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ጽፊዒት ንዘመደ ተኽለ ወኪል ስርዓት ህግደፍ ኣብ ኢጣልያ፡

ኣብ ገማግም ሚድተራንያን ትርከብ ናይ ዞና ሊጉርያ ዋና ከተማ ዝኾነት ጆነቫ ኣብ ትበሃል ከተማ፡ናይቶም ኩሎም ኣብታ ከተማ ዚነብሩ ስደተናታት ህዝብታት ዓመት ዓመት ፌስትቫል ይካየድ'ዩ። እዚ ፌስትቫልዚ ባህላዊ ማለት ናይ ኣከዳድና፡ኣመጋግባ ( ኣሰራርሓ መግቢ ) ሙዚቃ፡ሳዕሳዒትን ካል ኦት ፍሉጣት ተጣበቕቲ መሰል

ኣብ ገማግም ሚድተራንያን ትርከብ ናይ ዞና ሊጉርያ ዋና ከተማ ዝኾነት ጆነቫ ኣብ ትበሃል ከተማ፡ናይቶም ኩሎም ኣብታ ከተማ ዚነብሩ ስደተናታት ህዝብታት ዓመት ዓመት ፌስትቫል ይካየድዩ።

እዚ ፌስትቫልዚ ባህላዊ ማለት ናይ ኣከዳድና፡ኣመጋግባ ኣሰራርሓ መግቢ ሙዚቃ፡ሳዕሳዒትን ካል ኦት ፍሉጣት ተጣበቕቲ መሰል ደቂ ሰባት፡ኣምንስት ኢንተርናሽል …ካልእን ዚካፈልዎ፡ዘይፖለቲካዊ ፌስትቫልዩ።

እዚ ፌስትቫልዚ ሎሚ ዓመት ካብ ዕለት 13′ዩ ጀሚሩ።ኣብዚ ፌስትቫልዚ፡ማሕበረሰብ ኤርትራ ካብ ቶም ቀዳሞት ማሕብረሰብ ክነሱ ኣብቲ ዝግብር ባህላዊ ይኹን ካልእ ምንቅስቃስ የብሉን።ሎሚ ዓመት ግን ብሓደ ኣብ ኤርትራ ኣብ ቤትምህርቲ ጢልያን መምህር ዝነበር ኢጣልያዊ ዝተጻሕፈት ( ISOLA DAHLAK ) ዘርእስታ ኣብቲ ፌስትቫል ናብ ህዝቢ ክትቀርብ ብገለ ግዱሳት ኢጣልያውያን ቀሪባ።ኣሰናደ ውቲ ከኣ ምስቲ ኣብ ሓንጎሎም ዘሎ ኤርትራ ዝብል ቃል ሃንጎፋይ ኢሎም ይቅበሉዋ።ነዚ ተረኽቦዚ ዝፈ ለጠ ወኪል ህግደፍ ከኣ፡ቦታ ክረክብ ኮራኹሩን ገለ ላንጋላንጋ ባህሪ ዘለዎም ሰባት ብምልኣኽ፡ኣምባሳደር ኤርትራ ኣብዚ ዝግበር ምልላይ መጽሓፍ ክሳተፍ ይደሊዩ ዝብል ሕቶ ኣቕሪቦም።ኣብዚውን ኣሰናደውቲ በቲ ጽቡቕ መንፈስ ተቀቢሎም፡ንዕለት 23/06 ቀዳማይን ዳሕራይን ብምግባር ኣብ ጋዜጣን ካልእን ክዝር ግሕዎ ጀሚሮም።

ነዚ ዘንበቡ ግዱሳት ዜጋታትን ብማሕበር ዝተጠርነፉ መናእሰያት ምሸት ሰዓት 5.00 ዝኽፈት ፌስ ትቫል፡ካብ ንጉሆ ጀሚሮም ምስቶም ኣሰናደውቲ ብምርካብ ነቐፈተኦም ገሊጾም።ምናልባት ኣይቅበሉናን ካብዝብል ምጥርጣር ከኣ፡ሓሊፎም ኣብቲ ከተማ ዝርከቡ ላዕለዎት ብምዃድ፡

ዘመደ ተኽለ፡

ኣብ ኤርትራ ዘሎ ብዘይ ቅዋም፡ብዘይ ፈራዲ፡ብዘይ ሓጋጊ ኣካል ን22 ዓመት ዝመርሕ ዘሎ ስርዓት፡

ኣብ ኤርትራ ናይ ግዜ ገደብ ዘይብሉ ኣገልግሎት ዘተኣታተወ ስርዓት፡

ብሰንኪዚ መናእሰያት ብባሕርን ብምድርን ዝስደዱላ ሃገር ዘሎ ስርዓት፡

ካብ 10 ሺሕ ክሳብ 30 ሺሕ ናይ ፖለቲካ እሱራት ጠበቓ ዘይብሎም ኣብ ቤትፍርዲ ዘይቀረቡ፡ስድራቤቶም ክርእይሉ ኣብዘይክእሉ ቦታታት ዘስፈረ ስርዓት፡

