ASMARA, Eritrea (AFP) – Long criticised for backing rebel groups across the Horn of Africa, Eritrea has said that ending its isolation is crucial for economic growth, blaming external threats for its slow development.
“We cannot live in isolation, because at the end of the day we can only prosper if there is an environment for trade between neighbouring countries,” Yemane Gebremeskel, director of the president’s office, told AFP in a rare interview with a foreign journalist in the country’s capital, Asmara.
Trade and investment slumped in the years following the bitter 1998-2000 border war with arch-foe Ethiopia, and stagnated under a policy of fierce self-reliance.
But today, there are signs Eritrea is warming to foreign investors, especially in the mining industry with more than a dozen companies, including from China, Canada and Australia, exploring the mineral-rich country.
But relations with neighbours remain tense.
Eritrea and Ethiopia have long traded accusations of backing rebels to needle each other, with their troops still eying each other along the fortified frontier more than a decade after their border war ended.
The two countries remain at odds over the flashpoint town of Badme, awarded to Eritrea by a United Nations-backed boundary commission but still controlled by Ethiopia.
“We would not like to have a divided attention, a divided focus, we would not like to devote time and energy to defence… but the external environment has not been very helpful,” Yemane said.
Relations with Djibouti are frozen after border skirmishes in 2008, while regionally Eritrea stands almost alone, after pulling out of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the main east African bloc.
The UN accuses Eritrea of destabilising the region by supporting rebel groups in neighbouring Ethiopia and Somalia, including the Al-Qaeda linked Shebab fighters in Somalia, claims Yemane dismissed as lies.
But Sudan — where Eritrea once backed anti-government rebels from Darfur, the south and the east — is now warming relations with Asmara, although close friendship with Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir, who faces genocide charges at the International Criminal Court, brings with it diplomatic challenges too.
But despite Yemane’s optimistic rhetoric, Eritrea remains focused on building its defence from external threats, while some critics would say it is also building up strength against internal threats too.
Elections have been stalled, the constitution not implemented, and the country’s youth are conscripted into years of national service, a nation-building programme introduced after Eritrea broke free from Ethiopia in 1991 after a bloody 30-year war.
“If it (elections) has been postponed, it has been postponed depending on the threats we face, real or perceived,” he added.
Officially, national service lasts no more than 18 months, but many report being locked into the programme — into the armed forces or civil service — for more than a decade on a meagre salary.
“The national service has been prolonged because of the war and because the state of the situation,” Yemane said.
Each month, thousands of young Eritreans flee the country into neighbouring Ethiopia and Sudan as refugees, according to the UN refugee agency.
Yemane however insists “it is not a big issue.”
Until Eritreans are officially released from the programme, they are restricted from travelling outside the country, and in Asmara’s airport, travellers are screened for release papers before flying.
Accusations of flouting democratic ideals and muzzling the media and opposition are common from rights groups and the international community.
But Yemane insists that his country is unfairly judged and is often examined in a vacuum, without considering the wider context shaping Eritrea’s politics.
“You can take a snapshot, you can have a checklist, you can say ‘OK, the press is owned by the government, there is no political opposition,’ you can reach that kind of simplistic conclusion,” he said.
“Or you can look at the complexity of issues, the trajectory we have gone, the problems we are facing, the external threats we are facing.”
BISHA, Eritrea (AFP) – In a vast pit of red earth, white stone and green ponds, excavators unearth precious copper in Eritrea’s first large scale commercial mine.
In its third year of production, Bisha mine — endowed with gold, copper and zinc — is Eritrea’s first major international investment, and one that promises enormous profit for the impoverished Red Sea state.
Despite criticism by rights groups — who say large scale mining props up a hardline regime accused of a raft of abuses — authorities hope the mine will draw investment in other industries to help boost Eritrea’s otherwise struggling economy.
“The miners are the first people to take big risks with big money,” said Alasdair Smith, a geologist and exploration expert in Eritrea.
“There will be a honeymoon period for the mining industry when they will lead the way and they will have a significant contribution to GDP, and then that will quickly get overtaken by other industries,” added Smith, from New Zealand.
Bisha mine is 60 percent owned by Canada’s Nevsun Resources and 40 percent owned by the Eritrean government, which took a loan from China to finance its initial investment.
The project has attracted major interest from foreign mining companies, with three companies — from Australia, Canada and China — planning on establishing operations for gold and potash in the next two years.
There are also 17 other exploration companies in the country, searching for gold, copper, zinc and potash.
Eritrea’s government insists it is committed to using mining profits to develop other nascent sectors — namely agriculture, fisheries and tourism — in order to avoid the resource curse that plagues other mineral-rich resources in Africa.
It needs it: with a gross national income of $430, Eritrea is one of the world’s poorest nations, according to the World Bank.
“This is going to be a major sector in the Eritrean economy, but from our policy point of view, we would like to make sure that Eritrea does not become a one-sector economy,” said Woldai Futur, Eritrea’s Minister for Investment.
Nevsun reported revenues of $71.1 million in the first quarter of 2013, with Bisha’s general manager Kevin Moxham shrugging off World Bank reports ranking Eritrea as the third worst country out of 185 nations to do business in.
“If you look at Africa and the risk of doing work, the country risk (in Eritrea) in my opinion is much less than anywhere else,” Moxham told AFP, sitting at his office at the mine, 150 kilometres (90 miles) west of Asmara.
“The government is really involved because they want to make it work…they put their money where their mouth is,” he said, adding that he is confident the growth of the sector will boost spin-off industries and provide much-needed employment.
Still, infrastructure is limited, foreign exchange reserve are minimal, and United Nations-imposed sanctions imposed for Eritrea’s alleged backing of regional rebels make it difficult to import much-needed equipment.
But is not without its critics.
Last January, Human Rights Watch accused Nevsun of using forced labour drafted in from a decades-long conscription programme run by Eritrea, claims rejected by Asmara.
Moxham said employees are all are hired willingly.
“Anybody who is employed here has to be released from the military… we have a whole lot of checks and balances,” he said.
But many people in the capital Asmara question how mining revenues are being spent.
“Where?”, said one man when asked whether the government was spending profits wisely.
Residents in Asmara routinely complain of chronic water and electricity shortages in the capital, and say jobs are scarce.
But Bisha employees say they are happy for skills they are learning and a regular salary, which is above the national average.
Local salaries range from $400 to $5,000 at Bisha Mine, where over 90 percent of the 1800 employees are Eritrean.
For Asmerom Habte, 47, his job as a lift operator is not only a key source of income, but a source of national pride.
“I wanted to work here, it is the first gold mine ever in Eritrea,” said the former soldier, standing before his bright yellow machine in the copper pit, adding that his salary of some $500 a month is around seven times more than when he was a soldier.
