"In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act" - George Orwell

"Hamed Ede�  qrSet kebdi� Cebel nesaaka" - adei teKa'a bAlti rebto

Fans of Dictatorship

Blessed be the country where the rights of individuals are sacred. Blessed be the country that extols human rights. Blessed be the people who respect life. Blessed are the people who find refuge among such societies. Hail to all freedom fighters. Hail to all the dignified. Hail to the brave. Shame to the suppressers of freedom. Shame to the worshippers of dictatorships.

One cannot help but be disgusted at those who enjoy the freedoms that the West accords to them, yet they do not wish the same freedom for their people. They are deadly selfish.

We all know how we left our countries and how one day, we all ended up somewhere in the West. A matter of pure coincidence and blind luck. Many others found themselves in the West by accident. Our immigration folders are testimonies to the reasons that got us to the host countries. We all claimed that we fled dictatorships and destitute living conditions.

What we left behind is a country that never enjoyed a season of tranquility since its creation. Our people where the landing spots for ruthless whips of subjugation and tyranny. Our living condition never improved but kept deteriorating. At good times is was bad; at bad times it was worse. Illiteracy, sicknesses, poverty and the fear for life was a continuous worry for generations. We fled the country hoping that someday we will return to it after helping to rid it of all the ill elements that made it unlivable. We fought, we killed. We died. And we physically liberated our country. But we never freed our people.

It hurts to see that we, the victims of dictatorship and injustice, cannot raise a voice in condemnation of injustice. Worse, some of us  wish the misery to continue. They do not leave stones unturned to worsen and elongate the sufferings of our people. Shame to them. Only shame and disgrace.

It is unimaginable to hear someone proudly, and confidently prescribe cruel solution for the Eritrean social ills: "Eritreans should be ruled by the bayonet", a refugee turned American citizen had said. "What democracy, Eritreans in particular and Africans in general, should be tamed with a ruthless power" another had said. How one can reconcile his love for his people while espousing such ugly view and uglier wishes for his people, is hard to understand.

The nobler Eritreans believe differently. Eritreans deserve all the respect there is: it is earned. Eritreans should not be terrorized by thier own children. The country should not be plundered and destructed by its liberators. Yet it is the victimizer and the victimized veterans. Few with evil ambitions overpowered them. The honest and principled group of veterans are being wronged. They are being treated as nobodies.  For God's sake, they are liberators and not a bunch of bandits who have to blindly follow the chief!  For the sake of the many, the few should go when there is still some affordable grace left.

Fans of dictatorship. Enamored with the "bAal sre". They are feeding the raging fire. Their lack of self-esteem is destroying our country. They do not know how to live in peace. They cannot live in peace; they have to have chaos. They cannot tolerate unity; they have to create divisions upon divisions. What is with those people? What is with them? Why do we have to suffer with their ongoing destructive roles in the country? Democrats of Eritrea, those people need to be tamed once and for all. Eritrea should not be their laboratory and Eritreans their Guinea pigs. If that is difficult, they should buy themselves a rope with loop and head for the jungle. Enough is enough.

The weaklings are noisy. They are famous for their ability to disrupt debates. A brain should not be left to be filled with moss and grow lichens. One should try hard not to be an owner of a lazy brain.  Only the lazy brained can be violent.  'Follow without question' is the recipe prepared by the weaklings. Shun the quisling culture. The free are always open for a match: brain fencing. They will always shout: "No to proxy thinking". No to unwanted guardians. Free the people. Free the people. Free the people.

Manna From the Powerhouse

April is for the fool�or so they made us believe. April fool�s day this coming April may not necessarily be on the First. Depending on the mood (and the determination) of the players of the Powerhouse, we may not have April fool's day this year. After all, haven't we been fools for the last ten years! We beg them not to subject us to any more Fool days.

The last edition of  'The Pencil' was a bit of an out of line editorial�.or so believed many according to the feedback that we received. Pointblank columnist, Ismail Omar-Ali wrote: "The call, coming in the midst of an internal turmoil within the PFDJ, is the most preposterous proposal I have ever read in awate.com!". The much respected writer, Menhot W/Mariam brushed the article and presented his well thought of questions:" what kind of elections? Arranged by whom and for whom? And will such quick-fix of elections by PFDJ help lay down the basis of our common future in which Eritreans, one trusting the other, can start the long journey ahead - living together in peace, harmony, prosperity and social justice?". Other private comments ranged from total agreement to total disagreement. 

The Pencil, in that article, tried to get closer to what the different views regarding the elections are. On one side, there is utter dismissal and rejection of the election process; on the other side, a "why not?" Approach.  The two views need to be debated seriously. Alas, time is ticking! As of now, Eritreans are divided into views of the three Tees: Thrust, Trust or Trash

The side that rejects the election bases its rejection on the PFDJ's past practices and explains why it absolutely lost trust on any promise coming from the ruling party. That is understandable. Furthermore, there has not been any positive sign coming from the lot. The ruling party's approach has always been a paternal approach that is solely designed to humiliate its opponents. The "paranoia" on both sides is well established�.to borrow Zeineb Ali's coined term: Baranoya  tewaHiTna or Baranoya zemtetena. Kulu Am welbaranoya bKer.

The other side believes that this is a positive move and as such it should be supported. In principle it should. However, we are not na�ve anymore. Furthermore, there are forces who are lurking to kidnap the fruits of the struggle and counter-sign the results for its narrow clique (This is not Paranoia�or is it?). No proof is needed to substantiate this conclusion.

