Kiki Birhin
Dear Veterans of my beloved country, Eritrea!
Some former prisoners of EGDEF now living in the diaspora and some of our own Veterans, are suddenly dancing to the tune of “peace” of Ethiopia and I am lost. I read their articles over and over again…and I am more lost.
When Eritrean women like myself walked the streets of Africa and other countries to search for peace – not for themselves- but for the orphans they grabbed and run away from ethiopian occupation and Eritreans’ evil…I always knew that ALL of our Veterans were fighting to avenge the killing of my husband and mine. Yes! mine too, because one can be a dead woman walking.
Never did I expect what is happening in our country NOW to happen. Never did I dream to live my life as a mother and grandmother abroad. I did believe that I would go back home and walk the kids and grand kids to the monument of the unknown soldier and put flowers and find answers to all my question.
What hits me deeply now is the sudden turn around of some that chose to ignore the prisoners, the orphans, the refugees, the mothers and fathers kneeling at churches and mosques and begging God to end this agony. They forgot! it took a song by a senior citizen from Ethiopia, some flowers hanging around the necks of some…and dancing they did.
Did they forget that patriotism is Eritrea and not a president? let alone a neighboring country that says”I sing for you, you dance…and all is gone!” ..like all our struggle, our history and our pain was taken away by Maibela…I say hell no!
I need your help and you need to unite, Eritrea Veterans. What more devastation will bring you closer to walk us back home? WHAT ELSE do you need to see so you pick up your weapon of love and determination and become ONE?
The below I posted:
Patriotism is not dancing to Ethiopia’s tune and clapping to an Ethiopian senior citizen singing and trying to flatter our egos! Let us save hugs for our prisoners finally walking out of hidden jails. Hugs are for our handicapped Veterans in Kassala/Sudan, for our refugees losing their minds from torture in Libya, in Sinai and for orphans left behind by the Ethiopian occupation of Eritrea. …What happened here?
Suddenly former Eritrean prisoners of EGDEF and some are our own Veterans, and presently citizen of a foreign country that gave refuge to them write articles…. and all of the above is forgotten. Such a numb drum melody these articles are!! Before WE – your people – speak, you already tore down our pain and our being. You call our patriotism trash in your minds. But you should all remember that we are far and above from your today’s standard. We are more than you can see. And with every inch of our determination we shatter your today’s search for glamour by a country that crushed us, took our land and killed our people. The reasons we never forgot, let me remind you: we are proud Eritreans and we never change our stand when it comes to our land, to our people, to our Martyrs and to our Veterans! It takes more than clapping to the tune of an Ethiopian senior citizen singing, no matter whose’ favorite singer he might be!
Your pen armed as knife in your right hand, your left arm ready…could not scare us. Just feel your bad day and go away. If life is suddenly so good in Eritrea, then give up your foreign passports and go back so to get closer to the tune of that singer from Ethiopia.
One cut is not enough, you can try repeatedly…and again…you might see salty tears stream down our faces. But kneeling down we do not do! Because patriotism is ERITREA and NOT a president.
This time brought us closer and a superficial happiness is not ours. This time, we shine and it is our time. Like Yemane songs says “Aytegage..afalalay zeybulu nazenet….nisegum bihade…Aytegage.”
I am grateful to each of you, my country’s Veterans. Even those that side by EGDEF and now by Ethiopia, as long as they do not forget the priorities in Eritrea. We do not need Ethiopia to fix our country. And if Ethiopia comes forward the dialogue should be with the people of Eritrea.
k.tewolde July 2, 2018
Indeed Kiki,it is historical events like this which distinguishes who is who,it is like a strainer,the diamonds are left intact despite what is poured on them,true to their character and principle,they don’t jump on the bandwagon which comes along,they rather walk steady towards their goal. ‘A’ETSIMTOM ARINA KULU BEBIHADE,TESKAR KINGEBRELOM KEMTI ZTELEMDE AHWAT NITEAKEB MA’ALTAT KEYKEDE…..NAY MEQABR BTSOTEY!…’ —-YB.
Kiki Tzeggai July 2, 2018
K. Tewolde
one tree can start a forest!
