Soldiers, Martyrs, Traitors, and Exiles: Political Conflict in Eritrea and the Diaspora (review)

Soldiers, Martyrs, Traitors, and Exiles is, as one reviewer stated, "a brave, carefully researched book." It is brave because of Hepner's careful probing, sharply investigative, and conceptual work. She again and again links people and events over the course of the decades of the Eritrean struggle for independence, the hopeful beginning of rebuilding the nation, and the painful—at times heartbreaking—loss of hope and possibilities as Eritrea becomes more militarized and the government more oppressive. As Hepner peels away the layers of government responses to actions of persons inside Eritrea and in the diaspora, she reveals the connections and their effects during the early independence movement and the current government of Eritrea upon Eritreans in exile in Western countries.

On a personal note, I, like Hepner, walked down Liberation Avenue in the mid-1990's at the time of the anniversary of liberation. The energy and hope was palpable—it was a time of coming together across ethnic divisions and histories, a time of commitment to the vision of a new, free Eritrea. As I read this book, that experience washed over me with a deep sadness as I engaged with the realities which Hepner presents in such layered detail.

The strengths of Hepner's work are multiple. Her question of "How and why does the state seek to control its citizens both at home and abroad so effectively and with what consequences for whom?" (23) provides the direction for her detailed political history. She explores the liberation struggle, independence, the beginnings of a "new" Eritrea—replete with a complex and visionary constitution-building process, the shift to a nation increasingly restrictive, the border war with Ethiopia which provides convenient rationale for militarizing the nation of Eritrea, the heightened oppression of open debate and the development of what one Eritrean calls "a military prison" (McSpadden 2010:302).

Hepner demonstrates how the transnational nature of the Eritrean experience was, in fact, one of the strong components of the liberation struggle and continues to be a vibrant aspect of the nation-building enterprise post independence. She explores direct government influence on exile organizations and relationships, clearly peeling away the layers of influence intended to forge and/or maintain a particular nationalist identity, one tied to the goals and actions of the Eritrean government. Partly because the Eritrean situation is currently so fraught with conflict, this extends what we often take into account when we discuss transnational relationships. Within this multi-layered history, Hepner links what happens within these processes to the Eritreans in diaspora as they continue to relate to Eritrea itself, the liberation struggle, and nation-building all-the-while rebuilding their own lives in new lands. This linkage, which provides the title for the book, is a major contribution of Hepner's work.

Hepner's historical probing of the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF), its internal struggles, as well as its fractured and conflicted relationship with the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) is significant. Although others have explored this, Hepner takes the analysis to a deeper and more nuanced level as she shows how the conflict and distrust continued—and continues—to affect the actions and analysis of Eritreans as they develop "distinctive forms of nationalist identity" (34). The reader is led through numerous examples of how Eritreans in exile are shaped by their political loyalties prior to exile, most critically whether or not they were allied with the ELF or the EPLF. The effect upon the exiles is both in relation to what is happening in Eritrea as well as within the various and connected Eritrean communities in exile, thus, this is a strong presentation of the realities of the transnational complexity of refugees, migrants, and exile. Through this, she demonstrates the links between nationalism, political identity, and exile—a contribution which goes beyond the particularities of the Eritrean situation.

I am especially appreciative of Hepner's use of interviews and...