Visit the new AsenaTv Website

https://asenatv.com

ERITREA HAS FAILED TO REALIZE ITS REVOLUTIONARY DREAM

After the Eritrean independence war ended in 1991, Eritreans threw themselves into reconstructing the country's shattered infrastructure, with whole villages helping out to build small dams, terrace-eroded hillsides, and plant thousands of trees. Photos by Dan

After the Eritrean independence war ended in 1991, Eritreans threw themselves into reconstructing the country’s shattered infrastructure, with whole villages helping out to build small dams, terrace-eroded hillsides, and plant thousands of trees. Photos by Dan Connell.

Rev_1Once a revolution is over, how do you judge its success? A victory for Mao’s vision of the People’s Republic of China was not exactly a victory for the people of China. A glorious, clean revolution isn’t easy. Look at Russia, France, Cambodia, Iran. Look at Egypt today. In the coming decades, we will see the result of revolutions played out across the Arab world and, quite possibly, across Europe as well. Will they be deemed successes by anyone other than the victors?

A crucial, but little reported, example of a hard fought revolution and its troubling aftermath can be found in the Horn of Africa.

Twenty years ago, Eritrea—in the northeast of Africa—became a legally independent nation, having won its de-facto independence from Ethiopia two years earlier, in 1991. This independence was the end result of a 30-year war with Ethiopia. The revolutionaries who won the war were heroes, champions of freedom standing up against an oppressive, murderous Ethiopian regime backed by the Soviet Union and tacitly supported by the West. They had reestablished an independent Eritrean nation and the future looked bright. But revolutionary opposition and day-to-day power are two totally different things. Once you’ve gotten used to glorious victories, the thrills of red tape and responsibility may well be lost on you. As such, creating a free and democratic society is a total pain in the ass.

Eritrea had been an Italian colony since 1890, Ethiopia since 1935. After the Second World War, Eritrea became part of Ethiopia but maintained a measure of independence. In 1962, and in contravention of a UN resolution, Ethiopia annexed Eritrea. The UN and other world powers looked on, unwilling to jeopardize their relationship with the strategically-vital Ethiopia. As John Foster Dulles, who would go on to be the United States’ secretary of state,said in 1950, “From the standpoint of justice, the opinions of the Eritrean people must receive consideration. Nevertheless, the strategic interest of the United States in the Red Sea basin and considerations of security and world peace make it necessary that the country has to be linked with our ally, Ethiopia.” Eritrea had been screwed.

When Eritrea gained its independence in the early 1990s, it was the Marxist revolutionary group The Eritrean People’s Liberation Front (EPLF) that took power in Asmara, the nation’s capital, having fought a long and hard guerrilla war against Ethiopia. With their ruthless discipline, encouragement of abstinence and collective focus, the EPLF were—in the words of one leading Eritrean historian—“the most successful liberation movement in Africa.” They were tough, and while their intolerance of dissent galvanized their fighting potential, it merely made them tyrants once they were in power.

Led by Isaias Afewerki, they continued their flair for strong, Marxist-sounding names by becoming the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ). And, with Isaias front and center, the PFDJ has remained in power ever since independence.

Today, criticism of the government is not tolerated. Only four religions are officially recognized. Worship in any other church and you’ll be persecuted. There is no civil society to speak of and, every month, kids cross the border to escape national service, which has no fixed end and is essentially a form of government-sponsored slavery. The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) estimates the number of fleeing Eritreans at 1,000 a month (it’s worth noting that escaping means going through the Sahara into mine-strewn Ethiopia while avoiding being shot by border guards). Reporters Without Borders ranks Eritrea 178th out of 178 in the world for press freedom, which basically means anything approaching journalism is banned.

Rev_3
A UN-supplied refugee camp near the border of Ethiopia, accommodating some of the thousands of Eritreans who flee across the border every year.

By 2012, hundreds of thousands of young Eritreans had fled the country to escape the deepening political repression and to avoid what had become open-ended national service in both the armed forces and state and party-controlled businesses. Three hundred refugees were showing up in Ethiopia each month and being placed in UN-supplied camps near the border.

In May, to coincide with Eritrea’s 20th anniversary celebrations, Amnesty International released a damning report entitled Eritrea: 20 Years of Independence, but Still No Freedom. The report claims that there are, at minimum, 10,000 prisoners being held illegally without trial in Eritrea. The human rights organization’s Eritrea researcher, Claire Beston, told me that this figure did not include those people jailed for “avoiding national service or trying to flee the country.” The report is littered with the testimony of people who have been affected by the actions of the government:

“I last saw my father at the beginning of 2007, they took him away from our house. I know nothing about what happened afterward.”

