From: Thomas mountain (thomascmountain@yahoo.com)
Date: Sun May 31 2009 - 07:21:38 EDT
Independence Day celebrations this year in Asmara were even more peaceful and bouyant than in the past. Our streets were jam packed with people, most of whom were under 18 years of age. Over the course of walking the streets for three nights for hours on end, we never once experienced any violence and never even heard of any incidents of such. And this in the midst of over a hundred thousand plus young people partying in the streets all night long. Up and down Liberation Avenue there were stages set up and non stop music blasting way, and tens of thousands of young people dancing in front of them. This meant that often times just passing through the crowds in front of the stages reminded one of the expression "packed like sardines", yet no one ever was hurt or even became angry it seemed.
Where in the world can young people party in the streets until well past midnight in the tens of thousands and their parents dont have to worry? Only in Eritrea?
On arriving home after another exhausting but exhilarating night of celebration, we turned on our television to help us unwind and there were the images of dead and injured young people in Morocco, killed and maimed while leaving a music concert, part of the Moroccan rap music festival.
We could only wonder how lucky we were to be in Eritrea, where even though times are still hard due to the drought and a million Wayne soldiers waiting on our borders for a moment of weakness, where life for most is one of shiro and mashalla and mashalla and shiro, where many of our children partying in the streets had not eaten to full up that night, everyone was happy, joyful even, and disciplined, very much so.
This year was really special, with a feeling of victory in the air, for weyane had predicted that 2009 would see Eritrea starving, that we would be kneeling down and begging the great white masters in the west for food to eat. NO WAYs was our message, especially from our young people.
It seems that everyday life in much of the rest of the world continues to get worse, yet the really bad times are behind us here in Eritrea and due to the hard work of our people, especially the warsai doing their national service, no matter the disaster, man made or natural, life continues to improve, especially visible in our villages.
In light of the disasters unfolding outside, everyday, despite what ever temporary inconvenience we may be experiencing, we count our blessing for being able to participate in building a new world here, where one day the rule of life will be "from each, according to their ability, to each, according to their need..."
selam and rain for Eritrea,
Awet n'hafash,
Thomas C. Mountain
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