To Fight and Learn: The PRAXIS and Promise of Literacy in Eritrea's Independence War
- Book Review,
by Les Gottesman
Book Description
War And Beyond This book investigates the promise of education, as understood by adults, and the practice of educators-teachers, administrators, and educational policy makers-in the newly independent nation of Eritrea. In May 1991, the Eritrean People's Liberation Army "swept 100,000 besieged Ethiopian soldiers out of Asmara, the Eritrean capital," ending 30 years of Ethiopian occupation and Africa's longest continuous modern war. On May 24,1993, Eritrea declared itself an independent nation. On May 28, Eritrea joined the United Nations. The Eritrean independence struggle became synonymous with "self-reliance"- a 30-year war fought from wholly within the country by a politically mobilized population supporting a large, well-trained army using captured weapons. The historical and political necessity of Eritrean self-reliance forced Eritreans to plan and test-while fighting for-the kind of society they wanted. The Eritrean People's Liberation Front, or EPLF, the leadership of the independence war and subsequently the core of the provisional Government of Eritrea (from May 1991) and now (since May 1993) of the Government of Eritrea, has had long-standing plans for the redesign of education to meet the country's needs in the era of peace and political independence. In her 1990 film, ERITREA, Susan Kalish observed: Envisioning a world beyond war, Eritreans give highest priority to education. Children are enrolled in schools inside liberated Eritrea and in neighboring Sudan. Classrooms are camouflaged to avoid detection by Ethiopian bombers. In the upper grades, classes are taught in English. Fluency in English will keep Eritreans current with worldwide developments in science and technology. English will also help an independent Eritrea community. Adult education is also a high priority. In literacy classes, peasants and fighters alike are being retrained and prepared for independence and self-determination. Also in 1990, Roy Paterman cited as one of his reasons for "predicting the ultimate success" of the EPLF the close relationship between Eritrean peasants and the movement: "Peasants," explained Paterman, "have been as important as technology in transforming societies," However, "peasants are most likely to revolt if faced with a new or sudden imposition which by the Ethiopian regime, of "land reform" and collective farming, swung peasant support decisively to the EPLF in the 1970s. Since then, the EPLF has managed to introduce many reforms, including land redistribution . "Peasant acceptance of the EPLF's land reform policy has been a major reason for the EPLF's continued ability to mobilize popular support," Pateman concluded. The EPLF, Richard Leonard observed in 1988, has not only been doing things in a very sensible manner, but doing first things first. Since Eritrea is a peasant society, growth and development must begin with the peasantry. The EPLF has recognised this, and in terms of actions undertaken and results obtained, attention is cent [e] red on the peasantry. First things first means beginning with the creation of local democratic organs of self-government. It means involving peasants in such a way that it is they who are the fundamental actors in developing rural society.
From the Back Cover
What was the promise of education that drew thousands of rural Eritreans to literacy classes in the midst of drought, famine, and war? This new book examines the remarkable testimony of Eritrea's fighter-teachers, the teenagers who spent years behind enemy lines teaching peasants and nomads to read and write during Eritrea's independence struggle. Using philosophical hermeneutics-the study of human understanding-as an analytical framework, Dr. Gottesman shows how the teachers became students of their students, learning the language and customs of rural people to create a "fusion of horizons." In this educational process, traditional Eritrean values and the progressive vision of the revolutionary movement found a locus for dialogue, exchange, and for change itself. The acceptance of education into rural life, under tense and dangerous conditions, provided a process for social change to be considered and adopted, transforming, in some cases, health and sanitation practices, introducing democratic local government, advancing the status of women in many aspects of life, and improving agriculture. these were the formative experiences of the educators who are responsible today for the national education system of independent Eritrea.
About the Author
Les gottesman is an associate professor of English and communications at Golden Gate University, San Francisco. he has published articles on education in Eritrea and on philosophical hermeneutics and its application to university teaching in the United States.
Buy from Amazon
Compare Prices
|
|
Home
