Thanksgiving is an American holiday commemorating a tradition of giving thanks to those who affect your life positively.   To us, there is no question who to thank: our readers, and particularly those who take time out to share their thoughts with us.  They inspire us and give us the strength we need to never stop, to continue on this journey to bring peace, democracy and justice to our besieged nation.  Yes, we get our share of hate mail�we are thankful to them, too, for they remind us of the dark side of Eritrean politics and help us re-dedicate ourselves and re-double our efforts to ensure that even those escapees from the lunatic asylum are heard but never given power to run our affairs.   Happy Thanksgiving day!

�Reporters� � by DS

If Mike is classified as a reporter, I am really keen and encouraged to
apply for vacancy in one of British tabloids to work as a "Reporter"

But hold on, in PFDJ land you do not need any qualification to be any one,work in anywhere as long as you are loyal to our beloved President.

Just before he was disposed from power, Mengistu Hailemariam received a PhD, in Medicine from a well-known institution called "Mengistu Hailemariam" He fired all his oldies Ministers on the ground of Ill healthy. Lately, Isaias became a qualified engineer, advising a company involved in constructing Roadwork in Massawa. � DS

Here's the third strike- AA, USA

One of your favourites, Sammy G, is telling us Muslims that we have nothing to do with Eritrea.  Instead we should concentrate on the Muslim Americans that are getting no justice in America.  Are these people real?  Are they Eritreans?  We cannot talk about the 2 million Eritrean Muslims, we have to talk about the handful of Muslim Americans?  Insane!

�Pride of Our Sisters� - DT

In SEGENEYTI, some 60 km south of the capital, I was sitting outside in a cafe with a veranda. The name of the cafe was BABENE BAHTA. I asked one of the locals who was sitting by my side, he was an old man, why the cafe was named so. He told me this.

The cafe was named after a person who resisted the sexual exploitation of our sisters by fascist Italians. He said the Ethiopian rulers of those days used to impose an unbearable tax and exploitation on Eritreans and Bahta who was so disgruntled with this picked up arms and was to some extent able to defend and fight for his right and the right of fellow Eritreans.And later on sided with the Italians to fight the Ethiopians. He finally succeeded. The Italians after a while came to Bahta and asked for Eritrean girls for their soldiers. Like the PFDJ is giving our sisters to the dogs (military officers) which bark in its defence.

Bahta  rejected this humuliating and degrading request and rose again to defend the Eritrean girls from the Fascists. He besieged the local Italian command center:
the Italians were completely surrounded and begged for mercy while they telegrammed or radioed for reinforcement, meanwhile they obeyed every order given
by Bahta by saying "BABENE BAHTA". They were humiliated in front of the local people. When the reinforcement arrived Bahta's army was overwhelmed and
he gave his life for the respect and dignity of his daughters. 

I believe present day parents should do likewise. I hope you would come with a better and elaborate presentation and that is why I write this to you. Please let's remind our people about our past defiance against injustice on our young sisters which is being repeated in the rape camp in Sawa. Thank you. Do it please let's expose injustice. Long live the pride of our sisters.

Benchmark for Governance � By �N�

Ethiopians are equally thankful to Weyane for getting rid of Mengistu, but they

were and are very careful to disclose their thankfulness for fear of its abuse by Weyane. So, their first warning to Weyane was, " Don't even dare to compare yourselves with Derg,  we deserve much better than that. We deserve all the power that there is! Derg memezegna endatadergu weyolachihu." 

This they said, the very NEXT DAY, while Eritreans had guayla for the whole year, as Shaebiya was of course leading the nation to an abyss unnoticeably. Not many of us realized, based on drunkenness by power, and mere arrogance, what their foreign policy was leading us into. It sent shivers in my spine to hear what Haile Derue' had to say in regard to the Hanish conflict. He gestured his wrist up in the air to express how a small unit (Sireya), attacked a Yemeni army and held so many POWs. Thank to the Yemeni President who could have turn Asmara upside down with a few missiles from Aden, opted to take us to Court. I trembled when I heard the then Ambassador Semere , bragged about how PIA confronted Clinton in defense of Kabilla and actually, along with Weyane, sent an army to attack as the US was attempting to help Kebilla and Mobutu form a transitional govt. I admired PIA's courage, but seriously questioned his judgment.

The war with Ethiopia was, I believe a fallacy of foreign policy also.  I can only offer to bail out my son/daughter once not twice. PFDJ has been bailed out by its people once, now it's on parole without a Parole Officer.

Labeling the Opposition, by  �S�,  from UK

I salute your last article on effective opposition. It confirmed my belief that awate.com is a more formidable opposition to the dictator and his mafia-organisation than any other opposition group. The existing opposition, which regards its mere survival as an achievement, is not not going to oust the devil unless ofcourse it is reformed, united and modernised.  But to do this, the opposition also needs the input, not just the criticism, of those who oppose the regime but who are not part of the organised opposition.

Labeling the opposition as weak, unorganised, unclear etc and then doing nothing does not help to achieve what the Eritrean people expect from its political forces. We do not need to any more expose on the ugliness of the regime: the regime is doing just that, and in fact better than us. What we do need is, Take Concrete Steps to get rid of it and recover our beloved country.  I am glad that the last editorial of Awate.com emphasises this point. This wonderful web site is playing a wonderful role and is helping change the eritrean politics for ever. The Issayasian strategy of ''fait accompli'' is not working. 

