Toadying Language Fit For The “Turtle King”
The Haileselassization of Isaias Afwerki
The Awate Team, April 5, 2002

If you doubt the claim that there is an effort underway to “Haileselassize” Isaias Afwerki, we invite you to read the following, which is a near verbatim translation of a “reportage” that appeared in the ruling party’s website.  The only words missing are “g’rmawi” and “qedamawi.”  Its aim at promoting a development of a cult of personality and myth around Isaias is shared by the “reporter”, the “governor of Gash Barka”, and some of the people whose comments were published.   Another aim is to present the government of Eritrea as a miracle-maker, peerless (in the world) in its efficiency and kindness.

We have included 3 footnotes (as a subtle reality check to the claims of the president) as well as a big reality check of what Isaias pilgrim reminded us—the propaganda that surrounded the occasion of Haile Selasse crossing the Mereb.   We included that for those who think our underlining and color-coding is too subtle.    -  Awate Team

President Isaias Afwerki’s Pilgrim to Gerset Resettlement Camp
Shaebia.org (Published on 4/4/2002)
Near Verbatim Translation From Tigrigna  by Awate Team

On March 9, 2002, His Excellency President Isaias Afwerki visited and held discussions with thousands of Eritreans who had been repatriated to Gerset.  The returnees had lived as refugees in the Sudan for 20-30 years due to the repressive Ethiopian rule.  

On the said date, beginning at 9:30 AM, approximately 5,000 residents of Gerset and nearly 1,500 representatives from the other resettlement areas, busied themselves with various cultural dances as they eagerly awaited the arrival of President Isaias Afwerki.

In anticipation of the visit, members of the Hedareb Nationality leapt high in the air, as they brandished their swords and canes; and slithered their bodies, waist to necks, like snakes.   Simultaneously, boys and girls from the surrounding areas played in matches, as they awaited the arrival of President Isaias.

While on a lookout for the arrival of President Isaias Afwerki, the assembled mothers from the Tigrigna Nationality chanted, “wherefore is he, [the man] with the plastic sandals.”   Waiting is the hardest part, especially when one awaits the arrival of a missed, respected and dear guest.    A kilometer away from the Camp, at exactly 10:30, clouds of rising dirt could be seen, heralding the arrival of President Isaias.   The people ululated.  As he reached the outskirts of the camp, he disembarked from the car and walked on foot.  The returnees held his hands and hugged him.   Leading the procession were the children who chanted, “welcome, welcome, chief” followed by the youth who tossed popcorn.

Upon reaching the tent that was constructed by the nearly 6000 repatriated refugees in his honor, nearly 1500 elders and returnees from the subzones of Haikota, Tessenei, Goluj, received his arrival with applause and fanfare.  President Isaias returned the favor by remaining standing and bestowing them with filial greetings.  It was a sentimental moment.   It was a sentimental and historic moment because the repatriated got to return to their country and see the face of the president; and the president witnessed the fruits of the government’s labor in the repatriation of the refugees.

The formal inauguration celebrating the occasion were marked by the opening statements of Mr. Mustafa Nurhussein, the governor of Gash Barka.     After asking, “how was your day? How is your week?  I hope you are pleased” and getting assurances of “we are pleased”, he continued: “Dear President, Brother Isaias Afwerki, praise be that you got to meet the people who, for 30 years, rallied around the Revolution while in exile.”   Continuing on, he said, “dear guests, praise be that you got to meet the leader of our 30 year Revolution, the heroic combatant, the deliverer of freedom and the current president, the heroic Isaias Afwerki.   On your behalf and mine, please permit me to thank the beloved president who, now as ever,  having said, on his own initiative, ‘it is a must that I meet with my people who were repatriated; I must spend a day with them and know of their condition’ interrupted his [important] national exertion and volunteered  to commit his time and attention to you.”    

Mr. Mustafa Nurhussein continued to state that of the 40,000 persons who were repatriated from Sudan, 38000 reside in the Gash-Barka province; that the essentials like access to water, medical care, education, etc have been provided and that agricultural plots of land, ranging between one to two hectares are being distributed.   With respect to education, he pointed out that in the Tessenei Middle School, 668 students who receive stipends are attending classes and that make shift, corrugated-tin roof elementary schools have been constructed, offering classes in Tigrigna and Arabic.  Mr. Mustafa [Nurhussein] informed President Isaias [Afwerki] and his guests that, in the area of medicine, 38 nurses have been dispatched to provide services.

