WELCOME.....This blog is for: 1) Chinese who want to improve their skills in English and 2) all others who want to share experiences they've had traveling in China.....I've been tutoring mainland students by computer for years.....They send emails weekly and I return edited versions......It's all free......In the process we've learned more about each other - our similarities, our differences.....So be brave and send a comment about the articles and photos you'll see here and then send some of your own.....Don't worry about the grammar; it can be smoothed out, and when the piece is ready, it'll be published right here. Hope to hear from you soon. (jgron_34209@yahoo.com) If, on the other hand, you'd like to Learn Chinese Online, click those three words. Mr G.
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Tuesday, March 17
She Made Her Dream Come True (Part I)
by
storiesfromchina
on Tue 17 Mar 2009 08:09 PM AKDT
(Written by a former resident of Eritrea)
To fully appreciate Saba today, you have to understand what happened to her thirty years ago in Eritrea. Back then, she passed through a prolonged and bitter struggle for freedom and was brave. She is a living witness today of how much can be done when such intense love is felt for the country in which you live and your family.
After she was graduated from high school, and with the support of her family, she began her first year at a university. There were six other children in the family, and they were all in school so her father was the only wage-earner. Her mother struggled with a tight budget to meet the family’s requirements, but there just wasn’t enough money to meet their needs. Saba determined to get them out of poverty. It was her daily prayer that she’d make it through the university and get a job that would make life more comfortable for everyone.
She spent most weekends with the family, as she enjoyed helping her mom prepare meals, assisting her brothers and sisters with their homework, and looking for bargains in the food markets. Her favorite activity, however, was talking with her dad about her classes and her friends. She especially liked to listen as he talked about the bright future she would have. That became her source of power and energy.
Her father was having trouble at work where there was rampant discrimination and even brutality since Ethiopia had taken over the city. Though he was willing to share his thoughts about it with her, he always advised her not to worry about it or get involved in politics. He wanted her to focus on her schoolwork at the university.
In the early seventies, rumors started spreading about rebels appearing in the highlands, and Saba and her friends talked about it frequently for it was very mysterious as to what they were doing there. More and more rumors about them were being discussed in the streets as time passed, and at the dinner table her father would try to explain his understanding of what was happening.
Early one morning, as she rushed to catch the bus for her first class, she saw someone reading the morning newspaper as she boarded and there was a lot of whispering going on. Saba tried to get a peak at a paper, but couldn’t make sense of it, and couldn’t get an answer from any of the other passengers.
When she left the bus, she rushed toward her classroom as she wanted to ask her friends what was happening, but when she started asking question a government soldier appeared and commanded them to stop discussing rumors.
The next day, life in the city went on as usual, but the campus was very different as it was surrounded by soldiers. It was difficult for more than two students to talk or study together, as they wouldn’t permit it. The atmosphere had changed completely, and the students started becoming suspicious of each other. None of this was conducive to study.
When her classes met, it was not unusual for the instructor to be absent, and no explanation was given. None of the students had the courage to talk about what was going on.
Saba kept thinking about some of the things that her father had told her at dinner, and she couldn’t wait for the weekend so that she could meet with him again and tell him of the new developments at the university.
When Saturday finally arrived, they had a long talk. She told him what she knew, and he informed her that were problems at the place where he worked, too. She learned that some of her father’s coworkers had been killed and others had been taken to prison. The government had come to a standstill, and it was clear that the situation would become worse – not only in the city but throughout the country.
Saba had always been an outstanding student, very gregarious and talented. Within the group of her friends, she was always respected and invariably given a lead position.
A few days after that conversation with her father, she and her friends decided to go camping in an area about 40 miles from the city. They wanted to enjoy the natural surroundings so they chose a heavily forested place in the mountains where wild animals lived, and they spent the day swimming in the lake and hiking.
About midday on one of their walks, two men appeared with guns. It was a frightening experience and all the young women gathered together when the men walked closer and one of them said, “How are you guys?”
Everyone was speechless and looked for Saba to say something.
“How do you do”, she said while looking directly at the men. Their faces were dark, but they looked like reasonable people, and when they began to talk, their message was clear and to the point. They weren’t soldiers. They explained that they were freedom fighters, and the things they were saying about the changes they were going to make throughout Eritrea were very impressive.
Though they said they were few in number, many of them were very clever and knowledgeable about political ways of bringing about the needed changes by meeting with groups of citizens to explain their philosophy which was aimed at reinstating freedom and justice.
Saba and her friends were very impressed.
It wasn’t long after the meeting in the woods, that she and her friends learned that some of their classmates had already joined the freedom fighters. The government was aware of that activity, and countless students including some of Saba’s friends had already been taken to prison even though they felt they'd done nothing wrong.
