Rallies of the Roaring Lions

It is very grieving to come across articles sent from inside Eritrea or written by Eritreans in the force-exile, discussing the awful condition in which the Eritrean people are living. In fact, it is an earnest appeal from our people inside Eritrea to their brothers and sisters in the force-exile to move collectively to create a loophole for the current situation. However, the fading away misleading picture of the clique that has drifted many diehard devotees paves way for observing the emergence of promising future from within the wreckage of occupation and dictatorship.  Moreover, mails of eyewitnesses and victims who have started to get out of their shells to narrate to the entire world about the inhumane crimes that are inflicted and continue to fall down upon them by the Jack-of-All-Trades actually reveals the approach of uprising moment of the entire people of Eritrea. Nonetheless, we anticipate from the wise and elite who are inside Eritrea to participate more in depicting and documenting the atrocities perpetrated against the people of Eritrea by the slavish gangs of crime and theft.

It is explicit by now to every Eritrean that our people are suffering of unprecedented brutality never knew our modern history. In the age of freedom of speech and an open page contemporary world, our beloved country to exist in a kind of a jungle law prison in which its citizens have reached to the conclusion as our brother meseta Kidane has put: “wei adom hidegelom wey delayom ghiberelom” (Do as they tell you, or leave their country). This state of condition has forced our people to dream of escaping the country they sacrificed for precious more than six decades.

Our brother from inside Eritrea pities Eritreans in force-exile for losing their houses in Eritrea because of the bad inhumane condition. Brother, to lose a house million times better than to lose living in your beloved home country. Our brother who wrote from inside Eritrea brought to my mind a response to journalists by the famous Irish novelist, James Joyce, who lived in exile for about twenty years, and who is known for his literary technique, “Stream-of-consciousness” that reveals the flow of impressions, impulses, hesitations, as well as the rational thoughts of his characters.. When James Joyce returned back home from his exile journalists asked him, how many years since you have departed Ireland? He replied: Do I ever depart it? Brother, Eritreans in force-exile, Australia, Europe, America, Asia and Africa, are still there with their people sailing in the same boat that is drifting by restless, violent and wild storms. The stresses, squeezes tears, miseries and heartbreaking condition that enclosure the Eritrean people overwhelm them, too. Thus, who are we to pity the insiders or those in the force-exile?

Truly, the Eritrean people do not anticipate from Isaias – the flooding full barrel, sorry, I mean, the rusty leaky barrel – and his slavish associates except more agonies and suffer. It is not sensible and normal to anticipate from the enemies of education, justice, democracy, humanity and development to make the move that makes the difference for our people who sacrificed dear and their cherished sons and daughters for more than half a century. Definitely, we can not await from gangs committed capital crimes against innocents and humanity – gangs who suffer of fear and inferiority complex, gangs who are blood thirsty of innocents, gangs who inflict and deepen the tragic torture upon our people whether those inside Eritrea or residing in the force-exile from their beloved homeland, gangs who do not hesitate to loot money and properties of citizens unlawfully – actually, we do not anticipate from such crime and theft gangs except the present melancholic condition. These red-handed criminals and bandits – yes bandits beyond doubt for they confiscate the rights, properties, freedom and marginalize citizens who have equal rights as them; absolutely, criminals for they loot the rights of others through the muzzle of a gun, torture and murder – unquestionably such grazing brutes will not handover power peacefully to the Eritrean people – the actual power owners. Yes, they don’t differ or worst from the Ethiopian occupation. Ethiopians occupied our country, marginalized, plundered, imprisoned, tortured, murdered, and forced our people to emigrate. Isaias and his slavish brutes, confiscated land, marginalized, plundered, imprisoned, tortured, murdered, forced our people to continue in exile and enforced new waves of our people to emigrate from their fatherland. Our people courageously fought Ethiopians and liberated Eritrea, and definitely our people will smartly give a lesson to Isaias and his slavish associates and democratize Eritrea. This fact by now should be cognized by all Eritreans who aspire to see their country advancing towards the stage of development with well-established steps, and who wish to observe their people living in peace and prosperity.

