December 2nd – international day for the abolition of Slavery: Slavery has become a historical term elsewhere, only remains to be practiced in Eritrea

This day is to be observed as a day for the abolition of all forms of slavery.  Eritrea, the only remaining country, by residual process, where liberty is enslaved and freedom failed.   This day is a day of awareness to those who are still chained, calling on them to rise up and fight against those who chained them.  All countries are intensifying their efforts to eradicate poverty as a means to combat slavery, while Eritrea is intensifying its efforts to make its people less productive in life by forcing them to spend their time in ditches or cleaning empty streets.

The 2nd of December is a day to give hope to those who are still hopeless and enslaved.  It is a day to demand honor and self-respect for those who lost their rights through fear and brute forces.  Eritreans who are the victims of all forms of exploitations meet the highest degree to which individuals are considered as held in slavery and deprived of all basic rights and dignity.

For more awareness and commitment to the December 2nd International day for the abolition of slavery – do one thing for a better world:

1. Send supporting letter, email or phone Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea OHCHR, United Nations Office at Geneva, CH-1211 Geneva, Switzerland

Email and postal addresses for submissions
By email to:   coieritrea@ohchr.org

By post to:  Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea, UNOG-OHCHR
8-14 Rue de la Paix, CH-1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland

For the HRC resolution and other information on the COI of Eritrea, please visit:

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/CoIEritrea/Pages/commissioninquiryonhrinEritrea.aspx

2. Find out more about contemporary slavery.
3.  Have a house party or get together to watch videos on modern slavery in Eritrea.
4.  Check out books on modern slavery.
5. Promote the global campaign to end slavery.
6. Support organizations working to abolish slavery.

Links

The Amazing Change Campaign
American Anti-Slavery Group
Anti-Slavery International 
Free The Children
Free The Slaves
Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking
National Human Trafficking Resource Center
Not For Sale Campaign
One Voice To End Slavery
Rescue & Restore Coalition
Set All Free Campaign
UN’s Dag Hammarskjold Library Links

The Eritrean youth are held in slavery or servitude for life and such Eritrean conditions fall within the modern day slavery and servitudes as defined by the nature of forced labor or unfair compensation.  Those who break free, as if there is collateral debt bondage attached to their enslavement, their parents or any of their family members are forced to pay NKF 50,000.  This shows that the whole population is forced into slavery by a decree of national service.

In observance of this day, 2nd December, a day to end slavery, Kofi Annan said, “Slavery was, in a very real sense, the first international human rights issue to come to the fore.  It led to the adoption of the first human rights laws and the creation of the first human right non-governmental organization.  And yet despite the efforts of the international community to combat this abhorrent practice, it is still widely prevalent in all its insidious forms, old and new.”  Similarly, Ban Ki-moon states that, “On this International Day for the Abolition of Slavery let us reaffirm the inherent dignity of all men, women and children.  And let us redouble our efforts to build societies in which slavery truly is a term for the history books.”

The Eritrean system has become a system of the confined (the slaves) and the confiners (those involved in denying freedom to those chained).  Those confined or chained (the enslaved) cannot even exercise their rights of disobedience to their liberty because they are not courageous enough to say “give me liberty or give me death.”  On the other hand, the more one disrespects her/his own rights, the more becomes anti others’ rights or the greater irresponsible one becomes, the more gets involved in causing damages to his people.  Such are the confiners or the agents of the regime.

So, if Eritrea is the only country where liberty is enslaved and freedom failed, what is the cause of the failure?  And, if measures to abolition slavery are the success of a nation against which the outcome is measured, then Eritrea has major challenges in addressing the problem of human rights in its semantics created to enslave its people for life under national service or military service by patching and playing with words, such as, Wefri-Warsay-Yikealo, Wefri-parents, Wefri-elderly, Wefri-harvest, Wefri-Zemet, Wefri-under age, etc.  Each Wefri with different connotation but the same goal is intended to impose forced labor without compensation.

The system allows kids, youth, parents and the elderly to be mistreated and exploited by unscrupulous people.  The regime of Isayas explains with clarity that it is ruling in accordance with the rules of “finders keepers, losers weepers” game thereby promulgating a rule without constitution and constitutional courts.  Under the game of “losers are weepers,” each is not protected by law in that a selected people dominate and abuse the people as they like.

The system is not cooperating to end slavery or forced labor.  Those who break free are those who are fleeing for their life.  Once they cross the border, they have no any memory at all of what slavery life was like.  They have no idea, as if they never had any conversation or shared their sufferings with others about their conditions before indicating that they had no control over their minds and life.   Because they feel they are profoundly threatened, their lip is tightened and don’t want say a word due to loss of self-esteem and unexplained feelings of emptiness and lifelessness.  As if they lost their speaking ability, they are vague about their past.  Because they were exposed to only “do as told,” they lost their verbal literacy to describe their past history clearly.  It is not out of sound reasoning to see these escapees sign a “letter of regret” for fleeing the country, fearing for their life and seeking safe heaven where they are.

Those who sign such letters of regret realize that they are willingly enslaving themselves in order to save the life and properties of those enslaved against their will back in their homelands.  Those who sign such letters of regret are witnesses that the regime vide its “finders keepers, losers weepers” policy, the abusers are seen enforcing the regime’s policies of mine is mine, yours is mine and everything is mine.  The all is mine policy, according to the regime, declares in clarity that the seen and the unseen, the water and under the water, the land and under the land as well as what is your pocket and under your mattress is not yours, be it money or gold.  Those who sign willingly to regret their freedom are psychologically affected.  They lost their truthfulness and sincerity in that they are willingly incapacitated to reason properly and to learn from their experience.  They feel they cannot live independently without their abuser, so they are willingly enslaving themselves to be manipulated and remote controlled by the abuser.

The International community is calling on all Eritreans to share their stories and perspectives on the 2nd of December about the sufferings of those who are still enslaved.  Our views on how our people are suffering under the system are part of our struggle to becoming voices to the voiceless and uniting with the international community in eradicating all forms of slavery.  Let’s, therefore, reinforce the UN’s resolutions to fight slavery in all of its forms and fight to abolition it by renewing our commitment on 2nd December and supporting the commission of inquiry on human rights in Eritrea.

Let’s join the world on ending slavery by fighting to restore hope & dignity to those enslaved

Mamino