(hade hizbi hade libi) a myth or reality?

THE FIRST SCRAMBLE

A handsome, charismatic and ambitious young man, Tekhlencheal was one of those who settled partially in Shellalou and partially in Tokombia. He had the loyalty of some men under his command. He was made �Sheikh Al Khatt� of Shellalou to handle some disputes that may occur between the Habasha of Shellalou and the others. He made a good fortune from cattle, trade and small-scale farming.

The ambitious Tekhle, with his peasant background, sought to advance in a large-scale agricultural investment. He cleared a large area adjacent to the Add Ebrehim residence and brought some peasant labourers from the Plateau to work on it. Add Ebrehim resented the action and claimed the land as their backyard pasture and a road of their cattle across the Gash River to Bahr. Sheikh Musa Ali Shoule supported their claim but in vain. Tekhle was too influential and well connected to bend for his decision; he won the case in Asmara. Thanks to the Ethiopian law that made �all land property of the Emperor�. More land was cleared and more labourer peasants were brought from the Plateau.  

I am convinced that the intelligent, experienced and malevolent Asrate Kasa had watched the situation with a great curiosity. One day the inevitable dim-witted reaction had taken place. A handful Add Ebrehim`s young men who were within an ELF contingent in Dasse vicinity escaped unobserved at dark with their rifles (ELF version of the story) stunned the labourers at Tekhle`s scheme. They collected all cooking utensils, axes and land tilling tools and burned them in the sheds. They warned the labourers never to come back again and to tell their master to dispose of the scheme. Another version of Jordan Gebre-Medhin book (1989) was that: �The Ethiopian government for its own political ends encouraged many landless farmers from the highlands to settle in the region in the pastoralist areas of the Gash which created conflicts between the new settlers and the pastoralists. The ELF sided with the pastoralist Beni-Amer and as a reaction the government armed the farmer settlers. The property rights and control of land situation took a political dimension of the larger Eritrean Ethiopian conflict�.

However, of course, Tekhle and his men were infuriated. It was a long anticipated golden opportunity from heavens; an experienced man such as His Highness Leul Lijj Asrate Kasa would never miss. This region was the cradle of the young revolution. Eritreans should be played against each other and trap the young, feeble and loosely organized ELF into it. As a matter of fact, at that stage the ELF was not a match to Kasa and his well-advised plans and intrigues. Instantly most Habasha in the region were armed, more landless peasants from the Plateau were brought and Shellalou was fortified. Sheikh Musa Ali Shoule, the Kunama chief who was seen to be an obstacle for the master plan, was summoned to Asmara and was told to bring back his son �to peaceful life� from the ELF or otherwise would face persecution. The disgraced Shoule left to Kassala never to come back again (deceased in late seventies in Kassala). At a latter stages some Kunama (The kunama plight and anguish is another long story that deserves a separate article.) were persuaded and/or intimidated by Sila Abel to be armed. Gradually the local militias were lured in action to peruse and fight the ELF together with the Ethiopian army, Tor Serawit, and the Commandos. Tekhle attained his zenith of power and military might, he led many battles against the ELF. In the vicinity of Haikuota in lower Gash Tekhle pursued and killed Sheikh Ibrahim Dauod (Add Ebrehim`s former advocate who faced Tekhle in the court at Asmara). In one of these battles the Ethiopians and their accomplices were defeated and Tekhle was killed at Add Gannad, Barka LEal.  It was a tragic occurrence for the people of Tokombia.

Asrate Kasa had no time to lose; he had to maintain his accomplishment with some administrative measures. Eritreans should continue killing each other so that the revolution would fade and die out. Gash-Settit was separated from Barka as an independent awraja. Sila Abel, a Kunama and a former teacher in the Swedish Missionary School in Tokombia, was promoted, from a clerk in the office of the D.O. Abdu Blambaras in Barentu, to D.O. (Divisional Officer). Late Tekhle`s uncle Colonel Gabreqal Debessai, a retired police colonel, was brought from Addis Abba to assume the new awraja office of SDO (Senior Divisional Officer) in Barentu. Once the impious �Triangle�, Asrate Kasa, Gabreqal Debessai and Sila Abel was in shape they started action.