ብሰንኪዚ ብምግሃስ መሰል ደቂ ሰባት ቀዳማይ ደረጃ ተሰሪዑ ዘሎ ዲክታተሪያዊ ስርዓት ወካሊዩ።

ስለዚ ጸገም ህዝብን፡ስደትን ኣብ ኤርትራ መመሊሱ ክስስን ሃንዳሲ ናይዝኾነ ስርዓት ወካሊ ኣብ ዚ ዜጋታት ካብ ዝወርዶም ፖለቲካዊ ጸቕጥን፡ቁጠባዊ ጸገም ሓራ ንምዃ ን ዝተሰዱ ህዝብታት ዝገብሩዎ ፌስትቫል ናይ ክብሪ ዕድመ ክወሃቦ የብሉን።ዝብሉ ሕቶታት ብምቕራብ ዚኣኽሎም ቃልሲ ድሕሪ ምክ ያድ።ዕለት 15/06 ዘመደ ከምዘይመጽእ ጥርዓና ቅቡል ምዃኑ ካብ ኣሰናደውቲ ምላሽ ተዋሂቡ።

ከምቲ ዝተጸበናዮ ከኣ ዕለት 23/06 ደበኽ በለት።ዘመደ ኣይመጸን።ቀጺሉ፡ኣብ ቅድሚ ብዙሓት ብዛዕባ ኤርትራ ተገዳስነት ዘለዎም ዕዱማት ከኣ ደራሲ መጽሓፉ ኣላልዩ።ብዛዕባ መጽሓፍ ዚወጾ ዘይብሉዩ።

በዚ ኣገባብዚ፡ጀኖቫ ከም ሚላኖን ሮማን ተቓውሞ ከጋጥመኒ ኣይክእልን፡ስለዚ ምሉቕ ኢለ ኣያኡ ምእንቲ ክሕጎስ ፖለቲካ ከካይድ ዝመደቦ ፈሺሉ፡ብምግሃስ መሰል ናይ ዝውቀስ ስርዓት ወካሊ ኣብዚ ክረ ግጽ የብሉን፡ቅድሚ ኩሉ መልክዕ ፌስትቫልኩም ክድወንዩ ኢሎም ብትብዓት ዚተቃወሙ ብታሕጓስ ርእሶ ም ክር ኣቢሎም ክወጹ ነዚ ግዕዙይ ስራሕ ዘዋደዱ ገለ ርእሶም ኣድኒኖም ከኸዱ ህግደፍ ኢና ዝብሉ ፍጹም ኣየተራእዩን።

ኣማስያኡ ምስቶም ኣሰናደውቲ ፌስትቫል ዝግበርናዮ ርክብ፡ብዛዕባ ኤርትራን ኩነታት ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ምንም ሃበረታ ከምዘይነበሮም፡ድሕሪቲ ሓበረታና ግን ምስ ዝለዓሉ ናይ መንግስቲ ብምርኻብ፡እቲ ኩነታት ካብቲ ንሕና ዝሓበርናዮም ዝኸፍ አ ምኳኑ ፈሊጦም፡” ንሕና ንጽቡቕ ኢልና ሰሪሕና፡ኣብቲ ንጽቡቕ ኢልና ዝሰራሕናዮ ተጠቂሞም ናብ ሕማቕ መንገዲ ወሲዶምና።ተቓውሞኹም ከይንጋገ ስለዝሃገዘና፡የቕንየልና ዚብል ስብርብር ዚበለ ድምጺ ኣስሚዖምና።ህግደፋውያን ኢዶም ከየንበሩ ክብለጽሉ ዝሓሰቡ ፌስትቫል ከኣ ብዙሃት ግዱሳትን ብወለንታ ዝሰርሑ ዘለዎ ስለዝኾነ፡ኩነታት ህዝቢ ኤርትራን ኣብ ኤርትራ እንታይ ዓይነይ ስርዓት ከምዘሎ ክፈልጡ በቒዖም።

ሓቂ ሒዙ ዚተበገሰ ከባቢኡውን ይተሓባበሮዩ ከምዝበሃል፡ካብ ዜሮን በብመዳዩ ብዘይውዱብ ኣገባብ ዚተበገሰ ናይ ሳልስቲ ተቃውሞ ሓቂ ሒዙ ስለዝተበገሰ፡ነቲ ብወርሑ ተጸኒዑ ዝተዳለወ ጸፊዑ ሰዲዱዎ።

