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MEMORIES OF OUR PRISONS IN 1975
By Alem Yohannes This is part Five of the series of the
article. In part four of this series I narrated about the preparations of
the inmates for the escape, how finally all the inmates escaped by jumping
over the high walls of the prison, how the handicapped escaped, the
successful release of all prisoners and they finally safely reached Adi
Bidel.
Here in this section I will talk about the
life in Sembel prison, the meals, visitation rights, legal representation
of inmates and the medical services available to them and the right to
exercise religion. Therefore, please relax and enjoy your reading.
LIFE IN SEMBEL DETENTION CENTER. The large prison cameras were fully
occupied, from 85 to one hundred inmates in each camera. The first few
weeks after arrival are considered an inmate’s convalescence from the
excruciating pain inflicted from the tortures during interrogation. Soon a
new inmate learns to assimilate and begins a new life in detention.
Life was boring and monotonous to say the list accompanied by
perplexity and phobia. Others who had committed crimes of all sorts, from
murder to rape and to petty theft surrounded a political inmate.
An area of one meter by three meters on the extremity of floor
space of the camera was allocated for each one. It was enough for one
person to place a small mattress to sleep on and a space to put some
personal belongings like soap, bible, food, closing, etc.
This space is around the perimeter of the camera.
The inmates use the central part of the camera for walking in
circles. Relatively it felt
as if one was walking in Combishtato, the main street in Asmara.
When things become scarce, their values are appreciated. Inmates
walked in twos, groups or alone. Behind every one, there was a history and each one shared
with other inmates while walking or sitting.
Talking was all that can be done. Hopelessness, desperate emotions
and feelings, depressions and what have you of inmates were always there.
Attempted suicide was not uncommon.
Can you imagine the feelings one might have who is sentenced for
life not for a crime he committed but for the love of his country? In
addition, imagine for those who had families with young kids how difficult
it must have been to be helpless and to die slowly and at the same time
and with equal magnitude their families were suffering too. Yet there was
a pride behind each political prisoner and that was the noble act to
sacrifice ones life for the sake of mother Eritrea and that was the least
one could do. An inmate’s daydreaming and utopia helped elevate morale
and soothed the emotional pains. Yes, there were inmates with a sense of
humor that made life easier. The majority of the inmates believed in the
armed struggle and hoped that one day they would be out of prison.
The misconception that prevailed among them was that if the
fighting continues in the outskirts of Asmara continuously and without
interruption for forty eight hours then the United Nation led by Great
Britain would intervene militarily and diplomatically and under the
auspices of UN Eritrea would be granted its freedom.
One may not support this belief because it lacked rational
reasoning nor supporting evidence behind it but from the inmates’
mindset one could argue against it. Besides there were constant wars
between the Eritrean Freedom Fighters and the Ethiopian army not far from
the capital and the inmates were constantly hearing fighter planes bombing
and heavy artillery fire exchange from both sides. These episodes had
ignited the morale of every one. Almost every inmate acted like a war
strategist and from ones perspective planned and executed the war
theoretically. You guessed it and every one won the war.
MEALS Three meals breakfast, lunch and dinner
were provided each day. Do not ask me if they were nutritious or bountiful
to fill the stomach, it was only for survival. During lunch or dinner one
gets one piece of bread (Injera) that is burnt. The soup comes in a large
container (a barrel cut in halves) carried by two inmates and one cup is
given to each one. One cannot tell what the ingredients of the soup were
but it looked like dirty warm water. I had to get my ration and gave to
others who wanted it. I did
not even try them because I had plenty of food from my visitors.
However, I must confess that I was longing for them when I was in
the trenches with nothing to eat.
VISITATION A visitation (Col- Occio meaning eye to
eye to use the guards' terms) is a right of an inmate.
The visitation days were three times a week Tuesdays, Thursdays and
Saturdays. A detainee had the
rights for visitation by any one with out limit.
One may have as many visitors as he could get. At the same time, one may have any kind and amount of food
from his visitors. A visitor
is required to try a mouthful from the food brought under the guard's
supervision to ensure the safety and health of the receiver, the inmate.
