Eritrea: Edmonton diaspora contributes 127,606 nakfas to the National Martyrs' Fund

Eritrean nationals in Edmonton, Canada, have contributed 127,606 nakfas to the National Martyrs' Families Support Fund, according to a report published by the Eritrean Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare. Communities in Logan, Utah, donated 3,440 dollars; those in Copenhagen, 75,579 nakfas; and those in Örebro, Sweden, 36,486 nakfas. Additional fundraising efforts included: the "Hilinawi Mekete" association in Germany, which raised 5,040 euros; the Corps 491 Alumni Association, present in several European cities, 3,300 dollars; the Southern Sweden Cooperative Association, 2,100 euros; the Gjøvik community in Norway, 32,211 nakfas; the Ostvik community in Sweden, 26,300 Swedish kronor; and a national residing in Angola, 7,800 nakfas. These contributions feed into the National Martyrs' Fund, which provides financial support to widows, orphans, and parents of fighters who fell during the war of independence (1961-1991) and the border conflict with Ethiopia (1998-2000), notably through scholarships and housing assistance. This mobilization confirms the role of the Eritrean diaspora, estimated at over one million people, in financing public programs, alongside the 2% tax levied by Asmara on the income of its citizens abroad. It also illustrates the persistence of structured community networks, from Northern Europe to North America, within an Eritrean economy that remains largely closed to international capital markets.