The footprints were found by the team's local guide in sediment.Courtesy of Pr Coppa

The discovery of the oldest Homo erectus footprints in the world, alongside fragments of fossilised skulls, could advance palaeontologists' knowledge of the stature and anatomy of modern man's closest ancestors. The fossils were unearthed in a region known as Buia in the heart of the Semi-arid Danakil Depression in eastern Eritrea, during an expedition led by researchers from the Italian university of Sapienza and the National Museum of Eritrea.

Their latest research started in late 2015, in an area constituted by many geological layers spanning several hundred thousand years. One day, the team's local guide made a surprising discovery: he came across a 26-square-metre foot-printed sediment surface.

Due to their ephemeral nature in soft sediments, footprints tend to be altered and eroded very quickly, so their preservation is an exceptional phenomenon. Analysing the different sediment layers, researchers found out the prints were approximately 800 000 years old. At this time, the only member of the human family tree to live in the region was Homo erectus.

The researchers thus say the prints are the oldest known to belong to Homo erectus and this is a rare occasion to get a glimpse of the lives of Homo erectus individuals in motion in their ecosystem hundreds of thousand years ago.

The footprints were found in the Danakil desert, EritreaStephan Gladieu/Getty Images

The sediments and the shape of the prints as well as their location alongside an extinct species of antelopes' footprints suggest the environment in which these early humans lived in was very different that it is today. Instead of a desert, it would probably have been a lakeside buffered by grassland.

Significance of the footprints

The discovery is significant because ancient fossilised footprints are very rare, but also because it has the potential to improve scientists' understanding of Homo erectus.

"The importance of the footprints is due to their extreme rarity. In Africa, archaeological sites with human fossils in Africa are not very numerous, but are still in the hundreds. The footprints of our ancestors however have so far only come from three locations but they can provide us with information that is not deductible by skeletal or dental fossils", lead researcher Alfredo Coppa told IBTimes UK.

Probable adult footprints of Homo erectusCourtesy of Pr Coppa

Here, the footprints appear very similar to that of modern men. They show details of the toes, and the foot shape includes a prominent arch and big toe in line with the others - features that make human feet distinctive and efficient when walking and running.

A more detailed study of these footprints will now take place and may reveal unique information about foot anatomy, stature, body mass, and locomotor biomechanics - including gait and walking speed of H erectus. Scientists may gain critical clues to better understand how hominins behaved and fared in their environment some 800 000 years ago.

Significance of the skulls fragments

In addition to the footprints, the skull fragments offer useful perspectives on the evolution of Homo erectus over thousands of years.

The Pleistocene (between around 2.588 million to 11,700 years) era represents a period of major transition in human evolution, when some of our primitive H erectus ancestors evolved into species with larger brains and more modern bodies.

Detail of the Homo erectus footprints found at the site.Courtesy of Pr Coppa

The problem is human fossils from that time are fragmentary between 1.3 and 0.5 million years ago, especially when it comes to the postcranial area of the skull. These new fossils in Buia could therefore help to fill the gap.

The Buia fossils have an intriguing blend of primitive and more modern characteristics, combining more primitive H. erectus traits with an increase in brain size and some modern aspects of hip structure.

"In this way, the Buia fossils link H erectus with anatomy seen in later species such as H. heidelbergensis", the authors explain. The fossils and the prints thus add a new piece to the puzzle of human evolution.

Source=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/eritrea-oldest-homo-erectus-footprints-ever-discovered-adds-piece-puzzle-human-evolution-1566082

ትርጉም    ናብ ትግርኛ ብመም/ተኽለ ስብሃቱ

ግዜ ይሓልፍ ኣሎ፣እታ ሰዓት ብዘይ ምቁራጽ ቂም ቂም ትብል ኣላ፣ንሕና ግን ክንቆጻጸራ ኣይከኣልናን. ከምቲ “ግዜን ማዕበልን ንዝጽበይዎ የብሎምን”ዝበሃል ግዜ ካብ ቁጽጽር ወጻኢ ኢያ።ግዜ ክትመሓደር ኣይትኽእልን’ያ፣ንሕና ጥራሕ ኢና ንገዛእ ርእስናን ንጠቕሚ ናይ ግዜን ከነማሓድር እንኽእል።ብቀጻሊ ዝኣክል ግዜ ከም ዘሎና ከም ጭቡጥ ወይ ርግጸኛ  ጌርና ንወስዶ።ንኹሉ ንጹር ከም ዝኾነ፣ንኣጠቓቕማ ናይ ግዜ ብግቡእ እንተድኣ ተረዲእናዮን ንጠቕሚ ናይ ግዜ ድማ ብግቡእ እንተድኣ ኣመሓዲርናዮ ዝኾነ ነገር ንምስራሕ ዝኣክል ግዜ ኣሎ።ምምሕዳር ጠቕሚ ግዜ ኣብ ዓወትን ሓጎስን ናይ ዝኾነ ሰብን ኣብ ሞያዊ ዕብየትናን ውልቃዊ ህይወትናን ኣዚዩ ወሳኒ’ዩ።

ምሕደራ  ጠቕሚ ግዜ ማለት ብልክዕ ከም ርእሰ-ምሕደራ ማለት ኢዩ።እቲ ንካልኦት ከነማሓድር እንጥቀሞ ጥበብ ወይ ሜላ ልክዕ ከምቲ ንነብስናን ስድራ-ቤትናን  ከነማሓድር እንጥቀሞ ሜላ ምዃኑ ክንፈልጥ ኣገዳሲ’ ዘዩ። ኣብዛ ብናይ ግዜ ንቕሓት ብፍጥነት እትልወጥ ዘላ ዓለምና፣ኣጠቓቕማ ግዜ ብግቡእ እንተድኣ ኣመሓዲርና ኣብ ሓጺር ግዜ ብዙሕ ነገር ከነሳልጥ ከም እንኽእል ዘታባብዓና ኢዩ።ከነረጋግጾ ዝግበኣና ግን ዝያዳ ወይ ብዝሒ ግዜ ክንገብር ከም ዘይንኽእል ኢዩ፣ምኽንያቱ እቲ ብዝሒ ግዜ ብልዑል ፈጣሪ ስለ ዝተወሰነ ንክልወጥ ፈጺሙ ዘይከኣል’ዩ።ኣብ ሓንቲ ደቕቕ ስሳ ክልኢት፣ኣብ ሓደ ሰዓት ስሳ ደቓይቕ፣ኣብ ሓደ መዓልቲ ዕስራን ኣርባዕተን ሰዓታት፣ኣብ ሓደ ሰሙን ሾውዓተ መዓልታት፣ኣብ ሓደ ዓመት ሓሙሳን ክልተን ሰሙናት ንዝተፈላለዩ ዕላማታት ኣብ ህይወትና ክንጥቀመሎም ዝግበኣና ስለ ዘለዉና ኢዩ።ካብ “ገንዘብ”  “ግዜ” ኣዚዩ ዝያዳ ጠቓሚ ኢዩ።ምኽንያቱ ብዝሒ ገንዘብ ክንገብር ንኽእል ኢና፣ብዝሒ ግዜ ግን ክንገብር ኣይንኽእልን ኢና።