At the time the Eritrean people thought to relax from the sufferance of decades were faced by homegrown relentless dictator. And to rectify what has gone wrong, they have to uproot this criminal regime from the surface of Eritrea and replace the mess-up and wreckage of Isaias by democracy, peace, prosperity and protection by law for all citizens – protection to the weak and strong, the rich and the poor, the young and the old so as to depart forevermore the era of the fools’ slogan, “Law doesn’t protect the simple-minded”. Evidently, this is a belief of the jungle law mentalities who can not perceive the meaning and sacredness of law. A law let alone naïve citizens even criminals should be protected by law till they get just and fair trial.

The age in which Isaias and his slavish thugs arrive to practice their hobbies was surpassed by time and modern technology. In our contemporary world dictatorship has become difficult even to those who implemented it for years. They – the experienced dictators – are pursuing for a way out from the abuse and mess-up of years they have performed upon their peoples.  Our world has changed and left no way for unsound individuals to monkey with the rights of societies. Isaias and his slavish thugs have come at the wrong time to hold authority. They are gangs eligible to rule in the Stone Age not in the Twenty-first Century. Isaias and his slavish cohorts must understand that the refrain of many Eritreans who are in the forced-exile from visiting or returning back home, and the escape of many from inside Eritrea is the beginning of their trial by the people of Eritrea. The Eritrean people, I can say without reservation, far enlightened and eligible to experience democracy with astonishing spirit and mature knowledge. The Eritrean people are far well polished politically and socially than many third world countries which are practicing democracy. Our people founded parties and made rallies in the forties, and revolutionized since sixties of the twentieth century against occupation, consequently forming rallies to establish democracy in their country in the twenty-first century is not something extraordinary or bizarre to our people.    

Virtually, Eritreans in force-exile have voiced loudly to convey their people’s agonies and sufferance by the regime in Eritrea to the international community. They have made rallies, seminars, walked for freedom, signed petitions, founded civil societies organizations, … etc. so as to move Eritrea from dictatorship toward democracy, peace and prosperity. Of course, I do not say this is enough to eradicate the evil that has woven Isaias during the period of struggle and as a head of the State, nonetheless this is the onset of liberating the people from dictatorship fetters, and it is guaranteed, the move that will chase and eradicate the clique will come soon.

Practically, Eritreans in force-exile have early commenced to voice loudly enough to the hoaxes of Isaias and his slavish thugs, enough to crimes, enough to mothers miseries and tears, enough to the sighs of fathers, enough to the unmitigated and merciless annihilation of the Eritrean youth in the endless wait for Ethiopians at marshal Isaias naïve strategy sun rise trenches, enough to the mess-up of drunkards and unsound mindsets. Truthfully, Eritreans in force-exile are committed to stand by the side of their people to bring down the dictator and replace it by real democracy and construct new Eritrea to overtake the twenty-first century.

Clearly, Eritreans in force-exile have openly and loudly articulated enough to the rusty leaky barrel and his slavish brutes. They have plainly exposed the miseries of their people to the international community organizations and governments. Also they are anticipated to act more in revealing the cause of their people who have become hostages of the worst dictator in modern world history.

However, a question powerfully stuffs itself in this context, that is, how will the people of Eritrea eradicate this regime and obtain freedom, democracy and develop their country? The answer is a collective courageous move of openly saying ‘no’ to the despot and his slavish thugs will be the thunderstorm that will shatter the regime. In case, every one of us should endeavor to take out fear and replace it by courage, this will certainly inaugurate the decline of the despot. Our people fought occupation with courageous sacrifice to liberate their country and crowned that struggle with victory. At the time our people supposed to take rest found themselves besieged by a home grown pumpkin. I believe, the people of Eritrea will manage this issue too, and cook the pumpkin properly and make a landmark turning point in the Eritrean history that will be commemorated by generations to come. This can be materialized by recalling back our bravery with which we have liberated the land. We have to bring to mind our bravery to free our people from the fetters of Isaias and his slavish associates. 

Certainly, fighting a dictator also require sacrifice, however the nature of struggle against a dictator may not be exactly similar to that of occupation. A dictator utilizes our brothers, sons and daughters in abusing us. The most essential and vital weapon a dictator employs is intimidation and terrorization so as to spread fear from tip to toe among the society – a father dreads his wife, sons and daughters; a brother dreads his brothers and sisters; a friend dreads his friends and neighbors. A dictator makes the entire society to apprehend that they are besieged by the agents of the regime. He creates a life of continual stress that converts living to nightmare from where every individual of the society aspires to escape from his home country. A dictator to firmly establish the continuation of his rule, time and again imprisons arbitrarily, tortures wickedly and murders brutally. He considers these practices secure his dominance and prolongs his rule – typical to what is taking place in Eritrea.

Precisely, Eritrea is plagued by the plight of fear that changed it to a country engulfed by the culture of dumbness, passiveness and submissiveness to the ruling slavish thugs. Naturally, the vital weapon that can destroy the weapon of fear is bravery. The courage with which the Eritrean people liberated their country that I still believe embrace and one memorable day will certainly expose to force the dictator to step down. The dormant volcano – the neglected passive masses – one day will erupt with devastating force and eradicate the vicious and immoral regime from the surface of Eritrea. The solution of our cause with the regime is a matter of owning courage or not – he endeavors to impose fear and we have to rebel it by courage otherwise the present condition will continue till we learn and recall back our struggle period courage. Isaias is implementing the instrument of terror to control us while our people are still silent and passive without utilizing the tool of courage which they possess and have experience during the period of their courageous struggle against occupation. Actually, the moment we get rid of our horror and panic will unquestionably be the beginning of the end of the absolute authority in Eritrea forever. 

Individually up-rising and protesting openly is a festival for the dictator and his slavish collaborators. They will imprison, torture and murder without fear of the results as far as the silent majority is passive to the devastating practices of the clique upon them. One of the alternatives to set free of the grips of the dictator in our country is to voice all together ‘no’ to the authoritarian regime. Of course, before reaching this stage of openly protesting against the regime, primarily, we must be released from the shackles of dread that the regime has disseminated upon us through years of holding power. 

Dictators and their greedy associates are the most coward persons than we expect, for they are continually chased by the ghosts of crimes they have perpetrated against innocent citizens, and by the properties and power they have plundered. They dread the all together ‘no’ of the entire society. We have to learn to say all together ‘no’ for voicing one by one or an individual rebel will serve to some extent the dictator and his slavish thugs – it is easy for them to pick up individuals and small groups and imprison, but dealing with the march of the whole masses together is beyond their capacity to stop. We have in history many instances in which no power whatever its might hindered the march of masses from attaining their goal.  Naturally, there is a sacrifice for freedom therefore we should not be frightened of paying that price. 

Actually, we are paying the price though the price we are pay is serving the dictator in the form of fear and passiveness that enclosure us. So let us make value of the price we are paying by remembering our courage of the struggle period. The more we have the required courage and become free of our hesitation the least price will pay, and hasten our freedom and the freedom of generations to come. I don’t think the people who challenged occupation with unique bravery have gone barren of gallantry. Let us brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers and sons make a day of our emancipation from the fear that has implanted in us by Isaias and his slavish thugs. Let us not be impeded by some properties we possess in Eritrea as losing our properties by confiscation of occupation or the present regime does not mean that we will lose it forever. In the anticipated democratic Eritrea every Eritrean citizen will be handed his/her property as we have the right and justice to win back our lost estates or properties. Also bearing the passport of Eritrea should not deter us from expressing our view concerning our country – holding our country passport is a right that we deserve not a donation from Isaias and his slavish associates. We should not compromise with our future and the future of our children. We should not admit ourselves to be a second or a third class or strangers in our fatherland. The entire people of Eritrea must participate in decision-making for the future of their country, the running of the country is not a private legacy or a privilege gifted to the fallacious shaky Isaias and his slavish grazing brutes. The rights of all should not be in the hands of one unsound person or a group of crackpots.

