Every September, We will Remember
28 September, 2010 | By Daniel G. Mikael
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
fought; but the worst of the war was yet to come. One thing was for
sure though; almost all of us were convinced that Eritrea has the right
man at the helm. We were not mature enough to consider the
ramifications of deferring responsibility to one person. Leave it to him,
trust him, he will lead the way and do the right thing.
When it came time for Isaias to join the public at the dance floor, the
entire audience seemed to descend down from its seat and join in;
much to the bewilderment of the poor Secret Service agents, who had
the responsibility of guarding his life. They tugged and shoved and
shouted orders but we couldn’t care. We would be damned, if we
missed a chance to dance with the great leader! Moments later, as I
was heading back to my seat feeling really good, I run into a dear
friend – a more mature and knowledgeable friend – with whom I have
spent countless hours in the past debating whether Isaias Afwerki is
trustworthy or not. I decided to rub it on his face and ask him what he
thought about what just happened. “You just turned him into a full
blown dictator!” he replied, disapprovingly.
The second time of my encounter was on a much somber occasion;
not to mention a sober one. It was only a few days after the terrorist
attack of September 11, 2001 in New York and D.C. and Isaias and
his entourage were staying at the Gurgusum Beach Hotel in Massawa.
There was a semblance of democratic activities that year in Eritrea, at
least compared to today. Independently owned newspapers were
publishing daily and people openly debated the printed content,
especially the tit-for-tat open letters among the leadership of the
PFDJ. By the summer of 2001, the clamp down had already started;
Asmara University students were summarily detained and taken to
Wia after protesting the arrest of their student union president; the
independent media were being threatened; and one can sense the
situation was not sustainable and something was about to give way.
And for those of us who had any doubt about the personality, style
and ideology of Isaias Afwerki, it became pretty clear he was about
to live his reputation. His letters to the would be reformers were also
being published and they boiled down to: I have been warning you;
my patience is running out. He never directly addressed their detailed
grievances or event attempted to sound like a national leader; just
thinly veiled threats like a mafia boss to his consiglieres who had fallen
out of favor.
Sunday, September 16, 2001
It was early in the morning and there was hardly anyone up at that
hour. I happen to be shooting home videos of the beautiful scenery,
enjoying the morning waves and trying to capture the sun rising over
the horizon. Like an amateur filmmaker, I was zooming in and
zooming out when suddenly a face appeared in the viewfinder of my
camera, a face non-other than that of our self-appointed president,
Isaias Afwerki. He was far enough to even notice me and he seemed
to be simply looking toward the sea. Apart from getting a little
intimidated – or may be star-struck – all I can think at that moment
was: what could he be thinking. The country was emerging from a
disastrous war; his colleagues were openly criticizing his leadership; 2
university students of the as many as 300 who were detained at Wia
have died of heat-stroke and the news reported by the independent
media; and even the courts were starting to flex their muscles. To top
all these, a few days earlier, the world just witnessed a major event in
America that was sure to have great consequences.
What a weight on any shoulder. What a responsibility for one man. A
moment like this probably separates bigger than life gifted leaders
from the rest of us mere mortals. But here we were on this fateful
morning, my former hero of the revolution who was perhaps
contemplating something that will affect millions of his people for years
to come, and me whose only grave responsibility is to make sure my
cheap video camera doesn’t slip from my sweaty palms and drown in
the Red Sea.
Who was it that said, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first
we practice to deceive”? I couldn’t help but wonder if he was going
to tangle himself and exacerbate the country’s problems or if he was
going to show us the way out of the maze. Whatever he was going to
do, I felt guilty for applauding him and dancing with him and for not
heeding to my wise friend’s advice. Too late now, he was about to
turn in to a “full blown dictator”.