ግዜ እቲ ኣዚዩ ክቡርን ጠቓምን መሰረታዊ ነገር መዓልታዊ ክንጥቀመሉ ብኣምላኽ ዝተዋህበና ክነሱ፣ነዚ መለኮታዊ ህያብ  እናፈለጥና ኣይነመስግንን።ኣድላይነት ጠቕሚ ናይ ግዜ ብዝያዳ ንምብራህን ግሉጽ ምግባርን ከም ኣብነት ናይ ባንክ ኣተሓሕዛ ሕሳብ ንውሰድ፣መበገሲ ሕሳብና ኣብ ነብሲ-ወከፍ ንጉሆ $86,400 ኮይኑ፣ናብ’ቲ ዝቕጽል መዓልቲ እቲ ባንክ ዘዛውሮ ሚዛን የልቦን፣ኣብ ነብሲ-ወከፍ ምሸት ነቲ ኣብ መዓልቲ ዘይተጠቐምናሉ ሚዛን ንኸስሮ።ስለዚ እንታይ ክንገብር ምተገባኣና፣ብልክዕ ሳንቲም ከይተረፈት ስሒብና መዓልታዊ  ክንጥቀመሉ ይግበኣና።ብንጹር ኣብቲ መወዳእታ ግዜ ናይ መዓልቲ ሚዛን ሕሳብና ዘሮ ምእንቲ ከርኢ፣ ዘሎና ገንዘብ ኣብ ምንታይ ከነውዕሎ ከም ዝግባእ ናይ ምምሕዳር ክእለት የድሊ።

ማዕረ-ማዕረ ወይ ተማሳሳሊነት ናይዚ ኣብነት’ዚ ነብሲ-ወከፍና ባንክ ኣሎና፣ ስሙ ከኣ “ግዜ”ኢዩ።ኣብ ነብሲ-ወከፍ ንጉሆ  ባንክና  86,400 ክልኢታት ኣብ ሓደ መዓልቲ ዝኽፈል የልቅሓና።ኣብታ  መዋደእታ ግዜ ናይ’ታ መዓልቲ ሚዛን ሕሳብና ዘሮ ከመልክት ኣለዎ።ኣብ ነብሲ-ወከፍ ለይቲ ነቲ ዘይተጠቐምናሉ ወይ ኣብ መዓላ ዘይወዓለ ግዜ ይቑረጽ።ነቲ ኣብ መዓልቲ ዝተቐመጠ እንተ ዘይተጠቒምናሉ፣ ግዜ ኣጥፊእና ስለ ዘሎና፣ተመሊስና ነቲ ዝጠፍአ ግዜ ክትካእ ኢልካ ዝሕሰብ ኣይኮነን ።ግዜ ነጻ ኮይኑ ኣዚዩ ክቡር ምዃኑ ክንግንዘብ ይግባኣና።ንግዜ ክንጥቀመሉ እምበር ክንውንኖ ኣይንኽእልን ኢና።ኣብ ጠቕሚ ከነውዕሎ ደኣ’ምበር፣ ይጽንሓለይ ብማለት ክንሕዞ ኣይንኽእልን ኢና።ሓንሳእ ምስ ኣጥፋእናዮ፣ተመሊስና ክንረኽቦ ኣይንኽእልን ኢና። ኣብ ህይወት ደቂ ሰባት ሰለስተ ነገራት ምስ ተፈጸሙ  ዘይምለሱ ዝብል ብሂል ኣሎ።ንሱ ከኣ “ቃል” ካብ ኣፍ ምስ ወጸት “ህሞት ወይ ሓጻር እዋን” ምስ ተሳሕተት ከምኡ’ውን  “ግዜ” ምስ ሓለፈት ልክዕ’ዩ ኩልና ንግዜ ኣዚና ንደልዮ’ኳ እንተኮና፣ንግዜ ብሕማቕ ኣጠቓቕማ ኢና እንጥቀመሉ።እዘን ዝስዕባ ኣገደስቲ ሓጸርቲ ታሪኻት ንምምሕዳር ጠቕሚ ግዜ ዘዘንትዋ  ስለ ዝኾና ብምሉእ ኣቓልቦና ንከታተለን።

ሓደ ግዜ ንጉስ ማሕፉዝን ሓደ ማህቡል ዝበሃል ህኩይ ሰብኣይን ኣዕሩኽ ነበሩ።ሓደ ንጉሆ ንጉስ ማሕፉዝ ንማህቡል ገንዘብ ክትረክብ ንምንታይ ዘይትሰርሕ በሎ።ማህቡል ድማ ዋላ ሓደ ዘስራሓኒ የብለይን፣ምኽንያቱ ጸላእተይ  ኣነ ዝኾነ ስራሕ ኣብ ግዚኡ ከም ዘይውድእ ንኹሉ ሰብ ስለ ዝነገሩለይ። እቲ ሕያዋይ ንጉስ ንማህቡል ጸዊዑ ናብቲ ንብረተይ ዘለዎ መኽዘን ኪድ’ሞ  ክሳብ ጸሓይ እትዓርብ ዘድልየካ ሃብቲ ኣክብ በሎ።

ማህቡል እቲ ዘጋጠሞ ዕድል ንሰበይቱ ክነግራ ብጉያ ከደ። ሰበይቱ ድማ በል ኪድ’ሞ ናይ ወርቂ ገንዘብን ካልእ ክቡራት ኣዕናቑን ኣምጽእ በለቶ። ናቱ መልሲ ግን፣ሕጂ ክኸይድ ኣይክእልን’የ፣ ቅድም ምሰሐይ ሃብኒ በላ። ድሕሪ ምሳሕ ንሓደ ሰዓት ዝኣክል ደቀሰ። ኣብቲ መወዳእታ ሰዓታት ድሕሪ ቀትሪ፣ ቦርሳኡ ኣልዒሉ ናብ ኣዳራሽ ናይ’ቲ ንጉስ ክኸይድ ተበገሰ፣ ኣብ መንገዱ ሃሩር ስለ ዝተሰምዖ ኣብ ጽላል ሓንቲ ኦም ኣዕረፈ፣ ድሕሪ ናይ ክልተ ሰዓት ዕረፍቲ  ናብቲ ኣዳራሽ ንጉስ ክኸይድ ምስ ተበገሰ ሓደ ሰብኣይ ኣብ መንገዱ ናይ ምትላል ጥንቆላ የርኢ ስለ ዝነበረ ንምዕዛብ ሓደ ሰዓት ኣጥፍኤ። ብድሕር’ዚ ናብቲ ኣዳራሽ ክኸይድ ከም ዘለዎ ዘኪሩ ጎይዩ ከደ። ኣብቲ ኣዳራሽ ምስ በጽሐ ግን ጸሓይ ዕራብ ኮይኑ ማዕጾ ናይቲ ኣዳራሽ ተዓጽወ፣ ማህቡል ድማ ካብቲ ናይ’ቲ ንጉስ መኽዘን ክእክበሉ ዝነበሮ ሃብቲ ወርቃዊ ዕድል ኣጥፈኤ። ነቶም ጠቕሚ ናይ ግዜ ዝፈልጡ ክቡራት ሰባት ግዜ ሓጻር’ውን ትኹን ክብርቲ’ያ። ማህቡል ምምሕዳር ጠቕሚ ናይ ግዜ  ስለ ዘይፈለጠ፣ግዜ ቀስ ኢላ ዘሊላቶ ሓሊፋ፣ድሓር ግን ናይ ስቅያት ተዘክሮ ከም ዝሓደገትሉ ተዓዚቡ። ብካልእ ኣበሃህላ እቲ ጠቃሚ ግዜ ንሓዋሩ ምስ ጠፍኣና ኣብ ክንዲ ንጠዓስን ንሓዝንን ምሳና ከሎ ብክብሪ ክንጥቀመሉ ይግበኣና። በንጃሚን ፍራንክሊን ከም ዝበሎ “ዝጠፍኤ ግዜ እንደጌና ኣይርከብን’ዩ” ማህቡል ጠቕሚ ናይ ግዜን ምሕደራኡን  ብዘይምፍላጡ  ነቲ ጠቓሚ ንብረት ኣጥፊኡዎ። ክርደኣና ዘለዎ ንጠቓሚ ግዜና ዝያዳ ክብሪ ምስ እንህብ ብዝያዳ ንነብስና ነኽብር፣ ግዜና ድማ ክቡራት ነገራት ከምጽኣልና ይኽእል። ካልእ ምስኡ ዝተኣሳሰር ወይ ዝመሳሰል ታሪኽ ኣብ ብዙሕ ባህልታት ከምኡ’ውን  ኣብ ሃገርና ብባህሊ ትግሪኛ ዝትረኾ ንጠቓሚ ምምሕዳር ናይ ክቡር ግዜ ምጥቃም ዝምልከት ንከታተል።

