Compassion demands Action
By Haben Zeray Compassion is that which makes the heart of the good move at the pain of others. It crushes and destroys the pain of others; thus, it is called compassion. It is called compassion
By Haben Zeray
Compassion is that which makes the heart of the good move at the pain of others. It crushes and destroys the pain of others; thus, it is called compassion. It is called compassion because it shelters and embraces the distressed. – The Buddha.
The etymology of “compassion” is Latin, meaning “co-suffering” , thus a “compassionate” person would be someone who participates in the suffering of others. Jesus summed up compassion by prompting us for action and said, “ Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy”. But most of all his teachings and live examples were, to identify with the poor, to help and visit the imprisoned, to heal the sick and uplift the depressed. These are acts of compassion. It is contradictory to say you are a “Christian” and not have a compassionate heart: it is Impossible, without compassion you are just pretending. Further, moralists summed up compassion by giving us the ethical expression of, “Do to others what you would have them do to you”. The Muslim scriptures urge compassion towards captives as well as to widows, orphans and the poor. To help the poor and needy, is obligatory upon all Muslims.
The following small poem or statement is dedicated to all the prisoners in Eritrea who are suffering every minute of the day and who need our “co-suffering” or compassion.
WARNING: If this poem does not rhyme it just means you have a perfect English accent. I don’t!
The prisoner’s diary
One bullet you are dead in a hurry
Would be a gift in the land of the furry.
You rise at 5:00 am for interrogation
Tied on a tree, beaten to bleed with no justification.
Thrown back into the cell for the tears to dry
Though there is no energy left to vent and cry.
At 8:00 am we are herded to the field
Unable to walk for my feet are full of wound.
Gets pushed and shoved by the frustrated guard
Hurry! He shouts and beats me hard.
All this to answer the call of nature
The gun on my head and continuous torture.
I go back to my cell and find it ten degrees hotter,
The weather cooperates with the frustrated soldier.
Water please! I cry with a dry throat,
A cup of tea with a crumb of bread is what he brought.
Sweat all over with pain and agony,
Flat on my face I wished for slavery.
Broken spirit with a lost dignity
I am confused completely with their cruelty.
What did I do? What is my fault?
Could it be what I said or wrote?
But what if I say anything or I write?
Isn’t It too much already when I lost my sight?
This goes beyond the physical torture
All the struggle since 1974
Sad incomprehensible closure.
Prohibited to talk,
No media to ask.
Mental anguish inside
Suicide?
NO way, not today.
There is hope someday.
What if the gallant soldiers open the prison doors
To declare me innocent and heal my aching sores
The people are compassionate surely they can’t be passive,
They must be organizing freedom to achieve,
So Suicide?
No way, not today,
There is hope someday.
It is now 8 pm I can feel the chill in my bones
Sleeping on the floor with pillow stones.
Ten years of interrogation
Ten years of submission
Slow torturous murder
Let it be! I shall not surrender.
I wish:
One bullet you are dead in a hurry
Would be a gift in the land of the furry.
This suffering will continue unless our activists, moral leaders and religious leaders begin to act and decide to “co-suffer” by collectively marching to the gates of PFDJ and courageously oppose these human imprisonments without any court proceedings. Compassion demands action.