“This generation, everyone has gone through the prison at least once. Everyone I met in prison has been in prison two or three times.”

“Everybody has to confess what he’s done. They hit me so many times… Many people were getting disabled at that military camp. During the night they would take them to a remote area, tie them up, and beat them on their back.”

There are many more like this. It’s not exactly light summer reading.

Rev_4
The 1984 to ’85 African famine put Eritrea’s war for independence on hold as the liberation front trucked aid into the country to prevent both mass starvation and a wholesale exodus from the contested areas. Ethiopia sought to isolate the Eritreans using food as a weapon.

Tesfamichael Gerahtu, Eritrea’s ambassador to the UK and Ireland, told me that while Eritrea have “some challenges in human rights,” there “are no people incarcerated on the basis of their political beliefs.” The Eritrean Ministry of Foreign Affairs released an angrily-worded response that rejected Amnesty’s “wild accusations.” The release concluded that Amnesty would ignore the 20th anniversary celebrations, “smug in its selfrighteous belief that it can, with impunity, attack and denigrate a young nation, which despite many odds, manages to progress and improve the lives of its citizens.”

Amnesty’s Claire Beston told me that Eritrea’s refusal to acknowledge its illegal detention of its own people was “incredibly disappointing for the families of those affected.” Additionally, she pointed out that Eritrea’s imprisonment of innocent people was in direct contravention with a number of international treaties it had signed up to. Drawing parallels with another country known for imprisoning innocent citizens, the human rights activist Khataza Gondwe has referred to Eritrea as “Africa’s North Korea.”

Eritrea, then, has not become the country many hoped for. “I don’t think there is anyone who doesn’t believe that promises were betrayed,” Eritrean exile Gaim Kibreab—a university professor and author of Eritrea: A Dream Deferred—told me. Kibreab left Eritrea in 1976. For him, the actions of the current government “affect us all. I have relatives in Sudanese refugee camps. I have dear friends in prison in Eritrea.” The deferred dream of a free Eritrea was not just Kibreab’s, but one shared by many of his countrymen, though possibly not Isaias Afewerki and his revolutionary army.

Kibreab wishes for a pluralist democracy in which there is a free press and a flourishing civil society. But was this ever going to be a realistic proposition for a group of hardened guerrilla warriors at the end of a 30-year struggle? Decades of uninterrupted power is probably a closer approximation of Isaias’ dreams. He’s said to be full of contempt for humanity, to be a big drinker and a mean drunk. He’s a human rights violator and a petty thug who’s known to break bottles over people’s heads once he’s had a few.

As such, being boss probably suits him just fine. His former foreign minister, Petros Solomon, a key fighter and comrade in the revolution, was imprisoned in 2001 for speaking out against the government as part of the G-15 group of dissidents, who wrote an open letter to Isaias denouncing the lack of freedom in Eritrea. Solomon has not been heard from since his imprisonment.

Rev_5
Petros Solomon in an underground bunker in the frontline town of Nakfa, in 1979.

Some ex-revolutionary fighters and other defenders of the Eritrean government are scornful of exiled, “so-called intellectuals” like Gaim Kibreab. They believe that the people who now talk about human rights in Eritrea are hypocrites, people who didn’t fight and stand up for the violation of Eritrean human rights in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. There is still a significant amount of support for Isaias in the Eritrean diaspora. The Eritrean ambassador told me that “you must respect that we have had our human rights violated,” in relation to Ethiopia’s annexing of—and then war with—Eritrea, as well as the international support of Ethiopia.

Kibreab, in a way, agrees with him. He told me that when you talk about Eritrea, you have to talk about Ethiopia, which—secure in its importance strategically to the United States—has continued to run roughshod over Eritrea and, in doing so, has alienated Eritrea from the rest of the world. A world that now regards it as a small rogue state with a potential for Islamism, while viewing Ethiopia as a large, roguish, but vital state—a key ally in the “War on Terror.”

