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Fetsum: The Grassroots Momentum – PART I

On Interview with Temesgen Rusom from Munich Re a Scheduled National Dialogue: Assenna, May 23 AND GI’s direct contact and outstanding achievement with the group I dedicate this work to our gallant defenders of the grassroots

On Interview with Temesgen Rusom from Munich Re a Scheduled National Dialogue: Assenna, May 23 AND GI’s direct contact and outstanding achievement with the group

I dedicate this work to our gallant defenders of the grassroots movement in Europe, Ammanuel Eyasu and the Assenna family at large.

I tend to discuss this particular issue in two parts at minimum. The first is this one on Assena’s interview with brother Temesgen Rusom and the second will be on GI’s progressive engagement with the European grassroots affiliates immediately after the interview.

I appreciate sister ኣበባ ተስፋግዮርጊስ for her valuable message to the people through Assenna’s – ካልኣይ መልእኽቲ፡ ብዛዕባ መዓልቲ ኣደታት. It was a timely message that people should not miss and carefully internalize and act upon. I agree with her opinion on the political party leaders that betrayed the people through insignificance in favor of their personal frictions. They could not even together express their opinion on the multiple occasions of our people’s misery in one page for me to believe they have no more compassion left in them to make any difference in the society from now on. Simply speaking, they are not fit to lead and have betrayed us good and I feel sorry for them!! I strongly agree on her appeal to the youth to manage its own destiny without expecting anything from the uselessly aging politicians that wasted incalculable resources and opportunities without any value to the Eritrean people. I believe they still have a little time left to wake up to reality and help the grassroots movement before phasing out of this life only if they do it immediately but I am sorry to say that they have allowed themselves to expire and have no time left to continue serving the ego aiming at leading the country after the dictatorship without democratic election unless they are still in devastating self-deception experience. Good luck to their followers but I don’t think they have the capacity to help the people anymore after drastically failing to help themselves by serving their legacy. The time to save the people by breaking the chain of confinement within the sleeping groups (political parties and civic groups) should have been over long time ago for us Eritreans to take a turn from their path of destruction but their impotence should never be tolerated from now on in the presence of unifying entity called the grassroots movement for global leadership to democracy. This is strictly my exclusive opinion with deep resentment about what they did to us and thank you sister Abeba for your impacting contribution.

From the forum

Lalimba: “Dear Mr. Fitsum, I do not know about you and GI house rules but that is a common understanding that members, especially members in leadership position, should not divulge such info. I have discussed the issue with some close friends within GI who are equally shocked. Your last statement above says a lot about who you are. I’m sorry that I hit some nerves there. My only hope is that GI leadership will nip this in the bud before things get out of hand.”

Response: Life has a lot more to offer than grudging it out at each other. Lets us tolerate each other and concentrate on the struggle instead of personalizing my opinion from right or wrong point of view. I am sorry you were shocked but I cannot help sharing the truth with the people without ifs and buts, and I am not in GI leadership, just an ordinary member that supports the movement. I don’t want to be a leader dear Lalimba because I have no interest and capacity to lead and my spiritual commitment to substantially diminish my ego using my inner-self does not allow me to aim at leadership or even thinking about it competing with others. I just want to be part of the struggle for the freedom of the people and peacefully confront my mortality at the end of it without expecting anything in return. Enjoy life the way it comes and let go the adversity brother, it is not worth your emotion at all. May peace be with you!

Adhanom: “It is good to be positive. It is good to hope for unity. But there is no democracy to expect from anti-democratic forces. Some one can tell me if there is democracy with out election. While ambassador andebirhan has the right to choose his way I would like to urge professor araya, fuxium and other gi members to press ahead, enroll, energize and organize the ordinary Eritreans like me to bring the desired change. Democracy is not a gift that one can give to others when he wishes to. It requires participation and contribution from every citizen.”

Response: Thank you for sharing your opinion and we are trying to do what you want us to do brother, with very limited resources, yet with monumental success. Things can be better and faster with a little support from the people and I hope it will happen soon.