ሓንቲ ዘይተላቡ ጥይት ንቕባጸት ንሞት
ዓባይ ህያብ’ያ ኣብ ምድረገሃነብ ኣብ ምረት።
ወጋሕታ ሳዓት 5 እትስእ አሕተት ንኽለፋለፍ
ብዘይ ፍትሒ ኣብ ገረብ እእሰር እደሚ እግረፍ።
መሊሶም እድርብዩኒ ናብታ ሸላ ክነጽፍ ዛራዪ ንብዓተይ
አቲ ሩሕ አንዶ’ሞ ተጸንቒቑ ከይበኪ ከየውጽእ ነድረይ።
ንግሆ ሰዓት 8 ንመሮር ንወፍር ተኾብኪብና
ከመይ ኢልካ’ሞ ክስጎም ረኺሱ ቖሲሉ ኣእጋርና።
እድፋእ እንውነው እምናዕ በቲ ሕሉል ዋርድያ
ቀልጥፍ! ይብል ብዓውታ ይገርፈኒ ብዘይንሕስያ።
አዚ ኹሉ ሓሳረመከራ ዑቑር ሽንቲ ቐልቐል ንምንጋፍ
ጠበንዻ ኣብ ርእሰይ ይቐንዕ፡ይቕጽል ስቓየይ ብጭካነ እግረፍ።
ዳግም እምለስ ናብታ ሸላ ንሳ’ውን ረስኒ ትተፍእ ዝያዳ 10 ዲግሪ ትቖጽር
ኽሌማ’ውን ብግዲኡ ኣይናሓፈንን ተሓባበረ ምስቲ ሕሉል ወተሃደር።
ማይ! ማይ…. በልኩ በኸኹ ገዓርኩ በቲ ጽሙአ ጎሮረይ
ሻሂ ምስ ቕራስ ሕብስቲ ጥራይ ደኣ ኣምጻኣለይ።
ምስለይ ተደዊኖ ብረሃጽ፡ሰብነተይ ማሲኑ ብቓንዛ ብስቓይ
ቑልቑል ኣፈይ ወደቕኩ ፡ተመነኹ ብርነት ጸላእኩ’ውን ምፍጣረይ።
መንፈሰይ ተሰብረ ኽብረይ’ውን ተደፍረኒ
ፍጹም ተወዻቢሩኒ ጭካኒኦም ምርዳእ ኣብዩኒ።
አንታዩ ኣበሳይ አንታዩ በደለይ እስኪ ንገሩኒ አንታይ?
ስለዝጻሓፍኩ ድዩ ወይስ አቲ ፈጣሪ ዝሃበኒ ቓለይ።
ግን አንታ’ዩ ሞ አንተጻሓፍኩ አንተጸወኹ ናይ ልበይ ቐልበይ
ኣይበዝሐን ዶ ዓይነይ ዒረ ክንሰይ ጸልሚቱ ሂወተይ።
አዚ ኺኖቲ ኣካላዊ መግረፍተስቓይ ዝያዳ ዝኸደ
ኩሉ’ቲ ዝሓለፈ ቓልሲ ካብ 1974 ክጽብጽቦ በብሓደ
ዘሕዝን ክትርድኦ ዘጸግም መደምደምታኣልቦ ዝገደደ።
ከይዛረብ ኣፈይ ተሎኪቱ ተነፊገ ሰብኣዊ መሰለይ
ማዕከናት ዜና የለዋን ብኣይ ከይሓታ ከየቓላሓለይ
ሓርቢቱኒ ተስፋ ርሒቑኒ፡ ተረበጽኩ ተናወጸ ኣእምሮይ
ፍትሕን ርትዕን የለዋን ከይዳንያ ከይጣበቓለይ
ከካርዻ’ዶ ዕምረይ፡ ክሓጽር ዕድመይ ከኸትም ሂወተይ
ኣበደን! ኩሉ ክጾሮ’የ ስለታ ፈቓር ለዋህ ስድራ ቤተይ።
ዛጊት ሰዓት 8 ናይ ምሸት ኮይኑ አቲ ቐዝሒ’ውን ኣብ ኣዕጽምተይ
ኣብ ምድሪ ኣብ ኹርኻሕ አድቕስ አምኒ መተርኣሰይ።
ንትሽዓተ ዓመት መመላአታ መግረፍተስቓይ
ትሽዓተ ዓመት ኣለሽ ኢለ ቐሊዐ ጉልባበይ
ናይ ቐስታ መግረፍተስቓይ ክቐዝፍ ነዛ ክብርቲ ሂወተይ
ኣበደን ኣይምብርከክን ጽንዓት’ዩ ሓይለይ ዱልዱል’ዩ አምነተይ ።
ሓንቲ ዘይተላቡ ጥይት ንቕባጸት ንሞት
ዓባይ ህያብ’ያ ኣብ ምድረገሃነብ ኣብ ምረት።
An English poem “The prisoner” by Dr. Haben 04-30-2010
A Close Translattion by
የማነ ዾሃር-05/05/2010
ERITREA SUPER POWER September 18, 2013
Voice Of America
Ethiopia is now sub-Saharan Africa’s fifth biggest economy, leap-frogging next door Kenya and wooing investors from Sweden, Britain and China, as other emerging markets lose some of their shine…
So ,what is VOAs point ? it took Ethiopia 22 years to reach here.It will take Eritrea 222 years. Is 222 not bigger number than 22..,Bigger is better ! Eritreas number is 10 times bigger than that of Ethiopias ? So why exhalting Ethiopia with only 22 while Eritreas is 222 .