“The international community,” Kibreab pointed out, “has never been charitable to the Eritrean government. But if they moved towards liberal democracy, they’d help themselves.” However, this lack of support is worth remembering, particularly since it has been true ever since John Foster Dulles admitted that Eritrea was to be the victim in an international power game. Freedom from the machinations of foreign powers was one of the driving forces of the revolution. Now, still isolated, Isaias and his government continue to battle on, proudly proclaiming survival in the face of international contempt.

Rev_6
In 1998, the Eritreans went back to war with Ethiopia. The country’s youth were quickly mobilized to go back into the trenches.

The interminable military service, for example, makes some sense in the context of Ethiopian aggression. In 1998, the two countries went to war over a small portion of disputed territory surrounding the barren, rock-strewn town of Badme. The war, which lasted for over two years and resulted in the death of up to 100,000 soldiers, was described as “two bald men fighting over a comb.”

Since the end of the war, Ethiopia has failed to recognize an international court ruling that stipulates that Badme is part of Eritrea. Eritrean government officials have repeatedly told me that if Ethiopia recognized the boundary, they would be ready to make friends with their neighbors. Ethiopia funds many of the strands of opposition in Eritrea and, along with the United States, plays a crucial role in a paranoid narrative put forward by the Eritrean government: that Eritrea’s very existence is under constant threat from dark powers beyond its borders.

There is an element of truth to this, but of course Isaias and his government spin it out for all its worth. As far as propaganda goes, Ethiopia is Isaias’ greatest ally.

Rev_7
An EPLF member outside Asmara, 1979.

What I’m also talking about here, when I talk about Eritrea at 20 years, is the difference between the idealism of revolutionary opposition and the practical day-to-day reality of running a government. After years in the mountains fighting a guerrilla war, how was a revolutionary movement going to smoothly transition into power? Just like with the Taliban in Afghanistan, we’ve seen that life in grizzled, iconic opposition is perhaps not the best preparation for a calm, moral government. In opposition, those around Isaias let him do what needed to be done. There was a sense that he was “our bastard.” But, since then, the bastard has never stopped.

Ex-revolutionaries in Eritrea are often characterized as great drinkers, good talkers, and terrible diplomats. They grew up fighting in a revolutionary struggle, and the intricacies of international diplomacy were not for them. Paranoid and wary of showing weakness, they have punished innocent people for their own failings.

This is the sadness of all revolutionary dreams turned sour: the reality of freedom is never the same as the promise of freedom. It’s unlikely that when the EPLF were fighting for their country’s independence they looked up at that East African sky and thought: We dream that some day we will imprison people without trial, that our people will do anything they can to escape the country, that our youth will be locked into national service and that there will be no such thing as journalism.

Every generation reacts against the previous one, though. Isaias is getting old, and with the post-independence generation now 20 years old, the next few years could see some upheaval, hopefully for the better, in Eritrea.

Follow Oscar on Twitter: @oscarrickettnow

See more of Dan’s work at danconnell.net.

By Oscar Rickett

Source: vice.com

aseye.asena@gmail.com

Review overview
52 COMMENTS
  • rti July 7, 2013

    After all the horrendous sacrifices the Eritrean people went through,it is a shame to have unnecessary dialogues over who is Eritrean or not.

    • samuel July 8, 2013

      “ኤርትራ፡ ነቲ ሰውራዊ ሕልሚ ኣብ ምትግባሩ ፈሺላ!”
      ማ…ን! እቲ ዝነበረ ሕልምታት ክነግርካ ኣይክእልን እየ። ኪንዮው ፖሊቲካዊ ሕንጻጻት፡ እቲ ምስ ብጾትካ እተዕልሎ ዕላላት’ዩ ብመሰረቱ፡ እቲ ዝነበረ ሕልምታት። ዩሱፍ ሱሌማን፡ ሰብና፡ “ጋጥዕ ነዲፍ ኣይረኸቡን!” እናበለ ክሰብኽ እንከሎ፡ ህዝቢ ከስተምህር እንከሎ፡ ኣብ ቀዳማይ ፈረቓ 70ታት ተሓኤ። እወ! ሰብና “ጋጥዕ ነዲፍ” ክረኽቡ ዝነበረ ሕልምታት። ተጋዳላይ፡ እቲ ኣነ ዝነበርኩሉ እዋን፡ ግፋ ኣብ ዘይነበረሉ እዋን፡ እቲ ብወለንታኻ ኣብ ገድሊ እትሳተፈሉ እዋን። ተጋዳላይ ወልደሩፋኤል፡ ወዲ መንደፈራ፡ “ንሕና ተሰዊእና፡ እቶም ብስደት፡ ንኤውሮጳውን ኣሜሪካን ዝኣተዉ ኣሕዋትና፡ እቶም ዝተማህሩ ኣሕዋትና፡ ንዓድና በብክእለቶም ከማዕብሉዋ እዮም።” ኣየናይ ሕልሚ’ኸ!
      ሕጂ ምምላስን ምምዕባልን ኣይኮነነ ዘሎ! ሕጂ ዝኸኣለ ነብሱ የውጽኣያ እዩ፡ እቲ ቀንዲ ሕልሚ። ኣብ ሰሓራ ምማት። ኣብ ሜዲትሬኒያን ምጥሓል። ኣብ ሲናይ ምውዳቕ። ሰብነትካ ምስኣን። ኣየናይ ምፍሻል ሕልሚ። ብሓቂ፡ ሰውራ ሕልምታቱ ከሳኽዕ ኣይከኣለን።
      ሰላም