So, for beginners, I have an April fool's wish. The PFDJ in its entirety  is a bad and cheating card-game. The  cards need to be reshuffled. We do not play the cards that we are dealt anymore. Amonte, Amonte, Amonte!  This clique has messed up a lot and no one with his right mind would endorse anything that comes from it. Out, out and out on April Fool's Day. Unless there is a tangible improvement and a little compromise that  will match the 'goodwill moves'  that are expected by the citizenry. You can�t be giving in to Ethiopian demands and be adamantly arrogant to your own citizens' demands!

1-       The EPLF veterans, who are capable of leading a change must act in unison to bring about the delivery of the much sought change. Again, the PFDJ cronies are out. Those who still maintain the EPLF spirit, with its historical blunders and mistakes, must provide Noah's Arc for the Eritrean species. The upcoming congress should be a farewell party for the PFDJ

2-       There is a bitterness espoused between the non-EPLF and EPLF members. This is bitterness that  was planted in the struggle era and it should be seen in light of the power struggle and the Bi-polar politics of the Era. Other bitterness are the making of cliques within the organizations; today, they are exposed. The leadership of the PFDJ are a major culprit together with those who stand behind it.

3-       The EPLF veterans are nationalists who spent their lifetime struggling to deliver peace, development and dignity to their people. Today, the same veterans of the struggle are being humiliated and mistreated  by the unkind and irresponsible clique of the PFDJ.

4-        Bitterness aside, those who spend the sixties, seventies and eighties struggling are now called to deliver their country to the peaceful shores. They are called to salvage what is left of Eritrea. They need to work together.

The youngest generation of today paid dearly for the injustices and irresponsible policies of the PFDJ. The generation, nick-named Warsay, was subjected to a brutal treatment. Instead of school for knowledge, schools of muscle fleshing was presented to them. They were brutally mishandle and made to lose their independence and critical thinking. They were bullied and made to abandon the qualities of the Eritrean young who always stood for what is right and rebelled against injustice. They need guidance and grooming to take over the responsibilities of the nation.

A Dirty Job; someone got to do it

I don't subscribe to the view that believes the sky will rain milk and honey if Eritreans worshipped their government. Some people believe so. In fact, I have a feeling that it might rain honey and milk if Eritreans criticized and controlled their government.  I believe that any government is the servant of the people. If it doesn't do a good job, it has got to be fired.

Imagine yourself walking into a restaurant and the waiter offers you a dish you do not like. You refuse to take it and instead ask for the menu. The Muscled waiter tells you not to �even think of choosing a dish�. He grabs you by the neck and stuffs the food into your mouth and shoves it dawn your throat. Well, you can call the police and be saved. In Eritrea, the muscled waiter is doing that day in and day out. Eritreans are living in that kind of restaurant. Ironically, the policeman you call for rescue, gets his salary from the same restaurant! Then you listen to an oldie: �teAKwalila kem temnnye�.yHlf do Kon�

The street culture of the PFDJ has produced what the Egyptians would call 'fetouwa'. Bullies scaring people away. Bullies trying to gag others from expressing their discontent. If one worships the government, he is stamped 'Sano'; if not, he is branded public enemy number one. The WE part of the Poligans -- the political version of Holligans. Don't touch �our� government! It is your government if you pledge total submission; if not, the wheel of defamation starts spinning.

In such a situation, somebody has to do the dirty job. Somebody has to take the frontline. Somebody has to speak up on behalf of those who are cornered and helpless. Somebody has to burst and scream, shout and wail so that those with a gram of consciousness can hear and maybe, just maybe, react to rectify the unnatural situation that Eritreans find themselves in.

What happened to Eritreans? Whatever happened to our "Hamot" and that thing we used to carry between our legs? What happened? Where is the fiery rebellion against injustice of the forties, fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties? Why have we become so docile to the extent that we have been transformed into toys in the hands of the inconsiderate and arrogant lot? A thousand 'whys' for those who need to contemplate! A thousand �Why�!

We as a people need to leap forward if we choose not to be left behind for ever. Left behind in the domain of disease, poverty, instability, disunity and total backwardness in all aspects of humanity. I believe all our ills are in the corrupt political culture. Corrupt since the forties until today. We need to debate our ills. We need to face our problems face to face. We need to admit that our thinking are diverse. We need to develop a system that would accommodate all our differences. If that is to happen, we need to weed out the culture of Poliganizm. How could one eat when flies keep diving into one's soup! How can we debate when the Poligans keep distracting our debates and discussions! How on earth? That is why it is a dirty job and someone has got to do it. The mess should be cleaned. It is the mess within the alien political culture that the PFDJ instilled in our people. Let's get rid of this intolerant culture.

It is a dirty job; someone has got to do it. Maybe the job would not be done, but someone has to start it. That is the path we must chose for ourselves. All responsible and honorable patriotic Eritreans should walk this path. Those who cross the line of decency should be stopped. The rule of the law should be our guidance. People should not abuse the law that protects them. They  have to be stopped. They have to be stopped. Those who act as if they accidentally discovered their Eritreanism have got to be stopped.

This same culture exiled our founding fathers. Welwel, Ibrahim Sultan and many others were victims of  such a culture of poliganizm. Now the inheritors of that culture are religiously following the dirty tactics. The tactic of scaring dissenters has been beyond patience. Cowardly character assassinations are rampant. Community centers have become operation theaters for such dirty campaigns. Even official letters were used to scare people. Why is this allowed to go on unchallenged? Didn�t Eritreans pay their dues?