VOA,I see bias against Eritrea !!!
Suleiman Salim September 19, 2013
Ethiopia still is a very poor country which suffers from recurrent famine.
Bokre September 19, 2013
What is the difference between Israelis and 22 Arab nations?
Here is bold and brave move by Israeli lawyers and politicians who took their own government to the highest court of their own land to defend the right of Eritrean and many African refugees.
The Israeli lawyers, intellectuals and activists defended Eritreans. This is while the Arab regimes, civilians, intellectuals, Islamic Shieks, medical doctors, the Arab security and media kept silent, even some coward Eritrea websites kept their mouth shut and did not post crimes on Eritreans in Egypt, Libya, Sudan and Yemen, to the slavery, organ harvest, rape and murder of young eritreans in the Arab world.
———————
Supreme Court Overturns Law to Prevent Infiltration
“The prolonged imprisonment of asylum seekers in administrative detention is unconstitutional. The Anti-Infiltration Law is overturned.”
Today (September 16) an expanded panel of nine Supreme Court Justices ruled that the Third Amendment to the Law for the Prevention of Infiltration is unconstitutional and must be overturned. Over 2,000 women, men and children are currently being held in harsh conditions without trial under the amendment, which was passed in January 2012.
Despite the fact that most of the detainees are asylum seekers, and despite the fact that Israel recognizes that in the vast majority of cases deportation would put their lives in danger, the amendment called for their imprisonment en masse.
The Supreme Court ruled that administrative detention of this sort violates the Basic Law: Human Dignity and Freedom and that the state must examine each of the detainees’ cases individually within 90 days and release all those who are entitled to release under the Law of Entry to Israel. Unlike the Anti-Infiltration Law, the Law of Entry to Israel does not allow extended detention of persons against whom deportation proceedings are not underway.
The ruling was issued on three cases that were joined by the Court: a petition to the High Court of Justice filed by Attorneys Oded Feller (Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), Yonatan Berman (Clinic for Migrants’ Rights at the Academic Center of Law and Business in Ramat Gan), Asaf Weitzen (Hotline for Migrant Workers) and Anat Ben Dor (Refugee Rights Clinic at the Tel Aviv University Faculty of Law); an appeal filed by Attorneys Berman, Omer Shatz and Yiftach Cohen; and an additional appeal filed by Attorneys Tomer Warsaw, Yael Rothschild, and Orit Ronen.
Attorneys Yonatan Berman and Anat Ben-Dor: “The Supreme Court ruled today what should have been taken for granted. Administrative detention of asylum seekers cannot be used as a method of deterring immigration. It is regrettable that the state has imprisoned thousands of people for a year and a half in unacceptable conditions without justification for their arrest. We hope that from now on the state will understand that asylum seekers are human beings who must be treated as such, and begin granting them rights.”
Suleiman Salim September 19, 2013
The Israelis do not even know that you exist. Why are you overexcited?
Bokre September 19, 2013
Identity crisis in Arabia
As the heavyset Arab rapists
laid on top of her one by one,
all the tiny Eritrean lady felt was
the full weight
of her habesha identity.
http://www.asmarino.com/articles/1849–ii-the-self-colonizing-mission-names-for-collective-identity3
ahmed saleh September 19, 2013
ATA TEBAN
LEAVE US ALONE , WE ARE TIRED FROM YOUR PREACH OF ARABS , ARABS ……………… .
