A portrait: Jelal Yassin Aberra

A portrait: Jelal Yassin Aberra

The story of Jelal is not a personal one, but it is a narration of the struggle of the Jeberti to keep their faith and identity and their quest for knowledge. The first time I met him was several years ago at Café Providence in Oslo, known to many Eritreans there as Café ‘Al Jazaeeri’. It has taken its name from the many Algerians and Moroccans who frequent it. I was sitting alone when he joined me. Some of my friends had warned me he is as unfriendly and aggressive, but I always preferred to talk and listen to people before judging them. Our discussion led quickly to the issue of the Jeberti, which I later discovered that he had a lot of passion for. I listened attentively, I got a lot of new information and from that day on, I decided to learn more about them. He succeeded in changing some of the wrong perceptions I had. I admired his intellectual arguments, his honesty and loudly calling a spade a spade. Through him and my own interest to find the truth, I learned more about the historical oppression the Jeberti had been subjected to by Abyssinian rulers. I learned about their determination to keep their faith under very challenging circumstances and their struggle to define themselves the way they see it. 

That meeting led to several interactions and intellectual discussions on diverse issues.

One thing I admire about him is that he always likes to hold a low profile. He seldom talks about himself. It took quite a long time before I discovered that he was an EPLF fighter in the field and that he was injured six times, the last injury left him almost paralyzed for more than one year. It happened many times in discussions, in my presence, when PFDJ supporters who had not contributed any thing in the struggle would challenge him, ‘Keep quiet, what do you know about Eritrea to criticize the regime”. I learned how his great grandfather name  ‘Aberra’ was coined. His original name was Abrar, but his mother opted to change it to Aberra to protect him from forced conversion to Christianity when Atze Yohannes used force to convert Muslims to Christianity. I have read in a book written by an Egyptian Coptic Bishop where he writes that the Egyptian Coptic Church which used to administer the Ethiopian Orthodox Church had advised Atze Yohannes then against such practice. In the aftermath of the Anti-Muslim reign of terror of Atze Yohannes, Aberra decided to keep that name, so at to remind the forthcoming generations about the plight they have been subjected to. 

His late father who was a prominent Professor of Economics at the University of Asmara, was killed by the EPLF in January 1991 in the front of his house. Probably, his only crime was that he advocated the cause of Jeberti and worked for their recognition as a separate entity. Perhaps many do not know that Jelal’s mother is a Tigrait speaker, but when you know the struggle of the family for keeping their faith and Identity; you understand why he has a strong passion for the Jeberti.

   

Jelal is multi-lingual. He is fluent in Italian, Arabic, English and Norwegian, besides his language of Tigrinya. He is relatively not so fluent in his mother’s language, Tigrait. His family had a passion for education.  His grandfather was a successful businessperson who travelled frequently to Europe for business deals. His father was one of the few Eritreans who studied Economics at the American University in Beirut in 1948. Born in Asmara in 1957, Jelal went to a Koranic school (Khalwa) and to Michelangelo Buonarotti kindergarden, Sant Anna Asilo & Scuole elemntari and later studied high school at Vittorio Emanule. After he got asylum in Norway, in 1984, he continued his high school studies at Folkehøgskole at Telemark. He later took Social Anthropology course at the University of Oslo. He earned his B.Sc. in Information Technology from the University College of Oslo. In Norway, among other things, he worked as a technician and later as Administrator in various Cinema Houses in Oslo and as a translator, too.

He was politically active since early age. In 1972, when he was just 15 years old, he went with Mesfin Tedla Ogbit and Yonas Afworki to Tessenei to join the armed struggle, but they were arrested near the Sudanese border. Ejel Abdulrahman, who was the district officer there, intervened and they were released on bail. He had to go back to Asmara and pursued his studies. He was recruited by the EPLF in 1974 where he became an active member. He was in one of the first ‘Wahyos’- underground cells of the organization in Asmara. His group included Abdu Mohamed Ali, Yonas Afworki (Zobino), Solomon Zemichael and Berhan Nur Aberra. They used to collect money, distribute pamphlets, recruit new members, and get the medicines the organization required. Among those he guided to join the rebels was Siraj Ahmed Aberra, Simon Gebre Dingel, Zufan Araya and Jemil Mohamed Ali. 

When Solomon Zemichael was arrested they had to leave Asmara and joined the field by early 1975. There he took a short military training and was assigned to the army. His first assignment was in a platoon led by Ibrahim Affa. Later he served among others in a battalion headed by Woldenchael Haile. The political commissioner was Berakhi Gebresellasie. He also served in a platoon headed by Bitweded Abraha. In the field, he participated in many military operations with the Ethiopian army. After his sixth injury which left him paralysed for almost a year, he was assigned to the Information Department of the EPLF, where he served among other positions as head of the manual publishing unit and attended the 9^th round course at the cadre school. He was later assigned as a representative of the EPLF Information Department in Port Sudan where he served until the end of 1983 when he abandoned the organization.

Jelal is a multi-faceted intellectual. You can discuss with him on any subject, including religion. Besides the Koran, he knows the Bible by heart. He often argues with believers and challenges them to read verse X or Y and at times, they get the surprise of their life. When you discuss with him about the Bible, you realize that those who are quick to criticize the Koran, need to read the Bible properly, as well. Thanks to him, I have read the Bible and have a copy of it. He has a collection of rare pictures and books on Eritrea. Unlike many others, who keep the pictures to themselves or are quick enough to sign them before release, he shares his collection freely. I have shared many of those pictures and historical documents with the public. Resoum Kidane has also shared many of those pictures. Many of his pictures are also posted at Jeberti.com. Some of his rare collections include the Italian book, ‘Who is Who in Eritrea 1952’ and an unpublished book by Sir Kennedy Travaskis, ‘The Deluge: A personal view of the end of Empire ‘. His friendship has broadened my knowledge about Eritrea and the world. It is not only about books and pictures; his musical library is rich with old and contemporary music from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan and Italy.

He is very social, full of sense of humour and has diverse friends, even among political components. He never speaks behind peoples back, but can be felt to be rude in stating the naked truth. If you go with him in Oslo, many persons who would love to chat with him, interrupt you. He has a fantastic memory and I am amazed at times, he looks at people and tells them details of what they have done when they were young or informs them about their relatives. He is very generous when it comes to financial contributions for political ends or in helping persons in need.  Tesfay Temenew acknowledged his support in his book.

We meet many people in our lives. Some simply pass by without leaving any trace, some leave traces and others imprint lasting impressions on us, and for me Jelal is one of them. I know of many clandestine political activities he had been involved in but it is not time to speak about them, at present. His political activism has also earned him some enemies even among some of those who claim to be justice seekers. However, his honesty and far sightedness has always protected him against defamation. Through him, I have been able to write notes about Girmai Wedi Filipo, Tewelde Redda and Mesfun Maare. I know he always likes to keep a low profile, but I hope he will excuse me for writing this note about him.

Eritrea is just full of such stories waiting to be written.

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Mohamed Kheir