Petros Tesfagherghis: “Dear Fitsum: Andebrahan and many of the ex-PFDJ who defect to the people were part of the problem in Eritrea, it is precisely because they were part of the problem that they are now part of the solution in a big way. Let us see the bigger picture the opposing must use its contacts to convince as many as possible PFDJ members to side with the people. After all the biggest push for change will come from the inside and a big portion is from dissatisfied PFDJ members including from the defense forces. It is because of these facts that when Andebrahan Woldegergis joined the movement and to play an active role is a plus. He must be welcomed. It is also his right as an Eritrean.”

Response: I more than welcome the brother and respect his rights full heartedly but it would be a lot better if he respects other activists and gives the grassroots movement a hand so we can resolve the problem together. He could have joined the “movement” which I understand to mean the opposition but I don’t think the democratic camp based on how he deals with the common problem.

Petros: “The problem of the opposition is fragmentation and luck of effective organization that stalls progress. Let us not be judgmental particularly from our comfort Zone.”

Response: I don’t think I judged him by how he looks but by his dismissive action to the Professor’s modest appeal for brotherhood. He could have played a big role for effective organization that we are trying to do but he chose the opposite in my understanding. He may be part of the solution in many ways but I think he has been part of the problem in this regard.

Petros: “Fitsum, well done to be respectful when you criticize Andebrahan. This way there is the options of more dialogue. Constructive criticism ties activists for democratic change together. In the opposition these culture is absent, it is full of destructive criticism which eventually benefit the regime. I do have concern myself of Medrick, I think it would have been more fruitful of Andebrahan- Medrick- spend more time in building effective organization and membership base first than try to reconcile – the many opposition political parties”

Response: I agree but I don’t think we should beg each other to join hands in this fight against the enemies which appears to be the deal in this problematic situation of the resistance. Different minds produce better results as you know and I wish his group could take it easy on trying to solve the common problem alone and rather concentrate on our unity to do the job but our relationship (between the visible groups in the resistance overall) has been too annoying, childish and slow to even express in words.

Petros: “My congratulation to the unity of EFND and EGS and their press release for a call for Unity and Action.”

Response: Very positive offer and I admire you for your patience but this is not news my brother; they announced their unity about 8-9 months ago. I was expecting them to come up with progress report and regularly show up to accelerate the effective unity drive going on specially in Europe: the success story in England is now being fueled by our gallant activists in Germany and elsewhere. Don’t you think? I wonder how they feel about and when they will publicly express their view on the extremely promising development that needs to be crystalized by all democratic minded Eritreans in the fight. We never could afford in the past but can no longer sustain the damage from keeping quiet on important activities of the people around the globe, my brother. How may they help our brothers and sisters in Europe in terms of solidarity if not in action? Will they comment on or participate in the upcoming ZETE in Germany in July for eventual national debate between Eritrean activists? When may they accept dialogue for the common cause with GI and the European grassroots affiliates using their experience and wisdom? We will see and I hope they will publicly tell us soon for many golden opportunities have already slipped away because of reluctance to enhance each other. END

There is no doubt that we Eritreans have faced too many problems since the independence struggle. We struggled divided and killed each other in the appalling civil war between ELF and EPLF. We separately resisted the dictatorship for the last two decades thinking our individual outlook was the only solution to the common problem and we ended up staring at each other and watching the enemies comfortably doing theirs thing from distance. We went on pointing fingers at each other instead of facing the problem with unity and ended up aggravating the situation with no remedy in sight. We refused to help each other minus competition and blessed the enemy to disparage the society with maximum luxury. We undermined brotherhood expecting freedom from adversity and dearly paid in terms of death, ignorance, slavery and exodus. We chose to prioritize our groups and parties and abandoned the people under the brutal dictatorship currently stealing the country’s wealth without education, development and accountability. The pattern allowed us to unite only for demonstrations to return home confused with no clue about what to do next. We lived being threats to the society and ourselves and ended up losers with no capacity to use our education and experience for unconditional unity towards conditional diversion under secular democracy. We could not penetrate the universe for assistance choking each other for dominance, ending up miserably staring at each other with no tangible result at hand. We could not even assist our refugees drifting from each other for nothing beyond self-deception induced destruction that could not even serve our egoist outlook of life anymore. I think enough is enough!!

