Yohannes Zewde – What impact does social media have on political and social aspects of life in Eritrea and the Diaspora?
For eight years, Yohannes Zewde worked as a chemistry teacher in the new educational system introduced in 2003/2004. During this time, he made extensive use of digital technologies in his teaching. He therefore was appointed to become a teacher for Information and Communication Technology and worked in this school subject for five years, which also made him an experienced internet user. “The internet access in Eritrea is very slow and heavily policed. If you are not an expert on computer science, it can become dangerous to get information this way.” Nevertheless, it is possible to access crucial information online in Eritrea. Zewde himself, for example, learned about the extensive imprisonment of critical journalists in 2001 over the internet, whilst staying in the Eritrean capital, Asmara. The fascination for the possibilities and promises of a digital world stayed with Zewde, and so he didn’t leave the field and is currently working as a web developer.