I set out to “discover” Addis on foot the next morning and evening and was struck by how Addis has remained Addis while changing very fast; with its new and old buildings, modern high rises and tin houses, muddy and stinky roads with clean and properly paved ones, fused together, interacting, challenging, influencing and contradicting each other subtly as well as starkly.  Addis is crowded (with over five million residents!), with tremendous movement of people, vehicles, sound, shades and rain. I walked among the multitude, unnoticed with a feeling of familiarity and a sense of “home coming”. After all, have I not lived in this city when it was a “big village” for several years during my university days and after graduating? It has been ten years however since I visited Addis last. Khartoum suddenly came to mind, almost unconsciously, a city I spent more than double the years of that in Addis, and started to look forward to my next African destination, Khartoum, to experience another feeling of home coming. 

It was also heartwarming to meet in Addis family members (in the most extended and encompassing sense of family), old class mates, friends and past acquaintances, and reconnect as if it was only yesterday since we last saw each other, bringing particular awareness to the artificiality, futility and inanity of the war between our two countries and its divisive and destructive effects. 

It was in this state of awareness that I noticed the absence of Eritreans in this Addis. Addis spoke, it was said, Tigrigna at night. In the old Addis I knew, one would meet Eritreans practically everywhere, rather loudly and proudly speaking their language, making their presence felt. Not in this new Addis though. This one is certainly more colourful, speaking different Ethiopian languages with Amharic clearly dominant. It is not that there aren’t Eritreans in Addis. There are: those spared the mad deportations and expulsions, refugees, and opposition activists. After all, the ruling party is also composed of Tigrigna speaking from the Tigrai Region. It is not the same, however.

This reality forced me to reflect on the sad relationship that exists between Eritrea and Ethiopia, the war that was fought between the two in 1998-2000, and its negative impact on their relationship and on the two peoples. Was the war necessary? All agreed it was not, including those who initiated and executed the war. Why can’t they make peace then? The answer becomes suddenly complicated, mired in sophisticated explanations of history, tribunal rulings, reading and interpreting each others’ minds and intentions. For citizens however, it is very simple: the leaders have different agendas that do not take peace as a priority. 

My Eritrean instinct forced me to automatically and unconsciously think what is best for Eritrea. Peace is best for Eritrea. Normalization of relations with all its neighbours is a must for Eritrea. To remain constructively engaged in everything that affects it, to be part of the “international community” is good for Eritrea. To aspire to make friends, to contribute to regional and international peace and security is good for Eritrea. It is also good for all. After all, Eritrea is not an island in space. Is it not the responsibility of the Eritrean leadership to always think in terms of what is best for Eritrea? Should they not be extremely vigilant at all times lest any action on their part however calculated (or reckless) might hurt Eritrea, damage the Eritrean people?

Eritrea is suffering from the effects of war, fear of renewed war, instability, economic mal-growth and isolation. The Eritrean people live in a state of siege, fearful of their government and of their big neighbor, Ethiopia. The Eritrean youth do not see a future in their own country and are fleeing by the thousands everywhere– including to Ethiopia - risking their lives in the process. Many people are jailed, and their whereabouts unknown for years; depriving children of parents and parents of their children brutally. Anger, dissent, destitution and hopelessness abound. Justice has become an unattainable illusion, disappearing from the land. The rule of law does not exist even in name.  The war has hurt Eritrea deeply. Absence of peace is hurting it even more. There is an urgent need and a solemn obligation on the part of the Eritrean leadership to shift its mode of thinking: from destruction to construction; from war to peace; from suffocation to liberation; from darkness to light; from illusion to reality. It is possible. There is a way out but the will must exist.

Eritrea’s self-imposed isolation has made a mockery of its legal victory over the border dispute. Its recent activities in the sub-region had clearly demonstrated that the border issue is a secondary one if not a non-issue at this time, and demarcation and pillar-erecting along its borders will not bring peace. Ethiopia’s acceptance of the border ruling “in principle” and its call for “dialogue” in implementation will not also help peace prevail.  Neither position addresses the fundamental causes of the war. The border issue can only make sense at this time if understood and handled within a meaningful, comprehensive, sustainable and just peace that does not negate the EEBC ruling. It has been over five years since the Boundary Commission delivered its ruling with several meetings on the same issue since. It did not bring Eritrea closer to peace. More of the same cannot be expected to be any different now or in the future. Eritrea needs to face reality and work for a comprehensive, sustainable and just peace that will also put an end to future “border” conflicts. 

One cannot make peace alone for sure. But, one can become peace-like by demonstrating desire, readiness and seriousness for peace. It is the same with the Ethiopian leadership. The Ethiopian people need peace to make real progress and to enjoy the fruits of their economic development. Ethiopians living in the border areas with Eritrea are forcefully and unjustly separated from their kith and kin on the other side of the border; they long to see an end to this nightmare. Ethiopia needs to act in the interest of advancing peace. It has to desist from taking actions and making pronouncements that promote more apprehension, further mistrust, aggravate conflict and prolong the atmosphere of violence.

Eritrea’s continued self-isolation can be reversed with proper reflection, planning and sincere desire to re-engage. The designation of a “State Sponsor of Terrorism” by the US, whatever its merits and whether or not it will achieve its intended result is, however, a different matter. It will impose international isolation with grave and insufferable consequences on Eritrea and its people for a long time to come. It is absurdly naïve to persistently characterize this as an issue of one US official hating Eritrea. It may have a personal aspect. But, it goes far beyond that. It will not also be automatically lifted with the departure of the current administration. 

The Eritrean President had called upon Eritrean Americans to protest the process of designating Eritrea a State sponsor of terrorism. He has a point here, as it will negatively affect all Eritreans. The US action under this label will not only squeeze the Eritrean government and its parastatals or party businesses; but it will also make it difficult for Eritreans abroad, especially those in the US, to support even their immediate families. That is why it is important for all Eritreans to work hard to see that this process of designation does not continue or stick. But, for Eritrean protest to be credible and taken seriously, and therefore produce the desired end, all Eritreans whether in the US, Europe, Canada, Middle East, Africa and elsewhere have to also clearly and forcefully tell the Eritrean President that interfering in the lives and affairs of others does not further Eritrean interest but only damage the country immensely.