  • መጻኢ ኤርትራ July 7, 2013

    NEW HOPE ERITREA

    ብዓቕመይ ብዙሕ ጽሑፋት ኣንቢበ ከም ናትካ ጌሩ ግን ዝመሰጠኒ የልን። እቲ እትጽሕፎ ኩሉ ሓቂዩ ብዙሓት ብጽሑፍካ ከንጸርጽሩ ተዓዚበ፡ ንስኻ ድማ ስለዘይተረድኡኻ ኣንጸርጺርካ ድሕሪ ሎሚ ኣይጽሕፍን ኢልካ ኔርካሞ እንካዕ ተመለስካ እቲ ጸባ ዘብል ግጥምኻን ኩሉ እቲ ኣተሓሳስባኻ(ኣቲቲዩድ)ንብዙሓት ከምዚ ከማይ ደቂሶም ንዝነበሩ ዘበራብርን ክሳዶም ጠዊዮም 50 ዓመት ንድሕሪት ክምልከቱ ይሕግዘናዩ።
    እንተ ናይቶም ወሮበላታት ግን ንኩልና ኣብ ቅልውላው መንነት ኣእቲዩናዩ ።
    ኒው ሆፕ ክሓተካዶ?ኤርትራ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ኣዲኣ እንተትሕብር እንታዝ ምተጠቕመት? እንታይከ ምከሰረት?
    ኣብቲ እወ ኣይፋል ዚብል ሪፈረንዱም ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ናይ “ነጻነት” ወይ ካብ ኢቶጵያ ምፍላይ ጥቕሙን ጉድኣቱን እንተዝንገሮ እወ ንባርነት ኢሉዶ መድመጸ?

    ሓውኻ መጻኢ ኤርትራ ሽም ቅሹ ሕሙም ብነጻነት

    ካብቲ ይመሰጠኒ ጽሑፍካ ከዘክረካዶ

    5. HOPE LESS ERITREA on April 24, 2013 at 11:19 pm said:
    ብኽልተ ሳንቲም ቆጽሊ ሻሂ ብሰለስተ ሽኮር
    ብሽዱሽተ ሳንቲም ሳዋ ሰቲኻ ክስከር
    ብ ሓሙሽተ ሳንቲም እምበቲቶ ክድከር
    ዘመድ ንዘመዱ ክባጻጻሕ ብሕብረት ክፋቐር
    ዓይኖም ደም መሊኡ ሸፋቱ ሕስረት ንምዕማር
    በረኻ ወጹ ምግቢ ሓረስታይ ንምፍጋር
    ዘይጸገመና ተጨቍንኩም ኢሎም ንምዕግርጋር
    ግዜ እንተዝምለስ ንምድሓን ካብዚ ኩሉ ሽጋር
    ናብ ኢትዮጵያና ከም ቀደምና ብሓጎስ ንምንባር
    ካብ ምስ ብዓል ህግደፍ ብጥሜት ምፍሓር
    ምመለስናዮ ካላንደር ናብ ሱሳታት ምዝዋር
    እምበር ኣይክኣልን ዩ ክ አምዚ ኢልካ ምንባር

