As we, old comrades-in-struggle of Patriot Seyoum Ogbamichael (Harestai) solemnly mark today, 17 December 2017, the 12th year  of his sudden and untimely passing away in a poorly-equipped Addis Ababa hospital, we do remember him for so many vividly memorable deeds and events, some of them resonating well with the Akriya of 31 October 2017. Martyr Seyoum was present with his schoolmates at a meeting of student demonstrators in Akriya 55 years ago!! And, ironically, those schoolmates of Seyoum included Eritrea's autocrat,  Isaias Afeworki, who is today against everything that his generation dreamt of.

Seyoum's  schoolmates in May 1962 included: Woldedawit,

Michael Ghaber, Mussie Tesfamichael, Haile  and Isaias.

As every genuine patriot worth his/her salt would confirm it - and forgetting the bla bla of revisionists of history and facts - Akriya was always a hotbed  of nationalist politics inside Asmara, and a hiding place for  freedom fighters. Even Martyr Seyoum Harestai  spent a couple of nights in an ELF urban hideout rented inside Akriya in August 1965 upon his (and Woldedawit Temesghen's) return to the city to organize people. (This writer, who attended the Mai Anbessa meeting of 55 years ago, also had the honour of spending a night with the two ELF fighters in Akriya precisely 52 years ago). Hajji Mussa M. Nur, co-organizer with Martyr Tuku Yihdego and group of the ELM/Mahber-Shewate demonstration over a year earlier, and who provided shelter and logistics to heroic Saeed Hussein and his ELF Fedayeen team for the successful airport operation of 1963, was for sure in Asmara/Akriya in May 1962 and was no doubt proud of what the young students were doing. One would hope he will survive the PFDJ prison of today and tell us how he would compare the 31 October 2017 demonstration with the demonstration of May 1962!  

Ustaz Beshir School/Akriya-inspired demonstration of 31 October 2017 and the

Prince Mekonnen SecondarySchool-initiated demo of May 1962

 had similar  messages: Natsinet/Harnet Delina, Hagizuna!

Sadly, we are in a period forcing one to say with absolute certainty that our Asmara of the 1960s was better in many ways than Isaias Afeworki's Asmara of 2017 where a 93-year-old grandfather, Hajji Mussa, is incarcerated simply because his speech allegedly "incited" students to try to demonstrate in a nation that has been obliged to delete the word "demonstration" from its dictionary. 

For the sake of the new generation that may know very little about Seyoum Harestai and his era of student militancy, who are a tiny minority today, I will write a few more lines about who he was and why he was at that the Mai Anbessa/Akriya meeting of students way back in May 1962!!

Seyoum Harestai

Seyoum Ogbamichael, one of Eritrea's strong-willed generation of freedom fighters, died on 17 December 2005 at the age of 59 reportedly of heart failure while serving as chairman of the Eritrean Liberation Front - Revolutionary Council (ELF-RC) and while discussing issues related to the formation of the present-day EPDP. Seyoum joined the armed struggle in March 1965 following a big student demonstration and after six months returned to Asmara clandestinely to give organizational shape to  urban sympathizer of the nationalist cause. On 31 August 1965, Seyoum and Woldedawit were arrested by the Ethiopian security while meeting people in a hiding place near Kidane Mihret at a tailor's shop of a son of Akriya, Siraj Ahmed, the martyr of Barentu in 1978. 

Between their arrest in August 1965 and February 1975, Seyoum and Woldedawit spent ten years in prison until the ELF liberated them together with other 1,000 Adi Qualla prisoners. Seyoum was at one time chairman of the General Union of Eritrean Peasants during which he led ELF's land distribution plan to landless peasants, and thus earned the nick-name of "Seyoum Harestai." Needless to say, he was among those patriots who were denied the return back home after liberation in 1991. When he died while on mission in Addis, his remains were brought to Europe for burial in the Netherlands.

Now Back to the Story of Demonstrations..

In Eritrea's pre-liberation era, what became impossible after 1991 was to some extent possible and safe. During Emperor Haile Selassie's reign in the 1960s, people did not face what EPLF freedom fighters faced in 1993 when they  asked for minimum rights for daily survival. Student protesters in the 1960s were not shot at or killed like what happened to the disabled EPLF veterans in 1994 for voicing for attention and minimum care. Nor were prisoners of that era condemned to "detention until death", as UN's Sheila Keetharuth would put it, bringing to one's mind the situation of G-11 prisoners and many of their likes who are languishing in regime dungeons for decades without a day at court.

Ethiopia's or any alien occupier's abuses and absolute denial of rights could have been considered normal, and not normal by a government of independent Eritrea. But PFDJ's lawless Eritrea is not a normal state. As noted, PFDJ is against almost everything that Seyoum Harestai and his generation's demonstrators stood for.

