“Hade Libi, Hade Hizbi”… based on reality or are we just dreaming?

“Hade Libi, Hade Hizbi”… based on reality or are we just dreaming?

A few weeks ago African migrants (mostly Eritreans), the youthful at heart with their tots and the youth with their sprit descended on the streets of Tel Aviv in an act of defiance seldom seen in the nation of Israel. They screamed their lungs out in unison with messages such as “We are refugees, not infiltrators”, “freedom!” and “No one chooses to be a refugee”.

They pleaded with the State of Israel, asking it to stop its mistreatment of African Refugees like them. But the State did not care; it went on incarcerating the refugees, picking them up from the streets of Tel Aviv and other major cities and sending them to its internment camp in the Negev desert, a barb wire fenced camp solely created for the refugees.

The sad part is that it did this knowing that the rest of the world would not care on how it treats these refugees. For some reason, it has been given immunity in all shapes and forms. The rest of the world is as always afraid to tell this state “enough”. Only one world body, the UNHCR, criticized Israel on the mistreatment of our refugees and it got flak from the state and the Israeli PR machine. Alas, the struggle to ease the plight of these Africans would not garner any world support.

What saddens me deeply is not what the rest of the world did or did not do; it is us; our inaction, yours and mine: the Eritrean folk in diaspora, the walking comatose.

Pretty much all Eritrean refugees in Israel came out to the streets to claim themselves as true political refugees. They did this for several days, unabated and yet with a steadfast resolve. Many went on hunger strike and pretty much all of them skipped the Coptic Orthodox Christmas this year and stood out in the cold to claim their right, the right to be recognized as protected persons under the law. The states of Israel and that of Eritrea consider these 50,000 or so brothers and sisters of ours as economic refugees (or mere migrant workers). I for one cannot separate the two definitions of a refugee when it comes to the state of Eritrea. Both definitions are intertwined in a nation that has kept its youth in slave labour and keeps milking every ounce of energy from this force while giving back mere pittance (if any). This makes those running away from this state economic refugees and equally political refugees; an unfortunate multitude that are hit with a double whammy.

Our situation is perilous and this fact is not unbeknownst to the majority of Eritreans. The other fact is we have chosen to ignore it or do very little about it. The Ethiopians have a saying, “እኔ ከሞትኩ ስርዶ አይብቀል” አለች አህያ.” Simply translated, “the donkey said, ‘I care less if grass grows after I die’ ”. This is just it! We are comfortable in our lives out here in the west and we believe that we are immune from the situations that have befallen our people, refugees are not.

If that was not the case, then how can you explain this mere observation: How come we as a people did not go out in huge numbers on January 22, 2014 to gates of the Israeli embassies and consulates in our respective cities? You think we need organization sessions or አኬባታት to get this going?  We knew it was happening. What can we learn from our brothers and sisters in Israel? They just asked their people to show up to the streets in numbers and they did; 50,000 strong! Refer to link below to see their response.

http://972mag.com/african-asylum-seekers-go-on-strike-hold-large-rally-in-tel-aviv/85034/

And compare it with our solidarity protests (thanks to the very few gallants):

http://awate.com/eritreans-demontrate-in-front-of-israeli-embassies/

Cities in North America such as Washington DC, Philadelphia, New York, Atlanta, Seattle, Boston, Dallas, Houston, LA, Denver, San Francisco, Toronto, Ottawa, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Calgary and Vancouver; cities in Europe such as Rome, Milan, London, Stockholm, Oslo, Berlin, Frankfurt; and then in Africa, Nairobi, Khartoum, Kampala, Addis Ababa. Each of these cities mentioned above have thousands of Eritreans living in them and yet only 5 or 6 of the above mentioned cities were able to get 50 to 100 people at best to come out to their respective protests. You tell me! What is wrong with us?

This problem I believe is deeper. It is a reflection of our current identity. Yesterday I visited some friends and I left this blog unfinished with this idea stuck in my head midway, an unfinished business requiring some form of finality for good or bad. I raised this issue with both of them and we all came to one conclusion. We concluded as peoples go, we Eritreans have become selfish and very self-centered. I know I am going to get some back lash on this with some individuals. But I care less if I ruffle some feathers, because it is the fact! Believe it or leave it, your choice. This was the elephant in the room that a few have chosen to talk about and I said it.

You may claim that you care about your families in the various refugee camps and that you are supporting them financially. Kudos to you for that! That is your individual responsibility for your relatives and your next of kin. But the claim that we make with the famous emblem of “One Heart, One People” or “Hade Libi, Hade Hizbi ” unified in our suffering and joy, I tell you we are not there! We have got a long way to go and my hope is that we get there some day.

We all had excuses for not showing up on January 22, 2014. Mind you, this date and its political significance in Eritrean history is not unbeknownst to me. But all the excuses that we can give right now will just be that: excuses. I bet if Wedi Tikabo was to show up in our respective cities on that same date, you would have made all the possible arrangements to come out and party like it were December 31, 1999.

I am glad that we can take time to entertain ourselves in the midst of sorrow; but then there is time for everything. If we can dance with our brothers when they are happy, then we should learn to cry with them, stand up with them, rise up with them shoulder to shoulder and then eventually succeed with them. That is the true meaning of “Hade libi, hade hizbi”. There is nothing wrong with this utopian dream, even though it was coined by the very personalities that are culprits to our plight.

So my hope at the end of this blog is that we individually question ourselves and our responsibilities to the greater collective. If we want to see a positive change (the key word here is positive) in Eritrea for the betterment of our people, that change will have to start with us. Or else that greater change that you always to talk about with your pals at the coffee shops, family gathering, bars and restaurants will only be a dream, a mirage.

Before I close, I would like to thank those of you who braved the inconveniences of North America and Europe and came out on January 22, 2014 to stand in solidarity with your suffering brothers and sisters in Israel. Although you were few, your voices resonated loud. I am praying and hoping that we all stand with you as One Heart and One People next time when we are called upon… for our own good.