My dear Eritreans, the cost of arrogance is humiliation, that of Anninet and obstinacy are Widket and stillness, and that of division, uselessly MIFITAT. What then would you call our division to tens of “democratic” organizations without democratic values to practice between each other and tangible result to show for? How can a small society like ours resurrect with tens of fragmented groups and political parties focusing on their individualistic agendas of solving the common problem? What happened to us is what we allowed to happen to us. We invented a fictitious and problematic sense of SELF that conditioned our minds into creating adversities within the resistance itself. We lived a separatist mindset that cannot survive without creating enemies within the components of the resistance. Before we know it, we found ourselves trapped in competition concentrating against each other and forgetting the common cause that should have been nurtured through cumulative effort. Eckhard Tolle, the Author of the power of now calls the crisis Collective Insanity that only causes suffering to the unconscious actors of the matter (us) and to those inflicted upon by misplaced sense of representation, in this case, OUR PEOPLE. We have been prisoners of the syndrome as a result of our toxic relationship that forced us to live under a conditioned mind worshipping our religions, ethnicities and groups that complicated our survival as people of one love and nation. We are in crisis ladies and gentlemen! and frankly, we deserve whatever we achieved because output is a function of input.

I don’t believe God causes suffering, Folks, but lets people suffer the consequence of their actions until they learn the hard way to change their situations with spiritual approach. Nor does he like to see people suffer but does not come to their rescue until they wake up to reality. A person or a society has three choices to pick one from when a crisis hits home hard: continues to do the same thing ending up with the same problems; goes for anarchic vengeance against those considered causes of the suffering causing more setbacks or avoids the cause of the problem with creative ideas for the problem to never appear again. In our situation, we remained in crisis but persisted on the same causes of failure and God stayed out of sight for he only helps those who help themselves.

Nothing stays permanent, however, and depressed people eventually wake up to reality only through forgiveness, humility and compassion for nothing changes human behavior better than failure. It appears as though the scattered energy and resources of the Eritrean resistance for freedom is about to focus only on the grassroots movement destined to empower our people at the expense of the misdirected efforts under defocused and dictatorial tendencies. It so seems like the Eritrean people will finally see the light as a result of tolerance and wisdom based unity currently being radiated in Europe and other parts of the world by dedicated sons and daughters of our depressed society sandwiched between the brutal dictatorship and ineffective localized resistance of the past. It looks like God will pay attention to the suffering of our people because of the new spiritual approach of our activists that finally adapted spiritual rationality as their guideline to freedom.

I congratulate the selfless brother Professor Araya Debesay and the GI community for their relentless struggle to empower the people through unified grassroots movement. Thank you for implanting the only guarantee of transferring power to the people in the minds of the youth that are working hard to carry the torch of freedom to Asmara. I feel better than ever to hereunder present the main content of this material with greater sense of optimism. After many years of futile experimentation and uncontested humiliation, I think the Eritrean people appear to be in terms with the reality that only one thing matters in our situation: mass based unity in principle with all our differences in place. I believe God will help us this time if we pay attention on what we need to do with the current developments in the resistance. I cannot be happier than what I felt hearing the pleasant interview between Temesgen Rusom of Germany and the anchor of our communication, Assenna’s Ammanuel Eyasu. Here are the the few points addressed between them to the best of my recollection.

Aman: “What are your activities about and why?

Temesgen: “Our mission is to establish healthy relationship between all wudebat with maximum respect and tolerance. We are an extension of the grassroots movement going on everywhere specially in England, the US and Israel. And the reason for the effort is our experience of failure in the areas of organizing the mass through effective leadership; the thousands of Eritreans in Geneva that returned home without any homework being a case in point to this reality. We saw something good from the grassroots movement in the US, England and Israel and want to enhance the opportunity by doing it in Germany and beyond because we were convinced that this was the best way of achieving freedom in our country. We want to transparently engage Eritrean civic groups through open workshops with performance evaluation mechanisms and corrective actions in place so we can influence our people towards democratic culture where leaders come to power only through democratic elections.

Aman: Do you accept the global movement’s philosophy of unification?

Answer: Yes, we do. The plan is to maintain solid relationship between the believers of the movement and developing it together to the end of a mandated global leadership in the long run.

Aman: Do you have practical plans in line to this effect?

Answer: Yes, we do! To conduct “Hagerawi tselal nihagerawi zete” in July and enhance “Bahli mitsiwiwar”. Wudebat are essential but useless with “timkihtawi atahasasba” or “Wudebey, wudebka” mentality which was the biggest obstacle in this resistance.

