One point I'll be hammering at the
@AfroAsiaInst
talk tomorrow is that the "benevolence" of the aid/"development" industrial complex is rooted in slavery, colonialism, neocolonialism & imperialism - & they're technically giving us our own wealth back, but calling it "loans" 🤷🏿♀️
Ruto is doing Kenya and Africa wrong. Very, very wrong.
At a time when Africans are trying to disentangle themselves from neocolonialism - the elites of “domination and monopoly” - he goes and begs for the chains to be fastened even tighter.
Shame.
@TorahJudaism
There's Judaism. There's Zionism. One must follow this account to learn the obvious difference!!
Israel/Zionism & the fascists that are governing & supporting it are obviously not doing Jews/Judaism right. No wonder they throw "antisemitism" around so darn easily...
THIS just give me goosebumps! Took me back to 2009 when 🇪🇷 was alone screaming truth about the TPLF at the top of our lungs, on these same steps. Now this gorgeous 🇪🇹🇸🇴🇪🇷 solidarity ✊🏿 as we say
#NoMore
together! Sending
@HermelaTV
& all HoA'ers that joined this call much LOVE!
This isn't just about Ethiopia. This is absolutely, 100 percent, about the Horn of Africa. This is about Africa. TPLF is a neocolonial tool used to ensure that our energy remains focused on survival, rather than thriving. This is about our resources. This is about our future!!
Dear Africans, there's a huge difference between saying "my country is poor" & saying "my country hasn't been allowed the space & time required to develop & has been deliberately held hostage by forces that don't want my people to control their destiny".
Narrative matters.
One day, when the dust settles (& it will!) Horn of Africa scholars will write about this 2nd battlefield: the information warfare TPLF *paid* for with the billions $ it stole from 🇪🇹 - money that could have been used to put the country much further on the development/peace path!
Dear Africans, yes you in the back wondering "why are Eritreans always sensitive?" I present to you two voices test driving options through which to further suffocate 🇪🇷 on behalf of State Dept & CIA. I trust the utter racism & contempt for Eritrean lives will not be lost on you.
But my favorite picture coming out of Ethiopia this morning is this 👇🏿 one. It's just as I imagine 🇪🇹's future: confident & at peace with herself & neighbours (esp 🇪🇷), sounding her horn of unity & solidarity, saying
#NoMore
to being used as imperialists' playground in the HoA!
The best response from Eritreans to Ethiopians saying
#thankyouEritrea
is: we're always in this together. Our paths are intertwined. Peace is a win for all of us ✊🏿. This is a plain & simple truth that powers who've deliberately framed us as "arch enemies" don't want you to know.
The "Tigray Genocide" campaign was a cruel hoax. Innocent people slaughtered, raped, displaced. Millions in two sovereign states held hostage by tribalist warmongers & their cheerleaders. Everyone is still saying
#NoMore
...everyone except those who stand to lose from peace.
Imagine the transformation. Oh wait, no need to imagine, it's happening right in front of us. One minute it's "በሎም", next it's "pride" in child soldiers, next it's "we're a block away from Addis", next it's "we're withdrawing because hyenas ate our guns" & now it's 👇🏿🤷🏿♀️
The 99.83% Eritreans who voted YES for Independence in 93 did so believing in our ability to live w/neighbours who respect our history/choice. Eritreans remain peace-craving as ever but also fiercely protective of what was paid for, in blood. TPLF & its enablers cannot undo this!
Did you know? It's nearly impossible (taboo even) to find an Eritrean referring to her/his ethnicity when asked "where in Eritrea are you from?" -- the standard answer is "I'm Eritrean. Period."
Eritreans are known for many things: being incredibly protective of a hard-earned independence, loyal to truth, ability to withstand the harshest challenges. They abhor & are not known for cowardice/terror. This is why they're *confidently* calling for the unmasking of criminals.
Please spare 18 seconds and listen to this insanity here 👇🏿 - this, ladies and gentlemen, is Martin Plaut, a man who mainstream media relies on for news and analysis on the Horn of Africa. If this doesn't disgust you nothing will...
