Addis Ababa — Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki has fastened the blame on the US for ‘organizing’ the recent Ethiopian military incursions, which he says is aimed at diverting world attention from his country’s border row with Ethiopia. Speaking on State TV in late March, Isaias said the Ethiopian attack had its roots in Washington’s “failed agendas” and “wrong calculations”. Whether his assertions are shared by the rest of the country is hard to fathom as people are not free to offer opinions and criticizing the government is unimaginable.
The Security Council has simply ignored President Isaias’s concern, which meant for the UN bending its Charter principles of the sanctity of the idea of territorial integrity of UN member states.
The Eritrean government is not helped by its isolationist, defiant behavior which has led to debilitating UN sanctions imposed on charges of fueling violence and terrorism in the Horn of Africa Region. Its miserable human rights record has also earned her no friends.
Under these circumstances, the Security Council was inclined to treat the Ethiopian incursion the same way it treated the Kenyan invasion of Somalia last October in pursuit of Al-Qaeda linked Al-Shabab operatives who attacked tourists inside Kenya. A UN sanctions monitoring team determined in July that both Somalia and Eritrea were serving “as platforms for foreign armed groups that represent a grave and increasingly urgent threat to peace and security in the Horn and East Africa region”.
Ethiopia said it was acting in self-defense when it invaded up to 18kms into Eritrea in mid-March overrunning three of its military garrisons at Gibina, Gelehibe and Ramid in South Eastern Eritrea, where Asmara was “arming and training…hit-and-run terrorists” such as the anti-Ethiopia Afar rebels who attacked 27 European tourists in January, murdering 5 and kidnapping two others. A government statement warned of additional operations if Eritrea failed to stop being a “launching pad for attacks against Ethiopia.”
In a statement after Ethiopia announced its operations, the Eritrean government dismissed Ethiopian accusations that it supported the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front or ARDUF to attack the tourists. Avoiding a retaliatory response, it urged the UN to denounce the Ethiopian action which it claimed was aimed at diverting attention from its border dispute with Ethiopia.
Suggestive of its continued relationship with Al-Shabab as underlined by the UN Sanctions Monitoring Group, the Eritrean government rejects AU military intervention in Somalia as amounting to “meddling” in the internal affairs of the troubled Horn of Africa country. The UN regards Eritrea’s attitude and support of Al Shabab as a cynical plan that only encourages extremism and terrorism which has so far claimed the lives of over 21,000 Somalis.
The UN thus concludes that “Eritrean involvement in Somalia reflects a broader pattern of intelligence and special operations activity, including training, financial and logistical support to armed opposition groups in Djibouti, Ethiopia, the Sudan.” Added to this was the UN report of a foiled Eritrean attempt to blow up an AU summit in January 2011 in Addis Ababa.
The Security Council imposed a stricter second round of sanctions on Eritrea in December targeting its lucrative mining industry and its “Diaspora taxes” believed to be collected through methods of intimidation, blackmail and extortion from hundreds of thousands of Eritrean refugees and other expatriates. The UN says impoverished Eritrea is using these sources of revenue to destabilize the Horn Region. Eritrea has denied the UN charges.
UN-Eritrea relations are at their lowest point. They started deteriorating in 2008 when Eritrea expelled UN Peace Monitoring troops from areas on the Eritrean side of the border with Ethiopia, which Addis Ababa now says are being used as safe haven for ‘insurgents and terrorists” preparing to launch subversive missions in Ethiopia. The UN presence on the border was meant to discourage the kind of military action Ethiopia took inside Eritrea on March 15 – an action which could lead to Eritrean reprisals, thus sending the two nations to yet another bloody war.
By kicking the UN peace forces out, Eritrea wanted to remind its citizens that the war was not over until the border was demarcated. In so doing it was also putting pressure on the UN to force Ethiopia to abide by a “final and binding” demarcation resolution adopted in 2002 by The Hague based Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Commission. The resolution puts the contentious village of Badme inside Eritrea.
Ethiopia has since decided to accept the Commission’s ruling unconditionally but says it wants negotiations with Eritrea on how to implement it. Eritrea wants physical demarcation first and then it will decide if it wants to talk. Thus the impasse continues.
