MEDIA IDELOGY in ERITREA.Pptx Ramesh

MEDIA IDEALOGY IN ERITREA : 

MEDIA IDEALOGY IN ERITREA MANAAR INDIRA SRINIVASN CONSULTING EDITOR ICFAI RESEARCH CENTER, HYD

Introduction : 

Eritrea is a tiny nation in the North East Africa. Located exactly in the Horn of the continent, it is the youngest African state to attain nationhood in 1991. Eritrea is a mosaic of geography, ethnicity, religions and languages. Geographically is a land of contrasts with the land below the sea level and the land rising 3000 meters above the sea level According to UN, the population - 4.7 million ( 2007) Except the settled highlanders, Eritreans were predominantly pastoral nomads. Apart from the nine ethnic languages, Arabic Amharic, English and Italian languages are widely spoken in Eritrea 9 Ethnic groups: 1, Tigrinya . 2. Tigre . 3. Saho, 4. Nara. 5. Kunama . 6 Beja, 7. Afar, 8. Bilen . 9. Rashaida, Introduction

Eritrea profile : 

Eritrea profile There did not exist a nation called Eritrea prior to colonization, as it was a vast transhumant passage in the horn of Africa Italians colonized this vast piece of land and so named it as Eritrea, as it is adjacent to the Erithraynean Sea (The Red Sea). 1885-1942 Italians ruled Eritrea, until their defeat in the World War II. Until 1952- Eritrea was under the British Military administration Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia as a 14 the province in 1952. 1961-91: Eritrean Liberation Front and Eritrean People’s Liberation Front waged a fierce guerilla battle for 30 years, and Eritrea attained freedom . Media Ideology of the Eritrea can be studied under four heads: pre colonial, colonial, struggle for independence and the independent Eritrea

Eritrea -Media Ideology : 

Eritrea -Media Ideology

Pre Colonial Legacy : 

Pre Colonial Legacy Prior to colonization no modern means of communication existed. -except Tigrinya and Tigre, the rest of the ethnic languages do not have a script even today. The modern world has learned about the pre colonial values, political systems, religion, and education only through ‘Oral Traditions’ of Eritrea, known as ‘Masse’, which is at the verge of extinction today. Tehamble, is one such festival, in which young men and women in rural highlands celebrate it as ‘harvest Festival’, as a gesture of thanks giving to the nature

Slide 6: 

Songs and Dance. At the time of child birth, name giving ceremony, puberty, circumcision, marriages, and the one that can be sung only during funerals. Each ethnic group in Eritrea has unique culture of its own and celebrates varying number of occasions Pre Colonial Legacy

Slide 7: 

The modern European institutions -imposed on the traditional oral societies of Africa, without considering the pre-colonial African value system. 1886 Missionaries brought the printing press to Eritrea . 1900 The Swedish missionaries started the first magazine, ‘Meleketi Selam’ in Asmara . 1917 Catholics established ‘Nay Hezbi Ethiopia The initial publications were religious and cultural in nature have survived the turmoil of censorship and oppression Italian propaganda ministry published. “Annuncio Eritreo’ with a news on industry and agriculture 1928 First Eritrean daily, ‘II Quitiano Eritrea’, 1891-92 News publications began with the L’Eritreo, a summary by the Italian Commercial Administration Media Ideology of Italian Period: 1885-1942

Media Ideology of Italian Period: : 

Media Ideology of Italian Period: Italians established ‘Radio Marina’ a naval radio station in Asmara. 1942 Americans took over , -- Hum radio station until the end of the World War II. 1948 Americans converted this as an FM radio --called it as Kagnew Radio station. 1970 Radio Ethiopia also started reaching Asmara Pandit Nehru: Nature of the colonial press “The Discovery of India”. Press in India was full of information on the official visits and tours. It talked at length about the sports, cinema, horse races and Polo. There were references on the club activities of his/her majesty than about the woes and living conditions of the natives”. If the French media catered to the needs of the French people, media in the Anglophone Africa entertained the English who was away from their homelands. Eritrea was not an exception. The newspapers of the Italian period were nothing but the political organs of the Fascist party, whose main function was to glorify the image of the Italy, as a great Imperial power

Media Ideology of Ialian Period: : 

Media Ideology of Ialian Period: Colonial educational policy in Eritrea was highly discriminatory. Although they had established schools, they restricted Eritreans to class four. The nature and the scope of the Italian education : The child ought to know something of our civilization in order to make him a conscious propagandist. Through our educational policy, the native should know of Italy, her glory and her ancient history, to become a conscious militant behind the shadow of our flag”.   The students need to know only how to rinse the soap and waste time with it  Cinema houses There were as many as six cinema houses in Eritrea during the Italian period, which followed strict color bar, restricting the entry of the Eritreans to cinema Hamassien alone, where selected films were played

Media Ideology of British: 1942-1952 : 

Media Ideology of British: 1942-1952 Liberal in their media policy British had removed the color bar and discrimination on Eritrean educational institutions. They improved the education system in Eritrea by spreading schools to the rural areas 1947: 59 primary schools, one middle school and a teachers training college were in operation Text books in Tigrinya and Arabic had been published British Broadcasting Corporation’s ‘Informazione’ was the first British magazine in Eritrea. 1941- British government started its first daily newspaper in English and Italy featuring the local and world news

Media Ideology of British: 1942-1952 : 

Media Ideology of British: 1942-1952 British started the first Eritrean news weekly, ‘Sumunawi Gagatta Eritrea’ the same year and ‘Woldeab Woldemariam’ was the first Eritrean editor of the edition.. They also published an Arabic news weekly in 1944. British relaxed censorship in 1947 and there was a dramatic rise in the indigenous political parties and vernacular press. Dehai or Voice of Eritrea appeared as a wing of Unita Del Eritrea, the party that favored independence. ‘Union Party ‘Ethiopia’ was a four page Tigrinya/Arabic paper with an occasional section on Italian, was published that favored unification with Ethiopia.