Two days later, on Tuesday September 18, 2001, Eritrea’s “date
which will live in infamy”, our liberator-turned-dictator made his move
to stifle freedom, rule of law and democratization. The rest, as they
say, is history. That day many notable citizens, journalists and military
and political leaders that contributed greatly to Eritrea’s independence
were made to disappear and never to be heard from again. Since
then, every year in September, I wonder if their fate was indeed
sealed the weekend prior to their arrest at that resort hotel.
It is clear that Isaias Afwerki acted to preserve his power and choke
alternative voices. By acting expeditiously and using his political base
to lie to and deceive the Eritrean public, he may have actually won
that round, albeit in a cowardly manner. But as equal stake holders,
we all would be damned if we let him get away with it. It’s not about
him, or those poor defenseless individuals whose reputations he
attempted to tarnish, it is about our collective soul and our definition of
what it means to be responsible citizens. It’s not about one individual,
as Yemane Gebreab tried to spin it when asked the whereabouts of
journalist Dawit Isaak; it’s a about Eritrea and Eritreans and what we
all stand for.
To Oppose Tyranny
Three years ago, after debating with myself whether I have anything
worthy to add to our discourse, I decided to write my first article,
audaciously titled: Unsolicited Advice to Mr. Isaias Afwerki. It was a
quasi-satire, but naturally, I wanted it to be read and appreciated. The
next step was to decide which of the many Eritrean websites to send it
to. It was unthinkable to send anything that is critical of the Eritrean
government to Shabait.com or even Dehai.org, though I seriously
thought that is where the article belonged. Then, I came to grips with
reality and emailed to the website that stood head and shoulders
above the rest. For me, Awate.com not only represented the true
mosaic and cross section of Eritrea, but also emanated
professionalism and commitment to diversity of ideas. It was clear
though; with that article I was entering the world of “subversion”,
“opposition”, “teQuawenti”. Well, if the label fits…but wait.
Eritrea’s opposition camp is made up of a hodge-podge political,
religious and civic organizations and even individuals. At the end of
the day, the vast majority of them just want a peaceful country that
treats all its citizens fairly. Sadly, this rather basic desire borne out of
love for their nation, culture, heritage and history is considered a
selfish desire that is tantamount to betraying the country. In what
stratosphere is this lopsided reality even possible? And when did we
exactly transpose the meaning of the words patriot and traitor?
For the next three years, I continued to share my humble opinions
alongside many prolific and inspiring writers. I had the inkling that this
website was very widely read, but I was quickly humbled by the
quantity and variety of the mostly positive feedbacks.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the hundreds of people who
graciously took their time to encourage me, correct me and teach me.
I am especially touched by those, who have profound things to say,
but their inability to write in the English language keeps them on the
sidelines. I am confident that their voices indeed find their way among
the words those of us who are duty-bound and lucky enough to be
able to string together. It’s all about those voices, and to choose to be
a voice for the voiceless is a responsibility of all who are able and a
blessing to all who are willing.
Ten years ago, the Awate Team took that responsibility and
discharged it amicably; and in return they are blessed with the
readership, respect and credibility that can only be attained by earning
it through perseverance, consistency and living the stated mission. I
am pretty sure it’s not all honky dory, and Awate.com may even have
created enemies along the way. In the words of Winston Churchill,
“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for
something, sometime in your life.”
So, congratulations are in order to Awate.com, and especially to
Saheh Gadi and Saleh Younis who continue to be trailblazers. Yes; it
ain’t bragging if it is true, but by all means, gentlemen, don’t let that
get in to your head.
Enter the Flipside
Formally, since accepting the Awate Team’s invitation, this will be the
first article being posted under the column, Flipside. My previously
published articles will also be compiled, retroactively, in the same
column. So, why the name Flipside? It comes from a rather simple
thought. If there are at least two sides to every issue, then we must be
able to explore and consider both sides. I am especially interested in
the flipside, the contrarian, the uncomfortable and the less popular
side of things. Hopefully, together we will flip our issues and turn
everything we know to be true on its head. A good dose of
counterintuitive politics should only elevate and refine our discussions
Love Thy Opponent
French philosopher Voltaire is often credited for coming up with a lot
of witty and memorable expressions to illustrate his opinions and
beliefs. He was a prolific writer and outspoken defender of civil
liberties whose thinking influenced a number of notable leaders of the
day, including the framers of the US constitution. This is what he
wrote to someone with whom he apparently disagreed deeply. “I
detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it
possible for you to continue to write.” Voltaire used both polemics
and satire to get his point across, which must have been very gratifying
to do. What better way than to make your point and make your
opponent feel a little ashamed?
