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EPDP Editorial

The nation dedicates the month of June every year to remember and honor those who gave their lives so that Eritrean people could stand tall and determine their own destiny; to honor those who courageously stood and gave their lives so that the Eritrean independence bell could ring; to pay tribute to those brave souls who refused to surrender in the battlegrounds so that justice and freedom could reign in Eritrea, and to those all who died in the service of their people.  

We know every Eritrean community and family suffered during the 30-year war of independence. June is designated to remember and visit the graves of our freedom fighters whose bodies lie almost in every town, creek, mountain, and hamlet across the land of Eritrea. June is a somber and joyless day for Eritrean people. It is also a sacred month that Eritreans honor it with prayers and somber songs and reflections for their fallen heroes.

These are Eritrea’s best sons and daughters; Eritrea’s fathers and mothers; Eritrea’s finest farmers, workers, students, thinkers, poets, writers …etc. They hail from various Eritrea’s ethnic and social groups brought together by the love of their country. They are Eritreans who shared a common vision and became faithful to the cause of their country, and went on a march to give their lives. They died with unparallel courage and bravery - some of them died being dragged in the street of Eritrea’s towns and others strangled to death by electrical wires; others died in colonial prisons, and hundreds and thousands of others perished in the battlegrounds with their faces and heads bleeding and with their bodies mutilated, and more others died while rescuing their fellow wounded freedom fighters. These are the stories of Eritrean heroes who galvanized the independence struggle by their martyrdom.

But as citizens, is it enough to mouth patriotism and nationalism in memory of those hundreds and thousands heroes who left to the Eritrea’s field and never came home alive? A serious contemplation is needed; and that is have we kept the promises that our heroes died for? Is it enough to give a speech and lay a wreath on the graves of our freedom fighters? Is it enough to fly Eritrean flag at a half mast or perform parades in the nation’s capital? Is it enough to pay a heartfelt tribute and gratitude to our martyrs? No, it is not.

The vision and the unparallel devotion of our fallen heroes have been betrayed to the core. What we have is a tyrannical system in our country. Our freedom fighters did not die to establish a dictatorship in Eritrea; they did not die to have warmongering elite in Eritrea; they did not die to have belligerent, corrupt power elite, and an absolute militarized authority in Eritrea that denies the basic freedom and justice. No, they died for freedom and justice of Eritrean people.  

We owe our martyrs justice and freedom in Eritrea. We owe them peace and democracy in Eritrea. The flame of liberty and freedom is burning in their graves. We must realize it. As we commemorate our heroes and martyrs in this month of June, let us contemplate how to eradicate and remove tyranny from Eritrea. After all, this is the land of the greatest heroes and heroines.