Ya Rebi Ya Kerim! Maryam Tehabkum!
That is begging. The poor beg for food. Sometimes, the terrorized beg for mercy; other times they recognize they have nothing left to lose. They stop begging.
What do you do if you cannot get what is rightly yours peacefully? What if there is no law to uphold justice? What if the custodian, supposedly the custodian, of the law of the land becomes a bandit? What if that bandit invades your property, violates your rights and becomes a risk to your safety, that of your family, and Compatriots? Begging might be the only option to avoid the unwanted result; but what if begging is considered a sign of weakness and an invitation to more aggression?
About two weeks ago I was asked, challenged rather, to explain my position regarding the lately found mantra of peaceful struggle. One of those who asked for clarification on my stand was Burhan Ali who brilliantly presented his argument concerning the debate on the mode of struggle -a peaceful struggle- to remove the authoritarian regime in Eritrea.
I am yielding.
My understanding is that, so far, many of us have been waging a very peaceful struggle; as a result, we are perceived as promoters of a timid struggle. Considering the aggression that our people (and ourselves) are facing from the regime and their Wedini army, and our peaceful reaction to it, the perception is right. But we are not alone in that: the restless Eritreans from the Diaspora are not carrying guns and marching to Eritrea either! In essence, it has always been Mariam Tehabkum, Ya Rabi Ya Kerim.
Where do I belong?
We have a violent peaceful movement made up of the apologists of the regime and a toothless violent-movement, made up of the poor opposition that allegedly has washed Eritrea in blood. We also have a mischievous peaceful movement, who are the would-be-king-makers. We have a group of genuine peaceniks, of the kind, which are known all over the world. I wanted to find my place within the above groups and I started to think. Thoughts took me back in time It was Mahber Tishate, the glorious M9. You should know that movement!
Mahber Tishate
When the Eritrean Liberation Movement (ELM), also popularly known as Mahber Shewate (M7) and Haraka, was exposed by the Ethiopian security police, mass arrests raged and hundreds of suspected patriots were rounded up and jailed. The idea was to nap the movement in the bud. Of course, the fact that the ELM was a proponent of peaceful movement didnt save it from being purged. One of the arrested persons was my late uncle, the witty Aboy Mohammed Tayeb.
He was taken to the interrogation room and was forced to admit he was a member of Mahber Shewate. I am not he said refusing to admit. However, he added,I am a member of Mahber Tishate. The junior officers interrogating him were dumbfounded: he admitted his dissent with a very little pressure and furthermore gave them information on a previously unknown group! He is cooperating, they thought.
Did he know all the members?
Yes, he replied.
Did he know the leader of the group?
I am the leader, he confirmed.
Was he willing to give all the details of the group?
Of course yes, by name, he reaffirmed.
Commending his honesty, his interrogators exclaimed, Bravo. Bravo. Bravo.
He was asked to get up from the floor and sit on a chair. They started to treat him like a guest of honor. They offered him tea while Tesfaledet, his excited interrogator, reached for the telephone to call Telente Amare, his boss.
The exhilarated Tesfaledet informed Amare that he has uncovered a brand new organization and he would prefer that he take over the interrogation. This could lead to promotion. He can add one more stripe on his shirt and be called Sergente. His boss can easily get one more star and be a captain. Finally, the opportunity came to him. The uncovering of a secret group might be the cause for realizing his dream of a glorious future in the Imperial Security apparatus.
Telente Amare, a ruthless interrogator, hopped into his Land Rover and speeded towards the station. All the way, a proud smile was sculpted in his face. He might have considered the M9 a golden key to his promotion. He arrived at the station and didnt notice the shabby gate guard standing on alert to salute him. With a fast pace, he hurried straight to the interrogation room and found Aboy Mohammed tayeb having fun and drinking tea with his hosts, his interrogators. Telente Amare smiled and greeted: selam haji, merah Mahber Tishate. The leader smiled and returned the greetings. Amare had no time to waste; he sat behind the desk and started to scribble. He then kindly asked a few questions as a prelude to the major scoop. Finally, he posed a serious question to Aboy Mohmmed Tayeb: who are the members of the M9?
The leader of M9 confidently replied : ane, sebeytei, Rumana, Sofia .
He called the names of the members of M9: himself, his wife, and the names of his seven children. It was a sarcastic reply and you can imagine the blows and torture he was subjected to by the angry interrogators.
The M1, M4, M6 Revisited
Most of us are members of M4, M5, M6. We belong to tiny organizations who mirror our values perfectly. We won't venture out, because we don't want to be dominated, or swallowed whole. So, we revolve around our mirror images, refusing to take any baby steps to merge, regroup, join, merge, co-build with others. The singles among us are lonely members of the M1, on their own.
Unfortunately, many of those who pretend to be peaceful and supposedly espouse peaceful struggle are those who frequently ask: Show me who will lead Eritrea if not the PFDJ? We dont have an alternative. They are the AnQefti, the professional obstacle placers. They know, but pretend not to be aware that Eritreas womb is very fertile. Simply put, their advocacy for peaceful struggle doesnt emanate from principle; they just do not want to disrupt the status quo.
