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Our Unfinished Journey – Assenna.com Editorial

When our thoughts drift back to the way things were during the revolutionary years we remember how the tegadalai gave all they had for la patria.  His homeland was the whole world to him. He

When our thoughts drift back to the way things were during the revolutionary years we remember how the tegadalai gave all they had for la patria.  His homeland was the whole world to him. He had but one thought; revolution. We all recall the stages of the successive Ethiopian offensives that took place 1978-1983, in which around 30,000 young Eritrean lives were sacrificed.  Those who survived still talk about the Red Star Campaign of 1982. Those were the days of heroism. Where is Eritrea today? How can we rekindle the memories within our  hearts, and reflect on the time that has gone by since those unforgettable years of martyrdom? Thanks to Isaias Afwerki, Eritrea is so lost! It is our prized homeland and yet so ill-fated!

We have been sold a dream that we can never live. The shadowy system that followed independence turned our dream into a nightmare. The scale of injustice that was conceived as we were busy blindly pursuing that elusive liberation has finally come home. We thought the tegadalai system, one that the president has appropriated to his own ends, would re-adjust quickly to adversity. But he hijacked the liberation agenda and left the country high and dry. “Lord, what fools these mortals be!”  The swift lurch from promises to stranglehold, took place under our very noses.  One can conclude in retrospect that our prized combatants were sent on a fool’s errand while Isaias solidified his future position.

We thought Eritrea had leapt forward when the tegadelti won our independence in 1991. But who thought it would fall backwards in such a short time – making us doubt ourselves and the aims of the struggle we had so passionately supported?  Who would have thought that Isaias and his clique would be on the wrong side of history after so much had been sacrificed? Eritreans had fought so heroically during the armed struggle only to lose their way during peace time.

What should Eritreans do in this period of paranoia and division in our country?  How do we conquer the fear that has paralysed us to our core?  Can we afford to postpone fighting for the principles we believe in?

We are first and foremost Eritreans. We are passionate patriots who care about people close to us, our fellow compatriots and the cause and course of our struggle. What should we do with a president who has imposed his own wishes upon us? He has disrespected us, exploited our goodwill and pushed us to limits.  He has made a laughing stock of our struggle. Yes, he has turned Eritrea into a pariah state in our region and within the international community.

The time has come to be true to ourselves and our morals, not neutral to Eritrea’s affliction. We cannot bury our heads in the sand while so much is happening to our fellow citizens. We have no option but to stand against this president who creates straw-men for the sake of self-preservation. Why should we allow him to frame our reference as if he lawfully represents us? We are neither invisible nor toothless people!

So what have we accomplished so far as we wage resistance to home-grown tyranny?  Effectively, we have: a) raised consciousness among Eritreans residing inside and outside the country that Eritrea deserves a better government; b) managed to alert the world to the abusive nature of the president; c) played a part in mobilising international institutions to take a stand against the government of Eritrea; d) influenced host nations to recognise the plight of Eritrean asylum seekers.. Those are significant accomplishments.  However, we still have a long way to go and challenging circumstances to face.

It would be dishonest to claim success in forging a harmonised campaign strategy within the opposition camp.  Hollow and vain interactions amongst us have persisted, sometimes becoming the shallow parody or faded insignia of our campaign. Unless we learn the art of respecting one another the opposition camp will remain on the periphery of the struggle.  Harmonisation is a process. And we know, theoretically, a harmonised campaign is within reach.

Our first goal should be to create positive experiences, not necessarily coalitions, as we work closely together. If we cannot avoid those strategic mistakes then circumstances will leave us to our own devices – we will be victims of our own making. We know that we have to grit our teeth and continue to expose the regime’s deceptions without targeting our fellow campaigners. If we do this, the rest will come.

aseye.asena@gmail.com

Review overview
16 COMMENTS
  • k.tewolde January 27, 2017

    I feel you,it is painful indeed,I have been feeling this way for awhile now that pain became chronic and I got used to it ,way before the tyrant emerged at the doorstep of the capital.

  • zeray January 27, 2017

    The great German pastor Martin Niemolle vocalized this very point in his famous quotation:
    “First they came for the Socialist, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Socialist.
    Then they came for the Trade Unionist, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Trade Unionist.
    Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out — Because I was not a Jew.
    Then they came for me — and there was no one left to speak for me”.
    .
    k.tewolde aka Khaliffa Tahir, Kiros refaE tekorede, Wedi Amate berad and mushmush diKhala ELF whore mouth.
    Your barbaric criminal savage Islamic ELF mendef came to destroy the Eritrean peasants livelihood, to burn Eritrean languages, to cause all mayhem, destruction, bloodshed and miseries on Eritreans.
    Yet, you disgusting son of a whore unashamedly blaming the tyrant that you brought us from your evil savage ghedli bush to Eritrea. You should be burned alive in your evil ELF crippled wheel chair, wedi Amate diKhala rat.

  • alem January 27, 2017

    Zeray
    U are insulting honored and respected people without explaining what u stund for and what they did to u. I think u have serious mental disturbance. Mariam tihagiska tiena kitrekib. Malelit Weyanen higdefn besbisom eyom. And u are one of them (either half eri half tigraway or dikala or kurkur iseyas eka).
    Either way u are rejected by eritreans and ethiopians. If i were u i would just comit sucide. I do not know what u are waiting for. Bel chaw ertrawyan (dikalatatn ertrawyan kimeslu zixieru deki iseyasn) awxieka lewahat endina mihret yewridelka ezgiabher christian tekenka.

