ABUNE A BOON FOR ALTERNATIVE OBSERVATIONS 2022
Horn of Africa nation Eritrea has been under the iron-fisted rule of Isaias Afwerki since its founding in 1993, and his is considered one of the most oppressive governments in the world. It was also among the dwindling ranks of countries that never clocked a DDP hit. Lara Saint Paul would’ve been the first had we counted the Independent as a QO in 2018, but instead it’s church leader Abune Antonios who ends the long dry spell of Eritrean DDP representation with his death aged 94.
A former patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Church, Antonios was a living representation of the abuses dished out by the Afwerki regime. Antonios was several years into church leadership when he resisted governmental orders to excommunicate thousands of members. His principled stand was swiftly met with a house arrest, and his church, now composed of Afwerki puppets, excommunicated him in 2019. Eritrean media made no mention of his death. But UK media did, to my surprise. I thought he was a surefire List of the Lost name, but he was instead salvaged by BBC’s Africa liveblog. We still continue to await a whiff of UK press for a World Cup goalkeeper, but at least it’s not the pancake chap. Alternative Observations 2022 score the unique points.
Abune Antonios
12 July 1927 – 9 February 2022, aged 94
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