Paper long abstract:

Permanent defence and the development of the Eritrean nation are the ideological benchmarks of president Isayas Afewerki's policy. Following the tradition of the liberation struggle young Eritrean adults have to complete a national service. As so-called 'warsay' they are considered to be the heirs of the Eritrean freedom fighters, the 'yikealo' or 'tegadelti'. In theory this national service includes a 12 months military and a 6 months civil service either in the country's bureaucracy(BESSER: civil administration) or in development projects. In reality young women often remain warsay up to the age of 27, men up to the age of 35 and above. Thousands have not been allowed to leave the military after the war against Ethiopia (1998-2000). They suffer from financial hardship, lawless arbitrariness, war traumas, forced labour and the general political repression, and find themselves unable to plan for their future, be it on a private or a professional level. Warsay who serve in the ministries and authorities of the Eritrean capital Asmara can consider themselves privileged: the city offers at least some possibilities to partially realize their dreams and concepts of a good life - even if in quite different and subversive ways.