Those are the people who turn a blind eye when the government is brutalizing the people and worry about the toothless and timid opposition. We shouldnt really care for such people. However, I have no reason to doubt the many of my friends who advocate peaceful struggle out of conviction, compatriots who care for their compatriots, those whose call for peaceful struggle stem from deeply entrenched principles. Many of them have gone through too much blood to wish bloodshed for their country. They want one more try, one more goodwill. They just abhor anything RED. I abhor the former group and I have high respect for the latter.
Goodwill. I understand it. I advocated for the PFDJ-styled constitution believing it could be a meeting ground among different political actors. Sort of live and let live view. Though I never believed in that constitution (which was incidentally tailored to suit the status quo) from my heart, but I went an extra mile and endorsed it. It didnt bring any improvements in the attitudes of many of those (the influential among them) who support it more than a divine scripture. To me, that piece of paper has now become as good as last years Chinese newspaper. Useless.
I cant hide my rejection of violence. I simply abhor it. Yet, I am a strong fan of Aya Hammurabi. I cant explain my views any better than to admit they are identical to Mesfin Hagos stand as he eloquently described it in his interview with Russom Mesfin a few weeks ago.
Peaceful struggle is always preferred but I dont have any moral authority to tell people not to fight back when they are being attacked and their rights are being violated. I condemn the empire of terror, the perpetrator of violence, the PFDJ. The cause for any present and future violence lies squarely on the PFDJ system. They are pushing people to the edge. It seems Burhan and others missed it, but a reminder wont hurt. This is what I wrote in November of 2003,
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 havent 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 doesnt 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.
I hope this explains my views on peaceful struggle and I will never be caught telling people to roll over and die when they are being attacked. Defending ones self is a natural and human right.
Generally, political organizations survive due to the support of their constituencies. The constituency of the PFDJ is well identified. The PFDJ constituency is violent, vulgar, arrogant, sectarian, ethnocentric, bigoted and utterly irresponsible. To me, their character is molded by what the communists refer to as Lumpen; our tradition identifies them as Ewala, Skunis, Wlad Shwaree and Wedini. If those are the constituency of the regime, we need not search too deep to understand the character of the whole PFDJ mob. Now, how do you get rid of such a lot when they are armed to the teeth to terrorize civilians? Naturally, people would have to equip themselves to face the transgression and to claim their civil liberties and natural rights. Every creature has a right to defend himself, and an obligation to defend his family and land, from an armed Shifta. I am in no position, nor do I have any moral authority to deny people the right to defend themselves and fight for their rights. Having said that, I will never call or advocate for people to raise arms; but if they do, I understand why. Those frying in the PFDJ pan are better situated to take their own decision.
I believe that fighting to uproot a repressive regime is a patriotic obligation and a humane thing to do. The whole Eritrean armed struggle was all about defending the right of Eritreans to live freely. I am sure the struggle was not wrong; and it was not peaceful either.
The only difference with me is that I am not going to furiously ask people to forget anything and go kill and die. I intend to struggle in a very peaceful way-exactly similar to what I have been doing for years now. I will also not condemn anyone who rises up to defend their right.
There is a very disturbing trend developing in the Diaspora. I have noticed quite a few people who associate violence with the opposition and at the same time forget to mention the violence that the regimes espouses. I witness individuals (influential at that) who present the regime as a saintly regime while with the same mouthful utter insults and condemnations at selected opposition organizations. It is not the opposition that is destroying Eritrea! It is not the opposition that is jailing and killing or people! It is not the opposition that is denying Eritreans the right to live in their country! It is not the opposition that is enslaving our youth! It is not the opposition emptying the country of its youth! It is not the opposition destroying families and family values! It is not the opposition looting and impoverishing our country. All of that is the responsibility of the most violent and repressive political organization that was ever planted in Eritrea.
On the other hand, it is disappointing to see some Eritreans waiting for some poor soul to die on their behalf while they comfortably wait for the hoped outcome without raising a hand. For us in the Diaspora, we have to fulfill our duty in the ongoing struggle. The debate of whether our struggle should be peaceful or otherwise is irrelevant to us. Most of us live in democracies where the rule of law is supreme. We have legal front in courts, diplomatic fronts, media fronts, organization and fund raising fronts to take our fight to. We have put only a modest dent on those fronts. I think we should do our part in those fronts before we start to worry of how our people inside Eritrea are going to wage their struggle. We are less than 2% of our population; and the active are a fraction of that. Lets stop the patronizing attitude. Lets just do our share.
If we truly reject violence, lets work harder so that we can cut the road short for those who we think would lead us to a violent situation. As it stands now, the more we watch from distance and do nothing, the more volatile the situation at home becomes. Lets organize. Lets be members of the different organizations and work towards unity. Lets stop unorganized and loose struggle. The opposition organizations are weak because they survive on a few dedicated members. The rest, the overwhelming majority, considers organized struggle something to be ashamed of. Lets make an impact for the betterment of our country. We cant all be members of Mahber Tishate!