በዚ ኣጋጣሚዚ ኣቶ ዘመደ ተኽለ እሞ ናቱ እኹል ናይ ምዕራብ ዲሞክራስን ሕይወትን ኣጸቢቑ ዘስተማቐረን ዚፈልጥ ስለዚኾነ፡ወኪል ህግደፍ ኮይኑ ንበዳሊ ካብ ምግልጋል፡ምእንቲቲ፡ዲሞክራሲ ተነፊጉዎ ዘሎ ህዝቢ፡ምእንቲቶም ፍትሒ ተነፊጉዎም ዘለዎ ሰባት ክቀውም፡ቀጺሉ ከኣ ልክዕ ከምቲ ሰንበት ዕለት 23 ዝተዓዘብናዮ ንገለ ቅኑዓት ንገለ ከኣ በደለኛታት ብምቑጻር ኣብ መንጎ ኤርትራውያን ዝገብሮ ምፍልላይ ምግጫውን ከቋርጽ ንምሕጸን።

ቅሳነትን ራህዋን ንህዝቢ ኤርትራ፡

ተወልደመድህን

26/06/2013

aseye.asena@gmail.com

Review overview
66 COMMENTS
  • Kalighe July 2, 2013

    Dear Zaul,

    You said: “I don’t believe in sweeping problems under the rug, for the sake of politeness.”
    I agree. Openness is the best policy, what I hate is negativity and “do nothing” attitude.

    “When someone that I share ancestry with, tells me that he is of Arab descent and wants to indirectly eliminate our linguistic, cultural and historical bond, if he instead turns to the Sudan and Egypt for brotherhood, I feel betrayed and start to ask myself why have I sacrificed my bond with the Ethio-Tigreans? Did I make the biggest blunder in history?”

    The three major groups in Eritrean (Tigrigna, Tigre, Saho) share only language (they are linguistic groups), i.e. they are not ethnic groups like Kunama, Nara, Bilen ..etc, and as such anyone of them can claim their ancestors hail from somewhere. Ethnic groups are related by blood and most probably share the same genetic pool, like for example Germanic Gothic tribes (Visigoths, Ostrogoth etc). Now, if some Tigre or Saho tribes claim to have Arab ancestry, while some other tribes say their ancestors came from Abyssinia (Axum or Gondar), I don’t see that as a problem. The concept of nation in African context is not based on historical internal socio-economic development like in Europe, it’s rather a colonial product, with very few exceptions.
    That is why we say Eritrea, like every other African country with a colonial past, is a nation in the making. By the way, even in Europe, a multi-ethnic country, for instance like Great Britain passed through the same process (the Normans came from Normandy, the Celts came from Ireland, the Anglo-Saxon came from Germany, the Vikings came from Scandinavian countries, and all settled there). We just want to build bridges with all, as long as our sovereignty is respected.

    “Painting the government as a protector of a certain portion of the population is highly irresponsible and dangerous. We have to judge our leaders based on their competence and performance. I have not seen that the area where most of the leadership hails from has been given any special treatment or being spared from any atrocity that has not befallen on the rest.”

    Eritrean government is the source of all evil. It took more than a decade for people to realize that. But a fair mind should not deny, that Iseyas and his regime have been very popular in Highlands. The tyrant was a demi-god and people referred to his government as “menghistina” while at them same time, the regime conducted a violent campaign against other groups in the country. People looked somewhere else, or justified the regime’s action while their neighbors were taken in the middle of the night and families cried for justice. The so-called leaders were not judged “based on their competence and performance”, but people simply felt, this was their government. Now, in such a situation, it’s normal for others to feel Iseyas and his government are “protectors of a certain portion of the population”. But fortunately, mutual suspicion and grievances did not last long, because the honeymoon with the government did not last long. Gradually, people realized that the liberators had come with unusual harshness and intolerable sub-culture.

    To be continued …

    • Zaul July 2, 2013

      With all due respect Kalighe,

      It’s not about negativity and do-nothing attitude; I have not seen you suggest any action or way forward. I’m trying to be realistic and as I’m not in favor wandering aimlessly, I would like to know where we are heading first.

      “Eritrean government is the source of all evil. It took more than a decade for people to realize that. But a fair mind should not deny, that Iseyas and his regime have been very popular in Highlands. The tyrant was a demi-god and people referred to his government as “menghistina” while at the same time, the regime conducted a violent campaign against other groups in the country.”

      They were not popular because they were persecuting other parts of the society. “Menghistna” did not bring the highlands special treatment or extra security. As long as you do not acknowledge what the mujahedeen did after the fall of the soviet block and Turabi’s agenda of harboring all sorts of Jihadists from all over the world in Sudan, you cannot give a full picture. Making the muslim population the sole victims of atrocity, and the highlanders the collaborators has a cynical motive. You are not seeking reconciliation and solutions, you are looking for revenge.
      Revenge cannot be defended as ‘teaching the aggressor a lesson’ or as ‘getting even with the aggressor’ or as ‘retributive punishment’, and at the heart of the retaliator’s motivation structure there is a tragic self-frustrating contradiction. Revenge spirals and escalates rather than bring closure to the violence and injury. The alternative is not ‘forgive and forget’, but ‘remember and resist’
      They real reason why they were popular, seem to be forgotten now.

