what a heart warming story, thank you Semere.
Sirak stifanos.
On Wed, May 22, 2013 at 7:00 AM, Semere Asmelash
<semereasmelash_at_ymail.com>wrote:
> Shaebia.org
> A True Sense of Celebrating Independence
> Wednesday, 22 May 2013 13:33 | Written by Afwerki A.
> When Eritrea got its independence 22 years ago I was old enough to
> understand the monumental nature of the event. I therefore appreciate and
> value our independence, and know the cost in blood and toil that led to it,
> and is still being invested for its preservation.
> But the spirit of Independence Day is not only about Eritrea officially
> becoming an independent country. Independence for Eritreans has a far
> deeper meaning and significance than its lay dictionary definition. It’s
> about the thousands of brave souls who sacrificed their lives. It’s about
> the people’s resistance to successive colonial oppressions.
> Independence is also about the values that the country was founded upon.
> Eritreans have proven the real meaning of independence through their
> diverse yet united and harmonious state of being as a people.
> And that’s why this national holiday, one of huge historical significance,
> should be a cause worth celebrating.
> The celebration of Independence Day in previous years was for me, as for
> every Eritrean, the festive and glorious occasion that comes around every
> year in the month of May.
> This time around however I’ve experienced what I would consider a most
> meaningful and satisfying form of celebration.
> Last week I had to travel to a remote village in the Southern Region for
> an unavoidable social obligation. The village residents are composed of
> both the Muslim and Christian faithful, living in harmony with each other –
> a trait that we as Eritreans have always been proud of.
> On the eve of my departure (back home) the youngest girl (my grandniece)
> in the family I was visiting announced that she was performing for a school
> play the next day in connection with the 22nd Independence Day Anniversary,
> hinting that I should stay and attend.
> Figuring one day more at the open countryside air (away from the hustle
> and bustle of the city) would do me no harm, I consented.
> The school compound was adorned with creative embellishments pertaining to
> the auspicious occasion. The students were dressed in the colors of the
> national flag.
> When the program commenced, the students presented different familiar
> songs lauding independence and the struggle waged to attain it. Then came
> the stage play we were waiting for.
> My grandniece had the leading role, that of a mother proudly sending her
> only son to look for independence. The play portrayed the sacrifices
> Eritreans paid for independence and the noble gesture of looking after
> those families of martyrs.
> The whole performance was arranged by a young student barely 15 years old
> and a handful of his classmates. As I spoke with one of the school
> teachers, I couldn’t help showing my admiration at the motivation of these
> young children.
> They came up with the idea for the play. They didn’t stop at that. They
> convinced their elder brothers and sisters and peers to go around their
> community and the adjacent villages and help with the domestic diurnal
> affairs of those needy and incapacitated.
> I had to ask what triggered them to be engaged in such actions that went
> far beyond their age or means.
> Filmon Teklit is the mastermind of the mission. At 16 years of age he is
> the man of his house and responsible for his mother and younger sibling.
> His father having died in battle during the TPLF’s third offensive, his
> mother and his ailing grandparents had raised him to be a conscientious and
> meticulous young man, aware of his father’s legacy and his responsibilities.
> “Ever since I realized that my father died to preserve the freedom brought
> to us by other martyrs, I always thought that I should also do something
> significant to remember them by and at the same time help those families
> whose children were martyred…”
> I doubted if such words could ever come out of a child of that age. But I
> commended his insights.
> At his age, I remember I jumped and danced in the streets with hundreds,
> or perhaps thousands of people. When I was still a teenager, I used to go
> out with my friends on the evening before Independence Day and would
> eagerly wait for the fireworks. And I still do. Because it’s one way I know
> of celebrating your freedom, your independence.
> It was in the course of this seemingly small rural school play that I
> suddenly realized my sense of celebrating Independence Day. Who would
> disagree if I were to say that Filmon’s gallant behavior represents the
> true spirit of Independence Day?
> Happy Independence Day Week!
>
Received on Wed May 22 2013 - 23:00:44 EDT