Gabreqal announced in a public meeting of his inauguration as SDO at Barentu that he was going to avenge his nephew Takhe`s death with �a thousand Muslim�.  A contingent of the Ethiopian army stationed itself in Tokombia and started to bring thousands of rifles in the stores. Just in weeks after Gabreqal assumed power the area witnessed, in weekly bases, a number of buses, Gonafer, Hajji Hassan, Hajji Abdu, carrying hundreds of strange people to the area. People with Obvious malnutrition, half naked and most of them wearing shorts patched with various colours, carrying big axes as big as their heads or even larger. These people had nothing with them but their big axes. No body knew where these people had come from except they all spoke Tigrigna. It was no doubt that most of them were landless poor peasants from the Eritrean Plateau and beyond from the Tigray. They were Promised Land and good standard of living. At arrival every one of them was assigned a new shining rifle. The local militias took the task of guiding those people across the Gash River and assign them land in arbitrary fashion. The influx continued for years in various intensities and duration.

In a dark February night of 1967, under the instructions of the wicked �Triangle�, the Tokombia militia escorted by a small contingent of Tor Serawit besieged the village of Add Ebrihim and every male above ten was killed. Few days later the same militia lashed on the town of Tokombia itself. Four dignitaries of the community Khalifa NafeE wad Be-Umnet (Blin-Tarqe), Sheikh Ukud wad Adem (Blin-Tawqe), Sheikh Mohamed wad Abdalla Raka (Maria), Sheikh Ali wad Asanai (Maria) were led away their turbans tied around their necks, never to be seen again. Three days later Mohamed Ali Hachirai was bayoneted on daylight in the market place of Tokombia. Fleeing herders were chased, killed (e.g. Mohamed Ukud Adem and Idris Mohamed Abdalla Raka, after the execution of their fathers, trailed and killed in Khor Dasse while on their way to Barka), and their cattle confiscated. The only condolence among this insanity was a man, a Welwel on his own way, the Commando�s commander colonel Tesfamekeal. Among the few dignitaries of Tokombia rescued from the claws of the militia by Colonel Tesfamekeal were Sheikh Ishaq, the Qadhi and Imam of the Tokombia mosque.

Barentu also had to pay its share, Sheikh Mohamed Arey, the Nazer of Nara (Baria), and Sheikh Faid Teinga, the Nazer of Kunama, were thrown in Sambel prison (the former deceased in Asmara while the later liberated by ELF in 1975). Sheikh Mahmoud Beley (a Kunama), Osman Falu, Omer Mohamed Zien, Jaafer Mohamed Arey (the three of them, Nara) and many others were killed.

Terror overwhelmed the area. Terror and arbitrary executions everywhere became the norm. Many herders were killed and cattle confiscated by any one who own a gun. The plans of the iniquitous �Triangle� to evacuate the area of its citizens were a success. As consequences most of the inhabitants of the region were driven to the Sudan as refugees, including some Habasha residents who were disgusted by the sway of terror.    Thousands of people, in fact whole villages, streamed towards the Sudanese border leaving behind all property they had accumulated for years. Tokombia became empty from its original inhabitants. Land became vacant of its occupants and rightful owners. It became no mans land. An �OPEN ACCESS� for the taking, in fact to everyone who affords a ticket to the area and own an axe. People wept in the refugee camps:

Eritrea khadra men massella
Hina midol gabb'e naqabilla?
* * * * * *
Sila tarfa deba wa Gebreqal
Banda Cherqu tabayama attal
* * * * *
Fode tahat waley Anagolou
miderna lehey men messelou
* * * * *
Tokombia tsaada wa Hillat Bager
halib bodoh tarfa, hesas wa maEer
* * * * *
Wadelhellew geba`a mesakebna
wafidin wa lagien gabat la simetna
* * * * *
nebrana fasolia yabis wa chefout wed aker
sufof rayem bediba, dirak wa inta girra bitter
* * * * *
naqabilou adnatu missel benderetna
rayem ye hallet amEil huriyetna
* * * * * *
Eritrea khadra men messella
hina midul gabbi naqabilla ?

Under the heavy axes of the settlers, The ENVIRONMENT WEPT MOST. Trees were cut and converted into heavy �nawet, magzam�, furniture and building materials. Wild animals were either hunted to the last species or scared away. Brown, eroded and ugly plots replaced vast pastures and forests that supplied the country with milk, meat, butter and honey.

Refugees in their songs vowed to return to their pastures and houses, together with their blue flag, as soon as national independence was achieved. Eritrea is independent for ten years now. The wicked �Triangle�, Kasa, Gebreqal and Sila, had perished away to where they deserved. Eritrea has �People�s Front� that highly values and suffices its name by �DEMOCRACY AND JUSTICE�. The most beautiful name an Eritrean organization ever had. Democracy and Justice, however, neither the victims of the �Triangle� nor their flag returned. �Democracy and Justice� is what all Eritreans demand and deserve. The displaced people deserve justice and they had expected it from the first Eritrean national government. Justice.

To be continued����������next The Second Scramble.