How did you get this information?
Eritrean patriots who believe that the Eritrean people should
have the information provided it to us. Given the prevailing
situation in Eritrea, we cannot say anything further about the
subject.
Are
you sure about the authenticity of the data?
We are
very confident that the information is not a forgery. The
level of detail and the volume is such that it practically
rules out any probability of it being a forgery.
Are
you sure about the completeness of the data?
No, we are
not. To test this, we conducted a small sampling: we searched
for names of martyrs, those of our family members and friends.
Some of the names appear on the list, some don’t. Since our
sampling is not scientific, disclosing what percentage
appeared and what didn’t will only fuel further speculation on
the “real number”, which we don’t want to do.
What
is included in the database and what are you publishing?
In the martyr’s album home page, we are publishing the minimum
information required to identify a martyr: full name (name,
father’s name, grandfather’s name), rank, service assignment,
birth year, martyrdom year and age at martyrdom. The objective
is to honor them, not to study or analyze them.
The statistics page, which is meant to analyze the war and not
the martyrs, we provide additional information that does not
threaten national security and unity or violate cultural norms.
The criteria used to include and exclude information will be
published in the statistics section.
Is the internet really the right
medium to publish such emotional and sensitive issue?
More important
than the medium is the presentation. To those who doubt the
ability of the internet to handle such an solemn issue, we
invite you to visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial website, which
we used as our inspiration when designing the special page.
http://thewall-usa.com/ By
converting the data into an image file, we have taken some care
to make it harder for malicious people to manipulate the
information. Harder, but not impossible.
Even if I accept that the information has to be published, why
should it be Awate?
Using erroneous assumptions, most of it promoted by the
government and its supporters, some have drawn erroneous
conclusions about Awate. First of all, Awate has no vested
interest, financial or otherwise, in drawing “traffic” to its
website. Awate is an independent organization serves no agent,
governmental or non-governmental, foreign or domestic, now, in
the past, or in the future. Period. Second, we reject the notion
of stratified citizenship: we are all equal stakeholders. Third,
this kind of endeavor would normally be the affair of a
non-partisan and functioning Eritrean civil society, to whom we
would gladly yield respectfully. But there are none in Eritrea.
Why Now? Do you have a political objective? What do you hope to
accomplish?
Unlike our War of Independence, which had unanimous support
among Eritreans, the Eritrea-Ethiopia border war of 1998-2000
was controversial. Some believed it was avoidable, some thought
it was not. Some vocalized their positions, some were silent.
But we all were caught by surprise. We all agree that the
martyrs, regardless of the political decisions that led to their
martyrdom, should be honored. And one way to honor them is to
tell their story and do everything we can to make martyrdom
rare. We also hope that this will help prevent future
destructive wars.
Is this a political position?
Yes. But so is the position that
says we should not disclose the information. Why now? Then,
when? Why Should Awate?
