| Eritrean |
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| Cultural Profile |
Eritrea is a country about the size of the state of Mississippi, roughly 120,000 square kilometers. The region is dominated by a south-central highland with an average elevation of 2,100 meters. In the southern region are extinct volcanoes and fields of broken lava. The west is mainly rivers and fertile plains. The east borders the Red Sea and is a narrow strip of barren scrub land and desert.
Eritrea goes back to the days of the Pharaohs in Egypt, when they conducted trade with the chiefs of the Red Sea coasts. The region was invaded not only by the Egyptians, but also by the Turks and Italians. The name Eritrea was given by the Italians when it was a colony in 1890 and is derived from the Greek word for "red." Italy lost the colony to the British in 1941 and, after WWII, the United Nations made Eritrea an autonomous region of Ethiopia.
In 1962, under Emperor Haile Selassie, Eritrea was annexed and not only was its flag discarded, but the people were forced to use the Ethiopian language of Amharic. A year later, Eritreans began an armed revolt. This continued until 1991 when Eritrea was able to gain its independence. During the thirty years of fighting to gain independence the country was in a state of civil war.
As Eritreans were fighting for their freedom, their country was devastated. The countryside was in ruins and many Eritreans left to escape the intense fighting. Many went first to refugee camps in neighboring countries of Sudan and Zaire. Health conditions in the refugee camps were very bad and many suffered from hunger and disease. From the refugee camps, some Eritreans went to countries such as Germany, Sweden, Italy, United States, and Canada. For many Eritreans in Seattle, the United States is their second, third or, even, fourth country to live in.
Although Eritrea has its freedom, many Eritreans are still in refugee camps. They are waiting to return to Eritrea, pending provisions from the United Nations. Eritreans can no longer qualify for refugee status in the United States and some of the last refugees from Eritrea arrived in Seattle in 1993.
The traditional language, and now the official language, of Eritrea is Tigrinya. Many Eritreans also speak Italian and Arabic. During the period under Ethiopian rule, they were forced to speak Amharic.
Eritreans strongly believe that Eritreans understand one another and prefer not to be equated with Ethiopians, even though they may speak the same language. They prefer an Eritrean interpreter rather than an Ethiopian who speaks Tigrinya.
Children, both male and female are given their father's first name as their surname and will keep this name throughout their life.
In many families, although the men and women both work, it is the woman who comes home and cooks the meals as well as cares for the house. Traditionally, the girls are taught to share in household tasks, but with family roles changing, the boys in the family also help out with housecleaning and dishwashing. Traditionally, it is common for men as they approach 35 to 50 to do very little to help out in the duties of the home such as dishwashing and cleaning. However this, too, is changing as many of the women need to work outside the home.
Eritreans help one another and many send money back to family members in their country.
Since many of the Eritrean refugees in Seattle are younger, they have not had to encounter caring for the older generation. However, they strongly do not believe in placing an elderly family member in a convalescent home, and would rather take care of them at home. This can create problems if they need to work outside the home. Often they choose to send the elderly family member back to Eritrea where he or she will be comfortable in his or her familiar surroundings and circle of friends.
Eritrean women in Seattle seek prenatal care from community clinics and plan delivery in a hospital. In Eritrea, many had home deliveries performed by traditional birth assistants. They feel strongly that Western doctors do far too many unnecessary Cesarean sections and they would prefer the doctor wait for the baby to come naturally. Often they wait to come to the hospital because of this reason. Many older Eritrean women do not practice birth control, as they feel this is interfering with God's will. Because they see the economical disadvantage of having large families, however, younger women practice birth control.
Most Eritrean women breastfeed their babies. However, they do not give the breast for the first 24 hours. During this period they give the babies water with a little sugar in it. After this initial period they breastfeed for as long as they wish.
Toilet training is often begun as early as 5-6 months of age. Bowel training can be accomplished as early as 6-7 months and bladder training after one year. This is done by the mother and requires close attention to the child's elimination patterns. In Eritrea, the children often sleep with their parents until the first year or later. Since coming to the United States, Eritrean children sleep in separate beds much earlier in life.
In some families the father is the strong disciplinarian and in others the mother is stronger. Children are raised to respect and honor their elders. If a child is disciplined everyone around the child is aware of it.
