Irob-Agame, long-term and sustainable solutions offered by the Agaezi National Union (ANU) political framework

Initial Questions from Mr. Seyoum Abraha

Based in Zambia

1. Can the Irob people preserve their identity, language, culture, land, and population in the face of migration, marginalization, economic hardship, and environmental pressures?
2. Will the next generations continue speaking the Saho/Irob language and practising Irob cultural traditions?
3. Can the community survive population decline as youth migrate to cities and abroad?
4. Is it possible to build a sustainable economy in a harsh, drought-prone environment?
5. Will the Irob homeland remain safe, stable, and secure enough for families to live and return?
6. Can the Irob maintain strong political representation and protect their land and rights as a small minority?
7. How can the community preserve its unique identity while adapting to modern society?
8. Will the diaspora stay connected and support the survival and development of the homeland?

Dr. Aregawi Mebrahtu, your perspectives on this critical existence questions of our community will be crucial and thank you for your response in advance.

 19 november 2025

Seyoum Abraha

Zambia

Dear my brother Mr. Seyoum Abraha,

It is with great pleasure that I read your thoughtful, insightful, and intellectually enriching questions. I deeply appreciate your initiative and the seriousness with which you approach these generational concerns. Please continue this important work—your commitment is a true service to our people and to our shared historical responsibility.

Below are my answers to each of your questions regarding the future of the Irob people—their identity, language, culture, land, and survival as a small Indigenous community situated on the Ethiopia–Eritrea frontier. Your questions touch on the core challenges of continuity, resilience, and self-preservation, and they deserve careful and strategic reflection.

I have responded to each point with the realities of social, political, economic, and environmental pressures in mind, while maintaining a hopeful and constructive outlook. In addition, I have included the long-term and sustainable solutions offered by the Agaezi National Union (ANU) political framework, which I strongly encourage you to examine critically and seriously as a realistic path to safeguarding our people.

I hope these reflections contribute meaningfully to our collective understanding and to our ongoing struggle for dignity, survival, and self-determination.

With respect and solidarity,
Dr. Aregawi Mebrahtu
Agaezi National Union (ANU)

HeadQuarter Office

Geneva International

1. Can the Irob people preserve their identity, language, culture, land, and population in the face of migration, marginalization, economic hardship, and environmental pressures?

Yes, it is possible—but it requires coordinated action. Small minority communities around the world (e.g., the Basque, Sámi, Amazigh, and Maori) have preserved their identity despite enormous pressures by using education, documentation, strong community networks, cultural programs, local governance, and diaspora involvement.

For the Irob, survival depends on:

• Strengthening cultural institutions (churches, customary councils, elders).
• Teaching Saho/Irob language in community schools and church/t’aba teaching systems.
• Land rights protection and resisting displacement through legal and advocacy channels.
• Economic support such as drought-resilient agriculture, livestock programs, and market access.
• Political representation to ensure their issues are heard.
• Diaspora engagement through education, funding, and advocacy.

The challenges are serious, but preservation is absolutely achievable.

2. Will the next generations continue speaking the Saho/Irob language and practising Irob cultural traditions?

They can, but only if intentional language and culture transmission is strengthened today.

Threats:

• Youth migration.
• Dominance of Tigrinya and Amharic.
• Lack of formal schooling in Saho/Irob.
• Decline of traditional livelihoods (e.g., cattle herding, terraced farming).

Positive signs:

• Strong oral tradition and cultural pride among elders.
• The Irob diaspora’s interest in revitalization.
• Cultural resilience: weddings, songs, dances (Maalaw, Adar), dress, proverbs, and customary laws remain active.

Solutions:

• Community schools teaching Saho/Irob.
• Digital content (apps, podcasts, YouTube, online dictionaries).
• Festivals and cultural days in diaspora and homeland.
• Documentation projects that record proverbs, oral histories, genealogies, and songs.

If these are done, the Irob language and traditions will survive and grow.

