Laughing, dancing, playing children swarm the alleyways in Asmara’s market area as the school day comes to a close. The surrounding buildings are a faint reminder of the Italian colonialists that turned a village into this bustling capital. Until the British lifted the occupation in 1943, racial segregation laws prohibited Eritrean children from entering schools. Today, Europeans are rarely seen, leaving the lively streets with a decidedly Eritrean ambience. Donkeys pull carts alongside matured (read rusty) Fiat Cinquecentos and the aroma of freshly roasted coffee beans is carried with the rhythmic euphony of Tigrinya music. The streets hold a striking cultural richness worth every visit, yet the unspoken weight of one of the world’s most repressive regimes is rarely discernible, though ever present.