I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation

I read this book after travelling to Eritrea less than a year ago. I wish I would have read it before going. It went a long way towards explaining the Eritreans' reserved character and the abundant desolation of its countryside through the history of the powers involved.I give the book 5 stars. It's not 100% perfect, but the information within it is first rate. Wrong effectively sets the context for all the parties involved from their own perspectives. The reader understands throughout what each player is thinking and how these actions impact the Eritrean psyche.My nit-picky complaint is I wish Wrong would have placed more narrative emphasis on the Eritrean side of things. Eritrean narrative appears on occasion, particularly with the pharmeceutical director and the gourmet chef from the trenches. It is the exception rather than the rule. She discusses in depth Eritrea's first colonial administrator, a WWII battle, an American base, Ethiopian history, the Soviet Union and the roles each respective country played in shaping Eritrea. Anecdotes from the Eritrean side, however, are compartively limited.Also, the end of the book, the section which discusses the latest war and Eritrea's current political climate, felt hurried.Overall, this is an excellent background read for anyone hoping to learn more about Eritrea and its wars. It has a few very minor shortcomings, but the book completely achieves its goal of introducing the reader to Eritrean history.

I have read all of Michela Wrong's books. All are well-written with an enjoyable style. All give in-depth information about countries that don't get much attention in international newspapers.The last century of history of the nation of Eritrea and city of Asmara, as captured in "I Didn't Do It for You," is fascinating. I gained good understanding of Italian, British, American, and Russian involvement in Eritrea and concluded that Italian involvement was mostly positive and Russian involvement was entirely negative. The bungled work of the United Nations was interesting to read about, as were the stories of the lunatic king "The Lion of Judah."If I can be bold and state one criticism: Authors (including, to some degree, Wrong) writing about troubles in Africa usually write the story such that the ordinary Africans are bright and honest people and their problems are caused by European involvement. Europeans might have hurt more than they have helped over the years, however I suspect that most people in Eritrea are not particularly bright and honest and this explains much of their trouble.John Christmas, author of "Democracy Society"

Michela Wrong opens this book on the -- to Westerners -- negligible country of Eritrea with a marvelous anecdote. She was sitting in Cairo airport's transit lounge near a middle-aged Pakistani who introduced himself as a salesman who traveled Africa and the Middle East looking for possible markets for his multinational company. Wrong, in turn, told him that she was a journalist writing a book about Eritrea, which is where she was headed. He was confused. "You are writing a book about Algeria?" "No. Eritrea." "Nigeria?" "No, Eritrea." "Al-Jazeera?" "No. Eritrea. Small country on the Red Sea. Used to be part of Ethiopia." The Pakistani closed the conversation: "I'm sorry. But I've simply never heard of the place."The book's title comes from a story, apocryphal one hopes, of a British captain leading his war-weary men into the capital city of Asmara after the battle of Keren, which, although little-known, was among the toughest and most brutal battles of World War II. He was greeted by an old Eritrean woman, enthusiastically ululating in celebration of her country's liberation from Italian Fascist rule. The captain interrupted her high-pitched shrilling with a savage "I didn't do it for you, n****r."That too is a theme of Wrong's book: Nothing, absolutely nothing, that the world's powers -- from Italy, to Great Britain, to the United States, to Russia, to Israel -- have done in Eritrea since 1880 has been for the Eritreans. Instead, Eritrea has been a venue for colonialism, pillaging, and the exercise of Cold War and Middle East realpolitik, and a pimple on the rump of Ethiopia.Essentially, I DIDN'T DO IT FOR YOU is a history of Eritrea, and because Eritrea has been so closely engaged with its neighbor Ethiopia, also a history of Ethiopia. Ethiopia believes that Eritrea should be part of it, which, of course, would give it access to the Red Sea. By and large, Wrong rebuts Ethiopia's arguments. Yet from 1950 to 1990 Ethiopia exercised varying degrees of control over Eritrea, and from 1962 to 1992 Eritrea fought a bitter, heroic, and ultimately successful War of Independence.That War of Independence -- as well as its aftermath, first tantalizingly promising but now sadly depressing (Eritrea now is essentially a one-party country presided over by Isaias Afwerki, a dictator for all intents and purposes) -- is the central episode of the book. The major secondary ones consist of Eritrea being buffeted about by the Italians, then the British, and later the Americans. In yet another instance I learn how my country's post-World War II foreign policy was shameful and misguided.Admirable in many ways, I DIDN'T DO IT FOR YOU could have been better. It is too hasty and unnecessarily confusing. Seemingly containing everything that Wrong ever reported or researched in a decade of covering Eritrea, the book is too long for the general reader. Moreover, while briskly written, it is riddled with threadbare clichés. (No book should contain more than one "turning a blind eye"; this one contains four or five, as well as a couple instances of "falling on deaf ears".)P.S.: I bought my copy of the book sight unseen from an on-line book dealer. It is boldly signed in the front by Stanley March 3. He apparently followed a practice I too follow whenever possible, as pasted inside the rear cover is a copy of the "New York Times" review of the book. Ah, the caprices of the second-hand book market.

A fantastic book written from the inside of the Eritrean Civil war. The author outlines what was quite possibly the most unique rebellion in African history. She does a masterful job of portraying the initial years of the EPLF and their ability to mobilize the populace and utilize the safe havens available to support their efforts. The contrast between Mengistu's governance and that of the EPLF in the initial years is stark and telling. The sad part of the book is the decline of inclusive governance and ultimate strong man rule by Afwerki. Although the title speaks of "how the world betrayed a small African nation," it might well have been: "How a revolution betrayed itself. It would be a true seminal work if Ms. Wrong did a follow on book or an updated version covering the period from 2005 to the present. I Didn't Do It for You: How the World Betrayed a Small African Nation (P.S.)