She Made Her Dream Come True (Part II)
by
storiesfromchina
on Tue 17 Mar 2009 08:05 PM AKDT
(Written by a former resident of Eritrea)
Life on the campus changed even more radically after that. During the day there were soldiers everywhere, and there was violence at night. For weeks, Saba found it difficult to sleep, as she was so disturbed by the sounds of students being murdered or raped by government soldiers.
The situation became intolerable. She actually saw the dead body of a friend lying in the street. There was blood everywhere. It became so difficult to survive that many students stopped going to class and everyone became intent on finding a way to escape. Every day seemed to get more hazardous, and as she didn’t want to take the risk of traveling on public transportation, she wasn’t able to see her family for weeks.
Incredible numbers of people joined with the freedom fighters, and that created even more areas in the city that were unsafe, as the government soldiers were ruthless. Roads leading out of the city were controlled by the government’s army, and there were check points where special permits had to presented to enter or leave the city.
The permits were difficult for Saba and her friends to obtain, and without them, the soldiers at the check points would demand money. Without it, there was always a risk of being raped or put in prison.
Life had become extremely difficult for Saba that she felt that prayer was her only option.
City telecommunications were disconnected for about a month, and when reconnected, she got a telephone call from her family at midnight. Upon hearing her mother’s voice, she burst into tears, and asked how they could help her get back home. Her mother said she’d provide the money, and Saba was finally able to rejoin her family when her mother bribed a soldier at a check point by placing money in his pocket.
It was wonderful to be home again, but the absence of her father was confusing. She hesitated to ask her mother or any of her brothers and sisters about it, as she was frightened that they would only have bad news to tell her. She guessed that something awful had happened.
The following night was the strangest one yet. Saba and her family were saying a prayer before beginning their dinner when they heard the sound of gun shots in the eastern part of the city. There were only a few in the beginning, but the violence escalated until it seemed that a full scale battle was taking place.
All the family members that were home hid under their beds until the shooting stopped, and it was then that they learned that the freedom fighters had attacked using hit and run tactics like guerilla fighters.
The Ethiopian soldiers had not been able to cope with the attack, and as compensation for their losses, they made life even more difficult for everyone living in the city by murdering people at random and raping even under age girls. They also continued to put people in prison without explanation.
During the weeks that followed, people couldn’t go to work or to school. It was difficult to get enough food and mothers worried about the effect it would have on their children. The situation continued to worsen and the enmity of Eritrean people continued to growth against the Ethiopians.
An era of political consciousness occurred as the governmental armyincreased in size, and citizens worried about the growing number of official restrictions. City life was completely changed with gunmen on every corner, and they seemed to have the right to do whatever they pleased. People were searched from head to toe and robbed of their belongings. It was no longer safe to wear a watch, a marriage ring or anything made of gold. Wallets were taken. All of the women were subject to rape. No one had control over his life anymore; you could be killed in an instant.
After the hit and run attack by the rebels, the following weeks were quiet, but gun shots were heard at night, and the government’s army was everywhere. Every time you left your home, you ran the risk of being stopped for money. Saba’s mother had been finding it almost impossible to even think of going to the market for anything on the way, and she was afraid to leave the children alone, as the soldiers could kill them as soon as she left her door. Now that Saba was home, however, the problem was solved, as she could look after the children while the shopping was done.
At other times – when Saba left the house - it was difficult to avoid being confronted by a government soldier, and she was finally caught and taken to prison. It was a dreadful place; dark and evil-smelling, and the first night was unbearable. They took away her clothing and made her sleep naked on the cold cement.
The next day they returned her clothing and demanded that she admit the allegations they had drawn up, and when she wouldn’t, they said that if she would agree to give herself to one of the top authorities of the prison, she would be freed. She felt like screaming at them and held onto her dress tightly. She wanted desperately to be released but was completely unwilling to do as they requested.
They then inverted her body and immersed her head several times in urine until she lost consciousness. When she awoke, they gouged out her finger and toe nails using a pick. She still refused, so they broke glass and made her walk on it with bare feet.
As the days passed and the torture continued, she felt that she had lost complete control of her life and when she decided to refuse to eat in an attempt to gain release, her natural beauty disappeared and her muscles wasted away. She looked like nothing more than a skeleton covered in skin.
Through all of this, she refused to submit and never showed weakness even in the most trying situations.
She Made Her Dream Come True (Part III)
by
storiesfromchina
on Tue 17 Mar 2009 08:01 PM AKDT
(Written by a former resident of Eritrea)
As punishment of prisoners was usually done during the day, the prison was quiet at night except for moans from prisoners who had been tortured. But one night there was an exception. Some of the prisoners heard the creaking of the main gate as it was opened, and then the door to each prisoner’s cell were suddenly opened. Saba was awakened by all the noise and told they were waiting for her.
