‘We demand the truth’: Olga Tokarczuk and JM Coetzee lead calls for proof of life of disappeared Eritrean writers
Source: Guardian World ↗
More than 180 writers worldwide have signed a PEN International letter addressed to Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki demanding verified proof of life for twelve authors who have been detained incommunicado since the 2001 crackdown on independent media. The petition, dated 18 September, marks the 25th anniversary of the repression that silenced Eritrea’s free press and includes Nobel laureates Olga Tokarczuk and J M Coetzee among signatories such as Colm Tóibín, Elif Shafak, Isabel Allende, Ben Okri, Yann Martel, Kamila Shamsie and Tsitsi Dangarembga. The letter lists the detained writers—poet Amanuel Asrat, playwright‑journalist Dawit Isaak, and ten others including Dawit Habtemichael and Seyoum Tsehaye—and asserts that the families, the Eritrean people and the global literary community have been met with unlawful silence, a violation of international law and an act of cruelty.
The appeal underscores the broader context of Eritrea’s authoritarian rule, noting that the nation has functioned as a repressive dictatorship with no national elections since independence in 1993 and that the 2001 crackdown systematically crushed independent voices. By demanding “immediate, verified proof of life” for the arbitrarily detained writers, the signatories highlight the human‑rights dimension of the case, emphasizing that withholding information about the detainees’ health, location or survival inflicts prolonged suffering on their families. The letter also references earlier coverage, noting that six of the writers were profiled by The Guardian in 2015, and it calls on Eritrea’s future to be built with its brightest minds rather than through their suppression.
PEN International has complemented the letter with a public petition, urging broader support for the cause. Burhan Sönmez, PEN’s president, warned that a quarter‑century without knowledge of a loved one’s fate is unbearable for families and pledged continued advocacy, stating that the writers “have not disappeared from our memory.” The statement concludes with a firm resolve: the literary community will keep speaking the missing writers’ names and will not cease efforts until they are freed, framing the campaign as both a moral imperative and a challenge to Eritrea’s ongoing pattern of silencing dissent.
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The U.S.'s central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The U.S.'s economy is growing at 2.3% with inflation at 3.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the U.S.'s own central bank rate closely. With the U.S.'s unemployment at 4.4%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the U.S. depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UK's central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UK's economy is growing at 0.8% with inflation at 3.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UK's own central bank rate closely. With the UK's unemployment at 5.6%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UK depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
France's central bank rate currently stands at 2%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. France's economy is growing at 0.9% with inflation at 1.8%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track France's own central bank rate closely. With France's unemployment at 7.9%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is already under strain. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in France depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
Romania's central bank rate currently stands at 6.5%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. Romania's economy is growing at 0.7% with inflation at 7.8%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track Romania's own central bank rate closely. With Romania's unemployment at 6%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in Romania depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UAE's central bank rate currently stands at 3.65%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UAE's economy is growing at 3.1% with inflation at 2.5%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UAE's own central bank rate closely. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UAE depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.