Ok now, what is the real point of quoting Voltaire? Two reasons.
First, I was told that citing famous 18th century philosophers makes
an article sound more interesting than it really is (I am crossing my
fingers here); and the second reason is that I am actually hoping some
of my friends who tend to choose very colorful words when sending
me their angry emails would just cut and paste Voltaire’s less colorful
but more effective sentence.
You be the judge, but isn’t the above more eloquent than “You are
f#@5ing @$$#0 …….Agame…..@^%#$!t#@*…….
sellout……..@#%^! …….zelalemawi zkri nswatna!!!!!!!”
Yeesh! All I am sayin’ is … just say it, don’t spray it.
It’s all about writing and voicing opinions, heated debates, and
choosing to agree or disagree, but at the end of the day, the right to
one’s beliefs and the freedom to express them is an inalienable human
right. Dogmatic measures and harsh penalties were rendered against
those who broke the strict censorship laws back when Voltaire was
around, but it did not stop him and his fellow thinkers from advocating
for more liberty and from criticizing the French establishment and the
oligarchy. They opposed tyranny and prevailed. They used their
mighty pens to inspire others and change the course of human history;
one fateful tributary of that history is the United States Bill of Rights
whose first amendment is about freedom of religion, speech, the
press, assembly, and petition.
As a US based entity, Awate.com and its writers and publishers are
protected by that first amendment. Other Eritreans who are fortunate
enough to reside in places where it is not considered a treasonous
crime to read and write materials that does not mesh well with that of
the Eritrean government’s are also free to express their thoughts
without the fear of someone raiding their homes in the middle of the
night and hauling them away to some godforsaken gulag. Sadly,
almost 20 years after independence, almost 50 years after Hamid
Idris Awate fired the first bullet at Mount Adal, tyranny and fear
reigns free in today’s Eritrea.
When it comes to this blanket of fear, Eritreans are essentially divided
into three camps. There is a camp that actually perpetuates this fear
and views it as a something necessary to keep “the territorial integrity”
of the country or any other ever changing objectives. There is also a
camp that believes in the wisdom and art of keeping your eyes, ears
and mouth shut; the camp of the fence-sitters who would rather wait
and see which way the wind is blowing.
And then, there is the third camp.
This is the vocal camp. This camp has taken a stand and against
injustice; believes in speaking truth to power; wants to see
constitutional governance and rule of law; this camp marches slowly
but surely toward equality, liberty, justice and reconciliation, aspires to
return the power to govern to its rightful owners, the people. Yes, the
downtrodden people who are terrorized by the camp that uses fear. It’
s all about the people and the power. The Greeks call these two
words the “demos” and the “kratos”. People’s power. Democracy –
hardly a dirty word, is it?
Even as the other two camps are getting ready booking their air
tickets to Asmara and plan their 2011 summer vacations ostensibly to
celebrate Eritrea’s 20th “independence” day, the opposition camp (I
prefer the term “pro-democracy movement”), will never take a break
from reminding them that it is simply wrong to ignore the suffering of
their compatriots. The pro-democracy camp, the section of our
community that has chosen to speak up, write, protest, oppose, cry
and appeal does not choose to do so just for the sake of opposing the
PFDJ or Isaias Afwerki. As a matter of fact, it would have been just
as easy to either join the insidious crowd of clappers, appeasers and
the regime’s apologists or at least keep silent and do nothing. But,
fortunately for the rest of us, this camp of the few and the proud has
decided not to ignore its historic duty to stand for the truth, to be
voice of the voiceless and all these at a tremendous cost to their safety
and that of their loved ones.