Student demonstrations were frequent in the Asmara of the '60s, but those demonstrators did not at any time face death intimidations in the form of massive live gunshots as what happened on 31 October 2017 for very simple demands: the right to continue their normal school life started way back in 1967.

On the other hand, Asmara demonstrators of half a century ago raised much bigger political issues than the demands of the attempted demonstration of last October that started from Akriya. The issues raised by the Asmara demonstrators of May 1962 were challenges to the Eritrean Assembly and to  the Emperor of Ethiopia.

As my references show, the Eritrean Assembly was to meet in the third week of May 1962 to resume discussion started the previous year about one 1 million birr grant by the Emperor to cover a deficit in the Eritrean Government budget of 18 million birr for the year 1960/61. Some members of the assembly, the like of Misghina Gebrezghi and Estifanos of (Decamere), were rejecting the Emperor's grant. They were arguing that Ethiopia had to pay to the Eritrean Government the sum of 72 million birr  as unpaid arrears in  the form of customs and federal levies. Seyoum Harestai and schoolmates in the then Prince Mekonnen Secondary School believed and hoped - understandably, quite naively - that their demonstration during the Assembly's meeting would influence the 68 Eritrean legislators towards changing the status of Eritrea, including the return of young students'  favourite Blue Flag that was lowered down in the autumn of 1958.

They were big, big demands by student demonstrators! Yet, no live shots were directed to intimidate Seyoum and his co-demonstrators of 23 May 1962 who passed  running near the Eritrean Assembly building in the then  'combishtato' (Campo Citato),  singing 'we ask freedom, help us' - Tigrilgna:

                   Natsinet Delina,

                   Hagizuna"!

Again, unlike what happened on 31 October 2017, there was no single gunshot heard that day 55 years ago except the threats of horse-riding police (Bolis Abay) carrying black rubber sticks. Some students were, for sure arrested, but the rest of them were scattered to northern directions, up to Akria and Biet Giorghis.

Mai Anbessa Meeting of Student Demonstrators

The issue for the next day's demonstration was the demand for the release of detained students. To organize it, students agreed to meet at short distance north of Akriya.  We later learned that the location of the meeting place was called Mai Anbessa.

My classmate Seyoum and I were among those who attended that meeting at which a few students made "speeches" encouraging each other against the police threats and their use of the rubber batons. I vividly recall that one of the speakers at Mai Anbessa  was a girl by the name of Minnia (whose name I retained for always because she carried the name of my sister). Seyoum, the latter-day eloquent orator, was not among the speakers; instead, it was me, whose Tigrigna was still Kerenite that counted among those who said something related to the demonstration. After a while, policemen were seen heading towards the meeting place brandishing their rubble sticks - no guns!! For sure, there were police beatings. Many took shelter in Akriya homes while others continued the run towards city Centre, making sort of a successful second-day "running demonstration",  and partly achieving  the objective of Mai Anbessa gathering. On the fourth day (or may be the fifth day), all students previously detained were released.

Naturally, the May 1962 demonstration did not bring immediate changes - and of course no restoration of the Blue Flag ... kkkkk.... yet, that event sent its big message across the land!!

Together with the student demonstrations of those years, including the remarkable March 1965 demonstration in the city and later beyond it, the May 1962 chant of demonstrators calling the people for action - Natsinet Delina, Hagizuna -  was gradually  received well and influenced many citizens' nationalist awareness. Young students started joining the liberation struggle, as Seyoum and Woldedawit did in early 1965.

They say that no one can stop an idea whose time has come. A momentous start or re-start can be initiated by anyone, anywhere - say by Seyoum and his schoolmates in  May 1962, or by the young Akriya boys and girls of 31 October 2017 from Ustaz Beshir Private School.

Today's call from Ustaz Beshir School is Harnet Delina, Hagizuna. And it is  loud and clear. This renewed message for action will gradually but surely reach every corner of the nation, including Eritrea's hapless diaspora dispersed all over the globe. This new momentum from student demonstrators in Asmara will hopefully realize the much deferred dreams of so many Eritrean generations.

Thank you Akriya of the old good days of Seyoum and his generation that helped awaken thousands for national struggle, and thank you Akriya of today - Akriya of Hajji Mussa M. Nur,  Akriya of so many great patriots of this nation with unfulfilled dreams.

May your soul rest in peace, Seyoum, and May Hajji Mussa and co-prisoners survive their ordeal in PFDJ prisons and be able to see the realization of the deferred drams of our countless martyrs, both fighters and civilians!!

