Merhawi (@MerhawiFHL) - Twitter Profili | Zamantika Mersobahis Locabet

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Postscript: In my last article, “Burning the Termite Mound”, I claimed that 99.9% of what dominated the discussions at an Eritrean mailing list, Dehai, during that period was “Eritrea and Eritrea only.” I have fact checked myself via the Way Back Machine +AI on what Eritreans were discussing during 1994-1997, arranged by theme: 🎉 30–35% was pure Independence vibe: referendum stories, May 24 planning, “we did it”, tears masquerading as poems… 🛖 25% Nation-building: fundraising for orphanages, clinics, books, schools, “send your skills home” drives… 🪇 15–20% Culture: Poems, Tigrinya lessons, and songs, so many songs: Bereket Mengisteab (RIP) and his description of Independence Day as ጸሓይ ተወሊዳ: በእግራ ኸይዳ: A sun was born and she walked on her feet; Yemane Barya and ናጽነት: all you had to say was “Happy Independence Day”and someone would post the entire lyrics of “ናጽነት”(Freedom”); Tsehaytu Beraki remixed her classics in Dolby stereo: never have they sounded better than blasting out of the Bose speakers of an Ethiopian car at what is now Little #Ethiopia in DC; Alamin Abduletif Live in San Jose and his clarion song that invited you to pancake collapse the dance floor, dancers in a frenzy to build up until the chorus: ይማ (Mother)! There were interviews with musicians, politicians (Isaias in Hwyet magazine invited us to come home.) The standardization of Tigrinya when using Latin alphabets was established: this is a standard now in most Geez keyboards. 🏡 10–12% Diaspora life — conferences, picnics, retreats, protests, random jokes, with the occasional “who’s flying to Asmara?”thrown in. We had nice things to say about @flyethiopian which is what we flew home, as we gasped and took pics of a dream manifested at the tarmac: Eritrean Airlines. It was a Boeing 707, leased from Ethiopian Airlines. We can’t declare ourselves a State until the referendum but we gotta have a plane, and change the name of the airport. Those who flew its Asmara flight heard the captain say “… this is Eritrean Airlines flight to Addis, flying under the flag of the people of Eritrea”. Hell yeah. 🇪🇹 10% was Eritrea–Ethiopia brotherhood: Assab optimism, “we fought together, now we build together”was the spirit. So we DID mention Ethiopia more than the 0.1% I claimed. A lot more. But because none were in animosity, and all were in goodwill, I have fact-checked my fact checking: 0.1% is close enuff to 0%. 🤞🏾5% were gentle, oh-so-gentle questions about democracy timelines: always answered with “soon, let’s help make it happen.” Eritrea-Ethiopia relations can be what we had been, briefly. Or we can be what we have been for long. There are many roads to Assab for Ethiopia. All options can be on the table except one: our exclusive title to the property. Don’t try to make us look as rigid or unreasonable . After all, you received the same answer from a country that uses outside forces, including yours, to protect itself, #Somalia. The same answers the very flexible #Djibouti: NO! There is no international law that can compel Eritrea to liquidate its assets to Ethiopia or any other. Extra-legally? “I don’t think it will take us as long to get it back as it took us to lose it,” proclaimed Abiy Ahmed at his last address to his parliament.” As for the outcome of a future war, Abiy scoffed visibly, visualizing a shurruuppee fighting an elephant. If only the Prime Minister would focus on putting his PhD to use instead of translating Aesop fables. Let the sun walk on her feet. #PeaceNow