For her part, Ms. Hiwet Zemichael, the Commissioner of the Relief & Refugee Commission, stated that it is the responsibility of the government of Eritrea to repatriate its citizens in refuge and assured the President that diligent effort has been exerted and will continue to be exerted towards this goal and that the aid and social services will continue to grow year by year.  For his part, Mr. Mohammed Dewale, the United Nation’s High Commissioner for Refugees representative in Gash Barka, commended the efforts of President Isaias Afwerki and the government of Eritrea in repatriating the Eritrean refugees in Sudan and called on charitable organizations to participate in the resettlement effort.

Following this, President Isaias addressed the repatriated refugees.

“Dear brothers and sisters,
Dear returnees from exile,
Authorities of Gash-Barka Administrative Zone
Commanders of the army,

“ I would like to begin by expressing the joy I feel in the time I am sharing with you.   My happiness in this moment that occasioned our face-to-face meeting is beyond limit.   On this historic day, what I want to tell those who were in the refugee camps and those of you who are present here, I feel proud when I recall your role in making our freedom a reality.  Had it not been for your role, we would not have achieved the freedom we enjoy.   Even now, our freedom will not be fully consummated until all Eritreans who live in exile are returned.[i][i][i]   From the morrow of independence, the entire focus and concentration of the government and the people of Eritrea has been to repatriate all Eritreans and involve them in the construction of Eritrea.[ii][ii][ii]

“ Although the initial efforts to repatriate Eritreans faced internal and external obstacles[iii][iii][iii], our ability to enjoy each others presence today is a testimony to the government’s effort to make your return a priority.   True, you have been relieved from the bad conditions you were in; nonetheless, now that you are here, I would like to ascertain to you that, although it may not be to the level expected, the government has followed, and will continue to follow through on policies[iv][iv][iv] that will improve your quality of life.  And I am confident that, with your and the people of Eritrea’s participation, the effort will succeed.   

“ On this occasion, I would like to thank the people of Sudan who provided you, and to this date continues to provide, with shelter for such a long period.    Victory to the masses!”

Following the address, the people were given an opportunity to ask questions and provide comments.   One of the returnees presented the following question and comment:

“Dear President Isaias, upon witnessing your face, we feel that, today, we attained total happiness and total freedom.   As we prepared ourselves for a prolonged life of exile following the Woyane Offensive, it is pleasing to witness the simultaneous effort of facing the war, reconstruction [the country] and repatriating the returnees.   It is an endeavor that has inspired the awe of the world.   Our nation has opened its arms to us; we remind our comrades who haven’t returned that their nation awaits them with open arms.   We are not want of anything: certainly, there will always be shortcomings when returning to a nation at war.   But we believe this can be overcome by rolling up your sleeves.”   Following this comment, he asked of President Isaias, “We need more arable land since the two hectares won’t suffice a returnee.”

For his side President Isaias replied, ” Not only one or two hectares, if anyone says that he has the ability to develop more that two hectares, for ever--not just for today or tomorrow—it is his undeniable right to go and ask for any size of land to develop in any locality of Eritrea.  When will this be implemented, today or tomorrow? [This] is another issue; maybe what is being said, ‘we were told that we would be given two hectares or two hectares each but we were given only one hectare.’    

“This [was not done] because of scarcity of land or otherwise, or to deny you land or be miserly.   The main issue is, truly, if one gives two hectares to each, does the repatriated refugee have the ability to develop the land properly, be it two or three hectares? If he were to live in an area he will develop there has to be enough water to sustain [Life] once and for all.  Because building schools and building clinics and health centers in the settlement area is necessary, and since the area where the people will live has to have roads, there has to be the needed resources for the agricultural development and other development projects. Today, since you cannot live by taking one or two hectares and by ploughing it using oxen, and because there has to be found the means for a modern agricultural tools, do we have the resources or not?

“Truly, as we started in the beginning, and as I have mentioned earlier, if not for the Weyane aggression, [we were] fully prepared for those plans, and we concluded, the idea of each family taking not less than two hectares could not be done, in this time since the damage that befell this country due to the three and four year destruction and war of the Weyane is not little, and you recognize that, and because the contribution of the governmental and non governmental bodies is very limited.   Let us commence today with one hectare and tomorrow [it goes up] to two and to know that it can go beyond that it is better if you observe it. And since I am sure that this problem will not be solved in one time, and since everybody knows it, questions such as, ‘will this place where you are settling now be your settlement forever or not?’ can be raised and is being studied by the Governor, with aid authorities and other different governmental bodies, with [Department of] agriculture, with [Department of] construction and other ministries are also carrying out studies on it.    

