I Visited The North Korea of Africa!(Eritrea)!

Hey everybody, welcome to Eritrea! I am not here to tell you that everything in Eritrea is so perfect. But trust me, this... Eritrea is a rich country, guys! It's not Eritrea that I expected. What is the one thing that you think the world doesn't know about your country? I don't know, I don't think the world knows anything about my country. Welcome to Eritrea, the home of the first black cyclist to win the Tour de France, Bingham Goodbye. We're in Asmara, it's home to 5 million people. It's the land of good food, beautiful people and enjoyment. People would say it's kind of conservative here, but actually people are open-minded. They're welcoming. As a foreigner, I really enjoy this trip a lot. Especially, you know, the clubs. Eritrea is the land of what we can do. Welcome to Eritrea. Everything you see and hear is done by Eritreans for Eritreans. Simple. When you say Eritrea, they're always comparing you to Korea. So Eritrea is a country of 9 ethnic groups. All different, all having their own languages. Which is why Eritrea does not have an official language. But only has working languages, so we can include everyone. It's a small country on the east coast of Africa. It shares borders with Sudan, Djibouti and Ethiopia. And it has a long coast of the Red Sea. So yeah, this is Eritrea. So the name Eritrea was driven from coral stones or coral reefs that are under the Red Sea. So the name of the coral reefs are Erythros. So the Greeks are the ones who gave Eritrea its name, Erythros. But it was now changed into Eritrea. So Eritrea is divided 50% with Christians and Muslims. And the Christians are divided into Orthodox, Catholics and Protestants. And so this is a Coptic Orthodox church. So the church uses the ancient language, which is called the Ge'ez language. It's only being used now, only in churches now. It's not any more practiced with the locals. So Asmara is the largest city of Eritrea and it is also the capital. Welcome to Asmara, the city that almost everything that existed here was built in the 1930s. If you want fancy infrastructure, we don't have that. Obviously, just know that. And I don't think there is that much appetite to do these big infrastructural projects. But at least people live in peace and harmony. And if you want to experience those things, religion wise, you can see mosques and churches side by side. And people do support each other a lot. So yeah, it's great. Walking in the calm city of Asmara makes me feel like everywhere in Africa is home for Africans. It's my first time in here, but one thing that I must tell you or one thing I have to confess is that I was lied to. Because prior to coming to this country, I watched a lot of YouTube videos. I read a lot about Eritrea and everybody dubbed this country to be the North Korea of Africa. They called this country the North Korea of Africa. Do you think this is the North Korea of Africa? Of course not. First of all, it's easy to get in right now and just to get past the immigration. Everybody treated me with smile and hospitality. Yeah, and I don't see any police or military with guns in the city. You don't see any of that? No, and I'm not being monitored or watched. I can freely walk anywhere I like. So yeah, there's a lot of stuff to discover coming to Eritrea. I don't think people coming here expect the Eritrean people to be as nice, as welcoming. But they're super nice, super welcoming. And yeah, it's super safe too. Almost like the crime rate is very, very low. Eritrea is safe because of the people. You can see the people are kind, law-abiding, and very, very humble people. So Eritrea is a very diverse country, very kind people. Everyone is here willing to help you. If you're from here, from the States, they treat you like one. And I think the community here is so beautiful. Beautiful country, beautiful people. Such nice people. It's known for its hospitality. Anyone is welcome anytime. I feel like the most friendly people that I've ever met on my journeys are from this country. Beautiful weather. It's always like this all year round. It's either raining or it's sunny, which is great. What else do you want to know? What is so special about your country? Everything is organic. I feel like everything in this country is so fresh. Don't be scared of anything in this country. It's just like any other African country. Eritrea has been dubbed the North Korea of Africa. But for us living in Eritrea, that's the most. Silly and uninformed statement and image about Eritrea. Eritrea is dubbed as the North Korea of Africa because it's isolated from the rest of the world. Getting a visa as an African in Africa was almost impossible. That I had to send my document to the U.S. before my visa was granted. I am standing right at the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Literally 30 kilometers away from each other. But guess what? I cannot cross the border. I had to fly all the way to Dubai in order to go to Eritrea. Tell me if that makes sense. I don't know what I'm about to do is the right thing to do. Because I'm about to go to the most secretive country in the whole of Africa. I've always wanted to go to this country. It's been five good years trying to apply for a visa to this