A 5 star book. A good read. I learned so many things I didn't know about my country. Thank you Michela for your time and effort to learn the unfortunate story of our country and write about it. I highly recommend this book to who ever has questions on how we as a Eritreans end up with a brutal dictator who is the reason for its failure.

After six months of working from home, relentless video conferences, email trades, 7am to 7pm cycle…..I decided to take a break, download three books for holiday reading and travel away from home. One of them is “I Did not Do It For You”. I enjoyed reading this book the most. Clearly this book is well researched, well written, good flow of stories and educational. It brings the customs, highly intellectual material, insider information, facts from prominent events and street / village sayings together and project it clearly sometimes with humor and at times brutally.Though the book is written in the context of Eritrea many countries can easily relate to it and touches the hearts of many societies. Through out the time line you can see Eritrea had been used, abused, side-lined, ignored and recipient of a silent treatment for too long hoping it will go unnoticed. What a befitting title too. Nothing that happens about Eritrea inside or outside seems to be not for Eritrea. There is always another benefactor or motive. The British soldier who came up with the phrase said it all.Many are quick and willing to form and express opinions about Eritrea and similar matters. What sets this book apart is the author preferred to spend time and energy to know first. From the content and recitals, it is visible this book has taken years worth of research and consultation rather than relying on hear says and “lazy journalism.” I also commend the author for her courage for telling it like it is which is not always easy. This shows the author is not in the pockets of specific interest group or sponsors which some time can influence writer’s intellectual judgements.I feel the author have done her fair share of giving voice to those ignored, exposed the dangers associated with power in hands of ignorant and nepotism at a grand scale. For me personally the book is extremely educational. There is a lesson too; things can go though, matters can gang up against you, you could be knocked off, the odds my look weak….. remain focused and stay on your path.I highly recommend this book for any one who wants an understanding of Eritrea and the untold side of world politics.I can’t thank the author enough.

Michaela wrong drückt die Ohnmacht ,die viele wenn nicht sogar die Majorität des Eritreischen Volkes aus.Das Spiel der Supermächte auf Rücken eines kleines Afrikanischen Volkes .Haile Selassie hat mal ein wahres Wort während der beschämenden Federation zeit gesagt: "ich brauch das Land EritreaUnd nicht ihre Bevölkerung ".Diese menschenverachtende Politik wird bis heute weitergetrieben mit ungebrochene Unterstützung der USA .Warum?? Es ist in Mode gekommen die Regierung in Eritrea anzuschwärzen ob mit Wahrheitsgehalt oder nicht spielt keine rolle . Beweise für die vorwürfe nicht nötig weil Susan Rice und ihre Mitspieler Sanktionen verhängen möchten um das Land im keim zu Ersticken . Bloß wo waren alle dieser Kritiker der eritreischen Regierung in der zeit von 1952-1991 in den Bittersten stunden des eritreischen Volkes ??

I do not know where to begin to praise this important book.The author, Michela Wrong, is a British writer who is passionate about Africa. She has spent a decade traveling around the continent and has written extensively about it for Reuters and the BBC. Absolutely, she knows her stuff and keeps the reader astonished with what she has learned.Ms Wrong's book is about the sad little country of Eritrea, the Biblical land of the Queen of Sheba. But it is also about the utter failure and betrayal of the United Nations to keep its promises to this country that was forced to wage so many destructive wars to keep its independence.Before the United Nation's miserable failures in Sudan, Dafur, Rwanda, Serbia, etc, there was its model disaster in Eritrea. And before the UN, there was Italy and its colonies in east Africa of which Eritrea, now regarded as a basket case, was once the most modern on the continent. Defeated at the end of World War II, Italy also lost its small colonial empire. The victor, Great Britain, picked Eritrea clean and sold off its factories and infastructure for scrap, leaving its people destitute with nothing to build a real country on. Shortly thereafter, the English dumped the ex-colony, allowing the UN to betray its promises and make way for Ethiopia to absorb Eritrea as a province. Hence the beginning of the wars. And the famines.And they were very nasty wars. Michela Wrong brilliantly communicates how the minds of the "rebels" worked. We are given an excellent lesson in the world of an underdog who knows it is right. And this confidence in a nobel cause gave the rebels the tenacity to take on not just the corrupt and cynical Haile Selassie, but his superpower backers: the USA and later the Soviet Union, who were using east Africa to fight wasteful proxy wars. I cannot think of any journalist who has been able to give a similar picture of today's celebrity terrorists, al-Qaeda.Eritrea eventually had its day at the UN in New York and made the organization eat crow. But its hard won independence is already eroding and the tiny wars which most of the world does not hear or care about are stirring again.Read this book. It almost makes you want to cry or scream. People should not have to live like this, nor be at the mercy of great powers with big picture self interests that always crush ordinary citizens. Michela Wrong has written a bench mark book about Eritrea and the devastated region around it.

well researched, well written, engaging even for those of us who have 'lived-experience' of some parts of the history of Eritrea and the resiliency of its people.

Undoubtedly one of the best or perhaps the best book on Eritrea and her torn identity. The author asks questions about the psychology behind decisions as normal historians do not. They routinely amass facts, but grossly disregard the "human factor" that lead to success or failure. There's not a moment in which I lose interest because of Michela Wrong's personal dedication and refusal to be served off with easy answers.Oh and what fine language, full of savvy and congeniality! Seldom have I bother to underline so many sentences in a book (yep I still read them!). I am extremely happy to have stumbled across this book and only deplore the fact this book has not yet been published in many other languages.