Classic Art Deco in Asmara

One of the first words I heard in any language once I got off the plane and through customs in Eritrea was pasta. One of many borrowed words I would hear throughout the day. One of my first missions was to rent a car. I was put in contact with a man named Estifanos; an interesting man with several relatives who moved to Canada 30 years ago during one of the first uprisings. He explained in near fluent English that the Italians, although they built a lot of infrastructure, did not educate the people. They ruled Eritrea for nearly 70 years from the late 1800's until the end of World War Two. Only mixed race children who had Italian fathers who recognized them were given an education at a Roman Catholic school. This, as Estifanos explained, created an elite class who looked down on poor agrarian Eritreans. That changed when the British came down from Sudan in the late 1940's and took over. "The British gave us a common language" he said. An Indian businessman from Oman who was looking to rent a car casually joined the conversation; "That is true, it was the same situation in my country, although nobody is agreeing that colonialism was ideal, it did have its benefits." These are the situations I love; an Indian, Canadian and an Eritrean all discussing something we're passionate about in a common language. For all Africans, not just Eritreans, the issue of language is more important than people think. Ethiopia for example has over 80 official languages which puts a major strain on the education system.