Persecution of Christians In Eritrea II

A dear sister of mine just inform me that almost all her entire family members have been put into prison in the recent mass arrest of Christians by the security organs of the paranoid regime in Asmara. This depressing news breaks my heart. I didn't even know how to comfort her. It was one of those moments where words would not be enough.

Allow me to ask you some critical questions which I have been asking myself. How do you feel if your father, mother, husband, wife, children, brothers, sisters and other very close loved ones have been thrown into prison for no logical reason at all? And your parents are old and might be in need of daily medical attention. And not to mention most of them have left small children behind at home.

Here know that I am not expecting the usual answer, "I feel sad!" Rather I just want you to feel it hard. To make it personal. To be confused and frustrated. To ask the question "why?" To be truly agitated and angry. To stir up your holy indignation. To say, "Enough is enough and silent no more!"

It makes me nauseous to think that for long as a people we have been taking human rights abuse in Eritrea so lightly. We develop a strange culture of tolerance towards injustice. We indifferently say, "They have arrested them accordingly in time they will release them." Often the journey of our sadness will come to a halt with the sense of joy of their release. Then another arrest and release will continue in a vicious circle. As a result our despair is going from bad to worse. The best medicine we could recommend is to flee. Despite we all know that this can not cure the root cause but only the surface.

Recently I have been informed a great servant of God and an outstanding Physician had been arrested and released for the third time over a span of ten years in Eritrea. It's a norm for his beloved family to starve while he was in prison. His ordeal is beyond words. It's also wise to meditate on 5 medical doctors for 100,000 patients ratio in Eritrea. Doctors have been payed pea nuts, ill treated, demoralized, put in prison and finally flee. Subsequently patients are unattended and are dying in many hospitals.

About two years ago a wonderful brother went to the LORD after being released from prison. He was arrested for about four years in solitary and developed a deadly lung cancer. After his release he spent the rest of his earthly life with his best friend's family. His friend's wife truly gave him much comfort by taking care of him in his time of severe illness. A very kind and sacrificial family. That brother was alienated from his own family. I suspect the wife might be so depressed because of his arrest and forced herself to forget him. She could not even willing to come for his burial. I left this to Psychologists or Psychiatrists. However in the historical narrative of the Bible this tragedy can only compare to a time when a mother was eating her own baby. And this story in some way portrays our misery as a nation.

Brothers and sisters, let us repeat the following statement as an individual, family, church or other group till we believe it, "Enough is enough and silent no more!" Else we will be annihilated and become a history as a nation and people. May the LORD remember those who are suffering in prison cells and in the land of the oppressed which is Eritrea at large. May he forgive our sins and heal our land. Amen

Love and blessings

Brehane-meskel Araya