country. And finally the visa has been granted. Guess where I'm going? This country got no Wi-Fi. This country got no SIM card for foreigners. So I'm just going to be in isolation for five good days. And I can't wait to explore the beautiful country of... I'm currently in Cairo, Egypt. And I had to fly all the way from West Africa to North Africa in order to go to East Africa. You know why? Because the relationship between Ethiopia and Eritrea is really not good. If it was like North Korea and South Korea. If you know Ethiopia is the largest airline in Africa which has access to so many African countries. But you can't fly from Ethiopia to Eritrea. That is the reason why I have to go to North Africa. So yeah, I'm connecting to my next flight. So come along with me. I'm so tired, man. Because it's more like doing a solo trip all by myself. Finally, made it to Asmara, Eritrea. Trust me, I feel like I'm the only non-Eritrean on this flight. But it is what it is, man. Just to let you know that this is one of the most difficult countries to visit. And I'm finally here. And I'm super excited. It's time to head to my hotel. And I can't wait. Yeah, so I'm currently waiting for my visa. I think I applied before coming back. Even though I got here, they still have to stamp in the passport. And they asked me to wait. I've been waiting and I met a new friend. She's also a foreigner in her own country. Technically, yeah. An immigrant, if you will. With the strongest passport out there. But we're not born here, why do you have the passport? Because Saudi Arabia, they don't give you citizenship even if you're born there. Oh, wow. Yeah, they gotta keep the blood pure, I guess. That's very important. But you know what, I heard that there are more Eritreans living out of Eritrea than in Eritrea. So you're one of them. Yeah, that is true. There's like a community everywhere. Like Saudi, different cities in Saudi and things like that. Let me know which country you're watching this video if you're from Eritrea. Which part of the world are you right now? But it's so cool. You have Eritrean viewers? I'm still waiting for my visa. And I must say that this is definitely one of the most expensive visas that I've applied in Africa. Because it costs like $120. Hi, how are you? I'm looking for my bag. Where do I find a bag? Bro, there's so many bags everywhere. Oh my God. I can't find my bag. It's nowhere to be found. I think the time that I had was very short. So I believe that the bag did not make it to Asmar. What do I do? I just arrived at my hotel. The hotel that I booked to stay in. And guess what? It's 5 o'clock in the morning. And it's locked. How do you feel knowing that you booked a hotel and you get here and they're telling you that the hotel is closed? I mean, there are worse things that can happen. It just, you know, it will be like that sometimes. In Eritrea, you know, anything is possible. Finally checked in, in my hotel. So finally, they opened the gates of the hotel. But to my surprise, the booking that I did on Booking.com, they said they don't have any link with Booking.com. So, which means that the money needs to be refunded. So I have to pay everything from scratch again. So, I have to pay again. I have to pay again. Not again yet. You are paying once. No, but I paid from Booking.com. Nothing, we don't have any link with them. Just you will tell to them. We do because, but we are paying him not again. Why? Okay, how much is a night? 64 dollars. So, we are here for four nights. Yeah, no, yeah. You can pay when you check out. Just check in, no problem. Oh, I check in without paying. When I'm checking out, I pay for it. Yeah, when you check out, you will settle, no problem. Oh, wow, okay. Now, we have your registration here. Okay, thank you. If you want, when you come down tomorrow morning for breakfast, you will pay for it. Yeah. Okay. Alright, thank you so much. Appreciate it. What a journey, man. I'm in it. So, I'll show you a lot more tomorrow morning. Good night. As an influencer, I am so used to waking up to my phone to check what is happening online. But since there is no internet in this country, we do things in a different way. Good morning from the beautiful city of Asmara. So, this is my life without internet. I wake up every morning. I just make sure I jog. And trust me, I jog all by myself because it's extremely safe out here, man. This is the hotel that I stayed in. When I was coming here, a lot of people were like, they got only two hotels in this country. But as I started exploring the city, I realized that there are more than enough hotels for everyone. So, if you ever come in here, this is the hotel that I believe that it's kind of affordable than the rest of the ones. And you also get value for your money. It's $64. So, yeah. I really can't believe that I made it to Eritrea. Trust me, this is definitely the safest African country that I've ever been. Take it from Watermire. Because I've been to every corner of this city all by myself. I didn't travel with the camera team. I came all by myself. And people have been nice. And listen, people are just minding their own business in this country. I mean, I don't know why they even dubbed the country as the North Korea of Africa. How is Asmara treating