While employment is an important benefit of the mining sector, Woldai insists that the industry will spur further broader investment, despite economic stagnation blamed on ongoing tensions with arch-foe Ethiopia following a 1998-2000 border war.
“We are passing though difficult times… but our people are united,” he said. “The important thing is that you can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It may be farther than I’d like it to be, but it is there.”
Tewahdo church is supposed to be the hope to the hopeless:
By Haben Zeray
Dear Tewahdo Church leaders,
Martin Luther King Jr., said , “Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that”. If we are expecting light from PFDJ and its chairman in Eritrea, we are dreaming. I have zero hope to get light from darkness but there is hope in God and those who have given themselves to serve God. I want to share the following with the Tewahdo Church leaders of Eritrea.
The Bible is clear when it says Blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called sons of God (Gospel of Mathew 5:9) . Those of us who wait to find some peace and solace in the church are faced with resentment and division and politicizing instead. Many people go to church to quite their spirit, humble themselves, be silent and seek peace within their souls. Many of our church leaders instead of meeting your followers needs , you seem to exacerbate people’s situation by ignoring the inflictions, by preaching politics and even some of you are working for Eritrean government instead of serving God and your members. The people want you to speak to their hearts and meet their spiritual needs. The depressed need your uplifting and encouragement. The sick need your prayers and those who are in jail need your prayers and visitation. The Bible does not discriminate who you should pray for, you have the responsibility to ease the pain of all those who are longing for relief.
Church leaders have responsibility not only for their own church but also for their community, country and the world. God commanded you to go to your flock (Jerusalem), communities (Samaria) and the utmost of the world. We are living in an era of hatred and resentment within our church walls, communities and neighbors (countries). What are you waiting for? Shouldn’t you , church leaders, be the first ones to declare fast and prayer for peace and reconciliation? Why are we not seeing town hall meetings for peace and reconciliation? Are you waiting for those bankrupt politicians to bring peace to your members? What are you doing to heal the wounds that are oozing with pain for the last 50 years between Eritreans and Eritreans, and even broader between Eritreans and Ethiopians? The bible is clear that hatred and resentment is not of God. In fact the Apostle Paul in one of his epistles said it best, you can move mountains and be the most knowledgeable guy around the world but if you do not have LOVE all your efforts amounts to nothing, zero. Have you forgotten if you want a peaceful community you must create a peaceful congregation first. Peace starts within all of us. I am perplexed by the fact that many of the leaders preach Christianity without love. In fact to your beliefs you preach and practice divisions. Where do you keep your bible? Instead extending your hands to be worshiped by people why not extend your hearts so we can learn to embrace each other?
Before any church leader accepts leadership responsibility, first they should know they have a calling from God not the government. Second, they must use the word of God or the bible as their guiding principal for their life and the lives of their members. These leaders should be the voice of God and light (not darkness) to the world. If there is social injustice and abuse by the government they should be the first ones to speak out and cry foul. A spiritual leader, if need be, is a sacrificial lamb just like Jesus was sacrificial lamb for humanity. Church leaders should follow the example of the saints of the bible. Paul, Peter, John and many more are martyrs for their faith. They stood for what they believed until death. They were not afraid to die for their faith.
Most of us do not desire another person to die for their faith. In fact we should seek freedom of religion all over the world. However, when contradictions arise between “good” and “evil” church leaders using the bible or God as their guiding principle should stand-up for “good” even unto death and should lead their flocks to stand up for the truth. You might say, easier said than done. Not so quick my friends we have hundreds if not thousands of Eritreans who are now behind bars because they refused to recant their faith and chose to stand up for what they believe. To me these people are heroic Eritreans and are shining examples for the ultimate sacrifice. We should constantly pray for them and tell the government not to touch them and show mercy on them..
Why do many Eritreans “go with the flow” in their everyday life as if there are no principles to guide them? If a person cannot differentiate “good” and “evil” and be able to speak out and differentiate between “good” and “bad” and make a stand, then that person has reduced himself/herself to a bare minimum as a person. I like my dog because when I say “jump” it jumps or “sit” it sits and stairs at me waiting for the next command. Is this how we want to live our lives? I am appalled when I see especially church leaders live in fear of what others might think and forget the God given freedom to declare the principles and guidelines that the bible teaches. I simply cannot understand when our government leaders make gross mistakes and strip the very foundation of their own church, and you still see these church leaders “go with the flow”.
I say to these kind of leaders if your motive for “leading” the church is contrary to what your Bible teaches then you need to get out of the way. You need to feel responsible for the people you lead. If you cannot be an example then you are going to have confused members whose time will be spent to further divide your followers gossip about others etc..
Blessed are the peace makers for they shall be called sons of God (Gospel of Mathew 5:9). Believers are called to be “Peace makers” or ambassadors for peace. If they cannot be “peace makers” or their activities are contrary to peace then as people we cannot have a blessing. In other words, without peace there is no blessing. It is not a blessing if I cannot feel safe and secure in my own country. It is not a blessing if the majority of people are struggling just to survive. It is not a blessing if the country is constantly poised for war and rumors of war. It is not a blessing when we see potential resources like the Assab port becomes a desolate port for lack of mature diplomatic relations with Ethiopia etc…
Church leaders and for that matter religious leaders are the thermostat of the people. They are a major force for human dignity, human values, courage and all the virtues that spells human decency. If you are looking for these virtues from politicians and your government you will be disappointed and betrayed. I don’t think there are other people in the face of our world now who got betrayed more than Eritreans. Betrayal made its home in Eritrea. Colonialists betrayed us and our own leaders that we placed a mountain of hope are trampling on us. The only hope is from God and our religious leaders. If we are to establish trust among Eritreans I believe it should start in religious forms that advocate trust in God, peace within yourself and peace with your neighbors. May God help our spiritual leaders.
Finally, I have a suggestion to the church leaders, make a Godly stand and say no to evil. By your actions you are hurting the Holy church and generations of people who are to carry the gospel after you pass. But with your legacy the church is in danger of being extinct and will become a political organization. Please say No to the ungodly orders of the Eritrean government.
Respectfully yours,
Someone whose only hope is an expectation from God and those who lead us to God.
Current development: The isolated and most secretive country has so far dispatched only three press releases this year and here they are:
Eritrean Press Releases in 2013 from SHABAIT
Monday, 29 April 2013
“Moon of the South”, an obscure weekly magazine, published excerpts of an interview with Francois Bozize, the deposed President of the Central African Republic in its April 4 edition this month. The reporter a certain Issa Sikiti Da Silva, quotes the former CAR President who stated that “Chad helped Seleka rebels to overthrow” his government.
