You are Asmarino?

Deki Erei,

What do you associate when you think of the word Asmarino? Asmarino means different things but the primary meaning is someone who is from Asmara, someone who grew up in Asmara or someone who knows the ins and outs of Asmara. Asmarino carries other meanings such as elegant, smart, street savvy, someone that can adapt easily to any environment and so on. It also could mean slick, one who knows places like bars' tea houses, he knows other Asmarino’s or he hangs out with fino (fine) Asmarino’s. All in all Asmarino to me is flattering, affectionate, lovely and I am proud one.

Asmarino also means JEGANU, men, along with their sisters who fought Haile Sellassie, Derg and the super powers brilliantly to victory leading their people back to the symbol of their ultimate victory ASMARA the Jewel City of the Red Sea. Asmarino’s are the great Fedaeen (secret agents) who silenced people that terrorized innocent Eritrean’s during the colonial times. Asmarino’s are heroes who streamed like herds by the thousands to liberate Eritrea from the prison of colonization. Asmarino’s are those who helped establish the ELF and EPLF. Asmarino’s are those who helped recruit more Asmarino’s for the liberation of Eritrea by becoming examples of selflessness and sacrifice. Asmarino also means men who are capable to do some incredible things such as help free prisoners heroically from the center of Asmara. I am sure I can recite many stories to honor the honorable Asmarino’s who emptied the coffers of the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia in Asmara for the liberation of Eritrea.

If you talk to Asmarino’s and listen to their stories of Asmara I am sure you will laugh to tears by some of the things Asmarino’s did. The stories are innocent or cunning but unique and entertaining with a lot of charm. The stories are told in every corner of the neighborhoods, in tea houses, inda suwa, bars and any place people gather for friendship, fun or as is customary in sadness.

That, I believe is a picture in brief of what Asmarino is for me and I am sure it means different things to many. The thing I am grateful for is I am blessed to have come from a family full of Asmarino's filled by friends of high caliber, people that exemplify the cream of the crop in every sense from the way they dressed to their core value systems which to me was almost uniform with some exception.

As you know a lot of the Asmarino's you knew growing up have passed to liberate Eritrea. I can mention many but I feel safe to remember their aspirations and dreams. Riva who played soccer for a developmental league was one, all his life was about soccer, he wanted to play a professional soccer and was infatuated with Italian teams and talked about them day and night. I guess it is good to remember these people all the time to understand the value of the freedom they gifted us with their life. A life they gave to rid despots and colonizers who cared about your dissipation more than your strength and unity. To thank them for the opportunity they gave us to look back and go back home, and for saving us from becoming the Palestinians that are all over and can't even go back to their homeland no matter what. To thank them because in thanking them we know to understand the value of thanking. Because that is the only way to grace them with the honor they deserve, in order to make that our inspiration and to keep the torch they lit burning forever.

Unfortunately, we have some Asmarino's who are, simply put, bad. They are the opposite of all the good I mentioned. In the past, these bad Asmarino were thieves and AWALU's. But the new AWALU's are playing with the legacy of what the good Asmarino's left behind. And the saddest part is, that these Awalu's use the very name Asmarino to try to destroy what the good Asmarino's established. They try to use it to sell what Asmarino's won with their blood. In other words they are trying very hard to sell Eritrea to the highest bidder for their personal, religious, vindictive, financial and a host of other reasons they are dissatisfied with. And what is amazing about these disgruntled Asmarino's who found the new end of life purpose is that most of them are comfortable doing what they do in their lives, by taking care of their children, going to school or doing any of the work that they do to run their lives in the West. The general characteristics of these Asmarino's are similar. Most left during Haile Sellassie or Derg, some for fear of their life and some for education and I am sure there are others.

As you well know, every Eritrean is touched by the war for liberation and I don't think there is exception to that. I also believe almost all Eritrean's I have encountered in my life have participated for the liberation of Erei one way or the other. Our participation from abroad regardless of its size gave Eritrea a sizable advantage over its enemies and helped insure our independence. Of course we will not forget those who didn't want to legitimize our independence for "political" reasons! And many have realized their mistakes and opted on the opportunity of Eritrean open arm.

I don't want to give the impression that there is a problem with all Asmarino's. I am talking about very few, handful, belligerent, naive, Wegenawian, Aletawian, opportunists who thought they had their way after Eritrea came but ended up disappointed after their failure. I am sure it is in the minds of many Eritrawian like me that are bewildered and totally surprised by the people I am talking about. Since we know each other fairly well I will not get personal and mention names but I am sure they know who they are.

I am writing about these disgruntled wanna-be's because it is true. It is true they went to Sudan when they thought Sudan was enemy and thank God/Allah that is not there any more. They go to Ethiopia and meet Ethiopian/TPLF officials to scheme against Eritrea. They have sallied the name Asmarino by using a website by the name Asmarino to try to defame Eritrea and by any means necessary to destroy the fabric of the liberators of Eritrea and I am sure many harbor the agenda of reversing our Independence. They have waged countless campaigns fruitlessly. They demonstrated in front of our embassy in DC and in front of government buildings to put Eritrea into a list of Sates that sponsor terror. All these in the name of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and many human rights related topics.

All of us encounter these lost-souls in different places and gatherings because our community is small and interconnected. And I am writing to air my grievances to these lost-souls who decided to be Gandhi and Martin Luther king Jr. overnight after they realized their day for glory with the PFDJ will "NOT" materialize. It is funny to see them turn from the number one supporters of His Excellency, President Isayas Afewerki and his party to the number one enemies in a heart beat. My question is, didn't they know before hand who they are dealing with? I think they thought that Eritrean freedom was to reestablish their legacy? May be? Who knows? One of the most profound statements President George W. Bush made was, "You are either with us or against us." These lost-souls are certainly not with us because they have aligned with the most vindictive, vile, conniving, barbaric, inhuman, jealous and the lists goes on.... organization Eritrea will ever face. These people are hell bent on destroying Eritrea and any one who believes different is sick in my mind. But there are people who for their own reasons decided to ignore the desecration of the martyrs graves and all the atrocities Weyane perpetrated and that to me is UNFORGIVABLE.

My reason for expressing my feeling is to let you know Eritrea will not have the open arm this time around because you are enemies of Eritrea as far as I am concerned and us such I see you like I see Meles, with disdain and disgust. I draw comfort in the fact that I know the people running Erei are those who liberated it while you were dancing, and I know they know how to protect Eritrea from your likes. I also get comfort by drawing from one of the most telling sayings of His Excellency, President Isayas Afewerki, "MIHQUAN." Tehaquinkum, and we know the result and you came out HATTELA. So this was not in vain it was a necessary evil. UNFORTUNATELY!
Wetru Awet N Hafash
Amanuel Biedemariam