Statement from the Office of the President

Address by the President to Members Completing National Service

My fellow Eritreans,

Today, I speak directly to the women and men who have completed their national service and are being released to return to civilian life.

My first message is simple: go home.

Go home to your parents, spouses, children, brothers and sisters. Spend time with the people from whom you have been separated. Take a deserved vacation. Rest your body and your mind. Attend to your health. Sleep without waiting for an order. Wake up without reporting to a commander. Recover the ordinary rhythms of private life that were denied to you for too long.

You have served enough.

Many of you have given not merely eighteen months, but the most productive years—or even decades—of your lives to the Government. You postponed education, employment, marriage, parenthood, enterprise and personal development. You lived on pocket money while the State exercised control over your labor and movement.

The statutory limit of national service is eighteen months. I have signed a Presidential Regulation directing the release of every member who has served that period, subject only to the narrow and lawful exceptions expressly established by legislation. No person shall henceforth be compelled to remain in national service beyond eighteen months.

Those of you who wish to leave Government service shall be free to leave. Those who wish to continue working for the Government, and whose services the Government needs, may be employed under the Civil Service Administration Act. Your relationship with the State will then be the lawful relationship of employer and employee. You will have defined duties, proper employment records, fair compensation and the protections afforded to civil servants. Continued Government employment will depend upon consent, not compulsion.

The truth must be stated plainly. Much of the national-service system was wasteful. It wasted your time, abilities and private lives. It also wasted the productive capacity of the country. Too many capable people were stationed in places where they had little meaningful work. Too many years were consumed without sufficient education, production, infrastructure or national development to justify the sacrifice.

Had those sacrifices built a prosperous country, that achievement might at least have offered some consolation. But the expected development did not occur. Your labor was not organized into a productive economy. The country did not produce enough housing, food, goods, industries or employment. Eritrea asked too much from you and produced too little with what you gave.

That failure belongs to the State. It does not belong to you.

We cannot return the years that were taken from you. We can, however, stop taking more. We can recognize what happened, release you from compulsory service and begin building an economy in which your work benefits you, your family and the country.

I will not deceive you. When you return home, Eritrea may not immediately have a job waiting for every one of you. Our economy is weak. Private enterprise has been constrained, investment has been discouraged, infrastructure has deteriorated and many productive citizens have left the country. Releasing large numbers of people from national service will expose a serious unemployment problem that compulsory service previously concealed.

You know this reality better than I do. You have lived it.

But release cannot be postponed merely because the Government failed to prepare for freedom. Unemployment is a serious problem; indefinite forced service is not its solution. The Government must release you first and then work urgently to create the conditions in which you can build independent lives.

While you rest, your Government will be working. We will remove unnecessary restrictions on trade and enterprise. We will modernize banking and currency exchange. We will employ technology, invite responsible foreign investment and encourage Eritreans abroad to bring their capital, knowledge and professional networks home. We will devise policies that support employment, housing, education, vocational training and small businesses.

In one important respect, Eritrea is fortunate. A considerable part of our population now lives abroad. Many left in opposition to conditions inside the country; others left in search of safety and economic opportunity. They are not strangers. They are your parents, children, brothers, sisters, relatives and friends. They remember those who remained, and many are eager to participate in rebuilding their country.

The knowledge, skills and wealth they acquired abroad can become an important source of national recovery. Some will return. Others will invest from where they live. They may build homes for themselves and their families, establish businesses, finance projects and form partnerships with Eritreans inside the country.

Diaspora investment alone will not solve every economic problem, and the Government will not shift its responsibility onto Eritreans abroad. But diaspora participation can provide the first powerful movement of capital, construction and confidence that our economy urgently needs.

Housing construction can be an immediate engine of employment. Eritreans abroad want to build homes for themselves, their parents and their relatives. Eritreans inside the country also need homes. To make this possible, the Government will simplify lawful access to land, construction permits, building materials, finance and property registration.

Think about what a broad construction program can produce. Every house requires surveyors, designers, masons, carpenters, electricians, plumbers, welders, painters, drivers and suppliers. It requires cement, stone, metal, wood, glass, water systems and electrical equipment. Materials must be imported, produced, stored and transported.

Around every active construction area, other businesses will emerge. Workers will need restaurants, cafés, shops and transportation. After work, they will seek places to meet and obtain lawful entertainment. Goods will move from ports to warehouses, from warehouses to shops and from shops to construction sites. Ports, roads, trucks, stores and markets will become busier.

This activity will create opportunities for thousands of former national-service members. It will also create opportunities for people who do not have relatives abroad. A reasonable and fair taxation system will help the Government finance training, infrastructure and assistance for those who lack private support. National recovery must not divide Eritreans between those with diaspora relatives and those without them.

