![]() Moreover, Bahru Zewdie a notable historian also adds when he writes, “It had thus become evident that Yohannes’ earlier hopes of containing the Italians within the coast were futile.” He further adds, “Protests from Ras Alula Aba-Nega, the governor of Mereb Melash, that the Italians should abandon their advance posts were ignored. Emperor Yohannes IV clearly understood the intent and in 1886 wrote a letter to Menilek where the letter said, “With the help of God, they will depart again, humiliated and disgraced in the eyes of the whole world.”Īs Harold Marcus, one of the leading authorities on Ethiopian history put it in his book “A History of Ethiopia”, when Emperor Yohannes wrote the letter, the Italians had already pushed further inland and occupied Saati, about 15 miles West of Massawa, and Wia, 20 miles to the South of the port. A few years before Eritrea was given away to Italians, the first settlers and the political milieu and military adventure that came with it gazed beyond what was later to be designated the Eritrean border-into the heartland. The repatriated Italians were second or third generation where the first settlers rendered Eritrea not only a colony per se but felt at home as they truly believed that it was their own and their own only. Well, as it turned out, there was a significant history related not to my childhood friend, his father or the Italian-boss but to that particular model-FIAT 500. ![]() Where am I going with the story, you might ask. The car however outlived our teenage years albeit it was a bit bungled up as years went by. When I was growing up in Asmara, the father of my childhood friend who was a plumber by trade owned FIAT 500 old model car As it happened, close to one hundred thousand Italians were repatriated mostly from Asmara back to Italy in 1974 when Dergue came to power, most of them left their properties behind and in most cases transferred ownership to Eritreans who had worked for them for years.Īnd the father of my childhood friend was lucky enough not only to inherit the car but landed ownership of a plumbing service or plant as well. ![]()
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