We hold hands and never give up on the promise to our Martyrs, to our Veterans, our Refugees and our Prisoners. There cannot be “them” without including “us”. It takes ALL Eritreans to make Eritrea exists. Thank you.
AHMED SALEH !!! July 3, 2018
merhaba k.towelde
You reminded me the song ‘ NAY MEKABR BETSOTEY BEAL MEN IYOM ‘ we used
to sing when we were young tegadelti .
ZEL-ALEM ZIKHRN KHBRN NISUWUAT AHWATNA
Michael Tesfamariam July 3, 2018
You better go to a Addis and beg PM Abey Ahmed Shek Bilanden to help us bring Issais down, Let me know if you can I am here to finance the whole of your trip.
Michael Tesfamariam July 3, 2018
Wow wow wow “ historical events”???? This is another turn of screw; after your opposition club badly failed to extricate itself from the messy slag it was plunged in for 4 decades, now you are begging Ethiopia to give you away a key to release Eritrean prisoners from their cell, This is a typical behaviour WedoGeba, just keep praying and wishing sitting in your armchair crossing your legs, PM Ahmed Abey Shek Bilanden will had you over a big fat peace and justice.
AHMED SALEH !!! July 4, 2018
it is a waste of time to respond at rubbish comments . good day .
Danilo July 2, 2018
I am very impressed the way Kiki write and give heart breaking message. Thank you Kiki !!!
Kiki Tzeggai July 2, 2018
I thank you Danilo! we learn from one another.
Kiki Tzeggai July 2, 2018
ምፍላይ ንመላእ ህዝብና ክሳራ እዩ። ንሰጉም ብሓደ ምእንቲ ሃገር
ሓርብኛ ከይጋገይ ኣተኪሮም ዝጥምቱ ሓሰመ ረሃወ ምሳኺ ዓደይ ዝብሉ ጅግንነት ዝወረሱ ኣለዉና
Gezae July 4, 2018
No doubt I agree that patriotism is Eritrea. But:before I give away my comment if you are wishful or desirous I want ask you some additional clarifications
1. what does it mean Eritrean patriotism or patriotism is Eritrea to you?
2. How do you characterize the historic Eritrean patriotism with out the PIA?
3. How do you differentiate Eritrean patriotism along the so called opposition groups organizational and individual membership
4. Last but not list .where or what is the position here in the Eritrean patriotism?
Thanks with great the respect
Gezae July 4, 2018
Correction
4. Last but not list .where or what is your position here in the Eritrean patriotism?
Uncle Sye July 3, 2018
ዝኸበርኪ ኪኪ
ሓደ ጊዜ ነፍስሄር መለስ ዜናዊ ‘ነፍሲ ወከፍ ኦሮሞ እንተዝግንጸል ኦነግ / OLF ኮይኑ ምተረኽበ ‘ በለ….ከምኡ ድማ ማንም አርትራዊ ትግርኛ እንተዝግንጸል ሓበሻ ኣብስንያዊ እዩ…በትኽስያን ናይ ኢትዮጵያውያን ብፍቕሪ ንኸይድ …ኣብ ቀብሮም መርዓኦም ሓዘኖም ንኸይድ…ምስ ንግንጸል ካብ ኩሎም ንላዕሊ ሓበሻ ኢትዮጵያውያን ስለ ዝኾንና..ኤርትራውነት ‘ እዞም ኣእዱግ ኣምሓሩን ጥሙያት ዓጋመን እናበልካ እምበር ብሓቀኛ ታሪክ ክግለጽ ኣይክእልን ዘርኣይ ደረስ ነታ ሓቀኛ ባንዴራና ተሰውኡ .ሞጎስን ኣብርሃን ንግራስያን ቁምቡላ ዝደርበዩሉ ደቂ ኤርትራ ክፍለ ሃገር (,ጠቅላይ ግዛት ) እዮም ኔሮም ኣውዓሎምን ኩሎም ኣብ ሻሸመኔ ሓማሴን ጀግኖች ሰፈር ዝሰፈሩ ‘,የውስጥ አርበኛ ‘ ዝነበሩ ደቂ ኤረይ እዮም ..ስለዚ ግር ኣይበልኪ …ተገንጸልቲ ሸፋቱ ክሳዕ ጽልኢ ዝምህሩና ኩሩዓት ሓበሻ ኢትዮጵያውያን ኢና
ዓወት ንኢትዮ ኤርትራውያን
ዕንወት ንተገንጸልቲ ሸፋቱ
AHMED SALEH !!! July 3, 2018
selamat kiki
PM. Abiy Ahmed fight for reform , forgiveness and tolerance plus to abandon WEYANE policies
including to release political prisoners might influence some principled patriots among HGDF
ruling party officials . If indeed Issaias showed willingness to resolve border conflict it will be
the end of militarized society inside our country .