  • zeray January 27, 2017

    The Eritrean (of evil-ghedli mendef cancer) invincibility myth which was championed by the mindless evil-ghedli shefatu/bandits (mainly Shaebia) is one of the toughest struggle that sensible Eritreans are fighting to bury it once for all. This myth is the source of all evil that has been raining over poor Eritrea for the last 50 yrs. The false pride and distorted version of history is the root cause of the destruction and extermination of highland Eritrea.
    .
    The Eritrean war of all alien loving evil-ghedli was fought for the ideologies of two competing arch-enemies. The criminal evil barbaric ELF’s goal was to Arabize and Islamize poor Christian Eritrea, and the EPLF’s goal was to create a nation that would be led by an idolized insane man (the ruthless dictator and savage moslem Arab abeed). The ghedli mendef shit is an evil barbaric Islamic project brewed in Cairo (the destruction city) started by their foot soldiers the mercenaries and illegal immigrant of the lowland savage moslem Arab dogs.

  • Tsehaye January 27, 2017

    Dear all,

    Truth be told that Shaebia was a private corporation of one man who has no regard for human lives. The author said that 30,000 fighters were killed between 1978 to 1983. Eritreans are also told that the number of martyrs in the 30 year-war-journey is about 60,000, and this number does not include the countless fighters who were executed for various reasons. That means half of Eritrea’s martyrs were killed in just 5 years. The barbaric gedli was not for freedom and liberty; it was to exterminate the Eritrean highlanders. መርገም ኣይተውሑዱ ነዚ ኣረመን ገድሊ::

    • alem January 28, 2017

      Most Oromos are muslims and they will eat u.

  • Anti-DIA January 27, 2017

    Please ignore the insults of the guy mostly known as Teclay, a Tigreyan who suffers from deep seated hatred for Eritrea. He poses as Eritrean but he is not cheating anyone but himself.

    • Anti-Islam January 28, 2017

      Anti-DIA aka Sol, andom, adhanom, Mohammed, Khaled, WediHagher – WediHalima, Zafu, Hagherawi – Arebawi/Yemeni, kondaf mushmush Arab dog, Wedi Saho stinking rat/snake, comedian Ali, nomad saHab gimel, Abdurobo and illegal moslem immigrant of Shire/Sheraro. In short, super moslem nefahito or more like aslamay kelbi Adi yeblu Awdi yeblu goHaf.
      WediHalima savage evil Arab dog, you are simply a compulsive liar, traitor and a jihadi terrorist scumbag that should be caged and beheaded as with your savage evil Quran/Sharia shit law. May your monster beast evil allah rot you in your savage evil moslem shit hell.

    • alem January 28, 2017

      Ab ertran ethiopian meetewi ziseane dikala wey nertra xixelie tigraway eyu. Sorry for him. He tries to multiply himself using different nick names. Aklixibet dikas yikelie eyu. Miskinay agame.

  • Aman January 28, 2017

    Correction to the editor:
    The campaign was not Ethiopian Campaign, Ethiopians themselves were at war with with the Derg. Did you forget the red terror that has swept all Ethiopian towns which resulted in the death of tens of thousands of youth?, Were not the Tigreans in the same pitch battle against the Derg? Did you ever see any volunteer army recruits in Ethiopia? all were forced from their homes and markets…etc So what is the need to quote the name Ethiopia here? Eritrean were not Ethiopian colony, if you say so lets dig out the meaning. by white man’s formula, colonized people should formulate their own states-whether is right or wrong for colonized people to accept it; this the point of departure for Eritrea’s claiming statehood., and fight that took place was Eritrean Ethiopian people on one hand and the Derg on the Other. Derg and its campaign was opposed and fought by the Ethiopian people every where in Ethiopia. So the Era was Derg versus People!

  • Aman January 28, 2017

    Correction to the editor:
    The campaign was not Ethiopian Campaign, Ethiopians themselves were at war with the Derg. Did you forget the red terror that has swept all Ethiopian towns which resulted in the death of tens of thousands of youth?, Were not the Tigreans in the same pitch battle against the Derg? Did you ever see any volunteer army recruits in Ethiopia? all were forced from their homes and markets…etc So what is the need to quote the name Ethiopia here? Eritrean were not Ethiopian colony, That a long held Shaebyan hate and distortion Campaign. Eritrea’s claim is based on Italy’s colony. we do not know the exact legitimacy of the referendum out come but there was one.. by white man’s formula, colonized people should formulate their own states- and Eritrea was eligible for that and that is why the need for referendum. Somalia Cameroun and some other countries unified to establish a single state even though they were colonized buy two different European colonizers, so why could it have been wrong when it comes to Ethiopia? We all need to dig out the recorded history of the referendum campaign for the sake of clarity of the matter.. whether is right or wrong for colonized people to accept it, this is the point of departure for Eritrea’s claiming statehood., and the fight that took place was Eritrean Ethiopian people on one hand and the Derg on the Other. Derg and its campaign was opposed and fought by the Ethiopian people every where in Ethiopia. So the Era was Derg versus People!

  • Z, Hagos January 28, 2017

    Some people believe that some Arab Gulf countries, like Saudi Arabia and Qatar, are destabilizing the horn of Africa and Yemen because of huge oil deposits there. It is believed to be a deposit of 110 billion barrels oil in Somalia and similar amounts as well in Yemen. So also minerals in Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia. The enemies of the region are bribing some leaders to turn the people of the region against each other, adding that to the already civil wars of Somalia and Yemen.
    ..
    Isaias is just one of those bribed to destabilize the region. The Sudanese leader every now and then gets some money to close his eyes. Now, also the Ethiopian leader is added to the list. By corrupting those leaders of the region, the destruction in the neighboring countries is made to continue. The Somalis are not making any sense in destroying their nation. At least the Yemenis are trying to come together to end the interference of those with anti-development in the region.
    ..
    Can the Eritreans join hands of those who are endeavoring to make peace in the region. Peace in the region will pressure Isaias into joining the peace loving countries in the region.

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