But then, the reporter gratuitously impugns Eritrea to claim that “the arms used by the Seleka rebels during the final assault on the presidential palace were purchased from Eritrea and transited by Chad with the permission of Deby”. The author does not provide a shred of evidence for his outlandish statement. He simply cites “Le Journal de Brazza” as a source to add: “Eritrea, a rogue state badly hit by EU and US sanctions (sic), has a history of arming African rebel groups, including Somalia’s Al-Shabab”.
Comment: Finger pointing on Eritrea has become common to the international community for anything that goes wrong around. This country has done so many illegal things to be taken for granted, for making similar crimes anywhere in the continent. Why get into this cyclic problem to begin with? YOU HARVEST WHAT YOU PLANT by making criminal activities and oppression your signature profile; and you better swallow the accusation without calling foul now for no one would believe you anyway!
Eritrea rejects in the clearest of terms Amnesty International’s wild accusations that it has “jailed at least 10,000 political-prisoners. Amnesty’s [] political assault on Eritrea is totally unsubstantiated, with the organization unable to back its claims with facts. It is hardly surprising that it admits that it does not “know the exact figure.”
Amnesty claims that the prisoners are kept in “unimaginably atrocious conditions.” Once again this merely reflects its own fanciful flights of imagination and is not based on credible evidence.”
Comment: Eritrea has been accused by many international media for its character. The accusation continues and so does the denial. Eritrea finds AMNESTY’s inability to prove the claim “hardly surprising” but I found its position on this issue overly surprising because it did not allow them to enter the country where the prisoners are located. The tranquilized Eritrean politicians asked for credible evidence on prisoner counts without neutral investigation from outside Eritrea. It denies it had 10,000 prisoners and asks for proof without allowing neutral observers inside the country and giving them access to the relevant sites claimed to be containing the prisoners in “more than 300 prisons in the country”. Many people drink, I just do not know what our leaders are drinking!
Saturday, 06 July 2013
“In line with the longstanding goodwill of the people and Government of Eritrea to witness Egypt and its people assuming their rightful position and role, they have fully demonstrated their genuine support for the transitional forum introduced in that country over the past two years. The Eritrean people and their leadership, beyond fully respecting the choice of the Egyptian people, hope that all interested parties and leaders of the forum would guide the transition in the right direction.” Comment: You do not represent the people of Eritrea because they did not choose you to be their government, so talk only about yourself on this issue. Yet, it is hard to believe this nation talking about Egyptian democracy in a way that does not explain the message to the point. The worst dictatorship on the planet has the gut to discuss the Egyptian transition to democracy “in defence of the people’s choice” while ignoring all the choices of the thousands of Eritrean demonstrators around the world. The contradiction says that it was against the people’s choice in Kaddafi’s experience.
As you see, the country could no longer write a productive press release that communicates it with us all efficiently 8 months into this year because there is nothing going on in all fields of socio-economic life in Eritrea. No press release is necessary on the country’s income in millions from the mining activities (because it all belongs to the officials). Deception, interference, denial and confrontation have become the regime’s main profession, where it is now considered guilty for every mess not only in our region but on continental dimensions as a result. If you lose something, you first suspect a neighborhood thief for stealing it: this is what the Eritrean government made itself through many continental criminal activities. If you always lie, then anything you say is considered as a lie: no one believes Eritrea for anything because it is a compulsive liar.
Entertainment
THE HOLLAND GOVERNMENT FESITAL: According to “ፈስቲቫልሆላንድ 2013 – ውልቃዊትዕዝብቲ Two outstanding freedom fighters from the Eritrean government Yemane Monkey and Usman Saleh were special guests and brother USMAN was on the stage moving in such a way people thought was introducing a new style of dancing for them to learn later that he was actually wobbling on the dance floor because of over drinking The Eritrean Ambassador in Holland was closely monitoring him praying he does not fall in public until the music was over. The courageous Tegadalai Usman, however, made it with a lot of zigzagging and the Ambassador took him home for a nap or probably for more boozing in closed doors. I am not sure if the HIGDEFITES clapped and the women ululated for his amazing survival but Usman appeared out of it the next evening: he was stuttering (kolteftef) on the podium under the pressure of strong hangover for few minutes saying none sense with great difficulty when Monkey saved his behind by taking the microphone to repeat the same stuff he has been taking about for years.
ON SANCTION
As I discussed it in the past, the Eritrean government has at least three requirements to fulfill in order to get out of the suffocating sanction it openly undermined and begged for in the past: Accepting the Somalian democratic government and detachment from the terrorist Al-Shabab, resolving the BADME stalemate with Ethiopia through dialog and of course allowing the Constitution to run politics in Eritrea.
On Somalia requirement: According to Assenna, the government had recently talked to Qatar where an Eritrean diplomat disclosed that Eritrea now recognizes the Somalian government. This is a paradigm shift (unexpected) folks and a clear indication that Eritrea has felt the consequence of being the only rebel in the world against peace and democracy in Somalia. It was not long time ago that Eritrea press-released stating “Press StatementMonday, 20 August 2012A joke worth denunciation “Enough is Enough!” As of late, rumors have been circulating as regards the so-called election scheduled to take place in Mogadishu. ‘Somalia on the path to democracy’; ‘change would come through democracy’; ‘an election being conducted under better circumstances’; ‘it is an election due to take place at a time when the transitional government is in control of large portion of Somali territory’; ‘Mr. X has been nominated’; ‘Mr. Y would run for the election’; ‘this time is better than the previous one’; ‘and the support of the international community is currently on the rise’; etc. The rumors are boundless; the deliberate means employed to propagate them along with the sophisticated tactics too are drawing attention – all these to the gullible! bla, bla….“
In contradiction, Eritrea has been forced to contemplate on or change its Somalian Policy as a result of the sanction. The government appears to be ashamed of this flip-flopping after resisting the planet alone for so long. Therefore, diplomacy failed to civilize predictable Eritrea on the Somalian question and a little spanking appears to be working. Interesting is that it is trying to do it secretly without detailing the people on this extremely important political motion, yet without a press release (an appropriate action for a change of foreign policy in this magnitude and political significance). The fact remains that Eritrea has to say it loud through different international media and press-release its new position should it seek forgiveness or acceptance from the international community in this regard instead of playing cat and mouth game with the planet: Chitchatting on Somalia in private dinner with Qatar officials won’t do the job on sanction nor is it sufficient for re-acceptance to the IGAD.
Conclusion: The SOMALIAN GOVERNMNET RECOGNITION requirement stands outstanding and therefore unanswered by the Eritrean government for the country to get out of its sanction-driven confinement.
