http://ascenteq.com/project/epdp

Asmara’s feud with Ethiopia’s had a huge bearing on Eritreans in the country and diaspora. Now there’s peace, we have a lot of questions.

What will peace in Eritrea mean for ordinary citizens? Credit Andrea Moroni.

Like many Eritreans, the sudden warming of relations between the Eritrean and Ethiopian governments has filled me and my loved ones with both hope and fear. The no-war no-peace stalemate that defined the politics and identity of my country for 20 years is apparently over.

This newfound peace is undoubtedly a cause for celebration, and one that will transform politics across the region for years to come. Yet for many of us, the most pressing questions this new situation begs are far more immediate.

We are asking things like: Will my sister in school still be conscripted into compulsory military service next year? Will my cousin, who is looking for ways to be smuggled across the border, be allowed to leave legally instead? Will my aunt, who has criticised the Eritrean government from outside the country, be allowed back in? Will my uncle, languishing in jail for political reasons, finally be released?

[Isaias out of character: Why Eritreans are getting nervous]

[Ethiopia-Eritrea peace: Some unanswered questions]

Lives on hold

For two decades, Eritrea has been one of the world’s most secretive and isolated countries. To begin with, it has been extremely difficult to get in and out. The first time I applied for a visa to enter as a tourist, I was met with puzzled laughter at the consulate. I was only able to get a visa because I had some contacts that could pull strings in the capital Asmara.

Getting out of Eritrea is much harder and much more dangerous. Very few are permitted to exit by the government, and so most who want to leave rely on human-smugglers and risk being arrested or kidnapped for ransom. Everyone knows someone who has embarked on these uncertain and treacherous journeys. Thousands consider the conditions in the Eritrea to be so dire as to do so every single month.

Life in Eritrea is restricted and tough. The country is poor and the economy extremely closed. People are not allowed to access non-state media. There is practically no Internet or access to smart phones. And there has never been a single election. Asmara’s defining features – the crumbling, modernist architecture; wide, palm-lined avenues; Italian-style pastry shops; and classic 60s Volkswagen beetles – are all reminders of a vibrancy that has long ceased to exist.

Worse still, all young people in Eritrea are required to undergo compulsory national service. Their passports, university diplomas and lives are put on hold as they undergo military training, after which they may be sent off to labour in any outpost that the government sees fit.

At the moment, one of my relatives spends his days painting arrows and divider lines on the few one-lane roads of Asmara for virtually zero pay. Another, who was finally released from national service after over a decade, is still required to guard a government building from 10pm to 3am once a week. National service is indefinite. In his words, this serves “as a reminder that the government has power over me”.

Divided families

For 20 years, President Isaias Afwerki, who effectuates total control, has used the pretext of Ethiopian hostility to entrench his totalitarian rule and shut Eritreans off from the outside world. This has incurred huge political and economic costs, but the human costs of this enforced isolation have been just as high. They can be measured in every Eritrean family, each of which has its own stories to tell.

I had an aunt, for example, who lived in Addis Ababa. When she received a diagnosis of terminal cancer, her relatives in the US and Canada could visit her to say goodbye, but her loved ones just over the border in Eritrea were not allowed.

I have another friend nicknamed “Baby”. When the 1998-2000 border war began, he was in Eritrea with his mother. The rest of the family was visiting Ethiopia. With transit no longer permitted, they were suddenly split in two. In an instance, the tight-knit unit was unable to reunite and could only communicate with great difficulty. My friend was called Baby, because that’s what he was the last time the rest of the family saw him.

The separation between Eritrea and Ethiopia has never been of two nations, but of two populations made up of thousands of families. That’s why headlines such as the New York Times’ “After 20 Years of Silence, Strangers in Ethiopia and Eritrea Call to Say Hello” fail to capture an important element of Ethiopian-Eritrean relations. We are not strangers.

What now for us?

With war declared over, the status quo of the past two decades will fundamentally change. Asmara’s apparatus of control will necessarily shift, marking the end of Eritrea as we (don’t) know it. But this brings us back to the question of what will happen to the Eritreans’ lives both in the country and in the diaspora.

Now there is no longer an apparent threat of Ethiopian attack, will military conscription end? Now that flights are open to Eritrea, who will be allowed in? My dad, having written critically of the regime in the past, has not dared enter the country for the past ten years. Will there be a place for him and other dissidents in this new opening?

What about the thousands who have fled? Several of my family members have sacrificed the prime years of lives in refugee camps and transit countries for the chance to begin anew elsewhere. Will they be able to keep these lives that they’ve worked for?