The Free Press Isaias Couldn’t Stifle
If we leave it up to the dictator and his enablers, they wouldn’t blink
twice before they would detain and even kill the webmasters,
publishers, writers and editors of every Eritrean website that strives to
bring about democracy in Eritrea. That is why, we should continue to
lend a helping hand to those who are leading the way and congratulate
them for keeping the torch alive. Setit, Keste Demena, Zemen,
Meqaleh, Tsigenay and Wintana may have been silenced, but we still
have Awate, Asmarino, Assena, Dimtsi Delina, Meskerem* and a
plethora of others I may not be familiar with.
Each of our Eritrean websites in the political cyberspace have its
unique character and the more of them we have the merrier. On the
pro-democracy side, Tes Meharnenna’s Asmarino.com became the
go to place for great interactive, audio and video content. Amanuel
Eyasu’s Assena.com radio interviews and the mellow voice of Feven
Solomon (ain’t she great?) is worth every minute of listening. In the
pro-dictatorship arena we have the government site Shabait.com
which paints a picture of Eritrea that makes you wonder why we
oppose such a utopia in the first place. There are also satellite
websites such as Alenalki.com that solely exist to amplify what the
Eritrean government says and does; or to beat the drums for its
money raising.
And then of course, there is the grand old Dehai.org, which is now
reduced to being a bulletin board for anti-capitalism, anti-American
wackos and weird conspiracy theorists. By the way, what happened
to this once promising listserv (that’s what we called it back in the 90’
s, and I know, I am dating myself here)? I guess, same thing that ailed
our Eritrea must have conflicted Dehai as well; utter betrayal of the
very purpose of its founding by the very people who were supposed
to lead it. But, I will always save a special place for the spirit of Dehai
–if not for its message board. Once in a while, I venture to that area
and it is like flying over a training camp for insult laden messages of
intolerance and mudslinging, and somehow the only word everyone
knows how to spell is “Agame”.
Even pro-tyranny websites must have a space and those of us who
claim to hold the ideals of democracy must be able to co-exist and
compete with their ideas. One day, I am pretty sure they too will
learn to tolerate us. In the meantime, we just to have to repeat
Voltaire’s line and say to them. “I detest what you write, but I
would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to
write.” Who knows, maybe these websites are where our future
political parties will sprout from after all. I for one would have no
problem voting for the party that will be known as Dehai’s
Unbelievable Message Board. Just don’t ask me what the initials
would be…
danielgmikael@yahoo.com
Courtesy
28 September, 2010 | By Daniel G. Mikael
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- I saw Isaias Afwerki in person only on two
occasions. The first one was in the summer
of 1999 when he visited the United States
and joined the Eritrean festival at an arena
in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, a suburb of
Washington, DC. The place was packed
by as many as ten thousand people, and
the mood was that of jubilation, euphoria
and ecstasy. The border war with Ethiopia
had started a year earlier; tens of thousands
fought; but the worst of the war was yet to come. One thing was for
sure though; almost all of us were convinced that Eritrea has the right
man at the helm. We were not mature enough to consider the
ramifications of deferring responsibility to one person. Leave it to him,
trust him, he will lead the way and do the right thing.
When it came time for Isaias to join the public at the dance floor, the
entire audience seemed to descend down from its seat and join in;
much to the bewilderment of the poor Secret Service agents, who had
the responsibility of guarding his life. They tugged and shoved and
shouted orders but we couldn’t care. We would be damned, if we
missed a chance to dance with the great leader! Moments later, as I
was heading back to my seat feeling really good, I run into a dear
friend – a more mature and knowledgeable friend – with whom I have
spent countless hours in the past debating whether Isaias Afwerki is
trustworthy or not. I decided to rub it on his face and ask him what he
thought about what just happened. “You just turned him into a full
blown dictator!” he replied, disapprovingly.
