A Painful Truth Beyond Grief

Dr Nebil Ibrahim (Sesto)

A Painful Truth Beyond Grief
By Dr Nebil Ibrahim (Sesto)

In our culture, we are taught a profound truth: "ዝሞተ ኣይክሰስን እዩ" do not speak ill of the deceased. It is a principle rooted in both our traditions and our faith. I was raised to honor it, and I still do.

That is why writing these words pains me.

The passing of Isayas Afwerki's mother is, first and foremost, a family loss. Death is the one experience that humbles every human being, regardless of status, power, or politics. Every mother deserves to be mourned, and every family has the right to grieve.

But there is another truth one far more painful that cannot be buried beneath condolences.

As diplomats, generals, ministers, and senior officials gather to publicly comfort Isayas, I cannot help but think of the thousands of Eritrean mothers who have received no comfort at all.

- Where are the public condolences for them?

- Where are the officials standing at their doors?

- Where are the answers they have begged for?

Thousands of young Eritreans disappeared into the Tigray war. Many never returned. Their mothers still do not know whether their sons are dead, alive, buried, or abandoned somewhere on a forgotten battlefield. They have been denied not only the truth but even the basic human right to mourn with certainty.

Imagine living every day between hope and despair unable to bury your child, unable to search for him, unable even to ask questions without fear.

That is a cruelty no mother should endure.

No parent or sibling is legally responsible for the crimes of their relative. But when family members choose to stand unwaveringly beside a ruler who has inflicted immeasurable suffering on his own people, while remaining silent before that suffering, history inevitably asks difficult moral questions. Silence in the face of injustice may not make one guilty of the crimes themselves, but it can place one on the side of power rather than on the side of its victims.

This is not an attack on a grieving family.

It is an indictment of a system that reserves dignity for the powerful while denying it to ordinary citizens.

It is about the unbearable contrast between a leader surrounded by sympathy and countless families abandoned to silence.

- One family receives official mourning.

- Thousands of families receive official indifference.

- One mother is publicly honored.

- Thousands of mothers are left to wonder whether their sons are bones beneath foreign soil.

How can a government organize ceremonies of condolence while refusing to tell its own people where their children are?

How can ministers bow their heads in respect for one family's grief while ignoring the tears of an entire nation?

These are not questions born of hatred.

They are questions born of conscience.

Some may ask whether it is cruel to raise these issues at a time of personal loss.

I would ask something different.

Is it not even crueler to remain silent while thousands of grieving mothers are denied truth, dignity, and justice?

The deepest respect we can show the dead is not selective compassion. It is equal humanity.

If we believe every mother deserves to mourn, then every mother deserves to know the fate of her child.

If we believe grief deserves respect, then that respect cannot belong only to those connected to power.

Compassion that serves only the powerful is not compassion.

Justice that comforts only the rulers is not justice.

A nation's conscience is measured not by how it mourns its leaders, but by how it treats its forgotten mothers.

This is why I write.

Not to dishonor the dead.

Not to wound a grieving family.

But because the silence surrounding thousands of Eritrean mothers has become louder than any funeral prayer.

And until every family is granted the truth about their loved ones, every official condolence offered to the powerful will remind us of those whose grief the state refuses to acknowledge.

That is the painful truth beyond grief.

Dr Nebil Ibrahim (Sesto)

See also more articles by Dr Nebil Ibrahim (Sesto):
ካልኦት ብ'ዶ/ር ነቢል ኢብራሂም ዝተጻሕፉ ጽሑፋት ኣብ ታሕቲ ተወከሱ:-

20 ሰነ፡ መዓልቲ ሰማእታት፡ ዋናኡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ`ምበር ምልካዊ ስርዓት ህግደፍ ኣይኮነን።
June 20, Martyrs’ Day: A sacred day owned by the Eritrean people, never by the Dictatorial regime.
20 يونيو، يوم الشهداء: يوم مقدس يملكه الشعب الإريتري، وليس النظام الديكتاتوري.
(snitna.com)

Global Policy / መትከላት

Snitna: Code of Conduct — መርበብ ሓበሬታና ዝምራሓሉ መትከላት

ስኒትና.ኮም (www.snitna.com)፡ ነቲ ኣብ 1936 ዝወጸ መትከላት ጋዜጠኝነት (UK and Irish journalism): ከምኡውን ንመትከላት ሃገራዊ ማሕበር ጋዜጠኛታት (National Union of Journalists (NUJ)፡ የኽብር። Snitna Policy Code Asset Logo ብተወሳኺ፡ ነቲ ኣብ ዩቱብ ቻነል ዝወጽእ ሓበሬታ፡ ንመትከላት ማሕበራዊ መትከላት ዩቱብ (YouTube Community Guidelines)፡ እናኽበረ የውጽእ። ስኒትና፡ ብዝከኣሎ መጠን፡ ነዚ መትከላት'ዚን ናይ ሃገርና ኤርትራን ህዝባን ክዉንነትን ምርኩስ ገይሩ፡ ኣብ መርበብ ሓበሬታኡ ስኒትና (www.snitna.com) ክውጽእ ዝግብኦ ሓበሬታ እናመመየ ከውጽእ ይህቅንን ይጽዕርን። እዚ ስራሕዚ ምሉእ ዓወት ንክህልዎ ድማ ብዓቢኡ፡ ግቡእ ኣጠቓቕማ ተሳተፍቲን ምትሕብባርን ምስዝህሉ ኢዩ። ስለዚ፡ ነዚ መትከላት ዚ ንምኽባር ንኹሉ ተገልጋላይ'ዚ መርበብዚ ንጽውዕ። ዝኾነ ሃሳዪ ተርእዮታት ምስዘጋጥሙ፡ ቅሬታኹም ወይ ርእይቶኹም ብኢመይል ኣድራሻና ኣቢልኩም ክትልእኩልና ንላቦ። Read more

See also Related / ምስዚ ዝተኣሳሰር ሓበሬታ፡-