Thread by @BeqaYiakl

Today’s #Yiakl #SundaySpotlight goes out to the organizers of the Eritrean Detainee's Day (EDD) campaign in acknowledgment of their committed efforts to highlight the plights of Eritrean prisoners of conscience& advocate for their release.
#Yiakl #SundaySpotlight #WeAreComingHome

EDD is an annual campaign that is organized by concerned #Eritrean|s from around the World. Within the wider issue of violation of rights, the campaign highlights the issue of detention, forced disappearance and imprisonment in #Eritrea.
#Yiakl #SundaySpotlight #WeAreComingHome

The campaign started 8 years ago to remember those who had been taken from their homes and families for committing no crime but being Eritrean citizens.

#Yiakl #SundaySpotlight #WeAreComingHome #Eritrea

The people who started it went back to the early days of #Eritrea and tried to identify the beginning of such practices by the Eritrean regime in post-independence Eritrea, and found that they go as early as July 1991.

#Yiakl #SundaySpotlight #WeAreComingHome #Eritrea

However, when it comes to mass disappearances they found that the first recorded mass disappearance was on the 14th of April 1992, 11 months after Eritrea's liberation. Hence, they chose this day to mark those behind the bars in #Eritrea.
#Yiakl #SundaySpotlight #WeAreComingHome

The campaign runs for about 4 weeks annually from mid-March to mid-April with a variety of activities organized throughout the world. Although these 4 weeks are considered crucial in reactivating public engagement, the efforts of EDD organizers continue throughout the year.

Amongst the countries where events took place in the past are the UK, Sweden, Australia, Malaysia, Turkey, Egypt, France, Canada & Switzerland.

This campaign is run by volunteers who are nominated by the public via the Facebook page and members can serve for one complete year.
facebook.com/DetaineesDay/v…

Amongst the objectives of this campaign are: to document those who are forcibly disappeared, demand their immediate release, and support their families.

#Yiakl #SundaySpotlight #WeAreComingHome #Eritrea

Over the years the campaign has gathered support from different organizations and groups within the Eritrean and non-Eritrean communities.

#Yiakl #SundaySpotlight #WeAreComingHome #Eritrea

EDD also tries to amplify the voices of those who had been silent for decades by relating their stories and providing them with the tools and the platform to speak up and raise above their pain.

#Yiakl #SundaySpotlight #WeAreComingHome #Eritrea

On the technical side, EDD will soon be part of a human rights organization and operate within the umbrella organization in a more effective and structured manner.

#Yiakl #SundaySpotlight #WeAreComingHome #Eritrea

So far, there is a Facebook page where most of the activities are logged and posted, a YouTube channel where the videos are getting uploaded & a website under construction.

You can follow #EDD on Facebook: facebook.com/DetaineesDay/
&
Subscribe: youtube.com/channel/UCaEPX…

Please join us in thanking Eritrean Detainee's Day organizers for their continuous efforts to speak up and demand justice for the thousands of Eritrean prisoners of conscience.

#Yiakl #SundaySpotlight #WeAreComingHome #Eritrea