Human Rights Abuses
The Eritrean government’s reported destabilizing role in the Horn Region is indefensible. Equally reprehensible is its shocking human rights violations which the international community needs to urgently tackle if the regime is to be humanized. Simon Tisdall of The Guardian has described Eritrea as “hell on earth.”
Thousands of young men and women keep fleeing the country knowing they may be abducted by human traffickers and end up in the Sinai Desert with the possibility of being raped, tortured, and killed for their internal organs to be sold to the highest bidder.
A UN report links the regime to “people trafficking” involving despairing Eritreans trying to get out of the country. At home, citizens face arbitrary arrests, torture and detention in life-threatening conditions for indefinite periods of time. For many rotting prisoners, the only way out has been to commit suicide if they can find the means to do so.
The government allows no freedoms of speech, press or of movement or travel abroad. The system is totalitarian which means the people have no right to change their rulers through democratic means.
The government says it needs a firm control over the people until its border issues with Ethiopia are settled. But it has also given no hint that there will be democratization and respect for human rights once its border problems are solved. Additionally, there are no indications that the government will introduce changes in its dangerous foreign policy.
As is often the practice in times of Eritrean national crisis, the government has accused Washington for being behind the Ethiopian action. The American Embassy in Asmara has put out a statement dying the charge.
The fact remains that the Security Council’s inaction in the wake of Ethiopian attacks inside Eritrea was a rebuke and a warning against the Red Sea state. What political impact these developments will have on the people and government of Eritrea is yet to be seen. It is clear however that the country will continue to face more humiliation and sanctions unless the government stops brutalizing its people and learns how to live in peace with its neighbors.
Author doesn’t know what he is talking about. Sorry.
Poorly written article. Ethiopia needs to be sanctioned for violating the territorial integrity of Eritrea and Somalia, in defiance of numerous UN resolutions.
I wish if we became Ethiopian again,,,,,nay kedemena heshena nay kedemena….
Did you lose ur damn mind? Are you taking prescription drug prozac? You must not contributed any thing for liberation of Eritrea. Eventough you are intitled to your own opinion , the comment you wrote was out of a line and it doesn’t make sense at all.You need to do some soul searching.
You are not an Eritrean anyways
Ignorance is bliss, and that is what many pro-government loyalists outside of Eritrea swim in… a large pool of Eritrean blood. The attitude and demeanor of PFDJ supporters puts hate groups to shame!
The behavior of the Eritrean leader Issayas Afewerki is absolutely unacceptable in this day and age (this 21st century).
i am sure it is a matter of time before the fed up Eritrean populous say enough is enough and give him the fate of his friends such as Sadam Husen and Muhamer el Gadafi of Libya.
This dude is ethiopian in addis. Cant take anything he says seriously. By even mentioning the UN’s in action, he is implying that Ethiopia is in the wrong but not being punished by it. THe classic ethiopian case is “negotiations”….even though “negotiations” are against the algiers agreement. And doing so will make the agreement void. I guess doing the illegal things are normal for Ethiopia that it is inviting other nations to do the same
The author is just another western and ethiopian backed journalists for giving a bad reputation to Eritrea and its ruler’s but i hope more people see the reality behind the fabricated lies by the west and its ally ethiopia which are fake and aimed at destabilizing Eritrea and giving it a bad press.
I Know this Guy, he used to write an article at the website called Eritrean Daily. and he is a Copy and paste Guy, and he always writes lies.