The second time of my encounter was on a much somber occasion;
not to mention a sober one. It was only a few days after the terrorist
attack of September 11, 2001 in New York and D.C. and Isaias and
his entourage were staying at the Gurgusum Beach Hotel in Massawa.
There was a semblance of democratic activities that year in Eritrea, at
least compared to today. Independently owned newspapers were
publishing daily and people openly debated the printed content,
especially the tit-for-tat open letters among the leadership of the
PFDJ. By the summer of 2001, the clamp down had already started;
Asmara University students were summarily detained and taken to
Wia after protesting the arrest of their student union president; the
independent media were being threatened; and one can sense the
situation was not sustainable and something was about to give way.
And for those of us who had any doubt about the personality, style
and ideology of Isaias Afwerki, it became pretty clear he was about
to live his reputation. His letters to the would be reformers were also
being published and they boiled down to: I have been warning you;
my patience is running out. He never directly addressed their detailed
grievances or event attempted to sound like a national leader; just
thinly veiled threats like a mafia boss to his consiglieres who had fallen
out of favor.
Sunday, September 16, 2001
It was early in the morning and there was hardly anyone up at that
hour. I happen to be shooting home videos of the beautiful scenery,
enjoying the morning waves and trying to capture the sun rising over
the horizon. Like an amateur filmmaker, I was zooming in and
zooming out when suddenly a face appeared in the viewfinder of my
camera, a face non-other than that of our self-appointed president,
Isaias Afwerki. He was far enough to even notice me and he seemed
to be simply looking toward the sea. Apart from getting a little
intimidated – or may be star-struck – all I can think at that moment
was: what could he be thinking. The country was emerging from a
disastrous war; his colleagues were openly criticizing his leadership; 2
university students of the as many as 300 who were detained at Wia
have died of heat-stroke and the news reported by the independent
media; and even the courts were starting to flex their muscles. To top
all these, a few days earlier, the world just witnessed a major event in
America that was sure to have great consequences.
What a weight on any shoulder. What a responsibility for one man. A
moment like this probably separates bigger than life gifted leaders
from the rest of us mere mortals. But here we were on this fateful
morning, my former hero of the revolution who was perhaps
contemplating something that will affect millions of his people for years
to come, and me whose only grave responsibility is to make sure my
cheap video camera doesn’t slip from my sweaty palms and drown in
the Red Sea.
Who was it that said, “Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first
we practice to deceive”? I couldn’t help but wonder if he was going
to tangle himself and exacerbate the country’s problems or if he was
going to show us the way out of the maze. Whatever he was going to
do, I felt guilty for applauding him and dancing with him and for not
heeding to my wise friend’s advice. Too late now, he was about to
turn in to a “full blown dictator”.
Two days later, on Tuesday September 18, 2001, Eritrea’s “date
which will live in infamy”, our liberator-turned-dictator made his move
to stifle freedom, rule of law and democratization. The rest, as they
say, is history. That day many notable citizens, journalists and military
and political leaders that contributed greatly to Eritrea’s independence
were made to disappear and never to be heard from again. Since
then, every year in September, I wonder if their fate was indeed
sealed the weekend prior to their arrest at that resort hotel.
It is clear that Isaias Afwerki acted to preserve his power and choke
alternative voices. By acting expeditiously and using his political base
to lie to and deceive the Eritrean public, he may have actually won
that round, albeit in a cowardly manner. But as equal stake holders,
we all would be damned if we let him get away with it. It’s not about
him, or those poor defenseless individuals whose reputations he
attempted to tarnish, it is about our collective soul and our definition of
what it means to be responsible citizens. It’s not about one individual,
as Yemane Gebreab tried to spin it when asked the whereabouts of
journalist Dawit Isaak; it’s a about Eritrea and Eritreans and what we
all stand for.
