Embassy Media, London 22 June 2017
Eritrean Nationals in London, Manchester, Sheffield, Birmingham, Coventry, Newcastle, Liverpool, Nottingham in UK,
commemorate Martyrs Day!
London's, over 2700 Eritreans came together to participate in the Martyrs Day activities organised by the Sponsor a Martyr’s Family (SMF)
The activities included singing, poetry reading and
speeches. Present at the London commemoration were H.E. Estifanos Habtemariam,
Eritrea’s Ambassador to the
United Kingdom and Ireland, Embassy staff,
religious leaders, and invited guests.
The program began with a moment of silence in memory
of all those who sacrificed their lives for Eritrea’s liberty and sovereignty.
Ambassador Estifanos Habtemariam, in his address to the gathered Londoners
reminded all that it was the responsibility of each and
every Eritrean to
support the families of those that were martyred to liberate Eritrea, and also
the families of those who were martyred defending
Eritrea during the Ethiopian
invasion of 1998- 2000.
He stated that the prevailing peace and stability in
the country is the outcome of the heavy sacrifices paid, and stressed that
every citizen is duty-bound
to assist children and families of martyrs.
Ambassador Estifanos Habtemariam also called on Eritreans to raise their
participation and redouble their efforts
in the development activities of
Eritrea.
In his final
remarks, he underlined that our task is to remember our martyrs not only by
lighting candles and planting trees, and making pledges but, above all,
by
honouring their trust: that of rebuilding the country for whose freedom they
paid with their lives, he further pointed out that the people and Government of
Eritrea
are doing their level best to honour the trust of martyrs, the
contribution made by Eritrean citizens in the aforementioned countries and
called on them to enhance it.
Mr. Yonathan Haile, chairman of Sponsor a Martyr’s
Family (SMF) committee in his address to the participants also stated that
Martyrs Day is an event in which the
Eritrean people commemorate fallen heroes
with pride and dignity, and that supporting martyrs’ families is not only the
responsibility of the Government, but also that
of the general public.
Following that Ambassador Estifanos Habtemariam, Eritrean embassy staff,
and religious leaders all took part in lighting candles in memory of those that
were
martyred for the good of Eritrea’s future. A reflection
of the hard times that Eritreans endured during the barbaric colonial period
was portrayed in form of drama,
music, and poetry readings. Amidst this the SMF
took this opportunity to mobilize more Eritreans to “Sponsor a Martyr’s
Family”. One of the participants, in her
usual wisdom and energy, told Embassy Media, that the people of Eritrea who had
foiled attempts by Haile Selassie and successive Ethiopian regimes to subjugate
them were more than capable of taking care of the Martyrs’ families, and more.
She talked about the resilience, perseverance and
most of all the unparalleled commitment of the Eritrean people in the
development endeavour of their nation.
The performance by the Eritrean artists from London,
who presented various national songs and songs from the liberation struggle era
along side a musical drama
which demonstrated the transfer of our values as a
heritage to the new generation raised the emotion of participants.
The Children Choir Group also presented songs from
the liberation struggle times. The participation of the youth in various
activities of the event in general
made Martyrs Day an even more memorable day.
The day’s activities ended with the singing of the Eritrean National Anthem.
EmbassyMedia
