July 26, 2002

Rapprochement and cooperation instead of

Demonstration & counter-demonstration

M. Filli A.

Greetings all !

Dear compatriots:

It is wrong, very wrong, criminal, and there is no excuse whatsoever to politicize famine now and ever, wherever and when. The looming famine in our country goes directly into the guts, hearts, and minds of all Eritreans first and foremost and in particular and the whole humanity in general. Famine caused by drought as a consequence of missing vital and necessary seasonal rainfalls is non-partisan and an equal opportunity evil that hits humanity without distinction to religion, language, ethnicity, region or country. Missing seasonal rainfalls are Mother Nature’s ordeal over which humanity has no control. No one knows for sure and exactly when, where, and how often Mother Nature’s ordeal will hit planet earth, anywhere. Hence, all that humanity can and must do is to bow in deferment and try to tackle and to avert the harsh consequences by all means necessary. To this effect and as you are all very well aware of by now, the GOE has issued the following appeal:

“The Government of the State of Eritrea, hereby alerts the International Community to a looming humanitarian crisis, and appeals for an urgent response to avert impending human catastrophe.

Eritrean Relief and Refugee Commission (ERREC)
Asmara, 24 July 2002”

This appeal is not unique to our country; it is exactly what any other country would do when faced with the same or similar situation.

Having said that, this situation begs for the following possible political questions:

No challenge against Mother Nature, but isn’t the GOE trying to take advantage of this situation to divert attention away from the political challenges it is facing now?

This is not the first time ever and it may even not be the last time either that our country is facing drought and famine, why didn’t the GOE put measures to prevent, mitigate or even avert the consequences of natural disaster of this magnitude all along? And more.

Well, this is exactly what I meant by politicizing famine. These are legitimate/right questions at the wrong time; because while partisan politics and political issues can be postponed, imminent death and looming humanitarian crisis cannot be postponed. We can always raise and debate those issues at any time and anywhere but we cannot reschedule death or humanitarian crisis?

With that in mind and as Eritreans, the right question at this time is: How can we help to tackle and avert preventable death and the imminent humanitarian crisis in our country despite and in spite of our political differences?

In light of all of the above, I ask you all: Do the planed demonstration and the counter demonstration make sense, any more? My personal answer is big NO. And I dare to say that a lot of other Eritreans and even non-Eritreans would concur with me, too? At this time, word is out: Africa in general and Eritrea in particular is facing severe famine and looming humanitarian crisis. And humanity and the world community at large render utmost priority to such kind and natural catastrophe over any and every thing else. Hence, it is ridiculous and wouldn’t even serve the purpose and intention, for Eritreans to stage political demonstrations/confrontations when about one third of our people is facing imminent and preventable death and impending humanitarian crisis and is calling for help? This is not the time for politics. We must stand by our people, heed to their call for help and assure them that we will do whatever it takes and by all means necessary to mitigate the consequences of famine and to avert the looming humanitarian crisis in unison.

The most effective, efficient and successful way to tackle and avert the grave natural crisis that our country is about to face requires the participation and the resources of all Eritreans in unison, despite and in spite of our political differences. And the most meaningful way to accomplish this is to adopt the spirit and letters of rapprochement (M’qrirab). With rapprochement in mind, allow me to appeal to the organizers of the planed demonstrations

· to, if possible, unite the two demonstrations and to turn it into a united call for humanitarian assistance to our country to avert the imminent humanitarian crisis our people are facing. And if that cannot be accomplished

· to stage the two demos separately but with the same purpose and intention of calling for humanitarian assistance to our country to avert the imminent humanitarian crisis our people are facing.

There are no losers but winners here, as Eritreans always are. This action not only can initiate rapprochement but also gives credence to the purposes and intentions of the initially planed demos. Moreover, this kind of unison amongst Eritreans sends the unequivocal message to the enemies of our people and country that Eritreans act in unison not only in the defense, protection, and preservation of their national and territorial sovereignty but also at times of natural catastrophe and when it comes to the bread and butter of our nation, yes, despite and in spite of our political differences.

Let all us give utmost priority and heed to the call of our people for help

Let us give our people and country a kiss of peace and meet halfway

Let us not let our people down over politics.

Let us act today for time is of essence.

Politics and political issues can be postponed, but we can’t postpone or re-schedule famine, death, and humanitarian crisis?

Yes, rapprochement (M’qrirab) works.

M. Filli A.