3. Can the community survive population decline as youth migrate to cities and abroad?

Survival is possible, but proactive steps are required.

Risks of population decline:

• Fewer families staying in the homeland → risk of depopulation.
• Traditional knowledge (agriculture, songs, rituals) not passed down.
• Elders living alone without support.
• Reduced political power due to smaller population.

Opportunities:

• Diaspora remittances can stabilize households.
• Migrant youth can return with skills and education.
• Hybrid households—part living abroad, part at home—can sustain villages.

Long-term survival needs:

• Youth employment opportunities in the homeland.
• Better schools, clinics, electricity, water infrastructure to make staying viable.
• Cultural education programs for diaspora youth.

Population decline is a threat, but not irreversible if the community organizes around solutions.

4. Is it possible to build a sustainable economy in a harsh, drought-prone environment?

Yes—but only through modern climate-resilient strategies.
The Irob area is one of the most drought-prone regions in Ethiopia, but many similar regions globally have developed sustainable models.

Potential solutions include:

Climate-resilient agriculture

• Drought-resistant crops (sorghum, teff, barley varieties).
• Terracing and stone bunds (already a traditional Irob skill).
• Rainwater harvesting and community reservoirs.

Livestock improvement

• Goat and sheep breeds resistant to drought.
• Vet clinics, fodder banks, rotational grazing.

Diversifying income

• Beekeeping.
• Solar energy projects.
• Small trade and border-market activities (when safe).
• Handicrafts (weaving, leatherwork).
• Eco-tourism and cultural tourism (if stability returns).

With investment and organization, the Irob economy can become sustainable even in harsh conditions.

5. Will the Irob homeland remain safe, stable, and secure enough for families to live and return?

Security depends on:

• Peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
• Demilitarization of border areas.
• Respect for local land rights and community autonomy.
• Protection of civilians from displacement, conflict, or political violence.

Families will only return if:

• Homes are rebuilt.
• Land is protected.
• Basic services are restored.
• There is trust that conflict will not return.

This requires government action, community leadership, and international advocacy.
With proper attention, Irob can once again become a safe homeland.

6. Can the Irob maintain strong political representation and protect their land and rights as a small minority?

It is difficult—but possible with strategic effort.

Challenges:

• Small population means small electoral influence.
• Historically marginalized in regional politics.
• Border disputes make land claims sensitive.

Strategies:

• Unified community leadership (elders, youth, women’s groups, diaspora councils).
• Legal advocacy for land rights, minority protections, and autonomy.
• Political participation at woreda, zonal, and regional levels.
• Alliance-building with other minority groups.
• Diaspora political engagement.

Small minorities worldwide maintain their rights when they are organized, united, and persistent.

7. How can the community preserve its unique identity while adapting to modern society?

By practicing cultural resilience + modern adaptation, such as:

• Teaching Saho/Irob language in modern digital formats.
• Practicing cultural traditions (weddings, songs, dances, laws) while also embracing modern education, internet, and professions.
• Creating Irob cultural centers in diaspora communities.
• Encouraging youth to document elders’ knowledge using phones and social media.
• Balancing pastoral/agrarian traditions with modern jobs and technology.

Identity is preserved when culture is lived, shared, and modernized, not frozen in time.

8. Will the diaspora stay connected and support the survival and development of the homeland?

They can, and many already do—but connection must be strengthened.

Diaspora strengths:

• Education, income, networks, and influence.
• Ability to document Irob culture and history.
• Power to advocate internationally for rights and protection.

Risks:

• Assimilation in foreign countries.
• Loss of language among diaspora children.
• Weak institutional links between diaspora and homeland.

Solutions:

• Create Irob diaspora associations, youth groups, and annual conferences.
• Fund schools, clinics, water projects, documentation programs in the homeland.
• Teach diaspora children Saho/Irob language and history.
• Use social media to share stories, art, music, literature, and oral traditions.