ON CONSTITUTION Requirement:
DesperateYemane Monkey invents a new concept of CONSTITUTION: Around 230 years after the creation of CONSTITUTION in the US (since Sept. 17, 1787, the era of George Washington, Benjamin Franklin) and that “Today, roughly half the planet lives under democracy of some sort”, the Eritrean regime has invented a more compact version of CONSTITUTION and here is the brief:
Yemane, the head of Eritrea’s POLITICAL INDOCTRINATION has introduced unheard of democratic concept to the already overly unique MANIFESTO of Afwerkism. This is a new invention or unique democratic formula unknown to the universe in the past: it is the most efficient constitution to date because it dwarfs the universal concept by a third of its previous composition.
His theory says that “2/3 of the constitution has been implemented with only 1/3 of it (ELECTION) remaining; thus ERITREA is DEMOCRATIC by default”. The question remains if the brother will ever patent his invention or intellectual property and under what title? Well, time will tell but I think he should do it under the title ‘CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY WITHOUT ELECTION’ or ‘Dictatorial Democracy’.
Unfortunately, there is no democracy without its main component, ELECTION like there is no life without the heart or an atom without a nucleus. The concept of CONSTITUTION is inexistent without ELECTION because it is the main reason that makes a CONSTITION important to society. The essence of democracy and constitutional governance revolve on the fundamental foundation called ELECTION and no political entity can avoid it without DICTATORSHIP. Therefore, there is no constitutional government and a neutral justice system in Eritrea: you can enjoy your extraordinary philosophical achievement in your privacy babysitting your boss for reward on.
Conclusion: neither do the people accept nor can the international community allow the government to get out of the sanction through this very interesting philosophy. Therefore, the SANCTION should continue.
On Peace with neighbors requirement:
Peace with all our neighbors and specially with Ethiopia is necessary for Eritrea’s freedom from the Sanction. Well, the government as you know has refused to take BADME through dialog while at the same time talking to them through third parties in the condition of unanimity. It is “secretly working with ETHIOPIA for normalization of the relationship” according to unconfirmed rumors so that it would stand in the best position to get out of the SANCTION trap. Sorry, this won’t work unless Eritrea officially accepts Dialog to resolve the stalemate: Therefore the Sanction should continue.
REACTION FROM THE OPPOSITION ON RECENT ERITREAND DEPLOMATIC ACTIVITIES
Obviously, the Eritrean government has to be challenged on all fronts for the resistance to win the fight but I do not think this is what is going on. It has not been challenged by the all inclusive opposition camp as far as we know because no information has yet been available on their diplomatic counter actions or strategic adjustments to counter balance its diplomatic efforts to get out of the SANCTION (only to my knowledge as I stands happy to be corrected otherwise). In other words, Eritrea is delivering unanswered diplomatic punches against the opposition camp or the Eritrean government is doing its diplomatic work without an obstacle; thus winning the confrontation with the resistance in the diplomatic field: to my assumption, every opposition force has so far been quiet on this important diplomatic components. Yet, the question is if the scattered around opposition forces can separately make a difference trying to challenge the government on these issues. My answer is I do not think so! I challenge any one of them to convince me on this based on material proof. In the flip of the coin, I believe Eritreans would have had a potent collective voice that can be respected and heard internationally had they been TEMPORARILY united in favor of DEMOCRACY.
From the forum
erikid: “To all my real Eritrean brothers and sisters– this website is a phony fraud. It is operated and paid for by weyane our enemy. See you atalenalki.com, the real Eri website.”
Kabbire: “ erikid, ኣንታቆልዓበጃኻሸንካደቅስ።”
Comment: The response made me laugh to the point of lunacy; it took me back to the early days of my life when my beautiful Mama used to pick up something for lightly spanking a misbehaving kid (six of us) in the butt in our crowded house. Clearly, the kid is an indoctrinated victim of Afwerkism masterminded by the dedicated Afwerkist called Yemene Monkey. I feel sorry for him and I know he deserves sympathy and love from all of us but I appreciate the artistic talent of Kabbire in disciplining him in such a spontaneously assertive fashion.
MICHAEL : “Dear Writer, as usual very shallow and incoherent article. why don’t you stop writing meaningless articles like this one. you luck substance, coherence and attractiveness in what you write. tell us what you do to contribute to the opposition in addition to writing monotonous articles here”
Comment: Michael sounds like a frustrated Eritrean as a result of the hopelessness created by the government and the opposition forces. He does not know what to do and thus wonders around confused on what to follow. This is the situation of many Eritreans and I do not blame them. We are tired of the cyclic failure in both sides of the relationship (the government and the opposition) and looking for anything exciting that has been missing for a long time from both sides. The government does its things by totally ignoring our existence (absolute dictatorship) and the opposition forces swing us back and forth between hope and despair by totally ignoring our only guarantee for success, UNITY (absolute silence on unity from practical point of view). Therefore, what do you do if you are an Eritrean like Michael? You explode your emotion outwardly. I wish I could do something practical about our condition, dear Michael: The problem is that I am a freelance activist that has no connection with anyone of the political groups and I know none of them wants me around to involve and contribute my spiritual or humanistic share in favor of the resistance only for one important reason: I am a dedicated supporter of unified resistance against the regime without any interest on personal rewards except gratification from justice and democracy in future Eritrea as a result.
I have never been approached to speak out my opinion by any youth organization in the Diaspora except one instance at TESHAMO Pal-talk (please do not take this as arrogance because I know I am an ordinary Eritrean no better than any other citizen, sorry if you do). I, however, believe that I have a clear position on the Eritrean question (TEMPORARY UNITY FOR A TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT TO DEMOCRACY) and that I would have served the resistance efficiently, given the chance by the youth leaders strictly as an advisor: but so far in vain! Trust me, things would have been different if genuine Eritreans were given the chance to contribute in the struggle for freedom in Eritrea, but only if confident and honest Eritreans were in the leadership of the youth that believe in participation and political efficiency for democratic Eritrea.
Some people think that I work with other groups in this resistance just because I write articles at ASSENNA: I can only tell you that I wish that was the case. I cannot penetrate the impenetrable circles of dishonest opposition forces to help the situation Michael, I can only write as any isolated activist would do! The reason I am writing monotonously about UNITY is because that is the only way out of dictatorship and chaos.
