SAWA: A SCHOOL, A TRAINING CAMP AND A DETENTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASMARA 000995 SIPDIS SIPDIS LONDON FOR AFRICA WATCHERS, PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/27/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PINR SOCI ER SUBJECT: SAWA: A SCHOOL, A TRAINING CAMP AND A DETENTION CENTER Classified By: AMB. Scott H. DeLisi for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: On the dusty hot plains of western Gash Barka, in the small village of Sawa, the GSE operates two facilities, the youth campus of Sawa and Forto Sawa. The youth campus of Sawa, commonly called Sawa, provides military training and political indoctrination and academic classes to Eritrean youth. Approximately 2 kilometers away and separate from the Sawa youth campus, Forto Sawa serves as a military training and detention facility. The detention facility is the site of the GSE,s re-education efforts for Eritrean citizens who the GSE believe do not fully support the government and the party. Following a shooting circa October 2006 of Sawa students who attempted to cross the border to Sudan, students at the youth campus remain locked down on the campus and GSE officials do not permit parents to visit. End Summary. -------------- A STUDENT,S LIFE AT SAWA -------------- ¶2. (U) In 1994, the Government of Eritrea began rotating all Eritrean students from 8th to 12th grades to participate in month-long military training programs at Sawa. In the early years, some of these students also served as construction workers and built the campus. In 2001, the GSE changed the program and established a ROTC-like boarding school. Overseen by the Ministry of Defense with the involvement of the Ministry of Education, all 12th grade students, with no exceptions, are required to spend their final year of secondary school at the Sawa youth campus. An estimated four to six thousand students attend each year, including those with disabilities and special needs. Students with special needs or disabilities are exempt from the military training only after rigorous medical review of their conditions. ¶3. (U) While attending Sawa, students take the country-wide matriculation exam, a pre-requisite for assignment to one of the few state-run post-secondary institutions. According to students, the most important subject is political indoctrination and military training. Members of the Eritrean Defense Forces, assigned as trainers to Sawa, teach the students how to use weapons and care for munitions, conduct military operations and provide basic military training. Members of the People,s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ),Eritrea,s sole political party, serve as educators for political indoctrination, focusing on Eritrean history, the history of the struggle and the role of the party. In addition, they recruit party members. (Note: Party membership is essentially a requirement for all adult Eritreans seeking any government related job or services. End note.) Most of the academic teachers are Eritrean graduates of the University of Asmara. Yet, in the past, a few foreign nationals, mostly Indians, taught in the sciences. There are rumors that in the near future the Ministry of Education,s computer training program will be based at Sawa. For the first time ever, in the 2006-2007 school year, parents were expected to pay for their child,s school supplies, including books. ¶4. (U) While the weather can be extremely hot, the living conditions appear adequate and provide sufficient shelter for the students. Morning classes are held five days a week. Due to the severe heat, there are no afternoon classes. Students usually study in the evening until ten o,clock when the electricity is turned off. The youth campus compound is quite large and includes: dormitories, a cafeteria, classrooms and labs, a library, and playing fields. The dormitories look like large warehouses with the boys and girls sleeping on bunk beds in separate dorms. The food supply, however, is limited, and the students participate in military training and occasionally hard labor. Students report receiving three rolls of hard bread and lentil stew as their daily ration. Tea is provided and meat served on holidays. In the past, parents were able to supplement the food ration by providing food during visits and the students were able to purchase supplementary food in the local town; however the ban on visitation and the student lockdown has ended this practice. -------------- NO PARENT'S DAY; NO HOLIDAYS -------------- ¶5. (C) Student reactions about Sawa are mixed. A few Sawa graduates portray a happy time with friends in their first adventure away from home. For most, the time in Sawa is difficult and, increasingly, parents are seeking ways to avoid sending their children. With reports of abuses of students at the campus, including the sexual assault of young women, parents are increasingly nervous about their children's attendance. Muslim parents reportedly are extremely reluctant to send their daughters to Sawa. In addition, post heard reports that in Spring 2006, several students caught reading the bible were severely punished and held in detention. In Asmara, on the day of departure for Sawa in August, many crying children and parents were seen at the bus pickup sites. ¶6. (C) In the past, parents easily received permission from regional officials to visit their 12th grade children. For the past few months, GSE officials have denied parents permission and some parents report having no communication from their children during this time. Presently, students are not permitted to leave the campus, even to travel to the local town to purchase supplementary food items. The school officials established these restrictions following the reported shooting of at least two students attempting to illegally cross the border to Sudan in October. One parent told Poloff that he has not heard from his son at Sawa in months and believes his son has been sent to another location, possibly outside of Eritrea. Since 2001, school officials allowed students a month-long holiday after the first semester (usually during the month of November) during which they were permitted to visit their families. For the current school year, officials cancelled the break and have provided no information on plans to reinstate it. -------------- MEANWHILE, AT THE DETENTION CAMP ... -------------- ¶7. (C) The GSE often recalls Eritreans serving in national service for "re-training" at Sawa and for other national service administrative tasks. For these programs, the GSE typically uses the youth campus. However, the GSE also maintains Forto Sawa a second facility near the village of Sawa. At Forto Sawa, a military training and detention camp, there are reports that Jehovah,s Witnesses, Pentecostals and other members of unregistered religious groups, draft dodgers and other individuals seen as threatening the stability of the GSE and the PFDJ rule, are sent to Sawa for "re-education." (Note: Post believes that the Embassy FSN, who was arrested in Spring 2006 and is still in detention ) presumably because he is a Jehovah's Witness - is being held at Forto Sawa. End Note.) Post has heard reports that detainees suffer maltreatment, including torture, during their detention. Many are held for months and even years with no due process or charges levied against them. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶8. (C) The schooling at Sawa is a significant phase in the life of an Eritrean youth and a prominent feature in Eritrean society today. During the summer months when many of the diaspora returned, the GSE sponsored "fun" youth camps for children of the diaspora in an effort to paint Sawa as a positive Eritrean educational experience, to indoctrinate the youth of the diaspora and to refute allegations about the treatment and training of the youth. Many Eritreans believe their youth need to learn the value of being tough and strong through experiences of hardship and pain - just like their parents and the fighters in the struggle. These attitudes reflect important values in the Eritrean culture. ¶9. (C) The lockdown and the tight controls at Sawa are not a surprise. Given Sawa's proximity to Sudan, many young people while at Sawa have attempted to illegally cross the border. They are likely to continue to trying to do so and, as a result, the Sawa experience may become even more restrictive. End Comment. DELISI