T’was late in October, at Herui’s Tedla’s house not a creature was stirring; don’t know if there’s a spouse. 10 generations of names he wrote and he wrote, The throne is rightfully mine; remember this as you all vote! There was Herui grinning, as he examined the spread Look! Pages of pedigree charts and letters he said... But so much had happened for this to even matter, The Gs had appeared with the dreadful Open Letter. With Dr.s Bereket and others driving the charge, The attack was launched at the Eritrean public at large. We are the Reformers, here to save Eritrea from him, You know, the dictator! The one who rules at whim! Eritrea was celebrating her Tenth anniversary, Her children flocked in by air, by bus and by sea. They raised flags, sang songs and danced in the street, And then they went home to soothe their sore feet.

Our country had suffered, our people had too, We were there to comfort them; we’ll be there for you! But all of a sudden we had to deal with this mess, The Gs were everywhere, especially in the private press. They told stories of valor and some with good taste, But there were others who spoke to soon, and in haste. Despite all the rumors and the provocative stances. The Lion of Nakfa gave them, Oh…so many chances! The roller coaster ride with its ups and its downs On the Diasporan faces there were so many frowns! From the top to the bottom it was easy to see, That chaos and deceit was their modus operandi.

PIA was their target, his place they wanted to cease They had the backing, this, they could do with ease. The summer dragged on, oh… it went so slow, Then came Hibret, from Stockholm or was it Oslo? A symbol of success for all Eritrean women, A pretty face, but oh… she carried a bad omen. With Adhanom and Haile she came to DC, When that did not work, she was off to New Jersey. With BBC, AllAfrica, CPJ and one Suliman Baldo, All reporting FUD stories of how Judge Teame was let go. The Gs were detained; the private press was out! Habtom cried at the EU, what was that all about? The letters and petitions they threw in our face They set out to embarrass, Oh! What a disgrace! To denigrate Eritrea’s leaders, they yell and they holler I’ll say anything...just hold up the dollar! Oh don’t let me forget, those two with no class, You know, the reporters… Semere and Milkeas; From Sudan thru Ethiopia to the land of milk and honey, How did they get here, who gave them the money? Oh there were more FUDists, than I could care to count Spewing venomous insults from their divisive fount, They would stop all aid funds to bring PIA down, They had “friends” in high places, even in this town. They would do anything to get what they wanted But Hafash refused to sit still, and be taken for granted! The people were angry; something had to be done To clean up this whole mess, they went back to square one. Who would do this to our country, they cried? This beautiful land, our people, our history, our pride! They mocked our leaders and now our Eritreaness Hade Libi, Hade Hizbi, Wetru Awet N’Hafash! From Seattle to Washington, Toronto and Berlin They shunned these defeatists and traitors from within.

The FUDists who lacked respect for their own heritage Who set out to remake Eritrea in some foreign image. Repeating the slogans of our sworn enemy, And putting their trust in men like Senor Bandini! I can’t say the FUDists have accomplished their mission I’m sure we’ll see more polls and some sort of petition Russom will do interviews and spread the FUD news, He’ll call it free speech, more versions, more views. They’ll hop to all cities, Dulles, Seattle or even Reno, He’ll broadcast from anywhere and bring it to Asmarino. FUDists were all over us, like the summer time plague And now they are back, concerned about The Hague? We want demarcation, peace and stability they say While they continue with their agendas, day after day! We know who you are, what you want, and what you’ve done History will record your deeds, step by step, one by one! Now they talk of unity, as if they really cared Not telling us to choose, that, they have already dared. They called us terrorists and called our communities, cells; They set out to break PDFJ, remove PIA and his pals. There’s a saying for this, it’s better in Tigrinya ZiAklen Tihinen, B’Alemariam Yibla! The Gs, the press, the students they fake concern, Try this-N’Adgi Zeikebedos, N’mSan? What do you know of true friendships and trust? We’ve seen how you are; we’ve turned off in disgust! You’ve broken up families and relationships too, We would all be celebrating together, if it weren’t for you.

To all the rest who put up with this stuff thus far Victory is certain, and Eritrea will be the star. Our people will be at peace, secure in their lands, These FUDs can go on moaning, making their demands Eritreans have been through a lot these past few years, They are ready for peace and quiet, stop clogging our ears! But enough of the gloom and doom, it’s easy to see All good and bad things do come to an end; trust meJ Eritrea is a small country, but her love is so grand She’ll hold us together, with love in each open hand. Eritrea is blessed to have many loving sons and daughters Who work to rebuild her, and selflessly defend her borders! Our IDPs need to go home, let’s rebuild their roof, There’s so much to do, there’s no time to goof. Our troops will spend X’mas in Assab and Gash Barka, But what can we do with a neighbor like Ethiopia! We’d love to have them home, close with the family. If not this New Year’s Day, next year most surely! Since I can’t write poetry to save my own skin I think this is enough; I’ve covered all I can The gist of the message is perfectly clear I just don’t want a repeat of this past year. Let’s count our blessings, rejoice with good cheer And welcome 2002 with love, with those we hold dear.

ZeleAlem Z’Kri N’Suwuatna Happy Holidays Sophie Tesfamariam