THE LARGER PICTURE
Tseggai Isaac
May 17, 2000

 As the valiant struggle goes on, the Eritrean spirit which brought about the Eritrean freedom will prevail. The virtue of this war is that, as
a result,  Eritrea will be more free, independent, and totally delinked from Ethiopia and the Ethiopian sickness of war. Even as we fight this vile enemy, we need to keep our focus of the larger picture. The elements that constitute this larger picture are, our determination to fight the enemy at every corner of Eritrean territory, our resilience in sacrificing even more than before, and our staying power. The larger picture is that Ethiopia will fail.

 Today, Ethiopians are united in their determination to destroy Eritrea. What they refuse to believe is the fact that Eritrea is indestructible. It may sustain some injury, but it will not be incapacitated. Sustaining injury on the holy alter of maintaining and
preserving your freedom is a common lot of all freedom loving peoples. What is essential today is our courage. Let's not forget that we have been here before with Haile Selassie and the Derg. This too shall pass and at the end of the day, Eritrea will be standing, and Ethiopia will be falling apart. With it, the verminous dogs of war from Tigray who are now terrorizing Eritrean children in the border areas will be evaporated. The larger picture is we should stay focused in seeing that their destruction is made inevitable by all means necessary sooner or latter. To do this, we need to give morale boost to our troops and our leaders. We need to remember that they need to know that we don't second-guess them, we don't fault them, we don't question them and that we are in this battle together, indivisible, with liberty, freedom, justice, and peace for all.

 Another element of the larger picture is: at some point in time, sooner than latter,  those of us in the outside, I hope with the cooperation
of the Eritrean embassy legations, must establish a regular practice of mobilizing manpower during the summer and contributing labor capital of whatever quality to our country. We can do many voluntary things, from driving trucks, building roads, teaching, health care delivery, litteracy programs, bookkeeping, rehabilitating and whatever task is appropriately needed for our circumstances. Some of us may even be trained for defending the country. I hope I am not being too idealistic, but I think we can make a difference of we harmonize our skills with what is needed in Eritrea. I don't know if it is too late or not, but even now, it seems to me that there are a lot of tasks at the offices, at hospitals, at the front, and behind the lines that we can participate. This are some of the thoughts that I
puzzle about at night and as I walk? Are there others like me? Any one with a further suggestion?

Tseggai Isaac