I expect the first five or six years of reconstruction to be exceptionally busy. Housing and basic infrastructure can begin the recovery, but they cannot be its final destination. Construction must be followed by more durable investment.

We will encourage small and medium-sized factories that produce the goods Eritreans use every day. We will develop agriculture, fisheries, transportation, communications, tourism, professional services and responsible mining. As our skills and production improve, Eritrean businesses should also export to nearby markets at competitive prices.

Our goal is not simply to import and consume. It is to learn, produce and trade.

This brings me to what I ask of you.

First, go home and rest. You have earned that rest. Do not feel guilty for taking it. Recovery is not laziness. After years under orders, learning to direct your own life will itself require time.

Second, take care of your health. Obtain medical attention where it is needed. Speak with your family about what you have experienced. Some injuries are visible and others are not. There is no shame in seeking psychological support after years of separation, uncertainty and institutional control.

Third, after you have rested, begin acquiring practical skills. Do not wait passively for the Government to assign you another role. Your life now belongs to you. Consider the opportunities that will emerge and prepare for them.

Learn construction skills. Learn masonry, carpentry, plumbing, electrical installation, welding, painting, machinery operation, surveying, drafting, bookkeeping and project management. Learn how to repair vehicles, appliances, pumps, solar systems and communications equipment. Learn food processing, commercial farming, fishing, logistics, hospitality and digital services.

Many of these skills can be acquired more quickly than people imagine. Eritreans are capable, practical and innovative. With focused instruction and repeated practice, a person can become employable in a matter of months and continue developing expertise while working.

My Administration will expand vocational training and use technology to reach people throughout the country. With reliable internet access, one qualified civil engineer can teach students in every zoba. A skilled electrician or plumber can demonstrate techniques to thousands of learners remotely. Online platforms contain extensive educational material, much of it freely available. We will organize, translate and supplement that material so it can be used effectively in Eritrea.

Technology cannot replace hands-on training, but it can make knowledge available everywhere. Training centers, private employers, experienced tradespeople and online instruction will work together. Certificates should reflect demonstrated ability, not merely time spent in a classroom.

Former national-service members already possess valuable qualities: endurance, discipline, adaptability and the ability to work under difficult conditions. The new task is to redirect those qualities toward civilian professions, private enterprise and freely chosen employment.

You were previously told where to go and what work to perform. Now you must begin making those decisions for yourselves. Freedom brings uncertainty, but it also brings ownership. You may fail, try again, change occupations, start a business, work for someone else or continue your education. These decisions belong to you.

I cannot honestly promise that every person will immediately obtain secure employment or that prosperity will arrive without difficulty. Economic recovery takes time. Some policies will fail and will have to be corrected. Investment will require legal stability, infrastructure and confidence. The Government must earn that confidence through its conduct.

But I can promise a change in direction.

The Government will no longer conceal unemployment by holding people in compulsory service. It will no longer treat wasted years as evidence of patriotism. It will measure its success by the number of citizens who find productive work, support their families, build homes, establish businesses and live without fear of arbitrary control.

Your release is not the end of your contribution to Eritrea. It is the beginning of a different contribution—one made as a free citizen.

You will work again, but your work will be chosen and compensated. You will build again, but what you build will benefit you and your family as well as the country. You will serve Eritrea, but Eritrea must also serve you by protecting your rights and creating conditions in which your effort can prosper.

So, for now, go home.

Embrace your family. Attend to your health. Rest well. Recover the life that was interrupted.

Then rise again—not because an official ordered you to do so, but because you have chosen your next purpose. Learn quickly. Prepare carefully. The country will soon need builders, producers, drivers, technicians, traders, farmers, teachers, entrepreneurs and professionals of every kind.

There will be work to do. There will be homes to build, roads to repair, goods to move, businesses to establish and communities to renew. There will be opportunities to earn money, support your families and rebuild your country.

The years already lost cannot be recovered. The years ahead must not be wasted.

Your compulsory service is ending.

Your private life is beginning.

Welcome home.

Address by the President to Eritreans Abroad

My fellow Eritreans abroad,

I speak to you today with gratitude, respect and a profound sense of national renewal. For many years, you carried Eritrea in your hearts while building lives far from its shores. You preserved your families, supported communities at home and abroad, and kept alive the hope that Eritrea could one day become a country in which its citizens live freely, prosper through their own effort and participate meaningfully in their government.

I understand why so many of you left.

