Ms. Roma Okbagebriel, who is seventy years old, still looks like a young lady. Her house, one room and kitchen, is as cozy as a wealthy person’s house. “I heard the good news of my son’s arrival in town one day in the early morning. By God’s will, I met him after days of desperate expectation.” said Ms. Roma remembering that day.

Goitom Mebrahtu lives in Dalas, Texas, came to Eritrea on 9th February 2009 and introduced to his new family and especially to Ms. Roma. He is not her biological son but her son according to the project for helping the families of fallen heroes.

I went to Ms. Roma’s house for an interview on the day she met her son for the second time. When her son and I arrived at the house, I was gratified with her hospitality. I asked if she had a guest before us and she said that there is no special guest other than her son. She said “I am lucky to have a son.”

When I asked her how she felt about their meeting, she told me to ask her son that she has no words to explain

Looking at the two inviting each other to eat and expressing their longings, I sensed the love of the new family. Ms. Roma constantly reminded us to look at the photos of her martyred two biological sons,’ Bereket Meles and Solomon Meles. She said, “The heart leaves with the departed. We remember our martyrs every second of every minute. It is said that one is forgotten after his death, but our martyrs are never forgettable.” There is an internal power that makes everyone remember the martyrs constantly.

Her older son went to join the struggle just after finishing University and the younger went after two years. Mr. Roma said, “I escorted my son to my village when he told me he wanted to go on vacation. I returned to the village after three days and the villagers told me that my son left and he was one of those dedicated to their country.”

She went everywhere she heard there was a sign of her children. During those days it was terrible to pass from one village to the other. She used to carry food stuffs to pretend as if she was visiting relatives and usually gives it to any fighter she met. After serving food and drink, and listening to every description of her children the fighters used to tell her that she could never reach her children by wandering from place to place. “No fighter has a permanent address” was what everyone told her.

“I never expected to hear about their deaths. It was my innocence not to think about death after all the blood shed during the war. At the Independence Day I had to ask every fighter about my children and they told me that many were still at the places and were coming.” said Ms. Roma.

Three families including Ms. Roma’s, living in the same compound have lost two children each. As Ms. Roma said, money has no value when compared to a family which she has formed now with Goitom.

He works in the United States 14 to 16 hours a day and always used to think about coming to his country and contributing something. He has both Ms. Roma and his parents who live in rural Eritrea, to help them financially. He sends gifts to Ms. Roma, his new family.

The opening of a project in taking care of families of fallen heroes was made official at a meeting where Goitom had participated. After filling the form giving the responsibility of sending 30 dollars per month for two years, Goitom was assigned to take care of a mother of two martyrs, Ms. Roma Tesfamichael. Since Goitom was raised in Arbate Asmera the current home town of Ms. Roma, he was wondering if he formerly knew her.

He continued to send her the required things through the embassy and told his brother in Asmara to visit her. Goitom said that even though he never met her before she is his mother. Though she didn’t mother him, her children paid their lives for him. Helping families of fallen heroes is not a question of money rather; it is a question of humanity.

“The amount of money allotted is not something that can change the ways of life of the family, but it lifts their spirits thinking that there is someone to be part of the family.” said Goitom.

Ms. Roma and Goitom are one of the many families formed only through the link of being Eritrean without any biological relationship.