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ABSTRACT
This paper examines enforcement practices and intra-ethnic interactions and encounters across the international border between Eritrea and Ethiopia from 2000 to 2018, with a particular focus on the Central Sector. The specific objective is to investigate how the Tigrinya ethnic group, who were arbitrarily separated by the colonial border between Eritrea and Ethiopia, make use of intra-ethnic relationships to combat the new border enforcement practices imposed by Eritrea and Ethiopia to advance their everyday reciprocal interests. This micro perspective is applied to two border towns, Serha and Tserona, which are located at Eritrea’s border with Ethiopia. By analysing the everyday lived experiences of the people who live along the border, this article argues that the underground cross-border support and interactions among kin groups play a significant role in their everyday lives as they combat the States’ everyday border enforcement practices.
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank Prof. Isabella Soi (University of Cagliari), Valentina Fusari (University of Torino) and Prof. Luca Puddu (University of Palermo) for their insightful comments on an earlier draft of this article. I would also like to thank the reviewers for their constructive comments.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1. This empirical material is drawn from my PhD fieldwork research, which I conducted in Tserona and Serha between the summer of 2017 and the autumn and winter of 2018, and during the winter of 2019. It has been further enriched by a second phase of research work conducted between November 2020 and November 2021. I am grateful to Professor Isabella Soi, Professor Bianca Maria Carcangiu and Professor Luca Puddu for their encouragement and feedback throughout the years of my PHD studies in Italy.
2. Okubaghergis, ‘The Eritrea-Ethiopia Border Region’, 65–90.
3. Haller, ‘Liminal No More’, 8; Malk, ‘The Ethio-Eritrea Border War’, 2.
4. Okubaghergis, ‘Livelihood and Sustainability’, 57–73.
5. Yasin, ‘Trans-Border Political Alliance’, 85–96.
6. Cassanelli, ‘The Opportunistic Economies of the Kenya-Somali’.
7. Adugna, ‘Making Use of Kin beyond’, 25–60;
8. Abay, Identity Jilted, 151–176; Abebe, ‘War Stories’, 210–35.
9. Abay, Identity Jilted, 151–176
10. This fieldwork was carried out among the Tigrinya-speaking people of Serha and Tserona for 14 months over the course of 4 fieldwork trips, from the summer of 2017 to the winter of 2019. During the first three rounds of the fieldwork, the two states were mortal enemies. The situation changed dramatically when Abiy Ahmad came to power on 2 April 2018.
11. Tigrinya is the dominant spoken language on the Eritrean plateaus, including in Hamasien, Seray and Akkele Guzay and in the Tigray Regional State in northern Ethiopia. In Eritrea, it is spoken by around 50 per cent of the entire population.
12. Eritrea Profile, ‘Roads Connecting’, 1.
13. Lyons, ‘The Ethiopia-Eritrea Conflict’, 167–80; Bereketeab, ‘The Complex Roots’, 15–59.
14. Bezabih, ‘Fundamental Consequences’, 39–47; Mulugeta, ‘The Ethiopian-Eritrean War’, 31–65.
15. ‘The Algiers Agreement between the Government of the State of Eritrea and the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (S/2000/118, 2000)’, 12 December 2000, To view a copy of this document, https://pcacases.com/web/sendAttach/786.
16. EPRDF is a shorthand form of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, the ruling political coalition in Ethiopia. This coalition comprises four parties: the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the Oromo People’s Democratic Organization (OPDO), the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM) and the Southern Ethiopian People’s Democratic Movement (SEPDM).
17. Badme is a small village in the western sector of the Eritrean-Ethiopian border. It was the focal point of the dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia during the course of the border war (1998–2000). It has been claimed and counter-claimed by both countries. Based on the colonial era agreements (1900, 1902 and 1908), Eritrea argues that the village lies on the Eritrean side of the border, while Ethiopia claims the opposite. The village is currently under Ethiopian armed occupation, although on 13 April 2002, the International Court decided that the village was Eritrean.
18. Interview with YFS, Serha, 15 August 2017.
19. ‘The Agreement of Friendship and Cooperation between the Transitional Government of Ethiopia and the Government of the State of Eritrea’, 30 July 1993. To view a copy of this document, http://www.dehai.org/conflict/analysis/alemsghed1.html [Accessed 23 June 2018].
20. Tserona Administration Statistics Office Report of 2019, Report to the Local Administration Office in Asmara, December 2018.
21. Okubaghergis, ‘The Impact of the Eritrean-Ethiopian Border on the Borderland Communities (2000–18)’.
22. Eritrea Profile, ‘Roads Connecting Eritrea’.
23. Okubaghergis, ‘The Impact of the Eritrean-Ethiopian’, 111.
24. ‘UN Security Council Resolution S/Res/1827(2008)’, 31 July 2008.
25. Interview with TTA, Tserona, 12 March 2017.
26. The Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) was set up by the UN Security Council pursuant to an agreement between the Government of the State of Eritrea and the Government of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia on 12 December 2000. Its ultimate objective was to decide on the controversies surrounding the border based on a legal interpretation of the colonial era agreements, specifically those of 1900, 1902 and 1908.
27. Reuters, ‘Eritrea Says It Killed 10 Ethiopian Troops’.
28. Eritrea Ministry of Information, Press Release, Haddas Ertra, 14 June 2016.
29. Interview with BIS, Serha, 27 March 2018.
30. Interview with TTT1, Serona, 13 July 2018.
31. Interview with YAS, Serha, 13 July 2018.
32. Interview with TTT2 (73), Tserona, 12 July 12 2017.
33. Interview with GTT (45), Tserona, 25 December 2018.
34. Okubaghergis, ‘Livelihood and Sustainability’, 43.
35. Interview with GAS (73), Serha, 24 July 2017.
36. Interview with TGT (73), Tserona, 15 July 2017.
37. Interview with LGS (50), Serha, 28 August 2018.
38. Interview with SAT (42), Tserona, 12 July 2017.
39. Interview with YGS (39), Serha, 16 August 2018.
40. Interview with GSS (65), Tserona, 12 May 2018.
41. Interview with HSS (55), Senafe, 3 April 2018.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Biyan Ghebreyesus Okubaghergis
Biyan Ghebreyesus Okubagherghis is a Lecturer and Researcher in the Horn of African History, at College of Business and Social Sciences, Eritrea. His research interests include the Horn of African Politics, Borders and Borderlands and International Relations. His most recent work is Eritrea-Djibouti border dispute of 2008 and its impact on their bilateral relation.