Many slogans are against the violation of human rights perpetrated by the PFDJ. They call upon the European Union in particular and the International community in general to put pressure on the Eritrean Government to release all prisoners of conscience and give the people their voice.
Today history of repression by successive Ethiopian rulers is being complemented by PFDJ. In both instances the victims are the same people, the Eritrean people.
Experience of staging demonstration during the struggle:
Below is a photograph of demonstration in 1982 organized by EPLF mass association with the participation of apolitical Eritreans against the human rights violation by the Ethiopia Junta and in support of the struggle waged by the people. There was a slogan that says, “Long live EPLF”. Today the front which fought oppression made a u turn and became the oppressor.
1982 at Hyde Park Corner where the demonstrators against
repression by Ethiopian rule were started gathering.
The demonstration marched through the heart of London. It started from Hyde Park- the famous Speaker’s Corner where people are free to talk, passed through Park Lane, Victoria Road towards the parliament and disbanded in front of the Ministry of Defense, White Hall area. Many progressive organizations have participated in the demonstration and people came from many cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool. At that moment in time the EPLF mass associations and the Eritrean community were respected for standing up against injustice and violation of human rights. No man/woman in his right mind thought that PFDJ will tarnish the history of the entire Eritrean people by turning itself from an instrument of liberation to instrument of oppression. Life is full of surprises.
Fundamental human Rights: Freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment:
All these rights are guaranteed by the universal declaration of Human rights. These rights are universal and absolute and may not be suspended or derogated from even during times of war or threats of war. All these rights are guaranteed by the Eritrean constitution. The Eritrean Government has shelved aside the constitution and is therefore acting illegally. That in turn is giving rise to Eritrea getting isolated internationally. Eritrean association (EPLF mass associations) in Diaspora have also discharged its international obligation by participating in many solidarity demonstrations.
The Free Mandela rally: Symbolizes the responsibility of the International
The Eritrean in Diaspora who where loud in support of the people of South Africa in their struggle against Apartheid have turned a blind eye when repression is committed by Eritreans against Eritreans.
Even Ermias Debesai (Papaya) a central committee member and the then head of the EPLF foreign relations in Europe has taken turns to fly the Eritrean Emblem in solidarity with the oppressed people of South Africa (Azania).
Today the PFDJ has become a pariah top of the list of violator of Human Rights.
Why do people accept oppression?
History is full of people who internalize the system that oppressed them and failed to rise up to end their misery. Historically in India, the untouchables, the Dalits- and many lower non-Dalit casts who suffer discrimination accept their status in accordance with Hindu belief that they have been morally guilty in a previous life. These perceptions are also found among the indigenous Indians communities in Guatemala, Mexico and Peru. To a degree such fatalistic perception has taken root among Eritreans at home and in the Diaspora because the repression is severe and the internal resistance is poor.
Today it is crystal clear that in Eritrea the people can not air a protest or stage a peaceful demonstration because they have experienced the brutality of the regime of any sign of dissention. The protest of war disabled was dispersed when the army opened fire and killed some. The treatment of the University students for asking the student Union president to be released from jail or to be brought to the court of law was extremely brutal. They were herded into buses beaten up and were taken to WIA, an arid area with 45% cc. Many students suffered from heat stroke and 2 died. PFDJ did not stop there they condemned the new generation by closing the Asmara University.
Through out history, there are always some few people with extraordinary courage and commitment who rise up to challenge repression and put a match to light the candle of resistance, often at great cost and risk to their life. But they are the makers of history. To stand up for justice doesn’t need thousands. It always starts by few conscious people. After all armed struggle in Eritrea was started by a handful of people led by Idris Awate and finally it engulfed the whole nation one way or the other.
On 18 /09/08 when the Eritreans human rights activists, civil societies and political parties acted in unison and staged demonstration and hearing the EU unequivocally expressed their support. Today like the time of struggle, it is fulfilling to listen that Europeans have expressed their disgust with the actions of PFDJ and said, that the “protesters are not alone any more “. They pledged to send Members of the European Parliament (MEP) to Eritrea to raise the issues with the authorities. The International community and the human rights watch and various civil rights institutions do listen to the suffering of any people where ever they are but they have to be lobbied and informed.
Dr. Berhane Asmelash- painted “a criminal in the name of God” gave a report from Shimelba, the refugee camp for Eritreans in Ethiopia that the USA has agreed to resettle thousands of Eritrean to the United States. This is a good example that the lobbies and actions of The Human Right activists are delivering fruits.
Repression irrespective who committed it must be condemned:
During the federation period and subsequent annexation Emperor Haile Sellasie subjected the people of Eritrea to extreme repression. Trade and student unions were banned, freedom of expression was curtailed and any protest and demonstrations were met by beating, imprisonment torture and other forms of human rights violations. All these gave rise to the beginning of armed struggle. It is at that moment in time that the Emperor has sown the seeds of his own destruction. However the price of solving problems by force instead dialogue has great consequences. By the time of independence thousands were killed, maimed and much of the fabric of Eritrean society was destroyed. To solve contradiction by force has become African leaders’ nature. That why Eritreans in the Diaspora has to involve themselves in Building Bridges with the Ethiopian people.
Ethiopia has also wasted huge resources and thousands of human lives.
The PFDJ has done the same like what Emperor Hailes Sellasie did. It imprisoned the reforms (G15) abolished free press, banned political parties, instrumentalsed the National Union of Eritrean women, Students and Youth and rendered the Eritrean trade union powerless. It also did what the Ethiopian rulers never did the persecution of Pentecostals. The actions of both regimes in violating the human rights are complementary. As a consequence the Eritrean society is suffering a lot as huge resources are committed to security and disinformation to hoodwink the opinion of the population and the international community.
The incarceration of the reformers and the free press editors has unleashed a witch-hunt and brought about the division of the people.
Smiles of hope and dreams of freedom: Shattered? Top EPLF leaders during the 2nd and unity congress of the EPLF in 1987
Top EPLF leaders Petros Solomon, General Berhane Gerezghier and General Sebhat Efrem all one time close friends. The first 2 are languishing in prison their incarceration has unleashed witch-hunt to all sections of the Eritrean society. The University is closed; the towns are empted of the youth. They are sent to work and live in the rural backward areas of Eritrea with no time limit. They are made to finish their 12 grade in Sawa military camp away from a proper university were academic freedom is fundamentally crucial to mental development of the youths. Actually the motive is to control. These are policy inputs whose output is poverty and huge influx of refugees and frightening brain drain.
Sad as it may be the supporters of the regime would have done justice to PFDJ and the people of Eritrea had they mirrored the policy failures and call for the release of all prisoners of conscience and empower the population so that they can exploit their potential for creativity and happiness free from Government interference. They can then sell their labour power for incomes that enable them to transform their social and economic status from poverty to prosperity and deliver the country from economic decay as is the case today.
The children of Zerai and the rest of the Diaspora vis-à-vis the youth in Eritrea.
Zerai wrote, “As a father of two children, I was happy to see my children running around and having a jolly good time at the Eritrean festival in London.” Well my congratulations. It is obvious that the children of the Diaspora are privileged. Let me begin with mine for he is concerned about me. My daughter joined one of the best Universities in the UK, Sussex University in Brighton at the age of 18 and graduated at 21 with honors. Today my daughter has a good job and she owns a car. My son 2 years her junior is a university student taking engineering he will graduate in two years time at the age of 22. Such achievements are the similar for all the children of my contemporaries and friends in UK. Their children are owners of doctorate and various degrees and diplomas. They are the recipients of undivided attention of their families and free education and health care in Britain. They have a secure life in the United Kingdom and they may enjoy Eritrea because for them it is a tourist’s niche.
Compare these children with those in Eritrea. Take some of the stories of those who got asylum in the UK. Unconfirmed report says today there are about 40,000 Eritreans in the UK. The majority are the youth who defected from free labor under& Yekealo Development project. Many claim that they have been in the work force under army discipline up to 10 years. They are missing to gain experiences they should have received at the right age for them. Unlike Zerai’s children their parents were unable to give them the kind of attention and stimulation they need at the right time. As it stands Zerai’s politics is sectarian. He has excluded the thousands of youth in the UK who have been subjected to forced labor and had to defect.
At my daughters graduation ceremony I was sitting next to my ex-wife laughing and talking not like husband and wife but like good friends. In his writing he made me look miserable. Far from the truth, I may have gone through difficult times but there is one thing I don’t miss and that is how to enjoy life and my middle class values. I love my soul music, jazz, blues rock and roll; even country music etc. Of course Eritrean songs and dances as well but more than that my values of justice, freedom and my love and care for oppressed people are still intact. Like marriage, children and accidents divorce is a fact of life and there is no merit to talk about it.
Zerai should have opened his eyes to the condition of the Eritrean Refugees and should have extended support to adapt to the life in the UK if only on the bases of humanitarian considerations.
The Eritrean communities even if there are staunch supporters of the Government could still extend help to the new refugees if only on the basis of humanitarian considerations. Because the youth need a practical support in dealing with the traumatic events that forced them into exile and the dangerous journey they took to come to the West. Do you know many young men and women come from Calais, France, hidden in a lorry sometimes in fridges without the knowledge of the driver? There are significant unmet needs in the area of mental health and education.
I remember in the 80th. ERA-UK tried to meet some of the fundamental needs of the then refugees which are a higher education and housing. ERA-UK lobbied the World University service which was formed to care for South African students to extend its grants to Eritrean which they did. Today many of the graduates specifically with high qualification went to Eritrea to participate in the social and economic rehabilitation of the war torn Eritrea although most have returned frustrated. ERA-UK, British Refugee Council and World University Service had formed a committee to house Eritrean working women who came to London from Beirut when it was captured by Israel in 1982? The committed manage to get them social housing (government houses).
Fund Raising activities in the streets of London in the 80s
The slogan in the poster goes, “help the victims of war and Drought” A picture of a civilians fleeing Ethiopian indiscriminate bombing
Today there is no reason why ERA-UK should not cater for the needs of the new refugees. It is run by absentee people who have well paid professional job in London and they would not have the time to do a serious work. But most importantly they don’t seem to be interested to address the needs of the recently arrived Eritreans. By not doing they are violating one of the cardinal objectives of getting registered as a charity, which is to provide help for Eritrean refugees in the UK as well as refugees in the Sudan and in the EPLF liberated.
Every year ERA-UK registered charity organized lots of street collection in London and many other cities. It also caters for the needs of Refugees in UK. Today it does not organize fund raising on the streets, although the people in Eritrea need more food today more than ever. I wonder if most of the Diaspora knows that it exists in their name.
Fund raising organized by Eritrean Relief Association –UK. A Child wounded by shrapnel’s from the Ethiopian air force.
A large segment of the Diaspora, the victims of Warsay and Yekealo are excluded from any support from ERA-UK. ERA-UK being a pro government will not address the needs of the new refugees. This is a contributory factor to the division among Eritreans. All these are factors of division within the Eritreans society. The Eritrean society has never been polarized as today.
