Eritrean Youth on Fire – the June 23, 2016 historic demonstration in Geneva

Eritrean Youth on Fire – the June 23, 2016 historic demonstration in Geneva

The time was around noon on the 23 June 2016. Some of us from UK were on our way to the park near the city centre of Geneva where the march to the office of the UNHCR was due to begin. On the way I met Aida Kidane from Sweden with her camera. She was hastily walking through the route of the march in order to secure a convenient spot to take video.  I joined her in the walk. 

I went to Geneva to participate in the March and rally in front of the UNHCR headquarter during the 32 Regular Session of the Permanent Representatives of Members and Observer states of the UN Human Rights Council.

At the session the second report of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Human Rights in Eritrea was presented. The report has concluded that Eritrean officials have committed crimes against humanity. Crimes of enslavement, imprisonment, enforced disappearances, torture, persecution, rape, murder and other inhumane acts and recommended that appropriate legal action be taken against the perpetrators.

The Eritrean civil societies and advocates for justice flocked to Geneva during the 32 session to show solidary to the Commission of Inquiry and  to speak on behalf of all the victims who suffered in the hands of the repressive regime. Also to give a voice of the voiceless in their own right. 

After we waited for about 40 minutes there came a roaring voices of a mass of people.  Until then the area was quiet, all traffic was diverted away from the route. From afar, we saw police on motorbikes leading the march – with blue flickering lights.  We said here come our people, the justice seekers.  

I was overwhelmed with excitement to observe a sea of people - mostly the youth - marching and shouting out slogans with passion. There were many slogans such as “Release the veteran women fighters", the 2 asters, Miriam Hagos and Senait Debesai, and the thousands of innocent prisoners of conscience.

What they are calling for had a profound honest ring for it rests on the gross abuse the Eritrean people are experiencing in the hands of the repressive regime. All these abuses gave rise to the huge number of refugees in exile. On the journey they get exposed to all kind of dangers including death in the desert sands and in the Mediterranean Sea.    

In the United Kingdom, many ordinary people were so horrified seeing drowning refugees they staged many demonstrations asking their government to open their doors to the refugees particularly those stranded in Calais, France  living  in small tents with no running water, electricity, in inhuman conditions.  

All these successes are  the fruits of the relentless advocacy carried out by the Eritrean human rights organisations and the international sister organisations such as  Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Journalists Without Borders and Christian Solidarity World Wide (CSW).  There has also been a huge contribution by women, the youth, and other Eritrean civil societi groups known as Justice Seekers.  

The repressive regime of Eritrea was unequivocally exposed long time ago and is defined as “Africa’s North Korea.“ The UN commission finding has confirmed the gross human rights violations taking place in Eritrea.  The Geneva demonstration was carried out to convey a message of support and transmit the voice of the voiceless persecuted in Eritrea in front of the UN human rights head quarter in Geneva.  

This makse me wonder why the supporters of the Eritrean regime demonstrated on 21 June 2016.  Is it to deny that there are prisoners of conscience; veteran disabled fighters are not massacred in cold blood; editors of private newspapers are not jailed?  Do they believe there was no murder in Asmara recently, no massacre in the Adi Segdo Prison?  Does it mean they deny the existence of 10,000 innocent people who have not been tried in the court of law and are languishing in 360 prisons?  Does it mean the lives of all these people do not matter?  Are they disposable?  On the contrary for all peace and justice loving people the world ove,r and definitely for Eritrean Justice Seekers in the diaspora, their life matters. Even one life illegally taken away by the repressive regime in Eritrean matters a lot. 

These supporters failed to share the pain and suffering of the prisoner’s families, their children their spouses and friends.

The wives of those imprisoned had a hard life in bringing up their children on their own as single parents. I met Shoa, the wife of Ermias Debesai (papaya) and I have learned the hard life she had to explain to his two children why their father is not visiting them. In the demonstration there was also Abie Seyoum, the daughter of the photographer and journalist Seyoum Tsehaye and his cousin Vanessa Berhe.  Also Semhar the daughter of the war-hero Brigadier General and commander of the Eritrean Air force Habtezion Hadgu. And Hanna the daughter of Petros Solomon.

For the people of Switzerland to watch such vibrant demonstration carried out by Africans in a European city is quite unprecedented. The passers-by stopped and stared with admiration at the power of mobilization of the organisers. They watched the demonstration with amazemen,t seeing a sea of people - mostly young men and women - carrying banners and waving flags ofthe  countries they came from, including Canada and the United States.  

I have never seen anything like this before. The demonstration was unforgettable and will go down to the annals of Eritrean history in the making.

The Eritrean people and also those who were with us in spirit and followed the event in the media are experiencing profound inspiration. The Eritrean revolutionary spirit is becoming awakened. But - and this is a big but - we have to seize the momentum and come up with a strategic action plan properly structured with an inbuilt division of work. A plan that can create new possibility for Eritreans to live in dignity and peace with ourselves and our neighbours. To build a system of governance that respects rule of law, freedom of expression and human rights.

At the end of the demonstration, the programme was to go to the big park near the Geneva airport for food, entertainment and informal and formal discussions.  However the police refused us to use the park as we were more than 12,000 people.The victorious demonstrators therefore scattered everywhere in the city, in every small park and in many restaurants and tea shops and gave the city centre a festive atmosphere. It was deemed to be an Eritrean Quarter in Switzerland in the heart of Europe. 

A version of this blog first appeared in http://asmarino.com/articles/4689-eritrean-youth-on-fire-the-june-23-2016-historic-demonstration-in-geneva reprinted here by permission of the author