For Eritreans, the very existence of the nation as recognized by the UN is a testament to how victorious, hard working, independent, resilient and self reliant people that they are. The reason being, Eritrea was a condemned nation by the British, US, Italy and others from existence. These nations collectively decided that it would serve their interest if they make Eritrea a part of Ethiopia and imposed unnatural annexation of Eritrea by Ethiopia . As a result Eritreans were forced to endure untold hardships, immeasurable lose of life and years of instability. Millions became refugees and scattered. Eritrea ’s chance of becoming a viable independent nation was severely degraded to below zero. Eritrea became a barren-dry-land due to successive brutal puppet Ethiopian regimes that wanted the land and not the people. As a result, after independence, Eritrea was forced to dig-out from the deep dark-whole into what it is today; an oasis in the middle of desert and thorny bushes.

Hence, the true measure of Eritrea ’s successes needs to be looked back to the start of Eritrean revolution in 1961. The seed of independent Eritrea was sown then. At that time the wise leaders and the people of Eritrea decided to organize, arm and embark on a political awareness program unseen anywhere. That became the basis and a trajectory to the success that is Eritrea today. If one says Eritrea is the only independent nation in Africa today, it is a fact without exaggeration.

Eritreans are pragmatic and hard working people that faced the devil that is the West and won handedly without bowing to any one-nation or entity. Eritreans are smart people that know true freedom can only be attained with grit, determination, commitment and perseverance. They know what winning and victories meant from the inception of the revolution. They know what it entailed to ensure perpetuity. Hence, the liberation fighters-then sacrificed in ways that are impossible for the average person to imagine. They travelled in the harshest of climates, and the most difficult of terrains almost barefoot. They embarked on a national health and education programs in caves and under bushes. They build factories for products that they desperately needed in areas that are not ideal. They became masters of their destiny by doing many things creatively.

They embraced the public and in return the public embraced them-tenfold creating a harmonious partnership that is the foundation for the unity amongst Eritreans that exists nowhere-else in the world to date. They supported each other while building institutions that can stand the test of time. They worked hand-and-glove with villagers and farmers to create a farming partnership that expanded Eritrea ’s agricultural capacity to ensure food security and expand the agro-industry for export. They developed indigenous mechanisms to build infrastructures in ways unseen anywhere in Africa . Eritrea turned every challenge imaginable into opportunities. Above all, Eritreans were able to accomplish all these miracles with joy and unparalleled generosity. All around the world Eritreans were supporting the war for liberation efforts while lifting one another from dire situations and dangerous places around the world. They were sending monies in everyway possible. Even the strictest of Ethiopian rulers were never able to control Eritreans from supporting their families.

This is proof that Eritreans are determined to leave poverty behind once and for all. There is also one undeniable fact here. If Eritreans waited to be saved by anyone, their hands will still be raised in prayer like a statue without a country or even history. With that knowledge in mind, Eritreans have done all they can to rely on Eritreans entirely to save and sustain them in good or bad. Eritrea has seen it all. For Eritreans drought, hardship and war is not new, in fact, it is has been a way of life thus-far. However, above all Eritreans have a very high hope, determination and confidence that their hard work and sacrifices will payoff for certain. And it is paying off big time.

The combination of principled approach to life and determination to-set their own destiny is bearing fruit. Their grateful and humble nature is making life easier because they are able to be thankful to the small victories that they have been able to amass into a gargantuan. Eritreans have learned that there is no small victory because they know when one kid plants a tree it is the cumulative effect that greens the country. They know one micro dam can change the life of a village in many ways and it is that knowledge that propelled them to build one of the largest dams in Africa in Gerset. This is taking place throughout Eritrea greening a nation that was once a desert due to neglect. Mountains are being terraced to reforest and protect the soil from erosion.

All these happen because there is harmony, understanding and cohesion amongst all  the people. There is a great understanding amongst all Eritreans that the greatest resource Eritrea has is her people. Therefore, the focus has been-and-remains to be health, the successful nurturing of her pupils and education without exception and no matter where. To achieve that, Eritrea in her short existence has built schools and clinics in every village. There exists all types of social services in every part of Eritrea . The success Eritreans achieved in a short time is miraculous considering the hostilities that has been mounted against Eritrea . Consequently Eritrea is rich with all types of resources. And relative to the rest of Africa, Eritrea ’s achievement is a standard that may never be reached!

This is a brief narrative of what Eritrea is about. Eritreans are not and will no be measured by the standards that the bigoted Westerners have set for Africans. They will not be cornered into the stereotypes of Africa that is hungry and dependent on handouts from the West. That is what Eritrea fought against in-principle and won independence. Self Reliance is a motto Eritrea breathes, eat and live by. Self reliance is not a proclamation for show or dogma; it is assurance to the very existence of Eritrea .

That is why it was perplexing to see a white South African Martin Plaut report about Eritrea based on fabrications, innuendo’s and assertions in order to create a new narrative of what Eritrea is or isn’t. Martin Plaut went to Ethiopia , a country at war with Eritrea , and reported stories about Eritrea based on the direction of Ethiopian authorities and proclaimed there is famine in Eritrea . Due to the sensitivities of naming the draught situation it took countless of reports for the UN to declare famine in Ethiopia and Somalia . Yet, Plaut took it upon himself to declare famine on Eritrea . How deceitful is that? The UN uses five categories to determine famine and the UN did not even place Eritrea in the list of countries affected yet, Martin Plaut took it upon himself to declare it.

To buttress his claim, Plaut sited, “satellite imagery from a weather monitoring group,” as if satellites can look inside a village or a home; noted personal accounts from people he spoke to in the Ethiopian side; sited Susan Rice’s insinuation that there may be famine that Eritrean authorities are hiding and flew with that.

This clearly shows Martin Plaut of the BBC and ilk are not journalists. They are agents of government-media organizations that are determined to create wars, instability, and hatred-based killings amongst people of a nation. They are agents of destruction, mayhem and genocide. They are experts at creating falsehood and misinformation in countries and governments of interest. They are brutal media mercenaries unconcerned about the people and issues they are reporting about. It is about the agendas they try to further. In this case, it is to make a long standing case against the government of Eritrea . To show pattern of civilian abuses so they can take actions as they have in Libya and other places.  

It is not necessary or a standard for the BBC and other Western media organizations to send reporters in order to do due diligence and provide facts for the reports they give anymore. Instead they are relying on second and third hand information and report, as if it is factual information. And unfortunately, there is no scrutiny or penalty for gross misrepresentations these agents of evil spew regularly.

Martin Plaut is a South African-byproduct of the apartheid-era that thinks nothing about the suffering of the African people. If he did, he would have dared to look into his own homeland and cry for the suffering of his people that are facing starvation, the highest HIV infection rates and deaths due to AIDS related diseases. He would have gone to the shanty towns and face the inequalities his predecessors are subjecting South Africans into. Or he could have talked about his current residence UK that was mired by riots stemming from economic hardships. Instead Plaut-BOY found it convenient to talk about the only African country that found proven answers to poverty. How sad!

Let this be known to Plaut; Eritrea has reached a platform that no African country has reached strictly by relying on her self. There is also nothing Plaut or ilk can do about the riches of Eritrea poses. In addition, there is nothing Plaut can do to change the path of success Eritreans have created. And nothing he can do about the impenetrable unity amongst Eritreans. There is also another fact Plaut-BOY needs to know. Eritreans never abandon their own like he abandoned his African “brethren.”

All Eritreans need to expose the agents of evil BBC, Plaut and their hired Eritrean agents like Amaniel Iyasu!

Amanuel Biedemariam

Awetnayu@hotmail.com