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Asmarinos
The hugely proud old men of the Eritrean
capital Asmara call themselves Asmarinos. With
their European suits, classic hats, elegant walking
sticks and hand-made leather shoes they enjoy
their daily macchiato with old friends in one
of the many coffee-bars followed by 'passeggiata',
the daily custom of strolling up and down Independence
Avenue, Asmara's main thoroughfare.
In their youth, under Italian colonial rule in
the 1930's, the Asmarinos were not allowed to
enjoy such pleasures. The palm-lined Independence
Avenue with its almost surreal Italian landscape
was then called Viale Mussolini and totally off
limits to the Indigenos. "The Italians at
that time were very bad, they belittled and despised
us, they considered us sub-human. The downtown
was reserved for Italians. It was absolutely forbidden
to us Eritreans", remembers Ato Eyasu Tlslasie,
86 years of age.
Today this dark side of the Italian occupation
seems almost forgotten. The old Asmarinos are
proud they still speak Italian and follow in many
ways an Italian lifestyle - most visible in their
dress code, reminiscent of Italian gentlemen of
a bygone age.
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