Netabay: “big brother Fitsum: u r respectful as such. I appreciate your depth and the way you organize and analyze your articles. and I admire the way you are presenting them–making them very interactive. at times I feel as if I know you and talking to u in person: go on becoming more interactive. and I like the way hammer the point-unity. that is what people intended in changing the behavior of others advise us. hammering hammering….”kisab zisiquoro degagimka nigero”. Unity is the only way to reach the right destination. We are not in the age of JEBHA vs. SHAEBIA: that hatred and tension is useless for this generation: just let’s document it as a lesson, to draw wise lessons from it in the future. Whereas for us, the young, disarraying the forces of reform in our country in the name of these two organizations is alien. We do not have emotional and personal ties with it. Melake Tekle is equally important to Wedi Afa to us. We simply know they are martyrs and we equally respect them. Come out of such things….thank u”
Comment: I love you brother for everything you said. I can sense that you said what you felt about me from your inner-self. Although I believe in constant fight against my ego mindfully thinking that I am a dying man that cannot afford to foul play with humanity or spirituality for anything, I tend to be attracted to expressions of true feelings for their emotional purity rather than their glorifying effects. That is where you created the connection between you and me in this spontaneous attachment. I could not help sharing my feeling about the effects of your expression in this mutual experience because it touched me. As you said any Eritrean who served the struggle with the in ELF or the EPLF is equally important to the Eritrean independence. This view is not only of the youth who might never have experienced the struggle but is of all of us Eritreans who respect our martyrs of our liberation struggle. I had written several articles on the points you raised on RECONCILLIATION. Please read them if you have the time by clicking at my picture in ASSENNA so that we can discuss them in the future.
Zaul: “ Mr Fetsum, If I have understood you correctly, you are not looking to solve the root cause of our lack of unity. You are saying that there is no other alternative if we are to achieve what we all want, i.e, a constitutional democracy.”
Everyone in the opposition should therefore, irrespective of his/her political inclination work together towards achieving democracy first and not, as it is now, position himself/heself to grab power after the fall of PFDJ. We need to do it in an orderly way to avoid the fate of Somalia.
1. Unconditional Unity.
2. Plan for a transitional period, set up a transitional commitee lead by people who can not run for any public office in the future.
3. co-ordinate our efforts and resources and topple PFDJ.
4. Redraft/Ammend/implement the constitution.
5. Hold elections after a transitional period of 2-4 years public office if they chose to do so.”
Comment: That is all we have to do to be a democratic society and god bless you brother. This procedure is what has been complicated by our forces without providing any other alternative in the open. This has so far being rejected by some of them without giving us another choice or explanation. So far they are sleeping on this without confidently saying what else they have for us to save our nation from dictatorship. This silence is the cause of any contemplation from the forces of unity and freedom on the opposition based on circumstantial evidence rather than on something concrete and it is rationally justified. The circumstantial evidence states that the divided forces are quite on their strategy: they should come out on the open individually to teach us about their strategy of saving Eritrea from dictatorship. We have several times said our formula for Eritrean democracy on the open and in this forum and we expect them to do the same or at least comment on our proposal!!The only solution to close the misunderstanding gap then stands at the court of the forces that must expose their political positions precisely.
Brother! All the work I have been doing with people like you in the past was to just get into this eloquently summarized input by a brilliant mind like yours. Everything you put in the steps are correct for transiting a society from DICTATORSHIP to DEMOCRAY but the condition (2) can be further reconfigured through discussion and mutual agreement. I think people in said transitional committee should also be allowed to run for public offices if they choose to do so. This, however, is not hard for us to solve because we can take either one of the choices: to me both alternatives would have been acceptable in an honest political environment.
To summarize it, the different parties or forces or individuals in the resistance unite temporarily to form a TRANSIONAL GOVERNMENT, then they diverge out of the temporarily unity after they topple the government together and individually organize during the transitional period for election. Whoever is elected then runs the country until next election depending on agreed upon codes in the constitution of the country. ERITREA WOULD THEN JOIN THE DEMOCRTATIC COMMUNITY OF THE WORLD and the rest of us live in our country peacefully.
In an honest circle between progressive elements of the society this process can be reduced to practice like it did in any other situation like ours (SOMALIA, LIBERIA, GHANA, etc). To be cntinued
Date: August 24, 2013 by Tewelde Stephanos Email: testifanos@gmail.com
Pessimism has been the prevailing state of mind in Eritrea for some time. And why not? There sure is plenty to be pessimistic about. Ruled by unenlightened group that has consistently adhered to a medieval code of conduct that exerts maximum pain on its subjects, Eritrea has been inhospitable to its own citizens.
Not surprisingly, some asmarino.com writers have even gone to the extent of declaring Eritrea’s independence a mistake and something that should be reversed. Although their frustration is understandable, I don’t believe anything good can come out of such desperation. It is better to salvage what we have (not an easy task) to recoup some of the dignity we have squandered so willfully before contemplating alternatives from a position of extreme weakness.
As bad as we have let things get, however, it is not hard to see Eritrea’s malaise is reversible. Even taking recent African examples, Rwanda is doing much better compared to its bloody past. Admittedly, given the history of one-man shows that stay too long leaving messy exits behind, it may not be out of the woods just yet but it sure is on a hopeful trend. Ethiopia is another good example. In spite of its complex problems, it is truly moving on making more good decisions than bad ones. It even went through its first institutional peaceful transfer of power in history. So, the current dark clouds over Eritrea’s skies can be cleared if (and this is a BIG if) we start behaving differently.
But first let me pile on the bad news to acknowledge how seriously broken things are.
From all indications, Eritrea appears to be a country without people. Sure, it has about 5 million inhabitants. But disempowered and dispirited, the inhabitants have so far refused to behave as people. We have resorted to small but ineffective regional or religious factions allowing ourselves to become easy prey for all sorts of vultures. Save very few brave souls, we have the tendency to obey any orders from the tyrant of the day, no matter how ridiculous (‘give me 50,000 nakfa or I will jail your elderly father’). In addition to modern-day slavery at home, this culture of extreme obedience and self cacooning has manifested itself in other undesirable ways too – one of which is the astronomical prices human traffickers demand from Eritreans only.
Normally, the sort of indiscriminate oppression the regime levels against its own people should have resulted in a united opposition to uproot it. But we are more divided than ever. Even the “youth” movements are infected with the divisive virus of the older generation dimming the light at the end of tunnel a bit more. The hope was that as the old folks die off, their divisive legacy would die with them. As it seems, the regime is more likely to fall under its own dead weight than through active demand for freedom. One seriously hopes not, but with severely weakened sense of a unifying national umbrella, Somalia’s recent history is not a far-fetched scenario for Eritrea’s near future.
Our dialog, if it can even be called that, lacks civil discourse mimicking the regime’s arrogant culture. Anytime someone or some group starts to make sense, the regime launches vicious attacks to discredit them using well-crafted misinformation it has perfected for over 40 years. To make matters worse, people either keep silent or repeat the regime’s falsehoods without a second thought. Having trashed the character of fellow citizens, Eritrea now appears to be devoid of decent folks to look up to as examples of good citizenship – where the tyrant is referred to as “the man”. Even our language has deteriorated to glorifying the despicable as manhood has nothing to do with killings, deceit and thievery.
And then we wonder “who” can replace the despot. But “who” is not even the right question. A more appropriate question to ask is “what” because what we have is a systemic failure. The focus ought to be on how to build self-correcting institutions that can cleanse themselves of tyrants through legal means.
