Monday, 25 November 2019 11:41

እቲ መሰጋገሪ

Written by ተስፋይ ካሕሳይ

እቲ ኤርትራዊ ኣብ ግዜ ገድሊ ንሜዳ ወጺኡ እታ ኤርትራ እትብል ጥልያን ዝመስረታ ንሕና ድማ ሃገራውነትናን መንነትናን ዝፈጠርናላ፡ በቲ ሕማቕ ዕድል ዘጋጥመ ተመሊስና ካባና ብምዕብልና ካባና ዘይሓይሽ ህዝቢ ኢትዮጵያ ዳግማይ መግዛእቲ ብምቕጻል፡ ኤርትራ ነጻ ካብ ባዕዳዊ መግዛእቲ ክትከውን፡ኣብ'ታ ነጻ ኤርትራ እውን ህዝባ ሓራ ክኸውን፡ ናቱ ህዝባዊ መንግስቲ ክምስርት፡ ብቕዋም እትመሓደር ክትከውን ኢሉ እዪ እዚ ኩሉ ዝተቓለሰን ዝተሰዋኣላን ዝሰንከለላን።

ብመጀመርያ ዝስራዕ እቲ ነቲ ስርዓት ደርግ እኳ እንተነበረ ፡እቲ ብድሕሪኡ ዝስዕብ ዕማም ብሓደ ክንርእዮ ስለዘይከኣልና ወይ ድማ ነቶም ሰውራ መሪሖም ዝመጹ ኩሉ ሓልፍነትና ዘንጊዕና ጽቡቕ ክገብሩ እዮም ኢልና ተዓዘብቲ ክንከውን ስለመረጽና ኣብ'ዚ በጺሕናዮ ዘለና ኣቲና ንርከብ። እዚ ከይድገም እንታይ ተገበርና ይሓይሽ ምባል ጽቡቕ እንድዩ፡ ካብ ዝተፈላለየ ሓሳባት ድማ ክንመሃር ስለ እንኽእል ዝጽላእ ኣይኮነን።

እቲ ናይ ርሑቕ ዕላማና ሓንቲ ቕዋማዊ ምሕደር ዘለዋ ሃገር ምፍጣር፡ ፍትሕን ዲሞክራስን ዝነግሰላ፡ ህዝቢ ኩሉ እቲ ሰብኣውን ዲሞክራስያውን መሰላት ሃልዩዎ ኣብ ምዕባለ ሃገሩ ተሳታፊ ንኽኸውን፡ብዝያዳ ድማ ህዝቢ ስልጣኑ ተሰኪሙ ንዝደለዮ ከደይቦ ከውርዶ መንግስቲ ክመርጽ እየን።

ኣብ ጉዕዞ ደንበ ተቐዋሙ ብዝሑት ናይ ኣረዳድኣ ፍልልያት እናጸበቡን፡ እናተቐራረቡ ክኸዱ ንዕዘብ ስለዘለና፡ ዝነኣድ እዩ። እቲ ነቐፈታ ግን ነዊሕ ግዜ ይወስደልና ብምዃኑ ጥራሕ'ዩ።ሓደ ክልተ ከም ነጥብታት ምልስ ኢልና እንተሪኢና እተን ጎነጻዊ ቓልሲ ዝብላ እቲ ውድባተን ወይ ጽላላት ከም መተካእታ ህግደፍ ማቕማጥን እየን፡ እዚ ናይ ሎሚ ናይ ይኣክል ተበግሶ ነቲ ህዝባዊ ናዕቢ፡ እንቢ ንምልኪ ኣቢልካ ሰዓብቲ ህግደፍ ኣብ ጎድንኻ ኣሰሊፍካ እዩ ስርዓት ዝወድቕ ብዘይጎነጻዊ ዝብል ኣምር ዝነበረ ውሑዳት ውድባት/ ሰልፍታት ሎሚ ኩሉ ርዒምዎ ክትርኢ ብዙሕ ከም ዝሶጎምና እዩ ዘመልክት። እቲ ብፍላይ ድሕሪ ምምስራት ምሕዝነት፡ኪዳን ውዘተ ዝርኤ ዝነበረ ኣረኣእያታት ንነብሱ ከም መተካእታ ህግደፍ ምጥማቱ ሓደ ካብ'ቲ ድኽመታት ዝነበረ እዩ።

ኣብ'ዚ መድረኽዚ እንበኣር ዝጽበየና ዘሎ ስራሕ ነቲ ዕላማና ንኸይንበጽሕ ዝዕንቕፈና ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ምእላይ እታ ቀዳመይቲ ልክዕ ከምታ ሰውራ ኤርትራ ንደርጊ ከም ዕንቕፋት ዝኣለዮ ትኹን። ኣብ ረብሓ ናይ ቕዋማዊ ምሕደራ ዘለዋ ሃገር ምፍጣር ናይ ኩሉ ለውጢ ዝደሊ ህዝብና ኣብ ውሽጥን ግዳምን ዘሎ፥ እቶም ነቲ ስርዓት እንቓወሞ ዘለና ዝተወደብናን ዘይተወደብና፥ በርጌሳዊ ማሕበራትን ኣብ ግዳም ምስቶም ኣብ ውሽጢ ሃገር ዘለዉ ብሓልፍነቶምን ብቐረባ ኣብ ምቕያርን ምልዋጥን ዓቢ ግደ ክጻወቱ ዝኽእሉ፡ ናይ እዞም ክልተ ሓይልታት ድሌት ንሰላምን ርግእትን ዝፈጠር መሰጋገሪ መድረኽ ክንፈጥር ናይ ግድን ክኸውን እዩ።

መሰጋገሪ መድረኽ ብዝብል ይጸሓፍን ይግለጽን ብምህላዉ ኣብ'ዚ እዋን ምስኡ ኣሰንዮም እቲ ክህልወና ዝግብኦ ስርዓተ ምሕደራ ዝብል እውን ብዙሕ ኣበርክቶ ብምህላዉ ተስፋ ዝህብ ስለዝኾነ ምስጋናይ ነቶም ነዚ ዘበርክቱ ዘለዉ ባእታትን ውድባትን ይኹን።ኣብ'ዚ ክፍለጥ ዘለዎ ነገራት ንሕና ኣብ ቓልሲ ተሰሪዕና ነዚ ስርዓት ክንቓወም እንከለና ምስቲ ምሳና ዘለዎም ኣረዳድኣ ዝቐራረብ ውልቀ-ሰባት ኣብ'ቲ ሎሚ ነዚ ስርዓት ምምዛንን ኣብ ድሕሪ ውድቀቱ ዘለና ናይ ሓባር ኣረኣእያ ደኣንበር ወዲ ገዛውተይ፥ ኣብ ገድሊ ነይሩ ምሳይ፥ ወይ ኣንጻር እገለ ውድብ/ ሰልፊ ስለዝኾነ ምሳይ/ ምሳና ኢልካ ክኸውን ኢልካ ናይ ህልኽ ፖለቲካ ኣይኮነን፥ ስለዚ ንሕና ብጽባሕ ደኣንበር ንድሕሪት እንዳጠመትና፡ ክንፈላለን ካብ ቃልሲ ክንበኩርን ኣይግበኣናን።

ናብ'ቲ መሰጋገሪ ክምለስ፡ እታ ምስ ውድቐት ስርዓት ኢሰያስን ምትካል ህዝቢ ዝሳተፎ ናብ ዲሞክራሲን ፍትሕን ዝብገሰሉ ዘሎ እዋን ወይ ግዜ እዩ።እዚ መድረኽ ግን ብእንረደዳኣሉ ነጥብታት ልሙጽ ወይ ሓደገኛ ክኸውን ይኽእል። እቲ መበገሲ ክኾነና ዘለዎ እዚ ዘለናዮ ሚዛን ክህበና ይኽእል ኢለ ይግምት። እስከ ነቶም ምናልባታት ንፈትሾም፡

