The two scary words for PFDJ are Unity and Organization. The two words that have kept us from forming one strong opposition group in the Diaspora are Disorganization and Dissension .
PFDJ is a formidable opponent. This organization is experienced in focusing on those two words and has been doing its best, and has been spending much of its budget in making sure Eritreans do not get organized enough to form a unity that would threaten the party’s existence. PFDJ has spies and recruits in the Diaspora whose sole job is to disrupt any group that come together to form a United Eritrean groups. They are in churches and communities and they are active to ensure the agenda of each group is linked to the PFDJ’s principles. Their system, like all dictatorial systems, is based on lies and deception accentuated by bullying tactics. Anything that does not fall into their principle is attacked by name calling and by false labeling. And to accomplish its goal, PFDJ does not blink to deceive anybody any time. You can be the judge, how many times were you asked to cough-up some money in the past? Believe me we paid like there was no tomorrow. And we created a tomorrow that is ruled by tyrants. We paid them to make us victims. Sad but true. The country is “free”, but the people are not liberated. A dichotomy that is hard to explain to our children. Now, where is the money kept? PFDJ is keeping the money the same way they kept during the struggle. Bank accounts are open all over Europe and China in the name of individuals, not in the name of the Eritrean treasury. Not only have we become victims, but also we will have created a few wealthy people, once things don’t go their way.
To fight this we need to do what they hate, i.e. Organize and get United. You may say, easier said than done! I agree to some extent, but allow me to throw my “two cents”. To the minimum I will open a subject for discussion by exercising my “freedom of expression”. The plight of Eritreans is too much to bear. Eritreans as you may be sick of hearing it, are fleeing the country by droves. They flee not for a “picnic”, (as President Tyrant Afwerke would want you to believe), and it is not about their destination, it is all about leaving tyranny, starvation, despair, boredom, oppression behind. It is like a deer running from the enemy (hyena) to escape from becoming a dinner. Does the deer know where it is running to? hopefully to safety, but definitely away from the enemy. During the escape the deer faces lots of obstacles, it may run and fall into ditches, may drawn in a lake or river or may make it to safety. All the deer is thinking is how fast it can run to escape its attacker. These days it is hard to find an Eritrean family, who does not have a relative, son or daughter, who is not touched by this wave of Eritrean flight. Some were victims of Issais’s “shoot to kill” policy and died in the wilderness of Eritrea. Some were kidnapped from the Sudan and are rotting in jail in Eritrea, and some were swallowed by the unforgiving Sahara desert or Mediterranean sea etc. The poor Eritrean mothers continue to agonize and cry over the fate of their children. They have given up on their government and are now counting on the opposition groups. Finally, those who make it to their destination are faced with culture shocks and a struggle for adjustment. It is not a “picnic”, it is a struggle to survive.
Assena.com when giving an account once said:
ኣብ ዝሓለፈ ኣዋርሕ ማእከላይ ባሕሪ ቆሪጾም ናብ ዓዲ ጥልያን ክኣትዉ ዝሃቀኑ 75 ኤርትራውያን ስደተኛታት ኣብ ሓደ እዋን ጥሒሎም ከምዝሃለቑ ይፍለጥ። ይኹን እምበር ‘ፕረዚደንት’ ኢሳይያስ፡ ምስ ናይ ወጻኢ ጋዜጠኛታት ሎሚ ቕነ ኣብ ዝገበሮ ቃለመጠየቕ፡ እቶም ናብ ስደት ዘምርሑ ዘለዉ ኤርትራውያን ‘ፒክኒክ እዮም ዝኸዱ ዘለዉ፡ ክምለሱ እዮም’ ብምባል ብመቕዘፍቲ ናይቶም ብሰንኩ ካብ ሃገሮም ተደፊኦም ዝስደዱን ዝሃልቁን ዘለዉ ኤርትራውያን ክሕጭጭ ተሰሚዑ። (Translation: “In the past months there were 75 Eritrean refugees who tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea to arrive in Italy. Those 75 Eritreans ended up perishing in the sea. When President Issias Afwerke was asked by foreign journalists about the plight of Eritreans who are becoming refugees, he sarcastically replied by saying, that these Eritreans are going for a Picnic, and they will be back. Even though he knows he is accountable for such atrocities, he was heard commenting in sarcasm” end of translation).