ከምቲ ወለድና “ንዝገበረልካ ግበረሉ ወይ ንገረሉ” ዝብልዎ፡ ነቶም ሕድሪ ኣረኪበሙና ዝሓለፉ ሓርበኛታት ክንዝክሮምን ሕድሮም ክንዕቅብን ናይ ግድን እዩ። ሰማእታትና፡ ዋላኳ ብሕልና ወትሩ ምሳና እንተኾኑ፡ ብፍላይ ኣብ ከም ዕለተ-መስዋእቶም ዝኣመሰሉ ኣገደስቲ ኣጋጣምታት ክንዝክሮም ግቡእ እዩ። ትርጉም ናይ ምዝካሮም ከኣ ንሳቶም ዝጀመርዎ ቃልሲ ኣብ ሸቶኡ ንምብጻሕ ቃልና ንምሕዳስዩ። ካብ ንእስነቱ ጀሚሩ ምእንቲ  ሃገርን ህዝብን ኤርትራ ካብ ዝተበጀዉ ኤርትራውያን ሓርበኛታት ሓደ ስዉእ ስዩም ዑቕባሚካኤል (ሓረስታይ) እዩ። እነሆ ከኣ ካብ ዝስዋእ 15 ዓመት (17 ታሕሳት 2005-17 ታሕሳስ 2020) ኮይኑ። ስዉእ ስዩም ዑቕባሚካኤል ብ24 ጥሪ 1946 ካብ ወላዲኡ ሰርጌንት ዑቕባሚካኤል ራእሱን ወላዲቱ ወይዘሮ፡ ህይወት ባህታን ኣብታ በራኽ ዓዲ ሓሰር የልቦ’ዩ ተወሊዱ። ሓርበኛ ስዩም ዕድሚኡ ንትምህርቲ ምስ በጸሐ፡ ኣብ ከተማ ኣስመራ ሰታውያን መባእታዊ ትምህርቱ ጀሚሩ። ኣብ ቤት ትምህርቲ ፕረንችፐ ማእከላይ ደረጃ ቤት ትምህርቲ ትምህርቱ ምስ ወደአ፡ 2ይ ደረጃ ትምህርቱ ፈጺሙ፡ ትምህርቱ ከኣ ኣብ ናይ ሽዑ 2ይ ደረጃ ቤት ትምህርቲ ልኡል መኮነን ቀጺሉ።

ሓርበኛ ስዩም ዑ/ሚካኤል ራእሱ ጉዳይ ሃገር ድቃስ ከሊእዎ፡ ኩሉ ገዲፉ ኣብ ጉዳይ ሃገር ተጸሚዱ። ኣብዚ ምስጢራዊ ሃገራዊ ጉዳይ ናይ ምስትብሃሉ ተበግሰኡ በይኑ ኣይነበረን። ወልደዳዊት ተመስገን፡ ሃይለ ወልደሚካኤል (ድሩዕ)፡ ሚካኤል ጋብር፡ ወልደየሱስ ዓማር፡ ሙሴ ተስፋሚካኤል፡ ኢሳያስ ኣፈወርቂ፡ ዓብደልራሕማን ሓሰን፡ ገብረእግዝኣብሄር ተወልደ፡ ዓብደላ ሓሰንን ካለኦትን ምስኡ ነይሮም። ስዩም ኣብ ጉዳይ ሃገር ተባዕ፡ ኣብ መሃዝነት ከኣ ተወዳዳሪ ኣይነበሮን። ስዩም ብዘይካቲ ኣብ ፖለቲካዊ ሜዳ ዝኸፈሎ ክቡር ዋጋ ብሰንኪ ፖለቲካዊ ተሳትፎኡ 10 ዓመት ዝተኣስረን ብሳላ ንሱ እውን ዘበርከተሉ ሓርበኛዊ ስርሒት ተሓኤ ካብ ቤት ማእሰርቲ ዓዲዃላ ካብ ዝወጹ ኤርትራውያን ባእታታት ቅድሚት ዝስራዕ እዩ።

ብዛዕባ ሓርበኝነትን ሃገራውነትን’ዚ ብ17 ታሕሳስ ተሰዊኡ ብ30 ታሕሳስ 2020 ኣብ ሃገር ሆላንድ ሓመድ ኣዳም ዝለበሰ  ስዩም ዑቕባሚካኤል ኣብ ግዜ መስዋእቱን ድሕሪኡ ኣብ ዝነበሩ ኣጋጣምታትን ብዛዕባኡ ካብ ዝተባህሉን  ካብ  ዝተጻሕፉን ምእንቲ ዝኽሩ ከነስፍር ኢና።

ስዩም ዑቕባሚካኤል (ሓረስታይ) ኣብተን ናይ መወዳእታ ሰዓታት

(ዝኽሪ መበል 15 ዓመት)