      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7phn-JWtk0

      “The one-drop rule is a historical colloquial term in the United States for the social classification as Negro of individuals with any African ancestry; meaning any person with “one drop of Negro blood” was considered black.”

      That seems to be the way we Eritreans look at ancestry too, but in our case it’s even worse. People have one drop of Arab blood 500 years back in time and forget all the other ingredients.

      One more thing Ya Ragl, You forgot to put Bilen,Tigrinya,Tigre and Saho in the same category. There are many highlanders who in their oral traditions claim common heritage as some bilen tribes.

      http://bilenbogos.weebly.com/bilen-bogos-history.html

      • Kalighe July 3, 2013

        Zaul :

        “As long as you do not acknowledge what the mujahedeen did after the fall of the soviet block and Turabi’s agenda of harboring all sorts of Jihadists from all over the world in Sudan, you cannot give a full picture. ”

        You people (those into PFDJ’s political culture) speech as if Eritrean Muslims are all Jihadists. If there is a small marginal group that responds to Iseyas’ divisive policies in kind, it doesn’t mean we are all Jihadists. If Muslims had to resort to violence to stop being abused and oppressed, Eritrea would look soon like another Somalia, if not worse.

        “Making the muslim population the sole victims of atrocity, and the highlanders the collaborators has a cynical motive. You are not seeking reconciliation and solutions, you are looking for revenge.”

        Looking at post independence Eritrea and the timeline of events unfolded runnig up to Ethio-Eritrean border conflict. The government was mostly after two major civilian groups while the public either supported or was indifferent: religious Muslisms and Pentecostals. The government’s excuses that Turabi was exporting his version of political Islam, was mostly a propaganda ploy of the regime to deceive and intimidate Christians, while the regime was busy cleaning the country from dissenting voices. Turabi has always been a good friend of Iseyas. It was on Turabi’s request that Iseyas sent Eritrean mechanics to repair aging Sudanese T54 tanks (in support of North against South Sudan). It was in Turabi’s time that Sudan closed a Jihadist’s camp along our common border, and handed a few Islamists to Eritrean government.

        Who said the highlanders were “collaborators” ?, this is another PDFJ style intimidation tactic. Brother, the indifference we are talking about, is still there. That is why even when HH. Abune Antonios was jailed (may God extend his life to see the end of the brutal regime) people did not react. As we speech, followers of new Protestant churches cannot even pray at home, and yet there are still people like you who think the government should stop American right wing affiliated churches. Had the so-called Eritrean government been inclusive, there was no reason for anyone to form religious or ethnic based political groups. When Eritrea was liberated, all those who had opposed some of EPLF’s policies, turned a new page, tried to forget the past and hoped that a new era of hope and reconciliation was about to start. That is why during referendum people who have never liked EPLF went to take their id cards and voted for full independence (they said let’s forget everything for the sake of Eritrea). What followed soon was against the expectation of many. Now, two decades later, even those idiots who have been bad mouthing anyone who complained from government mistreatment and abuses, have finally joined the opposition camp. I you want learn about wrong public attitudes we are talking about, read what people used to write in Dehai.

      • Kalighe July 3, 2013

        “One more thing Ya Ragl, You forgot to put Bilen,Tigrinya,Tigre and Saho in the same category. There are many highlanders who in their oral traditions claim common heritage as some bilen tribes.”

        Zaul,

        Although many such claims need to be researched and verified, I don’t think Bilen and Saho languages are related in anyway. Long back a friend told me “the two languages have almost nothing in common”. On the other hand, it’s true that Tigre,Tigrigna and Saho have a lot in common. While Tigrigna and Tigre share common Geez heritage, Tigrigna and Saho share ethnicity. The Cushitic tribal belt covers Oromo, Somalis, Afar and Saho areas of the Horn; and the language similarity among them is quit impressive. I don’t think Bilen and Agow are part of it, the language is very different.

        • Zaul July 3, 2013

          Kalighe,

          I was not referring to the blin language, which by the way is in great danger of getting swallowed by Tigre and Tigrinya. I’m talking about their ethnicity.

          We’re most probably all cushites, with a little bit of semitic and a substantial nilotic admixture. i don’t have any proof though.

          One interesting thing about the Agaw and Blin is, that they have in Y-DNA tests, a bigger portion among them that belong to haplogroup A, which is the direct offspring of “evolutionary ADAM”. Other groups with high haplogroup A percentage are the Khoi/San of southern Africa and many of the tribes of south sudan (Dinka,Nuer etc).

