On The Other Hand.....

http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/12/12/a...erialists/

[quoteAfter my intensive work in Eritrea, I testify: I came to my conclusion: the country is socialist!

It is socialist, if the definitions of Latin America were to be applied.

At the same time, it is socialist in its own way. It will never take any diktats from anybody: from the West, or even from the friendly countries of Latin America, South Africa, China or Russia.

Eritrea belongs to its own people.

I have worked in 150 countries of the world, and I never encountered a nation like this.

My first three days there were confusing. I tried to place Eritrea in a box, somewhere. Later, I just let go and smiled… And enjoyed the ride, so to speak.

What a beauty she is! And what strength, courage, and resilience she radiates!

As my plane was taking off, for Cairo, at 4 in the morning, I was humming some tune, happily. I was leaving behind a country that I truly could admire.

Inside, in my heart, I felt much richer than when I arrived.

If this was, for Western capitalism and imperialism, a virus – political and economic, social Ebola – then I was ready to be infected by it, gladly over and over again![/quote]

Quote:Eritrea is still very poor, but it is neat, and orderly.

Crime is extremely low. I spoke to a Laotian eye surgeon, Dr. Soukhanthamaly Phonekaseumsouk, who has been performing cataract surgeries, for many years, in the deep countryside of Eritrea, where batteries that are charged using the solar system have been mainly powering her equipment. Eritrea is number 2 in the world, per capita, in terms of the use of solar energy. The Doctor explained that she never felt unsafe, living alone, in the countryside or in the city; she was never harassed.

The adviser to the Minister of Health, Dr. Ghebrehiwet Mismay, took me on visits to the hospitals in Asmara. The neat institutions were in shocking contrast to the monstrous hospitals that I saw in several turbo-capitalist countries like Kenya and Uganda.

In Eritrea, medical care, including medicine, is virtually free. Wards are clean; those hosting children are overflowing with stuffed animals.

The country has managed to dramatically reduce child mortality through vaccination programs and constantly improving medical care.

China has just completed several specialized blocks of the hospital in Asmara, including those for cancer treatment and for heart surgery. Several Cuban doctors are teaching here, and treating the patients.

New housing projects are going up in several parts of the capital city, as well as in Massawa and elsewhere.

The day before my departure I met 2 education experts from the government, Mr Tquabo Aimut and Ms Mehret Iyob, who explained to me, clearly, how seriously adult literacy is being taken here.

Eritrea is now one of very few African countries that will be able to meet many of the Millennium Development Goals.

How have you been able to work in over 150 countries? Are you some sort of super CIA spy? Are you an independently wealthy person who chooses to travel about? Anyway, I am happy for your perspective on the world!

Bravo for Eritrea!
Their social and political system is much different than its surrounding countries/ neighbors. It must have less corruption than others. I would not be surprised if Eritrea had a great deal more educated women. Those educated women most likely experience less and less unwanted births of unwanted children.