16 ታሕሳስ 2005  ድሕሪ ቀትሪ ቅድሚ 15 ዓመታት ስዩም ዑቕባሚካኤል ናይ ሽዑ ኣቦመንበር ተጋድሎ ሓርነት ኤርትራ-ሰውራዊ ባይቶ ኣብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ ኣብ ቤት ጽሐት ውድቡ ነይሩ። ስዩም ኣቐዲሙ ብ27 ሕዳር 2005 ብውድባዊ ስራሕ ናብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ መጺኡ ዮርዳኖስ ኣብ ዝበሃል ሆቴል እዩ ዝድቅስ ነይሩ። ኣብዚ ዕለትዚ ምስ ብጾቱ ኣብ ቤት ጽሕፈት ብሓባር ተመሲሑ ኣጋ ሰዓት 3፡30 ድሕሪ ቀትሪ ናብ ሆቴሉ ከዕርፍ ከይዱ። ክኸይድ እንከሎ፡ “ጸኒሐ እንተመጺአ ክንራኸብ ኢና ተዘይመጺአ ድማ ጽባሕ ንግሆ የራኽበና” ኢሉ ተፋንዩና ከይዱ። እንተኾነ ኣቐዲሙ’ውን “ሰውነተይ ይኸብደኒ ኣሎ” ይብል ስለ ዝነበረ ምሸት ኣይተመልሰናን። ንሕና እውን ኣቀዲሙ ሓቢሩና ስለ ዝነበረ ብዘይምምጻኡ ብዙሕ ኣይተሻቐልናን።

ንጽባሒቱ ቀዳም እዩ ነይሩ። ካብ ቤት ጽሕፈት ሰውራዊ ባይቶ ናብቲ ምስ ውድባት ብሓባር ንሰርሓሉ ዝነበርና ቤት ጽሕፈት ኤርትራዊ ደሞክራሲያዊ ኪዳን ንምኻድ እንዳተሰባሸብኩ፡ ስዩም ደዊሉ ንኽመጾ ሓቲቱኒ። ሰዓት 7 ንግሆ እዩ  ነይሩ። ቤት ጽሕፈትና ናብቲ ንሱ ዝነበሮ ሆቴል ቀረባ ስለ ዝነበረ፡ ናብቲ ሆቴል ቀልጢፈ በጺሐ። ምስኡ ናብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ መጺኡ ምስ ዝነበረ ኣቶ መንግስተብ ኣስመሮም ድማ ኣብቲ ስዩም ዝነበሮ ክፍሊ ተራኺብና። ስዩም ካብቲ ዓራት ወሪዱ፡ ኮበርታ ደሪቡ ኣብ ወንበር ኮፍ ኢሉ ጸኒሑና። ከም ዝሓመመ ድማ ነጊሩና። ከመይ ከም ዝገብሮ ክነግረና እንከሎ  “ቁሪቁሪ የብለኒ፡ ኣብ ከባቢ ልበይ’ውን ውግኣት ይስመዓኒ፡ ክሕሸኒ ኢለ ተተሓጸብኩ ድማ መሊሱ ገዲዱኒ” ኢሉና። ግዜ ከይወሰድና ናብ ሕክምና ክንከይድ ወሲና ድማ ኣነ ሒዘዮ፡ ኣብ ቦሌ ሳይ ኣብ ዝበሃል ህንጻ ናብ እትርከብ ኣቀዲምና ብማዕዶ ናብ እንፈልጣ ክሊኒክ ከይድና። እንተኾነ እዛ ክሊኒክ ተዓጽያ ጸኒሓትና። በታ ዝሓዝናያ ታክሲ ድማ ኣብ መስመር ቀንዲ ጐደና ቦሌ ኦለፒያ ኣብ ዝበሃል ቦታ፡ ጥቓ ናይ ሽዑ ቤት ጽሕፈትና ናብ እትርከብ ክሊኒክ ቤተዛታ ከይድና። ንግሆ ብምዃኑ መካይን ስለ ዘይበዘሓ ቀልጢፍና ኣቲና። እንተኾነ ሰዓት 8 ስለ ዘይኣኸለ ምዱባት ሓካይም ክንረክብ ኣይከኣልናን። ክሳብ ሰዓት ኣኺሉ ሓካይም ዝመጹ ሓደ ኣብቲ ክሊኒክ ተረኛ ዝሓደረ ክኢላ ንግዜኡ ቃንዛ ዘዕግስ መርፍእ  ንስዩም ወጊእዎ።