ሓደ ግዜ ሓንቲ ፈጣን ማንቲለ ብጉያኣ እትምካሕ ነበረት። እቲ ብዘገምታን ብስሩዕን ዝጎዪ ኣባ-ጎብየ ናይ  ማንቲለ ጉራ ብምስማዕ  ስለ ዝሰልቸዎ፣ናይ ጉያ ቅድድም ምስ ማንቲለ ክገብር ወሰነ። ኩሎም እንስሳ በረኻ ነቲ ኣገዳሲ ቅድድም ክዕዘቡ ተኣከቡ፣ ናይ ምብጋስ ብረት ምስ ተተኮሰ ድማ እቲ ቅድድም ብፍጥነት ተጀመረ። ማንቲለ ንውሱን ግዜ ምስ ጎየየት፣ ንድሓር ገጻ ቁሊሕ ብምባል ድማ ዓው ኢላ ጨረሐት፣ በዚ ጎታት ኣካይዳን ኣሳጉማን ኣባ-ጎብየ ከመይ ኢሉ ኣብዚ ቅድድም ክዕወት’የ ኢሉ ትጽቢት ይገብር ብማለት ኣብቲ ቅድድም ከም እትስዕር ብምትእምማን ንምዕራፍ ዝኣክል ግዜ ኣሎኒ ብማለት ማንቲለ ኣብቲ ወሰን መንገዲ ኣብ ትሕቲ ጽላል ሓንቲ ኦም ኣካላታ ዘርጊሓ ተጋደመት፣ ቀልጢፉ’ውን ድቃስ ወሰዳ። እታ ማንቲለ ደቂሳ እናሓለመት ከላ፣ኣባ-ጎብየ ተስፋ ከይቆረጸ ርግእ ኢሉ ብዘይምቁራጽ መንገዱ ብምቕጻል ነታ ማንቲለ ሓሊፉዋ ከደ። ክሳብ’ታ ናይ መወዳእታ መስመር ወይ ሕንጻጽ ዝበጽሕ ዋላ ሓንቲ ደቒቕ  ጠጠው ከይበለ ኣብ ቦትኡ በጽሐ። እቶም ዝዕዘቡ ዝነበሩ እንስሳታት ንኣባ-ጎብየ ብዓውታ ሓጎሶም ገለጹሉ። ናይ ዓውታ ድምጾም ንማንቲለ ካብ ምድቃሳ ምስ ኣበራበራ፣ ታ ማንቲለ ኣካላታ እንዳ ዘርግሐትን እንዳ ኣምባሃቖትን ተንሲኣ ክትጎዪ ጀመረት፣ እንተኾነ ግን ኣዚያ ደንጕያ ስለ ዝነበረት፣ኣባ-ጎብየ ኣብቲ  መወዳእታ ናይ ውድድር መስመር ቀዲሙ ብምብጻሕ ኣብቲ ውድድር ተዓዋቲ ኮነ። ካብዚ ታሪኽ’ዚ እንመሃሮ፣ኣባ-ጎብየ ዋላ’ኳ ቀስ ኢሉ እንተ ተጓዕዘ፣ ኣብቲ ውድድር ተዓዋቲ ኮይኑ፣ምኽንያቱ ንግዚኡ ብግቡእ ተጠቒሙ ብቆራጽነት ስለ ዝተቐዳደመ ኢዩ። ማንቲለ ግን ሽሕ’ኳ ፈጣን ጎያይት እንተ ኮነት ንግዚኣ ብግቡእን ብብልሓትን ስለ ዘይተጠቕመትሉን ሕሉፍ ርእሰ-ምትእምማን ስለ ዝነበራን ኣብቲ ውድድር ክትሰዓር ክኢላ። ማንቲለ ኣብቲ ውድድር ከም እትዕወት ፍጹም እምነት’ኳ እንተነበራ ከም ሕማቕ ኣጋጣሚ  ግን ተሳዒራ።

ምምሕዳር ኣጠቓቕማ ግዜ፣ ኣብቲ ኣከባቢና ምስ ዘለዉ ካልኦት ሰባት እንምስርቶ ዓይነት ዝምድና”ውን  የንጸባርቕ’ዩ። ምስ ህዝቢ ኢና እንነብር፣ግዜ ከኣ ሓደ ካብቲ ኣገዳሲ ረቛሒ ኣብ መንጎና ንዘሎና ዝምድና ዘቃራርብ’ዩ። ንጹር ኣብነት ክኾነና ዝኽእል፣ንሕና ኤርትራዊያን እንኽተሎ ኣከባብራ ቆጸራና ኣብ ማሕበራዊ ጉዳያትና ከም ናይ መርዓ ስነ-ስርዓት፣ ኣገልግሎት ቀብሪ፣ ፈስቲቫልን ካልእን ብቀጻሊ ከም እንዕዘቦ ኣብ ቤተ-ክርስትያን፣ ኣብ ናይ ማሕበረ-ሰብ ማእከልን ካልእ ናይ ማሕበራዊ ጉዳያት መኤከቢ ቦታን ኣብ ግዜና ኣይንርከብን ኢና። ብፍላይ ኣብ ወጻኢ እንነብር ኤርትራዊያን ቆጸራ ዘይምኽባርን ናብ ናይ ማሕበራዊ ጉዳያት ደንጕኻ ምምጻእን “ቆጸራ ሓበሻ “ ዝብል  ልሙድ ኣበሃህላ  ከም ቅቡል ኮይኑ ኣሎ። ኣብ ማእከል ስብከት ንመጽእ፣መንፈሳዊ ኣገልግሎት እናተኻየደ ከሎ ድማ ገዲፍናዮ ንኸይድ። መርዓ ተዓዲምና ዝተዳለወ መግቢ ክብላዕ ኣብ ዘይክእለሉ ደረጃ ብቁሪ ምስ ጠምበወ ወይ መግቢ ምስ ተዓጽወ ደንጕና ንመጽእ። ኣብ ዝተፋላለዩ ዓይነት ማሕበራዊ ስራሓት ደንጕና ንመጽእ።