1 ወዲ- ሰብ እንድሕሪ ተወሊዱ ኣብ ሓደ ግዜ ህላዌኡ የብቕዕ ኣላህ ድዩ ዝጽዋዖ ወይ እግዛብሄር

2 ሓደ ይኣክል ኢሉ ኣብ ሂወት ስጉምቲ ይወስድ

3 ገለ ኣባላት ህግደፍ ዕልዋ ይፍጽሙ

4 ዝለዓለ ተሳትፎ ዘለዎ ወተሃደራዊ ሓለፍቲ መንግስቲ ይግልብጡ

5 ናይ ግዳም ሓይልታት ኢድ ዘለዎ ምቕያር ይፍጠር

ዝብላ ክኾና እንከለዋ ነናተን ኩነታትን ሳዕቤናትን ኣለወን። ኣብ'ዚ እቲ ደንበ ተቓውሞ ዋላ ሓንቲ ኣስተዋጽኦ የብሉን ከም ማንም ሃገራዊ ተጸባያይ ናይ'ቲ ምዕብልናታት ተዓዛባይ ኮይኑ ወይ ክነቕፍ ወይ ክድግፍ ኢዩ ዝኸውን።

ነብስና ከይነዕሹ ኣብ ግዳምን ውሽጥን ዋላ ሓንቲ ምትእስሳር የለን። ኣብ ሰናይ ድሌት ናይቶም ኣብ ቁጽሪ 3 ን 4ን ዘለዉ ኢና ንወድቕ። ነዚ ምናልባታት ክንሰግር እንተኾይና ግን ከሎ ጌና ሎሚ ጽባሕ ዘይኮነ፡ ደንበ ተቓውሞ ብፍላይ ፖለቲካዊ ውድባትን ሰልፍታን ኣብ ሓደ ስምምዓት ክብጽሓ ይግባእ፡ፖለቲካዊ ውድባት እየን ነቲ ፖለቲካ ሃገር ዝፈትሓ ንሕና ከም ተራ ኣባላት ህዝቢ ነቲ ስምምዓት ርኢና ደገፍናን ነቐፌታን ክንህብ ህዝባዊ ሕላፍነትና ኢዩ እንበር ኣብ መሰጋገሪ ውድባት ክህልዋ የብሉን ዝብል ሓሳባት ዓዲ ዘእቱ ኣይኮነን። ሃናጺ እውን ኣይኮነን። እተን ውድባትን ሰልፍታትን እኮ ኤርትራውያን እቶም ኣባላተን እውን ሰባት ኮይኖም ከይተወደብካ ኣይትዕወትን ኢኻ ኢሎም ኣሚኖም ነቲ ውድብ/ ሰልፊ ከም መሳርሒ ነቲ ንምውዳቕ እቲ ስርዓት እንበር ንዘይተታሕዘ ስልጣን ኢልካ ዘየድሊ ሓሳባት ምስራጽ ጽቡቕ ስራሕ ኣይኮነን።

እቲ መሰጋገሪ መድረኽ እንበኣር ከም'ቲ እንትምነዮ ክኸውን ስለዘይክእል ካብ ሎሚ ተዳሊና ነተን ምናልባታት ብልክዕ ኣንቢብናን ተዳሊናን ምጽናሕ ከድልየና እዩ፡ እዚ ክንገብር እንተዘይበቒዕና ግና ነቲ ለውጢ ናይ ግድን ድማ ክመጽእ ተጸበይትን ኣብ ሰናይ ድሌት ናይቶም ዝልውጡ ሓይልታት ክንከውን ምዃና ካብ ሕጂ ክርድኣና ይግብእ። እት ደንበ ተቓውሞ ሓላፍነቱ ክስከም ይግብኦ ብፍላይ እተን ሰልፍታትን ውድባትን። እቲ ለውጢ ዝደሊ ህዝቢ እውን ኣወንታዊ ግደ ይጻወት ምኽንያቱ ናይቲ ስርዓት ምውዳቕ ቀሊል እዩ ። እቲ ዝኸበደ እቲ ዝጽበየና ኣብ ክንድኡ ንእንተኽሎ ን ንምስርቶን ስርዓተ ምሕደራ እዩ።