ሓኪም እንዳተጸበና፡ ንስዩም እቲ ዝተወገኦ መርፍእ ጠቒምዎ እንተኾይኑ ሓቲተዮ። “እወ ደሓን እየ። ግና ሓኪምስ ደንጉዩና ጋና ድዩ ሰዓት” ኢሉ መሊሱለይ። ሰዓት 8፡15 ናይ ንግሆ ኣቢሉ ይኸውን ሓኪም መጺኡ። ኣብቲ ክሊኒክ ቀዲመሙና ዝበጽሑ ሕሙማት ስለ ዘይነበሩ ቅድሚ ኩሉ ስዩም ተራእዩ። ኣነ እውን ምስኡ ነይረ። እቲ ሓኪም ብኲነታት ስዩም ከም ዝሰንበደ ካብ ገጹ ይንበብ ነይሩ። ኣነ እውን ወዮ ነቲ ሕማም ኣቕሊለ ዝርእዮ ዝነበኩ እንዳተቐየረ ብውሽጠይ ክፈርሕ ጀመርኩ። እቲ ሓኪም መሳርሒታት እንዳቐያየረ ክርእዮ ምስ ጸነሓ፡ ካብቲ ዝነበሮ ክፍሊ ኮረር ብዝብል መንበር ናብ ካልእ ክፍሊ ወሲድዎ። ካብዚ ጀሚረን እንተን ከይደን ዘይርብርባ ዝነበራ ኣእጋር ስዩም ስራሐን ኣቋረጻ። ፍርሐይ ድማ ማዕረ እቲ ቅልጡፍ ምቅይያር ኣብ ኩነታት ስዩም እንዳዓረገ መጸ። ቁሩብ ጽንሕ ኢሉ ድማ እቲ ሓኪም ንእሽቶ ወረቐት ጽሒፉ ሂቡ፡ ብኣንቡላንስ ካብ ክሊኒክ ቤተዛታ ኣብ ከባቢ ስታድየም ናብ ዝርከብ ሆስፒታል ቤተዛታ ብህጹጽ ክንከይድ ምዃና ስግኣትን ፍርሕን ብዝጸለዎ ቃላት ነጊሩኒ። እዚ ዝኸውን ዘሎ ኣብ ጐረቤት ናይ ሽዑ ቤት ጽሕፈት ሰውራዊ ባይቶ እዩ ኢለ ኣለኹ። ኣነ ኣብዚ ሰዓትዚ ንግሆ ሒዘዮ ዝወጻእኩ ገንዘብ ስለ ዝወዳእኩዎ፡ ናብ ሆስፒታል ቤተዛታ ቅድሚ ምኻድና ብጉያ ናብ ቤት ጽሕፈት ከይድ ገንዘብ ሒዘ መጺአ፡ ስዩም ኣብ ዓራት ደቂሱ ሳልሳይና መራሕ መኪና፡ ሓያል ናይ ኣሕልፉኒ ድምጺ ጥሩንባ ብእተስምዕ ኣንቡላንስ ናብቲ ሆስፒታል ጉዕዞ ጀሚርና።

ኣብ ጉዕዞና “ስዩም ከመይ ኣለኻ” ኢለ ሓቲተዮ። በቲ ምዑዝ ኣዘራርባኡ ድማ “እዋእ ደሓን እየ፡ እንተኾነ እታ ሸቕሸቕ ተብለንስ ኣየቋረጸትን” ኢሉኒ። ድሕሪኡ ካልእ ዘረባ ወሲኸ ከየድክሞ ዘረኣ ኣይወሰኽኩን። ኣነ ብውሽጠይ በይነይ ይዛረብ ነይረ። ስዩም እውን ከምኡ። እቲ ንኸዶ ርሑቕ ስለ ዘይነበረ ከኣ ቀልጢፍና ኣቲና። ነቲ ድምጺ ጥሩንባ ዝሰምዑ ናይቲ ሆስፒታል ሰረሕተኛታት መጺኦም ሓጊዘሙኒ፡ ንስዩም ካብታ ኣንቡላስን ኣውሪድና ኣብቲ ናይ ህጹጽ ረዲአት ክፍሊ ኣብ ዓራት ብጐቦ ኣደቂስናዮ። ቅድሚ ሓኪም ምምጻኡ ስዩም “እዚ ሆስፒታል ናይ መንግስቲ ድዩ ናይ ብሕቲ?” ኢሉ ሓቲቱኒ። ኣነ ድማ  “ናይ ግሊ እዩ” ኢለ መሊሰሉ። ቀጺሉ  “እሞ ወጻኢ ደኣ ክበዝሓና እንድዩ፡ ……… ናብ ሕስር ዝበለ መንግስታዊ ሆስፒታል ዘይንኸይድ” ኢሉኒ። ኣነ ድማ “እዚ ናይ ሕጂ ኩነታትካ ንርኣዮ እሞ እዚ ትብሎ ዘለኻ ደሓር ተረኣናዮ እዩ ዝሓይሽ” ኢለ ምስ መለስኩሉ፡ ድሕሪኡ ዘረባ ኣይቀጸልናን፡ ምኽንያቱ እታ ካብ ክሊኒክ ዝተዋህበትኒ ወረቐት ምስ በጽሓቶ ቀልጢፉ ዝመጸ ዶ/ር ዮናስ  ስለ ዘቋረጸና። ዶ/ር ዮናስ ቅድሚ ስራሕ ምጅማሩ ካብቲ ክፍሊ ክወጽእ ኣዚዙኒ ወጺኣ። ድሕሪ እዚ ምስ ስዩም እነሆ ብኣካል ንሓዋሩ ተፈላሊና።