ኤርትራዊያን ዘይኮኑ ኣጋይሽ ነቲ ናይ ግዜ ምድንጓይ ልምድና ዘይፈልጡ ፣ዘምጸኦም ጉዳይ ከይፈጸሙ ቅድሚ’ቲ ጉዳይ ምጅማሩ ሓዲጎሞ ይኸዱ። ዊልያም ሸክስፔር “ሓንቲ ደቒቕ ካብ ምድንጓይ ሰለስተ ሰዓት ኣቐዲምካ ክትመጽእ ይምረጽ”ይብል ካብ ፈጺምካ ምትራፍ ደንጕኻ ምኻድ ዝሓይሽ’ኳ እንተኾነ፣ግዜኻ ኣኽቢርካ ምኻድ ግን ዝበለጸ ኢዩ። ምኽንያቱ ግዜኻ ኣኽቢርካ ኣብ ቆጸራኻ ምርካብ ናይ ዝኣቶኻሉ ቃል ልቦናዊ ርድኢትን ብስለትን ዘመልክት ኮይኑ፣ ኣብ መንጎና ድማ  ክብርን ኩርዓትን የስዕብ። ብተወሳኺ ገሌና ጨሪሽና ናብ ቤተ-ክርስትያን ኣይንኸይድን ወይ ድማ ናብ ካልእ ቤተ-ክርስትያን ንኸይድ ምኽንያቱ ብፍላይ ኣብ ናይ ኤርትራ ኦርቶዶክሳዊት ቤተ ክርስትያን እቲ ዝወሃብ መንፈሳዊ ኣገልግሎት ካብ መጠን ንላዕሊ ነዊሕ’ዩ። ስለ’ዚ እታ ቤተ-ክርስትያን ቁጽሪ ኣባላታ ክውስኽን ሓገዝ ክትረክብን ከምኡ’ውን ንጡፍ ተሳታፍነት ናይ ኤርትራዊያን ምሁራትን ሰብ ሞያን ንኽህሉዉ፣ እቲ መንፈሳዊ ኣገልግሎት ርትዓዊ ብዝኾነ ንኹሉ ዝሰማማዕ ውሱን ግዜ ክመሓየሽ ኣለዎ።እቲ ናይ ግዜ ምውሳን ንኹሉ ዝሰማማዕ ኮይኑ ድሌት ሰዓብቲ ወይ ኣመንቲ ድማ ይማላእ። ካህናት ድሌትን ጠለብን ናይ ደቂ ማሕበሮም ንምምላእን ኣድላዪ ምምሕያሽ ንኽገብሩን ናይ ግዜ ንቕሓት ክህልዎም ኣለዎ። ምኽንያቱ መብዝሕትና ኣብ ዓበይቲ ከተማታት እንነብር ኣብ ሰንበት ክፍጸም ዝግበኦ ማሕበራዊ ግዴታና ንምምላእ ኩሉ ንምዕማምን ግዜና ከም ዝጥዕም እናኣመዓራኣረና ኢና ንነብር ዘሎና። ስለዚ ጠቕሚ ናይ ግዜ ብትኽክል እንተ ዘይተረዲእናን፣ንክቡር ግዜና ብዝግባእ ከነማሓድር እንተ ዘይከኢልናን  ካብ ዓርክና ማህቡል ኣይንሓይሽን ኢና። ማህቡል ግዜኡ ብከንቱ ኣባኺኑ ዕድል ከለዎ ነቲ ካብ መኽዘን ናይ’ቲ ንጉስ ክእኽቦ ዝነበሮ ጠቓሚ ሃብቲ ማለት ወርቂ ገንዘብ ኣብ ግዜኡ ክእክብ ብዘይምኽኣሉ ድሌቱ ከማልእ ኣይከኣለን።  ብተማሳሳልነት ንኹሉ ንጹር  ከም ዝኾነ ንሕና’ውን ናይ ብሓቂ ጠቕሚ ናይ ግዜና ኣይነኽብርን ኢና። ኩነታትና እንተ ንልውጥ ከምኡ’ውን ጽቡቕ ኣረኣእያ  ኣብ  ክብሩን ጠቕሙን ናይ ክቡር ግዜና እንተ ዝህልወና፣ ኣጠቓቕማ ግዜና ኣብ ቤተ-ክርስትያንን ኣብ ካልእ ማሕበራዊ ጉዳያትን ብዙሕ ውጽኢታዊ ምኾነ።

ግዜ ፍቱን መምህር ኢዩ። ግዜ ኣብ ህይወት ዘገድስ ነገር ንዓና እተርእየሉ ዘደንቕ መንገዲ ኣሎ።   ነልሶን ማንዴላ ከም ዝበሎ “ንግዜ  ኩሉ-ሳዕ ብብልሃት ክንጥቀማ ኣሎና፣ግዜ ቅኑዕ ነገር ክትገብር  ኩሉሳዕ ድልውቲ ምዃና ርግጸኛ ኩን” ንኣጠቓቕማ  ግዜ ብትኽክል እንተድኣ ኣመሓዲርናዮ፣ ብርግጽ ፡ውጽኢታዊ ስራሕ ክንሰርሕ እኹል ግዜ ኣሎና።ንኣጠቓቕማ ግዜ ብግቡእ አንተድኣ ኣመሓዲርናዮ ንዘሎና ስድራ-ቤታዊ ግዴታ ተረዲእና፣ግዜና ሰሪዕና ምስቶም ዝዓብዩ ዘለዉ ደቅና ዝኣክል ግዜ ከነሕልፍ ንኽእል። ኣስገለን ዓርኩን ድሕሪ ስራሕ ናይ ምሸት ብዝሕ ግዜ ኣብ ወረ፣ብዛዕባ ፖሊቲካ ኣብ ምዝርራብን ናብ ዶናትን ስታር-ባክስን ብምኻድ ግዜኦም የሕልፍዎ። ብልክዕ እንታይ ማለት’ዩ ምስ ፍትዋት ስድራ-ቤቶም ዘሕልፍዋ ሓጻር ግዜ’ያ  ወይ’ውን የብሎምን። ኣሴር ወዲ 10 ዓመት ዝኾነ ወዲ ኣቶ ኣስገለ፣ ኣቡኡ ኩሉ ግዜ ካብ ስራሕ ብቅጥታ ናብ ገዝኡ ዝመጽእ ይመስሎ ነይሩ። ሓደ ምሸትኣሴር ንኣቡኡ ኣብ ስርሑ ኣብ ሰዓት ክንደይ ከም ዝኽፈል ምስ ሓተቶ፣ኣስገለ ኣብ ወዱ ኣዚዩ ብሕርቃን ንዓኻ ዝምልከተካ ኣይኮነን ብማለት  ብነድሪ ኮረየሉ። ድሕሪ ቁሩብ ግዜ ኣስገለ ወዱ ንምንታይ ከምዚ ኢሉ ከም ዝሓተቶ ክሓስብ ጀመረ፡ንወዱ ጸዊዑ ከኣ ብርግጽ ክትፈልጥ እንተ ደሊኻ ኣብ ሰዓት ዝወስዶ $20 ኢዩ በሎ። ቀጺሉ ኣሴር ኣቡኡ ከለቆሖ ዝኽእል እንተኮይኑ $10 ሓተቶ። ኣብዚ ግዜ’ዚ ኣስገለ ኣብ ወዱ ኣዚዩ ሓረቐ፣ ኮረየሉ ከኣ፣ኣብ ክንዲ ናይ ቤት ትምህርትኻ  ምስራሕ፣ እቲ ገንዘብ እትደልዮ ዘሎኻ ንቪድዮ ጌም ዲዩ? ብማለት ናብ መደቀሲ ክፍሉ ክኸይድ ኣዘዞ። ቁሩብ ምስ ተራጋግኤ  ግን ኣስገለ እዚ ወደይ ምናልባት እዚ ገንዘብ ንኣድላዪ ነገራት ኣብ ቤት ትምህርቱ የድልዮ ይኸውን ብማለት ናብ ክፍሊ ናይ ወዱ ብምኻድ ንወዱ $10 ሃቦ። ብድሕር’ዚ ኣሴር ብቅጥታ ካብታ ናይ ሓሰማ መቐመጥ ገንዘቡ $10 ቆጺሩ ነታ ኣቡኡ ዝሃቦ $10 ወሲኹ $20 ብምእካብ ንኣቡኡ ሃቦ። ባባ እዚ ዝህበካ ዘሎኹ $20 ኣብ ስራሕካ ንሰዓት ትኽፈሎ ኮይኑ፣ሓደ ሰዓት ናይ ግዜኻ ምስ ስድራኻ ከተሕልፍ ኢለ ኢየ። ሽዑ ኣስገለ ዓቢ ጌጋ ይገብር ከም ዝነበረ ተረዲኡ ሕፍረት ተሰምዖ፣ ክዛረብ ኣይከኣለን ከም ሓደ ሕጻን ቆልዓ ከኣ በኸየ።ንወዱ ሓቝፉ ብክልተ ምዕጉርቱ ሰዓሞ። ስድራ-ቤት ናይ ግዜ ቀዳምነት ክወሃብ ከም ዘለዎ ኣሴር ወዱ ስለ ዘንቕሖ(ስለ ዘፍለጦ) ድማ ብወዱ ኩርዓት ተሰምዖ። ኣቦ ዓቢ ሚና ብምጽዋት ናይ ውላዱ ኣብነት ክኸውን ዝግበኦ፣እቲ ውላድ ኣብነት ናይ ኣቡኡ ናይ ምዃን ዓቢ ሚና ተጻወተ።