Sunday, 24 November 2019 20:47

Successful Eritrea exhibition in Bristol sparks lively debate

Written by Martin Plaut

November 24, 2019 Martin Plaut Uncategorized

Exhibition on Eritrea opened by Thangam Debonnaire MP

The evening was cold and rainy, but inside the University of Bristol Geography department there was an excellent turnout for a series of most informative presentations from Eritrean experts.

Thangam Debbonair, who is standing to be a member of parliament on 12 December, kindly left her campaign to take the time to open the event.

Exhibition on Eritrea opened by Thangam Debonnaire MP. Thangam, Helen Kidane and Yodit Estifanos Afewerki

She explained how vital it was for the British Parliament to continue to scrutinise how the Eritrean government behaved, its links with the international community and attempt to halt its human rights abuses.

Habte Hagos, who chair’s Eritrea Focus, explained to the Bristol audience the organisation’s increasingly successful campaign to counter the Eritrean regime’s activities.

Exhibition on Eritrea opened by Thangam Debonnaire MP. Habte addressing with Dr Sarah Ogbay and Yodit Estifanos Afewerki (far left)

There then followed expert presentations from Helen Kidane (who had organised the event) Dr Sarah Ogbay (who described the terrible journeys Eritreans made to escape from the country of their birth) and Yodit Afewerki (who drew on her work with Eritreans in Italy to explain the complexities of acclimatising to a new country).

There was a lively question and answer session, with well informed interventions and questions from the audience.

Exhibition on Eritrea opened by Thangam Debonnaire MP. Mohammed (from Keberi Trust) speaks from the audience

Thangam Debbonaire

Former MP for Bristol West, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Refugees and Co-Chair on the All Party Parliamentary Group on Eritrea.

Petros Tesfagherghis explained his role during the liberation struggle.

Exhibition on Eritrea opened by Thangam Debonnaire MP. Thangam with Petros

Helen Kidan

Co-founder of the ‘Horn Human Rights’ and ‘Eritrean Youth’ in the UK; Executive member of the ‘Eritrean Movement for Democracy and Human Rights’; member of the ‘Network of Eritrean Women’ and ‘Eritrea Focus’.

Exhibition on Eritrea opened by Thangam Debonnaire MP. Helen Kidane (left) and Yodit Estifanos Afewerki

Yodit Estifanos Afewerki

Works with migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees. Currently employed by the French NGO, Médicines du Monde within a European project previously in Calabria and now in Rome, where she manages a project on access to healthcare for migrants in informal settlements.

Exhibition on Eritrea opened by Thangam Debonnaire MP. left to right: Yodit Afwerki, Dr Sarah Ogbay

Dr Sarah Ogbay

Member of the EFND, LIA-BAAL (languages in Africa, British Association of Applied Linguistics) and the Network of Eritrean Women, Eritrean Snit Study Group.

Exhibition on Eritrea opened by Thangam Debonnaire MP. left to right: Yodit Afwerki, Dr Sarah Ogbay and Habte Hagos

Exhibition on Eritrea opened by Thangam Debonnaire MP

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EXHIBITION

Exhibition on Eritrea opened by Thangam Debonnaire MP

‘Eritrea in the News’ is a photographic exhibition revealing a series of fascinating images captured at pivotal points in the country’s history, from Italian colonial rule through to the struggle for independence and the repression of dictatorship that followed. The photographs feature a mix of archive material and personal collections. The exhibition shows the trajectory of the country in a visual snapshot of the places and people that have shaped Eritrea, stretching as far back as 1882 up to the present day.Today, after decades of repression, there is a glimmer of hope. Ethiopia has reached out to Eritrea. Their leaders have met and there is the prospect of reconciliation. Yet Eritreans still long for true freedom.