Some Eritreans remain sceptical about Asmara’s genuine capacity to act differently. “Having seen the injustice in my country, I don’t think anything will change without a change in leadership,” a compatriot told me. That’s not the feeling of most Eritreans, but our new hope remains tinged with fear and uncertainty, our long-held fear and uncertainty now tinged with hope.

Source=http://africanarguments.org/2018/07/23/eritrea-peace-history-aside-mean-loved-ones/

ርእስ-ዓንቀጽ ሰዲህኤ

ፖለቲካዊ ጉዕዞ ሃገርና ርግኣት ዝሓረሞ ኣብ ሓፍዞቕ ዝተመስረተ ምዃኑን ምንባሩን ተመኩሮና ይምህረና። ካብቶም ከምዚ መልክዕ ክሕዝ ዝድርኽዎ ምኽንያታት ወትሩ ኣቀማምጣ ሃገርና ናይ ዝመስጦም ሓይልታት ግዳም ረብሓ ዘንጸላልዋ ምንባሩን ምዃኑን እዩ። እዚ ካብ ነዊሕ ግዜ ጀሚሩ ቀንዲ መርኣያ ታሪኽና ኮይኑ ዝጸንሐ እዩ። ድሕሪ ምብቃዕ 2ይ ውግእ ዓለም፡ ኤርትራ ከም ኩለን ኣብ ትሕቲ መግዛእቲ ዝጸነሓ ሃገራት ኣፍሪቃ ግቡእ ናጽነታ ከይትረክብ ዝደረኸ ጠንቂ ከኣ እዚ ነዊሕ ኢድ ናይ ግዳም እዩ። ናይ ሽዑ ኮነ ናይ ሎሚ ሰብ ነዊሕ በትሪ ሓይልታት ወጻኢ፡ ንኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ነነብሰን ኣኽኢልካ ዘይኮነ ንኤርትራን ህዝባን ግዳይ ብዝገብር ጐባጢ መልክዕ ዓምጺጽካ ምሓዝ ዝብል እምነት ከም ዝነበሮም ሎሚ’ውን ከም ዘለዎም ምርዳእ ዘጸግም ኣይኮነን።

ኣብ ብዙሕ ምዕራፋት ቃልስና ከም ዝይተራእየ፡ እቶም ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ቀንዲ በዓል ጉዳይ እንዳሃለወ “ንሕና ኣለናልካ” እንዳበሉ ናብቲ ንሳቶም ዝደልይዎ ዝጐትዎ ናይ ግዳም ሓይልታት ጥራይ ኣይነበሩን። ከምቲ “ገረብ ብሓኽላ ወይ መንገዲ ምስ ወዲ ዓዲ” ዝበሃል ህዝቢ ንምትላል ዝዋፈር ኤርትራዊ ሓይሊ እውን ነይሩ እዩ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ግና ምናልባት ደኣ ድምጹ ዝሰምዓሉ ዓቕሚ ይስእን ነይሩን ኣሎን እምበር፡ ከቶ ረብሓኡን ዕላምኡን ካብ ልኡላዊ ክብሪ ሃገሩ ከምዘይፍለ ዘንጊዑ ኣይፈልጥን። ብሰንኪ ዕድል ምስኣኑ ግና ክሳብ ሕጂ ባህጉ ኣይሰመረሉን።

ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ብሓፈሻ ቃልሱ ምእንቲ ናጽነት ካብ ዝጅምር፡ ብፍላይ ከኣ ድሕሪ ናጽነት ሃገሩን ክብራን ከም ብሌን ዓይኑ ክሕሉ ዝጸንሐ ህዝቢ እዩ። እቲ ናይ ታሪኽ ኣጋጣሚ ኮይኑ ድሕሪ ናጽነት ንኤርትራ ዝመረሓ ናይ ሎሚ ህግደፍ ነዚ ሕኑን ኤርትራዊ ስምዒት ብኸመይ ከም ዝጥቀመሉ ብጉርሒ ክኸይድ ዝጸንሐ እዩ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ኣብ ርእሲ ናጽነቱ መሰረታዊ መሰላቱ ንክሕለወሉ ዘቕርቦ ዝነበረ ጠለባት ምስ ባህሪ እቲ ገዛኢ ጉጅለ ስለ ዘይሳነ፡ እቲ ጉጅለ ካብኡ ንምህዳም ብዙሕ መዳህለሊ ተንኮላት ክምህዝ ጸኒሑ። ካብቲ ተንኮላቱ እቲ ብዝጐልሐ ክትርጎሞ ዝጸንሐ፡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ናብ ውሽጣዊ ጉዳዩ ምእንቲ ከይርኢ ብጉዳይ ፍቕሪ ሃገሩ ኣሰናቢድካ ናብ ግዳም ጥራይ ከም ዘመዓዱ ምግባሩ እዩ። ናይቲ ብየመንን ብሱዳንን ጀሚርካ ክሳብ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ዝተኻየድ ውግኣት ከኣ መልእኽቱ እዚ እዩ። ካብዚ ሓሊፉ ኣዞም ምስ ጐረባብቲ ዝተኻየዱ ውግኣት ምስቲ ምእንቲ ናጽነት ዝተኻየደ ውግእ ኣወዳዲርካ ክካየዱ ዘይግበኦም ከምዝነበሩ ደጋጊምና ክንብሎ ዝጸናሕና እዩ።

