In My Defence…

In My Defence…

I call on the Red Sea…

Saltier with tears of many

I call on the mountains… witnesses

…as a whole generation flees

I call on the Sahara sand

…soaking up dehydrated blood

I call on the Mediterranean

…the final resting place

Of the retched yet unaccounted

And still that is half my story

I call on the walls of EraEro

I call on the dungeons of Nakura

I call on the container cells of Adi Abeyto

And finally

I call on the bowed head of a proud nation

The shadow of fathers

…broken into submission

I call on teary eyed mothers

Forlorn brides

And

Fatherless children

I call on pain so raw

I call on hopelessness so abundant

I call on desperation so urgent

I call on despair so staple

I call on anguish gone unheard

I call on a dream all but forgotten

I call on a promise betrayed

I call on a tragedy oft repeated

…yet untold

I call on a land deserted

I call on plans long abandoned

I call on achievements blemished

I call on history tarnished

I call on the blood soaked hand of a brother

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury…

I stand accused of perjury

In my defence

I call on Eritrea to vindicate me

Selam Kidane

Feb 2010