ድሕሪ’ቲ ምስ ወዱ ዘጋጠመ ኩነታት ኣስገለ ነቲ ዝጸንሖ ሕማቕ ጠባይ ጠጠው ኣቢሉ ዝተመሓየሸ ናይ ስድራ-ቤት ሰብ ኮነ። ናይ ግዜ ንቕሓትን ኣረኣእያን ኣማዕቢሉ ብዛዕባ ግዜ ኣብ ስድራ-ቤት ዘለዎ  ጠቕሚ ዝግደስ ሓላፍነታዊ ክኸውን በቕዐ። ደቅና ቅኑዕ መንገዲ ክኽተሉን ናይ ግዜ ጠቕሚ ክፈልጡን ንደሊ እንተድኣ ኮይና ካብ ሕጻንነቶም ጀሚርና ዝበዝሕ ግዜና ምሶኦም ከነጥፍእ ይግበኣና። ዋላ ጻዕቂ ስራሕ ይሃልወና ብዙሕ ግዜ ምስ ደቅና ከነሕልፍ ይግበኣና። ምኽንያቱ እታ ፍትንቲ ትካል ኣብ ህይወት ደቅና እወንታዊ ወይ ርግጸኛ ውጽኢት እተምጽእን ብዘየጣራጥር ኣብቶም ኣባላት ስድራ-ቤት ፍቕሪ እትፈጥርን ስድራ-ቤት ስለ ዝኾነት። ክንፈልጦ ዝግበኣና እቲ ኣዚዩ ኣገዳሲ ግዜ ፣እቲ ዝበዝሐ ግዜ ምስ ደቅና ሓቢርና እነሕልፎ  ኢዩ። ምኽንያቱ ኣብ ናይ ገዛእ  ርእስኻ ስድራ-ቤት ዝሓልፍ ግዜ እቲ ዝዓበየ ህያብ ናይ ህይወት ኢዩ። ናይ ስድራ-ቤት ግዜ ካብ ነገራዊ ሃብቲ ወይ ማሕበረ-ፖሊቲካዊ ተፈላጥነት ኣዚዩ ኣገዳሲ ከም ዝኾነ ንኹሉ ብሩህ ኢዩ። ዝኾነ ናይ ፋናንሲያዊ ሃብቲ ብዝሒ ወይ ሞያዊ ዓወት ነቲ ኣብ ስድራ-ቤት ዝሓልፍ ግዜ ክትክኦ ኣይክእልን’ዩ።  ናይ ስድራ-ቤት ግዜ ከም ሓደ ሰንሰለት ንሓቀኛ ስድራ-ቤትና ዘራኽብን ንስድራ-ቤታዊ ዝምድናን ፍቕርን ዘሐይልን ኢዩ። ናይ ስድራ-ቤት ግዜ  ኩሉ ግዜ ብስድራና ክዕቀብን ክኽበርን ዝግበኦ ቅዱስ ግዜ ኢዩ። ስድራና ምስ ኣክበርና ኢና ንክቡር ግዜና ክብሪ እንህብ። ግዜና ምስ ስድራና ብዘይ ምሕላፍና ኣብ ግዜ ሞትና ንጠዓስ ምኽንያቱ ግዜ’ዩ እቲ ሓደ ምንጪ ናይ ህይወትና  ብኣፍልጦ ብከመይ ከነሕልፎ ክንውስን ዝግበኣና።

ንጠቕሚ ናይ ግዜ ኣብ ቅኑዕ ኣረኣእያ ንምቕማጥን ንጹር ምስትውዓልን ትኽክለኛ ኣተሓሳስባ ናይ ግዜ ክህልወናን ነዘን ዝስዕባ መግለጺታት ከነንብበንን ክንርድኤንን ኣዚዩ ኣገዳሲ ኢዩ።   መግለጺታት፣ ጠቕሚ ናይ ሓደ ዓመት ንምርግጋጽ ንሓደ ኣብ ትምህርቱ ዝወደቐ ተመሃራይ፣መሊሱ ንሓደ ዓመት ክደግም ዘለዎ ሕተት። ጠቕሚ ናይ ሓደ ወርሒ ንምርግጋጽ ኣብ መወዳእታ ንሓደ ጽቡቕ ሕጻን ዝወለደት ኣደ ሕተት። ጠቕሚ ናይ ሓደ ሰሙን ንምርግጋጽ  ንምድላው ዝኣክል ንዋት ዘይኣከበ ንሓደ ዝተጨነቐ ኣዳላዊ ሰሙናዊ ጋዜጣ ሕተት። ጠቕሚ ናይ ሓደ ሰዓት ንምፍላጥ ንኽራኸቡ ብታህዋኽ ዝጽበዩ ክልተ ፍቁራት ሕተት። ጠቕሚ ናይ ሓንቲ ደቕቕ ንምፍላጥ  ሓደ ንስራሕ ቃለ-መሕትት ክገብር ዝተበገሰ’ሞ ባቡር ዘምለጠቶ ሕተት። ጠቕሚ ናይ ሓንቲ ክልኢት ንምፍላጥ ካብ ናይ ሞት ሓደጋ ንዋራ ዝደሓነ ሰብ ሕተት። ከምቲ ቻርለስ ዳርዊን ዝበሎ “ሓደ ሰብ ሓንቲ ሰዓት ካብ ግዜኡ ከባኽን ዝደፈረ፣ ጠቕሚ ናይ ህይወት ኣይፈለጣን” ምኽንያቱ ህይወት ንግዜ ብግቡእ ክንጥቀም ክትምህረና ከላ ግዜ ከኣ ጠቕሚ ናይ ህይወት ትምህረና። ብዛዕባ ጠቅሚ ናይ ግዜ ብዝምልከት ብቋንቋ ዓረብኛ እውን “ኣልዓብ ቢል ኩሉ፡ላኪን ማተልዓብ ቢልወቕት”ይበሃል’ዩ። ትርጉሙ ብኹሉ ነገር ክንጻወት ንኽእል ኢና ብግዜ ግን ጸወታ የለን ማለት’ዩ። ምኽንያቱ ኣብ ኩሉ ባህልታት ግዜ ዋጋ ዘለዎ ክቡር ህያብ  ናይ ኣምላኽ ኢዩ።  “ኣል ወቕት ደሃብ” “ግዜ ወርቂ ኢዩ”  “ታይም ኢዝ ጎልድ”  ንዘላትና ሓጻር ግዜ መዓልታዊ ብክብሪ ምግላጻ ወሳኒ’ዩ። ምኽንያቱ ትማሊ ታሪኽ’ዩ፣ጽባሕ ምስጢር’ዩ፣ ሎሚ ግን ውህብቶ ኢያ፣ ከምኡ ስለ ዝኾነት ከኣ ኢያ ህያብ ዝተባህለት።

