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.

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A STUDENT,S LIFE AT SAWA
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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.

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NO PARENT'S DAY; NO HOLIDAYS
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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.

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MEANWHILE, AT THE DETENTION CAMP ...
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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.

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Comment
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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