NEVER IN THE LAST 45 YEARS OF MY 60 YEARS HAVE ACCEPTED THE SO-CALLED U.N.O. AS REAL ONE AND WILL NEVER. I HAVE TO SEE AND HEAR SOMETHING TO BELIEVE ERITREA EQUIVALENT TO A TEENAGER IN WHICH HER EYES ARE JUST OPENING TO SEPARATE THE GOOD FROM THE BAD. WESTERN DEMOCRACY DOES NOT THAT PROGRESS IN BLACK AFRICA UNLESS ITS LEADERS BECOME POODLES AND BEGARS. THE NOW DECEASED BUT FORMER SECRETARY OF USA THE HONORARY WARREN CHRISTOPHER QUITE BEAUTIFULLY RECOGNIZED THAT ERITREA WILL BE AN EXAMPLE OF DEMOCRACY TO ALL AFRICA. THE LEADER WHO SACRIFICED HIS LIFE TO PEOPLE STILL RESIDES ONE LEADERSHIP WITH NO MOTTO CHANGED. THE OTHERS HAVE BECOME CHAMELEONS FOLLOWED BY PARASITES AND LEECHES. I AM NEVER TO SURPRISED IN ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING THAT IS AND WILL HAPPEN TO ERITREA. I STRONGLY BELIEVE THE NEXT VICTIM WILL BE SAUDI ARABIA FOR YEMEN HAS ALREADY FALLEN. IF ASSAD FALLS FAST FRANCE, ITALY, GREAT BRITAIN AND THEIR CAUCASIAN MUTTS GLOBALLY WILL HAVE THE SCOTCH WHISKEY PARTY.
Michael, you say that you are
“veteran radio and TV journalist..” why you don’t say where and when?
You interviewed Mugabe and Idi Amin. So? what do you mean?
You say that U R of Eritrean Origin. Can you mention what did you do for Eritrea in the last 50 Years? You served Ethiopia and you are serving Ethiopia in Ethiopia. You sold your Eritrean origin to serve Woyane from Addis.
You say the people (Eritrean) can’t express their opinion regarding the Woyane incursion to their country. Shame on you! You are not with them mentally and physically. You can’t see it you cant’ feel it. The people are outrageous for the reckless act of the regime that you are serving.
The people is well aware that woyane can’t make his own decision. A begging regime has no decision making power.
Senay
this article is false. Libya and Iraq invasion are a violation of the International Law and the Internationale community does not accepted those invasion as the right way to handle government. some of th Eritrean just need to open their eyes the only way that we can over come this challenge is within the people that can work with the TRANSNATIONAL government in order to bring Eritrea into Security and peace not by allowing Western or Jihad that will kill our own citizen with their radical ideiology. so pelase when some of you are considereing to write a commonet read your stuff and facts before you speak about eritrean and other east africa. Ethiopia also violate Human rights and other rules but since it is the ally of the West. It is seen as the most powerful nation in Africa that get hit by famine.
Dear writer. you should also include the violation of human right in Ethiopia, such as the story of OROMO read: There may be at least four different factions with varying viewpoints on whether the Oromo, the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia, should pursue the birth of an independent country or reform the existing Ethiopian state.
Abebe Belew, host of a popular radio show for Ethiopians. (Washington Post – Nikki Kahn ) But one thing is clear: social media and the Internet have become a powerful tool for debate among the Oromo diaspora, which stretches from Minnesota to Washington D.C. to the Netherlands. Online, the diaspora discusses issues that range from the persecution of the Oromo back in Ethiopia to the infighting among Oromo political factions outside the country. The Oromo number as many as 40 million, according to some estimates.
The Web site conversation comes at a time when the Ethiopian government has been accused of cracking down on and jailing both Oromo leaders and people from its domestic media. Ethiopia is “the second-leading jailer of journalists in Africa,” only after its arch-foe Eritrea, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. It has one of the largest numbers of exiled journalists in the world, the committee says.
The Ethiopian government has denied accusations that it is autocratic or repressive of the media.
“There’s no press freedom in Ethiopia and Oromo voices are particularly not tolerated,” Mohammed Ademo, a Columbia University journalism graduate student and co-founder and editor of OPride, a Web site that upholds Oromo identity and culture, said in an e-mail. OPride is not affiliated with any political faction.
“Despite the huge size of the Oromo population, there is no single independent Oromo newspaper, radio, Web site, or TV in Ethiopia. OPride… is our meager attempt to fill the gap is being blocked. We use social media to engage with our readers and spur discussions about the future direction of the country.”
Gadaa is another an independent online media outlet serving the Horn of African region and its diaspora.