    3. HOPE LESS ERITREA on April 24, 2013 at 10:58 pm said:
    ቀደም ዝሃነጽዋ ጣልያን ጽዓዱ
    ንወዲ ዓዲ ኮምሽታቶ ከይኣቱ
    ጠሪጡን ፈስዩን ሕማቕ ኣየር ከየእቱ
    ገዚቶሞ ተፈንፊኑ ተደቝሱ ህመቱ
    በጥ ኣቢሎም ክገርፍዎ ኩርማጅ ዝፈቱ
    ጃንሆይ ኣትዮም እንተሃብዎ ናጽነቱ
    ኣድጊ ሳዕሪ እምበር ምዓር ስለ ዘይትፈቱ
    ባንዳታት ደቂ ብሉቕባሽ ተረፍ መረፍ ዝለመዱ
    ክብረት ኣለርጂ ጌሩሎም በረኻ ፈርጠጡ
    ነጻነት ኢሎም ባርነት ሸመቱ
    ምግቢ ነጺጎም ጥሜት ዥንኮቱ
    ብሰንኪ ሕሱር ዕላምኦም ሰብ ተኻላቢቱ
    ቀደም ብደቂ ኸረኒኖ እንድዩ ትኣሚቱ
    ¨ጤሊት ሚን ሒልበያ ጨምቀያ ትፈተ¨ ኮይኑ ነገራቱ !!!!
    ካብ ደቀ ኣርብዓ ኢትዮጵያና ትሓሊ ትሽኩር

    • NEW HOPE ERITREA July 7, 2013

      Metsai Eritra,

      Well ,We have 2 choices ..the Ethiopians who imprison us at Era Iro or the ones admitting us at Makelle & Addis abeba university.
      Let us not worry when Kinijit suceed Papa Isaias ,we will be admitted to OROMIYA universities.

      my respect.

      • ida July 7, 2013

        Please ignore this komalat a game. They always waste their time trying to get teref eritreans.

        • jonas July 7, 2013

          Ida
          You are a thug like Isayas using inappropriate language to define people, all Isayas’ followers have no class like him.

        • galaxy July 8, 2013

          IDa, stupid ASSS. You must be from those wide ASS generation.
          Wide ASS HammASSien. Do you know that your grand fathers were used to give their ASSES to their Italian Masters. Remember, I am talking About your GRANDFATHERS who used to be F***ED by Italian colonizers. An Italian man F***cking an Eritrean MAN.
          That is how you stupids are. We tigrians do not have such a shameful history. We are not bandas.
          Who is beginning now? is it the agames or the stupid hamASSiens? who is living in prison? WHo is in Sinai? HammASSienai or other? I need you to answer thse question.Than you will insult those people who are feeding and educating your citizens.
          pffffffffff: you must be some harlot

  • fetsum abraham July 7, 2013

    I don’t think Isaias planned to destroy Eritrea when the EPLF won in 991 ether. Neither do I think the eritreans demanded democracy immediatelly after Eritrea became a nation officially around 1993.
    The dictatorship was expected based on international historical accounts of similar societies to ours but Isaias messed it up through absolute dictatorship rated as the worst in the world. Good article

    2fe t

    • samuel July 8, 2013

      ፍጹም!
      መዓልቱን እዋኑን ኣይዝክሮን። ግና፡ ኣብ’ቲ መሰልቸዊ ኢንተርቪዋት ናይ ኢሳያስ፡ “ህዝባዊ ግንባር ማለት ኤርትራ ማለት እዩ” ክብል ሰሚዐዮ እየ። እታ ንሱ ዘይገለጻ፡ ህዝባዊ ግንባር’ከ ናይ መን እዩ? ያ!!! ናይ ኢሳያስ። ኩሉ መዋቕራት (እንፍራስትራክቸር) ሻዕቢያ፡ ናቱ እዩ። ስለ ዝኾነ፡ ኢሳያስ ንሻዕቢያ ከጥፍኣ ሃቂኑ ነይሩ ማለት ትኽክል ኣይኮነን። ኢሳያስ ብነብሱ፡ እቲ ብሑት መዋቕር ናይ ህዝባዊ ግንባር እዩ። እቶም ካልኦት መሳርሒትቱ እዮም። መዓልትታት ብዝሓለፋ፡ በብሓደ ገዲፎም ክኸዱ እዮም። ኣብ ኣፍንጭኦም ምስ በጽሖም። ንሱ፡ ምስ ጸላም ከብዱን ጥርሙዙን እዩ ክተርፍ። ናይ ግዜ ጉዳይ እዩ።
      ሰላም!