መንግስቲ ህግደፍ ድሕሪ’ቲ መሪር፡ ኣዝዩ ዘስካሕካሕ ጉድኣት ዘውረደን ዘይናይዶብ ክንሱ “ናይ ዶብ” ዝብል ስም ዝተዋህቦን ውግእ ምስ ኢትዮጵያ ጠጠው ኢሉ፡ ናብ ዓለም ለኻዊ መድረኽ ምስ ተመርሐን ምስ ተወሰነን፡ ቀራን ተሓላቓይ ናይቲ ውሳነ ኮይኑ ጸኒሑ። በቲ ካብ ልቡ ዘይነቐለ “ቅድሚ ኩሉ ጉዳይ ዶብ ተመልኪቱ ልኡላውነት ክዕቀብ ኣለዎ” ዝብል መኸተ ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ ጅሆ ሒዝዎ ጸኒሑ። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ከኣ እቲ ጉጅለ ከምኡ ኢሉ ስለ ዝጨረሐ ዘይኮነስ፡ ኣብ ልዕልቲ መወዳድርቲ ዘይብሉ ዋጋ ዝኸፈለሉ ልኡላውነት ዘለዎ ክቱር ፍቕሪ፡ ንኩሉ ሳዕቤናቱ ክኢሉ ንናይ ሓሶት መርገጽ ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ክድግፎ ጸኒሑ። እዚ ከኣ ዝያዳ ኩሉ ህዝብና ሕጉግ ምዃኑ ዘርኢ እዩ። ኣብዚ እዋንዚ ግና ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ኣብ ሓጺር ግዜ፡ ብዘይህዝባዊ ወኸሳ፡ ብኣዝዩ ቅልጡፍ ፍጥነት፡ ብፍጹም ህዝብና ዘይተጽበዮ “ጉጅላዊ ረብሓይ ይሕልወለይ” ኣብ ዝበሎ ኩርናዕ ተኾይጡ እነሆ።

ኣቀያይራ መርገጽ ህግደፍ ቅልጡፍ ጥራይ ዘይኮነ፡ ጉዳይ ሃገር ኣብ ሓደጋ ዘእቱ ከይከውን እውን ዓብይ ስኽፍታ ኣሕዲሩ ዘሎ እዩ። ጉጅለ ህግደፍ ኣብ ልዕልቲ ናይ ቅድም ኣሰካፊ ቀልባዕብዑ፡ ልኡኻቱን መራሒኡን ናብ ኣዲስ ኣበባ ከይዶም፡ “ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ህዝቢ ኢትዮጵያን ሓደ እዩ፡ ዶ/ር ኣብይ ኣሕመድ ዓሊ ምቕሉል መራሒ ረኺብና፡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ኢትዮጵያን ክልተ ህዝቢ እዩ ዝብሉ ነቲ ሓቂ ዘይፈልጡ እዮም፡ ሓድሽ ታሪኽ’ዩ ዝስራሕ ዘሎ፡ ዶር ኣብይ ክመርሓና ኣረኪበዮ ኣለኹ” ዝብሉ ሓረጋት ህግደፍ ብ “ናይ ኤርትራ ናይ ወጻኢ ጉዳይ ስረሓት ክሰርሕ ሓላፍነት ተረኪበ ኣለኹን ናይ ወሰን ጉዳይ ብናይ ፍቕሪ ድንድል ሰጊርናዮ ኢናን” ዝብሉ ጥቕስታት መራሒ ኢትዮጵያ ተቓሚሞም ምቕራቦም ከኣ ዓሚቝ ስግኣት ፈጢሮም ኣለዉ። ገለ ብዛዕባ ድሕረ-ባይታ መራሒ ህግደፍ ይፈልጡ ዝበሃሉ ወገናት፡ እዚ ጉዳይ ሓድሽ ዘይኮነስ ተሓቢኡ ግዜ ክጽበ ምስ ጸንሐ፡ ሕጂ ዝወጽእ ዘሎ ስምዒት ከም ዝመስል ምጥቃሶም ከኣ ነቲ ስኽፍታ ናብ ሓደገኛ ሻቕሎት ከምዘዕርጎ ዝሰሓት ኣይኮነን።