          If we go by blood and evolution, all Human beings come from East Africa and it was not that long ago, we started separating from each other. http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/journey/

          Fun Fact:

          Did you know that your brain makes up about 2% of your body weight…but uses about 20-25% of your body’s total energy, just for its basic activity? That’s one hungry brain! No wonder it’s good to eat nutritious foods that offer a lot of energy. The brain of a newborn baby is even more amazing, as it takes up about 60% of the baby’s energy as the brain grows at an astonishing pace.

    • Zaul July 2, 2013

      With all due respect Kalighe,

      It’s not about negativity and do-nothing attitude; I have not seen you suggest any action or way forward. I’m trying to be realistic and as I’m not in favor of wandering aimlessly, I would like to know where we are heading first.

      “Eritrean government is the source of all evil. It took more than a decade for people to realize that. But a fair mind should not deny, that Iseyas and his regime have been very popular in Highlands. The tyrant was a demi-god and people referred to his government as “menghistina” while at the same time, the regime conducted a violent campaign against other groups in the country.”

      They were not popular because they were persecuting other parts of the society. “Menghistna” did not bring the highlands special treatment or extra security. As long as you do not acknowledge what the mujahedeen did after the fall of the soviet block and Turabi’s agenda of harboring all sorts of Jihadists from all over the world in Sudan, you cannot give a full picture. Making the muslim population the sole victims of atrocity, and the highlanders the collaborators has a cynical motive. You are not seeking reconciliation and solutions, you are looking for revenge.

      Revenge cannot be defended as ‘teaching the aggressor a lesson’ or as ‘getting even with the aggressor’ or as ‘retributive punishment’, and at the heart of the retaliator’s motivation structure there is a tragic self-frustrating contradiction. Revenge spirals and escalates rather than bring closure to the violence and injury. The alternative is not ‘forgive and forget’, but ‘remember and resist’

      The real reason why they were popular, seem to be forgotten now.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7phn-JWtk0

      “The one-drop rule is a historical colloquial term in the United States for the social classification as Negro of individuals with any African ancestry; meaning any person with “one drop of Negro blood” was considered black.”

      That seems to be the way we Eritreans look at ancestry too, but in our case it’s even worse. People have one drop of Arab blood 500 years back in time and forget all the other ingredients.

      One more thing Ya Ragl, You forgot to put Bilen,Tigrinya,Tigre and Saho in the same category. There are many highlanders who in their oral traditions claim common heritage as some bilen tribes.
      http://bilenbogos.weebly.com/bilen-bogos-history.html

  • Truly Truly i say to you July 2, 2013

    part 2
    Can A normal leader unless has another hidden motive leads the country without rule of law and constitution? How can an Eritrea be enemy and take hostage to his nation youth for decades? How can an Eritrean leader ordered disabled veterans to be persecuted? why is our port not functions? Airports, banks all kind of business? why should after lost Islands and territories, then again still Isayas instrumentalizing not to give our basical human rights? Anyway i have no time to explain all his countless deliberate crime. So to blame woyane, US or IGAD, or Bedwin Rashaidas as first enemy for me is first it is unwise and unacceptable. As about Woyanes i don´t expect, they to do my home work. What they doing is what it privileging them since we have wicked and irresponsible leaders. Even in one side due to the pressure they have if woyanes forced to fight against Eritrea i somehow can understand them. However i will never stop from advising them whatever the pressure they have to stop their animosity and by being instrumentalizeing by powerful nation and by pressuring by Amharas Propaganda from killing and attacking us, to whom we Eritreans still considering them indeed as brothers. Anyway to please Amhara whatever action they take or achieve good, unless they leave power, they never sleep and stop from threating them. When i say this, i am not begging or fearing woyanes, but as a person who understand their problems and everything good wish for them, i honestly only advising them.

  • Kalighe July 2, 2013

    Zaul said: “The way things are going now, we are all headed in the wrong direction, both the opposition and the government.”

    It’s true, but who is to blame ?. Let’s allocate the blames fairly:

    1. We the people are to blame, because, for a variety of reasons we didn’t stand together against our abusers. We waited till the problems reached our doors. We did not act like one people. The regime targeted one group at a time, while we showed inhuman indifference.

    2. We did not stand with the opposition right from start. Some of us referred to them as “trifraf ama”, and had to join them only when we started to suffer like them. The opposition camp is suffering from mutual suspicion, partly because we have failed to agree on the basics. Most of what is keeping the opposition camp divided is not the past, but the future. What kind of Eritrea we want is not clear to many of us. Some still think the only problem is Iseyas, but not his regime, while others think the change has to be radical. We have not agreed even on the flag and national symbols. Some hate the blue flag, others adore it.