Ademo said Oromos, whose demands are as diverse as the community itself, are very passionate about ending their marginalization in Ethiopia and equally indignant about the factionalism among diaspora-based groups. They see it as a great disservice to their struggle.
After a Washington Post story appeared on one faction of the Oromo Liberation Front, many readers wrote me e-mails and posted their feelings on Web sites that focus on the Oromo diaspora.
Fido Ebba, head of foreign relations for one of the major factions of the Oromo Liberation Front, said that his organization continues to lead armed and political struggle in many Oromo areas in Ethiopia, to protest human rights violations of Oromos by the government.
He said that Web sites and radio stations work to unite Oromo by giving them a safe forum to voice their views, at a time when the Ethiopian government is cracking down on dissent.
“Many Oromos in diaspora are well engaged with cyberspace including Facebook and Twitter, to follow developments in the struggle of their own people,” said Ebba. “This has enabled many Oromos in diaspora to actively participate in the liberation struggle of their people.”
Taha Tuko, a member of the executive committee of another breakaway faction of the Oromo Liberation Front that I wrote about earlier this week, said will now focus on uniting with other opposition parties. Together, Tuko said, the parties will fight against Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to form “a new Ethiopia where all Ethiopia including Oromos can benefit, politically, economically and socially.”
He and others accuse the prime minister of being autocratic, corrupt and repressive of the media.
His group has been holding public meetings, which have been written about online, in 11 cities around the world including Washington, Houston, Oslo and Frankfurt.
“We will fight Meles by all means of struggle to get rid of the regime,” Tuko said, adding that his group would use violence if needed. “Because the government is violent against Oromos.
by the Washington post.
Michael Abraha cannot be taken serious, he has no creditability. He is based in Ethiopia and cannot even write substantial arguments against the government of Ethiopia without being arrested. He knows that and we all know that. He acts like Eritrea is this rouge, out of control country when his “own” country in Ethiopia have just as bad human rights record as the rest of the continent in Africa. Eritrea is not isolating itself because we want to be tough guys, we just dont like to take aid and handouts like some homeless person who holds a sign on the side of the freeway entrance. Basically we don’t kiss nobodies ass like Ethiopia does. Its called self reliance, Africa as a whole should give it a try…
Dear Ghion
please read my comments before you run your mouth on Human right and democracy because the today the key to war is Human rights and Democracy. but unfortunately We Eritrean do not see no of them in LIbya or IRAQ after the war. so please get your fact and idea to get there before you run your mouth.
This guy lives and reports from Addis about Eritrea. Wow, that makes him a very credible person!! at the end of the day, Eritrea is fighting a much bigger battle of survival under a global system that aims at keeping poor people always poor. A study suggested that if every person in this world is to live like the Europeans, we will need three times more global resources than mother earth provides and if everyone would live like the Americans, then we need five time more than is available in this world. This means in order for the West to live the way they do, the rest of us MUST remain POOR. In order to keep us POOR they keep our leaders corrupted. The Eritreans have seen this coming and opted to fight the system that keeps us all POOR. Unfortunately, people like Melles and others don’t get this. Issaias could have lived like any African leader in his palace and invite the west to do whatever they want in Eritea. This would mean no chance of making it in this world. At least give me credit for trying to do something that has not been tried yet. The result, we will all see soon.
Exactly Muler,
Ethiopia lets the west come to their country and do whatever they want. As long as they write them checks they dont care. Their sell outs. Eritrea atleast tries to go towards its own route without anybody meddling in its business. What a lot of these countries dont realize is that nothing in this world is free. Just because they receive this and that, trust me but they will want more back from them. ITS CALLED INTEREST
I know the author. He lives in San Jose. He steal money from many Eritreans. He named him self as a lawyer and charged money to process case for Asylum seekers and finally spoiled their case. He’s shit. I wonder if he’s Eritrean also.
I even remember a case when the immigration officer stopped an interview and expelled Michael Abraha while translating from Tigrina to English to an Eritrean Asylum seeker. He was deliberately mis-translating what the asylum seeker said in Tigrinya, but he was dump enough not to know government translator was supervising him using phone.
So bottom line, he’s shit Agame and he have no write to speak about Eritrea.
