Hanna Petros Solomon breaks down in tears as she recalls how she and her siblings effectively became orphans 25 years ago when their father was arrested in Eritrea and jailed without trial.
asserted
father → break → trial
Their mother was subsequently detained - and no-one has heard from either of them - or of them - since.
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one → detain → them
"He had a towel on his shoulders like a sportsman," she tells the BBC about the last time she saw her father when she was 10 years old, and he had gone out for a jog.
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he → have → jog
"He used to work out every morning.
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He → use → ?
Her parents met when they both fought in the long liberation war that saw Eritrea gain independence from Ethiopia in 1993.
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Eritrea → meet → 1993
Her father Petros Solomon had been one of the senior leaders during the war and is regarded by many as a national hero for his critical role.
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father → regard → role
After independence, he had served as defence minister, then foreign minister and had been heading the fisheries ministry when his troubles began.
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troubles → serve → ministry
That was in May 2001 when he and 14 other high-profile politicians signed an open letter to President Isaias Afewerki calling for the implementation of a constitution that was ratified after independence and demanding national elections.
uncertain
that → sign → elections
They became known as the G-15.
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They → know → G-15
Isaias, the leader of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) which had fought against Ethiopia, did not take the criticism well.
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which → fight → criticism
Unbeknown to Hanna, her father had been dismissed as a minister, though he still went out early to get some exercise each day.
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he → dismiss → exercise
It was not until a few days after 9/11 - when the world was distracted by the al-Qaeda attacks on the US - that the country was to discover the full extent of Isais's displeasure in what became a watershed moment in Eritrea's history.
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what → distract → history
In the early hours of 18 September, the security forces positioned themselves outside the homes of 11 senior government officials in the capital, Asmara, on the president's orders.
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forces → position → orders
Petros was picked up by security agents as he left in his tracksuit.
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he → pick → tracksuit
The family had no idea what had happened to him.
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what → have → him
Hanna and her three siblings went to stay with their paternal grandmother as their mother, Aster Yohannes, was away studying in the US.
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mother → go → US
It was only some days after Petros had disappeared that things became clearer, says Hanna about the painful memories.
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Hanna → disappear → memories
"My classmates told me that my father sold out his country.
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father → tell → country
"That is when I understood how serious the situation was, and how people framed my dad and his colleagues who fought for the independence of their country.
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who → understand → country
I was hurt.
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I → hurt → ?
In the US, Aster was shell-shocked by what had happened - and was in a very bad way.
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what → happen → way
She asked government officials if they could issue the children with passports - but they refused, telling her to come home.
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they → ask → her
After agonising about the situation for two years and reportedly receiving assurances from government officials, she packed her bags to return.
Hanna and her siblings desperately wanted her back - but they were also worried.
uncertain
they → agonise → her
"I told her on the phone: 'What if they arrest you?'" Hanna remembers.
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Hanna → tell → you
"She insisted nothing would happen to her, saying: 'I haven't done anything wrong, and am only coming to raise my children.'
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I → insist → children
Hanna says she learned later that President Isaias himself had promised Aster that she would be safe.
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she → say → Aster
But while the family waited at Asmara International Airport on 11 December 2003, she failed to emerge through arrivals with the other passengers.
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she → wait → passengers
Their hopes began to wilt along with the flowers they had brought: "It was a long, long wait.
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It → begin → flowers
Eventually we gave up and went back home.
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we → give → ?
"First we called to the US, friends and relatives told us they saw her off at the airport.
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they → call → airport
Then ominously an official called from the airport asking Aster to collect her luggage.
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official → call → luggage
That is when they realised she had arrived in the country but would not be coming home.
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she → realise → country
All pleas and requests for information fell on deaf ears in the months that followed.
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that → fall → months
Instead Hanna's grandmother was warned by authorities to stop inquiring.
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grandmother → warn → authorities
The family later heard that Aster was being held in the infamous jail known as Karshelli in the heart of Asmara.
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Aster → hear → Asmara
Hanna's father is believed to be detained, with the others arrested on 18 and 19 September 2001, in the remote, hostile and highly secretive prison known as Ela-Ero, located in eastern lowlands north-east of Asmara.
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others → believe → Asmara
Accused of treason, none of them has ever been brought to trial or allowed to see their relatives.
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none → accuse → relatives
At around the same time, the government also shut down all the fledgling independent newspapers and detained their editors and journalists - also believed to be imprisoned in Ela-Ero.
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government → shut → Ero
The Eritrean government - including its embassy in the UK - has not responded to the BBC's request for comment regarding the whereabouts of the prisoners or whether or not they are alive.
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they → include → prisoners
Hanna, like many thousands of young Eritreans fleeing conscription and in search of better opportunities, left the country - travelling secretively over the border without a passport.
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Hanna → flee → passport
…and 30 more, not listed.
The Aporia