Who care about them , we are in here for Eritrea and only for Eritrean issues .
ahmed saleh September 19, 2013
And as stupid you are as before disguising yourself will attack me like I protect Arabs exploiting my name
as your weapon to hit your goal , lekhbat -medenagari wahed.
eritrean September 19, 2013
It is happening to Ethiopians too. Watch it on utube
Yukunno Ghirmai September 19, 2013
ዞም ጭርናዕ ምርናዕ፡ ጤናለና ማለቶም ዶኾን
አያ ሸኽ፧
አቤት ዝወደይ
ኪኖኹም ዘሎ ይምልምልዶ፧
ኪኖኻ።
ከምኡ ዘለ በረኻ፦ ንጤናኻ።
ብከምኡ ዘለ በረኻ፦ ንጤናኻ።
ክነውሕ ዕምረይ፦ ንጤናኻ።
በረኻ በረኻ ከይንብል
መሳጊድ ተቀይመን
ከተማ ከተማ አቢለን
ቀሺ አግባእቢኡለን
ብሳእኑ፦ ንጤናኻ።
ከይሳአኑ፦ ንጤናኻ።
ተሰአላ፦ ንጤናኻ።
ጅዋዶ በልካየን፦ ንጤናኻ።
ጅዋየን ጅዋ ጅዋ ጭዋ ጭው፦ንጤናኻ።
ማይዩ ዝግለል፦ ንጤናኻ።
መሲሕ የብሉ ፈሲሕ፦ ንጤናኻ።
ንማይዩ ዝግለል፦ ንጤናኻ።
ብማይዩ ዝግለል፦ ንጤናኻ።
ማይዩ ዘስግድ፦ ንጤናይ።
አይፋልኩምን
ድሮ ጸሊም
ኮዮ ደገ ገዲፈዮ፧ ንጤንአ።
አያ ሸኽ
ሓንጣሺ ጣይትኡ
ክጥብጥብ ተመናጢሉ፦ ንጤና።
ደቂ ገዛውቲ ነይርና
ናጽነት
ከለና፦ ንጤና።
ሰላም
ከለና፦ ንጤና።
ርህራሄ
ከለና፦ ንጤና።
ትሕትና
ከለና፦ ንጤና።
ሸውሃት
ከለና፦ ንጤና።
እርሳት
ከለና፦ ንጤና።
8Kwz-_FrIaE
Yemane Johar September 19, 2013
ሓንቲ ዘይተላቡ ጥይት ንቕባጸት ንሞት
ዓባይ ህያብ’ያ ኣብ ምድረገሃነብ ኣብ ምረት።
ወጋሕታ ሳዓት 5 እትስእ አሕተት ንኽለፋለፍ
ብዘይ ፍትሒ ኣብ ገረብ እእሰር እደሚ እግረፍ።
መሊሶም እድርብዩኒ ናብታ ሸላ ክነጽፍ ዛራዪ ንብዓተይ
አቲ ሩሕ አንዶ’ሞ ተጸንቒቑ ከይበኪ ከየውጽእ ነድረይ።
ንግሆ ሰዓት 8 ንመሮር ንወፍር ተኾብኪብና
ከመይ ኢልካ’ሞ ክስጎም ረኺሱ ቖሲሉ ኣእጋርና።
እድፋእ እንውነው እምናዕ በቲ ሕሉል ዋርድያ
ቀልጥፍ! ይብል ብዓውታ ይገርፈኒ ብዘይንሕስያ።
አዚ ኹሉ ሓሳረመከራ ዑቑር ሽንቲ ቐልቐል ንምንጋፍ
ጠበንዻ ኣብ ርእሰይ ይቐንዕ፡ይቕጽል ስቓየይ ብጭካነ እግረፍ።
ዳግም እምለስ ናብታ ሸላ ንሳ’ውን ረስኒ ትተፍእ ዝያዳ 10 ዲግሪ ትቖጽር
ኽሌማ’ውን ብግዲኡ ኣይናሓፈንን ተሓባበረ ምስቲ ሕሉል ወተሃደር።
ማይ! ማይ…. በልኩ በኸኹ ገዓርኩ በቲ ጽሙአ ጎሮረይ
ሻሂ ምስ ቕራስ ሕብስቲ ጥራይ ደኣ ኣምጻኣለይ።
ምስለይ ተደዊኖ ብረሃጽ፡ሰብነተይ ማሲኑ ብቓንዛ ብስቓይ
ቑልቑል ኣፈይ ወደቕኩ ፡ተመነኹ ብርነት ጸላእኩ’ውን ምፍጣረይ።
መንፈሰይ ተሰብረ ኽብረይ’ውን ተደፍረኒ
ፍጹም ተወዻቢሩኒ ጭካኒኦም ምርዳእ ኣብዩኒ።
አንታዩ ኣበሳይ አንታዩ በደለይ እስኪ ንገሩኒ አንታይ?
