Ethiopian-Eritrean WarOn May 6, 1998, Ethiopian and Eritrean patrols engaged in an all-out battle. While it may not have been the “shot heard 'round the world,” it was certainly a shot that shocked a previously peaceful neighborhood. It was also a blow that completely changed the Horn of Africa and permanently disrupted the Ethiopian economy. It was also a shot that ended Benyam Berhe's young life. Benyam Berhe experienced this war in a completely unique way than anyone else in the United States, because he experienced it himself. America has not seen foreign troops on its soil since the War of 1812. Americans cannot possibly relate to hearing mortars coming from our own homes. When diplomacy fails to get what politicians want, war is how they get what they want. This has been proven time and time again as the invention of the most expensive political maneuver. For the last century politicians have used their citizens to fight their wars of ideals. This war, the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, was unique because in this war people died for the land. Since the Middle Ages so few societies have fought wars over land that the idea seems absurd. The men died for a piece of land, called Badime region, (Ito). In analyzing the great effect of this war, the individual is often overlooked. Benyam Berhe is from Addis Abbas, Ethiopia. He and I have had numerous conversations regarding the war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Benyam maintained a largely apathetic view of most of the war despite the fact that the front line was less than 1000 kilometers from his porch. Although he was only 15 when it all began, he avidly watched all the news channels as the bombs began to fall. Second... center of paper ......y World: Africa Eyewitness: Reporting the war in the Horn. March 21, 1999 .Jes'man, Czes£aw, The Egyptian Paradox (Oxford University Press), 1963. Jones, AHM and Monroe, Elizabeth, A History of Ethiopia Oxford at the Clarendon Press, 1966. Muluneh, Wuhib Ethiopia - Border with Eritrea Conflict: the heart of the matter, consulted on 28/11/2003, Plowshares Armed Conflict Reports 2003. Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, Conrad Grebel College Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. 2003©< http://www.ploughshares.ca/CONTENT/ACR/ACR00/ACR00-EthErit.html >Tesfai, Alemseged, The Cause of the Eritrean-Ethiopian Border Conflict, consulted 11/26/2003, < http: //www.dehai.org/conflitto/analysis/alemsghed1.html >