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From: samuel Igbu (ypfdjbc@gmail.com)
Date: Thu May 05 2011 - 16:11:56 EDT
By Daniel Semere
Finding meaning has always
been the central question in trying
to defi ne life. This quest has always
haunted humanity. And what makes
this an ever urgent quest is the
fact that life is short and humans
want to know what their living
in this world means now and for
times to come. Our lives have to
mean something for a life without
meaning has failed in the duty of its
existence. Generations come and
generations go. In this continuous
chain of existence each generation
has a crucial role to play in the life
and history of a given people. Here
too comes the meaning of life, the
duty to ensure existence of one’s
people. As the word generation
represents the youth, it’s only
natural that the above duty lies
primarily on the back of the youth.
Every generation is assessed and
given its rightful place in history
based on the fulfi llment of the
duties and the demand of the stage.
Praise or criticism therefore can
only be attributed to the youth in
the given stage of the history of a
given people.
The Eritrean experience can
be a good lesson for the above
argument. Just like any other
African countries, Eritrea too
was tormented by the colonial
experience. But unlike most of
them it was denied its freedom for
INDEPENDENCE: Across Generations
much too long and had to ask much
price from the youth to get it. And
hence the duties and challenges of
the then generation of youth were
apparent. Because the period was
a time when our fate and destiny
were completely dictated and the
meaning and purpose of life was
seriously compromised. Obviously
thus there was not much choice
but to search for a way out of the
life of complete domination. In
this crucial stage of our history
therefore the then youth played
a crucial role and stood and
represented a leading motive
force at the forefront of political
engagement at the time of the
struggle. They faced the seemingly
unthinkable, prevail and enable
their people to be the master of its
own fate and destiny and hence
enabling it to reclaim meaning to
life. In doing so the youth also
fulfi lled the timely task. They
reclaimed the meaning of their
life that can be explained in one
but profound word, independence.
That’s what they had to deliver
to the coming generations. That
was their legacy; an independent
country with its people proud of its
nation and history, and where for
the fi rst time the next generation
will be born free. There can be no
greater legacy than this.
And so independence was a stage
completed by that generation but
as much as it was thought to be an
end it was also a means. A means
to a strong nation where its people
live in harmony and prosperity, a
vision envisaged right from the
beginning. But independence must
not and should not be taken for
granted as it entails the continuous
preservation that made its
maintenance an everlasting task.
In fact preserving independence
has proven much more challenging
than attaining it. The story of
most African and developing
countries are living proof of the
relegation of independence to a
mere rhetoric. We often hear the
term neo-colonialism that signifies
the returning to domination of
obscure colonialism. The reality in
those countries can be compared
to the colonial period except for
its name and forms of conduct.
As a result they are forced to
live in façade independence. The
lesson the above example offers
therefore is that the primary task
of independence is maintaining
it, which on the other hand is the
primary duty of our generation. For
a nation like Eritrea that has paid
so dearly for its independence, it
could only be too conspicuous
as to the role the youth must
perform in the safeguarding of
it. And this requires of the youth
to shield and reinforce the dearly
bought independence with holistic
development to anchor it in a
strong ground against any force
that might attempt to work against
it. This in turn will need a clear
understanding of our potentials and
clear definition of the challenges
ahead in order to develop high
collective consciousness and
values that was the secret to our
first victory.
Today’s world might be an era of
globalization but the tendency to
dominate the world has also grown
parallel and with equal pace. This
made the question of maintaining
sovereignty and balancing it with
the trend complicated and diffi cult.
Sharing the global economy
while at the same time preserving
sovereignty necessitate the
building of confidence in one’s own
performance and ability to stand in
one’s own feet. The simple reason is
that any weakness or disadvantage
will be exploited without any
regard and mercy. Leaning on
others, hence, is by no means a
choice. That’s where the central
concept of economic liberation
and self-reliance came to give true
meaning to independence. For this
reason the struggle to supplement
the attained independence with
economic liberation carries on
and on. And once again, this is
the current stage’s demand and
today’s generation of youth’s duty
and challenge.
Development is a relative
concept. One generation will take
over a stage and deliver it to the
next level and the same process
continues in an endless path.
Taking over one stage, a generation
will only have to face the timely
challenges and simply play its
role to take a share in history. And
if independence is what the new
generation of Eritrea has received,
enjoying what it has to offer,
maintaining it, and strengthening
it with economic liberation is the
duty of this generation. What we
leave to the next generation should
be nothing short of an independent,
prosperous, and proud nation. The
legacy of independence should
echo across generations to come.
-- Sincerely *YPFDJ British Columbia Chapter* YPFDJ Goal and Purpose- Our goal is to build a strong, conscious and patriotic youth movement.
Our purpose is:
- To raise the awareness and level of organisation of Eritrean youth to serve our nation - To reassert the identity, patriotism and unity of Eritrean youth - To promote the participation of Eritrean Youth in the national reconstruction of Eritrea as well as guarding the sovereignty of Eritrea - To enhance the position and influence of Eritrean Youth in their respective countries of residence.
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