AFTER THE MAJORITY OF ERITREANS ABOVE THE AGE OF 18 YEARS WENT BACK TO LEAD
CIVILIAN LIFE , BY THEN I AM CONFIDENT THAT THE VOICE OF VOICELESS WILL REACH TO
THOUSAND OF THOUSANDS EARS BECAUSE THEY BORE WITNESS OF POLIICS UGLY GAME .
Remember that Ethiopians youth sacrificed the last couple years to bring down WEYANE authority
and it is up to those in Eritrea either to live under oppressive environment or to live free .
For I think we need to follow this critical political developments with our eyes open . Issaias has
reputation of double standards to take advantage on self-served opportunities the same way he
did with WEYANE until 1997 . Unfortunately only fools and cowards support such kind of leaders
at the expense of their fellow country people .
abe July 3, 2018
I am no fun of HGDEF and its ideologies and certainly do not endorse their mischievous destabilizing tactics but I found it hard to believe that this article of so much hatred and vengeance comes from a woman and a grand mother.
Can you imagine what kind of poisonous propaganda of hate she feeds her children and grand children?
Lord have mercy upon her..
k.tewolde July 3, 2018
abe,where do you sense and taste the tone of hate and poison in this article? you must have a unique taste buds of the snakes who slither among us,Kiki has been a model of Eritrean mother,a prudent voice of reason who loves her people and nation passionately and everybody can attest to that.Lord have mercy upon you.
Kiki Tzeggai July 3, 2018
K. Tewolde, hawkha ay’seean!
If Abe is Eritrean, he/she will come back to know that insulting a woman and a mother/grandmother in our culture is “neuree”. Feeding poison to family and kids is never in any of our agenda as Eritreans . All we are saying is that any error – based on this sudden euphoria – is so much misjudging our own reality to some temporary relish, but we should acquire a relish that will lead us to the greater and permanent attainments for our Eritrea.
The good will Eritreans you all are ,please, guide me in moving forward and forgive those who insult a woman and a mother. But we will never throw stones, at the contrary, we reach out. Because when some of our own (IF) go low, we lift them up.
Kibree rikhebu kulukhum Tegadelty Eritrea!
Simon G. July 3, 2018
Abe,
I think you may have read another article written by another women, somewhere, and commented by mistake to this fine article. If not, as brother KT stated, I see no hate at all.
Just saying.
Kiki Tzeggai July 3, 2018
I learn. I teach. I am grateful.
ALL Eritrean Veterans told us:
To be strong is to love your people in silence. It is to share all we have until we have nothing left.
It is to show happiness when we are not. It is to never leave when all doors seem closed. To be strong is to be calm when all seems against you. It is to forgive someone that does not deserve it. It is to smile when we feel like crying. It is to make others happy when our heart is in pieces. It is to tell each other, “Stay strong” when we feel weak! It is to have the strongest belief when all seems doubtful.
We – your people – ask:
Because you ALL are each of the above and more…. the pristine sunlight where tranquility meets our land. Because you ALL made “Impossible” happen. Your people ask you to unite and make us strong! Please unite and guide us towards peace.
I am grateful to ALL of you.
Simon G. July 3, 2018
We hear you, sister Kiki!
Keep writing!
Kiki Tzeggai July 3, 2018
Thank you Simon G. for your support on future growth about my writings.
I share the same appreciation for the classy and civilized conversations on this website.