Aman: Who will participate in the zete?

Answer: It is open for any citizen willing to work together prioritizing the people’s interest in solving the common problem at hand. END

In conclusion, it looks and smells good and there is no reason why we cannot make it if we continue working for unified leadership everywhere in the planet. I have confidence on Assenna family and I am sure Aman will do his part in this journey now that we agree the grassroots movement is the only way to secular freedom in our country. I hope we will leave the past behind and the civic groups will participate in the upcoming Zete in Germany obvious saying that GI representatives happily will. We also urge the organizers of the event to conduct it with the ultimate focus on democratically elected GLOBAL LEADERSHIP. To this effect, Professor Araya shares his view in our private communication as follows:

“Dear Brother Fetsum; With regard to the Munich group, much as we should applaud their Global Zete of Deleyti Fithi, we should politely remind them, the end goal of the Global Zete should be to form grassroots based Global Leaders. We should encourage them to take the initiative to play an active role in playing a catalytic role in encouraging Eritreans in various localities within Germany to form their local baitos and elect their local leaders which should lead to the election of Germany-wide leaders of Eritrean justice-seekers, similar to what the Eritrean justice-seekers did in the UK. Thank you”

I hope it will be down the hill from now on for the difficult hike to justice is about to dissolve as a result of our mental transformation. May God bless the movement to polarize all civic groups for global solution to the common problem and our people in England and Germany et al to push forward in this sole venue of transferring power to the people for them to live in the motherland with love, equality, peace and compassion. Thank you my brothers Aman and Rusom for the bliss and feel free to contact us for anything that may help you travel the journey with elevated confidence and optimism. We want you to understand that we are with you 100% and will do what ever it takes within our capacity to make your sacred mission successful.

Please stay tuned to PART II of this subject matter about the extremely constructive dialogue within the GI community on Saturday June the 3rd and between the GI and the European affiliates held on Sunday June the 4th and its successful conclusion on total agreement about the global grassroots movement that the European family adapted “100%”. It was the most productive engagement that motivated us to accelerate the movement as much as possible with joined hands and the same strategic focus to the blessing of the Eritrean people. Added the total success in England, this was indeed so special that it could not have been better. We separated agreeing on working together for the same goal from now on through continuous direct contact that you will love to hear in the next article. At this point in the struggle, we believe local leadership in Germany may be the next success story with many others to follow in a short period of time. Everybody was really emotional at the end of the dialogue that I wish all Eritreans were part of it.

I congratulate the people for finally realizing the dire cost of wrong actions. I thank God for getting us to this point of awareness out of the ashes we put ourselves through meaningless friction at the expense of incalculable resources. I thank God for giving our brothers and sisters in Europe the wisdom to fully adapt global unity to freedom. Today, I am grateful for their choice of adapting the culture of empowering the people via mass based election of their leaders. I am motivated more than ever to pick up my interrupted writing on “GI momentum” upgrading the title to “The GR (Grassroots) momentum” in respect to the monumental achievement scored by our family members in Europe and the GI community through the power of tolerance, neutrality, brotherhood and democratic representation of the people. I think the new title will allow me to serve the universal movement in general without limiting the workload to US activities alone. Peace and power to the people!!

aseye.asena@gmail.com

Review overview
7 COMMENTS
  • Asmara Eritrea June 6, 2017

    I must say, I always enjoy reading Festum’s eloquent articles on Assenna, which are by and large constructive,

    However, there is one aspect of Fetsums articles I find underwhelming. That is the unnecessary and public criticism of other people’s views. We must accept and respect other people’s differing views to ours. Unless we do that, it becomes very difficult to form the necessary unity we desperately need to topple the beast at home. In the end we all lose, except, of course, the dictator and his dwindling band of cliques.

    Let’s talk and build Unity! Isaias is on his last legs and all he needs is a little push and he is gone. Only then will Eritrea have peace – never when the devil is around. He is hell bent on destroying our country in the same way his godfather Khadafy did to Libya. God has reserved a special place in hell for Isaias and his godfather!

    Eritrea forever, death to dictatorship.

