Click to expand Image Satellite Imagery of the Sawa military camp, including the Warsai Yikealo Secondary School, recorded in January 2015. Imagery © DigitalGlobe - Maxar Technologies 2019; Source: Google Earth Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and other senior government officials presided over the 38th graduation ceremony of secondary school students from the Sawa military training center on July 11.Though graduation ceremonies are ordinarily a cause for celebration and the promise of a new future, for many young Eritreans, Sawa’s graduation ceremonies sadly mark the loss of both—and the start of a cruel indefinite national service.The Eritrean government since 2003 has forced thousands of secondary school students each year from across the country to complete their final year of school at Sawa, where they study alongside completing compulsory military training and political education.Students have described life in Sawa as incredibly harsh, with commanding officers providing students with limited food and water and subjecting them to forced labor. Military officers often mete out violent punishments—including for minor infractions, such as oversleeping—while female students report sexual exploitation and abuse.Those graduating from Sawa then get channeled into a cruel system of compulsory national service that Human Rights Watch and United Nations experts have long documented as indefinite, coercive, and abusive.Based on their examination results, graduates are forced either into military units or civilian national service positions. Some are assigned to study at the country’s government-run colleges from where they are also assigned national service—including as teachers—with little say or choice about where they live, work, or serve. On paper, national service is limited to 18 months; in reality, Eritreans remain in military or civilian assignments for years or even decades.Despite repeated calls from other states and rights bodies, the government has not dismantled this repressive system, limited the duration of national service, or allowed students to choose where they complete their schooling.Students often take drastic measures to evade going to Sawa so that they won’t be trapped in indefinite service. Some have deliberately failed or dropped out of school altogether. Many see fleeing the country as their only option. For those evading or deserting service, authorities often impose reprisals against their family members.The government should end compulsory military training during secondary school and finally reform its indefinite national service to ensure that the next round of graduating students can enjoy their special day.