you, man? Yeah, everything's good. People are friendly. The place is very comfortable. More people should come here to know about this country. You're not scared being in Asmara? I'm not scared. It's like the most safe country in Africa. Oh, wow. My phone is in my hands because I want to take a shot from the street. But then, I'm not even scared that my phone is out of the car. Because we are in Asmara. No one will snatch your phone in this country. It's more like a zero crime, bro. That's insane, man. Do you feel safe in Eritrea? A hundred percent. Whenever we come, it's kind of crazy. We just get let go and we just do whatever we want. Everyone treats you like their own and I think that's so amazing. It shocks you. And when you watch YouTube videos about Eritrea, they portray the country to be like a scary place to be. To the extent that I was even scared of coming. Were you not scared of coming? No. The last time I came here was two years ago. And my experience has been great. Every time. It never disappoints me. It literally never disappoints. No stealing, no pit pocketing. Everyone is just a safe community. I really feel so safe. Oh, there's an old bicycle park. And they're not locked. Wow. Can you see it? All these bicycles are not locked, man. Why? Are they not scared someone's going to steal their bicycle? For me personally as a girl, it's so safe that I can walk home at 10pm, 11pm without anything ever happening. Knowing that nothing will ever happen to me. That's just the thing. People would go have dinner and most people just walk home at 10pm, 11pm. And nothing will happen. You could pass through a dark alley. Nothing bad will actually happen. Here we are. This is Africa. This is Eritrea. This is Asmara. Look at us. Just walking, living our best life with so many people around us. And we are not scared. There's no security. There's nobody. It's just people trusting each other. Do you guys come out every night just to spend time around here? Every night. Why? Because there's no internet in the house? It's fine. We are sick. So walking also. Every evening, take a walk? That's like exercise in every evening. Wow. Yeah, it's good. People, you know, whenever they just pull up their phone and talk, nothing happens to them. It's safe, for Asmara's sake. It's not only Asmara. You can walk any part of Eritrea during the night, the day without any trusty. You can trust the Eritrean territory with your life. School children go to school, can walk from school to home without any company. Even very young children, you can find children walking around the city. Everywhere across the country. It has to do with the culture. Eritrea's social capital is the people, that the people have the trust to each other. It's one of the most valuable assets we have as a culture. And I think it used to be so in many African countries across Africa. It's one of the greatest losses with the coming of colonialism. Do you think this country is a North Korea of Africa? People would say that, but actually it's so much different. It's so much different. There's only this, it's just no internet, but people, they get access to everything. Yeah, they have their TVs, they also watch Premier League and everything, yeah. So, it's not at all. This country can never be the North Korea of Africa. The fact that you can even watch Al Jazeera in here, you can tune in CNN, all the major networks in here. Now, here I feel like it's nowhere close to North Korea, because look at that. That's Al Jazeera, man. That's the North Korea of Africa by journalists, analysts and human rights activists. You know why? Because of its political and social similarities between the country and North Korea. I mean, in Eritrea, the country has been led by one person since independence in the year 1993. No national elections have ever been held and opposition parties are not allowed. No mandatory and indefinite national service for all citizens aged 18 to 40 and especially the six-month military training is mandatory for everyone in this country. Freedom of movement of many citizens are restricted. Many of the citizens can't leave the country without permission of the government, but also internal movement can also be restricted, so many people leave every year mainly to escape rights abuses as well as enforced and lengthy military service. And footballers too defecting while playing abroad for the second time this year. Seven went missing after their final game at a recent regional tournament in Uganda's capital Kampala. Five fled their hotel in Uganda in the middle of a regional tournament in October. In 2015, 15 players and the team doctor disappeared in Uganda in 2012 and were granted asylum a year later. And in 2009, the entire team failed to return home from a tournament in Kenya. Eritreans who get caught fleeing the country can be detained indefinitely. And this is one of the reasons why there are many Eritreans living out of Eritrea with an estimate of 1.5 million to 2 million Eritreans living outside the country. So I have the goal of touching the Red Sea which I have to travel all the way to Massawa. I had to reach out to a tour company to make that dream a reality. And guess what? I need to submit my passport and my visa in order for me to travel. So