Nharnet News

An exceptionally large and grief-stricken funeral service and procession with estimated 400 friends and relatives coming from many corners of the world bade farewell to the late Adhanet Andu on Wednesday, 13 April 2005, at a cemetery in the French capital of Paris.

This unique reunion over her coffin of old comrades and new friends turned out to be a solemn and well deserved funeral of an Eritrean heroine. Her mourners traveled to Paris by air and land from many places including North America, the United Kingdom, the Scandinavian countries, Holland, Germany, Italy, Switzerland and many parts of France. Groups of French friends of Adhanet gathered in Paris for the funeral from far away French cities like Toulouse, 700 km from Paris.

It was not a surprise to observe the depth of love and respect to her and a feeling of loss among Adhanet’s old comrades. But what was especially more interesting was the attendance of a large number of young men and women of all races and nationalities in France who bitterly grieved her absence from accomplishing more successes in defence of women’s and refugee rights and in the fight against ‘modern’ slavery of women and youth everywhere.

Elsa Woldeselassie from Canada and Elsa Mesfin in USA, two among the giants of ELF women political cadres and leaders who had struggled alongside the late Adhanet, were on top of a list of a dozen witnesses who volunteered to pay their last respects during the funeral services on Wednesday. Elsa Wolde-Selassie’s eulogy described Adhanet as a highly committed, selfless, boldly candid and always generous Eritrean Tegadalit that made a difference in the struggle for national liberation and the awakening for women’s emancipation. Every word in Elsa’s message appeared to ring the thoughts and expressions that every old comrade of the deceased would wish to say at that last moment. Elsa also read a message in the form of a poem in Tigrinia from Elsa Mesfin who thanked Adhanet for all what she contributed to the national and women’s rights but regretted that she passed away too early and before completing the long journey that they started together. Most of the senior women cadres of the old ELF who currently reside in Europe were standing by the coffin, listening and sobbing.

Father Hubert Barbier, who knew Adhanet for all the time since she arrived in France in 1983, presented a detailed eulogy. Also amid the funeral services and prayers conducted in French, English, Tigrinia and Geez by the French and two Eritrean Catholic priests, many young men and women of different nationalities were allowed to witness the humanitarian and politico-social activities of the late Adhanet through voluntary associations in Paris that defended the rights of many voiceless groups and individuals. One of the speaker young ladies said Adhanet was able to nock on doors that no third-world person ever dared nock them before she did in defence of immigrants, refugees and women deprived of basic civic and human rights. Another speaker lady who could not say much because of sobs and tears also said, “Her home was a permanently open office for help and defence of suppressed rights of different individuals” and finally wanted to know: “Who is to fill the gap now left empty in her absence?”

The funeral services started at 2:30 pm at the Church of Saint-Piere de Montrouge of Paris and ended at 6 pm when the remains were buried at a grave in the Parisian Cemetery of Bagneux. In the evening, funeral attendants were invited to a special hall near the cemetery for food and cold drinks organized by family members and Eritrean communities in France, Germany and other places.

Glory and Eternal Memory to Our Martyrs.

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