The images below - & what they mean for this continent, not just the region - caused such a shockwave that the powers that be had to draw all swords to cut the hope. Cue in the "crimes against humanity" & "genocide" DW crew, propped up by vultures whose paychecks depend on chaos.
When you do something as bold as declare your right to live in peace, free of neocolonial tools, you can't expect to find friends and supporters in countries hellbent on maintaining a "global order" that guarantees their continued right to exploit through wars & instability.
Whether Ethiopia, Somalia, you name it, Eritrea's people/leadership paid a very heavy price for standing at the top of many pyramids, alone - consistently standing for truth, justice, African solutions, sovereignty, territorial integrity, respect, peace!
Those who know, know ✊🏿
Being pro
#PEACE
in the Horn of Africa - 🇪🇷’s right to defend herself from scapegoating/vilification, 🇪🇹’s right to enforce law/order aiming at unity/stability, 🇸🇴’s right to chart own development plan, & the region’s right to say yes to partners, no to handlers - is not a crime!
The
#NoMore
wave of defiance is spreading like wildfire across the HoA - in spite of their (spoilers & sponsors) best efforts, Somalis are rebuilding their nation, Ethiopians are fighting disinformation, & Eritreans - as always - are fiercely protecting what's theirs!!
Today, over 5 million Somalis attended Jummah at mosques 🕌 , over 3 million visited beaches 🌊 🏝 🏖 , & over 1 million shopped at markets. Yet, they will tell you Somalia 🇸🇴 isn’t safe country.
#AmisomOut
Stealing & starving the people of Tigray is TPLF's story. Starting wars & blaming others is TPLF's story. Taking orders from foreign powers hell-bent on controlling the Horn of Africa region is TPLF's story. In short, TPLF's story is anything but that of a liberation front.
Ethnofascist TPLF in Tigray has never been the "Liberation" Front it claims to be. It hoarded development money 4 Ethiopia for 27yrs. Money it now uses to lobby influence. 1/3 of Tigray was on safety net while group was in power.
#SayNoMore
#TPLFistheCause
The Independent 🇪🇷 story turns 32yrs this May 24.
It's a story that has countless chapters that have yet to be adequately documented.
It's a story of a principled leadership driven by the pursuit of equity & social justice - not just for its own people but humanity at large.
They ignited a "border" war; moved to religion; demonized leaders; aimed at "cracks" in military/NS; planted spoilers; suffocated economy; politicized migration; went after Diaspora/2%; hammered 🇪🇷 in every direction. That's their modus operandi. Hey Africa, lesson: UNITY is key!
Alright. That's all for me. Good night from a chilly Asmara evening.
For the sacrifices 🤲🏿🙏🏿
For the resilience ✊🏿
For the principled lions of the jungle ... 👏🏿👏🏿👏🏿
"The perplexing developments of the past quarter century, which essentially stemmed from the misguided policies of powerful countries, would not have materialized w/o the harmful role & complicity of domestic surrogates." Pres Isaias. Goes well w/this 👇🏿 out of AA this morning.
Let a girl dream, dammit. Let me dream of a free Africa - one that upholds diversity but is not shackled by it; that calls for an end to destructive foreign meddling; that centers African agency/power; in which Africans are owners of their own development/destiny......
TPLF went on a narrative-control offensive one day before it slaughtered Ethiopians in their sleep in Nov 2020. It's now, again, on a narrative-control offensive as it tries to project its own heinous crimes on others.
...and all of this with the help of its US/West godfathers.
We can all imagine the incessant pressure on 🇪🇹's leadership right now, & out of all the economic/political sticks used, my guess is that its positive relationship with 🇪🇷 - something both people have been denied for years - is the most punitive stick...
As long as we have black and brown people amongst us who think that the US is "too large to oppose" and/or that speaking too forcefully against it is "undiplomatic", the US will continue to have its way in our countries & use destructive local surrogates to keep us chained...