without that, I can't travel. Without a permit. The permit is needed. And also this is a tax office so we have to pay tax for tourism. But, you know, they have to pay. Yes. Because at the end of the day I have to promote the country, right? You pay for Massawa $15,000 and also for this house $15,000 Oh wow! So it's not just one? Yes, I mean for every city $15,000. Oh okay, in order to leave the city. So I'm going to two cities before I leave the country. Welcome to Eritrea and explore with me as we showcase more of this country. But hey, there's no internet. It's the best thing that will ever happen to you. First impression Eritrea is declared as the oldest country in the entire world because every building that you see was literally built in the 1930s. So should I say that the people of this country are living in the 1930s? Walking in the street of Asmara makes me feel like I have time traveled because I was recently in 2025 and I found myself in the 1930s. Majority of the things that you come across in the world. Listen, every car that you see on the street, look at that. It's definitely an old car and it's unbelievable. Like these guys are living their best life in the 1930s. I feel like I've time traveled. Look at the car going right now. Like every single car it's an old car. Oh, you think I'm lying? Wait for the next car. In the 19th century, Eritrea was once occupied by the Italians from the year 1890 to 1941. The capital city, Asmara, became famous for its Italian and modernist architecture. Eritrea has very, very beautiful architecture. If you look through all these buildings, they may look old, but they're all in art deco style. Everything here is preserved or trying to be preserved from us being colonized and everything. We still have all this beautiful architecture that we're trying to keep up. But I really want to ask, even though the buildings are so old in this country, it seems paint must not touch the buildings, but I need to find out that. Walking in the beautiful city of Asmara, you can still feel the presence of the Italian from all over this country. So it's going to be my first time tasting macchiato. So macchiato. Macchiato or macchiato. To. Macchiato. That's an Italian word? What does that mean? And some people in Eritrea still speak Italian. Speak Italian? You don't speak Italian? The British defeated the Italians during the World War II. Hence why Eritrea was administrated by the British from the year 1941 to the year 1952. So this is an Italian ship that was sunk when the Italians were defeated by the British in 1941. So when the Italians heard that they were defeated big time in Karen, which was a very strategic point for them, and so they intentionally that they honed it. And how did they go back then if they sunk the ship? Also they were honed as prisoners of war, yes. Okay. In the year 1952, Eritrea was federated with Ethiopia by the United Nations, which simply means Eritrea will still run its own local government and parliament, but Ethiopia will control the bigger national matter which is Iraq. Italy lost Eritrea and the United Nations decided Eritrea would be combined with Ethiopia in 1952. At first it was fine. Eritrea had its own government, flag, and autonomy. But in 1962, Ethiopia's emperor, Haile Selassie, dissolved that and added Eritrea as a province, removing the government, flag, and autonomy. Independence for 30 good years. In 1993, Eritrea held a referendum supervised by the United Nations. The result? 99.8% of the people voted for independence. On May 24, 1993, Eritrea officially became an independent country. How do you feel anytime you come in here? Oh, it brings a lot of memories. It brings, at the time of the war, there was a lot of bloodshed, a lot of sacrifice, and a lot of, I mean, a lot of costs to gain freedom and independence. That was what happened here. And we lost a lot of good men just to bring freedom to the people of Eritrea. We are freedom fighters. You see, many people in the world, they talk not good things about Eritrea. It's hope for Eritrea and for Africa. Thank you for clicking on this video. First question, have you liked the video? I'm waiting. Please like the video. Thank you. Have you subscribed yet? Come on, man. We've been dedicating our life telling beautiful stories across the continent. Why have you not subscribed to the channel yet? Subscribe now. You are the best. Thank you. I never thought I would survive in Asmara without internet. But guess what? Life is even better without the internet. You know why? Every African household, you must see this steel cup. And they have it here too. You see, we're all Africans. We're all Africans. When you come to Eritrea, when they give popcorn or when they add popcorn to your coffee, popcorn literally symbolizes happiness, right? Yes. The one, the best guest that you, I mean the guest that you respect and the guest that you love, you have to prepare popcorn for him. And let me tell you one thing you don't know. If somebody dies and they still have to drink coffee, there's no way they're going to add popcorn to it. Because there's still happiness when someone dies. Did you know that? Oh, wow. It is my prayer that one day Africa will unite. Because I have traveled to 37 African countries