On Dec. 11, 2000. The first sentence in Negash Hagos� message to awate.com was:
�Tell Mansour Karrar the following�.

[awate.com: We have obeyed Negash�s orders and forwarded the message to �tell Mensour Kerrar� of its existznce and he has replied to the views that came in the message. We have edited most of the Mensour�s refrences to Negash, because we do not encourage duels. First the reader finds Negash�s message followed by Mensour�s article and finally a comment by the Awate Team. Please read on�]

-Massawa as it is known for Europeans or MassawaE to the Arabs, is an originally Tigrigna name. ( MSwaE= to call)

-Hirgigo was once known as WEDEKOY (Wedi Akoy) and people who came from that place are believed to have built a Church in Inda Mariam Asmara. That place was once some kind of place of worship, probably Jewish.

-The Belew people were once Orthodox Christians and they were only converted to Islam by the Turks. I have a friend whose name is Ibrahim Mohammed Ahmed from Umberemi (Semhar), a True Tigre who speaks good Tigre and refers to his language as Tigrayt, who told me that most of his ancestors name was Tigrigna (Ajami or non-Arabic).

-There are great evidences which show that the Hadendawa tribes were once orthodox Christians. I am told that in some places in Barka there are places where once Monasteries were located.

-At least three of Beni Amr clans are of Tigrigna origin. This is clearly documented and some names like Gebreyes (Gebre-yesus) are believed to be the forefathers of those clans who came from Adi Tekelezan in Hamassien.

-The Halenga Tribe in Kassala are originally from Kebessa. This was made clear when Halenga elders came to see Colonel DEOBCH (a Christian from Kebessa) when he entered Kassala with the Italian Army.

-Some clans from Sahil are from Hamassien. This is clearly indicated by the clan names like Biet Asgede and geographical places like Marsa TEKHLAY (Teklay). A member of my family once met in Toker (Sudan) a Tigre (Hassa) originally from Sahel who showed him his ancestral SWARD with Geez inscriptions and Tigrigna Christian names.

# This is what can one read in a book written by R. Perrini written in 1905.

Beni Amr
1 Labya

-Their origins are from Hamassien and in particular HAZEGA and they are divided in to two clans.
A. Al Reya: They live in Ad Ukud.
B. Ad kukuy: They live in DGE (a residence place of the head of the Diglal)

2. Ad Hashal

-Originally from Hamassien. They settled in Hagar. This group is very small in number and is spread in various Beni Amr clans.

3.Ad QayH

-This group also is originally from Kebessa and they are small in number and they are spread in various Beni Amr clans.

4. Jarabar

-This group too is originally from Hamassien. They have settled among other Beni Amr clans and they are intermarried with the AL REYA clan.

5.Ad Bidel

-Originally from ADI BIDEL in Hamassien. They have good contact with the place of their origin. l though they have taken the DIGLAL title, however as a separate group they live without a SHUMAGLE. They are borders from the North by BAZA and they live between the small river of Mensura and River Barka. Their numbers are very small.

Halenga

They are originally from DEMBELAS (deqi TESFU). The original settlers of Kassala are even from HALENGA. It was only later in time that other groups from different parts of Sudan came to Kassala. At this time, the majority of those people who live in Kassala are of HALENGA origin and the language they speak is TIGRE. The political unity of the people the ancient people of GEEZ PEOPLE of MIDRI BAHRI was made strong again at the time of the Italian Colonialism. This was accomplished in December 1894 when Italy conquered Kassala. After that event a group of Halenga elders came to pay an official visit to Colonel GURJA. On that occasion the Halenga elders - despite religious differences- made clear to Colonel Gurja that they were too from the AG'AZI NATION and they hoped that based on their mutual strong relations their contact in the future would be maintained.

Habab

-Are originally from Kebessa (Karneshim). Their forefather is B'mnet. #B'mnet fathered GuaEdad, ASGEDE, BHAYLAY, ADKEME. #ASGEDE on his turn fathered GEBRE-CHRISTOS and others.