You left a garrison state in which ordinary life was subordinated to indefinite national service, arbitrary administrative power, economic oppression and fear. You left because the State denied you sufficient control over your labor, movement, property and future. You refused to surrender your entire life to a system that offered neither a lawful limit on its demands nor a reliable path toward freedom and prosperity.

Those who were unwilling to bow to repression deserve praise. Leaving was an act of courage, survival and, for many, opposition to oppression. You crossed deserts, seas and borders. Some of you endured imprisonment, trafficking, violence, hunger and exploitation. Some watched companions die along the way. You risked everything merely to exercise a freedom that should never have been denied to you.

As citizens, you were entitled to receive passports promptly and to leave and return to your country without arbitrary exit-visa requirements. That is how citizens are ordinarily treated by their governments elsewhere in Africa and throughout the world. Yet many Eritreans had to evade surveillance, cross borders secretly and even dodge bullets merely to leave their own country. No citizen should ever again be forced to face such dangers to exercise the elementary freedom of movement.

The brethren you left behind often understood and supported your departure. They prayed for your safety and celebrated when they learned that you had reached a secure destination. Your escape became their relief; your survival became their hope. Many believed that, if one member of the family could reach freedom and opportunity, the entire family would have a better chance of surviving.

This praise does not condemn those who remained. Remaining in Eritrea did not signify support for oppression. Exit was never easy, and for many it was impossible. Many remained because they could not safely leave. They had children, elderly parents, disabilities, poverty, family obligations or other responsibilities that prevented departure. Others lacked the money, physical ability or connections required to undertake the dangerous journey. Many resisted silently, protected their families and endured conditions from which they had no safe means of escape. Their endurance was also a form of courage.

I also recognize that Eritreans who left the country do not all understand the causes of Eritrea’s hardships in the same way. Some attribute the country’s political and economic difficulties principally to the conduct of the Government. Others believe that hostile foreign policies, war, sanctions, regional instability and other outside forces contributed substantially to Eritrea’s insecurity and economic desperation. Many see responsibility as shared. I respect these differences of opinion. A free country does not demand one official explanation of its history. Eritreans must be free to examine the evidence, disagree openly and reach their own conclusions. Acknowledging outside pressures, however, does not relieve any government of its duty to govern lawfully, protect individual liberty and remain accountable for the decisions within its control.

You owe no apology for leaving oppression. The State owes you an apology for creating conditions in which departure became your safest hope.

You did not abandon Eritrea. You carried Eritrea with you.

In unfamiliar countries, often beginning with very little, you learned new languages, acquired education, mastered professions, established businesses and raised families. You became workers, farmers, nurses, doctors, engineers, lawyers, teachers, scientists, tradespeople, artists, entrepreneurs and public servants. You built homes, accumulated knowledge and formed relationships across the world.

During years of economic desperation at home, you sustained parents, children, siblings and entire communities. Your remittances paid for food, medicine, education, housing and countless necessities. Your achievements gave hope to those who remained. The country survived in part because you built yourselves in places where your work and ability had room to grow.

Eritrea is the sum of its citizens. When Eritreans improve their lives, the country collectively improves. When Eritreans acquire education, knowledge, professional experience and wealth, Eritrea acquires a greater national capacity. By seeking better economic opportunities, you helped yourselves, your families and your country.

The wealth you earned is your private property. It does not belong to the Government, and the Government has no inherent claim upon it. Any contribution you make to Eritrea must be voluntary, lawful and protected. Your patriotism must never again be exploited through coercion, intimidation, compulsory payments or disguised expropriation.

We also owe a lasting debt of gratitude to the countries and communities that received Eritreans when their own country failed to protect them. These countries granted asylum and other forms of protection, rescued people in danger, provided education and healthcare, opened their labor markets and allowed Eritreans to rebuild their lives in safety. Many integrated Eritreans into their economies and communities and, in time, welcomed them as permanent residents and citizens.

To those governments and peoples, Eritrea says: thank you. You protected our citizens when they were vulnerable. You invested in their education and gave their abilities an opportunity to flourish. The knowledge, skills and confidence that Eritreans may now bring home were developed in substantial part through your generosity and your institutions. A renewed Eritrea will remember that friendship.

Today, a different Eritrean Government is being erected: a Government governed by law, limited by law and answerable under law. It is a Government that you may question, criticize, oppose and take to court. It is a Government that recognizes the citizen as the holder of rights and public authority as a limited trust.

We are erecting a Government worthy of investment: one that publishes its laws, honors lawful contracts, protects private property and submits disputes to competent and independent courts. Investors must not depend upon political favor, personal connections or the changing wishes of officials. Their security must rest upon clear laws and enforceable rights.