Where would we be now had TPLF gracefully accepted defeat in 2018, repenting for the massive damage it had caused over 28yrs on behalf of its puppeteers, & had it joined the HoA forces of peace? Instead, it chose as bloody a path as the ink with which it wrote its 1976 manifesto!
A
#Tigrayan
speaking the truth about
#Eritrea
's role. He says the claims of
#Eritreans
committing genocide is pure Lie! The
#Eritrean
army is highly disciplined and a good army! Eritreans have shown a brotherly love to fellow Tigrayans and TPLF should not sow discord
#DisarmTPLF
Reminder - 🇪🇹 was untouchable for almost 3 decades (meaning the US/West's best friend, no matter how destructive its policies were within the country itself!) as long as it held the noose around 🇪🇷 - a country whose only sin was saying
#NoMore
, believing: Africa for Africans...
#FillTheDam
- it's our neighbor's dam, it holds the key to unlocking the chains of perpetual poverty, it has a considerable positive ripple effect for the region at large, and it is the only fair way to right a colonial era wrong.
SELAM ✊🏿 & Good Morning to everyone except those who knowingly defame Eritrean troops - gallant women & men, *building* w/one hand & *defending* w/the other! No amount of deliberate mischaracterization can erase this *provable* truth about Warsai/Yikealo!
Dear Africans, beware of the *scarcity mindset* deliberately pushed by powers that want you to fight over resources that you're made to believe are impossible to share. While you're focused on controlling crumbs, they're siphoning off the whole pie. This continent is not poor.
Alright folks - I hear
@elonmusk
is bringing people back - time to make some noise for
@stesfa
and Nebiyou (what's his handle
@HermelaTV
?) and others who've been caught in the *save TPLF by any means* net...
@mahadsanid12
Absolute best - TPLF slayer. Unfortunately, in the upside down world of
@twitter
, strong African voices like him get silenced while warmongering, ethno-fascists get to roam these streets free....
Good Morning Africa - you think these global institutions are designed to help you, don't you? You actually believe them when they show up at your airports with glossy charts & fancy "development" packages, eh? News flash: it's an illusion. May 2023 be the year you wake up 🤲🏿🙏🏿
Can we just go ahead & declare JULY as *Horn Of Africa Month* - wallahi, all sorts of 🧿 are broken during this month & it's all the result of the people's resilience - the people of three incredibly powerful, unique in their own right, & rich countries reclaiming their power!
How about we, Africans, set the record straight for you? We're sick of your sanctions. We're sick of your bullying. We're sick of your R2P (responsibility to protect your own interests at the expense of our peace). We're sick of your hypocrisy, warmongering, & propaganda. Period.
Let me set the record straight about a regular piece of disinformation: America’s sanctions do not apply to Russian food and fertilizer exports. Period.
"Distance yourself from 🇪🇷. In return, we'll support your every need during this next chapter." ... a hunch, but not farfetched given the US/West's history of being allergic to a people/leadership with consistent መትከል of social justice, peaceful coexistence, & shared growth.
There is a good reason - a very justifiable reason - for people to be unapologetically & very vocally anti-USFP in the Horn of Africa. The United States of Sanctions & Chaos will do everything in its power to keep our countries divided & in a constant state of subservience.
The best part about celebrating Eid in Asmara is the colorful procession that leads to the Bahti Meskerem square... with everyone from the neighborhood, Muslims and Christians, gathering afterwards for the best feasts. 🤞🏿 looking forward to tomorrow! On that note, #عيدكم_مبارك 🌙
Senghor would've found delight in observing Eritrea. Seeing the horse, shaking the rider off its back, taking charge of the race ... overcoming many (many!) fences & ditch obstacles. Not at the finish line yet, but determined...focused...
Dear Africans, think regionally, scratch that - think continentally! ...anyone who tells you that your people's interests stop at your tribe/country is making it extremely easy for those who seek to divide you to walk through your gates & control you.