#Gebre-Christos fathered to GEORGIS (HABIB) #Habib fathered Mefles. Mefles to Habtyes (Habte-Yesus). Habyes to Izaz. Izaz to Nawd. Nawd to Fqaq. Fqaq to Hdad. Hdad to Hassan. Hassan to Hamd

Hamd to the present (when the book was written) head of Ad Hbtyes and Kentibay Mohammad.
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In conclusion Mansour Karrar wanted to divide Eritrea in to three parts and alleging outright lies that the Jebertis were of Tigre and Arab origin while it is clear that the Jebertis including Kebire himself are from Tigray.

There are indigenous Tigrigna speaking Moslems but the overwhelming majority of the Jebertis came to Eritrea when they were kicked out from Tigray by Atse Yohannes. Linguistically not less than 75% of Eritreans are AG-AZI. [end of Nergash�s message]

Another Plunge Into Taboo Land
By Mensour Kerrar, December 16, 2000

(To Negash: Dear brother, Thank you for taking the trouble to write some comments to me. I am really honored (apart from calling me a liar - May Allah forgive you) by having access to your rich knowledge of the origins of our people. Mensour)

My intention of going through what I wrote was not and will not be to find out who comes from where. I really don�t care. Whether my great grand father, or the grandfather of someone else, came from Nigeria and had the name of Haj Mindiguru or from Agaw in Gojjam or Lasta and had a name of Yahouda Isatu, this is not a matter of importance to me. We are what we are now and our ancestors were what they were then. Anybody is what he thinks he is and not where his ancestors came from. If an individual, wherever his ancestors came from, lives among the Kunama while feeling and behaving like a Kunama, then he is a Kunama. No one has right to tell him otherwise or to assign him a nationality and language of his ancestral origin.

I would like to correct Negash and the book that he read -- both of them seem to be alien and ignorant about North Eastern Sahil.

What Negash mentioned as "Ad Bidel" is not right, the right name is actually "Biet Bijel". I don�t read such names in books, I live in them.

• What was mentioned as "Dge" it is actually called "Dega Ad Insa". (I suggest that the Iron be left to the blacksmith to avoid hurting one�s self).
• It was claimed above that the Halanga speak Tigre. They don�t, and I am not saying what language they speak. I suggest that those interested try to find out for themselves.
• Tigre and Tigrayit are different forms of the word (Ib Tigre tahaga. Hitu Tigrayit lithage). However, Negash exposes his ignorance of the language therefore I will not discuss Tigre grammer.
• Massawa`s actual name is BadheE, to its people and the to the Arabs. I do not know how the new name , Massawa, came about.
• Negash mentioned that the Jaberta came to Eritrea after Yohannes kicked them out of Tigray; how is that possible if the Plateau itself controlled by Yohannes? Yes, some Jaberta and many others came from Tigray; but that does not make them less Eritreans than others. If origin matters, it would have mattered in the government palace in Asmara, there are so many there!

It is mentioned that many people�s ancestors had Tigrigna names. This indicates to me that the knowledge of some people doesn�t go beyond their village and the book they read. If one visits a Catholic Church in Keren, one would encounter people with names like Hummad, Mahmoud, Hamde etc. And if one walks few meters to the Mosque, he would find names like G/ Mariam, Fazega, Gabres, Hibtes, etc. Not only in Keren, but also in Kassala, one would find them standing in the Mosque, praying in the first line. Then, how would we explain names beyond the recent ancestral names like Gabre and Habte, and find names like Nair, Dayer, Yegin, Malik, Dareer, Dirar, Dar, etc -- pure Arab names?

Negash mentioned that the Hadandawa and the Tigre were Christians. Nothing new here. To widen the scope, I would mention that the Kingdoms of Alawa and Marawe in Northern Sudan were Christians. Egypt from Alexandria to the upper Cataract of the Nile were Christians. Yemen, Iraq, Syria�. you name it, they were Christians. This does not negate the present culture and language of the mentioned people. Jesus didn�t speak Geez or the Bible was not originally scripted in Tigrigna. Christianity is not Tigrignan and the Tigrignans are not its sole protectors�our people would say: wo e-dele!

There is no contradiction of being an Arab and at the same time, a Christian. People in the Northern Sahel have never fought each other for religious reasons; neither the Christian nor the Moslems have such complexes. They use the same names, and two brothers could have two different religions. If there is any thing of such a divide, then the sources are known. Besides, there never existed Iron-and-steel walls that divided our people from each other along regional and religious lines and it doesn�t exist now as some people think.