If an inmate had a visitor he is called by his name for Co-Occio and is
escorted to the visitation area. The visitor and the inmate see each other
but a barbed wire is between them. They exchange handshakes by one finger
only because the barbed wires prohibit the passage of the hand. Depending
on the number visitors an inmate had ample time for him and his visitor to
talk and exchange their feelings. They could communicate personal
information by whispering if needed. An inmate had the right to make
special arrangements with the office to meet with his family members in
private to maters of family affairs.
There was no limit to showering and
washing clothes and the use of rest rooms.
These facilities are located inside each camera similar to
gymnasium lockers and one did not need permission for the use of them
twenty four hours a day.
Every day for one hour, the prisoners go
out for a fresh air and sunlight to a place fenced by barbed wires that is
located adjacent to each camera. An
unarmed police guard was assigned there for security reasons.
Each camera had a monitor inmate. The office assigned the monitor based on seniority and ability of the individual to handle the responsibilities. His duties were like a communication liaison between the inmates and the guards. Any request from the inmates goes to the office through him. He assigns daily tasks to the inmates like housekeeping etc.
HEALTH SERVICES There was a clinic for those who became
sick and need medical attention. The
clinic had beds for those who are ill and need a closer medical care.
If one is seriously seek the doctor may transfer him to be admitted
to the larger hospitals (like the Itegue Menen Hospital) for higher
treatment and guards are assigned to him twenty-four hours when
hospitalized. Shaving the
head and physical cleanliness were strictly enforced as an effort to
combat any kind of communicable disease. No head or body lice.
RIGHT
TO WORSHIP Prayers. Every Sunday morning a priest comes to the center and conducts prayers and any one who wished may attend the services. Every evening an elderly inmate calls for a prayer (Mihlela) and many inmates joined him. Ofcource individuals had their own private prayers too. Haile DeruE was a frequent church visitor, was almost like a deacon, and assisted the priest in conducting the services. While I am at it, I would like to mention that the priest was feeding us with information about the revolution on a weekly basis.
LEGAL REPRESENTATION Finally,
yet importantly, every detainee in Sembel had a lawyer and his case had
been through due processes. Do
not get me wrong I am not saying that the Ethiopian court system was fair
and respected the rights of the political offenders but every one of them
had a day in court represented by a lawyer.
The sentences vary from mild prison time to life imprisonment
including capital punishment. It must be mentioned that many freedom
fighters were hanged mercilessly in places like Edaga Hamus.
Those who were accused for none political offences, were all
represented by their lawyers and sentenced based on the so-called Fitha
Biher code of law. I remember
an inmate who was Ethiopian soldier sentenced for killing a handcuffed
prisoner for attempting to escape. The
judge sentenced him because the soldier could easily apprehend the escapee
without killing a human being.
POLITCAL PRISONERS OF TODAY (PFDJ PRISONERS) Now under PFDJ brutal one-man despotic
administration the fate of an Eritrean has once again is obvious- to be a
prisoner. There are many
prison centers such as in Sembel, Wiaa, old Cinemas, Hadish Measker, local
police stations, Zara and Dongollo, Adi Abeito, to name a few.
It is possible there will be one newly built prison even as we
speak. The number of
prisoners who are languishing in PFDJ dungeons without due process is
record high. Please ask
yourself if PFDJ government respects the basic rights of the prisoners.
Semere Kesete revealed that there are Eritreans jailed in prison for more
than ten years without due processes and they do not know for what crime
they have accused of. It is the streets secret that there are many
Eritreans who died in prison. The recent incident in Wia prison two of the
University students died. One of them was the son of a freedom fighter. It
is widely known that there are many youngsters who died in prison who are
not accounted for. Would you agree that Eritrean prisoners during the
Ethiopian era had more rights than that of PFDJ?
Have you ever heard any hunger strikes by inmates, did they ever
denied visitation rights, medical service, etc.
You be the Judge.
WELL COME AND YOU ARE FREE At Adi Neamen, the leaders of ELF hosted the first meeting under a shade of a big tree for briefing. They were Hurui Tela Bairu the then vice chairman of ELF along with Ibrahim Totil and senior cadres Tareke Beraki and Tesfai Degiga. The first few words that came out from Hurui were "Well Come and you are Free". Hurui talked about his comrade in arms that have been under the enemy and their plight and that every one of them was in their hearts and minds and finally ELF determined to set them free from all the prison centers by al means necessary.