Dispatches From the Belly of the Beast 

Dear Awate: This is to say you many thanks for your master website,all members who contribute their knowledge day and night. We Eritreans residing in center of this PFDJ have learned much from you invaluable contribution. This regime is almost dead: Economically,politically and socially however, the main reason to stay in power is as you always describe in various parts of your website articles is b/se the opposition groups are not yet organized as they could be! We should work hard to change this obstacle.I am hopeful our peoples' problem will cease soon.

Be well. 

From Saudi Arabia, MSD writes:

I hope you are doing fine. I think the great job of media service the awate.com is offering to the Eritreans throughout the world deserves a praise and a word of thank, thus, I would like to apprise you that the awate.com have many admirers here in our region (Saudi Arabia) specially your exciting style in the interviews.

From Sudan, GY shares:

Thank you again and again for the important role that you and Awate play to strengthen our people struggle to eradicate the dictator and its mentality and replace it by constitutional and multi-party system. Go ahead and all our people with you in the fore-front.

From Canada, responding to �Berhan Hagos� MK warns: 

I read the material entitled "A friendly comment" by Hagos Berhan with great interest. I found the analysis to be reasonable well written. In the final analyses the comment concludes by suggesting that the Awate Team should endorse Mesfin Hagos as replacement for Isayas.

The Awate team may or may not respond to the comment. In the meantime if I am allowed I want to express my view. The awate team or anybody has a right to endorse somebody to replace Isayas. People have the right to express their view. I also think that the suffering the Eritrean people will intensify while Isayas is in power. However, I do not think it is reasonable that Mr Hagos Berhan should tell the Awate team to support somebody for leadership. I find this to be unhelpful for development of democratic system in Eritrea. The basis for endorsing somebody to such position is not obvious. Furthermore it will compromise the neutrality of the Awate team. I do not think it is in the interest of the Eritrean people at this stage. Even I am not sure if it is helpful for his group or for himself. When I visit EritreaOne from time to time I find materials that suggest that Mesfin Hagos is a leader in-waiting or exile. Although I think that is not democratic, I can understand why they want to sell that. As Hagos Berhan puts in his article "they are pre-posturing for post-PIA world". I can not understand why they do that and accuse others for doing similar things. To be frank I am not pro or against any particular opposition group or individual. But I find it hard at this stage why some organisations feel they have the monopoly for power in Eritrea? These same organisations are not only happy to bash other groups as they want but are happy to ask a nearly neutral group to support them in this.

In my view Awate should encourage uniting among all Eritrean opposition forces as it has being doing over the last two years. The leadership issue should be decided at best through election by the Eritrean people in Eritrea. If Isayas flees Eritrea to avoid power vacuum provisional leadership involving all stakeholders could be formed. In fact in my view we are not there yet. I hope I am wrong.

And, finally, from the Lunatic Asylum

(1) WOW WOW WOW, Awate team (The Jihad team) needs our support  The peoples' support!!!  now you need money from me, us , eritrean's ?

For what though?  for the  job well done? For being an instrument to the enemy of Eritrea? or money to buy a second house for each of the Jihad team. Is San Jose too expensive to spray your venome from??

What happened the fund your lords in Mekele pledged ? You run out early, or You used it all to lie, or never mind you didn't get it at all. Is that what you learned saleh yonus wedi kelbi during your short vacation in shire? "BEGGING"

(2) We eritreans?? Jebertis eritreans? Who is eritrean here. Please help me here. How can you claim that you are eritrean. Jebertis change their colours arbitrarly. When they have the opportunity to do business and exploit the people and the land they claim to be eritreans. When things are serious (example, border war) they claim to be ethiopians. When they are among arabs, they claim they are arabs, and they argue that eritreans are arabs.

Please help me. Where do you belong to? Since you invaded us(comming from tigray) with your caravans starting from adi keyh(akele guzai), seraye in to entire eritrea, we have only problems with you people. What you have to understand is that, you are not welcomed in eritrea. Are you ethiopians? Are you arabs? Stop printending to be eritreans. 

Take for example the dictator Issaias, he is an ethiopian. But he desputes it. Like you do. You(jebertis) are tigray period. Why you folk do not accept your identity. For example Meles Zenawi is more eritrean than you and the dictator. At least he is from his mother side eritrean. He is a proud tigrayan and a proud ethiopian. I have a great respect of him. As muslim i have respect for tigray, because of it history. I can tell you, i am born and raised in keren. At that time we did not have any problem in regard of religion.

We eritrean muslims do not accept and we do not want any intermariage with the jebertis. In our tradition it is taboo. Because jebertis are ethiopians. For example there is no problem with a marriage between eritrean muslims and eritrean christians. Because we are all brothers and sisters. Coincidentally my parents belong to different religions. I am a muslim like my mother. I have also christian brothers and sisters from my father side. I do not any problem to get married to a christian woman. But never to a jeberti. According to our tradition that is forbidden. But the dictator preident(christian jeberti) is messing every thing. It is high time that you and the dictator leave us(eritreans) in peace. We can govern our land by our self. Nobody asked you for help. Please in Allah�name stay away. As long as the dictator is in power you are fine. But your days are counted. No more honeymoon.