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A FAREWELL WITH HONOR TO FALLEN SOLDIERS

trucks was waiting to carry the mortal remains to Bure for the Handover Ceremony.

The scene was very emotional: especially for all those who had worked tirelessly on this operation. For those who had spent several days working amid the rocky terrain of Baala and Sabalita, under the burning sun. For those who, while dealing with those corpses on a daily basis, were reminded of the value of life.

At Point 44 and Point 46, the bodybags were loaded onto the Finnish trucks. The convoy arrived at the handover ceremony site, just outside Bure, a few minutes before the ceremony started. The simple and dignified ceremony could not have paid a better tribute to the fallen soldiers.

A single coffin with the mortal remains of one of the fallen, draped with the United Nations flag and borne by KENBATT pallbearers, was first placed on a platform at the start of the ceremony. This single coffin of an unknown warrior symbolized all the 220 fallen soldiers. The incredible heat and the rapidly changing winds framed the speeches given by the Force Commander, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) and a Senior Ethiopian representative.

"Today’s formal ceremony," said the Force Commander, "is the culmination of this work as we hand over the mortal remains of the fallen for burial. We are doing this because it is the decent and honourable thing to do, as it is a fundamental right of fallen soldiers, enshrined in the Geneva Convention, to be accorded a proper and respectful burial." He offered condolences to the families and concluded by paying his deepest respects to the 220 fallen soldiers: "They did their duty and they made the soldier’s ultimate sacrifice. May they now, at last, rest in peace."

In his address, the SRSG commended Ethiopia and Eritrea for the level of cooperation they had shown in "making today’s occasion possible" and expressed the hope that this ceremony had opened "a window of opportunity, however narrow, through which they may look ahead of them and have a long healthy view of each other." "The Ethiopian-Eritrean peace" he continued "must now flower so that we need never gather again in a place such as this." The SRSG concluded: "This repatriation exercise, carried out and supported by UNMEE peacekeepers and staff, is a symbol of our own dedication to restore peace between Ethiopia and Eritrea."

In his message, the Senior Ethiopian representative, Colonel Hailesslaisse, expressed appreciation for UNMEE’s "endless efforts" to bring lasting peace and stability between Ethiopia and Eritrea. "UNMEE has demonstrated professionalism in handling situations and we appreciate it very much and we hope that this will continue," he added. He then thanked the Mission "for helping us to recover and honour our fallen ones." Following the statements of condolence, the coffin bearing the representative body was transferred from the United Nations platform to the Ethiopian platform draped in its national flag and handed over to the escorting Ethiopian pall- bearers. Atmospheric dust was everywhere, fading shapes and forms of men. Everything looked so unreal. My colleagues and myself were caught up in mixed emotions as we became aware that we were witnessing a special moment.

The coffin was then carried off the parade ground by the Ethiopian pallbearers through an Ethiopian Guard of Honour. Concurrently the remaining mortal remains of the fallen soldiers were handed over from the 5 UN vehicles in which they were transported to the site by members of the UNMEE Force, to the waiting soldiers of the Ethiopia Armed Forces (EAF) who transferred them to their trucks.

Afterwards, the EAF trucks carrying the mortal remains left the site and headed towards Bure town. I put my notebook away and my colleague stopped filming for a while. As if, we too, after recording all activities of the operation, wanted to pay our final respects. As I saw the Ethiopian convoy moving away, I realized that that same convoy epitomized the inexplicable range of human nature: the tragedy of war on one hand and, on the other hand, the opening of "a window of opportunity" for both countries as the SRSG had said.

The Last Rites