    “As a small impoverished nation, we need to be multilingual. We have to learn English, Arabic and Amharic if we want to be able to trade with our neighbors and the world. All of us!”

    I agree. But the language issue in Eritrea is very complex and highly politicized. I can see here why you did not mention official languages. If it’s the usual PFDJ way of keeping sensitive issues purposely vague and manipulate them later in the dark, I really hate that. There is no way for Eritreans to avoid tackling the official languages issue. We can have three (Tigrigna/Arabic/English) or only language (English), but we cannot allow the government to implement a social engineering project, or cultural apartheid in the country, the effect of which in the long run can be devastating.

    The right of every group to develop their culture and language, and the equality of all indigenous languages under the law, should be enshrined in the constitution and protected by law.
    People are often heard asking “Do you speak Tigrigna ?”, and when the respondent says: “no”, they get a prompt and provocative response: “aren’t you Eritrean ?”, as if other languages are acceptable. The policy of “Tigrignazing” the bureaucracy at the expense of all other local languages the government teaches at schools, and banning Arabic from government transactions inside the country, not only has complicated the issue, but it created an impression that, the regime is making of Eritrea a country, where all are forcefully assimilated into one dominant group’s culture. This is happening in a country where all used to learn a language or two, based on their free will, specific business necessity or need to interact with neighbors. The social engineers/supremacists of the regime are spoiling it.

    To be continued …

    • Zaul July 2, 2013

      “This Policy Framework also takes cognisance of the fact that the value of our languages is largely
      determined by their economic, social and political usage. When a language loses its value in these
      spheres the status of the language diminishes. This Policy Framework also takes into account that we
      are faced with the challenge of globalisation and that our indigenous languages should be part of the
      rapidly expanding technological environment. Hence, it intends to reaffirm the status and use of the
      indigenous languages of South Africa.”

      http://www.info.gov.za/view/DownloadFileAction?id=70251

      “People are often heard asking “Do you speak Tigrigna ?”, and when the respondent says: “no”, they get a prompt and provocative response: “aren’t you Eritrean ?”, as if other languages are not acceptable.”

      What do you expect me to say on this matter?
      Is’s anecdotal, it shows the ignorance of the person who uttered it! All I can say is that we should do all we can to preserve and promote our indigenous languages, no ifs and buts. It’s not only the responsibility of each group, the state has to actively help and encourage all languages development and equality and we need to train many translators. I

  • Kalighe July 2, 2013

    Please read: “as if other languages are not acceptable. “

  • Kalighe July 2, 2013

    “It is clear that education policies that deny education rights for linguistic minorities must be challenged. Education must be adapted to the languages that children speak rather than children being changed to fit in with the education systems in place.”

    Zaul,

    The education policies of the government has been very controversial and damaging. Kids who go to mother tongue schools, once they finish high school are almost all denied higher education.
    When Asmara University was open, throughout the post-independence period years, only a few of them had chance to attended it. Many young people have noticed that, all those coming from such linguistic groups (Saho,Tigre,Kunama,Nara,Bilen,Afar etc), were sent back to T.T.I. and some other institutions, with the excuse to have more teachers. It was roughly estimated that, out of 100 kids who completed high school only 3 or 4 could go to Asmara University. In a group of around 600 students sent to South Africa for higher education, there were less than 50. Although it’s very important to teach kids in their mother tongue medium, the Eritrean government’s main concern is focused mainly on keeping kids away from teaching Arabic in primary schools. Some Western educated Eritreans (Professors) and foreign experts who advised the government how to tackle this issue, had suggested that, this policy could be effective only if people use their language to get a job and improves their lives, but the government had no such plans.

    To be continued ..

    • Zaul July 2, 2013

      On the language of instruction, we need not only look at the policy and results of the PFDJ, we need to look at countries who tackled this issue differently elsewhere in the world.

      This link below discusses the economic benefits of mother-tongue instruction in primary school.

      http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/Education-Notes/EdNotes_Lang_of_Instruct.pdf

      My suggestion is a Tri-Lingual system:
      If we take the example of a (Kunama, Nara, Saho, Bilen, Hedareb and Afar)* -child, we know from research that children can learn up to three languages without a problem. We have to come up with a solution, so that his language and culture survives and make sure that his economic prospects are not limited by being a minority. For the second group (Tigrinya,Tigre and Rashaida)**, it may look a bit different.

      I have a small suggestion, please give me your solution also.

      Age 5-11.
      * Group 1: Mother tongue – Language of instruction.
      Language 2&3: Arabic and Tigrinya.

      ** Group 2: Mother tongue – Language of instruction.
      Tigrinya: Language 2&3: Arabic and Tigre.
      Tigre: Language 2&3: Arabic and Tigrinya.
      Rashaida: Language 2&3: Tigrinya and Tigre.

