A Light in the Dark - Part II

Eritrea Protest Vigil: They have shined

The organisers of the Eritrean Protest Vigil Thursday 26 May 2011 in front of the Eritrean Embassy in London have circulated well written and designed leaflets which explained the purpose of the Vigil. It goes, “Thank you for joining us at this Protest Vigil marking the ninth anniversary of the closure of all independent churches in Eritrea.  We stand in solidarity with our fellow-Christians in Eritrea, and renew our call for full religious freedom and the release of all prisoners of conscience held in Eritrea.”

The protest vigil has been organised jointly by the following groups:

•    The British Orthodox Church – within the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate
•    Human Rights Concern Eritrea
•    Church in Chains -  An Irish Voice for Prosecuted Christians
•    Evangelical alliance – uniting to change society
•    Release – voice of persecuted Christians
•    Open Doors – Serving persecuted Christians worldwide
•    Christian Solidarity Worldwide – voice of the voiceless

Welcome was given by David Turner (Church in Chains).followed by prayers and spiritual songs:  song of Praise: “Great is The Darkness that covers the Earth”, a song that reflects the oppression; injustice and pain perpetrated by the Eritrean Government on the people of Eritrea.  

Oppression, injustice and pain
Nations are slipping in hopeless despair
Through many have come in Your name
Watching while sanity dies
Touched by the madness and lies

Chorus: Come Lord Jesus, come Lord Jesus
Pour out your spirit we pray
May now Your Church rise with power and love
In every nation salvation will come
Help us bring light to this World…..

A number of speeches were covered by speakers followed by Prayers:

The Church:  by Metropolitan Seraphim (British Orthodox Church)
                     (Prayer: Andy Dipper, Release International)

Prisoners: by Dr Berhane Asmelash (Release Eritrea)
              Prayer (Alice J, Open Doors)
Praise Song: Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)

BIBLE READING: Psalm 20 (David Franklin, Church in Chains)

GOVERNEMNT:    Selam Kidane (Release Eritrea)
                                 Prayer (Jim Stewart, Evangelical Alliance)
REFUGEES:           Elsa Chyrum (Human Rights Concern Eritrea)


The letter was presented to the Embassy by the Metropolitan Seraphim of Glastonbury on behalf of the participating organisations.

The whole episode is like a wake up call to the authentic self.  Not only to the members of various church congregations and human rights activists but also to those of us veterans of EPLF and ELF, the movements  that had sidelined religion and promoted and internalised socialism as a way of life and a guiding principle of waging the Eritrean armed struggle. There are others who came from different religious denominations. Among them I noticed was Kedija Ali Mohamed Nur a Moslem woman involved in charity work to help the Eritrean disabled war veterans in the Sudan and an activist for democratic change in Eritrea.  I may give the impression of being anti-socialism. I am not. Socialism has played a pivotal role in bringing social justice.   After the Second World War most of the Governments in Europe were dominated by socialist parties. They are defined as Social Democrats and believers in secular Government and get to power only through free elections, when chosen by the people.  They are the once who promoted Western Democracy where free health care, free education and social houses for the low income people was adopted. They are also bound to protect all religions and beliefs.

The beauty of the vigil is the impact the gathering would have in building understanding among various religious denominations, regions and ethnic groups in Eritrea. We Eritreans from all walks of life are destined to live together in one country called Eritrea and it is counter productive to exploit these differences for ulterior motives to win political power.

As Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa once said, “You don’t choose your family as they are God given to you as to them”. By the same rationale you don’t chose with whom you live for that matter you don’t choose your neighbours. It is just given by the creator. Therefore we just have to celebrate and cherish diversity and live in peace and exploit our potential for happiness, prosperity and creativity.

Further more our Eritrea is a member of the community of nations and we have to make good use of that, and join forces with all those who share the value of justice world wide. That is why CHRISTIAN SOLIDARITY WORLDWIDE and others have become the voice of the oppressed voiceless in Eritrea. The vigil has done just that, it is a light in the dark.

The vigil was a shining example in action and I can not hide my admiration.  I was impressed. The efficiency of the organisers was all there to be seen. Those who came from far like Scotland must have been very committed as to travel a long journey.  They made their activity in search of justice greater than life. It was a moment in time that one can’t help to be inspired to fight religious persecutions and other forms of human rights violations with greater determination.  When one awakens to this genuine life he/she can experience a profound inspiration to fight for justice, respect for human rights and democracy in Eritrea. Further more create new possibilities of a peaceful, prosperous and dynamic Eritrea.

There is one profoundly important lesson from this vigil.  The Eritrean human rights group are not alone. The issue of human rights and democracy is an international call.  This understanding made the vigil, the call of the international community for justice, to reach out to the wider communities who shared the same values of justice and freedom. The Eritrean human rights organisations “Release Eritrea and Eritrean concern” have been working with mainstream human rights advocates the world over and they have achieved a lot. The quality and the effectiveness of leaders (human rights, civic societies and community) and their ability to build an alliance with the international communities are crucial components of long term progress towards freedom of worship, peace, justice and respect for human rights.  

The fragmentation of Eritrean Christian churches in the Diaspora:

There are a number of orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches in the UK who kept a blind eye to the pain and suffering of Eritrean refugees in order to exonerate the PFDJ.  Many of them have relinquished their duty of serving the people of Eritrea in their darkest days.  They have even failed to pray for the loss of 400 Eritrean refugees in the Mediterranean Sea. The legacy they are leaving is a history of epic shame and loss.
There is something fundamentally wrong with them, something worrying, and something that tarnishes the name of Eritrean Christian Churches. Don’t they ever know that in the long run change will come and justice will prevail?

The other side of the story:

“Up to 400 people, mainly Eritreans are being held for ransom by people-traffickers in Egypt’s Sinai desert, a Catholic priest told the BBC’, Asmarino.com 13/05/2011. This is the voice of father Mussie Zerai, a moral hero who runs the Habeshia Agency for Development Cooperation from the Vatican- a charity for asylum seekers, refugees and migrants.  He reclaimed the Catholic good name tarnished by those Catholic priests in the United Kingdom who are openly supporting the repressive regime. Father Mussie said, "In recent months, dozens of hostages have died in the Sinai at the hands of robbers, we ask the European Parliament to put pressure on governments in the region to secure the release of these hostages and put an end to trafficking in human beings."  There are others such as Meron Estefanos and many more who are working very hard to relieve the plight of the Eritrean refuges who found themselves in such sad situations. These unsung heroes have transformed the epic tale of loss and shame into a new hope of change. The work they are doing is fulfilling.

The vigil represents challenges to all those in Diaspora to present a comprehensive path and vision for spiritual and moral development undermined by PFDJ. The Eritrean customs and culture was once governed by fear of God and sense of justice.  That has to be reclaimed.