  • NEW HOPE ERITREA July 7, 2013

    ¨ምዉታት ኣዝማደይ ተሰዊኦም ኢሎም ዘታለሉኒ
    ናይ ደም ንብዓት ይሰደልኩም ፣ካልእ እንታይ ኣለኒ
    ኣይደልን ኣርትፊሻል ናጽነቶም ሂወተይ ይሃቡኒ
    ስድራይ፣ንእስነተይ፣ሸፋቱ ኤርትራ ፈጊሮምኒ ¨

    ማእከል ከተማ እዩ፣ናይ ፍጥረተይ መሰረት
    ብሃይማኖት ዘዕበዩኒ ወለደይ፣ዘምሃሩኒ ክብረት
    ትብዓት ደቂ ተባዕትዮ፣ናይ ደቀንስትዮ ሕፍረት
    ላተርያ ፕሪማቬራ፣ቺነማ ኢምፔሮ፣ ቤት ሻሂ ሂወት
    ኳየር እንዳሽወደን፣ሃሌሉያ __መንፈሳዊ ዓወት
    ብቕጽበት__ሕጉስ ንእስነተይ ፣ኣጓነፎ ዕንወት
    ሸፋቱ ፣__ኣስመራ ረበሹ፣ፈጠሩልና ህውከት
    ብጠያይት ናይ ቃኘው፣ግብጺ፣ሶርያ ናይ ኩዌት።

    መንግስቲ ኣናደዱ፣ኣጐዱ ናይ ጅምላታት ሞት
    ኣዕሩኸይ ተቐትሉ፣እኒ ጎይትኦም፣ ኢብራሂም መሓመድ
    ስምኦን ወዲ ኣቦይ ሰዓረ፣ኣይተጻወሮን ፣ተሓንቀ ብገመድ
    ወረበላታት__ ንብላሽ ቀየርዎም ናብ ሓመድ
    ብሓንቲ ዓርቢç፣ብወምበዴታት__ ጽሓየይ ደልሃመት።

    ኣእምሮይ ሃገረሰብ ዝነበሩ ኣዝማደይ ዘኪሩ
    ዘይበጽሑ ደቆም ብሙዳዳ ክእሰሩ
    ብሓይሊ ተጊቲቶም ኣብ ሓዊ ኵውርወሩ
    ኣሞታተይ ብእንቅዓ ብኽያት ኣዒንተን ዓዊሩ
    ህዝቢ ደቂ ንጉስ ሜሮን ዘይለመዶ ጽልኢ ተማሂሩ
    ኣስላም ሓረድቲ ዝብል ወንጌል ሻዕብያ ተደሚሩ
    ግርህነት ደቂ ዓደይ ብሸፋቱ ተፈጊሩ
    ሾውዓተ ድምበዛን ናብ ፓለስቲን ተቐይሩ
    ቅርሕንቲ ሕድሕድ ዓደይ፣ዓዲ ኣቦይ ኣነዊሩ።

    ካብኡ ድኣ እንታይ ንኣይ ትሓቱኒ
    ___እሱራት ተጸቒጦም ትሕቲ እምኒ
    ጓል ፩፭ ብዓሰርተ ትዕመጽ ብጠጠዋ ትመኒ
    ሰብኣይ ከይተረፈ ብበደዊን ይቕየር ናብ ፍረወይኒ
    መሸጣ ኮላሊት ንሸፋቱ ኮባኮባና መሸነኒ
    ህዝበይ እናጽነቱ ወያነ ዝሐዞ መሬት እንዳሉ ይሽፍጡኒ
    ኣብዚ ኮማንዶ ዌልፌር ፪% የሕድጉኒ
    እንተዘይከፈልኩ ኣብ ዓዲ ነደይ ይኸልእዋ ባኒ
    ኣምላኽ ፣በዞም ተረፍ ድሙድሙ ዶ ረጊምካኒ
    ሓፋሽ ዝተቖጻጸየሎም እንታይ እዝጊ ኣሕመየኒ
    ኣርቲፊሻል ሃገር ክንደየናይ እኳ ከይትቕኒ
    ሂወተይ ድኣ ቀይሮሞ ናብ ሃተፍተፍ ሕልሚ
    መቓብር ኰወርድየ ሓዘን ህዝበይ ክቐትለኒ
    ቀደም ሻዕብያ ጸረ ህዝቢዩ´እንተልኩ ምስማዕ ዝኣበዩኒ
    ኣንታ ኩሉ ንኣይ´የ ሓንቲ ሂወተይ ሸፋቱ ሰሪቖምኒ።

