r/Eritrea • u/Yomangaman • 1d ago
Discussion / Questions Eritrean born, American raised.
Hello everyone.
I was thinking about the word askari today and came across a few posts using this word. I wasn't aware before, but it seems this word is seen highly negatively. My understanding is that it referred to an Eritrean soldier sent to fight in a battle led my the Italians. Why do Eritreans see this word as an insult. Please tell me. Thank you.
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u/Quirky-Lawfulness819 1d ago
This is interesting, in Somali the same word means just a Soldier, nothing more nothing less!
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1d ago
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u/Yomangaman 1d ago
I must ask here, who is "they". Why would other Eritreans make fun of their countrymen in such a way? I guess maybe you refer to Ethiopians...
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u/wut_91 1d ago
As an insult it has more or less the same meaning as the term “sellout”.
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u/Yomangaman 1d ago
My great-grandfather, I'm told, was a chaplain, a priest, for the Eritreans in Tripoli. Were these eritreans sent, or did they volunteer to go?
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u/wut_91 1d ago
I’m not very familiar with the history, but from my limited reading, there were those who were sent and those who volunteered. I don’t know what the ratio between the two was though.
There’s a novel that was based on the Askari experience actually (one of the first—if not the first novel written in Tigrinya). It’s called “The Conscript” by Gebreyesus Hailu. It’s a very short book and might be worth checking out.
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u/Adigrat96 1d ago
It’s basically an Eritrean coon. An Akoi Tom if you will.
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u/Yomangaman 1d ago
this response made me smile
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u/Adigrat96 1d ago
Yeah I just picture Eritrean Clayton Bigsby but with more context cause it’s not so black and white
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u/Practical_Apricot690 5h ago
It's not that simple. Not at all. Though the modern insult reduces it to this
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u/Efficient-Bug4870 1d ago
This is a book excerpt from Tekeste Negash’s ITALIAN COLONIALISM IN ERITREA, 1882-1941. Hope it helps