To Oppose Tyranny
Three years ago, after debating with myself whether I have anything
worthy to add to our discourse, I decided to write my first article,
audaciously titled: Unsolicited Advice to Mr. Isaias Afwerki. It was a
quasi-satire, but naturally, I wanted it to be read and appreciated. The
next step was to decide which of the many Eritrean websites to send it
to. It was unthinkable to send anything that is critical of the Eritrean
government to Shabait.com or even Dehai.org, though I seriously
thought that is where the article belonged. Then, I came to grips with
reality and emailed to the website that stood head and shoulders
above the rest. For me, Awate.com not only represented the true
mosaic and cross section of Eritrea, but also emanated
professionalism and commitment to diversity of ideas. It was clear
though; with that article I was entering the world of “subversion”,
“opposition”, “teQuawenti”. Well, if the label fits…but wait.
Eritrea’s opposition camp is made up of a hodge-podge political,
religious and civic organizations and even individuals. At the end of
the day, the vast majority of them just want a peaceful country that
treats all its citizens fairly. Sadly, this rather basic desire borne out of
love for their nation, culture, heritage and history is considered a
selfish desire that is tantamount to betraying the country. In what
stratosphere is this lopsided reality even possible? And when did we
exactly transpose the meaning of the words patriot and traitor?
For the next three years, I continued to share my humble opinions
alongside many prolific and inspiring writers. I had the inkling that this
website was very widely read, but I was quickly humbled by the
quantity and variety of the mostly positive feedbacks.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the hundreds of people who
graciously took their time to encourage me, correct me and teach me.
I am especially touched by those, who have profound things to say,
but their inability to write in the English language keeps them on the
sidelines. I am confident that their voices indeed find their way among
the words those of us who are duty-bound and lucky enough to be
able to string together. It’s all about those voices, and to choose to be
a voice for the voiceless is a responsibility of all who are able and a
blessing to all who are willing.
Ten years ago, the Awate Team took that responsibility and
discharged it amicably; and in return they are blessed with the
readership, respect and credibility that can only be attained by earning
it through perseverance, consistency and living the stated mission. I
am pretty sure it’s not all honky dory, and Awate.com may even have
created enemies along the way. In the words of Winston Churchill,
“You have enemies? Good. That means you’ve stood up for
something, sometime in your life.”
So, congratulations are in order to Awate.com, and especially to
Saheh Gadi and Saleh Younis who continue to be trailblazers. Yes; it
ain’t bragging if it is true, but by all means, gentlemen, don’t let that
get in to your head.
Enter the Flipside
Formally, since accepting the Awate Team’s invitation, this will be the
first article being posted under the column, Flipside. My previously
published articles will also be compiled, retroactively, in the same
column. So, why the name Flipside? It comes from a rather simple
thought. If there are at least two sides to every issue, then we must be
able to explore and consider both sides. I am especially interested in
the flipside, the contrarian, the uncomfortable and the less popular
side of things. Hopefully, together we will flip our issues and turn
everything we know to be true on its head. A good dose of
counterintuitive politics should only elevate and refine our discussions
Love Thy Opponent
French philosopher Voltaire is often credited for coming up with a lot
of witty and memorable expressions to illustrate his opinions and
beliefs. He was a prolific writer and outspoken defender of civil
liberties whose thinking influenced a number of notable leaders of the
day, including the framers of the US constitution. This is what he
wrote to someone with whom he apparently disagreed deeply. “I
detest what you write, but I would give my life to make it
possible for you to continue to write.” Voltaire used both polemics
and satire to get his point across, which must have been very gratifying
to do. What better way than to make your point and make your
opponent feel a little ashamed?
Ok now, what is the real point of quoting Voltaire? Two reasons.
First, I was told that citing famous 18th century philosophers makes
an article sound more interesting than it really is (I am crossing my
fingers here); and the second reason is that I am actually hoping some
of my friends who tend to choose very colorful words when sending
me their angry emails would just cut and paste Voltaire’s less colorful
but more effective sentence.
You be the judge, but isn’t the above more eloquent than “You are
f#@5ing @$$#0 …….Agame…..@^%#$!t#@*…….
sellout……..@#%^! …….zelalemawi zkri nswatna!!!!!!!”
Yeesh! All I am sayin’ is … just say it, don’t spray it.
It’s all about writing and voicing opinions, heated debates, and
choosing to agree or disagree, but at the end of the day, the right to
one’s beliefs and the freedom to express them is an inalienable human
right. Dogmatic measures and harsh penalties were rendered against
those who broke the strict censorship laws back when Voltaire was
around, but it did not stop him and his fellow thinkers from advocating
for more liberty and from criticizing the French establishment and the
oligarchy. They opposed tyranny and prevailed. They used their
mighty pens to inspire others and change the course of human history;
one fateful tributary of that history is the United States Bill of Rights
whose first amendment is about freedom of religion, speech, the
press, assembly, and petition.
As a US based entity, Awate.com and its writers and publishers are
protected by that first amendment. Other Eritreans who are fortunate
enough to reside in places where it is not considered a treasonous
crime to read and write materials that does not mesh well with that of
the Eritrean government’s are also free to express their thoughts
without the fear of someone raiding their homes in the middle of the
night and hauling them away to some godforsaken gulag. Sadly,
almost 20 years after independence, almost 50 years after Hamid
Idris Awate fired the first bullet at Mount Adal, tyranny and fear
reigns free in today’s Eritrea.
When it comes to this blanket of fear, Eritreans are essentially divided
into three camps. There is a camp that actually perpetuates this fear
and views it as a something necessary to keep “the territorial integrity”
of the country or any other ever changing objectives. There is also a
camp that believes in the wisdom and art of keeping your eyes, ears
and mouth shut; the camp of the fence-sitters who would rather wait
and see which way the wind is blowing.
And then, there is the third camp.
This is the vocal camp. This camp has taken a stand and against
injustice; believes in speaking truth to power; wants to see
constitutional governance and rule of law; this camp marches slowly
but surely toward equality, liberty, justice and reconciliation, aspires to
return the power to govern to its rightful owners, the people. Yes, the
downtrodden people who are terrorized by the camp that uses fear. It’
s all about the people and the power. The Greeks call these two
words the “demos” and the “kratos”. People’s power. Democracy –
hardly a dirty word, is it?
Even as the other two camps are getting ready booking their air
tickets to Asmara and plan their 2011 summer vacations ostensibly to
celebrate Eritrea’s 20th “independence” day, the opposition camp (I
prefer the term “pro-democracy movement”), will never take a break
from reminding them that it is simply wrong to ignore the suffering of
their compatriots. The pro-democracy camp, the section of our
community that has chosen to speak up, write, protest, oppose, cry
and appeal does not choose to do so just for the sake of opposing the
PFDJ or Isaias Afwerki. As a matter of fact, it would have been just
as easy to either join the insidious crowd of clappers, appeasers and
the regime’s apologists or at least keep silent and do nothing. But,
fortunately for the rest of us, this camp of the few and the proud has
decided not to ignore its historic duty to stand for the truth, to be
voice of the voiceless and all these at a tremendous cost to their safety
and that of their loved ones.
The Free Press Isaias Couldn’t Stifle
If we leave it up to the dictator and his enablers, they wouldn’t blink
twice before they would detain and even kill the webmasters,
publishers, writers and editors of every Eritrean website that strives to
bring about democracy in Eritrea. That is why, we should continue to
lend a helping hand to those who are leading the way and congratulate
them for keeping the torch alive. Setit, Keste Demena, Zemen,
Meqaleh, Tsigenay and Wintana may have been silenced, but we still
have Awate, Asmarino, Assena, Dimtsi Delina, Meskerem* and a
plethora of others I may not be familiar with.