If the diaspora stays united and active, the Irob homeland has a much stronger chance of long-term survival.

9. The Irob and Agame Claim to Red Sea Import–Export Ownership

For Security, Economic Survival, and Historical Justice: The Irob community—together with the greater Agame population—possesses a historically grounded, geopolitically justified, and legally defensible claim to participate in, benefit from, and co-own Ethiopia’s Red Sea access for import–export activities. This claim arises from three interconnected principles:

9.1. Historical and Geographical Legitimacy

The Irob and Agame territories have always formed the northeastern frontier of the ancient Aksumite state, directly connected to:

• the Adulis–Aksum trade corridor,
• the Zula, Bure, Irob, and Agame highland pathways, and
• the Geez Red Sea civilization, on which Ethiopia’s global identity was built.

Historically:

• The Aksumite Empire accessed the Red Sea through Agame and Irob routes, not via modern artificial borders.
• Irob and Agame families were the natural guardians, scouts, and frontier protectors of the northeast axis of the Agaezi Kingdom.
• Their villages formed the strategic shield ensuring the empire’s safe linkage to the coast.

This makes them a foundational pillar of Ethiopia’s historical Red Sea connectivity.

Thus, their claim is not new—it is a restoration of a broken historical order.

9.2. Security Rationale

Without the active involvement of Irob and Agame communities:

Ethiopia’s national security is compromised.

These communities form:

• the geopolitical buffer zone
• the intelligence frontline
• the cultural bridge
• the strategic corridor on the Horn of Africa faultline

Their participation in Red Sea import–export rights ensures:

• local stability,
• border integrity,
• cross-border cooperation, and
• protection from hostile proxy forces (TPLF, Shaebia, extremist secessionist networks).

Because Irob and Agame are the actual inhabitants of the frontier, excluding them from policymaking makes the Red Sea strategy:

• fragile,
• externally dependent,
• easily manipulated by foreign interests.

Security requires frontline ownership.

9.3. Economic Survival and Development

The Irob and Agame zones are:

• drought-prone,
• mountainous,
• historically marginalized by successive governments.

Economic participation in Red Sea trade corridors provides:

• income
• employment
• transport and logistics opportunities
• regional development
• migration reduction
• agricultural stability
• investment opportunities

For Irob and Agame, Red Sea participation is not a luxury—it is a lifeline.

It directly addresses:

• chronic poverty
• loss of youth through migration
• food insecurity
• depopulation
• shrinking livelihoods

Thus, access to Red Sea import–export frameworks is a matter of survival.

9.4. International Principles That Support the Claim

The claim aligns with:

• UN Declaration on Indigenous Peoples’ Rights (territorial and cultural rights)
• African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights (Articles 20–22: self-development rights)
• Principles of frontier community inclusion in regional economic systems
• Customary international norms regarding cross-border ethnic communities

International law is clear: Frontline communities must not be excluded from economic lifelines that shape their survival.

9.5. A Civilizational Argument (Agaezawnet Framework)

The Irob and Agame are custodians of the ancient Aksumite–Agaezi northeastern frontier, the only remaining non-elite communities that preserved:

• Geez values
• Geez lineage continuity
• Geez identity resilience
• frontier guardianship
• civilizational geography

Under the Agaezawnet worldview:

• The Red Sea is not simply “a port.”
• It is the spiritual artery,
• the economic backbone,
• and the civilizational ocean of the Geez world.

Thus, Irob and Agame communities have the divine, historical, and ancestral right to be part of Ethiopia’s Red Sea economic renaissance.

9.6. Why ANU Must Advocate This

The Agaezi National Union (ANU) has a moral and political duty to make this claim because:

TPLF policies intentionally destroyed Agame and Irob communities

• through displacement,
• territorial restructuring,
• identity erasure,
• war mobilization,
• economic siege
• and political marginalization.