Organize. Resist. Unite. ✊🏿
...the only difference between 1776 and 2022 is its...well, technically speaking, no difference. Greed then, greed now. Warmonger then, warmonger now. Slavery then, slavery (by another name) now.
Dear Africa, the following are not your friends ... the military industrial complex, the humanitarian industrial complex, the media industrial complex, the pharmaceutical industrial complex.
Signed: the people pushing for an African revolution against the current global order ✌🏿
In what seems like a massive blow to the architects of the
#USAfricaSummit22
, African leaders stood up, one after the other, & read a statement that they apparently agreed upon during a secret gathering earlier this year at the AU - titled: we're done being your playground ✌🏿✊🏿
The struggle against info laundering, narrative hijacking, amplifying "experts"/"analysts" while silencing indigenous voices/agency, relying on select few to "corroborate" half-baked stories, etc, isn't new. What's new is the fact that Eritreans aren't alone in the HoA anymore ✊🏿
ሰላም Africa ✊🏿,
Are your leaders consistently in the trenches with the people? Do they act as shield for the people? Are they accessible to the people?
If so, cherish them. If not, return to sender - especially if their PR game speaks louder than their delivery track record.
A mammoth disinformation campaign against 🇪🇷&🇪🇹 w/fake pictures, fake genocide, fake tears, fake accounts, fake ev'thing, propped up by
#conflictpreneurs
. All this b/c the HoA chose PEACE & said ENOUGH to TPLF's hate/divisive politics!
#StopScapegoatingEritrea
#EthiopiaPrevails
Something about the sun rising in defiance. Something about truth always finding a way to shine. Something about the peaceful core. This picture captures the resilience in the Horn of Africa, no? Good Morning Africa. Good Morning world. Inhale peace ✌🏿 Exhale solidarity ✊🏿
p.s. in the twisted mind of a conflict-entrepreneur: if blood equals money, more blood equals more money. In other words, if blood is the way I butter my bread, I just can't stop drilling for more blood, can I? Peace is just not profitable .... 🤷🏿♀️
#STOPscapegoatingEritrea
#NoMore
Exactly - the real culprits aren't the TPLF-affiliated "refugees" masquerading as Eritreans who showed up to attack elderly festival goers but "journalists" like Martin Plaut who openly call for violence & his Dutch counterpart who's involved in human trafficking & asylum fraud!!
These rats and their bosses are getting very desperate because in the past they have been failing to achieve their agenda in all their attempts, and now they start attacking soft targets, such as our open-door the hard-working staffs in Giesen.
What do you do with Africans who've been *miseducated* to believe that their existence depends on the West; who can't imagine a world that can function & flourish outside rules of engagement designed to keep us hoodwinked; who've resigned their power/identity to foreigners?
🤔
Allow me a selfish tweet of appreciation for my people/leadership:
#ThankYouEritrea
for anchoring truth, for staying the course, for ignoring naysayers & detractors, for doing all you can to stand up for your neighbors (even at a cost to your own).
Vindicated, as always!
"Always bear in mind that the people are not fighting for ideas, for the things in anyone's head. They are fighting to win material benefits, to live better & in peace, to see their lives go forward, to guarantee the future of their children..."
#AmilcarCabral
Highlights of today's TL: Ethiopians reclaiming the narrative on Tigray; Western media & "human rights" organizations conveniently ignore Ethiopia's commendable humanitarian actions in freed areas; Tedros still lying; frantic SOS calls on behalf of TPLF by clueless Kens & Karens!
TPLF isn't as powerful as it likes the world to believe. It was just a perfect neocolonial tool in the hands of "global" forces, used effectively to ensure that this region's energy never shifts away from survival, wars, underdevelopment. TPLF's only power is its ability to obey!
Dear Africans, remember: *psy·cho·log·i·cal war·fare* comes in many forms. Western embassies operating within your borders know this all too well, which is why your artists, musicians, photographers, filmmakers, & other "soft" power ambassadors are wined & dined. Just sayin...
I hope these "reports" are true. I hope 🇪🇹 knows to rely on 🇪🇷 - a neighbour that for decades has been harassed by TPLF & suffocated by its enablers, & wants nothing more than to work on peace & dev't for the sake of ALL in this region.
#TPLFisTheCause
no matter how you spin it!!
Acc to reports from the ground, Ethiopian troops are crossing to Eritrea in order to join EDF as they attack Tigray yet again from another front.
The int’l community must condemn such a development & take immediate measures to avert further destabilization of the Horn.
@StateDept
Good Morning Africa, I hope this is the day we'll declare as not being afraid anymore to push back on definitions in politics. As much as it likes to believe it does, the West doesn't have an inalienable right to define "good governance" for us. Normalize saying: let us tell you!
Not sure who needs this reminder: Ethiopia is a country. Eritrea is a country. Tigray is *not* a country. So "invasion of Tigray", which mainstream media is deliberately pushing, is a figment of TPLF's twisted imagination - an imagination anchored in its expansionist plans 👇🏿
The brilliant
@eriamsisters
just gave me an idea for my morning alarm. No more jolting out of bed with the old clock's buzzer 😖 THIS is so soothing. So reassuring. So blissfully
#Eritrea
-like. Yup. Another cool way to celebrate
#EritreanWomenHistoryMonth
✊🏿
The pyramid of lies built by TPLF & its handlers by scapegoating 🇪🇷 over decades crumbled in 2018. They're now trying to rebuild it with a vengeance but the Horn of Africa has had enough. My TL is buzzing this morning with 🇪🇹 saying
#HandsOffEritrea
& 🇸🇴 saying
#ThankYouEritrea
.
You cannot talk about "challenges" in any African country without tracing back these challenges to *root causes*, & more often than not that tracing finds its head in Western countries. This isn't deflecting "responsibility"; it's injecting context they want you to forget/erase!
...to the trolls gatecrashing my mentions w/hilarious "insults", thank you 🙏🏿 for the reminder of our differences ✊🏿 In return, I wish you
#peace
, & may this sun - from
#Independent
🇪🇷 - & this gorgeous Jacaranda - from its capital city,
#Asmara
- brighten up your dark corners.
If you don't understand the role of imperialism & colonialism in the dispossession, displacement & attempted erasure of the 🇪🇷 identity, you won't understand Eritreans' fierce resistance to anything even remotely resembling infringements on sovereignty & right to live in peace ✌🏿
Pres. Isaias/Eritrea consistently calls for a balanced world where all countries occupy their rightful position - centering humanity's wellbeing - sans bullying & harassment.
Unfortunately, his/🇪🇷's words/actions are always twisted (often times deliberately) out of context...
America's doing in the Horn of Africa what America does best: bully leadership; suffocate economy; support aggressors; silence people on the ground but agitate for a "people's" revolution. It does it all while feigning concern for its favorite toys - "human rights" & "democracy".
Lipstick on a pig
#NoMore
. The sleight of hand played on behalf of TPLF continues - it aims to erase from our memory the image of a marauding gang, boasting about war as "cultural dance" while slaughtering thousands in Amhara & Afar, & firing on Eritrea on its way to Addis Ababa.
Diplomats are warning of a civilian bloodbath in Ethiopia's northern region of Tigray if rebels are pushed out of towns by Ethiopian and Eritrean troops.
What about the scapegoating of Eritrea, you ask? Come on now! 300 women, 19 uncles, 1 broom, & 3 Tupperware mugs. Eritrea is always blamed for everything under the HoA sun. We're used to it. We march on. Loyal only to the principles that have kept us standing until this day...
"A chronic miscalculation of
#Eritrea
's enemies is that they don't take the resilience of the Eritrean population into their equation..." (h/t
@Ghidewon
)
They've bullied 🇪🇷 to no end. They've tried to defame the leadership & suffocate the people. They've tried to chip at the glue that holds it together. They've invested millions, through various channels - one of these channels being TPLF. They're still (arrogantly) at it...
Manufacturing crises & pointing at the resulting challenges out of context is dishonest! This is why we say: African solutions, absolutely! African challenges? Not all. In fact, 99% "challenges" are landmines laid in our path to trip us from developing in peace! Exhibit A: TPLF.
Beyond the right to wave a gorgeous flag & sing a national anthem that tells a story of an incredibly resilient people, May 24,
#Eritrea
's Independence Day, affirms our right to live in a peaceful region that can & will prosper on its own terms.
Here's to you, ስጡም መስርዕ።
Loopholes. Moving the
#DisarmTPLF
goalpost. Slight of hand on behalf of "global" spoilers. Pressure 🇪🇹. Scapegoat 🇪🇷. This & more. Mike Hammer had a job to do in Pretoria & Nairobi. Hint: not "observer". The next few weeks will reveal whether or not he has achieved his job...
I'm here for the "5000" bit. At one point it was "5000 leave the country every month" now it's "5000 joining 🇷🇺". Oh & somewhere in between it was "the country is empty", then something about "it invaded Tigray" (apparently with ghosts). Uwiy 🤣
#BreakTheSilence
on Twitter jokes.
There are rumors that
#Eritrea
]n President Dictator Asaias Afewerki is preparing about 5,000 troops to send to Russia to take part in the Ukraine war and help the Russian military in Ukraine in the Donetsk region
The Eritrea scapegoating is particularly deafening this week & entertaining dog whistle politics happening all around - scripted by those who stand to gain most by either keeping this region at war or returning to the days when TPLF-like puppets perform.
የማንካ ሓዝ ህዝበይ።
The best part about
#Ramadan
in 🇪🇷? We all get to visit family/friends & reaffirm our
#UnityInDiversity
(& if you're like me you get to load up on فتوش, شوربة, هريس, جلاب & a whole bunch of سمبوسة). I love this season & I love our 🙏🏿💙 for each other even more!
#ramadanmubarak
If I had a daughter, I'd read passages from this book to her every single night. That way, she'd grow up knowing the incredible power of her ancestors and walk with confidence and pride, tracing her roots to the
#daughtersof
ሰውራ።
We, Eritreans, screamed at the top of our lungs
#HandsOffEritrea
b/w 1998-2018. With our resilient leaders leading the way, we remained defiant in the face of countless attempts to silence/demonize/isolate us. It paid off. We now stand with Ethiopians - for a strong/peaceful HoA!
Alright. I think I've said all there is to say for now 😊 plus it's weekend time and I'm about to check out for a few days...so I bid you *selam* and leave you with one of my favourite tunes. Stay well and say
#NoMore
if they come knocking...
TPLF reminds me of trigger-happy US cops. Cops shoot innocent people & then get on the radio shouting "shots fired, shots fired"...same way TPLF keeps launching wars in a region saying
#NoMore
& then runs to its handlers claiming genocide, siege, empty cookie jar, constipation 😏
Just as the infamous selfie with Hammer grinning ear to ear was a clear green light for the TPLF to launch its 3rd round of attacks, was his recent trip to Mekele (as confirmed by this phantom official) the green light for it to launch its 4th round...? Vigilance 🇪🇹. Vigilance ✊🏿
Eritrea's long-standing call (recorded in countless PIA interviews) is for a peaceful/stable HoA, with bilateral relations - whether with the East or the West - based on respect/dignity, not "anchor state" politics (which is the basis of divide/conquer games, conflict, control).
I imagine
@GrmayeBiniam
saying: Hey world, just in case you weren't paying attention the first time, I'm doing it again - for
#Eritrea
🇪🇷✊🏿 for
#Africa
💪🏿✌🏿
There's a direct correlation b/w western foreign policies & what the so-called free press amplifies & gives platform to. This is where our power comes in. Challenge the myths & share the other side of the narrative...
#TPLFisTheCause
#DisarmTPLF
#TPLFMustGo
#TPLFisaTerroristGroup