Daniel Habtom

Salina ሳሊና Symbols of Selflessness 🇪🇷 Salina ሳሊና Eritrea…Massawa, which has an important place in the annals of the armed struggle, the scene of decisive battles, has testified to this truth twice – in 1977 and 1991. People lay down their lives for others on a daily basis, though such people are few and far between. The majority perceive the acts of these selected few as rare and heroic, and beyond the capacity of the majority of the population. Irrespective of the opinions of the majority, the existence of a nation depends on the sacrifice of such people. Ahmed Tahir Baduri, in Eritrea: Guuzo ab Tezekrotatey, writes of selfless fighters of the battle of 1977, especially a group of fighters commanded by Gherezgiher Andemariam, a veteran fighter who rose to the rank of Major General and later to General in the Eritrean Army after independence (page 423). “To check the advance of our forces, the enemy filled the salt-fields with water from the sea. What Gherezgiher Andemariam (Wuchu) said during the thick of the battle is retold to this day and serves as an evidence to the ferocity of the battle. His unit was in Salina [the salt-fields in Massawa] and the water rose to their waist and the Artillery Unit of the EPLF stopped shelling enemy positions because the fighters were very close to the enemy and it did not want to cause unnecessary casualty from friendly fire. Ultimately, the attack was called off because it was assessed as a failure. Fourteen years later, another assault was staged against the Ethiopian army in Massawa and its environs. This time, the well-equipped and more experienced EPLF fighters were determined that 1977 would not happen again. Massawa was like an Eritrean Masada. The attack was planned and executed with such speed and military prowess that an Ethiopian, an eye-witness of the fighting around Massawa and its environs, To block reinforcements from Asmara, the book recounts, the EPLF cut the Asmara-Massawa road, and repulsed attacks to get the highway reopened. Unaware that the EPLF was now equipped with modern weaponry captured at Afabet, and greatly encouraged by its ability to deal a deadly blow to its enemy, and its experiences of the past 20 years, the author misses the lesson the Front had learnt. The  Ethiopian army probably had forgotten SALINA , the Massawa salt fields, but the EPLF had not. It was determined that it should not happen again, hence the detailed planning and the speed of execution. Therefore, Massawa fell to EPLF hands on the 10th of February 1991 in less than four days. The battle was swift but was not without its challenges. Testifying to the role of the EPLF tanks in the battle, three tanks stand in a square outside the St. Mary’s Church in Massawa. The inscription just below each tank tells the major battles the fighters used the tanks for, during the struggle. They remind visitors and Massawa residents that Eritrea, and the city, in particular, was freed from the shackles of colonial rule at a cost. The great teacher, History, shows us nations are redeemed by the heroic acts of their fighters. Some among the people pay heavier prices than others. The price becomes all the more heavier because they know they won’t be able to see the fruits of their sacrifices. It is true, people prize themselves more than any other thing. But sometimes, people are motivated by a higher principle and give their lives to a cause higher than their fleeting lives.🇪🇷 #ERITREA Eternal glory to our Martyrs. ዘለኣለማዊ ዝኽርን ክብርን ን ጀጋኑ ሰማእታትና