and each and every country that you go to, we have similar way of doing things. And at some point, we do things in the same way. If you look around me right now, if I don't tell you that I'm in Eritrea, you might mistakenly assume that I'm somewhere in your country. But this is what makes us Africans. We're just one people and it's about time for us to learn how to work together. Africa, wake up and unite. What we do without internet? We plough the farm. This is insane and it's strictly authentic and traditional. No plough machine. Take your time, bro. Why you go here? It's fine, it's fine, it's fine. No, it's okay, it's okay. How was it? You got all that from the farm? This is unbelievable, man. In Eritrea, they'll grow what they eat. Look at that, all those tomatoes from the farm. And it's so fresh. Look at that. Fresh tomatoes from the farm, man. So sweet, man. You want to try? Bro, it's so beautiful to be doing this with the beautiful people of Eritrea. I imagine people are saying this is not Korea. I wouldn't have been able to join them. But I don't know them anyway, but I'm like, come to work, come to work. And I have to work with them. Can I get paid after this? See, not after this, I have to carry it. Bro, what a healthy living, man. Listen, if you're looking for where to detox, definitely this is the best country for you to come here, because I feel so much at peace in here. The fact that I could just carry tomatoes on my head, walk to my final destination, it's a beautiful thing. And I love to do this over and over again, man. Are you the boss here? Oh, wow, nice. I've worked a lot today. This is beautiful, man. Welcome to Eritrea, baby. To avoid being bored in a hotel room without Internet, I spent most of my time standing in front of my hotel watching people walk by. And that's how I met this beautiful Eritrean lady. M-A-Y-A M-A-Y With the Maya? Yeah, it's so crazy that you get to meet people that are so friendly, but there's no way to reach out to them. Yeah, well, it's kind of hard to get a SIM card in Asmara. It's just a safety regulation, but I think, yeah, people will actually let you call someone. That's how nice they are. So does it mean that your SIM card got no Internet? And then you can use it for hours? Like, it depends on how much you're paying, but you can use the Internet. So how do you communicate with your friends then? With my friends here. The SIM card, it has like, well, you buy a card, like a mobile card, you enter the number into your SIM card, and then you can chat with your friends for some amount of time. There are Internet cafes. So if you don't go to an Internet cafe, you won't be able to use it? No, so I just can't go around using the Internet. I have to sit down and actually, and that's a great thing. You get to connect with people. You get to actually connect with people in real time. So guess what? I really want to meet her again, but there's no way to reach out to her. So how do we do it? Shall we do 11? Tomorrow? Yeah, 11 a.m.? Okay, so let's see. That's the only way to communicate in a smile. I don't have a SIM card. I am back in the airport to pick up my bag. Bro, I just hope the bag is here, man. Bag is nowhere to be found, man. I can't find my bag. I just can't find my bag, bro. This is insane. Right now, I guess it's time for me to just go get something to wear because I've been waiting for the past two days, man. Can you guys believe it? I came. We actually met. Wow, just like that. I don't have a phone number. I don't have anything, any contact. She just showed up even before 11 o'clock. Yeah, punctual. Is that how you do it in here? No, no, have a share, not punctual. But I am. There is no ATM machine in this country. So whenever you're coming in here, bring along your dollars, your pounds, and your euros. But hey, I mean, with this beautiful lady, we just have to grab a movie and watch. And that was our first stop. We don't download movies from the internet. We go buy them here at this movie store. So new series from the box office, new movies, and then, yeah, you can watch. You can buy them. So it means that you just bring your phone? Bring your phone or a flash drive or a hard disk, and you just take whatever you want to watch. So every movie in the world has the same people. No, amazing people, just like yourself, you know. I just met her and she's like, let me take you out for a coffee. And I'm like, okay, I have to stop everything I'm doing just to go for a coffee. That's beautiful. Honestly. You've got a beautiful country, but I mean, they make us get scared of coming in here. I know, I don't know why. But I want them to spend time with their families and also support their country one way or the other. When people tell you stories, whether you know it or not, well, knowingly or unknowingly, you start to kind of internalize it. Oh, that's a bad country. This is a bad country. There are obviously things that are not good, that are not great, but this is a kind of universal situation. So every country has its own problems. Were you scared of coming back? Yes, I had so many doubts. So one thing that happened was in immigration, you know, the passport control, I expected a lot of questions. So what I did was, I didn't want to obstruct the people