He talked about the then burning issues of
the civil war and the truce of the war and the prospects of unity of the
two organizations, ELF and EPLF. Finally,
he stated that every one was free regardless of his charges including
those Ethiopian soldiers and civilians.
For the Ethiopians a unit from the army was assigned to walk them
safely across the border and left for Ethiopia.
EPLF MEMBERS AND THEIR
SYMPATHIZERS. As I stated earlier there were EPLF
fighters and sympathizers amongst us.
Some of them had concerns that ELF would take advantage of this
operation and might resort to vendetta as the civil war was fresh in every
one's mind or ELF might keep them as prisoners and use them as a
bargaining tip during captive swaps.
However, Hurui assured them that ELF would not afford to squabble
and was determined to realizing unity and to redirect all resources to
fighting the enemy. He
assured them that if any one of them preferred to join TPLF he would
provide all the means of transportation to get them to the area where TPLF
was operating at that time. He did not want to manipulate the situation
and he clearly encouraged them to join their organization and to spread
the good spirit of ELF to the ranks and files of EPLF and to work
diligently to secure the unity of the two organizations. He offered
transportation of their choice: by walking or by mules or a vehicle.
They wanted to go by a vehicle and ELF transported sixty of them by
a vehicle from Adi Neamin to Weki Zagir.
Haile DeruE and Memhir Tekle are the ones that I remember that left
with that truck. Those who
remained aloof from ELF and its programs did not expect such hospitality
from ELF and some of them confessed that they had stereotyped and
blasphemous information about ELF. Later
in life it suddenness me to hear that Haile DuruE saying ELF has never
been instrumental in liberating Eritrea while his organization conspired
with Wayne to liquidating ELF. What
would have Andai and his group who put their lives on the line of duty to
save Haile DuruE and his likes say today?
Hey, Haile would you hope that Andai and his group would come to
your rescue again as they did in 1975?
Keep hope alive there are many Andais in the ELF land.
ALL OTHERS After the briefing by the leadership of
ELF, many of the youngsters joined ELF voluntarily to fight for freedom.
They were grouped into many units and left for Ribda
(Synonym/analogous to Sawa) military training center in Barka. Many of
them served the revolution at different capacities and yes many of them
paid their lives for the love of the motherland, Eritrea. Glory and
Eternity to them.
The old and those who did not want to join
the revolution received a written letter from ELF that stated their status
and returned to their home of choice to pursue their own endeavor. They
were instructed to contact any ELF unit in their localities should they
need and seek help.
Those who had murder crimes were advised to settle with the victim's relatives based on our culture in resolving murder cases " the Bahly Indabo, Garn Gualn" and advised the victim's side to avoid belligerence to seek revenge but to settle their cases amicably. The political cadres of ELF were tasked to help resolving those issues. As to the writer's knowledge there was no incident that warranted mentioning and I can say that all cases were resolved peacefully.
Once again, I hope ELF would replicate
what it did in 1975 and release all the political prisoners in Eritrea
including Haile DeruE for his second time, but at this time with a
different modus of operandi. A word for Haile DuruE, once again ELF will
release you for the second time as it did in 1975 but now from the prison
of your own making. By now
you must have learned your lesson, please amend your conviction, give
credit to your liberators, and never make the same mistake again.
Keep hope alive.
BEST GIFT I EVER RECEIVED As one of the many I joined the revolution after all the briefings. I was not alone but many of us did not have spare of clothing nor shoes. Nor did we have bed sheets to wear at night or something to sleep on. Tecle Kiade and my self had to share our sports coats (it was called Lialf) during the cold nights. We wore one coat from waist down and the other from waist up. We were sleeping on the bare ground and we did not mind that because sleeping on a cold cement floor in prison helped us to adapt easily. One day I met Neguse, a fighter, whom I knew during my teaching days. He was very delighted to see me alive but believed that I might not fit for the hardships of a fighter. My response was if you can handle so do I. He gave me a very precious gift. It was his only bed sheet (nezela) that I can use it during the cold nights. He said that he was in a better situation to get another one than I am. Its is called Bzainet (comradeship) a new word that I learned for the first time. I accepted his offer and I thanked him for that and yes it was a life saving gift. The other precious gift that I received was a plastic 2 1/2 x 4 feet called meshemaE to sleep on from my elementary schoolmate who was a doctor of a unit. This was during my pre-military training period. Comparing to my life's savings that I left behind in my bank account was not a match but something that is at hand is worth more than your net worth which is not within your reach.
WHAT ABOUT WELDEMICHAEL One may want to know more about
Weldemicahel Gerezgiher, ELF fighter who was captured in Asmara when
Gebremicael, the defected, exposed him to the enemy.
I knew Weldemicahed during our school days he was my senior. After
he graduated from Bahir-Dar Polytechnic Institute, he joined the Addis
University and then he joined the revolution.
One day I met him suddenly in Asmara after many years.
While hugging each other, I felt that he was carrying some thing
hidden under his rain jacket. Shortly
we went to a café for a drink and he revealed to me that he was a fighter
and was in town for urban mission. He was armed. He shared with me part of
his mission. He humbly reminded me that I too have the obligation to be
part of this mission and to serve the revolution in my capacity. On the
spot I volunteered to cooperate and became cell leader of an ELF
clandestine unit. My colleagues imprisonment and mine was directly linked
to his capture. After he was captured, he did not make it to Sembel, he
was at FORTO. As an armed fighter his case was different than ours. To his
captors, he was dangerous. Again to release him was another task for Andai
and his group. Let me tell you about that. His release had three folds.
1)
ELA guerillas identified the prosecutors
who were handling his case to present it to the court for trial.
They were seeking for death penalty. Three prosecutors from
security personnel were identified and a letter of warning was delivered
to them from ELF that states that they will be eliminated if they peruse
their duty to persecute innocent Eritreans. To compliment that one day
while they were off duty, ELF fighters shot at them and deliberately
missed them only to terrorize them. The result was that these three guys
left their jobs and went back to their hometowns in Ethiopia for good.
2)
The second step was to recruit some one
who had an access to the files of Weldemical and to destroy all the
evidences against him. They
recruited a dedicated Eritrean and all the files were destroyed. 3)
After his files were destroyed it was
communicated to Weldemincael and he requested to his captors for his
release and he claimed that he was an innocent bystander in a bar and was
picked by the police. During those days it was customary that many
Eritreans were being rounded up and picked up by the police from the
streets as part of their purging against liberation fighters.
Hay! It worked and none from the security
apparatus knew who he was as all the evidences to indite him both human
and physical were all missed or destroyed.
Finally, he was release by the authorities and walked out of the
prison as a free man. Then he
left Asmara and joined the ELA units in the outskirts.
I learned his release from him when I met him in 1977 in Adi Gebray
at the unity meeting between ELF and EPLF, Melake Tecle and Gebrezgiabiher
Tewelde representing ELF and Mahmoud Sherifo and his colleague represented
EPLF. At that time the Eritrean people were very active in bringing the
two organization together. They had a committee called "Shmagle Smret"
headed by its chairman Memhir Gebrechristos. At that meeting a statement
made by Sherifo that is vivid in my mind until to day is that he
said" Aigidshenan Iyu Hizbawi Hailitat" meaning we at the EPLF
do not care, when the people were desperately trying to their best ability
for the two organization to hash out and settle their differences
cordially and to become a united front. For luck of support from this
organization the meeting convened with out any productive outcome.
Major Weldehaimanot: He retired from migidal and he and his family migrated to Syria. He sought for political asylum there. He was residing in Syria and the author does not have his account at this time.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: These events had happnened twenty-seven
years ago and reminiscence of the detail is almost impossible. It might be difficult to conceptualize how the operation
could possibly successfully executed.
However, it is history at its best and I am a living witness.
As a human being, I cannot claim that I have presented these events
in their entirety and with out any omissions but a synopsis.
I would like to encourage any body that is familiar about these
events to step up and complement without redundancy that may enrich the
reader's knowledge. Your contributions would be greatly appreciated.
On behalf of those inmates and myself, I
would like to thank all who participated at different capacity to save the
prisoners from the miserable predicament by sacrificing their lives. I want to assure them that what they did will always be
remembered by all of us in particular and the nation in general.
Please accept my belated million thanks.
As far as I am concerned, I have been following your footsteps and
I will continue to do so until the fundamental human rights of every
Eritrean are respected and enshrined. Victory to the Eritrean People Glory to our martyrs Our prisoners are in our hearts and minds
and one day they too would be free Thank you, Alem Yohannes USA
THE END
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