"The subject of history," wrote Leo Tolstoy, the great Russian novelist and
historian, almost 130 years ago "is the life of nations and of mankind. To
perceive directly and encompass in words, that is, to describe the life of a
single people much less that of mankind, would appear to be impossible."
BaHti Meskerem (September First 1961) is indeed the start of our armed
struggle to liberate Eritrea, a continuation of the struggle that had been
waged by political means in towns and villages of Eritrea, a continuation,
by different means, of the struggle of the workers, the students, etc., and
hence BaHti meskerem didn't materialize in a vacuum. The Eritrean struggle
for independence didn't start in 1961, only the Armed struggle did.
Hamed Idris Awate was an Eritrean hero (and will remain as such for ever),
the father of the Armed struggle, a hero like the countless others that
followed his footsteps in the three decades until May 24, 1991. Berhan, you
have "touched" the history of Eritrean struggle but you left a lot of
details - and as the Americans say, the devil is in the details.
The point is this: let us tell history but since history of the Eritrean
people (both Moslem and Christian) would be incomplete without the other
half, let us try to be fair and avoid generalizations. In other words, and
as Tolstoy further writes, "The subject of history is not man's will, but
our presentation of it."
Now about Awate, Biniam Tekle wrote:
>I would like to know more about the iconic figure in our history
>Hamid Idris Awate. Who is he? How did he get to be involved in the armed
>struggle? Was he a local hero or he had a grander vision of a free
>Eritrea when he set out to fight the enemy? Where and how did he die? I
>would appreciate it if anyone can tell me/us his story. Thanks.
Until someone with a much better knowledge of history tells us about Awate,
let me share the following with you:
Hamed Idris Awate, or Awate, as he is fondly remembered by many, was a
Beni-Amer by birth from the vast plains of Barka, and was a member of the
Sudanese army or police prior to his recruitment by the "High Council" or
LaEleway BAito. When the Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF) was organized in
Cairo in 1961, the council (LaEleway Baito) started looking for someone who
could lead the armed resistance inside Eritrea. These folks were basically
politicians who led the political struggle before they fled the country in
the late fifties or early sixties but knew nothing about armed resistance.
Among them were Idris Mohammed Adem (the chairman), Idris Gelawdios,
Woldeab Woldemariam, Tedla Bairu. They managed to recruit Awate, who was a
true patriot and he proved a hero, but probably might not have had a
"grander vision," as you put it.
Awate started the armed stuggle with a dozen of his comrades most of whom
also had come from the Sudanese police ranks. They had a few old rifles but
evidently a burning patriotism that enabled them to tread on. Awate,
unfortunately, didn't last long, and died in November 1962. The cause of
his death is variously said to have been a snake bite or an illness of some
sort.
Paulos