About Eritrea Focus Eritrea Focus is an association of Non-Governmental Organisations(NGOs), human rights organisations, exile and refugee groups and individuals concerned with the gross abuses of human rights in Eritrea. It is an open and inclusive organisation that welcomes members from all sections of the Eritrean communities both at home and in diaspora as well non-Eritreans that are concerned with the dictatorship and the complete absence of rule of law in the country. It is funded through voluntary donation from members.

Sunday, 24 November 2019 20:44

No Protection for Refugee Children in Libya

Written by Martin Plaut

November 24, 2019 Eritrea Hub Eritrea, News

By Sophie Stocker

“He is stuck in Libya. If he wants to survive, he must get out. While talking to him it was very clear he was scared. He said so himself. He begged me to do anything that could help him.”

Imagine living in fear. Imagine living in a world where all you know is dictatorship. Imagine having to leave everything behind for a slight chance to survive. Because you know that if you stay, you will be tied to chains in a prison. The prison that you have lived in your whole life. The prison that you know will only shackle you tighter.

So, you risk everything. You leave everything behind so that you might find a better life. A life with freedom. A life without a tightrope around your neck.

Daniel is a 15-year old boy who is currently in Libya. He had to leave his home country, Eritrea, when he was 13 years old. He had gone to school since he was 5, and one morning, while going to school with his friend, Tesfay, he decided to leave without telling his family. He did not want to describe the exact events of that morning, but said that he and Tesfay saw an opportunity to go.

I asked him why he needed to leave his country, what he thought, and he told me that he had to leave because there was “no freedom”. “No freedom” because of the indefinite national service that children have to go to once they enter into the final year of school, “no freedom” because of the restrictions of travelling, “no freedom” because of a future of forced labour under permanent national service.

Eritrea is currently one of the most dangerous countries to live in because of its ruthless dictatorship. The president, Isaias Afwerki, imprisons everybody who doesn’t agree with him. There are strict rules and if the people don’t follow those rules, they go to jail. People have to flee, Daniel said, because there is no freedom in the most literal sense.

Daniel could not tell his mother that he left, because she had no phone. It has been two years, and he still has not been able to tell her. On his journey, he met Eritrean smugglers. They helped him get out of Eritrea to Libya for money. The price he had to pay was 8.750 US$ (7.835€) which his family had to pay up for him, as he had no money. They managed to collect the money by asking people in the church to help, and they then sent the money to Sudan, where the payment was made.

Unfortunately, his friend Tesfay could not pay this money, and therefore he was left behind in Sudan. Daniel does not know what happened to his friend. Whether he is alive or not, he does not know. Daniel travelled on to Libya, where he is still to this day. Throughout his travels, he saw horrible things. People were beaten with sticks, and tortured with electric wires. People were sexually violated and raped. People died at the hands of the smugglers.

Daniel’s bigger sister lives in Sweden, where he was trying to join her, but due to a mistake made in the system about the date of birth of Daniel, he was not allowed to rejoin her through the UNHCR resettlement scheme. He therefore is stuck in Libya. If he wants to survive, he must get out. While talking to him it was very clear he was scared. He said so himself. He begged me to do anything that could help him. In the UNHCR Gathering and Departure Facility (GDF) camp where he is now, there are 1,500 people, most of them young boys and girls, and pregnant women.

So imagine if that was you. Or your child. Or your sister and brother. Just imagine.

*The names of the refugees were changed for security reasons but the real names are known to the author.

The author interviewed Daniel on 2019, October 13 and 15 by phone. The original transcript is with the author. The interview is part of a school project. The author is a 16-year old student. The name of the author is a penname for security reasons.