@Amanuel,
Coward Eritreans like you Amanuel, are very quick and loud at criticizing individuals who oppose your government. But howcome you don’t have any thing to say about Dictator Issays Afewerki and his gang? You are trying to put some cheap blames with no proof on the writer, how about blaming the dictator where you have millions of first hand personal proof of abuse and suffering(the entire Eritrean people)?
Clearly you are a small time gossip monger and have no contribution to stop the suffering of your people (if you really are Eritrean). Please do us a favour and refrain from commenting on articles if you don’t have ides based on principle, spare us from your village chit chats!
eritrea is free.we donot want agame .viva president issu afewerki.there are 5 milion isseyas afewerki.he is ower Heroo
awet ne hfasch
Agame people are your cousins, stop dragging us Eritreans into this bullshit mess. If Isaias was so great, why are Eritreans of all stripes dying to get out, even if it means rape and the loss of ur kidneys? Its not that you don’t know, its that you don’t care and are sick hateful people. God bless the real Eritreans who will pay it back!
Abdul, No leader is going to magically get Eritrea milk and honey out of handouts. It requires tremendous hard work dedication which directly translates in to pain and suffering. Some people can handle the pain and others don’t. No one can blame for Eritreans wanting a better life abroad. But no one can blame for Eritreans working like slaves to stand on their two feet neither. Yes, we are not there to physically suffer but our sisters and brothers are. This is comparable to our struggle for independence. In addition to voluntarily joining the struggle, tens of thousands of People were dragged out of their home and forced to join the liberation front. Those who kept going gave us the Eritrea we know, those who fled the country kept supporting those who they left behind. History is repeating it self. You can go back in the 80th and find similar comments made by many Eritreans like you, yet those who kept going prevailed. Same here, it is natural for you to be concerned because you like to see Eritrea prosper. What you don’t get is NO ONE will do that for Eritrea but ERITREANS! No one will climb the mountains to plan trees for you! Let them do their thing, do not be an obstacle, just watch history unfold and have faith in them.
For all those who commented, go live in Eritrea and stop enslaving its people for your summer breaks!
Whats wrong with you guys? This issue doesn’t need even a debate. Eritrea speaks for it self. Esayas has succeeded to make it simply insignificant. Like some one has pointed out the government is acting like a jobless teenager who has made it a point to bully every one in the village. Adegegna Bozene as the woyanes prefer to put it.
Amanuel also known as Mihari Fikadu
Amanuel is a brutal government agent and PFDJ spy, who is paid to do so. He brags about tortured and giving pain to anyone who disliked Esayas in Eritrea. He was gathering information of what the new refugees (especially former Eritrean conscripts) in America were thinking or doing? Who was assisting them and so on? Amanuel wanted to stay in USA and so he fabricated an asylum story with the help of other PFDJ agents and he lied to the US immigration people he was anti-PFDJ. Asylum officers told him he was a liar and that committed asylum fraud. They punished him by ordering him to leave the US. He is also lying about Mr. Abraha who is an excellent professional as lawyer and journalist. PFDJ do not want to hear the truth about the suffering of Eritreans. Thank you Michael for this down to earth article and Down with PFDJ criminals!!!!!!
Eritrea, drunk for twenty years on it’s own independence, now suffering severe morning headaches.
excellent analysis, thanks michael.all is the reality written by a aperson who knows the inside.
Re: hate message from refugee Amanuel/Mehari Fikadu in Oakland, USA
As an Eritrean American journalist and human rights activist, my plan is to try to engage the Eritrean government and its supporters in discussions and debates on how to build Eritrea’s future. I am hopeful common understanding will be reached one day regardless of differences. Still, I don’t believe that for Eritrea to keep blaming the US for everything that is happening to Eritrea or the Horn Region is a smart move and this will not impress anyone except may be anti-US Iran.
We remember how some of the most astute African leaders like Nyrere and Nkrumah undermined and delayed national development by remaining anti-Western and in the case of Nyrere also being anti-Soviet Russia. On the other hand, we remember Mandela’s ANC and Jomo Kenyatta’s Mao Mao, who, despite being branded terrorists by the West for decades, opted not to dwell on the past and decided to open up to and to cooperate with the West immediately after independence. Eritrea also needs to reconcile with its unhappy past and adopt a pragmatic foreign policy while embracing democracy and liberty at home.