  • NEW HOPE ERITREA July 7, 2013

    Revised Version

    ¨ምዉታት ኣዝማደይ ተሰዊኦም ኢሎም ዘታለሉኒ
    ናይ ደም ንብዓት ይሰደልኩም ፣ካልእ እንታይ ኣለኒ
    ኣይደልን ኣርትፊሻል ናጽነቶም ሂወተይ ይሃቡኒ
    ስድራይ፣ንእስነተይ፣ሸፋቱ ኤርትራ ፈጊሮምኒ ¨

    ማእከል ከተማ እዩ፣ናይ ፍጥረተይ መሰረት
    ብሃይማኖት ዘዕበዩኒ ወለደይ፣ዘምሃሩኒ ክብረት
    ትብዓት ደቂ ተባዕትዮ፣ናይ ደቀንስትዮ ሕፍረት
    ላተርያ ፕሪማቬራ፣ቺነማ ኢምፔሮ፣ ቤት ሻሂ ሂወት
    ኳየር እንዳሽወደን፣ሃሌሉያ __መንፈሳዊ ዓወት
    ብቕጽበት__ሕጉስ ንእስነተይ ፣ኣጓነፎ ዕንወት
    ሸፋቱ ፣__ኣስመራ ረበሹ፣ፈጠሩልና ህውከት
    ብጠያይት ናይ ቃኘው፣ግብጺ፣ሶርያ ናይ ኩዌት።
    መንግስቲ ኣናደዱ፣ኣጐዱ ናይ ጅምላታት ሞት
    ኣዕሩኸይ ተቐትሉ፣እኒ ጎይትኦም፣ ኢብራሂም መሓመድ
    ስምኦን ወዲ ኣቦይ ሰዓረ፣ኣይተጻወሮን ፣ተሓንቀ ብገመድ
    ወረበላታት__ ንብላሽ ቀየርዎም ናብ ሓመድ
    ብሓንቲ ዓርቢç፣ብወምበዴታት__ ጽሓየይ ደልሃመት።
    ኣእምሮይ ሃገረሰብ ዝነበሩ ኣዝማደይ ዘኪሩ
    ዘይበጽሑ ደቆም ብሙዳዳ ክእሰሩ
    ብሓይሊ ተጊቲቶም ኣብ ሓዊ ኵውርወሩ
    ኣሞታተይ ብእንቅዓ ብኽያት ኣዒንተን ዓዊሩ
    ህዝቢ ደቂ ንጉስ ሜሮን ዘይለመዶ ጽልኢ ተማሂሩ
    ኣስላም ሓረድቲ ዝብል ወንጌል ሻዕብያ ተደሚሩ
    ግርህነት ደቂ ዓደይ ብሸፋቱ ተፈጊሩ
    ሾውዓተ ድምበዛን ናብ ፓለስቲን ተቐይሩ
    ቅርሕንቲ ሕድሕድ ዓደይ፣ዓዲ ኣቦይ ኣነዊሩ።
    ካብኡ ድኣ እንታይ ንኣይ ትሓቱኒ
    10.000እሱራት ተጸቒጦም ትሕቲ እምኒ
    ጓል 15 ብዓሰርተ ትዕመጽ ብጠጠዋ ትመኒ
    ሰብኣይ ከይተረፈ ብበደዊን ይቕየር ናብ ፍረወይኒ
    መሸጣ ኮላሊት ንሸፋቱ ኮባኮባና መሸነኒ
    ህዝበይ እናጽነቱ ወያነ ዝሐዞ መሬት እንዳሉ ይሽፍጡኒ
    ኣብዚ ኮማንዶ ዌልፌር 2% የሕድጉኒ
    እንተዘይከፈልኩ ኣብ ዓዲ ነደይ ይኸልእዋ ባኒ
    ኣምላኽ ፣በዞም ተረፍ ድሙድሙ ዶ ረጊምካኒ
    ሓፋሽ ዝተቖጻጸየሎም እንታይ እዝጊ ኣሕመየኒ
    ኣርቲፊሻል ሃገር ክንደየናይ እኳ ከይትቕኒ
    ሂወተይ ድኣ ቀይሮሞ ናብ ሃተፍተፍ ሕልሚ
    መቓብር ኰወርድየ ሓዘን ህዝበይ ክቐትለኒ
    ቀደም ሻዕብያ ጸረ ህዝቢዩ´እንተልኩ ምስማዕ ዝኣበዩኒ
    ኣንታ ኩሉ ንኣይ´የ ሓንቲ ሂወተይ ሸፋቱ ሰሪቖምኒ !!!!!!!