      Age 12-15:

      Mother tongue: Language of instruction.
      Language 2: English
      Age 16-19: English – Language of instruction.

      College/University: English – Language of instruction.

      English/Amharic/Arabic/Tigrinya and all other indigenous languages should be available as academic subjects.

      • Zaul July 2, 2013

        The flag issue is very simple to solve.

        We can use a combination of the two. Here’s my suggestion 😉

        the middle triangle should be the same as the ELF-flag, the upper triangle red and the lower triangle golden. Try drawing it, it looks good.

        • tewolde July 2, 2013

          ዝከበርካ ዙላ ስማዕ ስቕ ኢልካ ኣይትዛረብ።ናይ ባንዴራ ጉዳይ ጉዳይ ውልቀሰብ ኣይኮነን።ናይ ህዝቢ ጉዳይ ኢዩ።ስለዚ ኣብቲ ዘድሊ ኣሞ ንብጻሕ ክትቅየር ኣንድሕሪ ኮይና ወይ ከኣ ነታ ናይ ቀደም ምጽዳቕ ኣንተኾይኑ ረፈረንድም’ዩ ዝፈትሖ።ባንዴራ ኤርትራ ኣታ ሓምላዊት ዝምድራ ኣውሊዕ ዘለዋ ኢያ።ኣዛ ሎሚ ህዝቢ ኣኤርትራ ባንደራይ ዝብላ መን ክመዝሃቦ ዝፈልታ ኣይኮነን።ንመስዋኣቲን ምእንቲ መሰል ቃልሲ ክካየድ መበገሲት ዝኾነት ባንዴራን፡ማንተኣ ክብሉ ኣሸሃት ዚተሰውእላ ባንዴራ ኣላ።ስለዚ መኦኣልቲ ስው ኣት ክኽበር ከሎ ንሶም ዝሃለፍሉ ዕላማን ጉዳይን ውን ክከብር ኣለዎ።ካብዚ ሃሊፉ ብረፈረንድም ብድምጺ ብልጫ ህዝቢ ክቅየር ኣንድሕሪ ተደልዩ ይቕየር፡ዚተረፈ ግን ባንዴራ ኣኤርትራ እታ ማንተኣ ኣሸሓት ዚተሰውእላ ባንዴራ ኢያ።ስለዚ ናትካ ዕላማ ናትካ ኢዩ’ምበር ንሃገር ዝውክል ኣይኮነን።እዚ ኣነ ዝብሎ ዘለኹ ግን ሰማእታት ዝገደፍዎ ኢዩ።

          • Zaul July 2, 2013

            The problem with Eritreans of a certain generation is their diehard attitude over minor issues.

            You drag the flag into blood and other unnecessary symbolic blabber. it’s just a flag, People fought to liberate the people not the flag.

      • Kalighe July 2, 2013

        Although, I feel technical details should be left to professionals of the domain well, I would suggest the following:

        1. All groups should learn KG and the first year of elementary school in mother tongue.

        2. Should be able to choose a Language of instruction (Tigrigna/Arabic/English/Mother Tongue). That means you can send you kids to learn, with any of the following language of instructions, (that way people are free to choose), up to 5th grade, and can take one more as a second language:

        – Tigrigna
        – Arabic
        – English
        – Mother Tongue.

        3. English should be the only Language of instruction for all from 6th grade up to University and beyond (with at least one of the four + Amharic + French as optional languages, at different levels).

        In a nutshell, kids should not pass most of their time just learning languages, and at the same time, should have basic knowledge of Tigrigna and Arabic.
        English should be the only official language, and the government should help all groups in the country to develop their languages.

  • Kalighe July 2, 2013

    Zaul : “Political System: A decentralized secular parliamentarian democratic system of governance, which reflects our society’s diversity. Political parties must strive to attract members from all parts and segments of the country.”

    I totally agree.

    “- Civic Society can consist of :
    Religious associations
    Ethnic associations
    Trade Unions
    ….
    ….
    Etc…”

    Ok, I agree.

    “- Foreign Policy: Must be shaped in consensus, leave no room for outsiders to exploit religion, ethnicity, region or political ideology to divide us. We work only for our national interest!!!”

    I agree. But I think we better have a foreign policy based on complete and ‘positive neutrality’, similar to those of Nordic countries or Switzerland. We need to have good and balanced relations with all countries. Small countries like Eritrea need support from international community (UN and others) more than bigger States. In today’s highly complex international politics and power play, small States need to stick to international law, and get the necessary protection by adhering to it. Another extra layer of protection comes from helping to build a durable peace, a common market with all our neighbors.
    Due to its specific historical problems with some neighbors, Eritrea cannot/should not allow re-settlement of communities from any of its neighbors, for whatever reason, i.e. no-dual citizenship with neighbors. Some wrong policies of the current government in this regard, may have some far reaching consequences. Our kids will be safe only if we teach them how to be better citizens by embracing our hard won national identity, respect each other, and love humanity, irrespective of who they are.

