Human life is as swift as a spark, a drama of conflict between the true nature of being and illusive understanding of life based on image. As Confucius said; “to be wronged is nothing unless you continue to remember it”. There were too many wrong things taking place from internal and external conflicts but life is about expressing the universe through each one of us not about what happens to us.Life is not a statue to be confined within the limitations of the material world but a universal element designed to serve as a transparent mirror, a bridge or passage of reality from point to point in the infinite space. “Life does not happen to you but it happens through you” says the Author of Conversation with God. We should then focus on neutrally contributing something to mankind wherever it applies. As it goes, there is an opportunity now to break the chain of trauma and hatred with peace and love.

I believe we arrived at this pleasant socio-political environment because of the unpleasant collective experience we passed through as members of a dysfunctional family. We suffered more than our shares because of misunderstanding, bad leadership, and very shallow understanding of society. Too much pride and ego put us in this situation where we can no longer pursue the destructive path of the past that dropped us to the rock bottom of spirituality. An opportunity has now arrived where we can nullify our toxic relationships polluted with arrogance, vengeance, cruelty and dominance. Hence, everything comes and goes and nothing stays the same and the extent we can use the bliss with maximum wisdom remains to be up to us. This is the time to optimize love between each other, to forgive and move on for collectively brighter future where the next generations will have nothing to do with our fatal contradictions. This is a moment to test our individual spiritual quality and diffuse our negative energies with higher consciousness. We must repent and compensate our people with PEACE, the most precious component in human life!

The power of love created a situation where the symbols of justice and inclusiveness and that of injustice and exclusion faced each other with humility and gratitude for the first time in the contemporary history of our nations. Dr. Abiy’s peace and love movement should teach us how love overrides ego, material and political power; how forgiveness defeats grudge and revenge; humility diffuses arrogance and obstinacy. Yet we must be careful to never hurt anyone in the collective society anymore. Power may have slipped away from the TPLF but Ethiopians should acknowledge that the group has done tremendous achievements modifying Ethiopia to this level of structural and political change. We also should realize that the Tigrean revolution paved the way to the Eritrean independence and the current development at the expense of the TPLF’s surprising dissipation from political power with all the problems it created for us and itself. We need to realize that the Tigrean people have nothing to do with whatever their politicians did in the past like we have nothing to do with how the dictator managed his relationship with TPLF. In whatever way the law may apply to the “corrupt” individuals of the past, the Tigrean people should peacefully move on leaving the matter for justice to resolve, needless saying we have nothing to grudge on them for we were part of the filth at equal level of political mismanagement. As it looks, our brothers and sisters in TPLF appear to have learned a powerful spiritual tool in this experience; humility; and I have no doubt that the Tigreans and the Eritreans will peacefully coexist forever as part of a family victimized by their leaders’ political misfortune. What I mean is, whatever the personal problem between the dictator and the Weyanes may have been and in whatever way the crisis may have affected both sides, the Eritreans and Tigreans have no fundamental problem at mass level of the connection.

The fast unfolding events in my opinion should have spiritually affected President Isaias as observed in few specific occasions. It was time for him to assess the extremely long Eritrean independence struggle, the ups and downs, the sacrifices and down to earth relationships, the selfless Tegadeltis and Wedi Tikul era musicians that shaped the emotional journey of the people to absolute servitude of the struggle under his authority. It was indeed a chance to remember the love, hope, justice, dreams and care exchanged in between at the height of the Eritrean people’s romantic attachment with the struggle. Isaias played extraordinary role in the struggle and process of our sovereignty no matter how I feel about him in many other areas of the relationship. His extreme obstinacy may have partially secured the Eritrean nationhood considering the uncountable animosities we faced from our neighbors in general. Unfortunately, it was at the extreme oppression of the people; at the expense of absolute dictatorship and insignificant development in Eritrea. Nothing was done in the last twenty years except chasing and controlling the people with the power of the fist.  

The current situation is a blessing to President Isaias; a spiritual awakening based on the mortal nature of mankind; really an opportunity for higher consciousness to peacefully close his last chapter of life by genuinely making a difference in the down pressed society. What he may do to this effect is something to be seen shortly but God has given him the chance now to do his best for the interest of the Eritrean people without any excuse. He can indeed play a significant role in democratizing our country and bless his family and the people with positive legacy. This is time to soul search, connect with God, forget the past and moving on to enjoy the rest of it by doing things anchored on the reality of mortality: Time to create the best scenario in the region; to checkout his ego and transfer power to the people wisely assessing the situation that he can no more lead Eritrea as he did in the past. It’s not worth anymore at this height of accomplishment where the Eritrean question of nationhood has been completely crystallized in the Ethiopian mentality in general and the hard core diehard Amara’s in particular. The territorial dimension of the Eritrean question could have been solved after the referendum but the conceptual and political dimensions of the equation were still hanging on for solution. Everything is today cleared out of the way for Eritreans only to focus on DEMOCRACY now on from.

