Eid Mubarek�

The poodle, the spoiled prince of the animal kingdom, is the envy of all other dogs.  The typical poodle is registered and has an ID.   When it is born, it is issued a birth certificate.  When it �expires�, an expensive undertaker takes care of its burial ceremony and it takes its place in a posh cemetery. The poodle inherits a lot of money �I do not know if poodles are taxed. The poodle is so spoiled that it takes at least two showers a day and is groomed and dressed-up on a daily basis. It is fed the best food that the canine cuisine has to offer and sleeps in its own private room in mansions. If a poodle is born in a place other than a mansion, then there is a mistake: it will be mistaken for a cat and will spend its whole life running after mice and being chased by dogs. When it dies (in this case it dies, it doesn�t expire like mansion poodles), it will be thrown in a trash-bin by the alley.... if there is one. Incidentally, (for those who believe in reincarnation) those who are pious enough in this life, will be re-born a mansion poodle. 

But the poodles in Eritrea are bigger than the mansion poodles. In fact, some are more like the Basenji dogs. Close relatives of the wolf, in ancient times, the Basenjis were owned by pharaohs and are famous for their blind loyalty to their masters. Basenjis are also known for their disability to bark, they don�t have vocal cords. But who is interested about dogs? No one. It is just meant as an introduction to lighten up the mood of the reader.

Elfgn Ashker

A flamboyant Greek saw his reflection on water. He was so captivated by his looks and fell in love with himself. They say, his name was Narcissus.

I consider most Greek mythology an old version of Disney cartoon stories; but I believe the story of Narcissus. Those whose occupation is the equivalent of the feudal position of Elfgn Ashker� a palace guard, one of a few who can whisper to the master�s ears--must have descended from Narcissus. Why not, even Pushkin is ours, so goes the mythology. It seems we have hundreds of irrelevant and unimportant citizens- that is why we search in obscure Russian history to find one of our lost herds. On a second thought, our present-day Elfgn Ashkers must have descended from Pushkin- you know, it is Malcolm X whispering in my ears: the house slave and the field slave. Elfgn Ashker can only inherit the brains (and of course the views) in the story of Malcolm X.

A secretary is very powerful as those who had the experience can tell you. If the secretary doesn�t like the visitor (or doesn�t like his Kokheb, �his stars�, as we say in Tigrgna), then he gets nowhere closer than the reception chair. �The boss is in a meeting, why don�t you call next time before you come!� A visitor with the right attitude (and the right stars), however, sits with the boss in no time. The secretary receives him with a smile: �he has been expecting you sir, come in please� and he is ushered in. The power that the secretary (the beaurocratic version of the Elfgn Ashker) wields is just amazing.

People who are full of themselves actually think they inhabit this world alone. The mountains, deserts and forests are actually created to grace them. And naturally, they think Eritrea was created to accommodate only their wishes and be designed as per their taste and be tailored as per their size. Now they are designing a leader for the �ignorant Eritrean people.� Why would anyone want to relive the sufferings? I am afraid reconciliation would be ruled out if it doesn�t include the violent regime that doesn�t want to talk to its people unless it puts them behind bars and terrorizes them day and night. The brutal regime is the cause for the disunity of the people. Then, it is all right to be an angel, or to pretend to be an angel, but I haven�t seen people with white feathers and wings flying in Eritrea! If there were the regime has successfully forced them to abandon their saintly attitudes. Make no mistake, the perpetrator of violence is the regime in Asmara. Peaceful struggle doesn�t deny one the ability to defend themselves. We cannot ask the people to simply turn the other cheek; they have run out of cheeks- that unfortunately are only two a piece.

The Key To Nackfa

�You know, Dan Connel has a key to Nackfa�, someone told me. Those who think Nackfa doesn�t have a door to require a key, think again! Under the PFDJ, everything must have a door- and keys that are distributed to the select few by the clique. There is even a ministry that issues bathroom passes to the citizenry; and the whole Eritrean population goes through that ministry once every day. Only the lucky ones get a key- like the one Dan has. The unlucky, who couldn�t secure a bathroom pass, cannot GO because they cannot go to the bathroom. And you know� they explode. Dan Connell is important and was given a key- word is out that the ailing Hizbawi Mekhte thugs will sue him to repossess the key. Then they would auction it for the highest bidder and the proceeds will be transferred to the bank- a bank in Malta (that is another story by the way.)