    To be continued ..

  • Kalighe July 2, 2013

    Zaul you said:

    “Political System: A decentralized secular parliamentarian democratic system of governance, which reflects our society’s diversity. Political parties must strive to attract members from all parts and segments of the country.”

    I totally agree.

    “- Civic Society can consist of :
    Religious associations
    Ethnic associations
    Trade Unions
    ….
    ….
    Etc…”

    Ok, I agree.

    “- Foreign Policy: Must be shaped in consensus, leave no room for outsiders to exploit religion, ethnicity, region or political ideology to divide us. We work only for our national interest!!!”

    I agree.

    But I think we better have a foreign policy based on complete and ‘positive neutrality’, similar to those of Nordic countries or Switzerland. We need to have good and balanced relations with all countries. Small countries like Eritrea need support from international community (UN and others) more than bigger States. In today’s highly complex international politics and power play, small States need to stick to international law, and get the necessary protection by adhering to it. Another extra layer of protection comes from helping to build a durable peace, a common market with all our neighbors.
    Due to its specific historical problems with some neighbors, Eritrea cannot/should not allow re-settlement of communities from any of its neighbors, for whatever reason, i.e. no-dual citizenship with neighbors. Some wrong policies of the current government in this regard, may have some far reaching consequences. Our kids will be safe only if we teach them how to be better citizens by embracing our hard won national identity, respect each other, and love humanity, irrespective of who they are.

    To be continued ..

  • Kalighe July 2, 2013

    “If we cannot agree on these basic fundamental matters, we’ll not be able to tackle the most important (herculean) tasks, which are awaiting us; eradicate poverty, control population increase rate, halt environmental degradation”

    Zaul,

    What you are saying is true. Just think for a while about Somalia: What do Somali citizens get from their government?, nothing except war, extreme poverty and high rate of infant mortality.

    When a country fails internally, its neighbors won’t sit idle, as we have seen happening in Somalia for the last two decades. Ethiopia is cutting that country to pieces (in the excuse of standing with the oppressed), while at the same time; it appears to be supporting the central government. The Ethiopians have been lobbing some countries in the region to recognize Somaliland as legitimate State, helping Putland and now they are endorsing a Kenyan plan to establish another mini-State along Wabi Shebele River. Kenya want have a buffer State along its border, to protect itself from Al-Shabab extremists who still control most of the countryside. We should learn from what is happening to others, instead of waiting till it happens to us.

    Izi-wedahanka

  • Kalighe July 2, 2013

    Yesterday, Somalia celebrated its 53rd Anniversary of Independence.

    A local news agency reports:

    “The celebrations went on until late night and early today morning patriotic songs were heard in the streets of Mogadishu. People who wore fabrics made from the Somali blue and white flag were also spotted.”

    Let’s wish them all the best, and above all unity.

  • Kalighe July 2, 2013

    “the middle triangle should be the same as the ELF-flag, the upper triangle red and the lower triangle golden. Try drawing it, it looks good.”

    Zaul,

    The blue flag belongs to Eritrea, and ELF respected it for it’s historical importance.
    According to Aklilu Zere, who was present when Iseyas took the new flag out of his pocket, there were no discussions about who prepared it, and what represented. It was just a gift from Iseyas. Anyway, the new flag, should be something agreed to by all, and should have national symbols that inspire all groups. A flag represents a spirit of the nation, and it’s also the symbol of their unity.

    • Zaul July 2, 2013

      Sorry Kalighe,

      That blue flag does not evoke any emotions for me.

      About your language proposal, I think you underestimate childrens’ ability to learn languages. each language would only require 3-4 hours/week.

      Of crucial importance for the maintenance and development of multicultural societies is the provision of educational strategies that raise awareness of the issues and foster intercultural dialogue and communication. Educational strategies need to identify common or overlapping ideas and values, but they must also identify and address difference. Effective intercultural dialogue requires the acquisition of intercultural competences, including multiperspectivity and the ability to see oneself and familiar situations and events from the perspectives of cultural ‘others’.

      Multiperspectivity can be promoted within the curriculum of obligatory schooling in diverse ways which are embodied in the languages of education. The panoply of languages which consists of regional, minority, the language(s) of schooling and foreign languages is the means for expressing these perspectives, and the modes of teaching these languages need to take this into account in various ways, in particular comparing and contrasting perspectives on ‘the same’ phenomena.

      In second or foreign language curricula, the teaching of languages of different communities – local, regional, minority or national – draws attention to perspectives which vary from one social group to another and from society to society. Methods for teaching and raising awareness of experience of otherness, associated with a different language exist and continue to develop.

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