Glory to Our Martyrs

by Sirak Kifle

Our land and sea are not simply possessions – they are sacred trusts, consecrated by the blood of our Martyrs and handed down from generation to generation.

Every life has a beginning and an end. When someone departs from this world, whether we knew them or not, we are touched by the same sense of emptiness – the quiet ache of absence, the weight of words left unspoken. Death reminds us of what is lost.

But when our martyrs leave this world, their passing carries a different truth. It is not an ending – it is a transformation. There is sorrow, yes, but not emptiness. There is silence, but not hollowness. For they remain within us – alive in our spirit, alive in our freedom. Their courage, their sacrifice, and their undying love for our homeland flow through every Eritrean heart like a living flame.

Our martyrs are not gone.

They are the breath of our freedom, the strength of our resilience, and the soul of our identity. Because of them, we stand tall. Because of them, we know who we are.

And yet, in recent years, voices from beyond our borders have spoken recklessly of taking what is rightfully ours – our ports, our sea, our sovereignty – through “negotiation” or even by force. They speak as though our land and sea were mere commodities, not understanding that every inch of this soil, every drop of this water, was sanctified by the blood of our heroes.

As our beloved artist Yemane Barya once sang:

“ቅንጣብ መሬት ይኹን ፡ ዕማኾ ሓመድና፡ ኣሕሊፍና ኣይንህብን ንጣብ ማይ ባሕርና.”

Even a grain of our soil, even a drop of our sea – we shall never surrender, for it was bought with the blood of our martyrs.

To give away even a square inch of what they died for would be to betray their sacrifice – and no Eritrean heart could ever bear such betrayal.

Our land and sea are not mere boundaries on a map. They are living symbols of endurance, honor, and pride. They are sacred trusts, guarded by the eternal presence of those who gave everything for our freedom. Their legacy binds us – to defend, to preserve, and to uphold the dignity, independence, and identity they secured with their lives.

As long as an Eritrean heart beats, our martyrs live on. Their memory is not confined to the past – it is eternal, ever-present, and sacred. They are the eternal guardians of our sovereignty and the everlasting light of our nation.

Glory to our Martyrs – their light will never fade. Their spirit will forever guide Eritrea.