The regime’s repeated servile visits to Egypt to sabotage efforts of multiple African countries to renegotiate outdated Nile water rights continues to isolate us from our neighbors. This ought to be a source of shame for all Eritreans because, at the end of the day, it is being done in our name.
But the regime’s obsession to sabotage Ethiopia at all costs has only managed to impoverish Eritrea. Either way – be it from the regime’s shameful submissiveness to Egypt or our silence – Eritrea is the loser. Although not expressed publicly, such creepy (loQmaS) behavior can only generate mocking laughter from Egypt — proof of which is Egypt doing absolutely nothing to end the horrific crimes Eritreans are subjected to in Sinai.
Similarly, the regime financing regional armed groups who don’t even believe in Eritrea’s sovereignty can only be detrimental to Eritrea’s long term health. Taking Tigray’s “opposition” as an example, there is sufficient platform for them to resolve their issues within Ethiopia’s political space. As the regime continues to eliminate and disempower Eritreans, it is possible this Tigray group could end up being the primary security force to guard the rotting regime – creating complexities that will be difficult to untangle for future generations on both sides of the border.
But enough about the bad news. What now?
Building Trust
One core value that is missing from our interactions is trust. It is ironic that blind trust on the regime’s current actors is what got us where we are today. Instead of leveraging that trust to build a better future, however, the regime chose to install multi-layered spy networks to destroy trust itself. As a result, lifelong friends, neighbors and even family members don’t trust each other anymore.
Could those in the opposition and civic groups, especially the “youth” groups, gather the courage to reach out to their peers to reconcile differences and re-direct the fight against the regime instead of against each other? Could each of us make our own individual pledges to withdraw our membership from the club of ‘silent majority’ and support those we believe are making a positive difference? Mine goes to Arbi Harnet for their innovative approach to reach their peers in Eritrea because sustainable change can only come from inside Eritrea – with support from outside accelerating that change.
Communication with the right tone
There are well-intentioned individuals or groups (the G13, G15, civic groups, Internet groups etc) with strong desire to do something transformative. Unfortunately, they either exit the scene too soon or squabble among each other posing no threat to the regime. For a tiny country of 5 million (if that), we have too many splinter groups with no discernible collaborative spirit or, worse, with deep but unfounded antagonism towards each other. In a way, we have become the best allies the corrupt regime could hope for – perpetuating the agony in the process.
Those leading the way need to start communicating with a respectful tone to gain followers. Often, the message that comes across loud and clear has a tone of dictators in waiting who want to rule rather than leaders who are ready to serve.
Our dialog needs to be elevated to more dignified levels – respectful, coherent and persistent than what we have had so far. We need to have the right tone in our conversations everywhere (in formal meetings, in forums, in places of worship, in coffee shops etc) to replace the regime’s dismissive tone and feudal culture. The Orthodox church’s split into pro and anti-regime cliques is sad to say the least.
Culture of inter-dependence
Our recent history, architected by few insiders of the regime, has been one of extreme arrogance. This has alienated us from each other and from the rest of the world. The arrogance of yesteryears where we derisively saw Ethiopia as nothing more than a market for Eritrea’s finished goods is a fading memory now. We have made a total mess of things and destroyed whatever potential there was to produce goods for export. Ethiopia is advancing ahead of Eritrea now and we are more likely to become consumers of Ethiopia’s goods. Eritrea doesn’t produce much that improves the lives of its people or that is of interest to others. If there is (gold you might say?), the feudal lord and his minions have made sure nothing trickles down to improve the economy. Forget meeting energy needs for industrialization purposes. Eritrea can’t even handle demand for basic household lighting.
Unless cheaper sources of energy are miraculously discovered, for example, energy self-sufficiency will remain an elusive goal and with it Eritrea’s elevation to the civilized world. A better formula could be mixing Ethiopia’s much cheaper hydro power and Eritrea’s port services as good counter weights in building an inter-dependent future with desirable side-benefits of reduced chances of conflicts. But the poisoned atmosphere needs to be detoxified for that and other formulas to be contemplated.
Although Assab and Massawa could still be viable for the long term, they are less competitive to Djibouti’s improving port services and other options Ethiopia is exploring. Meles’ words describing Assab as watering hole for camels still holds true today. Even if the regime gets a much deserved demise tomorrow, Eritrea’s ills will continue unless we start thinking and acting more constructively. We need to switch to an inter-dependent mind set to end the isolation. Unfortunately, we will have to face this from a position of weakness for some time.
Education
Education is one of the very few high probability equalizers for personal and national growth. Nations with enlightened leaderships facilitate citizenship applications for highly educated foreigners. Our citizenship in western societies, gives us the opportunity to see this blessing first hand in our daily lives. Even Ethiopia is trying its hand by allowing Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia to attend its universities. What are the chances of those graduating from these universities returning to Eritrea’s life of slavery?
Unfortunately, the regime has marginalized education robbing the nation of two decades worth of quality education. Mentioning the closure of the only accredited university, the so-called chancellor never attending a university graduation ceremony, a semi-literate military man appointed to run the so called “colleges” (military boot camps in reality) is probably sufficient to show how deep we have sunk in this critical space.
Maybe we wouldn’t have made the ranks of other small countries like Finland and Singapore who come at the top of education achievement ratings year over year. But we could have made some progress towards that worthy goal if it weren’t for the wasted decades under a regime that despises education and the educated so much.
There is no denying things are bad. But it is possible to turn things around for the better by refocusing energies to re-build the frayed trust; through renewed commitment to respectful dialog that gets the tone right making everyone feel included; by moving away from the regime’s bombastic and isolationist culture towards an inter-dependent future within Eritrea and outside; and by re-starting the journey towards quality education. Rwanda and Ethiopia are improving the trajectory of their future. We can too. But for that to happen, we must first reject the regime’s toxic culture of exclusion and extreme arrogance wholesale.
“ሎም ዘበን ክረምቲ ካብ ወጻኢ ናብ ኤርትራ ናይ ዝኣተዉ ኤርትራውያን ቁጽሪካብ 1991 ጀሚሩ በብዓመቱ ምስ ዝነበረ ብዝሒ በጻሕቲ ብምውድዳር፣ ካብማንም ግዜ ኣዝዩ ዝተሓተ ከምዝነበረ ንጸብጻባት መዓርፎ ነፈርቲ ኣስመራብምውካስ ምንጭታት ካብ ኣስመራ ሓቢሮም።“ What do you expect when the government keeps on suffocating the Diaspora through its indefinite 2% illegal taxation and monopolizing business completely? What do you think will happen when you fail to provide food, electricity and water to the people? You cannot run a nation through past heroism, Guaila and pretention; everything falls apart at one point in the journey. Even the most conformist portion of our people can no longer stand the situation in Eritrea: the cumulative arrogance, centralized power, overly militaristic, misplaced trust and obedience and the total brain drain of our society under this regime are now backfiring at them to the point of no return. No Eritrean kid can today enjoy the paralyzed and extra restrictive country that cannot provide basic life necessities to the people: the Diaspora kids need libraries for reading, researching and preparing for their next academic challenges in the process of visiting Eritrea unlike the poor local kids in SAWA slavery. The world has changed except in Eritrea: The Diaspora kids go home expecting the minimum to only comeback as soon as possible disgusted by the amount of shortages they confront there as we keep hearing it nowadays.