Hate Message
Hate messages and slurs and smears are diversionary tactics routinely used by anti-freedom forces and they are a price we pay for fighting for what we believe is right in defense of those tortured and persecuted by autocratic regimes such as Eritrea, China or North Korea. Case in point is Ato Mehari Fikadu, nicknamed Amanuel, who, on his own or in collaboration with Eritrean government agents has questioned my integrity as a professional. First of all, no money was stolen from Mr. Mehari by me or my agency the Human Rights Research Project (HHRP) when he approached us for help in or about June/July 2009 in Oakland, USA. He paid us about $300 for an estimated 8 hours of prepping and interpreter help. Law Firms charge up to $1,500 or more for similar services. As non-profit we are allowed by the US government a modest amount to help cover operational costs. HHRP needed to charge for services rendered as we were still awaiting local city, county and US federal assistance.
Ato Mehari, in his 50’s, unfortunately understood not a single word of English. And being nervous, he likes to whisper his Tigrinia words and seems to be a stutterer. He presented his very anti-PFDJ regime asylum declaration for me to review, which we still have in file along with his Alien Number and it could be made public if needed. He said it was written for him by someone whom he did not want to disclose.
I and my agency always preferred to assign interpreters to accompany clients to the immigration office. Ato Mehari insisted that I accompany him because he said he was fearful he might lose and so he thought my coming would help him as I was regarded as US immigration law expert having thoroughly studied the subject in a special government school in Glenco, Georgia and having been employee as Immigration/Adjudication Officer with the US Dept of Homeland Security.
As expected, Mehari whispered and stuttered during his interview making it hard for me and the other US government assigned telephonic interpreter to explain to the immigration officer what Mehari was trying to say. The officer stopped the interview and scheduled it for another day. At his second interview Mehari was accompanied by another Eritrean refugee lawyer and a dedicated human rights activist. The lawyer was faced with the same translation dilemma, and the interview was again postponed.
I should note here that the US Tigrinia interpreter system was suspected to have been infiltrated by PFDJ agents who were being recruited on behalf of US immigration offices by unsuspecting interpreter agencies. PFDJ agents listening in and possibly taping asylum interviews is detrimental to asylum seekers who in addition to detailing their ordeals at home are also expected to enumerate before the asylum officer all their relatives in Eritrea and how they escaped from Sawa, etc. Proper measures are believed to have been taken by the US government to remedy situation after being alerted by human rights activists.
Statistically, only an estimated 30-35 percent of asylum applications are granted in the US. If Ato Mehari has been denied asylum, I believe it is because he could not be eligible for asylum benefit and protection if he is a supporter of the Eritrean regime even though he condemned it in his 5-page affidavit/declaration and in his testimony before the US immigration officer.
I have been a non-practicing attorney for a long time but this status may be changing soon due to necessity. Non-practicing does not mean I cannot think or write like a lawyer although 70 percent of me is a journalist as I have been one since I was a teen ager. Many other Eritrean journalists also have law practice background.
Engaging in hate messages and fruitless personal attacks are luxuries we cannot afford when Eritrea is deeply divided politically and is increasingly isolated.
Re: hate message from refugee Amanuel/Mehari Fikadu in Oakland, USA
As an Eritrean American journalist and human rights activist, my plan is to try to engage the Eritrean government and its supporters in discussions and debates on how to build Eritrea’s future. I am hopeful common understanding will be reached one day regardless of differences. Still, I don’t believe that for Eritrea to keep blaming the US for everything that is happening to Eritrea or the Horn Region is a smart move and this will not impress anyone except may be anti-US Iran.
We remember how some of the most astute African leaders like Nyrere and Nkrumah undermined and delayed national development by remaining anti-Western and in the case of Nyrere also being anti-Soviet Russia. On the other hand, we remember Mandela’s ANC and Jomo Kenyatta’s Mao Mao, who, despite being branded terrorists by the West for decades, opted not to dwell on the past and decided to open up to and to cooperate with the West immediately after independence. Eritrea also needs to reconcile with its unhappy past and adopt a pragmatic foreign policy while embracing democracy and liberty at home.