“Until such time that 100% of what is needed is accomplished be it by you or by the government; and [until such time that] you are able to be at ease in a stable situation by having any size of land you need to farm while all that you need is presented to you, we may be able to have temporary solutions for some, but the rest will have to wait until we find the long-term solution.  In the meantime, using the same patience and ability to bear sufferings that you showed during your life as refugees, show co-operation to the administrators and other.  I assure you, when the necessary resources are found, you will be able to farm to the limits of your capabilities.”   

Following that, a father said, “Dear president, welcome! I feel proud to speak on behalf of Gergef refugee camp. Our land has received us well. We are improving our lives and we are resettling. I would like to assure you that after a short while we will be self-reliant. I am glad we got to meet face-to-face.”    

Following that a mother expressed her anger about the aggression and the occupation of the Weyane and her gratitude to the care given by the government as follows: “First, our wish was to meet face-to-face with our government and our people, even for a day. We are glad our wishes were realized. We lived in The  Sudan for twenty-five years; it was a difficult life.  We thank God who enabled us to be here in the presence of our government and brethren and our country. The spiteful leaders of the Weyane tried to hinder us from returning and to prevent us from sitting in front of our government and brethren.  But thanks to the muscles of our brethren and the muscles of our government, we are here.   Hooray, for this day.  This is our president, and this is our brother who brought us this far.  If you feel joy about this, be more merry; if you are distressed by this, wallow in your pain!”

Following that, a brother said, “ As stated by those who spoke before me, we lived as refugees and we experienced the life of a refugee.  Only we who have tasted refuge know whether the life as a refugee is a solution or not.  At any rate, the Arabs say, ‘alweTen Aziz’. Today we are saying ‘we need this; we need that’ because we met [with you], but there is nothing we need. I am 100% sure that whatever is missing, small or big, will be furnished by our government and our authorities. And today, we are happy because all of you, our government and our authorities, are sitting in front of us to listen to our issues. And now, all glory to our saintly brothers and disabled who fell to bring us to this fruit.   They are always unforgettable statues in our memories, glory to them.   We the living don’t want to say, ‘do this for us and give this to us.’   We understand the meaning of war and sacrifice; what our government or people need is peace.  Moreover, we will not ask to eat but to carry the promise of our fallen brothers to protect our country and its sovereignty. We are ready for whatever directives come from you, we are ready. Today, on my side, I am very grateful for your assistance in resettling.   Let alone in Africa, nowhere else in the world can one witness a government that repatriates its people the way our government does.”

“Our feeling of gratitude and happiness that is generated by your presence among us, the presence of the president of our country, is limitless. Eternal glory to you. Victory to the masses.!” he said before the conclusion of the meeting, and the journey of president Isaias to the resettlement camp  was concluded.

Truly this was a special, successful and historic journey.  

BIG REALITY CHECK
On Haile Selassie Crossing The Mereb
As Reported in “Ye Ertra Gudai

Until Haile Sellasie I reached Asmara accompanied with great fanfare after departing Mereb, the number of the people who received him with warm reception was difficult to imagine or to estimate the precise number of the large group.  Booming through a microphone from the Imperial Palace’s balcony, came the royal voice: “ …for the first time since Emperor Yohannes, today for the first time, we, your highest authority, the King of Kings of Eritrea and Ethiopia, are present in Eritrean soil…” Expressing thier happiness, the uncountable numberless people started cheering non-stop, and the Emperor could not finish the speech he started.

The main goal of the detailed speech of the Haile Sellasie I, [was] to explain the basic history of the oneness of Ethiopia and Eritrea to the people, and to explain to the people the efforts that the king of kings has made to enable this ancient land of Hamassien, today known as Eritrea by the people, to return to its motherland.

While Janhoi stayed in Eritrea on an official visit for twenty-five days, because most of his speeches were made in all regions and cities and because [the speech] mentioned the historical unity of the two peoples, the royal message was properly received, as demonstrated in the expression of happiness of October 4, 1952”.