Isaias’s performance in the latest development appears to me as being consistent with the desire of the Eritrean people pertaining their territorial independence. It was one to one relationship based on mutual respect, although Abiy was inclusive and the dictator as exclusive as he always had been. I love the new Ethiopian mentality that accepts our sovereignty without any more hesitation. As I discussed in my last article, I like what has so far been signed between the two nations (5 points) and looking forward to their specifications as soon as possible. DIA’s interview with ESAT in Asmara told the world that “the historical distortion orchestrated by former Ethiopian leaders and political movements such as EPRP and MEESON had to be corrected to reflect that Eritrea’s problem with Ethiopia was not about overthrowing the Emperor and the Derg in favor of a progressive regime in Ethiopia but rather a colonial question similar to the history of all African nations created by colonialism. It took very long to cultivate this notion in the Ethiopians’ mind but we now feel we have fully corrected the distortion.” Well said Sir! Because this is true and very important for the peaceful coexistence of Eritreans and Ethiopians in their perspective territories. I appreciate the dictator for assertively communicating this reality to the Ethiopians. I am glad to see this chapter completely closed because the hardest part of the struggle overall was overcoming the diehard Amara’s mentality of claiming Eritrea based on NATIONAL QUESTION classification that could only be solved within the circumference of Ethiopian identity. This was the cause of all the problems and the residue that magnetized different Ethiopian generations into rejecting the Eritrean legitimized sovereignty based on colonial question of the matter. I congratulate the Eritrean people and the dictator for this success.

In so saying, so many things have been said about the integrity of the dictator vis-à-vis the Eritrean question in general. But I feel three distortions have been taken care of by the development: the rumor that Isaias was working with the Weyanes for Abai Tigrai; the contemplation that Isaias was about to sabotage the Eritrean identity by teaming up with the worst enemies of the people from the hard core Amara society (Ginbot 7, Arbegnotch Ginbar, etc.); and that Isaias had resentment about the Eritrean independence and wants to reverse our history of independence. I thank God for clarifying these distortions through time and practicality of the concerns on the ground.

As for the opposition camp in Addis, I found the excuse that “the weyanes have been working to humiliate the Eritreans making it impossible for us to effectuate the struggle from within Ethiopia” very shaky to accept if not to believe. The statement is most probably true but when did they realize this problem and why did they stay in Ethiopia for this long instead of finding other grounds of struggle somewhere else? For those accusing Dr. Abiy for exclusively accepting the dictator ignoring the situation of the Eritreans, here is what I have to say!! The Doctor’s job as Ethiopian leader can only be securing the interest of his people and that is what he is doing. Our opposition camp and specially the Civic Society did not secure respect from external forces to be considered equal partners of the deal. We did it to ourselves and we better swallow it without complaining. The situation will remain the same unless we adapt a new culture of creativity, transparency and civility to earn respect from external forces. What happened to the Ethiopians is what they collectively earned through their struggle for their rights and what we have earned so far is what we worked for ourselves. It is not Dr. Abiy’s business to change the Eritrean situation and it will not work!

The problem is serious ladies and gentlemen! We are dealing with an impotent civic society that has no defined concept of democratizing the country; one that has a problem accepting a NEUTRAL TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT FOR DEMOCRACY as the immediate political challenge of the Eritrean society and yet, without safer alternative in mind. We did not work for the people and the result is obvious. We will, however, do our best to peacefully coexist with the Ethiopia people over all and the love they showed us as equal partners of the opportunity is welcome. We love them too and we should use the opportunity to change the situation by honestly executing tasks based on scientific approach for the exclusive interest of our people. The CIVIC SOCIETY has no other choice to working under a centralized leadership with all conceptual differences in place. Every Eritrean must now unite on making sure the legal boundaries be demarcated on the ground. We also have a political problem in Eritrea that needs a political solution based on our next political destination, which is the transitional period that we cannot face without solid academic preparation unless we were insane. We must now work for the CHARTER or the Constitution of the transitional government to peacefully democratize our society with UN approval ahead and with or without the dictator.

In conclusion, life is duality; we should see reality from the angle of affirmation and negation to arrive at a neutral point of any subject matter in question. We have to inject rationality into the emotion by carefully following the development with calm state of mind. There is no fear in love and no doubt in the truth for the hatred and deception have become things of the past. Neither should we be over excited nor overly suspicious but only cautious believing in God that no one can change what we paid for and no person anymore will alone monopolize the destiny of our society at this level of intensity. As President Isaias said it loud, “the game is over” for Ethiopians’ distortion of the Eritrean history, TPLF’s conflicting position on the Algiers agreement, the opposition camp’s ineffective method of struggle for democracy and the Eritrean dictatorship at large; because the Eritrean question had always been colonial, the common boundary will be demarcated by the book whether TPLF likes it or not, the Eritrean civic society can no longer survive the new development without conceptual unity to democracy, and the dictatorship got to move on leaving the Eritreans alone.

I hope PM Abiy will stick to his spiritual journey without major obstacles. I thank him for the love he transmitted to us through the dictator that unfortunately played a very negative role in the Eritrean society. Yet, the message so strong, it penetrated through him and reached us all. President Isaias has the best opportunity now to marginalize his ANNINET and conclude his service by executing justice and freedom for the best interest of the Eritrean people. I hope he realizes that he has experienced the maximum point of ecstasy as a ”product of the struggle”, that he has nothing more to achieve in this regard except blessing the Eritrean society by genuinely democratizing it as a neutral transitional government of Eritrea and completing his Eritreawinet with flying colors. I just cannot imagine how beautiful this would be to all of us as a family. It would feel like the resurrection of Isaias Afwerki to Mandela’s status of humanity; a contradiction to how his people perceived him as a person. It would be about beautifully facing mortality with substantial spiritual gratification for this unique Eritrean that does not flinch even an inch from his opinion of reality. Yet, everything can be talked about, entertained and waited for but not the border demarcation between our countries. This remains to be the litmus test for our reconciliation as peoples of the same origin with distinct territorial junctions needless to say the dictator has to start transiting the nation to democracy to justify his “the means justifies the end” theory; the struggle will otherwise continue until we secure our freedom and justice in Eritrea.