Tewelde Stephanos: “Normally, the sort of indiscriminate oppression the regime levels against its own people should have resulted in a united opposition to uproot it. But we are more divided than ever. Even the “youth” movements are infected with the divisive virus of the older generation dimming the light at the end of tunnel a bit more. The hope was that as the old folks die off, their divisive legacy would die with them. As it seems, the regime is more likely to fall under its own dead weight than through active demand for freedom. One seriously hopes not, but with severely weakened sense of a unifying national umbrella, Somalia’s recent history is not a far-fetched scenario for Eritrea’s near future. Could those in the opposition and civic groups,especially the “youth” groups, gather the courage to reach out to their peers to reconcile differences and re-direct the fight against the regime instead of against each other? Could each of us make our own individual pledges to withdraw our membership from the club of ‘silent majority’ and support those we believe are making a positive difference?”
Comment: I agree.
The opportunity: The second all inclusive Eritrean national congress will be held in Ethiopia in the early months of next year.
REMINDER: “THIS IS IT OR PROBABLY NEVER”: The First National Conference of Eritreans (more than 600 Eritreans from everywhere) was held in Ethiopia two years ago though we did not see progress or any tangible productivity from it as you know, one of reasons in my opinion being the absence of check and balance capacity from the youth organizations. In any case the second is on the way to take place in few months. This is the right time to press for unity through exclusively focused demonstrations around the world. We have few months to do this and the youth organizations have no excuse missing this opportunity because we are reminding them ahead of time as usual. Eritreans will pay the price heavily in missing this opportunity: unless they start shouting for unity beginning from NOW so that a good result comes out of the Conference and the BAITO. This is the time for any organization to practically prove its dedication for UNITED RESISTANCE FOR DEMOCRACY in Eritrea. Right now is the moment to crank the silent engine of our society into the resistance. The youth organizations will be responsible for doing nothing to influence the outcome of the Conference and to attract the silent majority through demonstrations for UNITY using this opportunity.
On permanent UNITY
Zaul: “ Mr Fetsum, If I have understood you correctly, you are not looking to solve the root cause of our lack of unity. You are saying that there is no other alternative if we are to achieve what we all want, i.e, a constitutional democracy.”
No human attitude or force can totally resolve the root causes of our lack of unity on many subject matters and trying to do so is waste of life. Permanent mental unity is a known cause of oppression because it is unnatural so to say and does not accommodate independent thinkers to participate. God made us different on purpose to enjoy our diversity and no one can change this natural arrangement and trying to do so will only cause DICTATORSHIP. There is nothing called permanent or absolute unity in human experience except in marriage even that is impermanent sometimes and specially at the end life. Political diversity is necessary for people to develop and a given society should take advantage of all diversified brains within its boundaries. It is in recognition of this that political scientists and leaders created a fair medium called DEMOCRACY. The main object of democracy is to help people tolerate different backgrounds and opinions: therefore we cannot enjoy peaceful coexistence in a completely UNITED or AUTHORITARIAN SYSTEM like Afwerki’s.
The concept of united resistance was dispatched in our society through the moto “HADE LIBI, HADE HIZBI” which was created in the era our struggle for independence and it helped us all focus on independence as a common ground for unity. After independence, this unity was unnecessary (it solved the problem) and impossible to continue (different scenario now as people in any free country) and we were supposed to branch out to our individual destinies like people in all other stabilized countries, but only DEMOCRACY could do it. The role of HADE LIBI, HADE HIZBI is over, serving its purpose very well, therefore is impractical in today’s Eritrea but the regime continued to take advantage of it for so long because the theory reflects that we were a completely united people and we think exactly the same way without any difference (5 million of us), thus we must accept the leader as the supreme element of our society and above the law for life. This doesn‘t allow freedom of individuality because the only mind that matters is that of the leader’s. The president owns the so called HADE LIBI and HADE HIZBI stuff and the rest of us must quietly follow his absolute dictatorship (without a neutral justice system and rule of law) forever. Freedom of expression, justice, election, etc cannot take place in a single party system (call it UNITED political structure or else). A decent society accepts different political outlooks so long as they exclude ethnic, religious, racial and gender partiality from their national programs. We cannot check and balance the dictatorship in our country because it does not allow other political parties in the society. We are all trying to reverse this situation with democracy but we cannot get there without TEMPORARY UNITY that can achieve us a TEMPORARY GOVERNMENT with 2-4 year mandate until a government is elected. TEMPORARY UNITY is necessary for HEALTHY DIFFERENCE in society because it is the only practical formula to democracy: it was accepted and worked in societies like ours and we must accept it without hesitation unless we invent a new method of getting there like Yemane Monkey did to the universal concept of Constitution (refer to my last article).
YOUTH RESENTMENT ON MY AGGRESSIVE STYLE OF WRITING
Some brothers have expressed their negative feeling about what I have been writing and this is more than welcome because our problem was inability to discuss common issues with leaders or members of the youth organizations in the open. I apologize to anyone that I might accidentally have hurt through my articles but I hope this development seemingly with youth leaders or organizational members will continue here so that most of the audience can participate to improve our situation. Check this out:
Hawileito: “Mr. Futsum here you come again to insult the youth organizations where they are doing their job to save the people. I think you misinformed by some ppl who are against unity. If you are talking about unity you should respect the other group. To my understanding you are thinking that you are the only person thinking about unity and future of Eritrea plus those ppl who comment on your articles. If you know the question who is refusing unity before insulting ppl probably ur children who passed through all these hard life like Sahara, Libya and the Eritrean border you could have a fairer analysis or concern. If you listen what was in paltalk some weeks ago you would know who refused to have all encompassed Eritrean Bologna summit. If you have concern about EYSNS, you can write directly what you expect from it. As you would probably already know it is worldwide and it is nearer to the Eritrean ppl those who are oppressed by the regime.”