I agree with the President on one point, yes Eritreans will return from Diaspora to their beloved Eritrea. Upon returning the “Devil” and his followers, “the demons”, will be cast-out into the Red Sea, or there will be “prisoners” exchange (in other words, the innocent will be freed and justice will be served), or they will end up fleeing to Europe, through the Sudan, Libya etc. I think it is a Japanese proverb that goes like, “when you spit on others, the spit will come right back to you”. For President Issias to call the Eritrean flight as a “picnic” is a disrespect to the highest degree. And disrespect begets disrespect. That is why many Eritreans do not have any good thing to say about the tyrant Issias. Majority of Eritreans have given up on Issais leadership.
This plight needs to end. The only way to end it is to be United and Organized. To be United and organized the agenda of these opposition groups better be focused with a single mission statement. If they can come-up with a single Mission statement that has a common ground or mostly inclusive for most Eritreans, then there is a chance to be focused and United. We do not want to hear what form of government Eritrea should have in the future, it should be left up to the people. We do not want to see a fight who should be a leader and not, because the people who are leading the opposition groups may not be the leaders of future Eritrea, for the people will decide. Quit coming up with ambitious plans and complicated policies, for the people will deal with that later. The job of the opposition group should be how to get rid of the tyrant regime in Asmara, and replace it with a temporary civilian government that is ultimately accountable to the people. For starters the constitution that was ratified by the people in 1997 can be your guideline for the temporary government. The rest should be left to the people.
The more complicated your agendas are the less Eritreans will join you. If you are focused and mission specific, you can accomplish plenty.
Take Ms. Elsa Chirum as an example, because she is so focused on her mission, she has single handedly brought relief to so many Eritreans. I can presume, she has done more than what opposition parties have accomplished so far. Mr. Tes Meharena is another man who has informed us on the plight of the refugees, moreover, to those who appreciate what freedom means, he has shown us what freedom of expression really means. How about Dr. Berhane Asmelash, who appreciates freedom of religion and is fighting for many who are being persecuted in Eritrea. Dr. Bereket Habteselassie’s contribution to Eritreans in the Diaspora should not be forgotten either. These and others are doing effective work simply because their mission is focused. I am sure there are many others who decided to dedicate their time with a clear mission and focus to benefit Eritreans. The opposition groups should do the same. Create a mission that almost every Eritreans is interested and get busy to work to accomplish that mission. I believe many people who are sitting on the side lines will begin to flow your way.
Furthermore, the narrower and focused the mission statement, the less differences between parties. The less differences between parties, then it is likely that these multiple parties will group themselves into three or four parties. In other words, the less number of parties the stronger the opposition and the more they get united and a chance to succeed.
If your time is spent analyzing policies and complicated administrative and leadership issues, not only will you fail, but also the PFDJ who hates Unity and Organization will have great opportunities and open windows, to disrupt your meetings and create chaos and conflicting ideas. The PFDJ messengers are already succeeding in that. We see them in communities, in churches or are busy attacking those individuals who are making positive differences. The divisions we see in Tewahdo churches and for that matter in many religious groups all have the finger prints of the PFDJ. It is ironic to see some PFDJ atheists advising the priests how to run some of the churches!
Let me try an example of a Mission statement. This opposition’s group mission is to remove the ruling party of Eritrea, and create a temporary civilian government, using the constitution that was ratified by the people in 1997. Now, your job is to work on the “how’s”. How do you dismantle the ruling party and replace it with a temporary government? Unite Eritreans to help you on the “how’s. And then maybe we will have a shot to liberate Eritreans.
One last comment on the fresh news, of the potential policies of US and EU in the Horn meeting in Brussels: the only way US or EU or AU or any interested peace loving country, can help Eritrea is by removing the tyrant Issais and his followers from power. Eritreans are not looking for symbolic changes or less atrocious treatments. They are looking for a democratic government that respects its citizens and that respects the rule of law. This government (GOE) will never have a change of heart to install democracy in Eritrea. To do so will demand accountability, and if Issais begins to be accountable he will have tied a rope around his neck! And that will never happen. Issais was tested for more than 18 years and he failed his own people. What more proof are we waiting for? The tyrant must go!
