But Belew, if the Tigrayans speak Tigrinya and the largest spoken language in Eritrea is Tigrinya, isn't nationalism (or the idea of belong to the ethiopian state or eritrean state) worthless?
I mean there is nothing different between the Somali in Ogaden or the one in Somalia or the one in Kenya. They never consider themselves as Kenyans or Ethiopians but as Somalis to whom nationalism is not even an issue.
What is the difference between a Tigrayan from Ethiopia who settles in Asmara and speaks the TIgrinya language like the majority population of Eritrea?
It's really hard for a Somali to understand this because we have a very definite understanding of belonging to a ONE Somali nation regardless of the boundary we are within.
I will break this down for you. I am not a Tigrinya but in Eritrea, there is a 40 year rule. Meaning, if at least one of your parents is not Eritrean or you have not lived in Eritrea for 40 years, you can not be a citizen. Every Eritrean can trace his forefathers by heart. I can go 12 generations back.
Till I have more time to break it down for you, you will have to watch these two videos..
If you think Tigre, Tigriny and Tigray is confusing, get this....Tigrinya means LANGUAGE OF THE TIGRE people, not Tigray people....The Tigrayans were agaws who adopted the Tigrinya language from the Tigrinya Belew Eritreans. The Dalect is different too, it's like American English VS UK english from liverpool.
I'll break this down clearly when I come back on here later...
In the mean time, I really hope you watch this to get an understanding of why they don't view Tigray agaws as them.
Tigrinya come from Medri-Bahri, a democratic Kingdom that means "land of the Sea". Their king was voted to power and called the Bahri-Negassi "sea king". the Tigrinya are Sea people and have been at war with tigray for at least 1,000 Years.
Watch European travelers tell you Tigrinya are different from Tigray, as far back as the 12th century AD. Watch both of them completely to get a somewhat idea, so when I return and give you terms, you want be confused as much, cuz it gets confusing.