that are behind me. So I put myself at the back so I don't stop anyone because I expected like 20, 30 minutes interrogation. So, and someone just opened a new gate and then they called the people that are at the back. They said, come over here. And it took us three minutes and I'm done. How do you feel coming back after 18 years? After 18 years, it's really amazing. Like, yeah, huge difference to see family back. Let me welcome you back to your own country. Welcome home. Thank you. One thing I also want to tell you is that, wow, I just got here on Sunday, man. On Sunday? Yeah, I love it. Tell me something about your country, man. It's a peaceful country. You see, everybody will tell you forget about all the things you heard about this country. Thank you. It's shocking to see that a lot of people that watch my videos on the street of Asmara even though there are no internet in here. You don't expect me to be here? You don't expect me to be here? Good to see you, man. I'm here now. Good to see you. That's when you know. Yeah, but one thing that I must tell you is that be happy coming to a country where there's no internet in here because you're going to enjoy the views that you see. The views in terms of the beautiful women on the street, man. So if you're a guy, please, just come and then see all of the views. So you're not going to have food? Just for me. No sugar. Is it good? It tastes so good. So is this name Italian? Macchiato. Speak Italian. This is macchiato. So whenever you come to Eritrea, just take more macchiato. Oh, my God. This is crazy, man. I feel like I'm living the time that I used to go to high school where there are no phones to communicate with friends. You write letters. So I met this girl at the airport. The first day I arrived, I don't have her number. I don't know her anywhere. You guys remember from the video that I just came in the hotel and this girl said you have a letter. And I'm like, from who? Guess what? From Sarah. Same girl. This is insane. So there's no way to reach out to people. You have to write letters. That's so cool, man. I need to come and stay here, bro. I want to write more letters, man. Is it really true that your country got no internet access? No, there is internet access. It was one of the first East African countries to be sold. And the investment didn't return back. So now it's changing. Now we are maybe installing a new fiber optic cable. Is that what you're doing right now? Yes. Fiber optic cables. So I guess very soon everyone is going to have internet. Yes, very fast internet. We have internet, just fast internet. You don't have fast internet? Yes, yes. It's really insane because listen, I'm in a market right here in Eritrea and it feels like I'm walking in a market in Ghana, Nigeria or anywhere in Africa which makes us feel like wherever you put Africans they're just going to Africanize the place, man. So we are in Medheber market. So this was a meeting point between the Ottoman traders and also the locals here. So now it has become into a recycling market and also a spice market. So we will see everything and we'll see the grainy meals and everything. But it's really spicy. I started slithering there. Yes. Wow. It's not only pepper? It's everything. We have a lot of spices. We have garlic. We have salt. And... This is a caravanserai place I mean where this used to be shops but now it has transformed into a recycling market. So everything here is recycled. Everything. We recycle everything. We don't discard anything as I have told you before. So whatever we have we recycle them into different materials. Eritrea is just like any other country in Africa. Right? This is how open market in Africa looks like. Exactly the same in here. The only difference is that here you get a lot of fresh and organic. Even in Africa. You get everything fresh just like anywhere in Africa man. So I'm here to tell you that I don't assume that this country is different from any other African country. It's exact. How are you? I'm good how are you? Can I have a guava man? How much? For free? Just for me? Oh wow! I guess in Eritrea you also get free things man. Wow! How are you doing? But I love how you responded thank you to me. Where are you from? I'm from Ghana. Oh I'm from Eritrea. Eritrea? Yeah but I'm living in America. But what do you love about your family? Everything. Everything I like it. Everything? Yeah. Wow! Thank you. Thank you so much. This is the very corner of this city. One of the things that I think is interesting in this country I feel like there are more bicycles than cars in this country. Is that true? More bicycles. Everybody owns a bicycle. Oh really? Even ladies own a bicycle. Wow! I think one of the things you will never see in this country are people that are fat. You know because everybody rides a bicycle in here. So I'm trying to change my ticket. So I need a Wi-Fi. So when you come to Asmara there are so many Wi-Fi spots. It's like a business in every corner of the country. So we're here to just buy, sit and make all my calls. Hi how are you? I just need an hour internet. You need an hour? How many hours? Fifteen. Oh one five. Not that expensive. One hour. Is it fast? Yes. What do you want to use? Are you going to use WhatsApp or Instagram? Is