ዶ/ር ዮናስ ንስዩም ምስ ረኣዮ ብዝሃቦም ምልክት ብቕጽበት ኩሎም ናይቲ ሆስፒታል ሓካይም እንዳጐየዩ ናብታ ስዩም ዝነበራ ናይ ቅልጡፍ ረድኤት ክፍሊ ክኣትዉ ተዓዚበ። ወዮ ኣብ ቀረባ ዝጸንሐ ፍርሐይ ድማ ናብ ስንባደ ተቐይሩ። ንሕማም ሰጊረስ ብዛዕባ ሞት ክሓስብ ጀሚረ። በቲ ኣጸቢቆም ዘይዓጸውዎ ናይ መስኮት መጋረጃ ድማ ኩሎም እቶም ሓካይም ክኸብዎ ተዓዚበ። ካብቲ ምንቅስቓሳቶም ድማ ብውሕዱ ስዩም ትንፋስ ከም ዝሓጸሮ ተገንዘብኩ። ድሕሪ ዝተወሰነ ደቓይቕ፡ ከባቢ ሰዓት 10 ናይ ንግሆ ኣቢሉ ይኸውን ሕጂ ስሞም ዘይዝክሮ ናይቲ ሆስፒታል ሕክማናዊ ዳይረክቶር “ቤተሰብ ኣቶ ስዩም ዑቕባሚካኤል” ኢሎም ጸውዑ። ኣነን ናይ ስዩም ናይ ቀረባን ናይ ነዊሕ ግዜን ዓርኪ ኣቶ ገብራይ ገብረ እየሱስን ኮን ደኾን ተስፋ ንረክብ ብዝብል ትጽቢት ቀልጢፍና ቀረብናዮም። ዝሃቡና ሓበሬታ ግና “ኣቶ ስዩም ልቦም ስረሓ ኣቋሪጻ እያ። ናይ እግዚኣብሄር ደገፍ ተተወሲኽዎ ሓካይም ህይወቶም ንምድሓን ይቃለሱ ኣለዉ” ዝብል ቀዳማይ ደረጃ መርድእ ነገሩና።

ኣቶ ገብራይ ነቶም ሓኪም “ናብ ዝሓሸ ሕክምና ዋላ ናብ ወጻኢ ምውሳድከ ኣይከኣልን?” ኢሉ ሓቲትዎም። እቶም ሓኪም ድማ ወዮ ኲነታት ኣበይ በጺሑ ከምዘሎ ስለ ዝፈልጡ “ንሱ ሕጂ ዝግበር ኣይኮነን” ኢሎም መሊሰሙልና። ድሕሪዚ በብውሽጥና “ድሕሪ ሞት ጥዕና ቅበጽ” ኢልና። ደፊርና ግና ስዩም ክመውት እዩ ኢልና ክንዛረብ ኣይከኣልናን። ኣብዚ እዋንዚ፡ ኣሕዋት ገብሪህይወት ጸጋይ፡  ጅምዕ ኣሕመድ፡ መንግስተኣብ ኣስመሮምን ተኽላይ ተስፋጋብርን ብቕደም ተኸተል ናብቲ ሆስፒታል መጺኦምና ኣለዉ። እንደጋና ከባቢ ሰዓት 11፡30 ረፋድ እቶም ናይቲ ሆስፒታል ላዕለዋይ ሓላፊ ዶክተር ነዓይ ጸዊዖም “እዚኣ ኣብ ክፍሊ ገንዘብ ከፊልካ ምጻእ’ሞ ቅብሊት ሒዝካ ተመለስ” ኢሎም ናይ 194 ብር መእዘዚ ሂቡሙኒ።  ከፊለ ቅብሊት ሒዘሎም ምስ ተመለስኩ በቲ ጭንቅና እንዳተጨነቑ “እምበኣር ጻዕርና ኣይሰመረን፡ኣቶ ስዩም ዓሪፎም እዮም”  ኢሎም ኣርዲአሙኒ። በዚ ድማ ናይ መወዳእታ ናይ ስዩም ቃላትን ናይ ስዩም ዕረፍትን ቀዳማይ ሰማዒ ክኸውን ክኢለ። ብኡንብኡ ድማ ነቶም ኣብኡ ምሳይ ብስግኣት ተዋሒጦም ዝነበሩ ኣቐዲመ ኣስማቶም ዝዘርዘርኩዎ ኣሕዋት  ኣርዳእኩዎም። ጸሓይ እቲ ባህርያዊ ብርሃን ናይ ምልጋስ ተግባራ ኣይቀየረትን። ንዓና ግና ንዝተወሰነ ግዜ ጸልሚቱና። ንደገን ንውሽጥን ድማ ከም ሕሱም ነቢዕና።