Furthermore, who will replace the government of Iasias should not be a reason of restricting us from opposing Isaias who is toying with the whole country. This perspective brings to mind an instance of response by our elders who composed a committee in Kassala to meet ELF prominent leaders in the beginning of the eighties of the last century when the Eritrean Liberation Front liberation army was at Karakon and Tahdai. The elders’ committee went to the home of one of the ELF well-known leader to urge him to rectify the situation or handover leadership to the people of Eritrea. He replied, whom do you have that can replace us? He means that you don’t have persons who will substitute us. Our elders’ committee replied: we believe, we don’t lack another 41 worthless Eritreans (41 is the number of the ELF revolutionary council). This fertile land that gave birth to Awate will never go barren of giving another Awates. Who will substitute this regime should not be an excuse for silence, passivity and submissiveness as the coming substitute is the people of Eritrea. Our present struggle is to make the people of Eritrea be the master of themselves and guider towards promising future of their sons and daughters. Power will be in the hands of the Eritrean people and those who will be democratically elected will be servants of the people. Opposing this regime doesn’t mean to replace it by another authoritarian regime. It is not a matter of sect, tribe, region or party but a matter of rights, justice, freedom and development of our human resources and our country. It is a question of a move that will make difference – for the best – in the life of the entire people of Eritrean.

Unfortunately, some Eritreans hung up to a certain phase of our political or armed struggle: For instance Isaias hung up to the teachings of Demitros, member of Unity Party (the only shameful legacy that Isaias owns and still preserves). Some astray persons of our people hung up to the regional division period of ELF; some stick-in-the-mud supporters hung up to the ELF and EPLF of the seventies and eighties; and some greedy supporters of the clique hung up to the EPLF of the eighties and beginning of the nineties of the last century. As it is understood to stop at a certain stage and visibly refuse to move forward to observe changes is against the law of the nature of life. Life is always in change and those who stuck up to a certain phase and mistakenly judge contemporary new chapters from that remote past period is a grave mistake against the present and future of the Eritrean people. Psychologists say persons who stuck up to a certain past events are persons incapable to develop. I hope our brothers who stuck up to a certain period of our struggle history not to be from this group of persons who are incompetent to improve or participate in the development of their country. Here, we can precisely describe those who stuck up to a certain past episodes of our struggle history as a motionless-mindsets or struggle –errors captives or one-rhythm-play persons who declined to digest and embrace new events so as to play a positive role for changing the current situation and participate in establishing democratic rule in Eritrea.

Wake up Eritreans! Don’t you realize that we are in the Twenty-First Century. We are in a time where remoteness of location or confined borders is not working. Events occur in one part of the world reflects directly/indirectly on the other parts of the world. Down! Down to the government or military coup in the Island of Fiji can shake the underground tower of Isaias in Massawaa like Sonami and drown him in the Red Sea to be a dinner of a shark. Our world has become a village that effortlessly influence each other, therefore, we have to learn how to dialogue and coexist with our brothers, neighbors, international community in general as living in a locked border or in a fortified citadel has become part of a history.    

Brothers, we are historically obliged to respond courageously to the awful practices of the clique in our country. Let us get out of our shells of panic and shout loudly all together enough is enough. Let us do not be frightened from our brothers, sons and daughters who are in the National Guard, Security and Police forces, for they will definitely stand by the side of their people the moment they catch a glimpse of  the entire population of Eritrea – school children, students, women, men, young and old – marching and articulating clearly and loudly: Down! Down! Rusty Barrel! Down! Down! Leaky Barrel! Down! Down! Chopped Barrel! Crack crush injustice! Throw away Sadists. At this moment the National Guard, police and security forces will not hesitate to be free of their panic from the despot and act to guard their people and assist to bring down the ruling regime and shout with their people Shame! Shame! Slavish Thugs!; Shame! Shame! Grazing Thugs!; Foa Foa Senakum Ekai!; Foa Foa Hikimkum Ekai!; Foa Foa Geebirkum Ekai! (vile your stench, rule and handling).

