Eritrea is bordered by Ethiopia, the Sudan and the Red Sea. Geographically, it is generally divided into highland and lowland areas. Whereas the lowlands consist of the plains along the Red Sea coast and those along the Sudanese border on the west, the highlands consist of the plateaus bordering Ethiopia. Religious affiliation in Eritrea roughly corresponds with the geographic characteristics of the country. Thus, Eritreans who inhabit the lowlands (Metahit) are mostly or almost wholly of the Muslim faith.
Following the demarcation drawn by the Italian colonialists, Eritrea is divided into eight provinces. The highlands consist of Hamasien, Serae and Akele-Guzai. The lowlands along the coastal plains are called Semhar, Sahel and Denkel, whereas those in the western plains are known as Senhit and Barka. The lowlands constitute about three fourths of the land surface of Eritrea, with the highlands making up the remaining one-fourth. It is well known that because of the strategic importance of its geographic location, Eritrea has been the focus of the greedy eyes of foreign colonialists.
B. Economic Conditions
Although Eritrea is rich in natural resources and has enough agricultural, mineral and animal resources to make it economically self-sufficient, its people are still in the early stages of development. They live as farmers and nomads. Since our country’s wealth is stolen by foreigners and exported abroad, the Eritrean people are forced to live in poverty, deprived of their country's economic wealth. Those who live in the highlands lead a relatively better life due to their settled farming occupation, whereas those from the coastal plains and the lowland areas live the roaming life of nomads. The basis of all social oppression is economic. Thus, foreign oppressors motivated by the greedy desire to rob Eritrea of its wealth, have used and are using our people's religious, ethnic and regional diversity in order to divide and continue to exploit it. This is a historical fact.
C. Population
The people of Eritrea are about three million. Their distribution, however, does not correspond to the country's geographical divisions. Though the highlands constitute a smaller part of Eritrea's land surface, they contain more than half of the Eritrean population. The lowlands in the western areas are predominantly arid and, therefore, are sparsely populated. Although no recent census has been taken, a 1957 census gives the following provincial population distribution:
Hamasien 24.7% Senhit 8.3% Serae 15.7% Sahel 7.9% Akele Guzai 15.3% Denkel 5.4% Barka 17.5% Semhar 5.2%
D. Political Development
A close look at our country's political development shows that foreign colonialists and their puppets have used religion as the weapon through which they achieved their goal of easy access to economic gain. From 1940 onwards and in response to foreign oppression, the centuries-old struggle of the people of Eritrea started to divide into two political groupings. Most Christians demanded "Union" with Ethiopia, while most Muslims wanted "Union" with Sudan. It fell on the United Nations to make the final decision that has thrown the people of Eritrea into an ocean of suffering, another fact of the history of our political development.
E. Language
Although more than nine languages are spoken in Eritrea, the main languages are Tigrinya and Tigre. These are Semitic in origin and are the offerings of the Geez language. Other languages which do not descend from Geez are Bilen, Beja. Baza, Saho and Denkel. In general, highland Eritreans speak Tigrinya and those of the lowlands speak Tigré, but they are more specifically distributed on linguistic lines as follows:
Tigrinya
Mostly spoken by the inhabitants of the highlands (Kebessa) of Eritrea, the majority of whom adhere to the Christian faith. But it is also spoken by some Eritreans of Muslim faith, such as the Jeberti. Tigrinya is not spoken only in Eritrea. It is also the language of the people of Ethiopia's northernmost province known as Tigray.
Saho
The language of Eritreans living in eastern Akele Guzai and northern Semhar, most of whom profess the Muslim faith. But a few Christian Eritreans also speak Saho. Like the other languages, Saho is also spoken by some ethnic groups in the northern border areas of Ethiopia.
Tigre
Spoken by Eritreans inhabiting the north-eastern plains and the western lowlands, the majority of whom have adopted the Muslim faith. But it is also the language of Christian Eritreans, such as the Mensa of eastern Senhit. Tigre is also spoken by many Sudanese in Eastern Sudan.
Afar
Spoken by the people of eastern Eritrea, the province of Denkel. They practice Islam and share their language with those ethnic groups in Ethiopia and French Somaliland that border them.
Bilen
Spoken by Eritreans of the Bogos tribes in the province of Senhit. They are approximately equally divided between Muslims and Christians. This language originates from Agau and similar languages are spoken in Ethiopia by Agau peoples.
Beja
Spoken by Eritreans in northern Sahel and the western lowlands. These are
known as the Beja, are few in number and adhere to the Muslim faith. Beja is spoken by a large number of people in eastern Sudan.
Baza
Spoken by the Bazen of the western lowlands, between the Gash and the Setit. Although a few Bazen practice the Muslim and Christian faiths, most of them do not belong to any religious denomination.
Barya
Spoken by the Barya of the western lowlands, east of the Gash. Like the Bazen, a few Barya practice the Muslim and Christian faiths but are mostly without any religious affiliation.
Apart from the above linguistic divisions, there are a very small number of communities called the 'Rashaida' around the peripheries of Sahel, who speak Arabic and who have not mixed with any other ethnic communities. Despite the numerousness of the languages and the ethnic origins the Eritrean people are one people and, wherever they might be, they can use one or more languages to communicate with and understand each other. Of the languages that we have listed, only Tigrinya and Tigre are written. Since these are the offsprings of the Geez language, they are written in the Ge'ez script. Geez was the language in use centuries ago. After giving birth to Tigrinya and Tigre, today Geez finds itself only in Churches and holy books – it has become archaic. That is, Geez is used solely by the clergy and the Church and no one speaks or in any way uses it in daily parlance. However, it is of great importance both for religious and historical reasons. When the United Nations was attempting to solve the linguistic problem in Eritrea, it resorted to religious differences. Thus, in order to bind the Christians together through Tigrinya and the Muslims through Arabic, they resolved to make Tigrinya and Arabic the official languages of Eritrea.
F. Culture And Traditions
In the area of culture and traditions, the Eritrean people may differ in accordance with their ethnic, provincial and linguistic origins. However, this apparent difference is obscured by our people's commonly shared economic conditions, political awareness, history, geographic location and religious affiliation. As a result highland Eritreans share, more or less, the same culture and traditions. Similarly, although lowland Eritreans may have radically different cultures and traditions, they are closely linked through a common religion.
Like other peoples, therefore, Eritreans are, as we have seen, made up of different groups. Nevertheless, through ages of a common colonial experience, the Eritrean people's already related history, economy, political development, languages, culture and tradition have been so interfused, interbred and intertwined that today they stand on the same foundation. Therefore, Eritreans are a people that can neither be separated nor divided.
It is true that the people of the Eritrean highlands may be religiously related to the Christians of Ethiopia. Similarly, they may be linguistically (through Tigrinya) and by virtue of the same common cultural and traditional characteristics be related to the people of neighbouring Tigray. Moreover, the history of Eritrea, it is said, might have had some direct ties with that of the ancient kingdom of Aksum.
In the same way, Eritreans inhabiting the areas bordering on the Sudan may be religiously, linguistically and by virtue of some common cultural and traditional characteristics related with some of the peoples of eastern Sudan. Lastly, Eritreans who inhabit the coastal areas may, by virtue of their proximity to the sea, be susceptible to and influenced by the culture and traditions that come to them across the sea from the Arab world.
However, the internal relationships and unity within the country have a much broader and a stronger base. The surface similarities with neighbouring peoples along the borders can never be a rationale for the slicing up of a nation. It is for this reason that Eritrea must remain a single nation. It is not a country that will acquiesce to its division between Ethiopia and Sudan.
Besides, if the Eritrean people along the Sudanese border are viewed within the context of the people of Sudan as a whole, we find they are hardly related. In the same way, Eritreans along the Ethiopian border are very different if related to the people of Ethiopia as a whole. What is more, just as there are geographic, economic, religious, linguistic and folklore differences in our country Eritrea, there are equal or even more pronounced differences amongst the peoples of Ethiopia and the Sudan. If we remember ancient history, we find it almost unrelated to what we have in this modern age. If we were to re-establish nations and determine borders based on ancient history, we would have to create a new world consisting of new nations.
In the case of Africa, we do not even need to go back to ancient history. For, if we were to attempt to create new nations based on the conditions that existed a few centuries ago, we would form a continent consisting of thousands of parts and divisions.
In short, the differences amongst the Eritrean people are a phenomenon found in many other countries and, as such, our recognition of them is neither a source of shame nor a hindrance to a united Eritrea. What we are trying to clearly state is that religion by itself cannot be a basis for any struggle for national liberation. It is rather a tool of oppression and personal gain. Can we contend, for example, that all the religious and social differences we have already listed are merely religious? The truth is that religion is one of over ten characteristics peculiar to the Eritrean make-up. As such, to say that it is the basis of all the differences, oppression and struggle within the Eritrean society is nothing more than injustice. As we have seen, Eritrean society could, very broadly speaking and if the various differences are overlooked, be divided into two major groups. Since each of these major groups has its own religion, (Islam or Christianity), it could conceivably appear as if the social differences in Eritrea are religious. Such an assessment appears more pointed whenever foreign oppressors and opportunistic Eritreans exaggerate it in order to promote their own selfish interests.
The main objective of the above exposition is to clearly state that it is wrong to divide the Eritrean people on the basis of religion and to stress the fact that Eritreans are a united people. Anyone who denies the truth of what we have said, be he an Eritrean or an outsider, either does not know what he is talking about, or is an opportunist or expansionist. Let us now return to our main topic. If the situation is as we have described it, why have we decided to separate? The reason and basis for our separation goes back to the formation of "Jebha", the movement for the liberation of Eritrea. This goes back to 1961 and involves many events. We will, therefore, try to relate it as briefly as possible.