ድሕሪ እዚ ብጉዳይ ስዩም ዘይኮነስ ብዛዕባ ኣስከሬኑ ክንሓስብ ተገዲድና። ስዩም ድማ ድሮ ብዛዕብኡ እንዳተዛረብና ናብ ዘይዛረብ ኣይግዳዱ ተቐይሩ። ነናትና ስረሓት ክንሰርሕ ተቐሲብና። ገሌና ንላዕለዎት ሓለፍቲ ሰውራዊ ባይቶ፡ ኣብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ  ኤምባሲ ሆላንድን ዝምልከቶም ኣካላት መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያን ኣብ ምሕባር ተዋፊርና። ገሌና ድማ ኣብ ምውጋን ኣስከሬን ናይቲ ሽዑ ዝተፈልየና ሓርበኛ ተጸሚድና። በዚ መሰረት ቅድሚ ኣበይን ብኸመይ ይቕበር ዝምልከት ውሳነ  ምፍላጥና ኣስከሬኑ ክምርመር ናይ ግድን ስለ ዝነበረ፡ ገብረ እግዚኣብሄር ካብ ዝበሃል ትካል ኣስከሬን ኣትጸውር መኪናን ሳጹንን ኣምጺእና “ናይ ኣስከሬን ይመርመረልና” ጥርዓን ናብ ፖሊስ ኣቕሪብና ናብ ሚነሊክ ሆስፒታል ወሲድናዮ። ዕለቱ  ቀዳም ስለ ዝነበረ ከኣ ሰኑይ ክንምለስ ቆጸራ ወሲድና። ንስዩም ምስ ከዛርብዎን ከዛርቦምን ዘይክእል ኣስከሬናት ገዲፍናዮ ተመሊስና። እዚ ኩሉ ወዲእና ከባቢ ሰዓት 3 ድሕሪ ቀትሪ ኣብ ቤት ጽሕፈትና ተኣኪብና። ኣብዚ ኣኼባና ሓዘና ክኢልና፡ ነብስና ከፋፊልና ክንዓሞ ብዛዕባ ዝግበኣና ስረሓት ወሲና። ሰኑይ ንግሆ፡ ገሌና ጉዳይ መርመራ ኣስከሬን ክንከታተል፡ ገሌና ብዛዕባ ኣስከሬን ናብ ሆላንድ ዝጐዓዘሉ ኣገባብ፡ ምስ ናይታ ሃገር ኤምባሲ ኣብ ኣዲስ ኣበባን ናይ ኢትዮጵያ ናይ ወጻኢ ጉዳይ ሚኒስትርን ርክባት ክንገብር ዝተረፍና ድማ ኣብ ቤት ጽሕፈት ኮይና ገጾም ክኸድኑ ንዝመጹ ኣጋይሽ ክንቅበል ተሰማሚዕና።

ሰኑይ 19 ታሕሳስ 2005 ምስ ኮነ እቶም ጉዳይ ኣስከሬን ንከታተል፡ ንጉዕዞ ብዘኽእል ኣገባብ ብኩባዊት ክኢላ ኣመርሚርና፡ ንናይ ርሑቕ ጉዕዞ ዝምጥን ሳጹን ገዚእና ነቲ ኣስከሬን መዝሓሊ ናብ ዘለዎ ሆስፒታል ሓያት ወሲድና ዓቂብናዮ። እቶም ኣብ ካልእ ስረሓት ዝተዋፈሩ ኣሕዋት እውን ብተመሳሳሊ ስረሓቶም ኣሰላሲሎም። ኣስከሬን ሰሉስ 20 ታሕሳስ 2005 ካብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ ናብ ሆላንድ ክጉዓዝ ከም ዝኽእል ርግጸኛታት ምስ ኮይና ድማ ኣብ ነፋሪት መንገዲ ኣየር ኢትዮጵያ ቦታ ኣትሒዝና።

ቅድሚ ኣስከሬን ጉዕዞ ናብ ሆላንድ ምጅማሩ፡ ሆስፒታል ሓያት ኣዳራሽ ፈቒዱልና ናይ መፋነዊ ፕሮግራም ሰሪዕና። ኣብዚ ሓጺር ታሪኽ ህይወት ሓርበኛ ስዩም ዑቕባሚካኤል ዝተነበሉን ንሓርበኝነቱ ዝገልጽ ግጥምታት ዝቐረበሉን ናይ ፈነወ ስነ-ስርዓት ንስዩም ዝምጥን እኳ እንተዘይነበረ፡ ሓያሎ፡ ቤተሰቡን ፈተውቱን፡ መራሕትን ኣባላትን ፖለቲካዊ ውድባት ኤርትራ፡ ኤርትራውያን ነበርቲ ኣዲስ ኣበባን ኢትዮጵያውያንን ተሳቲፎም። ብወገን መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ፡ ኣቶ ስብሓት ነጋ ካብ ኢህወደግ፡ ኣንበሳድር ሱሌማን ካብ ወጻኢ ጉዳይ ሚኒስተር፡ ኣንበሳደር ሃይለኪሮስ ገሰሰ ናይ ሽዑ ኣንበሳደር ኢትዮጵያ ኣብ ቻይና፡ ኣቶ ሕቡር ገብረኪዳን ሓላፊ ቤት ጽሕፈት ምትሕብባር ሰንዓ ፎረምን ካለኦትን ይርከብዎም።