  • Truly Truly i say to you July 7, 2013

    What a perverse world! What a paradox! What a curse!
    The one is healer and savior of the world, for that he brought good news to the poor, for healed broken-hearted, for announced captives to release, and freedom to those in prison, for healed people with every kind of disease and sickness, for all good that he done, because Jerusalem due to luck of ignorance and didn´t acknowledge its savior, the Jewish authority to Lord Jesus Christ to who is savior of the world as well, as they handed over to roman governor Pilate so that he be sentenced and crucified, it is reported in (Matthew chapter 27 history.)
    When we come back to now days Eritrea, with evil spirit because possessed, to the one who perished all intellectuals since struggle for liberation time, after liberation, to who ordered disabled veterans to be persecuted because asked primer demand only, with unnecessary war, with in two weeks war 24, 000 innocent citizens to who caused to be exterminated, to who caused part of our Islands and territories to be lost, by denying all kinds of citizens human rights, to who is causing our people to be suffering, to who is destroying our nation economy, social culture and to who exterminating our people, “the Devil Isayas Afeworki,” Eritreans, instead this Barabbas like thief, (Wolf with sheep skin) they ask to be crucified, they glorifying and worshiping this devil, specially some wicked women by saying “ንኣኻ ዝወለደት አደ ማኅፀን ወሊዳ ትምከን! (“How happy is the woman who bore you and nursed you!) ” Wey Gud! This all glory to the Devil butcher,to who is wolf with ship skin, to who is exterminating their children! while they other side by baseless accusation condemning, to those brave G- 15 groups to save the land because suggested peacefully strategy policy, to who be sentenced, some for systematical death and some imprisoned for life without trial, law and justice. To Bitewoded Abreha alike hero because rejected Isayas´s order to withdraw Asab, while they condemning , but to who dare to sell our land and was compromising to give up,and to who proclaimed self to rule them for life while praising. That exactly were did those Pharisees chief priests, When Pilate, the Rome governor asked them, “Which one do you want me to set free for you?” Jesus or the thief Barabbas? they answered, “Crucified Jesus!, but set free Barabbas!”( (Matthew 27; 17-21) What a perverse world! What a paradox! What a curse when seeing in reality this happened in Eritrea, in this 21st century! Shame! Shame!

  • Sahle Yosieph July 8, 2013

    What revolutionary dream?
    Eritrean revolution was never been a progressive movement. Was a national revolution surrounded with old culture, conspiracy, and isolations? The movement is building on taxation free labor with out equal participation. The movement was not build on democratic and human right principle. Never allow individual freedom, or groups view different than the founders of the Eritrean dictators, the whole foundation base on intimidation, imprisonment and killing on the name of the people.
    Eritrean people can’t get any better result then what we have now.

    • ahmed saleh July 8, 2013

      In reality of life your past does not forget you .
      And concerning our political affairs it as not wrong to say we as people never join the progressive ideals
      except to lean on support for the leadership with no reservation . Intimidating and liquidating political
      opponents were part of their strategy to control the power . Many killed , condemn for life in their harsh
      prisons and the lucky ones escape .
      Now it is the time to learn from our mistakes and ask ourselves about our weaknesses instead blaming our patriots
      who paid their life for their people betterment .
      As OBAMA said ‘ IF THEIR IS THE WILL , YES we can bring change !

  • Daniel July 8, 2013

    Why Eritrea is living in such down state as Somalia? Not only the dictator Essayas and his supporters but also thpse at the opposition front lack of give and take habit.Most of them need to overshadow their own stand leaving others views aside. Moreover their hate toward neighboring countries which share common values and assets restricting and hindering them from doing something noble to their country. We shouldn’t expect someone to manna supply us one day miraculously.

  • Daniel July 8, 2013

    Why Eritrea is living in such down state as Somalia? Not only the dictator Essayas and his supporters but also those at the opposition front lack of give and take habit.Most of them need to overshadow their own stand leaving others views aside. Moreover their hate toward neighboring countries which share common values and assets restricting and hindering them from doing something noble to their country. We shouldn’t expect someone to supply us manna one day miraculously.

Post a Reply to galaxy Cancel Reply