An Open Letter To Eritreans and Ethiopians
With the passing of the Boundary Commission’s November 30th deadline for demarcating the Eritrea-Ethiopian border, there has been some speculation on whether this means that war between the two countries is highly likely. Awate.com and Ethiopiafirst.com, two independent websites serving the Eritrean and Ethiopian communities, are writing this open letter to appeal to all people of goodwill to choose peace over war.
We have read the analysis of armchair generals, far and safely removed from the frontlines, announcing the inevitability of a war, and bragging of its outcome, as if it is a video game.
As with all wars, such a war would have devastating consequences on our people particularly the most vulnerable civilians: children, the disabled, women and the elderly.
If the last war between Eritrea and Ethiopia was a "meaningless war," what will we call the next war? The proponents of the "meaningless war" could at least argue that they were doing it to reverse aggression, or to reclaim a land, or that they were just as surprised by it as we were.
What will be the objective of the next insane war and what will be our explanation for failing to stop it?
The long-standing feud between the governments of Eritrea and Ethiopia should not be allowed to fester and develop to an enmity between the two brotherly people.
Whatever the nature of the disagreement is, we must resolve to solve it legally, in a spirit of understanding, and with the long-term interest of the people in mind.
Whatever the nature of the disagreement is, no matter who is at fault, there will not be winners in this war.
There are only losers in wars. Our people will lose: we will lose lives, we will lose land, and we will lose the opportunity to improve the livelihood of our impoverished people.
We should NOT leave the affairs of our nations to politicians, generals, foreign diplomats and experts.
We the people must rise up as one and tell both governments that war is not acceptable and that it must be avoided at all costs. When the politicians talk about war and how they are waging it on our behalf, on behalf of our sovereignty or our pride, we must stand up to tell them "not in our name!"
We must learn something out of the deadliest war we just went through. We ask our readers to join us in doing whatever they can to avert this war. We should not wait indefinitely for foreigners to solve our problems: this is our problem and the solution should be ours as well.
We call on our people, particularly our elders, religious leaders and intellectuals, to muster the courage to overcome the barriers; to rise over the propaganda of the war-makers; and to shoulder their historical responsibility to guide our people out of the path of confrontation and into the road to peace.
This will not be easy and it may take time. But the sooner we start taking the first step, the sooner we will finish our journey of a thousand miles. But first, we must start.
Together, we can do it!
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