In 2010 the BBC had a small forum they launched in their web site, about what the people of Africa think about independence. That year was when many African countries were to celebrate their fifty years of independence. It was meant to provoke ideas about what half a century of independence meant for the people of Africa. From the responses that were forwarded one could see that the word independence is often used, and even misused, to explain the various aspects of the people’s life. Naturally not every one can have the same view about it. There was difference of opinion whether independence has really brought the opportunity for much of the African people to change their life for the better.

One aspect of the Eritrean revolution was to rectify the injustice involving the exploitation of labour. This was central to many of the debates in the revolution as it was central to socio-economic and political life of our people. Everything emanated from it; wealth, social and political power, exploitation and injustice. Hence, it wouldn’t have been possible to address much of the ills of the society without the emphasis on labour. Precisely for this reason, the Eritrean revolution was called a Marxist movement. But it worked and liberation was achieved at the wake of the so called “post-cold war era”, where Marxism and its narratives was thought to be a thing of the past.