Each of our Eritrean websites in the political cyberspace have its
unique character and the more of them we have the merrier. On the
pro-democracy side, Tes Meharnenna’s Asmarino.com became the
go to place for great interactive, audio and video content. Amanuel
Eyasu’s Assena.com radio interviews and the mellow voice of Feven
Solomon (ain’t she great?) is worth every minute of listening. In the
pro-dictatorship arena we have the government site Shabait.com
which paints a picture of Eritrea that makes you wonder why we
oppose such a utopia in the first place. There are also satellite
websites such as Alenalki.com that solely exist to amplify what the
Eritrean government says and does; or to beat the drums for its
money raising.
And then of course, there is the grand old Dehai.org, which is now
reduced to being a bulletin board for anti-capitalism, anti-American
wackos and weird conspiracy theorists. By the way, what happened
to this once promising listserv (that’s what we called it back in the 90’
s, and I know, I am dating myself here)? I guess, same thing that ailed
our Eritrea must have conflicted Dehai as well; utter betrayal of the
very purpose of its founding by the very people who were supposed
to lead it. But, I will always save a special place for the spirit of Dehai
–if not for its message board. Once in a while, I venture to that area
and it is like flying over a training camp for insult laden messages of
intolerance and mudslinging, and somehow the only word everyone
knows how to spell is “Agame”.
Even pro-tyranny websites must have a space and those of us who
claim to hold the ideals of democracy must be able to co-exist and
compete with their ideas. One day, I am pretty sure they too will
learn to tolerate us. In the meantime, we just to have to repeat
Voltaire’s line and say to them. “I detest what you write, but I
would give my life to make it possible for you to continue to
write.” Who knows, maybe these websites are where our future
political parties will sprout from after all. I for one would have no
problem voting for the party that will be known as Dehai’s
Unbelievable Message Board. Just don’t ask me what the initials
would be…
danielgmikael@yahoo.com
Courtesy
| All rights reserved. |
| Ethio Quest News Together We Can Make It! |
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
| Zersenay Tadese " He became the first person in Eritrean sporting history to win an Olympic medal.. More |
| Eritrea |
| Perpetuating Tyranny Under Mantel of Youth Festival "...Latest one out of such arsenals that tyrant Afawerki deploys in order to draw gullible youth to his indoctrination camp (aka Sawa) is the annual pilgrimage to SAWA" More |
| Woyane and Shabia are enemies of Ethiopia Nazret U.S. condemns Eritrea for "destabilizing" role Reuters Eritreans rally against UN sanctions BBC Deconstructing UNSC Resolution 1907 - The Smart Sanction on the Eritrean Regime [Part I] By Seyoum Tesfaye Mr Issaias: The friend of Ethiopia? By Tibebe Samuel Ferenji Eight Reasons for not participating in the Demonstrations against the “sanction” By Dr. Haben Why we don't march with Eritreans By Wellellaw Andenet Elias Kifle Pleading to Protest against UNSC- Sanctions? By Alex Birhanu UN slaps sanctions on Eritrea By Gerard Aziakou |
| Refugee voices: Looking for hope in Ethiopia "...I don't want to take any chances. They took our property before. How can we believe that they will..." More |
| Report: Eritrea May Become Failed State Selah Hennessy Eritrea spurs insecurity in the Horn of Africa By Jonathan Manthorpe (Vancouver Sun) Opposition conference in Ethiopia vowes bring democracy to Eritrea By Tesfa-Alem Tekle (Sudan Tribune) Eritrea: Springboard for Terror By Ryan Mauro Eritrea: What the Book of Martyrs Doesn’t Say Yosief Ghebrehiwet (Part I) Eritrea still aiding Somalia rebels last year: UN AFP The enemy of my enemy is not my friend By Tibebe Samuel Ethiopia: Iranian Friends Strategy Page Did You Enjoy the Show? Human Rights Concern - Eritrea With all due respect By Tibebe Samuel Ferenji |
| Eritrean Independence: Is It Worth All the Sacrifice? (1) by Yosief Ghebrehiwet |
| Related Stories |
| Previous Stories |