  • k.tewolde June 7, 2017

    Fitsum writes,’…..we deserve whatever we achieved because output is a function of input..’ yes indeed,garbage in garbage out.You saw mashela you reap mashela not taff.From the get go Hgdef saw the seeds of national division and discourse,fear,intimidation,suffocation of democratic voices and outright murder,voila! the outcome- a full fledged brutal dictatorship and this moribund culture has sipped into the the opposition camp and has been hampering its progress for sometime,it is time to recognize it and filter it out and experience how good it feels living without it.It is like giving up smoking or drinking. We will start tasting the true sense of life,prudence,joy,love of one another and working together towards the the goal we are trying to achieve.Keep plugging Fitsum,I proud of you.

  • g michael June 7, 2017

    It is necessary for pub[ic criticism and debate of other peoples views if it is an obstacle to establish grass root movement towards global leadership..GI whose mission is empowering citizens to take matters into their own hands, is unsettling to some quarters. A benign message of support is the least expected from any justice seekers.
    How can you move forward otherwise? The purpose of the criticisms are to clear the path for the movement. These obstacles are sometimes coming from entrenched views that can only be confronted head on.

  • Geladios June 7, 2017

    In the Camp of Our Just Seekers that we hope and determined to reach our main Goals by setting a Road Map and shaping it as well every day with the Aim to attract many more from the other camp of the dictatorial system. Our main problem is how to bring those loose and scattered opposition groups to the main camp to in power our camps of our just seekers, In the second stage is how to attract those mass in silent in the middle circle on the cross road not only to watch, but to join and to be party takers on the building the Just Seekers Camp as well.
    To achieve this great project we need a great deal of well educated experienced citizens to work hand in hand not to to abstracted Our Main Goals in order to score a minor issues in personal level and to hold hostage our struggle in particular. Action group is needed the most to push forward to reach our Goals, instead wasting our time on words fighting.
    We are very close to achieve our our duty with forming a representative of just seekers Camp to challenge the unchallenged dictatorial system for so long with a strong type of struggle to hold him accountable in every manner of his cruel system for the last 26 years of our Golden time with no any solution but distraction and sorrow of our people innocent people dying and jailed every where as sheep and goats. Our youth the hope of our country scattered every where living home to unknown because of the cruel Dictatorial System PIA AND HIS MONKEYS.
    It is our responsibility to carry out to help our people and the youth in particular to support them to build the Future of their home land with a common goals and with full of Democracy based on the RULE of LAW and JUSTICE. That is all we need!!! And thank you for all those who work hard day and night to achieve and to reach out to save our GOLDEN COUNTRY ERITREA TO LIVE IN PEACE AND HARMONY WITH ITS PEOPLE IN GREAT LOVE WITH ITS NEIGHBOURES AND THE WORLD COMMUNITY NOT IN ARROGANCE AND PUFFED HEADS. .

  • habtom hagos June 7, 2017

    I read brother fitsum”s article with interest which is very well written as usual. what I understood from the article is, there should be a minimal base understanding of the importance of solidarity of Eritrean justice seekers. If we are tripping each other, we are not going anywhere. As criticism of brother Andbrihane goes ,it was very tamed one and it is on message. if the brother cannot take such a constrictive criticism, how is he going to handle the tough questions he has to answer in the future? It is up to the Eritrean people to be vigilant not to allow anther dictatorship replacing the current one. the GI movements stands for this as brother fitsum is. well-done brother.

  • adhanom June 7, 2017

    The mission of GI movement is simple and strait forward, organize and empower ordinary citizens for common cause, to shorten the life of dictatorship. Those who want to have parallel organization are also welcome. Those who openly or secretly want to joing GI will join GI. Those who want to join others will join others. If every body except for hgdf are organized, then the common goal could be achieved easily. Through our organizations we will know what to do and when to do it. It is a win win. Ultimatelly who ever wants to be a leader has to be ellected by the people of the country, so this is tentative and has nothing to do with ruling the country.

  • Z June 13, 2017

    Dear Fisum
    All the time you are on the spot keeping on providing the snap on the progress of GI that great and well done Sir. One suggestion it is not necessary to respond to each and every comment of your readers, due two reasons (1) while trying to address each and every comment might make your article too long unnecessary; and (2) the beauty of article let your readers respond each other and create debate by posting on the same article.

    thank you

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