Religious festivities in Eritrea:
Ibrahim Hajj
Melbourne - Australia
Ibrahim.hajj_at_bigpond.com
Religious festivities in Eritrea have long transcended the narrow
religious boundaries to serve as conduits to reinforcing our much
craved national unity.
The age-honoured values of religious harmony, mutual respect, and
peaceful coexistence that Eritreans demonstrate in their daily lives
and social interactions are blessed virtues that others often look
at with a mixture of awe and respect and a bit of jealousy too.
Religious harmony is an essential element of our national fabric
passed down from generation to generation to become part of our
culture and indeed DNA.
Successive occupiers tried in vain to strip our people of this
valuable trait and as a result countless religious leaders from both
faiths found themselves incarcerated and tortured for not only
disseminating nationalist sentiments in their sermons and preaches
but also for allowing their places of worship to hide and smuggle
caches of weapons for use against enemy military targets in the big
cities.
Marking our religious festivities with great respect and zeal is,
therefore, a show of gratitude to the patriotic and glorious roles
our religions have played in our history.
It is only fitting that Meskel and Eid-Aladha, this year, fell within
two weeks of each other with Meskel on September 27th. Our joy,
today, is therefore two-fold.
Eid celebrations in Eritrea, today, is a far cry from that during the
Ethiopian occupation.
Back then Islamic holidays were not recognised. Eid day was just
business as usual. Students who did not go to school to celebrate
Eid were marked as absentees and punished for that. Even worse, some
heartless teachers conducted a non-scheduled test on that very Eid
day. The intention was obvious.
But the Moslems always had the support and sympathy of their
Christian brothers/sisters. Those attending class on Eid day did
always make sure that class notes taken on that day were shared with
those who were absent due to Eid .
It is a manifestation of how even during those dark days of our
history, religious festivities brought Moslems and Christians closer
and closer much to the chagrin of our enemies.
Today, Eritrean kids of both faiths look forward to all religious
holidays with great excitement and anticipation.
The only trouble is they have been driving their parents crazy asking
for presents on both Christmas and Eid!!
Whereas it is natural to speak of some countries that they are
divided along religious lines, in the case of Eritrea people are
inextricably united by the two great historic faiths. Both faiths are
spiritual conduits that lead to our national unity.
Eritreans in Australia and New Zealand have always upheld these great
values and applied them in their daily lives and social interactions.
They draw their strength and sense of identity from these values and
rely on them in their daily challenges.
It is in recognition of this that the Eritrean Government has this
year picked Australia/New Zealand to host this year's Eid Al-Adha
celebrations.
And let's not forget, that thanks to Australia/New Zealand
geographical locations Eritreans here are always the very first
Eritrean Communities to kick start national day (May24th, Jun20 and
Sep 1st) celebrations year in and year out.
Eritreans in Australia and New Zealand have always led by example in
vital national matters. They were at the forefront campaigning to
foil enemy plots aiming at Eritrea's demise and isolation.
For Eritreans in Australia and New Zealand, defending and standing by
their Eritrean Government is a matter of principle and an unwavering
eternal commitment to our martyrs.
And speaking of our martyrs, it is worth mentioning that members of
the Eritrean Community in Australia and New Zealand have sponsored
about 500 martyrs' families.
On the economic front, they have embarked on a huge investment plan
which will ultimately make a significant impact on the overall
investment and development projects in Eritrea. The group has been
working feverishly to establish a working contacts with other
investment companies here in Australia and New Zealand.
It is worth mentioning that members of the investment group took part
in the investment conference held in Asmara recently.
Thanks to the Ministry of Information and Er-tv Eritreans in Diaspora
have found themselves abreast and well-informed of events in their
beloved Eritrea. So much so that Eritreans in Melbourne have a better
idea about the weather in Keren than that of Melbourne.
Our unbounded thanks and gratitude to the Ministry of Information
and Eri-tv.
Religious festivities in Eritrea:
Ibrahim Hajj
Melbourne - Australia
Ibrahim.hajj_at_bigpond.com
Received on Sat Oct 27 2012 - 09:32:57 EDT
