gold production expected by the end of 2010, and at Zara, run by Australia’s Chalice Gold Mines (CHN.AX), expected to start producing a year later. (Editing by David Clarke and William Hardy)

Meriem Omer

The BBC’s Ian Brimacombe reports on a woman who fought in the Eritrean struggle for independence from Ethiopia. She was just 13 when she became a soldier. She spent the next 16 years fighting in a brutal guerrilla war.

Meriem Omer began her life as a girl soldier in 1976.

“I joined the cause voluntarily. I felt like I had to do something,” she told the BBC’s World Update programme. “It was a hot political situation. I saw villages burning. I was surrounded by war. The regime was imprisoning many people. One of them was my father.”

She was in sixth grade when she saw him dragged from the family home and thrown into the back of a van. He was taken to a high-security prison where he was tortured, and she never saw him again. ”I felt so sad that my dad was in prison,” she says, “he was my role model and I couldn’t bear it.”

“The feeling that creates in a human being – whether man or woman – it’s a feeling of revenge.”

Equality

Meriem Omer’s story is remarkable, but not unique.

It is thought that about a quarter of the soldiers in the Eritrean rebel “Popular Front for the Liberation of Eritrea” or EPLF were women, and in many instances, girls. They left the traditional world they knew to join Marxist-inspired guerrillas who espoused equality between the sexes.

Meriem Omer spent nine months doing her military training. ”That mentally and physically prepared me to carry a gun,” she says. Today she still recalls vividly what it was like to fight.

“In the battlefield you could be as aggressive as a man and as merciless as a man,” she says. ”Physically we were not the same as the men, but we would double the men’s efforts to be seen to equally participate in the battle.”

Tank commanders

She also remembers how gender was never much of an issue. ”We were assigned equally, like men, to the front-lines,” she says. “Women were very important to the revolution.”

She says the aim of the organisation was to bring about social change and, therefore, it wouldn’t have been able to do without women – from feeding the army, to providing information and support.

“That’s why they included the rights of women in the military code. The role of women actually changed the attitude of men,” she says.

Thousands of young women participated in the struggle. Some of them even became commanders of tank units. Ms Omer says she felt a sense on empowerment but, as a woman at war, she says she knew she also faced additional risks.

“We were more vulnerable than men,” she says. “Boys would be tortured, but women would always be raped and tortured and ultimately killed. I never liked that idea, so I would have killed myself before I would be captured.”

Combat roles

The revolution was a long drawn-out affair. Eritrea only emerged from its war of independence in 1993. After feeling the euphoria of seeing the fight for freedom won, Ms Omer fell out with the new Eritrean authorities and was eventually exiled.

She moved to the UK where, until last year, she was involved with an Eritrean organisation that supports a network of Eritrean diaspora communities across the world.

Now she helps run a family business in Sweden. She remains a staunch opponent of the Eritrean government. Meanwhile, the tradition of women in the Eritrean military continues to this day. The country remains one of the few places in the world where women are drafted to fight alongside men in combat roles.

But Meriem Omer says the picture is depressing for women conscripts.

“They are kept against their will,” she says. ”There is no battle to fight. It’s just military service servicing the officers’ needs. They are really not happy.”

It may be because of the Swedish way of life, but she says she has also seen the bigger picture. ”The experience of that conflict made me learn and grow up and believe in negotiation and peace,” she says. “It’s not always a solution to carry a gun and fight.”

MANCHESTER, UNITED KINGDOM–(Marketwire – Feb. 15, 2010) – The 2009 gold production statistics indicate that South Africa has dropped to third place in the table of the world’s leading gold producers.

Once the world’s biggest producer, by quite some way, South Africa saw its gold production fall a further 5% during the course of 2009. The nation produced a total of 222 tonnes during the year. South Africa remains the biggest producing nation on the African continent, however, by a massive margin. Ghana, the second biggest gold producer from the continent, produced just 80 tonnes.

However, South Africa now lags behind both China and Australia on the global gold production scale. While Australia produced just marginally more of the precious metal, China produced a huge 330 tonnes during 2009, positioning them comfortably at the top of the table.

While demand for gold remains high, with both new and experienced investors alike rushing to buy gold in the face of an inconsistent dollar, the mining industry faces tough competition from scrap recycling.

Gold does remain an attractive investment, however, with a more diverse demographic taking advantage of online gold trading websites such as Gold Made Simple, to purchase the precious metal. The increasing popularity of online gold trading means the process is now less elitist and with the commodity receiving more press attention than ever before, its popularity with investors looks set to continue to rise.