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Hoping for a sign
I knew the situation in Eritrea was getting worse for each day that passed, but at the same time I was saying to myself at least we have freedom of the press. I got shocked when I heard that my brother Dawit Isaak was arrested on 23 September 2001. I hoped and believed then his misery would become quite short. Now, after 2979 days, he is still imprisoned without being charged formally or having a fair trial. I know nothing of his whereabouts or his condition. It is only in the first four years, when the Danish councilor Lis Truelssen got a chance to visit the prison and met Dawit unexpectedly, that we found out for the first time that he was alive. She asked him how the situation was and he replied, “It is hard to get used to sleep on the floor with nothing to cover oneself.” Many concerned individuals and institutions have been calling on the Eritrean authorities to reveal details of his whereabouts. In November 19, 2005, exact four year since his arrest, Dawit called and told us that he was free. We were shocked, just like the way we were when we heard of his arrest for the first time. However, the feeling of elation that soon followed our shock did not last long. He returned to prison two days later with a lame explanation. That was the first and last sign of hope we got. Since then we do not know if he is being held in a shipping container or in an underground cell. I do not know where he is confined and I am sick and tired of not knowing. It is time for Eritrea’s president Isaisa Afewerki to give me a reply!
The chief in charge of Eritrean embassy in Stockholm, Yonas Manna Bairu, and hence the nearest contact that we have to the Eritrean government, cannot or doesn’t want to reply to any of my questions about Dawit. Now, 8 years has passed since Dawit was imprisoned. We are concerned about his poor health; he has, among other ailments, diabetes. Moreover, he has not been able to see his children grow, to hug them; he has not been able to talk to me, as we used to talk for hours about our daily activities. How long will this continue? How long will they hold him isolated from me, from his wife, from his children and the rest of the world? How long will they refuse to give us answers, answers on how my brother is doing, answers on whether he is dead or alive? How long will it take them tell us what he is accused of? How long?
Eight years is a long time for me. It is considerably longer for Dawit. In those eight years that they took away from my brother, I have got so many new friends. I got myself a wonderful and caring girlfriend, with whom I am happily living now. And now, to top it all, I have got a lovely daughter. And what is more, these last eight years I have been moving and speaking freely – something that I don’t take for granted any more. And yet, I can equally say they have been the most painful years of my life; that is because I could not be with my beloved older brother. It pains me so much not having him by my side. If I am this much in pain, imagine what my brother Dawit must be feeling; this must be a complete nightmare for him.
In one of the articles that Dawit wrote in 2001, he asked, “Why does the PFDJ prefer silence?” Now I am asking the PFDJ not to be silent, and imploring it to give us a sign of hope.