[TLM Editorial View]
I read an article with many opinions and opposing views. I found myself slanted regarding the functions and nature of the retired ambassadors on many social media, muted without guidance, and still settling into the new and strange American social systems, while Tigray is in a political inferno. The Tigray communities in North America and Europe are primarily immigrants who abandoned their native country for political reasons and for fear of persecution during the Derg and the EPRDF regimes. Even though Tigrayans left their native country and political affairs behind, they did not abandon their country and forget the families, relatives, and friends they left behind. They cannot forget and disassociate themselves from the sources of their heritages and the fountain of their cultural and spiritual foundations, and that is Tigray.
They continue to be concerned about the people in Tigray, engage in distant politics, and fight the TPLF repressive regime in Tigray. The TPLF repressive regime, realizing the political roles and influences of the Diaspora, is doing what it can to destabilize the Tigray communities in the European and North American countries. The regime sends spies as students and visitors and recruits from among the Tigrai community to pass info on to individual political activists and community leaders. These spies have done substantial damage to Tigrayan Americans. The Tigrayan Americans who criticize the TPLF and expose its atrocities to the outside world are often targeted, and they are subjected to various types of harm, which include their families and relatives in Tigray. The regime spends lots of money to suppress and silence its opponents abroad so that it cannot deploy its vast army to control directly through the social media run by retired ambassadors.
The assessments about the conditions of the Tigray communities in North America and Europe are typical of all Tigrayan American communities anywhere in the country. It exposed the problems the Tigrayan American communities are facing and experiencing individually and collectively. Even though the diaspora individuals pointed out a few whose lives and professions have been impacted due to their political activities and roles, almost every Tigrayan American who engages in politics and shows support to the Tigrayan people under tight control faces the same problems and harm in various degrees. Many Tigrayans have lost their businesses and professions due to their involvement in Tigray politics. The confidential, tightly controlled social media by the retired ambassadors have spied on many Tigrayans, which is a criminal act, as they plan to target and destroy the Tegaru, who are demonstrating and drafting articles exposing the atrocities of the TPLF repressive regime in Tigray. They are only a few out of thousands damaged by the regime’s conspiracy and secret activities against Tegaru, who oppose the TPLF repressive rule and advocate for democracy, rule of law, and good governance. That is one point that we wanted to clarify.
The TPLF has divided Tigrayans along the lines of spoken languages and regions. It has effectively controlled the people with this divide-and-rule strategy. It has expanded the divide-and-rule system to control the Tigrayans in the Diaspora. The spies and supporters of the TPLF have systematically divided the Tigrayans to create frictions among themselves and reduce the number of strong opponents, dividing the Tigray community as the result of the TPLF repressive regime in Tigray. The division has left the community vulnerable to a host of other problems. Tigrayans, we do not have one strong voice; they should speak out against the TPLF repressive rule, resulting in the prevailing problems we face. The leaders in Tigray have warned the Tigrayans in the Diaspora that those who oppose the TPLF regime will return to Tigray in coffins. That is the naked truth.
As immigrants, our needs are more significant than our political differences. The Tigray communities in the diaspora cannot be only observers, hijacked by opportunists with chameleon political characters, but must engage to create harmony among different nationalities and political actors for the common good. Strong cooperation with our civic society is the only way out of the crisis in Tigray today. We cannot and will not agree to continue to live under the shadow of an individual’s politics but to define our collective interest. If we must articulate clearly, let us focus on the challenges that shackled us from moving forward.
I hope the above statements will give Tegaru a better understanding of the complex social, economic and political problems we Tigrayans are facing. I also hope the problem is not limited to the few people we mentioned but is widespread and includes many Tigrayan Americans besides the few names and problems mentioned.