Cilmiile, that book is amazing to say the least...as soon as I read the first few pages, i was hooked and read it from front to back.
Gedo_boy and Mad Mac, I highly recommend you check out "I didnt do it for you" by michelle wrong, it's a great read..
Gedo_boy, it is not Eritreans who have hated Ethiopians, it is the Ethiopian government(s) that have waged war on Eritrea for the past 50 years. It is even said that Ethiopia has lost more Ethiopian soldiers trying to keep Eritrea under Ethiopia than all of Eritrea's population (4.9 million) for the last 50 years
I've studied Eritrea and Ethiopia's ethnic groups and you need to sit down for this cunfusion that's about to come your way....
Eritrea's 9 ethnic tribes
The Kushitic linguistic groups: Afar 4%, (Denkalia), Bilen 2% (Keren area), Hedareb 2% (Tessenei), Saho 3% (Foro)
The Nilotic linguistic groups: Kunama 3% and Nara 2% (or Baria) (Western lowlands)
The Semitic linguistic groups: Tigre 35% (Sahel) and Tigrinya 48% (mainly in the highlands)
Here's a picture to show you what parts of Eritrea they live in
http://www.hidehome.com/nph-proxy.cgi/0 ... People.jpgTigre Eritreans are majority Muslim and are semitic linguistic Eritreans who are very similar to Tigrinya Eritreans...both their language is based on the Geez
In northern Ethiopia, there is a group called the Tigray ( also spelled as Tigrai or Tigre) and they speak a close language with the Tigrinya Eritreans, however, they are still slightly different. The Tigray are a minority group in Ethiopia who are in power because Eritreans trained and funded them to put them in power over Ethiopia once the Amhara dominated Derg government was destroyed.
to sum it up, Tigray (also spelled Tigrai or Tigre) Ethiopians are different from Tigrinya Eritreans and Tigre Eritreans. The only common thing they share is all three of these tribes made up the Axum empire and share a close language with one another.
Eritrea is indeed 50/50 Christians and Muslims. The Highlanders who are mainly Tigrinya Eritreans are 95% Christians and the Tigre Eritreans are 95% Muslims. The rest 7 minority Eritrean ethnic groups are mostly Muslims, with the exception of Bilen Ethnic group who are 50/50 Christian and Muslims.
One thing is for sure, Eritreans have the upper hand right now. The Ethiopian government has waged war against a country that it will never win. As soon as the Tigray minority ruling party in Ethiopia is gone, Eritrea needs to put the Oromos in power for peace to ever last in the horn. If the Amhara ethnic group comes to power, Eritreans will yet again fight in another war with Ethiopia because of Amhara's bitterness towards Eritreans for defeating them and making them landlocked in the 30 year war. Ethiopia is the saddest country on Earth, it is home to the niles source called Lake Tana...a lake that can end Ethiopia's addiction to aid but instead of fighting Egyptions, who take 75% of Ethiopia's lake tana (the other 25% of the lake resoures goes to Sudan) resourses, they want to fight tiny Eritrea over a port that has always had Eritreans living there and never Amharas. Instead of protecting their Lake Tana which is the source for the Nile River, Ethiopians want to take another nations port city. This is how dumb they are, they never will cry over djobuti's port, which was once a part of Ethiopia because it isn't about a port issue or being landlocked, it's about pride...for the Amhara Ethiopians to be defeated by a nation 1/20th the size of their country destroyed their ego. In the horn of Africa, pride is just as big as their foreheads. Sadly, Ethiopians will always try to invade Eritrea because it is the girl that left them heartbroken and as a jealous ex-boyfriend/girlfriend, they feel they have to make her pay in doing so......
in short, Oromos have to be put in power over Ethiopia for Ethiopia to see peace with Somalia and Eritrea. If Amharas come to power, Eritrea will yet again be invaded via American tax payer "aid money". Eritreans have to be the most unluckest people to go through the mind bogling things they went and overcame through....
Anyways If you guys want a quick history listen by the author of the book, read this BBC article....it shows you how Eritreans shaped and formed Ethiopia's government only for them to come back and attack Eritreans a few years later.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4527844.stm