Our first priorities are democratic institution-building and the economic prosperity of our people. Political freedom cannot be complete while citizens remain economically powerless, and economic development cannot be secure where authority is arbitrary. Eritrea must build both freedom and prosperity upon the same foundation: the rule of law.

For that reason, I invite Eritreans abroad to return, visit, invest, teach, advise and participate in rebuilding the country. Return at the pace and in the manner that your circumstances permit. No one will question your patriotism because you cannot immediately relocate. Contribution may take many forms and may come from Asmara, Stockholm, London, Toronto, Melbourne, Washington or anywhere else Eritreans live.

Come with your families. Come also with your friends, colleagues, employers, business partners and investors. Introduce Eritrea to the people who welcomed you and worked beside you. Invite them to participate in lawful ventures that benefit both Eritrea and those who invest in it. Good-faith partners from other countries will be welcomed and protected under the same transparent laws.

The Government will present to the National Assembly a modern Commercial Code that reflects contemporary commerce and technological development. It will provide reliable rules for limited liability companies, share companies, partnerships, cooperatives, electronic transactions, secured credit, corporate governance, insolvency and investor protection.

I encourage Eritreans abroad to form commercial entities and pool their knowledge, capital and professional experience. Individually, an investment may appear too difficult or risky. Together, Eritreans can establish enterprises capable of building factories, processing agricultural products, developing fisheries, supporting responsible mining, constructing homes, providing transportation and introducing modern technology.

Eritrea needs manufacturing industries that create useful products and stable employment. It needs productive farms, modern fishing enterprises, responsible mineral development, reliable transportation, telecommunications, professional services and lawful real-estate development. It needs housing for families and commercial spaces for growing businesses.

Investment directed toward employing, training or supporting Eritreans released from national service will receive substantial encouragement and preferential treatment under published and lawful criteria. These citizens have already given years of their lives to the State. They now deserve an opportunity to build private lives, establish families, acquire property, obtain meaningful employment and contribute to the country through freely chosen work.

Diaspora Eritreans are especially welcome to build residential homes for themselves and for relatives who remained in Eritrea. Construction will provide employment for citizens entering civilian life and will stimulate local production, transportation, engineering and financial services. Land allocation, construction permits and property registration must be governed by accessible rules rather than administrative favor.

Eritrea is also introducing a modern banking and financial system. The National Bank of Eritrea Act establishes an independent and professionally governed National Bank. Banking institutions, payment systems, savings, credit and investment facilities will be modernized so that citizens and businesses can move and use money securely.

Currency exchange will be governed by the market and by transparent monetary regulation. There will be no forced exchange designed to confiscate the value of private money. The Government will not expropriate private wealth under the disguise of currency exchange. Any restriction affecting property must have a lawful public purpose, must be proportionate and must provide fair compensation whenever the law requires it.

I do not ask you to invest merely because you are Eritrean. Patriotism is not a substitute for economic judgment, legal protection or governmental competence. Examine opportunities carefully. Demand written agreements. Seek professional advice. Question public officials. Insist upon transparency. A responsible Government should welcome careful investors because scrutiny strengthens institutions and discourages corruption.

I ask you, however, to consider the extraordinary importance of this moment. Eritrea is emerging from decades in which human ability was suppressed, private initiative was constrained and an entire generation was prevented from planning its own future. The country cannot recover through Government action alone. It needs the energy of all its citizens, including the experience accumulated by Eritreans throughout the world.

Bring more than money. Bring ideas, professional standards, ethical business practices and the habits of accountable institutions. Bring the lessons you learned from societies that protect rights, reward work and resolve disagreements peacefully. Adapt those lessons to Eritrea’s history and circumstances. Help us build institutions better than those that drove you away.

This invitation is not a command to forget. Reconciliation does not require silence, and national unity does not require a false account of the past. You are free to remember, speak, criticize and seek lawful redress. The new Eritrea must be strong enough to hear the truth from its own citizens.

The door of your country shall be open. Your citizenship shall be respected. Your property shall be protected. Your opinions shall not be punished. Your success shall not make you a target of the State.

To the countries that protected Eritreans, I renew our gratitude. To their citizens, institutions and businesses, I extend Eritrea’s friendship. To the friends, colleagues and partners of Eritreans abroad, I extend an invitation: come with them, work with them and help us build a peaceful and prosperous country.

To every Eritrean abroad, I say this: the country you carried through the years now calls upon your knowledge, experience and imagination. Come not as subjects summoned by a Government, but as free citizens invited to participate in a common national undertaking.

Let us build an Eritrea from which no citizen must flee to become free, in which no person must leave to secure a future, and to which every Eritrean may return with confidence and dignity.

Welcome home.