Eritreans in Seattle have many concerns about raising their children in the American culture. In Eritrea dating is not allowed and teenage pregnancy is shameful. They feel that if a girl were to get pregnant outside of marriage, she would suffer for the next eighteen years.
Eritreans strongly emphasize education over social pleasures and believe in telling their children of their concerns and how they wish them to be raised. They are not happy about the peer pressure placed on teenagers.
Rarely do Eritreans eat outside the home and big meals are prepared by the women.
The main religion of Eritreans here in Seattle is Coptic Christian Orthodox. Some Eritreans are Catholic and Muslim. There is an Orthodox church in Seattle and they meet in a community center.
Other practices in Eritrea included the "burning," where a thin piece of metal was heated until it was red and then placed on the arm in different places to burn the flesh. Another practice was that of removing goiters. Often this is evident by visual tattoos around the neck area.
Eritreans strongly believe in the healing powers of different plants, and specifically roots. In their country they were often given a piece of a special root to chew and afterwards felt they were healed of their illness. They also believe in the power of some plants, in warding off snakes and curing them from snake bites. However since they are unable to bring these plants to this country, many of these practices are not available. However, Eritreans still strongly believe in the power of plants and often when a cure cannot be obtained in this country will return to Eritrea for traditional healing.
Female circumcision is practiced in Eritrea and traditionally performed by lay healers. The type of female circumcision varies from region to region. Eritreans wish to have all males circumcised.
When living in Eritrea, most Eritreans used hospitals in much the same way as here in the United States.
Most Eritreans are seen in community clinics and often go to Harborview, Swedish, Children's, Rainier Vista, and Virginia Mason. They adhere to Western medicine first for treatment and believe that doctors in this country are able to help them.
However, they are troubled by some practices. First, Eritreans feel that often too much blood is drawn for testing and would prefer this not performed unless absolutely necessary. They do not understand why blood is drawn on pregnant women, since they believe pregnant women need all the blood they have. They would prefer not to receive blood from others but also understand that if that is what is needed they will comply.
Second, they would also like to be thoroughly informed, especially by an Eritrean interpreter, before any procedures are done. Eritreans strongly believe that Eritreans understand one another and prefer not to be associated with Ethiopians even though they may speak the same language.
Eritrean men would prefer to be cared for by men health care providers. Eritrean women strongly wish to be cared for by women and would like to have an Eritrean female interpreter present when discussing their health problems.
Regarding surgery, they wish to be thoroughly informed, if possible, by an Eritrean interpreter. They trust the American doctors to know about needs for surgery and respect that.
If an Eritrean becomes ill with cancer or another life-threatening illness, they first follow the western medical plan. Eritreans strongly wish that the family be informed first of a diagnosis or poor prognosis rather then the patient. They often believe that if they return to Eritrea and are treated with plant roots or other modalities they will be healed. They feel that many treatments in Western medicine allow the disease to spread further in the body.
Most Eritreans in Seattle came as refugees, but some originally came as students, applying for political asylum when their student visa expired. Other Eritreans have settled in Washington D.C., Chicago, New York, and California. There is a network between Eritreans in all these cities and they are very supportive of one another.
If an Eritrean dies in Seattle, often the family wishes to have the body sent back to Eritrea for burial. Since this is an added expense, the community frequently helps financially. Eritreans take care of each other and this is a strong source of pride.
There are currently about 2,000-3,000 Eritreans living in the Seattle area. They live in close proximity to one another and have settled in areas such as North Seattle, (around 145th), South Seattle/Rainier Valley, and West Seattle. Some live in public housing, but more and more are beginning to buy homes.
Eritreans in Seattle can be found working in the janitorial services as well as in other manual laborer-type jobs. Many of their families were farmers in Eritrea and were not able to obtain more than an equivalent to our high school education. The state of education was very poor during the period of war. Today, in Seattle, many Eritreans are enrolled in the community colleges to learn skills, so they may become more marketable in the Seattle job market. They are hard workers and often both husband and wife work. Eritreans strongly encourage their children to get a good education and go on to college.
Overall, Eritreans are proud to be Eritreans. They have fought hard and suffered much to establish their freedom. Although many have come to the United States as refugees and do not plan to return, they have strong pride in their homeland.