25 years later: The nation of Eritrea continues to march.
By Michael Seium
An amazing accomplishment has been fulfilled for a nation that is only
25 years old. Despite many obstacles Eritrea has proven that Africans can
be self-reliant and that they can dictate their own policy through hard
work and dedication if they choose to do so without any interference from
outsiders. Meanwhile, critics have attempted every play on the book to make
sure that Eritrea would be another African failure. However, after a long
battle against all odds this unique nation with a lot of history has been
able to defy all the odds. Today Eritrea has worked miracles by making sure
the next generation of Eritreans will be able to take the nation to another
level through endurance and a commitment to the people who freed the nation
in 1991.
What makes a nation great?
First and foremost its people are always its biggest assets. Like the
respected and adored 1st ever President of Eritrea his Excellency President
Isaias Afewerki repeatedly mentions in his timely interviews and meetings,
it is not how much wealth and resources we have but how the Eritrean
people’s lives are improved at every level that matters. His famous quotes
mentioning how a kid in a small village in Eritrea should be able to get
the same type of education as a city and urban dwellers have been put to
practice and are showing results today. It also matters how the people are
able to endure problems collectively and however long it takes. Because,
building a nation is an endurance test. It’s not a short distance run but
more like a marathon event. The famous quote “Rome was not built in a day”
applies here, So, Eritrea has got to endure and endure the hardships, the
lies, and the attacks and remain steadfast as well as remain strong as it
has the past 25 years.
As a country that is making great strides it follows quite a unique path of
its own. Its leaders have for the most part worked hard to learn from a
variety of developed nations and without rushing too quickly. It is a
nation that has taken the best skills from many others and applying it
based on its ability within its limited human resources.
Like Presidential advisor Yemane Gebreab has mentioned on many occasions in
the past 22 years, Eritrea’s second phase of development would begin in
2014-15 and it has. The nation is seeing its biggest economic boom these
days.
The relations that it is building with all those who genuinely want to work
in partnership are growing each day. Thanks to a great peaceful and wise
approach from the foreign minister his excellency Osman Saleh and his team
who by the way are some of the most seasoned diplomats in every corner of
the world, including Asia, throughout the African continent, the Middle
East, Europe, AU, the UN, and the Americas within our limits seem to be
doing an excellent job. My only suggestion is more engagement within the
Latin American countries who seem to have a lot of similarities with
Eritrea in their fight for the rights of their people.
Meanwhile, The USA, which is divided politically, must be engaged as a
partner and we seem to notice a slight improvement based on mutual respect.
Its imperative to understand that while as a nation many would appreciate
Eritrea’s policies, the elite will always attempt to downplay the
achievements of this beautiful, multicultural and hard working nation we
know as Eritrea.
On Tuesday May 24th, 2016 Eritrea will mark its silver jubilee anniversary
and I can recall vividly when I came to Washington DC and joined the
celebrations 25 years ago as a young college graduate from South Carolina.
I was given the opportunity to join a community a people and a nation that
was created by those who sacrificed their lives so that myself and millions
of others can claim our Eritrean heritage. The very same guys who uttered
the words to my mother on our first journey through the trenches and war
zones of Eritrea, “Go on to your destination and when Eritrea gets its
freedom, they can help build the country”, gave up their lives a couple of
weeks after. Some still remain and I have been blessed to discuss those
memorable moments with them. It gives me great joy and a great satisfaction
to see a nation celebrating like never before. Watching, ERI-TV and
witnessing the love the people of Eritrea have for their beloved country is
a huge gift. To those who were not able to see it, may you rest in peace
and your love for Eritrea will forever be in our hearts. As a token of
appreciation, we should always burn the torch towards the next century and
pass it on to the next generation as we witness ERITREA grow into a fully
developed nation.
Awet N’hafash,
Zelalmawi Zikri swatnan, ahwatnan, ahatnan!
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Received on Mon May 23 2016 - 02:11:12 EDT