Media under Ethiopian Federation: 1952-1991 : 

Media under Ethiopian Federation: 1952-1991 Eritrea was federated as a 14th Ethiopian state in 1952. UN declared Eritrea as an autonomous unit with a freedom to have elected government, assuring constitution and free press. Emperor Haile Sellassie annexed Eritrea as 14th province of Ethiopia abolishing its independent status. ‘Ethiopia projected an image of its ’ ‘Grand Ethiopian Empire. Ethiopia has been ruling this vast area for more than 3000 years and people of this region share a common language, history, culture and religion E Eritrean and the Ethiopian languages originated from the classical Gee’z’. ‘Amharic’, the official language of Ethiopia was imposed on Eritreans banning the official status of Eritrean languages. Emperor Haile Selassie banned all Eritrean newspapers, except the one that supported unification in 1953 and imprisoned the Eritrean journalists.

Media under Ethiopian Federation: 1952-1991 : 

Media under Ethiopian Federation: 1952-1991 ‘Zamen’ was the only newspaper published from Asmara during the Ethiopian rule in Arabic and Tigrinya There was censorship even on those which are pro Ethiopia. Media projected a feudal ideology of the Ethiopian rulers during this period Armed struggle for the independent Eritrea started by 1961, with the emergence of Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) and later the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF), media did not exposed the existence of any national movement within Eritrea. Group of bandits or illegal secessionists who were looting the people of the region. Ethiopian media propaganda could isolate them from the rest of the world Even the international press did not utter a word about the existence of armed struggle in Eritrea as the international community did not consider it as a legitimate one.

Pro American and Soviet Ideology and Media : 

Pro American and Soviet Ideology and Media

Pro American and Soviet Ideology and Media: : 

Pro American and Soviet Ideology and Media: USA provided military assistance As long as Emperor Haile sellassie ruled Ethiopia, With the assai nation of the emperor in a coup attempt 1955 Television broadcasting started -- first TV broadcast from American KANU station. Eritreans watched top US shows like “Toast of the Town” and Burns and Allen” in their black and white TV The Marxist ideology in Ethiopian media-- Soviet Union Mengistu Haile Mariam took charge of Ethiopia. This marked the beginning of the Marxist ideology in Ethiopian media, as the former Soviet Union assisted the Ethiopian regime in curbing the secessionists in Eritrea

Revolutionary Ideology - Eritrean Media : 

Revolutionary Ideology - Eritrean Media 1961s up to 1991 Media reflected the revolutionary ideology of Marx and Lenin as the revolutionary leaders were highly influenced and were trained in China 1978-91 EPLF produced as many as 64 short documentaries in Arabic Tigrinya and English depicting armed struggle, prisoners of war, music and culture, political meetings and health issues. These films were exhibited throughout the liberated areas in Eritrea and abroad. EPLF’s could mobilize Eritrean laborers, farmers, Women and youth through unions at the regional national and international levels through them Eritrean folk media and radio, Dimisti Hafash have played a magnificent role in unifying the varying warring factors within the EPLF and could connect the warring front with the society, breaking the isolation of the front. This alternative media, parallel to the enemy’s media of propaganda could serve the needs of the Eritrean rebel army while providing information, education and entertainment for thousands under the EPLF liberated areas in refugee camps and those in exile

Media Ideology in the Independent Eritrea:1991-2009 : 

Media Ideology in the Independent Eritrea:1991-2009 There were as many as nine tabloid sized private weekly newspapers published from Asmara in English, Tigrinya and Arabic until 2000, were banned in the year 2001, after the border dispute on the charges that they have plotted against the government As many as thirteen local journalists, who were the owners and operators of the private newspapers and two other foreign journalists were imprisoned and their whereabouts were not known to the outside world till to date. There was neither a trail nor they were allowed to defend their cases.

Media Ideology in the Independent Eritrea:1991-2009 : 

Media Ideology in the Independent Eritrea:1991-2009 In "the continent's largest prison for journalists" (in the words of Reporters without Borders), there is no independent news media in Eritrea today Eritrea was the last African country to gain internet access and cell-phone networks have just begun to operate in the year 2003. Whatever the information and independent analysis of domestic and international issues reaches Eritreans only through radio and Web-based media originating from abroad To put it in the words of Gilkes: Much indeed of the writing on Eritrea has been at the level of polemic or a product of the ‘guerilla groupie’. A surprising number of eminent scholars and journalists have taken the leading Eritrean movement, the EPLF at its own evaluation, and its historical claims as fact. The results have impoverished literature on Eritrea, and have created a distorted mythology on nationalism.

Media Ideology in the Independent Eritrea:1991-2009 : 

Media Ideology in the Independent Eritrea:1991-2009 The media in Eritrea served as mouth piece of its rulers in the past and present. Barring few years during the British Colonial administration, press in Eritrea never enjoyed freedom. It served the colonial interests from 1895 to 1942, until the colonial powers ruled it. Press during Ethiopian rule was feudal, and reflected pro American and Marxist ideology. Throughout the struggle period, EPLF controlled alternative media reflected the revolutionary ideology and Once it was independent, press is highly censored and painting the lideology of the ruling party.