ድሕሪ እዚ ምሸት በዚ ዕለት እዚ ክሳብ ሰዓት 10 ናይ ምሸት ኣብ ዝነበረ ግዜ ኣስከሬን ሓርበኛ ስዩም ዑቕባሚካእል ናብ ሆላንድ ብኣድራሻ በዓልቲ ቤቱ ወይዘሮ ኣዝመራ ሃይለ ኣፋኒና ናይ ኣዲስ ኣበባ ሓዘና ዓጺና።

ደበሳይ በየነ

December 16, 2020

Mr. Filippo Grandi
High Commissioner
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,

Geneva, Switzerland

On behalf of the undersigned Eritrean Political Forces (EPF), we are writing this open letter to you to express our grave concerns about the physical security, dignity and the wellbeing of Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers in the Tigray region and other parts of Ethiopia.

For the last two decades, Eritreans have been fleeing persecution, human rights violations, and oppression in search of safety, protection, freedom, security, and sanctuary within and outside the East African sub-region. During the last three difficult decades in Eritrea, Ethiopia generously offered safety, protection, security, and shelter to more than 173,000 Eritreans with the hope of returning to Eritrea when the killing, imprisonment and gross human rights violation that caused them to flee their country ceases to exist. Unfortunately, more than half of these vulnerable refugees were hosted and protected in the Tigray Region which has recently become a war zone.

Ever since November 4,2020, when the Federal Ethiopian Forces launched military offensive in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia, refugees, the most vulnerable people, have been caught in the crossfire where they have been subjected to killing, abduction and humiliation by the Eritrean forces. It is important to note that, an unjustifiable repatriation of war-escapees to the war zone by the Ethiopian government without protection, security, food, or medical supplies has added to the misery and risk to the lives of the refugees in a major way.

These unprecedented acts of human rights violations that continues to take place in the Tigray Region in particular, is a major violation of international law, International Conventions and Norms; the UN Convention of 1951 and the 1967 Protocol, the principle of non-refoulment and the 1948 UN Declaration of human rights.

There are confirmed reports that around 10,000 Eritrean refugees have been kidnapped from the refugee camps in the Tigray Region by soldiers of the Eritrean Government; and they were forcibly returned to Eritrea; where they would face persecution, indefinite imprisonment without due process, torture, and death. Many of the refugees were wounded in the conflict, four are confirmed to have died in Glass Hospital, Eritrea.

Although Eritrean refugees are still stranded in the conflict zone, many traumatized refugees had managed to flee from the Tigray Region in search of safety in Gondar and Addis Ababa. Sadly, the Ethiopian government has been rounding them up and forcibly returning them to the war zone, where their lives, and safety will be at risk. This is an unprecedented dereliction of the Ethiopian government’s legal duty, and moral failure to safeguard the vulnerable who sought refuge under its jurisdiction.  

Therefore, we hereby express our genuine concern about the abduction, killings, and the serious violation of the rights of refugees by repatriating refugees to the war zone that has exposed the Eritrean refugees and asylum-seekers to grave danger and insecurity.

We, therefore, hereby call upon the Ethiopian government to abide by International Law and International Conventions and Norms by respecting the rights of the refugees, and by ensuring the protection and safety of refugees in the Tigray Region and in Ethiopia in general. As you know, the Principle of Non-refoulment is central to the 1951 UN Convention and the 1967 Protocol.

We also call upon the Refugee Agency and the international community to act with the highest levels of urgency to pressure the Ethiopian Government and offer an alternative safe zone to ensure safety, security, and dignity of Eritrean refugees.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Official Representatives

1. Eritrean National Council for Democratic Change (ENCDC)
2. Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization (RSADO)
3. United Eritreans for Justice (UEJ)
4. Eritrean People’s Democratic Party (EPDP)
5. Eritrean National Front (ENF)
6. Organization Unity for Democratic Change (UDJ)
7. Eritrean National Salvation Front-Hidri (ENSF-Hidri)

   This Letter has been copied to the Following government leaders of countries and Organizations:

• Mr. Abiy Ahmed,  Prime Minister of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia
• Mr. Joseph R. Biden, President-elect of the United States of America
• Mr. Moussa Faki Mahamat, Chairperson of the African Union Commission
• Ms. Ursula von der Leyen, President of European Commission
• Mr. Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of European Commission
• Mr. Kebede Chane, Director General of ARRA
• Ms. Michelle Bachelet, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Mr. Mohammed Abdelsalam Babiker, Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in Eritrea
• Mr. Antonio Vitorino, Director General of the International Organization for Migration

DECEMBER 16, 2020 ERITREA HUB ETHIOPIA, NEWS