I do not want to dwell in a static state, a point in history, about where people came from; I want to write about a living and dynamic process in societies. Religions, languages and cultures change. Like all living things, they grow and flourish. They become old, weak and finally die. New ones are born. They intermarry, breed, get mixed, borrow and influence each other. One could assign my grandfather a name-- a Tigrigna name, Arab, Agaw, Gumuz, Anwak or Oromo name. I have no problem with that. Someone can tell me that my grandfather came from Tselot or he was Wedi arbaAa�there, Marhaba, I accept it, I have no problem with that. Nevertheless, when I say something, I ask to be heard carefully. I am no one else but Mansour Al Karrar, the one who is speaking in the year 2000. That is important to me. I am an Eritrean as anyone else. I have an equal share and stake in the country as any other Eritrean. Canceling me is impossible. There is no way to alienate me and move on. I am a partner, an equal partner. For the sake of all of us, for the sake of the country, for the sake of peace, harmony, tranquility and development, you are obliged to recognize my rights, my wishes as all partners do. Sit with me, listen to me and I will listen to you. Let�s have a dialogue between us. Together, will decide the future of Eritrea. No one alone holds a Veto power concerning Eritrea. If this is understood, my ancestral origin has nothing to do with it.

I wonder if the Beit Asgade who live in Naqfa or Karrora today have the same interests, opinions and purposes as their brothers in Hamassien. Does the Blin of Keren have the same political aspirations and cultural attitude as their brothers in Gojjam? Does the Beit Bijel feel that they are from Hamasien as claimed, or do they aspire for the same thing and have the same opinion? What about the Halanga in Kessela, is anyone ready to tell them to forget their heroes, who brought the head of Atse Yohannes to Umdurman, during the Mahdist revolution, because their origins were from Hamassien? Will one dare to tell them that Arabic is a foreign language to them, exactly as English is, because their ancestral brothers might hate the Arabic language? I will help locate some Halengas and Beni-Amirs, Blins, Beit Asgades and others (if I am not one) of Hamassien or even Tselot origin.

I am as black as black can be. My nose is as flat and wide as a window. I speak Arabic and my children speak only Arabic. If there are trials to link and associate all Eritreans to a certain village or region, as Haile Sellasie associated himself to Beit Yahouda of Isreal, then "lekum dinekum wa liya din". I have my Mecca and you have yours. In spite of my flat nose, I understand why my father tells me that we are from Quresh of Mecca. I understand with a little smile on my black face. I do not object either when others associate themselves and me with "his Excellency" of Tselot. I understand, though I know I am not Wedi arbaAa but Mismar Mider. That is why I insist that societies are dynamic, they do change.

In my previous article, I defined nationalities as "a community of opinion, a unity of purpose"; and this is what matters to me, not origins. The origins mentioned here and there may or may not be true. But I am sure that the Beit Bijel of today, and others will not submit quietly if someone denied them their right to celebrate their origin that goes to Quresh, Khalifa Ali Karrar or Omer Bin Al Khatab, if not to the Prophet Mohamed himself. Is it necessary that we try to link the origins of all Eritreans, as Negash did, to a certain region or village, so that they become good Eritreans? Should all Eritreans have the same origin, language or religion to live harmoniously? Should we even necessarily die in affection and loving each other? I think we don`t. We need to respect and tolerate each other. I need to be accepted and respected as I am. I need others to strive to understand and tolerate my behavior if they want to live with me and I will do the same. I am myself and not any one else. No one should try to tell me that I am some one else. No one should tell me �you and me together are ME and only Me�. Yes, we live in the same house and we both pay our share of the bills, but I should know my bed, and my partner should know his. I eat from my side of the plate and he from his side of it. I wear my shirt and he wears his. Both of us need to sign a contract to share one house or a room, specifying our obligations and rights. If I imagine myself to be An Arab, Jamal Abdul Nassir, Abasanjo of Nigeria or Micheal Jackson or fall in love with Madonna or Hajja Fattu in Qarb Al Gash, it should be my business and no one else�s, as long as I pay my share and do not interfere in the tranquility and peace of others. No one has the right to tell me that our fathers loved each other or came from the same place and therefore force me to think the way he thinks or love the kind of food he loves.