This is not a fantasy or hallucination as some addicted dark glasses wearer nihilists who trimmed down life and history into the image of Isaias may like to label – those who do not have present or future except the distorted episodes of the past that have become present and future for them. In reality we have live examples of mass rebel in our contemporary history, such as, the Romanian people uprising that toppled Nicolae Ceausescu who was running a neo-Stalinist police state and who wound the iron curtain tightly around Romania from 1967-1989. He turned a moderately prosperous country into one at the brink of starvation. Protestors in the streets and Squares began shouting “Romanians Awake”. We, too, invited to chant “Eritreans Awake”. We have also the Orange Revolution in Ukraine where three million people poured down to the streets of Keiv and other Ukraine cities from their homes and stayed nights on Squares till they brought down the government. The Sudanese people also toppled Abud in October, 1964 chanting “Asbaha Asubhu Wala Sijnu Wala Sajanu Bagee” (The Morn Dawned None Prison None Jailer Remaining); and against Numeri in April, 1984 singing “La Harisna Wala Farisna Gafalta Madarisna” (Turner off Schools, Neither Guard nor Hero of Ours). We, too, requested to sing for Eritrea, “Usurper of Rights, Neither Guard nor Hero of Ours”. Let us brothers recall our struggle’s bravery and innovate a Historical Day of Voicing all together Enough is Enough to the diehard clique so as to be an additional example of emancipation for peoples suffering from dictators. Let us get out of our dread, trace the steps of those peoples who named their revolution Orange, Rice, October, …, and make a Quake Revolution or give it more mild name and call ours Popcorn Revolution.

Eritreans in force-exile have never betrayed or failed to recall their country, therefore those who reside in all the corners of the world – specially those in the free world – are requested besides the on going Eritrean Community rallies in different cities of the world to coordinate for a Day of Rallies in different parts of their residence demanding the international communities and human rights organizations to stand by the side of the Eritrean people. This day, I hope, will be the cornerstone for preparing our people for a historical day of getting out of their shells to say ‘Down! Down!’ to the dictator with bravery that has an Eritrean touches. Collective march and roar for freedom is a mortal weapon in the hands of the Eritrean mass that the dictator in our country dreads, so imposes tough rules to hamper our people to organize themselves and request their rights, failing to picture out spontaneous uprising of the abused people. Isaias and his slavish thugs, definitely, in the near future will ignite the hell that will wipe them out, that is, through their round-ups of our youth and atrocities against innocent elders.

Brothers, we have the tools in our hands that will defeat the ruling clique; we have just to know how to implement it wisely. Bravery of openly speaking all together is a fatal weapon that a dictator dreads; therefore, let us utilize bravery to topple the despot in our country. All of us can possess the courage to say ‘no’ to the dictator; just we have to think about it, be initiative, act and will observe drastic results. Let us make value of the price we are paying by voicing loudly enough to the Isaias and his slavish thugs. Criminals and bandits are the most coward persons who must not be rewarded by our silence, passivity and submissiveness. Isaias and his slavish thugs can silence through intimidation one, two or some individuals of our people who do not implement bravery, and tremblingly comply for intimidation, however, Isaias and his slavish thugs will never be able to silence four million determined courageous Eritreans. So let us speak openly without fear; rally and roar like lions for freedom of our country, so as not to be banished by history and cursed by generations to come.

Never lie-down cowards,

The deep-dark night will dawn. 

                                                                             By: Ibrahim Tada

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Posted by farajat on Dec 25 2006 Filed under Articles, Resistance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry