By Fesshaye Asmerom
Lost in a mixture of expressions and emotions, I began going through family pictures over the years that had Abahagoy on in search of words to begin my memo about him. There, in those pictures, I saw a warm-hearted man in suit and tie who didn’t lose his smile, his hugs and love for the people around him over the years. Here in the first day of remembrance, we are remembering the unforgettable legacy of Late Mr. Tekeste Habte.
There is a quote written by Abahagoy on my late father’s headstone read as roughly translated as We will never forget till we meet your identical body. That got me thinking how someone could fill up Abahagoy’s shoes. This man did so well in his life with such a humble attitude and view towards family members, community and nation that he corrected any wrongdoing that come on his way with his perfect patience, promoted for his homeland like no other ( proudly announcing that he’s from Eritrea, a country in the Horn of Africa and even occasionally mentioning Adi-Yakne ,which is his home village), always looking for the bigger and brighter picture of things even when there isn’t any to be sparred and lived life by his principles which proved tough at different times. He once heard me talking with a friend that you can’t always be loyal and stubborn to principles once made and let them govern your life. He turned to me and said, Principles that you believe in are the ones that define you as a man and as for the changing environment, you have all the power in you if you want to shape it the way you want and went on to warn me that I shall never let the environment win over me. He had such faith in his principles that he went on to tell us repeatedly that I myself was sometimes able to do the exact impression as a kid.
He is one of the key people that had such a huge impact on my life. I was lucky enough to have him in my early years as a kid. He along with my father gave me enough push to possess the love of reading. I owe my childhood reading experience to them. While my father was giving me lessons in English reading and writing, I was coming to Abahagoy on weekends to collect weekly local newspapers written in Tigrigna during my second year in elementary school. This was continued by my father who bought newspapers daily till the day he passed. The best part was that they both recommended books for me to read. Dad had this amazing book collection especially written before independence from Ethiopia which comprised of Eritrean and Ethiopian literature like works of Musa Aron and Bealu Ghirma. Abahagoy encouraged me to read about Eritrean history and politics. These men stood as pillars for my path in life. They were so fond of each other that their relationship helped so much for me to get the best of them and were always there for me every time I took merit awards in school and elsewhere. Abahagoy was always bringing me up in every conversation he had with anyone who came to visit them when I scored big in General Examinations and I remember thinking this is way too much though I strongly disagree now because like him, admiration and affection for good moments need to be shared at their best.
Abahagoy was born and raised in the countryside. He was in his late teenage years when he came to the city exposure. But he immediately started to make efforts to bring his siblings and cousins to seek better education opportunities. He was truly a man who poured his heart to see good fortune and success of the people around him. His home was more of a foster home sheltering close and distant family members, people from his village and anyone he knew who was in need (not that they were orphans or anything). Mr. Tekeste and Adey’s residence is so blessed that everyone who resided there at a time is able to make a stable living at the moment. He also had such a passionate love in his heart for the places and people he passed by in the duration of his life that he had such a detailed and updated information about everyone’s whereabouts. This love was also the driving force that he promoted for better public services like water supply, transportation and educational facilities in his hometown which paid off fine in relation to the nation’s economic status as a result of his efforts and the likes of him. He gave speech at a fundraiser for San Jorjo High School because he knew what matters most which is education at its best way (his words). This man really deserved a national humanitarian award if ever there was one because he always looked for ways to ease people’s lives not just the ones around him and had contact with. He is one of the voices that wrote letters to people in power, TV and radio stations without expecting any kind of feedback from the press people. I used to wonder when I occasionally come across those kinds of letters what he sees in those individuals that he never lost that hope the changes he was thriving for will take place. He might be of a humble family, but I don’t think that was the thing that made him the man he was. Without exception, he was a gift from God for those of us who were lucky enough to witness his love and affection firsthand and the people he came across in the course of his life.
The thing is he was so special that he had distinct charisma over the days we passed together. On a normal day, I see news with him and listen to his take off it. He occasionally recommends articles on the newspaper and books to read. Religious feast come around and he was all over the guests because he was easy to talk to and had fine sense of humor. On holidays, he spends almost half of the day wishing happy holidays to neighbors and relatives done personally and over the phone. This lovely gesture was followed by many who came to do the same thing he did after he passed. For those who were to follow in his footsteps, he led by example. And so they showed what they were able to retrieve of his qualities.
After he passed, I had the pleasure to read the last book he was reading entitled THE POWER OF PATIENCE which talks on different topics ranging from why we need to read about patience to lastly the peace of soul we get if we practice it. It got me wondering why Abahagoy read that book because everything the author talked about, he already got it. But he only got that book to recommend it to the likes of me. Thankfully, he also looked out for our life after him. He bought new books and lent the ones he read to people to experience the same thing themselves. There is a saying in the Bible that says he, who wishes the same good fortune he prays for oneself to his siblings will surely inherit the everlasting heavenly kingdom. What more can a human soul do in the earth stay than Abahagoy did to deserve such honor! He is absolutely watching over from up there in a life well-earned here. Great loss remembered in its first year and may his legacy be remembered for time to come. What a life, well lived!
Micheal Asmerom:
There are a lot of things I could say about my grandfather, but I am
going to keep it nice and short. Abahagoy Tekeste Habte was an
exceptional man. From his humble beginning to his last day he lived and honest life. The biggest thing that he taught me was to live an honest life and not to cheat your life. The memories that I remember the best are during the school year. when I was watching
movies in the afternoon, he switches off the TV
and told me not to postpone my school work to the evening. When I
watching movies at night he told me only one proverb “Early to bed
early to rise makes a young man healthy, wealthy and wise.”
The most thing our grandfather said and wanted us to love each other.
So lets be loved all together.
ሳሌም:
ኣነ ሳሌም ኣስመሮም ዝተበሃልኩ ጓል ጓሉ ንመ/ም ተኸስተ ሃብተ እየ። ኣባሓጎይ ክንዲ ኣቦናን ክንዲ ኣባሓጎናን
እዩ። ኣብ ሓንጎለይ ድዝክራ መዓልቲ ኣብ መበል 80 ዓመቱ ናይ ኣባሓጎይ ኣዝዩ ተሓጉሱ ምስ ኩላትና ስድራና ኣብ መበል 80 ዕድመይ ኩላትና ኣዝማድና ክመጹ ኣለዎም ኢሉ፡ ንኹላቶም ድማ ጸዊዕዎም። ድሕሪ ቁሩብ ኣዋርሕ ኣቦይ ምስ ሞተ ኣባሓጎይ ኣነ’ውን ኣቦኹም ኢየ እናበለ የጸናንዓና ነይሩ። ንሕና ኣብ እንዳ ኣባሓጎና ገዛ ኢና ንቕመጥ ዘለና። ኣባሓጎና ደቀይ ምሳይ ክነብሩ ኣለዎም ኢሉ ኢዩ ናብ ገዝኡ ኣምጽኡና። ኣባሓጎና ዝመሃረና ነገር፡
1. ፍቕሪ
2. እውነት
3. ትምህርቲ
እንኮላይ ምሸት ምሸት እንታይ ይብለና ነይሩ “Early to bed early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise” TV ክንርኢ ከለና ምሸት ምሸት ከምኡ ይብለና ነይሩ።
ዮሴፍ:
ኣነ ዮሴፍ ኣስመሮም ኣባሓጎይ መ/ም ተኸስተ ሃብተ ነዓይ ልክዕ ከም ዓርከይ፡ መማኽርተይ፡ መማስይተይ ኮታ ኩሉ
ኢዩ ነይሩ ነዓይ። ኣነ ኣብ ትምህርቲ ዊዒለ ምስ መጻእኩ ዳርጋ (ዝበዝሓ) ግዜ ምስ ኣባሓጎይ የዕልል ነይረ።
ሓንቲ ካብኣተን ከኣ ኣብ ትምህርቱ ኣባሓጎይ verb ኢሎም ኢዮም ዝጽውዕዎ ነይሮም፡ ምኽንያቱ ኩሉ ግዜ ንመምህር
ቱርጉም ቃላት ብብዝሒ ስለዝጽሕፍ ሓደ ካብ secret ናይ ኣባሓጎይ እዩ። ኩሉ ግዜ ይሕግዘኒ፡ ይመክረኒን
ይምህረንን ነይሩ ኣነ ድማ እቲ ኣብ ትምህርተይ ክገብሮ ዝወዓልኩ ኩሉ ይነግሮ ነበርኩ። እንድዒ ኣባሓጎይ ሓደ
ዓቢ ሰብ እዩ ነይሩና ኣሎን ንሕና ድማ ከምቲ ናቱ ክንሳዕብ እላቦ። ሕጂ ድማ ካብቲ ምኽሪ ዝነግረኒ ዝነበረ
ድማ ክነግረኩም እየ።
1. ሰብ ኢሉኒ ኢልካ ኣይትግበር
2. ማህረምቲ ኢዩ ዘሕምም እምበር ጸርፊ ኣየብክን እዩ
3. Early to bed early to rise
4. ኩላትና ብሕውነት ብፍቕሪ ንንበር and ንሱ ድማ ኩላ ግዜ Yosief the greatest ኢሉ እዩ
ዝጽውዓኒ ነይሩ ምኽንያቱ I am the person who understand him፡ ኣብ ደገ ነይሩ ምስ መጸ ጫማ
ይውልውለሉ ነይረ ካልእ ከኣ more than all of them ኣነ እየ ዝበዝሐ ግዜ ምስ ኣባሓጎይ ኮይነ
ዘሕለፍኩ። So ሕጂ ክንርስዖ የብልናን ብኣንጻሩ ድኣ ከማዕብሎን ከነመሕይሾን ይግባእ ንኩሉ ስድራ ቤት።
Musie Weldeghergis:
My Grandfather Tekeste Habte was truly a great husband,
father, grandfather and teacher. He treated everyone
with the utmost respect and always tried to pass on his
wisdom. He was cherished by all of his family members
and life really hasn’t been the same since he passed away.
As the cornerstone of the Tekeste family, he served as
the glue that kept everyone together no matter the circumstance.
Every time he stayed with my family, the house was always happy.
He loved watching CNN, reading books, and taking walks around
the neighborhood with Adey. He used to say “never postpone
today’s work for tomorrow”. He didn’t just say it,
he did it and his demeanor has helped me and my family follow
in his steps. I’m really sad he won’t see me graduate school
and pursue my dreams but his ideals and beliefs will always be
with me. He lived a long happy life and I know for sure he would
rather see us celebrate his life than mourn his death.
Aron Weldeghergis:
My grandfather, Abahagoy Tekeste Habte was an extraordinary man. The impact he had on people’s lives can only be told by the people he touched. He was a giant in every room that he stepped in. What really separated him from others is his strive to better himself everyday whether it was sharping his mind, touching people’s lives or helping other succeed. He sought conversation with everyone he encountered during his lifetime. His passion for education and love of his people and country is unparalleled. Nothing made him more proud than to be an Eritrean because of what he contributed to the growth of his country and people. He dedicated the later years of his life to improve the lives of the people of his hometown village. The story of Tekeste Habte is a story of a family man rather than an individual. There is nothing he cherished more than his family and friends and he made it his life’s goal to impact everyone one of us whether we were his daughters or grandchildren. He always treated everyone with the utmost respect and held us all to the same standard.
A family man, who always took care of not his immediate family but his extended family. Behind every strong man stands an exceptional woman. Tekeste and Hargue are the foundation and corner stone of this family. Together they were able to raise and educate 9 of their own children and countless others who came to their home in times of need. Tekeste’s best personal qualities are best illustrated by his children. Asmeret through Temesgen inherited his strength, grit, drive, persistence, determination and compassion. The great Tekeste family is what it is today because of the unrelenting hard work put in by Tekeste and Hargue. He always explained to me how life is a series of up and down cycles and every day we just continue to live life to the fullest. His motto for life was Never postpone today’s work for tomorrow and he lived it every day. My grandmother Hargue is the most caring and hardworking person I have ever seen in my life. She personally cared and played a large role in raise every single child descended from her and Tekeste. Together, they were unstoppable combination that continued to grow in stature every day.
The past 10 years of his life, my brothers and I were lucky to have both Abahagoy and Aidey live with us in West Orange. He was more than a father figure to me and my brothers. Abahagoy always emphasized education because it is the instrument to a happy and successful life. He did not only stress education but he lived it. Abahagoy’s had a never-ending appetite for education. He visited every library that he could and read every book established about his beloved country. Even at certain points pointing out inaccuracies that he read by authors he did not know. Even during cold fridge winter months in New Jersey, he always made it his daily goal to make to the library and bring home new books to read. One of his greatest qualities was to pass on knowledge that he gained from the books he read and experiences he went through. His nickname was Memhir because he always thought us lessons. Abahagoy enjoyed telling stories and always pointed out what he learned from each occurrence. He really enjoyed engaging in conversations about politics, family and education. Nothing brought him more joy than reconnecting with family and friends that he had not seen in many years whether it was through a phone call or by visiting them. People really enjoyed his company because they would travel many hours to come have coffee with him regardless of, they were family or friend and young or old. A dream of his was to come to America and reconnect with many of his friends and family that have lived abroad here for decades. Throughout the last 11 years he travelled all across America and made countless memories. Although he spent many years here, his heart was always with his people and family back home where he knew he had more work to get done. The three most important things he cherished through his lifetime were God, Family and Education.
I personally enjoyed his company because we shared the same type of humor. We were always able to joke about simple things in life and enjoy watching soccer on TV most afternoons. I do truly miss him because of the life changing impact he had in my life. He always took everything lightly with a smile on his face. He lived a healthy lifestyle and enjoyed a sick free life until the end. It broke all of our hearts because of his sudden death. Because he was such a larger-than-life character, we all expected him to always be on our side through life. We must cherish his memories and apply what he taught us to our everyday life. We should make the most of any given day and enjoy it with all the people around us. I’m proud to be the second eldest grandson of Tekeste Habte and Hargue Gebremedhin, and I will always carry what I learned from them close to my heart for the rest of my life. Rest in peace Abahagoy Tekeste.
Tomas Weldeghergis:
I have a lot of memories growing up around Abahagoy. I can talk about the lessons he taught me, my brothers, cousins, friends etc. however I want to talk about my favorite moment. I remember this day like it was yesterday, the day I graduated from the University of Scranton. Abahagoy and Adey travelled over 7,000 miles from Eritrea to attend my graduation. As I walked out from the arena, the first people I saw were my grandparents. Abahagoy was wearing his trademark black suit and Adey was in her traditional Eritrean dress(Zuria). The moment I saw their faces, the feelings I had were unexplainable. Abahagoy drilled education throughout his life and to see his eldest grandson follow the road he paved for his children and his community brought him so much joy. I was truly blessed to share this moment with him and I will cherish it forever.
A man as humble and loving as Abahagoy will always be remembered by those who knew him and loved him. Although we miss his love, smile, humor and education, we take consolation in the good feeling of our memories. A few days before he passed, he shared this with me, I am Tekeste Habte from Adi Yakene Meraguze and I am lucky to have lived a wonderful life.
Noah Bereketab:
It is hard to believe it has already been a year without my beloved grandfather, Memher Tekeste Habte. Even though a full year has already passed, his lessons and love have not been forgotten. He was in my life since my first memories as a child. I remember him walking me home in second grade and waiting at the door whenever I came home from school through the year. He always was in a good mood when I arrived from home and ready to greet me with his unforgettable charm. The thing that I can never forget about my grandfather is his continuous journey of self -improvement. I can always remember him reading a book and try to pass down the knowledge that he gained. He would ask to join me, my siblings, and my father throughout the years to go to the library or the gym in his pursuit to improve himself. He was never satisfied and this is something I hope to implement into my own life. Days I may be not in the best mood, he was always there to talk and was always ready to laugh. I regret that he will never see me graduate, or see me enter college, and never that I’ll get to see him in Eritrea. He always talked to us about Eritrea and how he would love to show it to us. It would have been nice for him to walk us around the home he loved so much and let us see it through his eyes. My grandfather lived a long and happy life, and will forever have a special place in my heart.
Nathnael Bereketab:
My grandfather, Memhir Tekeste Habte was more than a treasure for me and my siblings. He demonstrated characteristics that few people had, including compassion, wisdom, and an excellent sense of humor. I remember one time, we were in the parking lot of a grocery store, and a man dropped his eggs on the floor and screamed. Abahogy stared at him and simply said “Why the line face”? After, the man bursts into laughter. That’s the effect my grandfather had on people. He could change someone’s whole demeanor in seconds with a simple sentence and his welcoming behavior. The trait that I admired him about most is his willingness to share his knowledge. From him telling stories to just talking, wisdom and knowledge oozed from every word. He was always hungry for more knowledge which, I try to implement to my personal life. I recall him always saying “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.” I used to think that was just a saying, but now taking it to heart I realize that it’s really wise, and now I add to my life. He always spoke about Eritrea and how one day he wanted to show us where he taught and lived. Although, that goal wasn’t accomplished I will never forget what he did for his people and how much goals he overcame to live the happy he did. I love him so dearly and to me he was more than my grandfather, he was my best friend.
Naomi Bereketab:
I’ll never forget the last words my grandfather spoke directly to me. In the hospital room, he looked at me and simply said, “be good”. Although I knew he wanted to say more, that was truly all he needed to say. Those two words summarized his impact on my life. All he ever did was encourage the people around him to be better. In this world, there are plenty of good people. There are also many bad people. But everyone once in a while, the world is blessed with a truly special person. My grandfather was one of those people. Not only did he want success for himself, he wanted success for everybody around him. It didn’t matter what continent he was on, he always made an impact on the people around him. I remember one day, a man I had never seen before showed up at our house. I was so confused until my grandfather walked up to the door, gave him a hug, and introduced this man as “my best friend”. Making friends was as natural as breathing for Abahagoy.
His desire for education was unmatched. He always seeked knowledge no matter what and did anything he could to obtain it. Even when it was snowing outside, you could find him walking to the library or the Barnes & Nobles. And I genuinely can’t remember a time that I went to the library and he didn’t ask to come with. No matter his age, he always was willing to learn new things. He read countless books and made sure to spread the knowledge he learned from each and every lesson. Not only did he read about lessons, he applied them to his life. He practiced all the lessons that he preached.
Through it all, what will always stick with me is his kindness and joy. They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul and his eyes were always filled with so much joy. He helped countless children live a better life. His biggest and most consistent compliment to me was always, “Naomi always is happy”. I was just modeling myself after him. In life, I try not to let the little things bother me and be happy just like my grandfather always was. You would never see him moping around and acting upset. He lived his life to the fullest and I hope I can do that as well.
He will forever be missed by the countless people that he helped in a positive way. He will forever be remembered by his children and grandchildren and all their successes that he helped cause. If I can live a life similar to my grandfather’s, that is a life very well lived.
Almaz, Naomi and Bereket
Selam Bereketab:
My grandfather was an incredible man. He taught life lessons that I remember and use to this day. Don’t postpone today’s work for tomorrow is a lesson I use in my everyday life, and I hope future generations will learn and early to bed early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise. He was always interested in whatever was happening in the world and with the people around him. I remember we used to watch the news together and discuss. When I brought home homework, he was always interested in what I had learned that day. We always walked around the neighborhood and just talked, and he always valued my opinion. Reading was one of his favorite things and I see that in my myself. He always wanted to know what I was reading and sometimes I would lend him some of my books. He never got mad and only treated people with respect and had many friends. No matter who you were and how old you were, you got the same treatment. So not only will I remember him as a great grandfather and a great teacher, but also as a great friend.
