EYSC’s Challenge for YPFDJ

We write this letter as concerned Eritrean youth who are working day-in and day-out to help restore
our people’s dignity.  We are members of the Eritrean Youth Solidarity for Change (EYSC), a youth organization that is working to bring badly needed change to our country. When our fathers and mothers fought for Eritrea’s independence, nobody would have thought this generation would face the misery and suffering under their own government’s hands and or our youth be traded as slaves by reckless gangs. We think you would agree with us that this is not what the martyrs died for. They sacrificed their lives because they believed the future generations would live in an independent and prosperous Eritrea; a country where every citizen is treated with respect and dignity; a country where the rule of law prevails and the government serves the people, not the other way round.

We all understand the urgency of the current crisis in Eritrea we certainly have no doubt that you too hear many horror stories regarding our brothers and sisters whose organs are being violated and extracted in the Sinai desert.

We acknowledge that the efforts by some YPFDJ members are genuine and well intended. But in this information era, we believe the Eritrean Diaspora in general but especially members of YPFDJ have access to all the necessary information to understand our history, the nature of our current state, and where our beloved country is heading. In order to promote democracy and justice, as YPFDJ’s name implies, we expect you to respect your own intelligence and do the right thing.

We are aware that YPFDJ North America will hold its annual conference on August 23-27, in Toronto,
Canada.  We encourage you to challenge yourselves and your leaders to openly engage in constructive discussions regarding the current Eritrean situation. In the spirit of fraternity – after all, Eritrea belongs equally to all of us – we pose the following questions to all YPFDJ members, especially to those who will be attending the upcoming conference in Toronto:

1. How will you affiliation with YPFDJ help the Eritrean people, especially the youth?
2. How will the conference and your other activities enhance democracy and justice in Eritrea?
3. What percentage of the youth population do you believe you represent?
4. Why do you think YPFDJ is strong in the Diaspora not in Eritrea?
5. Which organizations does YPFDJ engage with? Why are YPFDJ members routinely told not to talk with other youth who oppose the regime? Who determines this?
6. What has YPFDJ done to address the safety, security, and rights of displaced Eritreans in the Sinai and around the world?
7. What has YPFDJ done to address the educational and social needs of Eritrean youth in the Diaspora?

  We encourage openness and democracy within political forums. Through the collaboration of diverse views, organizations can create sound plans of action to solve the broad scale of problems that Eritrean youth face today.

When EYSC hosted a conference in May 2012 in Washington DC, we invited every concerned Eritrean who wished to discuss the issues stated in our public agenda. This historic conference was able to bring together many Eritreans who belong to different organizations, and openly debate ideas, adopted resolutions, and concrete plans of action. That is why EYSC challenges the YPFDJ to adopt a similar kind of openness,
inclusiveness, transparency and accountability. The benefits of doing so will not only prove worthy to your organization, but to the Eritrean youth that you claim to serve.

During the upcoming conference and other events, EYSC challenges you to act on the following 4 items:

1)      Adopt an independent and open conference.  We urge you to pressure your leaders to create an open and democratic forum and make it accessible via a live internet stream and other means so that more Eritrean youth can participate.

2)      Call upon the Government of Eritrea to transfer power to the people without further delay

3)      Advocate for the end the suffering of our people and speak up when the rights of Eritreans are violated.

4)      Call for the end of the indefinite National Service.

History will judge each and every one of us based on what decisions we make today to save lives, rescue our
people and our country. Our country is in dire need of change. Most importantly, we understand the urgency of the Eritrean refugees’ situation in the Sinai Desert, Israel, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Sudan. They need our help, and they need it now!

Eritrean Youth Solidarity for Change

August, 2012

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Posted by farajat on Aug 24 2012 Filed under Articles, Notices. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry