Eritrea: 2013 in Review

Eritrean Independence Celebration

Eritrea: 2013 in Review


By Amanuel Biedemariam,

In a little over a year after independence, The Republic of South Sudan is on a brink of civil war that can possibly destroy the independence won with blood. In this short-period, South Sudan’s debt reached over 4.5 billion US dollars. During this period entrepreneurs from everywhere ascended in South Sudan, took advantage of loose business climate, and became rich. That leads to the question, what is Eritrea’s debt in 21 years?  What, if in the first year of independence Eritrea allowed entrepreneurs from all over to establish businesses that enriched few where will Eritrea be today? The entire struggle would have been for nothing. The fighters that bled would have become employees and servants of few rich entrepreneurs. That is exactly what took place in South Sudan.

With the above background as the backdrop, the enemies of Eritrea’s design for Eritrea was exactly that. They wanted to see Eritrea destabilized based on Ethnic religious or any crack that can destroy the fabric of the nation by splintering the people for their benefits and narrow agendas. However, they failed and keep failing because of unshakeable conscious social fabric that sustains Eritrea that started from the days of the struggle.

The year 2013 could not be seen in isolation. In 2013 alone the level of hostilities Eritrea faced was unparalleled. Yet, the people of Eritrea managed to navigate above these hostilities and reached a new platform that placed them on a trajectory of success and prosperity based on a solid foundation.

In 2013, the hostilities against the people of Eritrea started on the 21st of January with a deafening noise that made it feel like Eritrea collapsed and anarchy has reigned. Nearly every day since, Eritreans were exposed to barrages of lies, misinformation, disinformation and fabrications in an effort to demoralize, frustrate and paralyze them. By all standards relative to other African countries the demonization campaign against Eritrea was unparalleled. The level, the intensity and the consistency of the attacks against Eritrea is comparable to those reserved for Iran and North Korea countries with nuclear arms or the capacity to build them.

Nearly every day, the anti-Eritrea elements have lied about individuals, events that happened or did not, to the point that it became so outlandish that they were forced to retract in some cases. These lies are insults to the intelligence of Eritreans. In one instance they lied that streets in Asmara are patrolled by mercenary groups from Tigray and actually wrote analysis as if there is an iota of truth to the story they concocted.

Eritrea is a country that lives by the motto of self-reliance. Eritreans are amongst the most capable to self-govern that they do not need mercenary or any other group to patrol them. Furthermore, every Eritrean is armed or has access to protect his nation from outsiders and will be outrageous to consider that the Government of Eritrea can bring, of all places, people from Tigray to control them. However these are lies Asmarino.com brazenly lied.

It is difficult to understand the logic or make sense of what the intended outcomes are. Eritreans are not stupid. In fact they are very smart about the politics that governs their country and not easily confused by poorly initiated PR gimmicks designed to entice them to react. Why would anyone lie that, this general or that general has left Eritrea when these generals have not done so? What can they possibly gain by lying to Eritreans over and again?

They cannot intimidate the public into seeing things their way or bully Eritreans easy because Eritreans have paid dearly and paid hell to get here. It is therefore ludicrous and a joke when they try change people’s mind using threats and intimidation. That however is evidence that these animals have turned to criminals in the name of fighting PFDJ, Isaias etc… They are throwing stones and vandalizing buildings established by Eritreans who have resided in these communities far longer and very cognizant of their rights to be intimidated by thugs.  

These thugs claiming to be fighting for the rights of the people of Eritrea are a sham and a joke. They are bankrupt and devoid of any human decency. They have no cause and constituency in Eritrea and abroad. They are devoid of morality and ethics that are pedigrees for the basics of any public cause. However, that is the very resume the TPLF and their handlers require from these thugs as they try to pursue their destabilization agenda, using vandals.

Their aim is simple. Repeat lies over and again eventually it will become the truth. This however, goes counter the Eritreans saying, “The rod of truth may thin but never break.” Eritreans believe in truth. In fact they believe on the truth so much that they have another saying, “Speak truth and lay on railroad.” Expression that means the truth shall set you free.

The objectives of the lies are varied:

       Minimize the gallant history of the people of Eritrea by diluting it with falsities and by injecting their agendas and make it their story. The best example of this is their Bologna gathering. Bologna is near and dear to the history of Eritrea. Therefore, they have targeted and are trying to destroy the history.  In one YouTube blabber one of them was quoted saying, “Bologna was just a party.”  What, if it was just a party; what is wrong with that. If that is what Eritreans needed then, was it wrong for Eritreans to gather around music. That however is how they want to dilute the history, blemish it in an effort to fight Eritrea’s strong nationalism.

       Dilute the meaning and pride associated with national events. On the 24th of May, when Eritreans were readying to celebrate independence hooligans came to demonstrate in front of the Embassy of Eritrea in DC equipped with eggs to throw at the Embassy. However, nationalist Eritreans stood in front of the embassy and protected the embassy.  But why would any Eritrean throw eggs at a flag that bears the weight of Eritrea’s martyrs? It is an effort to minimize the gallantry and weight associated with the nation’s independence! Hence, by disturbing the event, they try to divert the attention from celebration to that of their crazy agenda.

       Create discontent. The way to create discontent is by telling Eritreans how bad their life is under the government. Relative to our region and based on many measuring sticks Eritrea fares well on human development indexes, literacy rate, Millennium Development Goal (MDG), mortality rate, life expectancy and access to education etc…Nonetheless, the enemies are hell-bent on pointing-out any-and-all perceived negatives about Eritrea and try to exploit in an effort to garner support and when that fails to shame Eritreans for supporting the government of Eritrea. As a result it is impossible to have reasonable discussion with them because they keep jumping from issue to issue just repeating the same accusation ad nauseam. The way they describe Eritrea is so bad making one wander if there is another Eritrea because the Eritrea they describe exists only on their heads.

However, if one is to ask, are there any positive developments taking place in Eritrea or, what positive, if any contribution; material, intellectual, financial etc… they are making; their answers are, of course, full of excuses. Hence, by default, they have become the bearers of bad news for Eritreans. Wahabti Merdi-e. And ironically, that is only time when you see these people in public, at funerals and mourning.  

The reality however, regardless of how many times the lies are repeated and exaggerated they have not been able to change the trajectory of Eritrea’s destiny. They have not been able to make a dent. How many times can you tell Eritreans that these person or group has defected? How many times can you tell Eritreans that there is no water or electricity in Eritrea?

Moreover, what has become clear is the complicity of most of the actors into the plight of Eritrea’s youth. It is mind boggling to think that any God fearing Eritrean can try to entice Eritrean youth that travel to Western nations for athletic, musical and other businesses into defecting with bribes and incentives. If youth flight is a concern wouldn’t it be easier to help create stability by supporting youth activities that nurture and fulfill their needs? If an entire soccer team defects who ends up getting hurt? Not the government of Eritrea. It is Eritrean youth and the future of the sport. Is that the desired outcome? That however is what these criminals are doing. Trying to publicly entice the youth to ask for asylum in the countries that Eritrea voluntarily sent them-to. Eritrea is doing what it can to bring these youth at par with the world. These criminals on the other hand are trying or in some cases succeeding to sabotage the youth and turn around use the defections to accuse the government for youth flight.

The reality however, the core of their objective is to deny Eritrea of her youth that are building and defending the nation. Hence, when they report about defections repeatedly it is a call for others to do the same. Regardless how many times the lies are repeated the objectives remain the same. In fact, Eritrean youth is central to their campaign because if and when the youth abandon their country their TPLF master will walk into Asmara unchallenged. That is their dream. Their latest campaign is called, “Stop National Service” in Eritrea describing the National Service as slavery in a sense making a mockery of the term slavery itself.

The core objective of their agenda therefore, is to use all the negative propaganda to eventually incite uprisal in Eritrea. The criminal robo-calls and other campaigns are a part of it. The Lampedusa incident was an opportunity they tried to use to incite spontaneous reaction by the people and failed. All the noise and petition by the so called intellectuals was a part of the grand picture. However failed and continues to fail because they have no constituency. The people of Eritrea are politically astute and aware of their interests to be fooled by immature PHD’s.

Who are these people? These people are people that gambled on Eritrea losing; people that are not aware what time it is; people that believed their own lies that Eritrea will fall soon, yesterday. These are people that overestimated the powers of TPLF and by extension the US to exert pressure and thus bring change in Eritrea; their kind of change. These are people that felt that the State Department was their father’s house. One recent development highlights this vividly. The Voice of America (VoA) hired one nationalist Eritrean to broadcast from Eritrea. Their uproars and protest against this hiring is telling that these people are not aware of their limitations.  These are people that forgot that they are just tools in the bigger scheme of things. They are instruments of the TPLF or the State Department and not the other way around. They forgot that there is no permanent friend but interest and when the US decides its interests are better served by working with Eritrea their services will no longer be necessary. That is what happened in Sudan which used to be their stamping ground until they went to Ethiopia. It is a matter of time until they end in the dumpster of history dumped in the garbage-grounds of Addis Ababa.

Eritrea the Unstoppable

Amidst all that noise, empty noise of lies that the president is sick and dying, that the president has anointed his son; an attempt to give impression that Eritrea is unstable and in dire need of saving; Eritrea stands as a pillar to peace and stability. After a month-long of lies; in a manner unseen anywhere by world leaders, President Isaias Afwerki went to Sudan by a cruiser opening newly built roads between Eritrea and Sudan, met and greeted Sudanese people that adore and respect him along-the-way. He then conducted serious business and inked bilateral agreements that allowed for much greater business cooperation, including the free-flow of people by abolishing visa requirements between the two brotherly countries. This is a foundation for future stability, security and economic prosperity for both nations.

Soon thereafter, President Isaias attended Kenya’s 50year Independence celebrations. President Isaias stood-tall as he stood by the side of the leaders of Kenya in their honor. During his visit President Isaias conducted a seminar with Eritreans in Kenya where he told Eritreans that Eritrea has foiled all ill attempts against her. He said, “Those who tried to weaken Eritrea into submission have given up because Eritrea ensured that they give-in. “Alash Ilom.”

President Isaias’s visit to Sudan and then Kenya sent powerful messages to the enemies of Eritrea. It sent messages that echoed, in the greater scheme of things that they mean NOTHING. Regardless of what they say and do, that they cannot stop Eritrea and stand on the way of the people of Eritrea. Most importantly it showed that they failed. They failed to make a dent on the core of Eritrean psyche. To the contrary they empowered Eritreans. In the process they got exposed and showed their true colors; exposed their agendas and their approaches for all to see. Their irrational exuberance led Eritreans to know who these people are, what they want and cleared them out-of-the-way for good, like pests.

The exhilaration of Forto was then capped by Eritrea’s victory when President Isaias stood tall on global stage in Kenya, proving wrong to those that like to point out the negative. Eritrea will keep proving them wrong because the upside of Eritrea is immeasurable. When electricity becomes their issue, Eritrea opens the world. When they try to make diplomacy their issue, Eritrea’s diplomacy shines through with the most powerful nations of the world knocking at her door-steps because Eritrea deals from strength. When they joke Eritrea has no economy Eritrea is dealing with the world’s most important economies in real terms making impactful and meaningful change on the lives of the people. When other African nations are selling all their resources to stay afloat; Eritrea on the other hand has remained steadfast by relying on the people of Eritrea, the true champions of the future, by SELF RELIACE.  

Conclusion

For the detractors it is not fashionable or sexy enough when a road that connects one village to a city is build. It is not good enough when a clinic is open in a remote village. It is means nothing to see a dam built in remote area providing opportunities for farming.  The real change that is stabilizing the lives of the people means nothing. On their heads, the only thing that matters is the lofty ideals, immature ideals that others use to exploit African nations. Eritreans therefore, have rejected these vermin.

If there is one thing very clear to all Eritreans, it is the fact that no matter how well Eritrea performs they will try their best to suppress it because they are afraid the good example Eritrea sets could resonate. They will downplay or deny every-and-all achievements because they must always tell the world that Eritrea is doing badly in order to continue their charades. They are also out of options because they have nothing to offer to the people of Eritrea since they have nothing tangible.

Based on history, the people of Eritrea know full well how the world operates. They understand the bias against them and no matter what they achieve those achievements are for their future. They understand it is not to impress the world. It is for their future, future generations Eritrea. Therefore it is fitting when Eritreans say, “let the Camel March as the dogs bark.”  The dogs are barking as the camels march to a new year with the same motto stepping on all the insects along the way. Eritrea has prevailed and those that played overplayed their hands and will pay dearly.

2014 and the future is bright. Nkid-Tray.

Awet N-Hafash

Amanuel Biedemariam

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