She wasn’t frightened because she knew that prisoners removed at night were invariably killed and she was beyond the point of caring, as she knew that her body wouldn’t hold on much longer. When she left her cell, she was led through the main gate and was forced to get in a minibus with the other prisoners.
As the bus started, and the prisoners started talking, she learned that the others felt much the same way; they all knew their immediate future was in doubt but pleased that the daily punishments were at an end.
The driver drove at twice the speed limit, left the city and headed toward the countryside. The road became bumpy after they had traveled about 30 miles, and it was painful as the prisoners were jolted up and down. It didn’t seem to be a regular road, but the driver continued until there was no longer a surface to drive on.
The four armed guards that had been with them in the minibus jumped out when the bus stopped, and they turned to the prisoners and announced that they were free.
It was unbelievable! The words didn't seem to make sense at first, but then the guards told them that they weren't government guards; they were freedom fighters.
It was explained that they'd been transported as far as was possible, but were still in a dangerous place and would have to leave on foot to get to one of the freedom fighter camps before the sun rose.
Saba and the other prisoners jumped up and down and hugged the freedom fighters and each other, and when they calmed down, they began the long walk, supported by the freedom fighters.
Upon arrival at last - in a safe place - each of them was admitted to the freedom fighter’s hospital. Physical problems were treated and as they regained their strength, each of them was given a choice as to what they wanted to do next with their lives. They were very grateful for being saved, but none of them would ever forget the days of torture in the prison.
It was about that time that the people in Eritrean learned that most of the Ethiopian fighters had been defeated and that many of the towns was now under the control of the freedom fighters. Only a few members of the former Ethiopian government remained, and they were restricted to a few cities.
During the war, the Ethiopian government had received help from all over the world but especially from the Soviet Union, Cuba and Yemen. They’d received sophisticated guns, war plans, chemical weapons, tanks, money and other necessities.
The ratio of government soldiers to freedom fighters had been 10 to 1, but food had attracted citizens to the freedom fight, and that tactic had been successful.
When Saba was healthy once more, she and many of the other ex-prisoners decided to join the freedom fighters.
It took another year of bloody battles before the Ethiopian army was finally defeated, and before they left Eritrea, they bombed and burned many villages and towns. Killed and murdered at that time were women, men, young children, the aged, and infants. People were left without shelter or food, but they’d learned the lesson that you can continue to exist even when tragedy strikes.
The freedom fighter movement gave Saba full political and military training and then assigned her to work in their headquarters. It’s in a dry mountainous area, and at the bottom of one of the mountains the freedom fighters have constructed underground buildings including a hospital, clinics, garages, various factories, academic schools, and large conference rooms. At nighttime it's like a city, but during the daytime there isn't much activity, as everything is camouflaged and quiet to avoid detection by Ethiopian fighter jets that might loom on the horizon.
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Saba was happy to be serving as a freedom fighter, but it was difficult to accept the thought that one day she might be required to carry a gun and attack the enemy. She had been interested in saving lives before, and the idea that she might now be involved in shooting them caused her great difficulty. While she thought through that problem, they involved her in training exercises, she toured many places where freedom fighter resources were kept.
It was enjoyable to be in the mountains, and she was fascinated by their devotion to work, their skills, and willingness to be assigned to any place or activity. It was amazing how many different kinds of people were involved: men, women, doctors, engineers, high school and university students, farmers – all of them worked together voluntarily despite their different backgrounds. They all wanted to end the bloody war that had lasted for a century.
She was attracted by the friendly feeling of love that emanated from all the freedom fighters, and she committed herself to work for the country in the same way they did. She enjoyed the training and the tours, but started to feel that she wanted to be actively engaged in bringing about change, and the freedom fighters met tht need by having her serve on committees that her education had prepared her for. They also used her to teach not only first aid to the freedom fighters in her area but also academic subjects.
After thirty years of warfare, the freedom fighters were succeeding in thwarting the Ethiopian government’s attempt to take over Eritrea. Many towns and cities had already been liberated.
Saba got to participate in one of the final battles and though she was very courageous, it gave her the scare of her life. During the conflict she was wounded twice while providing care to wounded and captured Ethiopian war prisoners, but she was delighted when the war ended, as freedom had been restored in Eritrea.
The war had been one of the worst in history, as countless thousands of soldiers from both countries had died. Deaths among the civilian population of Eritrea had also been high and the suffering they had endured during all the years of the war will be told for years to come. |
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