It is indubitable that we Eritreans dream of a developed and prosperous country that makes its nationals proud of it. Unlike some other countries, our independence was achieved after long and bitter war and the sacrifice of thousands of precious sons and daughters. Our ambition is to move forward fast by developing our creative thinking, nationalism and dedication (which has always existed in our culture) to develop our country.

If we go back and look at our history, we a leadership which progresses continually and the liberation struggle won by the leadership of it, the EPLF. It is a leadership which has an inexhaustible trust on the creativity and new ideas of its people. EPLF has its own philosophy and independent line.

The EPLF had deeply ingrained culture and procedure to listen attentively to whoever forwards his opinion in the rank and file. This is not to say all the opinions or ideas forwarded were acceptable or sensitive or logical. But not a single idea had to be rejected, because if one is rejected, some how it will be something negative if such cases add up. So motivating people to give or share their ideas was vital.

In EPLF, the sharing of ideas and comments among the members of the same unit and to and from the higher ranks starts with such small unit. This may seem easy, but it is one of the best mechanisms to generate new ideas and to insure participation of all members. This right helped the freedom fighter to develop a sense of ownership of the leadership they believe and support.

At first the principles and statements of the Eritrean Government may have been unacceptable to many, because any new idea or ideology by nature when first heard it is not easy to accept. It is hard in this world to accept new ideas as it is full of actors which consider them selves as the leaders of truth and development. But Eritreans’ factual and practical ideology has become clear and many governments are seen to adopt it. This was explained in many occasions and it is clear that Eritreans will do miracles as in the past.

Many people were shocked when the prominent biologist, Charles Darwin, first posed his theory of evolution as it contradicts of their belief. The Queen of England is believed to have said, “I hope this is not true,” upon learning of the story. True, new ideas or unusual opinions are frowned upon by the society. There is, however, one important issue that needs to be carefully understood. Listening brings no loss except gain, and the developments registered in the world were achieved by giving chances to new ideas and opinions. Fear of new ideas, on the contrary, is the bottleneck for progress. This, however, is not something novel that we Eritreans need to learn; it should serve only as a reminder of the values that we Eritreans need to preserve.

On the occasion of this historical day, June 20 (Eritrean Martyrs Day), I want to remind all that Eritrean Youths to adopt the rich EPLF’s culture: a culture of hard work, dedication, respect and inexhaustible morale. We have an obligation to teach them or help them develop the culture of developing new ideas and creativity.

To achieve our goal by preserving our values, we Eritreans have to be willing and eager to share our ideas as in the past because it is the means to our victory. Even our daily life does not have flavor without new idea. Let us develop our rich culture of generating ideas as it truly adds value to life.