Fátima Marina

It was a confusing moment that our salvation was when we give our backs to the homeland, when we run away from it with all the fear, hope, doubt, and certainty we possess. I remembered a saying of Kadani when despair overtook him once: "The homeland is a white lie promoted by some without feeling guilty, and others catch it without feeling deceived." Sudan drew closer, and Eritrea began to distance itself. Nations are selfish; a homeland only comes when the other departs. I am certain that those who run beside me, and as much as they desire to escape the homeland, feel pain. As much as they are eager to live outside it, they are terrified of dying one day inside them, or quietly slipping away from between their ribs before they can hide it in the last hideouts of the soul. I am certain that these leave Eritrea with disappointment hanging on their foreheads like Sunday church bells, which hardly calm down before announcing themselves again. I am certain that the homeland, which has become so narrow for its people, has become very wide with pain. Author: Haji Jaber Publisher: Hayat Publications Number of pages: 254