ኩሉቲ ካልእ ገዲፍካ ነቲ ናይ መራሒ ህግደፍ ንቡር ዘይኮነ ቀልባዕባዕ፡ ካብ ኣካይዳኡ ጀሚርካ ክሳብ ኣሰሓሕቓኡ፡ “እገለ ካባይ ይሓይሽ” እትብል ቃል ወጺኣቶ ዘይትፈልጥ፡ ሕጂ ዶ/ር ኣብይ ይምረሓና ክብል ዝሰምዑ ወገናት፡ ኩሉ እቲ ዲክታቶር ክገብሮ ዝቐነየ ናቱ ዘይኮነስ፡ ናይቶም ምስ ኣብይ ጸሚዶም ዝሓርስዎ ዘለዉ፡ ካሮትን በትርን ዝዓተሩ ሓይልታት ድፍኢት እዩ ኢሎም ዝድምድሙ ብዙሓት እዮም።

ክልቲኦም ወገናት ኣብ ኣስመራ 5 ነጥብታት ዝሓዘ ኣቐዲሙ ብካለኦት ወሓላሉ ክኽሸን ዝጸንሐ ስምምዕ ተፈራሪሞም። ቀንዲ ትሕዝቶ ናይቲ ስምምዕ እቲ መንግስቲ ኢትዮጵያ ኣቐዲሙ ከቕረቦ ዝጸንሐ ኣብ ኩነታት ናብ ንቡር ምምላስ ዘድሃበ እማመ ኮይኑ፡ እታ ንውሳነ ኮሚስሽን ዶብ እትምልከት እሞ ኢሳያስ ንዝሓለፈ 17 ዓመታት ከም ሽግ ዓቲሩዋ ዝጸነሓ ሓሳብ ግና ኣብቲ ሓደሓደ ዝተርፉ ንኡሳን ጉዳያት ዝሓዘ ዘንቢል ምስፋራ መመሊሱ የገርመካ።

እቲ ቀንዲ ጉዳይ እምበኣር ኢሳያስ ብዛዕባ ሕንኩ ቀንጢጡ ዝመረጾ ርቡጽ መንገዲ ደጋጊምካ ምዝንታውን ምግራምን ኣይኮነን። እቲ ቀንድስ ንሕና እቶም ክብሪ ህዝብናን ሃገርናን ብሓደ ወገን ለውጢ ናይ ምርግጋጽ ሓላፍነት ከኣ በቲ ካልእ ወገን ዝምልከትና ወገናት ክንገብሮ ዝግበኣና ክንገብር ምብቃዕ እዩ። ስለዚ ዓው ኢልና እሞ ከኣ ንህግደፍ ብዝምችእ ፋሕፋሕ ኢልና ዘይኮነ፡ ብስሙርን ሕቡርን ሓላፍነታዊ ድምጺ፡ “ኤርትራ ብቕዋምን ግዝኣተ-ሕግን ክትመሓደር፤ ናይ ፖለቲካን ናይ ሕልናን እሱራት ክፍትሑ፤ ደረት ዘይብሉ ሃገራዊ ኣገልግሎት ክተርፍ ብሕግን ብግዜን ዝተወሰነ ኣገልግሎት ጥራሕ ክኸውን፤ መሰረታዊ ሰብኣዊ መሰላት ኤርትራዊ ዜጋ ከይተሽራረፉ ኣብ ግብሪ ክውዕሉ፤ ተቓወምቲ ስርዓት ህግዲፍ ብናጻ ኣብ ሃገሮም ዝንቀሳቐስሉ ባይታ ምፍጣር፤ ናይ ዕርቅን ይቕረ ምብህሃል መድረኽ ምኽፋት።” ናብ ዝብሉ ህልውና ሃገር ዘውሕስን ለውጢ ዘረጋግጽን ቃልሲ ከነሕይል ይግበኣና።