I take this opportunity to thank Amanuel Eyasu for whom I have the greatest admiration. Making Assenna a platform available for such conversations and exchange of ideas to happen gives all of us the opportunity to help each other for the benefit of Eritrea.
jommy July 3, 2018
TO DR,ABEY ETHIOPIA PRIME MINISTER ,All of us specially Eritreans where hope full for what you are trying to bring toEthiopiia rule of law freedom and equality for all, but you are trying to give a life line to the blucher of Eritrea who is ruling Eritrea with no constitution ,no vise president ,no justice system for the last 27 years. Eritreans are running out of their country due to abuse, torture ,random detention killing and slave labor. YOU CALL US BROTHERS AND YET YOU ARE MAKING A BLIND EYE TO THE SUFERING OF THE RITREAN PEOPLE .Could YOU please explain why .ERITREANS WILL NEVER FORGET THIS.
Yonus July 4, 2018
Jimmy , great comment !
AHMED SALEH !!! July 4, 2018
Dr. ABIY told us ten times that he is tired of HGDF-WEYANE no war no peace
approach & to see thousands of ERITREAN -TIGRAI youth who has been forced
for national service for more than twenty years with minimum wage monthly pay .
We know those who enjoyed to politicize Eritrean suffering ,
We can twist truth as we want but we can not break it ,
Simon G. July 4, 2018
Brother Ahmed,
Just curious if Dr. Tripple-A is making peace with isayas or with Eritrea. So far, to me, he is with isayas. To the Eritrean people, it seems worsens.
It seems isayas will get a life line from near death as a result of Sudanese border closure.
Isayas’s delegates said border is not an issue and Dr. Tripple-A said it is artificial border. This is worrisome. Let’s not be naive.
k.tewolde July 4, 2018
Brothers Ahmed and Simon and all the good people I come to connect in this medium,your concern is legit,your guarded approach to this disruptive phenomena valid as well,however,yes a border is artificial,it is a demarcation by men,there is nothing natural about it.God made the earth and created us to live in it and multiply,He din’t create Eritrea,Ethiopia or Croatia….’nations are the inevitable products of capitalism..’Karl Marx.That is Dr. Abiy’s view. Insensitive greedy foreign men who care only how much raw materials they can excavate came to the dark continent artificially divided the land among them and called it borders(nations) and gave them names,and believe it or not they continue to do that to this day in a subtle way.Is the tyrant and his cronies look at his remarks from this point of view?refer to their archives.I don’t know what PMAA long term goal is,but I definitely know he breached the levy with this rare and fresh approach and we are left with 2 choices,either scramble to patch up the breach with sandbags or help kick the rest of the levy and flood the city of Loath and wash away the sin,grime,filth and cesspool and rebuild a downy fresh city on the hill that welcomes all of us regardless.
Simon G. July 5, 2018
Likewise, brother KT!
My comment on the artificial boarder from tripple-A is not just that statement by itself but when you combine it with HGDF’s delegates say border is not an issue, it worries me. If border is not an issue, what was the reason for the last 16 yrs of misery. Weren’t they telling just that?
I hope I am wrong but I see another misery chapter just opened for Eritreans.
We are going to lose everything as long as tripple-A is dealing with the devil.
I don’t think he cares about Eritrean people as Eritreans.
Oh btw, the USA is in this, fully. Just listen to their ambassador’s interview in AA.
AHMED SALEH !!! July 5, 2018
Brother Simon
my vision at this stage is to see our people to be free from
no peace no war policies that left the entire population to
become hostage of fear and insecure futurity ,
Time to end the tensions and to bring back home those in
frontier war zones .
remember after Badme war and its consequences that brought down high rank officials and journalists into prisons .
For more twenty our youth have been subjected to challenge
the indefinite national service which brought refugees crisis
that led into the lost of many ERITREANS lives under the hand
of human smugglers on land and sea .
Nowadays after recent political development my prior concern lies to resolve past excuses and to end HGDF’s
systematic forced slavery .
For more than twenty years people on both sides of the
border were also victims of failed governments .
Regardless its outcome let give PEACE a chance then we
will see the future it brings . Since ERITREAN opposition
forces prefer to stay dormant for many years , let the course
takes its place for the benefit of people in need of safe environment .
In case of ISSAIAS regime no foreign support will help unless
ERITREANS became vigilant for change as ETHIOPIANS did
against WEYANE regime .