ብሓፈሻ  ዋላ ሓደ ጥንቆላዊ ነገር የለን ካብቲ ካብ ኣምላኽ ዝሃበና ግዜ ኣብዚሕና እንተ ተጠቐምና ዘድልየና መደብ ምግባርን ምፍጻሙን ጥራሕ’ዩ። ብዛዕባ ምምሕዳር ኣጠቓቕማ  ግዜ ምስጢር የልቦን። እቲ ክልወጥ ዝድለ ኣብ ኣረኣእያናን ብናይ ግዜ ዘሎና ኣተሓሳስባን ንኣጠቓቕማ ግዜ ድማ ብከመይ ነማሓድርን’ዩ። ይኹን እምበር  ንምምሕዳር ኣጠቓቕማ  ግዜ ናይ ገዛእ ርእስኻ- ስነስርዓትን ነብሰ-ምቁጽጻርን  የድሊ ኢዩ፣ ክሳብ ኣረኣእያናን ናይ ኣቑዋምና ለውጢ ኣብ ነብስና ዝረኤን ዝደራጆን ብመንገድና ክንሓስብን ክንሰርሕን። ብድሕር’ዚ ምምሕዳር ንኣጠቓቕማ ግዜ ከም መዓልታዊ ናይ ስራሕ ልማድ ይኸውን። መደብን ፕሮግራም ምውጻእን ንምምሕዳር ኣጠቓቕማ ግዜ ዋጋ የብሉን፣ዝኾነ ሰብ እንተድኣ ብግቡእ ዘይተኻታቲሉዎም። ኣብ ምምሕዳር ኣጠቓቕማ ግዜ  ንህይወትና ዝለዓለ መዋቕር ከነማዕብል ክንክእል ኣሎና። ከምኡ’ውን ስሩዕ ፕሮግራም ንተግባራትና  ብምስራዕ፣ተሪፋ ንዘላ ነብሲ-ወከፍ መዓልቲ ኣብ ህይወትና ኣብቶም ንጥፈታት ክትውዕል ምውሳን። እዚ ከኣ ነቶም ግላዊ፣ሞያዊን፣ መንፈሳዊን ጻማታት ናብ ድሌትና ይልውጦም። እዚ መስርሕ’ዚ ኣብ ልዕሊ ምድንጓይ ከንዕወት ይሕግዘናን ካብ ጸቕጢ ይቆጻጸረልናን፡ክንውደብን ቀዳምነት ብመሃብ ዕላማና ንምስራዕን ሾቶና ንምውቃዕን ይሕግዘና። ነቲ ክቡርን ዋጋ ዘለዎን ግዜና ብግቡእን ብልቦናን ኣብ ግብሪ ከነውዕል  ይሕግዘና።
 

ኣብ ኤርትራ ዝገዝእ ዘሎ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ጸረ-ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ብዛዕባ ምዃኑ ኣብ ናይ ሓባር ምርድዳእ ካብ ንበጽሕ ነዊሕ ግዜ ኮይኑ እዩ። ናብዚ መደምደምታ ክንበጽሕ ዘኽኣለና ናይቲ ጉጅለ ርኡይ ቀጻሊ ዓመጸኛ ተግባራት እዩ። እዚ ጸረ-ህዝብነቱ ዝግለጸሉ መርኣያታት ብዙሕ ኮይኑ፡ ቀንዲ መለክዒኡ ኣብ ንዝህብን ሃገርን ዝምልከቱ ዓበይቲ ጉዳያት ዘርእዮ ኢደ-ወነናውነት ብኣብነት ዝጥቀስ እዩ። እዚ ጉጅለ ብኢደወነኑ ክኸይድ ንከኽእሎ ዝሓዞ መንገዲ ድማ ብዘይ ቅዋም ምግዛእ እዩ።

እዚ ጉጅለ ንግዱድ ዕስክርና፡ ስርዓተ ምሕደራ መሬት፡ ወፍሪ ኢንቨስትመንት)፡ ኣተሓሕዛ መሰረታዊ መሰላትን ምእዋጅ ውግኣት ኣንጻር ናይ ርሑቕን ቀረባን ገረባብትን ወሲኽካ ዝወስዶም ኩሎም ስጉምትታት ብዘይ ኣፍልጦን ምቁጽጻርን ህዝቢ ኤርትራ እዩ። ዘካይዶም ኣህጉራዊ ዝምድናታትን ስምምዓትን እውን ከምኡ። እዚ ዘርእየና ድማ እቲ ጉጅለ ክትልምን ውዕላት ክኽትምን እንከሎ ዘገድሶ ወይ ዝምርኮሰሉ ናቱ ጸቢብ ረብሓን ኣብ ስልጣን ምቕጻልን ጥራይ ምዃኑ እዩ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ግና ብዛዕባቲ ብስሙ ዝሕሰብን ዝግበርን ከም ዝኾነ ጓና ወረ ጥራይ እዩ ዝሰምዕ።

ኣብዚ ቀረባ ግዜ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ኣብቲ ኣብ የመን ዝተወለዐ ውግእ ኢዱ የእቱ ከም ዘሎ ብዙሓት ናይ ዜና ማዕከናት ክሕብሩ ጸኒሖም እዮም። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ብዛዕባዚ ንሱ ዋጋ ዝኸፍለሉ ኢድ ኣእታውነት ካብቲ ብቐጥታ ሓበሬታ ክረኽበሉ ዝግበኦ ጉጅለ ወግዓዊ ሓበሬታ ኣይረኸበን። ከምቲ “ላምሲ ብኢዳ ዝቐርባ ብእግራ ትሓክኽ” ዝበሃል ካብ ናይ ርሑቕ ምንጭታት እዩ ከጨናጭን ጸኒሑ። እነሆ ሎሚ ግና ናጻ ማዕከናት ዜናን ጸሓፍትን ብዛዕባቲ ኢድ ኣእታውነትን ኣብ መሬት ኤርትራ ንመሻርኽቱ ዝሃቦ ወተሃደራዊ መደበርን ብዙሓት ይዛረቡን ይጽሕፉን ኣለዉ። ኣብዚ ቀረባ ግዜ ማርቲን ፕላውት ብዝተባህለ ጸሓፋይ ዝተዘርገሐ ሓተታ ብኣብነት ዝጥቀስ እዩ። ንሱ ከም ዝብሎ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ኣብ መሬት ኤርትራ ነተን ኣብ ውግእ የመን ተሰሊፈን ዘለዋ በዓል ሕብረት ዓረብ ኢምሬትስ ወተሃደራዊ መደበር ዝኸውን መሬት ኣካርዩ ብዙሕ ገንዘብ ረኺቡ ኣሎ። እቲ ዝረኽቦ ረብሓ ብገንዘብ ጥራይ ዝገለጽ ዘይኮነስ ኣብ ስልጣን ንክቕጽል ነቲ ስምምዕ ከም መፈራርሒ በትሪ ናይ ምጥቃም መልእኽቲ እውን ኣለዎ።