Comment: Dear Hawlewalo; with all respect, I have never undermined demonstrations or any other activities on other issues and I have expressed my satisfaction many times in my work. In fact I have participated in most of those conducted in DC because I believe in them, needless to tell you that you are doing a lot for the resistance. I recognize all the efforts by the opposition camp and openly have appreciated them several times in my articles. We need to agree, nevertheless, on the fact that the silent majority is waiting for a promising action from the youth groups to join the resistance and I do not see any other means of cranking this potentially potent crowd aside UNITY. Lack of unity is the main cause of pessimism in the Eritrean communities globally and we want you to focus on this to collect us into the resistance. To this effect, I am only criticizing demonstrations/activities for neglecting UNITY in their programs. Is not this true? Can you please explain to us why all demonstrations missed UNITY while addressing all other issues we have with the regime?
There were three demonstrations in Canada this month doing all kinds of good stuff except shouting loud for unity. I discussed the first two in my last articles and the third one happened in Winnipeg which ended successfully, yet without doing anything about UNITY. I followed the video and Amanuel was asking good questions to the event organizers who said they did a great job exposing the regime on suppressing the constitution and monopolizing the justice system. The three demonstrations were similar in content and all three of them forgot to include UNITY in their agendas. Well, dealing with the consequence of the dictatorship without entertaining the solution does not shake the problem: this has failed to attract the silent crowd.
In the interview, an organizer called Afwerki told Amanuel Iyasu appealed to all forces to do something more in the areas of UNITY and Amanuel told him that he is doing it himself through the media. What is surprising to me was that Afwerki could have reduced the notion of UNITY with his comrades in the demonstration he most probably organized with without appealing for it to anyone. Brother Amanuel cannot make them shout for unity like they did for the other issues in question from England; they could have done it in the demonstration themselves: This is like trying to break a door lock when you have the key in the pocket!!!All they had to do was include the issue in their programs, expose the placards that demand all forces to unite and even send messages to the forces as well. Unfortunately, lack of focus and strategy came in the way like in all other demonstrations in my judgment.
Including UNITY in demonstrations is the least that the resistance can do but not even one, yet. It would have opened a new method of struggle and the pattern would have been followed by all organized or non organized Eritrean activities internationally. The pattern of going home after the event to only wait for another demonstration in the future has to change into working for unity then after. While I felt the ASSENNA report on Winnipeg was very good, I think brother Amanuel forgot to ask Afwerki these important questions: How can this demonstration help unite Eritreans for more effective resistance and what did you do to address the burning question (UNITY) in your activity? Do you have a preplanned agenda that will be in effect after this demonstration or this is it for now?
Hawlewalo; What are Eritreans looking for aside UNIFIED RESISTANCE against the dictatorship? Why are they missing voicing for it? Is there alternate strategy for success and what is it? We are just left floating in the middle with no communication to teach us on what is going on. We reject this inefficient way of resistance and we demand better communication between us to narrow the difference: we cannot hold our strategies to our selves while claiming of being a political group swimming in the political pool of the Eritrean society.
What media outlets do you have for us to discuss our opinions with you? Brother, Platalk is not enough media for this project and the challenge on the ground; not too many people including me have the time for it. I think you should create another more effective interactive media of communication. You also need written communication on your activities and challenges and share them with the people electronically at ASSENNA etc. People may discuss issues at Teshamo but we need your official stands on all our issues. People must get the chance to ask your leaders questions of their concern and you have the responsibility to respond promptly because you claim representing them in organized fashion. We need to know your efforts to date in so far as UNITY is concerned and the challenges you faced or currently facing on, so that we can help. You need to inform us periodically instead of discussing and taking decisions in our name in closed doors. You cannot just throw a piece of press and expect us to know you and understand your position without any other details except your decision!! We are tired of being TAKEN FOR GRANTED!
You need to contact people who are trying to serve the cause of UNITY to strengthen the resistance instead of totally ignoring them as if they do not exist. We are tired of being ignored and excluded on common issues that concern us. We are tired of being represented by groups that care less to contact us or to communicate with us. You are the leaders and therefore lead us by listening to our concerns. Most importantly, you need to tell us clearly what your position on UNITY is and the strategy to effectuate it. Otherwise, you should tell us the alternative so that we can hear you with maximum attention.
After modest exchange of opinions between us, my brotherhawileito said (on unity) “To give you a clue what we are doing here in UK is that all the youth organization are united under eysns. There are 8 cities that eysns branches who come under one leadership. This is one practical process of unity and anyone who wanted to ask can ask our experience but the only moto is “unity is strength”. We will persue to other European youth organizations and to the world as well. The communication is already started.”
Thank you for this information! I hope he will read this article and contact me at Fetsumraham@yahoo.com for further discussion. Although I want to know more as an individual about how the groups are being united in England, I can tell you that it sounds excellent and this may change the form of the resistance once and for all.
I, however, felt a little uncomfortable on your “anyone who wanted to ask can ask our experience” because you will produce more if you knock the doors yourselves. You invented this formula and you should push hard for its acceptance. Please spread this development through the media appealing for all Diaspora organization to follow the step after clearly defining your objectives and strategy of achieving them. Do it again and again until they grasp it because the end result will stay the same unless you push this creative idea to work with others as a priority of your group.
God bless you for the creative idea and keep in touch.
The Maltese military has rescued 84 migrants from a dinghy floating adrift on rough seas, according to officials.
The 77 men and seven women were found about 81 nautical miles off the south coast of Malta and brought ashore, the Armed Forces of Malta (AFM) said.
Meanwhile, a cargo ship flying an Italian flag rescued 109 migrants coming from Libya, reports say.
Thousands of migrants heading for Europe arrive in Malta and Italy each year, often on unseaworthy boats.
The Maltese government called on the European Union for assistance last month following an influx of people.
It also refused to allow a tanker which rescued 102 African migrants to dock in Malta in August, despite instructions from the European Commission that it had a duty to do so on humanitarian grounds.
Italy let the tanker moor off the Sicilian port of Syracuse instead.
Struggling
Local media said the latest group of arrivals in Malta was the first since more than 1,000 migrants arrived on the island in July, making it a record month.
A spokesman for the AFM said it became aware of the distressed boat at about 12.15 (10:00 GMT) on Monday. The AFM went to its assistance, finding it to be powerless and adrift in rough seas.
Its patrol boat brought the final passengers ashore at 09:00 (07:00 GMT) the next day. No-one was believed to be injured.
The migrants reportedly came from mostly African countries such as Nigeria and Eritrea, as well as Syria, according to Maltese media.
Meanwhile, a cargo ship named Celia picked up another 109 migrants – reportedly including women and children – after their boat was seen struggling in high seas some some 30 nautical miles from the north African coast.
It was believed to have left the Libyan city of Misrata and was heading for Castellon de la Plana in Spain before it got into trouble.
The cargo ship was instead travelling to Trapani in Sicily, where coast guards said it was due to arrive later on Tuesday, according to AFP news agency.