Eritrea Remembers; Eritrea Honors; Eritrea is Grateful.

by Metkel Ahderom

Click here for an Ai generated song with the lyrics for tribute to Eritrean martyrs in June 20.

https://suno.com/s/X7rnWmP60CBsEMjQ

On a September morning in 1961,

when the world was looking elsewhere,

when maps were drawn by distant hands

and justice seemed too small to matter,
one brave soul lifted a rifle
and whispered a word stronger than armies:
Freedom.

Not for himself.
Not for glory.
Not for wealth.
But for a people yet unborn.
For a flag not yet raised.
For a nation not yet recognized.
For a dream that could only be purchased
by blood, and blood, and blood.

And so they came.
From villages kissed by the Red Sea winds.
From mountains that touched the heavens.
From valleys, farms, schools, and workshops.
Young men. Young women.
Mothers. Fathers.
Students. Farmers.
Dreamers.

Nearly one hundred thousand souls
answered history’s call.
They walked into hardship
so future generations could walk into freedom.
They crossed deserts without complaint.
They climbed mountains without surrender.
They faced hunger,
darkness, loss, and death itself,
yet never abandoned the promise they made
to Eritrea.

Some fell with no witness.
Some were buried beneath nameless stones.
Some never returned home
to hear their mothers call their names again.
But none died in vain.
For every drop of blood
became a brick
in the foundation of a nation.

Every sacrifice became a chapter
in the story of independence.
Every martyr became a star
guiding Eritrea through its darkest nights.
And when the guns finally fell silent,
when the flag rose above a free people,
when the world could no longer deny what truth had built,
it was your victory.

Your sacrifice.
Your promise fulfilled.
Today, Eritrea stands because you stood.
Today, Eritrea speaks because you spoke.
Today, Eritrea is free because you paid the price.

And every year on the twentieth of June,
the nation pauses. The music softens.
The voices grow quiet.
The flags bow gently in the wind.
And a sacred silence fills the air.
Not because we have forgotten.
But because we remember.
We remember the faces we never met.
The names carved into memory.

The courage that refused to surrender.
The love of country that proved stronger than fear.
In homes and schools, in villages and cities,
across continents and oceans,
your children rise and whisper:
Thank you.

Thank you for the dawn we inherited.
Thank you for the freedom we breathe.
Thank you for proving that dignity is worth defending.
Thank you for believing in Eritrea
before Eritrea could stand on her own feet.

And in the halls of the world,
even when ears were closed by politics,
even when truth was buried beneath noise,
we continued to speak.
Because truth does not tire.
Truth does not retreat.
Truth does not die.

We kept speaking because your sacrifice deserved a voice.
We kept speaking because your blood deserved remembrance.
We kept speaking because a nation born through sacrifice
must never be silent.

And now, across the generations,
from the first shot fired in September 1961
to this very day,
the promise remains unbroken:
Eritrea remembers. Eritrea honors. Eritrea is grateful.

And as long as the sun rises over Nakfa,
as long as the Red Sea kisses her shores,
as long as one Eritrean heart continues to beat,
the story of her martyrs shall never fade.

Sleep peacefully, heroes.
The nation you dreamed of lives.
The flag you carried still flies.
The freedom you purchased still stands.
And an eternal people,
with heads held high,
continue to say:

Glory to the Martyrs.
Glory to their sacrifice.
Glory to a free Eritrea. 🇪🇷