ANU restores what TPLF destroyed:

• historical dignity
• economic agency
• territorial connection
• civilizational harmony

Claiming Red Sea co-ownership is therefore:

• corrective justice
• restorative justice
• survival justice
• civilizational continuity

9.7. The Claim in One Sentence

The Irob community in particular, and Agame people in general, must claim rightful participation and co-ownership in Ethiopia’s Red Sea import–export access as a matter of historical legitimacy, national security, economic survival, and civilizational justice.

 

Dear brother Seyoum Abraha,

In recognition of your initiative and the powerful generational effort you are undertaking, I am pleased to share with you a professionally drafted, diplomatically balanced, and technically substantiated document as well. This paper is designed to serve as a policy-ready contribution to Ethiopia’s future Red Sea negotiation framework—whether conducted in Addis Ababa, Asmara, Djibouti, within the AU, IGAD, the United Nations, or through other international mediation platforms.

The document is written in the style of a strategic position paper, integrating geopolitical reasoning, legal principles, regional security analysis, and practical policy recommendations. It also reflects the firm and consistent position of our political organization, the Agaezi National Union (ANU) that you can access in detail at its organizational website

https://anu-party.org/manifesto/.

Please feel free to expand upon it, edit it, share it within your networks, and use it as an advocacy tool. Our goal is shared: to address and reverse the existential threat facing our community— a threat deliberately engineered by TPLF and its allies through geographic, political, and economic siege. By coordinating our efforts, we can better defend our people, restore their rights, and secure a viable future for the Irob and broader Agame communities.

With respect and solidarity,
Dr. Aregawi Mebrahtu

Agaezi National Union (ANU)

HeadQuarter Office

Geneva International

 

Position Paper for Ethiopia’s Future Red Sea Negotiation Framework

The Inclusion of the Irob and Agame Communities in Maritime Access, Corridor Governance, and Import–Export Rights

Prepared for: Agaezi National Union (ANU)
Audience: Federal Negotiators, Regional Delegations, International Mediators, Strategic Partners

1. Executive Summary

The Irob community and the wider Agame population constitute Ethiopia’s northeastern frontier custodians, historically responsible for securing and sustaining the Aksumite and post-Aksumite state’s corridor to the Red Sea. As Ethiopia prepares for future Red Sea access negotiations, their inclusion is essential for:

• national security
• regional stability
• economic viability
• historical legitimacy
• local cooperation
• cross-border peace
• civilizational continuity

This brief outlines why no Red Sea negotiation can succeed without formal consultation and participation of Irob and Agame representatives.

2. Historical Foundations for Corridor Participation

2.1 Aksumite and Ge’ez Red Sea Link

For more than 2,000 years, the Agame–Irob highlands formed the primary overland route connecting:

• Adulis → Qohaito → Irob → Agame → Aksum

These communities ensured:

• caravan security
• trade taxation
• border diplomacy
• cultural exchange
• regional intelligence

Thus, the Irob–Agame axis is not a peripheral community, but a foundational stakeholder of Ethiopia’s historic maritime connectivity.

2.2 Frontier Guardianship

The Irob and Agame people have historically acted as:

• cross-border stabilizers
• protectors of Ethiopian sovereignty
• early responders to external threats
• facilitators of trade corridors

Any maritime negotiation that excludes them risks repeating past political mistakes that ignored frontline communities and destabilized Ethiopia’s national security.

3. Strategic Security Considerations

Ethiopia’s Red Sea corridor must be:

• secure
• predictable
• locally supported
• uncontested

For this reason, the primary frontier population—Irob and Agame—must be part of the negotiation and implementation framework.

Why?

• They possess local territorial knowledge unmatched by any federal expert.
• They have intergenerational memory of cross-border dynamics.
• They serve as the human early-warning system against hostile interference.
• Excluding them invites manipulation by external actors (Eritrean militarism, TPLF factions, smuggling networks).

A corridor without local ownership is a corridor permanently at risk.