እዚ ተግባር ንረብሓኡ እምበር ንረብሓ እቲ ብዘይሕገመንግስቲ ዝገዝኦ ዘሎ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ከምዘይከውን ርዱእ እዩ። እዚ ጉጅለ ብመሰረቱ ህዝቢ ጠሊሙ ንህልውናኡ ጥራይ ዝተሰለፈ ሕሉፍ ዲክታቶር ምዃኑ ንጹር ክነሱ ኣብዚኣ በጺሑ ናይ ህዝቢ ሓላዪ ክኸውን ኢሉ ዝጽበ ወገን ክህሉ ዘይግመት ኣይኮነን። እቶም ካብኡ መሬት ዝካረዩ ዘለዉ ወገናት ዘገድሶም ከኣ ናታቶም ከባቢያዊ እስትራተጂያዊ ህልውና እምበር መሰልን ረብሓን ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ክኸውን እትጽበዮ ኣይኮነን። ወዮ “ኣነ ናትካ ንስኻ ከኣ ናተይ” እንዳበለ ዝሽሕጦ ጉጅለ’ኳ እንዳከሓዶ ንሳቶም ክሓልይሉ ፈጺምካ እትጽበዮ ኣይኮነን።

ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ኣካይድኡ ኣብ “ዝቐደመ ኣይኽፋእ” ዝተመስረተ ለኻኺምካ ምጥፋእ ካብ ዝኸውን ነዊሕ ግዜ ኮይኑ እዩ። እዚ ሕጂ ንዛረበሉ ዘለና ወስታ’ውን ምስዚ ዝተቓነየ እዩ። እዚ ጉጅለ ካብዚ ዝኣትዎ ዘሎ ህዝቢ ዘይፈልጦን ዘይቆጻጸሮን ውዕላት ብውሕዱ ክልተ ረብሓታት ክረክብ እዩ። እቲ ሓደ ጉጅለኡ ዘዕንግለሉ ገንዘባዊ ረብሓ ምርካብ እዩ። እቲ ካለኣይ ድማ ኣብ ስልጣን ንክቕጽል ካብ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ተስፋ ስለ ዝቖረጸ ንናቱ ከባቢያዊ ረብሓ ክብል “ኣጆኻ ኣነ ኣለኹልካ” ዝብሎ ናይ ደገ ዘራይ ሓይሊ ምርካብ። እቲ መሬቱ፡ ደቁን ካልእ ሃገራዊ ጸጋኡን ዝምንዛዕ ዘሎ ኤርትራዊ ግና ብኽንድኡ ድረጃ እዩ ዝውጻዕን መሰሉ ዝገሃዝን።

ሓደሓደ ገርሀኛታት እዚ ጉጅለ ዝወስዶ ዘሎ ስጉምትታት ኣብ ፍሉይ ረብሓኡ ዝድረት ዘይኮነስ ህዝቢ ዝርበሓሉ’ውን ክኸውን ይኽእል እዩ ብዝብል ክትስፈዉ ትሰምዕ ኢኻ። እንተኾነ እዚ ከምቲ ኣቐዲሙ ዝተገልጸን ብተግባር ዝተራእየን እዚ በይናዊ ተዋሳኢ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ብዘይ ኣፍልጦን ተሳትፎን ህዝቢ ዝኸዶ ዘሎ ስለ ዝኾነ፡ እቲ ውጽኢቱ’ውን ንዓኡ ጥራይ እዩ። ምናልባት ግና ኣብቲ ህልውናኡ ንምርግጋጽ ዝገብሮ ቃልሲ ሕድሪ ህዝቢ ክሒዶም ዕድሚኡ ከናውሑ ዝተሰለፉ ውሑዳት ወገናት በዚ ረብሓ ኣይክዕንገሉን እዮም ማለት ኣይኮነን። ኩልና ከም እንፈልጦ ኣብ ኤርትራ “ወርቂ ቢሻ ተዃዒቱ ብቢልዮናት ዶላራት ይሽየጥ ኣሎ” ካብ እንሰምዕ ነዊሕ ዓመታት ኮይኑ። ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ቁጠባዊ ኮነ ማሕበራዊ ኩነታት ህዝብና ናብ ድኽነትን ስእነትን ገጹ እምበር፡ ከም ናይቲ ዝሕፈስ ዘሎ ሃብቲ ወርቂ ነጸብራቕ ናይ ራህዋ ምልክት ኣይረኣናን። ውጽኢት ናይዚ ንዛረበሉ ዘለና እውን ካብዚ ወጻኢ ኣይክኸውንን እዩ። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ እዚ ጉዳይዚ ኣብ ነገራዊ ረብሓ ምርካብን ዘይምርካብን ተደሪቱ ዝተርፍ ዘይኮነስ ከምቲ “ኣእትወኒ እምበር ውጸለይሲ የዳዲ” ዝበሃል ንልኡላውነት ኤርትራ’ውን ኣብ ሓደጋ ዘውድቕ እዩ።

The Interior Ministry has rejected the asylum requests of thousands of Eritreans based solely on their status as army deserters in their home country, a precedent that can no longer continue after new ruling.

Ilan Lior  Sep 05, 2016 9:22 AM

 Eritrean asylum seekers protest against their government at the EU's office in Ramat Gan on June 21, 2016. Credit Moti Milrod

• Why are the Jews not preparing a plan to help the refugees?
• At least 7,000 Eritreans in Israel survived torture, rape in Sinai
• Israel outright rejects asylum requests by Eritreans and Sudanese
• For Eritrean asylum seekers in Israel, cycling success is overshadowed by threat of jail

A custody appeals tribunal Sunday overruled the Interior Ministry’s legal opinion that Eritreans who deserted from their country’s army are never entitled to refugee status. The ministry has used this opinion to reject asylum applications for thousands of Eritreans.

The ruling could affect tens of thousands of Eritreans in Israel. Those whose asylum requests have been rejected are now likely to ask that they be considered. For those whose applications are still pending, the state will no longer be able to systematically reject them because they were based on desertion or draft-dodging.

In addition, over the past year, the state has used a procedural issue – the fact that the applications were submitted more than a year after the asylum seeker entered Israel – to reject many asylum applications without even discussing them. Now, Eritrean asylum seekers will be able to argue that they didn’t bother submitting applications before because they knew they would be rejected, but in light of Sunday’s ruling, the circumstances have changed.

According to information provided by the ministry’s Population, Immigration and Border Authority in response to a freedom of information request by Haaretz, from 2009 until the start of July 2016, Eritrean nationals submitted 7,218 asylum requests in Israel. Of these, only eight were approved, while 3,105 are still awaiting a response. All the others were either rejected or withdrawn.

Commenting on this data, Elad Azar, the custody judge hearing the case in Jerusalem, wrote, “Even in the completely theoretical case in which it was found that refugee status had to be granted to all those asylum seekers, I believe this isn’t a quantity Israel is incapable of digesting or that would lead to unreasonable results, given that in any case, all of them are expected to remain in Israel for a long time even if their applications are rejected.”

Azar said the state can’t refuse to apply the 1951 Refugee Convention to an entire group of asylum seekers making similar claims just because that group is large. If a person deserted for political reasons and would face an exceptionally harsh sentence if he returned, this could justify refugee status, it said.