ስለዝጻሓፍኩ ድዩ ወይስ አቲ ፈጣሪ ዝሃበኒ ቓለይ።
ግን አንታ’ዩ ሞ አንተጻሓፍኩ አንተጸወኹ ናይ ልበይ ቐልበይ
ኣይበዝሐን ዶ ዓይነይ ዒረ ክንሰይ ጸልሚቱ ሂወተይ።
አዚ ኺኖቲ ኣካላዊ መግረፍተስቓይ ዝያዳ ዝኸደ
ኩሉ’ቲ ዝሓለፈ ቓልሲ ካብ 1974 ክጽብጽቦ በብሓደ
ዘሕዝን ክትርድኦ ዘጸግም መደምደምታኣልቦ ዝገደደ።
ከይዛረብ ኣፈይ ተሎኪቱ ተነፊገ ሰብኣዊ መሰለይ
ማዕከናት ዜና የለዋን ብኣይ ከይሓታ ከየቓላሓለይ
ሓርቢቱኒ ተስፋ ርሒቑኒ፡ ተረበጽኩ ተናወጸ ኣእምሮይ
ፍትሕን ርትዕን የለዋን ከይዳንያ ከይጣበቓለይ
ከካርዻ’ዶ ዕምረይ፡ ክሓጽር ዕድመይ ከኸትም ሂወተይ
ኣበደን! ኩሉ ክጾሮ’የ ስለታ ፈቓር ለዋህ ስድራ ቤተይ።
ዛጊት ሰዓት 8 ናይ ምሸት ኮይኑ አቲ ቐዝሒ’ውን ኣብ ኣዕጽምተይ
ኣብ ምድሪ ኣብ ኹርኻሕ አድቕስ አምኒ መተርኣሰይ።
ንትሽዓተ ዓመት መመላአታ መግረፍተስቓይ
ትሽዓተ ዓመት ኣለሽ ኢለ ቐሊዐ ጉልባበይ
ናይ ቐስታ መግረፍተስቓይ ክቐዝፍ ነዛ ክብርቲ ሂወተይ
ኣበደን ኣይምብርከክን ጽንዓት’ዩ ሓይለይ ዱልዱል’ዩ አምነተይ ።
ሓንቲ ዘይተላቡ ጥይት ንቕባጸት ንሞት
ዓባይ ህያብ’ያ ኣብ ምድረገሃነብ ኣብ ምረት።
An English poem “The prisoner” by Dr. Haben 04-30-2010
A Close Translattion by
የማነ ዾሃር-05/05/2010
Haben September 19, 2013
Yemane Johar
I applaud you. You made it better, more real and in our own language. You are gifted and use this gift to encourage and uplift our people. These are the most trying and depressing times for Eritreans and those of us who have something we should not be bashful to share these gifts with our fellow brothers and sisters. It is a proven fact there is more blessing in giving than receiving. Thank you for making my day.
Sorobeti September 19, 2013
Prison is a chain of time…which on the first days
You mark on the walls.And on the subsequent months
on your memory
But when the years become long trains tired of
wheezing…..and desperate of the stations
then the prisoner tries something like oblivion