Hate Message
Hate messages and slurs and smears are diversionary tactics routinely used by anti-freedom forces and they are a price we pay for fighting for what we believe is right in defense of those tortured and persecuted by autocratic regimes such as Eritrea, China or North Korea. Case in point is Ato Mehari Fikadu, nicknamed Amanuel, who, on his own or in collaboration with Eritrean government agents has questioned my integrity as a professional. First of all, no money was stolen from Mr. Mehari by me or my agency the Human Rights Research Project (HHRP) when he approached us for help in or about June/July 2009 in Oakland, USA. He paid us about $300 for an estimated 8 hours of prepping and interpreter help. Law Firms charge up to $1,500 or more for similar services. As non-profit we are allowed by the US government a modest amount to help cover operational costs. HHRP needed to charge for services rendered as we were still awaiting local city, county and US federal assistance.
Ato Mehari, in his 50’s, unfortunately understood not a single word of English. And being nervous, he likes to whisper his Tigrinia words and seems to be a stutterer. He presented his very anti-PFDJ regime asylum declaration for me to review, which we still have in file along with his Alien Number and it could be made public if needed. He said it was written for him by someone whom he did not want to disclose.
I and my agency always preferred to assign interpreters to accompany clients to the immigration office. Ato Mehari insisted that I accompany him because he said he was fearful he might lose and so he thought my coming would help him as I was regarded as US immigration law expert having thoroughly studied the subject in a special government school in Glenco, Georgia and having been employee as Immigration/Adjudication Officer with the US Dept of Homeland Security.
As expected, Mehari whispered and stuttered during his interview making it hard for me and the other US government assigned telephonic interpreter to explain to the immigration officer what Mehari was trying to say. The officer stopped the interview and scheduled it for another day. At his second interview Mehari was accompanied by another Eritrean refugee lawyer and a dedicated human rights activist. The lawyer was faced with the same translation dilemma, and the interview was again postponed.
I should note here that the US Tigrinia interpreter system was suspected to have been infiltrated by PFDJ agents who were being recruited on behalf of US immigration offices by unsuspecting interpreter agencies. PFDJ agents listening in and possibly taping asylum interviews is detrimental to asylum seekers who in addition to detailing their ordeals at home are also expected to enumerate before the asylum officer all their relatives in Eritrea and how they escaped from Sawa, etc. Proper measures are believed to have been taken by the US government to remedy situation after being alerted by human rights activists.
Statistically, only an estimated 30-35 percent of asylum applications are granted in the US. If Ato Mehari has been denied asylum, I believe it is because he could not be eligible for asylum benefit and protection if he is a supporter of the Eritrean regime even though he condemned it in his 5-page affidavit/declaration and in his testimony before the US immigration officer.
I have been a non-practicing attorney for a long time but this status may be changing soon due to necessity. Non-practicing does not mean I cannot think or write like a lawyer although 70 percent of me is a journalist as I have been one since I was a teen ager. Many other Eritrean journalists also have law practice background.
Engaging in hate messages and fruitless personal attacks are luxuries we cannot afford when Eritrea is deeply divided politically and is increasingly isolated.
Spelling error in Hate Message above. Mao Mao should be replaced with Mau Mau. Thank you. Michael
M abraha the tigrayan.
agenda is plural.
One cannot be a human rights activist and an Eritrean. The word Eritrea precludes that, as it takes away your basic humanity, ciccio.
I still tend to believe that you have the best interest of Eritreans at heart. However, the same may probably not be said about your views on Eritrea as a nation. In the event that this assumption is wrong and that you are committed to Eritrea’s indepenedence and sovereignty, your apparent pro Ethiopia stand would damage your credibility as it has done already with much of the opposition.
But you can still reconsider
Dear Eritreans, please c what happened in Israel with eritian refugees. I saw it with my own eyes. what the young ppl talk about Isayas.We all are brothers and sisters lets concetret on the Humanity issues.