WhatsApp okay? I can use WhatsApp and Instagram? But you don't have VPN so you can't use. Oh so I need to connect you can use Instagram. Can I watch YouTube videos? I just want to tell the government of the day to improve on the internet facility in this beautiful country because the internet can create employment for the youth living in the country. I am a living testimony and the internet enables us to make money. So please don't take this in a bad way but I hope and believe that by the time I come back next time almost every young person living in this country will have access to internet. No, you speak Italian? You do? Why do you speak Italian? What do you like better English or Italian? What's better for you? You speak Arabic? What? How old are you? Eleven. You speak seven languages? Yes. So the people of Eritrea are actually celebrating a national festival today and people are actually here in their numbers and guess what? Since I'm here I need to go and experience that festival. This festival is about the Eritrean culture the Eritrean unity so to me this is really beautiful to see that every single tribe in the country are all present in here to showcase their way of life and others are learning from each other. What's your tribe? Nara. So this is how you guys dress up? This is beautiful it's my first time in here it's a national festival and everyone is here and it goes back to the time of the army struggle where people would gather even abroad just so that they know they could be aware of the struggle, the army struggle that was going on inside here and then after the National Independence Day it's been about creating the unity of the people of Eritrea and transferring the knowledge to the younger generation. I'm glad that I came at this particular time because this is literally once in a year. We're finally on our way to Massawa and the view around this area is insane but you know in some of these countries drones are very sensitive so I guess I won't be able to show you these breathtaking views but it's absolutely amazing man. Massawa and trust me it feels so much at home just like Ghana because at least it's so hot and I can see the ocean right in front of me and this is the Red Sea. Welcome to the Red Sea. I can't believe that I'm walking on the coastline of the Red Sea it's such a beautiful sea very blue a red sea right here but it's not red it's still blue as an ordinary sea that you see across the boat. I can't believe that I met people that watch my videos in here. You watch my videos? Yes we do. Oh wow, thank you. Thank you so much. You're from here? We are from Utah. Oh okay. Good to see you. My mum said I can't Oh because of your mum? Oh okay. There are so many people that are going to watch this video What's your name? Tell them one thing they don't know about your country. The Italians made this and Japan helped that's it. I love my country so much that when I came here I was hesitant but I just felt like in a peace with your people it's the most peaceful thing you could ever experience. Is this your first time here? No, I'm coming back after 10 years. Wow. Does it mean that you were scared of coming to your own country? No, never scared. I love my country but I just thought what is it going to be like because I'm used to life in England so it's like the change that's what I was more scared of but when I came here this is the safest country I've ever been. You can leave your gold, your phone anywhere people leave their cars unlocked they're not stealing here. So we're currently going to check one of the most popular islands in Massawa so come along with me and let's go. Trust me man if you haven't been here because I don't want us to enjoy this view. I made history today bro. I can't believe that I'm cruising on top of the Red Sea man. I guess not just cruising but I see a fisherman in there. I feel like it's about time for you all to open the beautiful country of Eritrea for our fellow Africans to come and explore it. I mean I'm having the best time of my life listen in this country but it took me a very long time to get the visa to come here so I'm just saying that we love you Eritreans it's time open the country for us because I am here and trust me a lot of Africans would love to come and experience this beauty man. What a beauty. I feel like you know what Eritrea is definitely Africa for Africans right. What a beauty. I feel like Eritrea is giving me the chance to be with people again because I was always on my phone you know. So we actually made a day trip and it's about time for us to have dinner stroke lunch at the same time. Finally the seafood is here. I mean when you live in the coastal area you need to eat coastal food. Shrimp octopus different kind of ship. I said ---- different kind of fish. Definitely the best food I've eaten since I came to Eritrea for real. So it's time to say goodbye to the beautiful Asmara but I just want to let you know that I'm actually on my way to Addis Ababa and it would have been so easy for me to fly from Asmara to Addis but no way I have to fly all the way to Dubai before I head to Addis and almost all the people on the plane are from here and they are all diasporan so they are heading back to their final destination. Wish me a safe flight.