Declaration of a new Eritrean Civil Society organization in America

Eritrean Foundation for Social Justice & Development (EFSJD)

Why EFSJD was established?

The people of Eritrea today are lacking basic human rights that most of the people in the planet are enjoying.  Lack of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, free press, the ability of citizens to claim their own lands, and Equal citizenship for all is some examples.

On the other hand, hundreds of thousands of Eritrean refugees in neighboring countries are suffering miserable life in their camps, while Hundreds of thousands of Eritreans inside their own country are denied to get relief & development from the rest of the world due to government blockage to any external aid.

In short, we are missing social justice & Development in Eritrea. Therefore, EFSJD was established by Eritrean Diaspora in North America to voice their people concerns in the American Society at all levels; government, congress, media, public, and of course among Eritrean Americans.

Our Objectives:

EFSJD is a nonprofit organization registered officially in the United States. The organization’s objectives are:

• To raise awareness & to work toward stopping all injustice policies, practices, and all types of human rights violations that are happening in Eritrea.
• To present the correct Eritrean history & culture to the public as well as to research centers, and other governmental & NGOs entities.
• To provide Relief & Development projects to help Eritrean refugees in neighboring countries as well as in Eritrea (if it becomes possible).
• To collect, document, research, conduct Studies & workshops on issues related to Eritrea & Eritreans.
• To organize & mobilize Eritreans in North America to participate in the efforts of bringing justice & development to Eritrea & Eritreans.

We are not just an additional number in the Eritrean growing number of political & civil society organizations and we do not want to be such.  We were established to fill a gap that we think has been missed or neglected.  Political reform & Social justice in Eritrea will not come by merely establishing political organizations, debating ideas, issuing statements & spending a lot of time in meetings & conferences, Rather it will come when we succeed to bring actions to our good ideas, and when we provide real solutions by educating Eritrean refugees and building their capacities to enable them make the necessary change.

Who we are?

We are a group of regular Eritreans who live in the United States of America and represent the diverse Eritrean spectrum geographically, ethnically, & religiously. We believe that we have a moral obligation to help our people in Eritrea who became helpless & voiceless under the current regime. What brought us together is the desire to do something toward what is happening to our brothers & sisters in Eritrea.

Our Focus:

There are two areas that we think are the weakest ring in the efforts of bringing justice & political reform to Eritrea:-

First: Having strong voice in the US & Europe on behalf of those who are the victims of the Eritrean regime’s violation for human rights. A voice that raises the awareness in these countries at all levels; governments, civic societies, and publics while advocating for social justice & political reform in Eritrea. No doubt about the importance and the benefits of having strong advocates for our just cause in these countries that are capable in bringing changes & reform to the third world. We failed to make our voice heard by the international community. An indication of such failure was clear in the reasoning behind the recent Security Council resolution against Eritrea.  The reasoning was limited to the regime’s intervention in Somalia without mentioning anything about the suffrage of the Eritrean people under the same regime.

Second, providing relief & development programs to the hundred of thousand of our people who had fled & still fleeing Eritrea seeking refuge in Sudan & other neighboring countries.  Unfortunately, many of the Eritrean opposition organizations did not offer real efforts to the refugees’ ongoing problem except urging the international community to help; something we read repeatedly after each meeting or conference of these organizations.

Yes we can!

We believe Eritreans can do more than empty calls.  We can start with ourselves.  Those of us who are in the US, Europe, & gulf countries are capable to extend helping hand to their brothers & sisters in the refugee camps. They can also draw the attention of international Relief organizations toward the humanitarian crisis of Eritrean refugees.

This cannot be done without organizing & mobilizing the efforts of Eritrean Diaspora & without activating the silent majority of Eritrean Diaspora who would like to do something for their people & their country, but do not know how.  That is what EFSJD is planning to do.

Appeal to all Eritreans in Diaspora

We think of EFSJD as a vehicle that use Eritreans’ ideas & efforts to help bring real changes for the Eritrean people.  Therefore, we call upon all Eritreans in Diaspora and America in particular to come forward and join with their skills and talents the ongoing efforts.

If you think our objectives & goals are the same of what you hold, please contact us at:

eritreanfoundation@gmail.com

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Posted by farajat on Jun 29 2010 Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry