Eritrea expels 14 missionaries
By Tesfa-alem Tekle
November 15, 2007(MEKELLE, Ethiopia) — Eritrea has expelled 14 foreign missionaries who were working in the country under different NGOs misson.asena-on line.com reported.
The missionaries from Mexico, Philippines, Kenya, Cambodia and others were expelled after President Isayas Afeworki led government ordered them to leave the red sea nation with in 15 days two weeks ago.
An official from an Italian NGO who has been working in the country since 1972 and asked to remain anonymous because of the tense situation in the country, said, “The Eritrean government had sent official statements two weeks ago to our NGO and to others that work in the country. In theory, we should also be handing over all of our projects to the government.”
“We know for months that missionaries were at risk because of the expired residency permits” adding “it is so difficult to work in Eritrea as every thing is under the control of the government.” He said.
The official further said Asmara has had a policy during recent years of driving out western humanitarian workers from Eritrea.
“Since 2005, according to the proclamation which sent many organizations packing home, the NGO, are no longer the ones who carry on projects but they are simply donors authorized to monitor; it is rather the government that carries them out.” the official explained.
“We have been reminded of this by an official communiqué few days ago, according to which we must consign all of our projects to the government” he said.
With the continued economic and humanitarian situation the official warns that tragic humanitarian crises could burst any time in Eritrea with out the help of foreign aid agencies.
“With our humanitarian aid the population will be abandoned, the situation it self is already tragic.
The people have a right to only two loaves of bread per-day” like wise, people are not allowed to leave the country and thus “they don’t realize that another way of life exists and that in order to achieve it only a few things would need to be changed. ”
(ST)
Kifly Merhu
Eritrea expels 14 missionaries
Most NGO’s make the people dependent. They are only willing to give you a fish, but not willing to show you how to fish. There is a business and political interest behind their idea.
Gerrie Lijam
Eritrea expels 14 missionaries
Dear Editor,
While refusing to accept and approve Eritrean catholic missionaries to serve in foreign countries nor allowing Eritreans to serve their own humanitarian and religious missions in their own native territory based Eritrean Catholic churches, as the Vatican II convention upholds, the Romans controlled and monopolized Catholic church is hypocritically shedding crocodile tears for the “Gospel” and desperately seeking to hold on to long dead colonization.
Sending foreign church missionaries to Eritrea to serve the same God that the Eritreans have been worshiping for centuries before the Catholic church came to being is an insult to Eritreans. Instead of relaying on the imperialistic power hungry manipulation of self serving false prophets and Messiahs of the European and other foreign “missionaries” of the Catholic church, one only needs to refer to the “Erythrean (Eritrean) Sea” of the Old Testament of the Bible, to find out that Eritreans have been Christians before the Romans waged crusade to force the Europeans to convert them to Christianity, establishing the Catholic Church.
Dear Editor,
As a Catholic and a former altar boy, raised strictly in a devoted Catholic family with convictions to uphold the covenant of the Catholic religion and Church rules and regulations, just like millions of Eritreans, I consider my self and many Eritreans being able and capable to carry on all Church missions and services in Eritrean native traditional format and formation, with out having to succumb to “foreign catholic missionaries”.
Therefore, I hereby request that the Catholic Church needs to respect and accept the demand of Eritreans, with out having to wage political propaganda against Eritrean’s free will, religious commitment and missionary services.
Gerrie Lijam,
San Jose, Ca.
USA