Eritrea in 2014, continued to be the country of increased NOs and miseries

Eritrea in 2014, continued to be the country of increased NOs and miseries, hope we will make 2015 Better

My thoughts are with those who still suffer in various prisons of the PFDJ and those who are still held hostage by human traffickers, and those who live in insecure refugee camps in Sudan, Yemen and other countries. May all those who lost their lives trying to cross Eritrea or on their way to their destinations rest in peace and may God give comfort to their families. 2014 was the year of great losses, miseries and disappointments. We lost many veterans of the Eritrean revolution who struggled most part of their lives but couldn’t even get burial place in the country they fought for. Among those we lost are Ahmed Nasser, Hamid Saleh Turki, Ahmed Adem Omer, Omer Mahmoud Ibrahim, Dini Ismael Ali, Memhir Ogbamichael Mesmer, Omer Jabir and we heard about the death of Sheikh Ahmed Faras who died in prison at the age of 87. Dr. Tewolde Tesfamariam (Wedi Vaccaro) who dissociated himself from the regime after the Lampadusa tragedy and was able to rally many youth around him, passed away.

We lost many lives leaving Eritrea. We failed to agree and we failed our people by not being able to dismantle the regime. The ENCDC was a disappointment. Medrekh (old EPLF’s leaders Forum) did not make any qualitative addition. The EYSNS which was supposed to be a worldwide youth movement was high jacked and turned into a group political movement; though I believe people have the right to organize in the way they see it, fit. The Lowlands League was launched a civic society whose impact is yet to be seen. The activities of the opposition were much less than those in 2013. Without undermining Awate.com and others contribution, Assenna.com and Amanuel Eyassu deserve a special mention for the interviews conducted with Pilot Dejen Ande Hishel and Yemane T/giorgish and the rest of interviews.

As 2014 unfolds, I remain utterly optimistic about the future in Eritrea, as I was in 2013. I have no other option, yet more cautious. Wish you all and your beloved, a better 2015.