Eritrean martyrs passed away for the sake to liberate the Eritrean people from successive colonizers. Some of the colonizers were brutal. The Eritrean people suffered from summary executions, deprivation of basic necessities and the dispersion of the core of family life.
Every family in Eritrea paid one way or the other to achieve freedom. We lost our brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, uncles, nephews and friends. Finally Eritrean independence repaid the sacrifices. The joy, the freedom we enjoyed for the last 21 years is due to the sacrifices of our martyrs.
We Eritreans have a lot of common destines that make us share it for common joy or common sadness. We had a common joy when we gathered to celebrate Independence Day on 24 May, every year. We have a common feeling as well to commemorate the martyrs day on 20 June every year.
20 June is a day allocated for the national commemoration day of Eritrean martyrs. Though it is obvious that we remember all the time our martyrs, but as people and nation we have to make orders for our daily life. That is why we take every step according to plans and programmes.
Remembering 20 June as a martyr’s day, for this time I would like to mention of a person that is nearly connected with my life. I grew up with my grand mother weyzero Tibiltse Habtu. She was very generous grandma and she was supporting me and my mother along with my uncle and his family and my aunt and her children. One of my aunt’s son’s name is Elias Zeray. I and Elias Zeray grown up in the same roof and eat from the same dish. Since me, my uncle Godofai Derar and Elias were only boys in the flocks of women’s and girls in the family we had enjoyed the privileges of good caring from the family. I liked Elias very much as he was the only boy in the family whom I preferred to play with. Elias decided to join the struggle for freedom early at his age. He disappeared from home momentarily and later on to be found fighting brutal Ethiopian soldiers in the field. He and his comrades fought for good cause. And that is the cause of the liberation of Eritrea. He passed away young fighting the cruel enemies of the Eritrean people. Elias Zeray, he was young and he was the only boy for my aunt with 3 sisters. His sister Genet Zeray was a fighter also, fortunately she survived.
I mentioned above Elias Zeray as an example to tell that every family in Eritrea has the same story. We Eritreans paid a lot of sacrifices to bring independence of Eritrea. It is an independence fought hard and achieved by tremendous efforts. It is every Eritrean obligation and duty to preserve this precious independence. Above all it is our responsibility to construct and make Eritrea a civilized and prosperous country.
Now 20 June 2012 is approaching and we Eritreans all over the world are braced once again to light a candle and gather in a common place to remember our martyrs. I anticipate, here in Oslo, the commemoration will be arranged in a place called Ekberg.
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God bless Eritrea
Tesfamicael Yohannes Oslo, Norway