“In general, desertion in and of itself doesn’t constitute grounds for granting political asylum,” wrote Azar. “But desertion that is seen as expressing a political view, and for which the punishment exceeds reasonable bounds, could amount to persecution in the sense in which Israel interprets the Refugee Convention.”

This would not apply to someone who deserted due to economic reasons, conscientious objection “or ordinary ‘cowardice,’” Azar stressed. But if a deserter’s government views the desertion as a political act, it could justify granting asylum.

One of the ministry’s arguments in the case was that if its legal opinion were rejected, Israel could be forced to grant asylum to thousands of Eritreans, with serious consequences. But Azar rejected that argument.

“Limiting the protection given under the Refugee Convention by not applying it to people entitled to refugee status, just because there are many of them, doesn’t comply with the Refugee Convention or the rules of Israeli administrative law,” he wrote. “We are talking about the personal, individual rationales of many people, not about a general group rationale.”

The appeal was filed two years ago on behalf of an Eritrean asylum seeker by Tel Aviv University’s Refugee Rights Clinic and the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants. The asylum request was based on his having deserted from the Eritrean army and then leaving the country, in violation of the law.

On the basis of the ministry’s legal opinion, the interior minister’s advisory committee on refugee affairs had rejected his application without even considering it. The appeals tribunal did not order the committee to accept the application, but did say it had to reconsider the issue without reference to this opinion.

“We can’t accept the clear trend in the cases that have been brought to this tribunal to date, in which asylum requests by Eritrean nationals that are based on claims of having evaded or deserted from military/national service are rejected at hasty meetings, without any reason, and without even being discussed by the full advisory committee on refugee affairs and brought to the interior minister for a decision,” Azar wrote.
Attorney Anat Ben-Dor of the Refugee Rights Clinic, who submitted the appeal, welcomed the tribunal’s decision. The ruling “requires the Interior Ministry to discuss individual applications for asylum in accordance with the rules of the Refugee Convention, without relying on an opinion that was meant to be a tool for systematically rejecting thousands of asylum requests,” she said.

Now, she added, the ministry should reconsider all the applications that were rejected on the basis of this opinion.

Reut Michaeli, executive director of the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, said, “It’s regrettable that judicial intervention was needed so that the Interior Ministry would apply the rules of the Refugee Convention, to which Israel is committed, instead of trying to find tortuous ways of circumventing them. In every Western country, large proportions of Eritrean asylum seekers are accepted as refugees, and just recently, another UN report revealed the torture, slave conditions and systematic human rights violations that happen in the Eritrean army, and in the country in general.

“I hope that now, the asylum system will finally begin to operate in compliance with international standards,” she added.

Ilan Lior
Haaretz Correspondent
read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-1.740249

Ilan Lior  Sep 05, 2016 9:22 AM
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Eritrean asylum seekers protest against their government at the EU's office in Ramat Gan on June 21, 2016. Moti Milrod
Why are the Jews not preparing a plan to help the refugees?
At least 7,000 Eritreans in Israel survived torture, rape in Sinai
Israel outright rejects asylum requests by Eritreans and Sudanese
For Eritrean asylum seekers in Israel, cycling success is overshadowed by threat of jail
A custody appeals tribunal Sunday overruled the Interior Ministry’s legal opinion that Eritreans who deserted from their country’s army are never entitled to refugee status. The ministry has used this opinion to reject asylum applications from thousands of Eritreans.
The ruling could affect tens of thousands of Eritreans in Israel. Those whose asylum requests have been rejected are now likely to ask that they be considered. For those whose applications are still pending, the state will no longer be able to systematically reject them because they were based on desertion or draft-dodging.
In addition, over the past year, the state has used a procedural issue – the fact that the applications were submitted more than a year after the asylum seeker entered Israel – to reject many asylum applications without even discussing them. Now, Eritrean asylum seekers will be able to argue that they didn’t bother submitting applications before because they knew they would be rejected, but in light of Sunday’s ruling, the circumstances have changed.
According to information provided by the ministry’s Population, Immigration and Border Authority in response to a freedom of information request by Haaretz, from 2009 until the start of July 2016, Eritrean nationals submitted 7,218 asylum requests in Israel. Of these, only eight were approved, while 3,105 are still awaiting a response. All the others were either rejected or withdrawn.
Commenting on this data, Elad Azar, the custody judge hearing the case in Jerusalem, wrote, “Even in the completely theoretical case in which it was found that refugee status had to be granted to all those asylum seekers, I believe this isn’t a quantity Israel is incapable of digesting or that would lead to unreasonable results, given that in any case, all of them are expected to remain in Israel for a long time even if their applications are rejected.”
Azar said the state can’t refuse to apply the 1951 Refugee Convention to an entire group of asylum seekers making similar claims just because that group is large. If a person deserted for political reasons and would face an exceptionally harsh sentence if he returned, this could justify refugee status, it said.

“In general, desertion in and of itself doesn’t constitute grounds for granting political asylum,” wrote Azar. “But desertion that is seen as expressing a political view, and for which the punishment exceeds reasonable bounds, could amount to persecution in the sense in which Israel interprets the Refugee Convention.”
This would not apply to someone who deserted due to economic reasons, conscientious objection “or ordinary ‘cowardice,’” Azar stressed. But if a deserter’s government views the desertion as a political act, it could justify granting asylum.
One of the ministry’s arguments in the case was that if its legal opinion were rejected, Israel could be forced to grant asylum to thousands of Eritreans, with serious consequences. But Azar rejected that argument.
“Limiting the protection given under the Refugee Convention by not applying it to people entitled to refugee status, just because there are many of them, doesn’t comply with the Refugee Convention or the rules of Israeli administrative law,” he wrote. “We are talking about the personal, individual rationales of many people, not about a general group rationale.”
The appeal was filed two years ago on behalf of an Eritrean asylum seeker by Tel Aviv University’s Refugee Rights Clinic and the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants. The asylum request was based on his having deserted from the Eritrean army and then leaving the country, in violation of the law.
On the basis of the ministry’s legal opinion, the interior minister’s advisory committee on refugee affairs had rejected his application without even considering it. The appeals tribunal did not order the committee to accept the application, but did say it had to reconsider the issue without reference to this opinion.
“We can’t accept the clear trend in the cases that have been brought to this tribunal to date, in which asylum requests by Eritrean nationals that are based on claims of having evaded or deserted from military/national service are rejected at hasty meetings, without any reason, and without even being discussed by the full advisory committee on refugee affairs and brought to the interior minister for a decision,” Azar wrote.
Attorney Anat Ben-Dor of the Refugee Rights Clinic, who submitted the appeal, welcomed the tribunal’s decision. The ruling “requires the Interior Ministry to discuss individual applications for asylum in accordance with the rules of the Refugee Convention, without relying on an opinion that was meant to be a tool for systematically rejecting thousands of asylum requests,” she said.
Now, she added, the ministry should reconsider all the applications that were rejected on the basis of this opinion.
Reut Michaeli, executive director of the Hotline for Refugees and Migrants, said, “It’s regrettable that judicial intervention was needed so that the Interior Ministry would apply the rules of the Refugee Convention, to which Israel is committed, instead of trying to find tortuous ways of circumventing them. In every Western country, large proportions of Eritrean asylum seekers are accepted as refugees, and just recently, another UN report revealed the torture, slave conditions and systematic human rights violations that happen in the Eritrean army, and in the country in general.
“I hope that now, the asylum system will finally begin to operate in compliance with international standards,” she added.
 
Ilan Lior
Haaretz Correspondent
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