Why did the EPLF strive hard to divide our people into nine nationalities pulling apart the interstices between Ethno-linguistic groups who lived together in harmony? Why should Negash become angry because I decreased the so-called nationalities from nine to three, while Isayas can divide them into nine? I say, �Ajeb AL Ajayb�. Isayas lied a big lie in "his objectives and him ". Psychologists say that if you tell people the same lie repeatedly, many would take it as an absolute truth. The number �nine� became common to many ears, and they believed it. When I mentioned the number �three�, it was not familiar to the ears. Some hair stood up and lower chins dropped. That was expected from many brothers. Reading, and reading again, might gradually help in recovering some lost senses.

In the forties, our people were divided into two main political groups, the Andinet and the Rabita. What would we say if someone became angry believing that they should have been divided into nine groups instead of two? Would it have been better? Ya Latif Ya Allah. The Rabita was united in the name of Islam. It may look sectarian to some. However, we need to think: was the unity and struggle of the Rabita contribute negatively or positively to the unity and identity of the Eritrean people? I leave this to the reader. I can only say "Ya Latif, Alem Tazal Altuf Aleyna Mimma Nazel". (Pardon my Arabic expressions, you may ask Gadi to translate).

Brothers, what I care for is not the regions, nationalities and their origins of people or even their history. What I care for is the legitimate rights of individuals or groups in our country now, (not in the past) to decide on their own free will, matters that concern them. I want them to decide for themselves what language to use, to whom they should vote and whom to love or hate. No tyrant, however strong or popular, has any right to pull apart and divide people into conflicting nationalities.

I wish Negash had a little patience to let me enjoy my stupidity and see how my following articles would look like, then he would have understood my intentions. In Tigre, we say "Gilletka bles" which means, that any member of a society has the right to say his stupid word. That is what I am doing. I am not a historian and I am not writing history. I am not in power to divide or re-divide Eritrea. Rest assured this is only an opinion. It is my opinion and I have the right to express it. Whether it is liked or not is un-important. However, my ultimate desire is to see a civil society emerge and a civic nation in which all individuals, regardless their origin or religion, will have the same obligations and rights.

What I have said concerning the Jaberta�s origin is not my fantasy, it is in Hagai Erlich�s book. If Negash or the Jeberta themselves think their origin is from Mekelle or Inderta, then I have to respect it and neither me nor Erlich can persuade them to think otherwise. Mentioning the Jaberta was not ill intended. I wanted to show in the following articles why the Islamic League was as it was. I wanted to show the contribution of the Jeberta and others in the league and in the basic concept of Eritrean "independence". It was not from anything that some Eritreans wanted independence while others did not. In Tigre, we have a saying that goes: "Kelib et Ruhu Ferrih KeNebbih" a dog will bark because it is scared. I do not like to insult Negash or anyone else, but what he said about our great father and leader Martyr, Shiekh Abdulkadir Kebire, hurt me. I wish he would spit it, right now. I urge him to, because I feel he is a good man.

I have high respect for all our people including the Jaberta. I have no intentions to disgrace or belittle any individual let alone an ethnic or religious group. I do not care about their ancestral origins but I care about their future, our future together, the Jaberta and anyone else.

Finally, I valued Negash�s comments very dearly and I learned a lot from it. I will always consider his opinion. My knowledge is very humble and modest and would like to learn. I am grateful for any advice and criticism, I remain a humble student -- Allahuma Zidna Elmen Wa Anfa`ana Bima Alemtena.

Thank you again and I apologize If I have, in any way, injured anyone�s feelings or for daring to plunge into the Taboo-Land.

[Comments - Awate Team: Mensour, we encourage you to remain in the Taboo-Land as long as it takes. We believe that you are doing a great service to those who wish to �listen to the other voices�, least they think that the other voices are something else. We encourage you to be a calm writer and gear your writings towards reconciling and understanding each other. We believe there are issues that need to be tackled. Issues that have been subdued and long confined to four walls and in political corridors. Issues that were strictly raised between close relatives and friends only. Issues, so ignored as non-existing, are witnessed by all Eritreans in every political meeting, around community and cultural centers, etc. We have followed the proverbial Ostrich long enough. It is time to unbury our heads and face issues head-on. Then, and only then, we will know what needs to be reconciled]