4. Economic Rationale for Community Participation

4.1 Survival Economics

The Irob and Agame districts face:

• chronic drought
• limited agricultural productivity
• depopulation
• youth migration
• severe underinvestment

Their economic survival depends on:

• logistics
• trade
• transport
• customs-related employment
• corridor development zones

4.2 Shared-benefit Economic Models

International practice (Kenya–Uganda, Zambia–Tanzania, Pakistan–China, Benin–Niger) shows that corridor development succeeds only when local communities hold co-beneficiary status.

Giving Irob and Agame communities:

• corridor employment priority
• logistical partnerships
• micro-port trade rights
• transport concessions
• revenue-sharing mechanisms

creates a stable, self-protecting local stakeholder group.

This aligns with the African Union’s:

• Agenda 2063
• Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)
• Borderland Development Policy

5. Legal Principles Supporting Their Inclusion

5.1 UNDRIP – Indigenous Peoples’ Rights

Frontier communities have the right to:

• participate in decisions affecting their territories
• co-benefit from economic corridors
• preserve cultural and livelihood systems

5.2 African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights

Articles 20–22 guarantee:

• peoples’ right to development
• peoples’ right to economic participation
• protection of frontier populations

5.3 International Norms on Border Communities

Cross-border communities must be:

• consulted
• represented
• integrated into negotiation frameworks

Thus, including Irob and Agame representatives is an international obligation, not optional.

6. Practical Mechanisms for Their Inclusion

To operationalize this principle, Ethiopia’s negotiation framework should include:

6.1 A “Frontier Communities Consultative Council”

Representatives from:

• Irob
• Agame
• Afar (if relevant)
• other border communities

This council must be consulted before finalizing any Red Sea agreement.

6.2 A “Northeast Corridor Development Authority”

A joint federal–local body with:

• economic planning power
• security coordination
• social development responsibilities

6.3 Reserved Economic Rights

Guaranteeing Irob and Agame:

• priority employment
• trade licensing
• micro-logistics hubs
• agricultural supply integration
• transport fleet participation

6.4 Cultural and Territorial Protection Guarantees

To prevent displacement or marginalization during corridor development.

7. Geopolitical Neutrality

Including Irob and Agame communities is not a threat to Eritrea or Djibouti.

Instead, it provides:

• a neutral cross-border stabilizer
• a corridor buffer preventing militarization
• a local population committed to peaceful trade

Their involvement reduces:

• smuggling
• extremist infiltration
• border militarization
• regional suspicion

It is a confidence-building measure for all parties.

8. ANU’s Policy Position

The Agaezi National Union (ANU) affirms that:

“No Red Sea negotiation is complete unless the Irob and Agame communities are formal participants, recognized as historical stakeholders, security guardians, and co-beneficiaries of Ethiopia’s maritime access.”

This is non-negotiable because it is:

• historically justified
• legally protected
• strategically necessary
• economically vital
• morally imperative

9. Final Negotiation Principle

Ethiopia’s Red Sea access must be:

• economically profitable,
• geopolitically stable,
• internationally legitimate,
• locally owned, and
• historically consistent.

None of these conditions can be fulfilled without the rightful participation of the Irob and Agame peoples.

The Main Objectives of ANU are Clear!

1. The Script of Ge’ezawit Ethiopia
2. The System of Administration of Ge’ezawit Ethiopia
3. The History and Narrative of Ge’ezawit Ethiopia
4. The Sea of Ge’ezawit Ethiopia
5. The Public National Constitution of Ge’ezawit Ethiopia

It is to make these real, practical, and secure. Any person can struggle holding these 4 fundamental objectives of the ANU without needing any other details. And if they find the patience to read the detailed manifesto of the Agazi National Union Party, all the better!!

The Resurrection of the People and Land of Ge’ez (Agaezi Nation) of Ge’ezawit Ethiopia will be guaranteed by ANU!!

One Geez Civilization, One Destiny!! ANU — The Voice of Geez Civilization!!