It is interesting to listen to those who finally turn their back on the PFDJ. They come in two flavors. Narrating their journey with the PFDJ, they always define their turning point as the exact right time to turn. It is never too late, it is never too early, just the absolute right time. They twist themselves into pretzels trying to justify wrongs and evil they endorsed for decades. It just wasn�t the right time.  But now it is.  

Dan Connell used the Nackfa key in a wrong keyhole and he thinks he is locked out. No, it is those he helped keep away from their own country that are locked out. Didn�t many of us say that this is a door-less camp! Just don�t expect a smiling reception from the dwellers, not yet. Simply because, Dan has a key to a town he doesn�t need when there are many Eritreans denied entry to their country.

We have an important tradition back home: if you come across an open door, you clear your throat, you call seb geza, destoor (not that destoor)! You don�t push the door unannounced. You don�t step in without introducing your advance.  Importantly, if you are late, you go: �it was raining and I was late, aytHazulna!� Of course, in the cities, if the city has cars, you can always say you had a flat tire. Those people inside are very humble and they will let you in. They may ask you to leave your muddy shoes outside. But their humility should not be taken for granted and their dignity and their intelligence should not be abused. What to do!

Those who were taken for a ride should not avoid admitting the fact that they were fooled (there are well educated individuals who willingly continue to be fooled to this day). Those who resisted and were not fooled should not be considered lame ducks who should pay the price twice and trice. We see a lot of romanticizing of the past as if the past was a golden age that somehow one man blew up in the last three years. No. There was no golden age but the age of creating a monster. The innocent resisted for the sake of the common good and independence was achieved. However, those who played a role in the making of this regime should know that it is not only the Capo who is screwed up; the whole system is screwed up. Reform is a spiritual undertaking- reflection and soul searching. It is not about convening a meeting. Prudence.

The Dictators Are The Last Ones To know

In the 1983, the Philipinos drove their dictator, Ferdinand Marcos out. The Philipino �People�s Power� created charismatic leaders in a very short time. The most famous of all was Ninoy Aquino, an opposition leader who was assassinated by Marcos as he stepped down from the airplane at Manila Airport. After his assassination, his widow, Corazon Aquino led the people�s power to successfully oust Marcos who fled to Hawaii together with his wife who left behind an astronomical number of shoes that was the talk of the world for a long time. People�s power in the Philippines adapted the yellow color as its symbol of struggle against the Marcos dictatorship. Throughout, Ferdinand Marcos was clueless: he was sure he would trounce anyone who ran against him. The people love me, he used to say. 

In 1989, the Romanians overthrew their dictator, Nikolai Causescu. (Incidentally, the dictator had a dog named Corbu; a poodle that was so privileged it was driven around town in a limousine and a motorcade.) Romanians adapted a symbol for their revolt: a Romanian flag with a hole in the middle where the emblem of authoritarianism regime was. To the very last seconds when Causescu and his wife were shot by a firing squad, they were clueless: they thought they had the country by the balls. 

�Otpor� (Serbian for resistance) was instrumental in bringing Milosovic, the Serbian dictator, down. Optor�s symbol in its fight against the dictatorship was a clenched fist. The movement which was mainly started by students, was finally successful in bringing down the dictator. Throughout, the dictator maintained that it was a few agitators and NATO spies that were against him; the people love me, he thought.

Over the weekend, another corrupt autocrat was brought down to his knees in Georgia. Shevardnadze, a member of the old guard of the now defunct Soviet Union, who has been living off the gratitude of the west in dismantling the Soviet Union, turned out he doesn�t have any �transferable skills� in leading his nation, Georgia. The corrupt president was challenged by the opposition, mainly �Kmara� (Enough) a student movement that was keeping public order in last week�s protests. Until he was literally chased off the national assembly, he was another clueless power abuser who thought he would be in power indefinitely.  

There is no stopping the will of the people�a people who reach the boiling point.  Then the tyrants get voted out or, if they are particularly odious, face the fitting justice in whatever shape the people mete out. 

People the world over may have differences, but the tyrants they produce are remarkably similar. They are modern-day Narcissus, in love with themselves, living on an illusion that they are irreplaceable, that the nation couldn�t exist without them. And when the day of reckoning comes, they are genuinely surprised because all the Elfgn Ashkers, who have managed to instill in them the feeling that they are indispensable, were wrong. I have a suggested symbol for any Eritrean popular uprising: A crossed picture of a Basenji Dog!

This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it