***image1:left***Every neighborhood has an ingenious troublemaker who can create a crisis from an ideally peaceful situation. I had many experiences with such kids; had they been in America, they would have ended up as promoters of boxing and wrestling matches, and they would have made buckets of money. The troublemakers of my childhood satiated their thirst by manipulating other kids to fight so that they can enjoy the action and be entertained. There was no �now give me a good fight� instruction from a referee but incoherent weee, waaaa and sarcastic booing.

The local fighting ring in Keren was the snow-white dry riverbed of the Daarit, the lovely shemshemet. The arrangement for the fight would have already been instigated by the troublemaker who would also have passed the word to all the kids, the cheering audience, that so-and-so would fight at a given time. �Meet me in shemshemet if you are a man� was a serious challenge. Even if one knew he would lose the fight to a bigger rival, one has to be there; not turning up in shemshemet was a shame that one would carry forever; you had to show up to protect your dignity and manhood, even if you were just a kid!

The white shemshemet sand gave Keren its nickname: Keren-Tsaeda. Many rivalries were resolved in the generous shemshemet of Daarit; many social issues were also resolved in the same place by elders- but that is a story for another day.

Among the troublemakers, Ahmedin was the most feared. I think he instigated more fights than what Don King, the American boxing promoter, would ever dream of arranging. Usually, after school, the kids would accompany the opponents to the favorite fighting place, Ahmedin would normally lead the kids to the shemshemet. The start of the fight was almost a ritual: Ahmedin would draw a circle in the sand and tell the audience to stay outside it. The opponents would be pushed inside the circle with Ahmedin acting like a referee. He would then scoop a fistful of sand in both hands, wet it, cross his hands and offer each fist to each of the two rival kids who are then challenged to pock in the fist of their opponent.  According to the ritual, the fists figuratively represented the opponents� mothers... (Jem�Jem�emkum- remember that profanity?). Pocking the fist meant that the mother is being disgraced.

This action would ignite a rage. Moments later, the spirit of unnecessary challenge takes over; the pocking of the fists sparks fistfights and wrestling that continue until the troublemaker gets enough doses of entertainment or one of the opponents, who would be shamed for a long time, calls a sign of surrender. A few minutes later, all would be over--after a few swollen parts of the heads and some bruises. But that was for a few days until the troublemaker wishes another dose of trouble and a fight. He then starts a plan to spark one more fight. 

An Eritrean Internet outlet has degraded to just such a replica of the troublemakers and instigators of our childhood. Ingeniously instigating provocative titles that are tantamount to playing with fire. You all know what I mean.

Topolinos

Over the last two months, I was the target of an extensive attack from a known �chfra.� Many friends asked me if I have read it; others called to advise me to refrain from being provoked. Provoked? I certainly am not.

Though I am not fond of touching messages coming out from hypocrites, groupies intoxicated with social prejudice, chauvinism-wrapped-weaklings inflicted with absurd inferiority complexes, and most of all, idiots who have been learning the art of insulting for over two-decades in some caves, I assure you that I had entertaining moments reading the rumblings of the Topolinos.  

I have been on the receiving end from such �chfra� for too long; don�t worry, I am a veteran, I have said repeatedly that I have developed a skin of an alligator. It is interesting to note, however, that out of the uncountable supporters of injustice who were viciously attacking me, only a handful are left - over the last few years, their number has dwindled drastically. They are not even mobs but �Shemasa� as the Sudanese would say. Like many others, some of them will soon recognize that serving as a foot soldier for a tyranny is not a proud thing to do--they will repent. I am certain. Others will carry their shame to their graves; it is their legacy to be what they are, spoilers reared by the spoils of injustice.

I chose not to respond seriously. I choose to have an upbeat, positive and forward-looking attitude. Nobody should be tempted to engage in meaningless duels with the spoilers who can�t live in an atmosphere of peace and harmony. However, some of them, those who have perfected the art of cajoling the tyrant (in many ways) to be more ruthless, and those who cheer acts of injustice, should be condemned in the strongest words. But their twins are beyond repair and should be ignored: The enda-sewa of Dehai is no more irritating than a fly during an outdoor lunch; I don�t respond to complexity-ridden-attention-seekers whose life is a mirage full of imaginary pictures they create in their sick state of mind. How about the Topolino who woke up from a twenty-year sleep? Well, I will send him a calendar so that he discovers it is 2005 and not 1975- do you wonder why the ELF disintegrated badly when such confused people were leading it? That much is enough; but hey, I have to thank them for the cheap entertainment.

In the spirit of January, the spirit of a pleasant hope that exploded like a festive firework in Khartoum, and still exploding, I will be generous. I promise I will. But first, let me tell you about the �

Wnjeer

The person of a health inspector, the Hakim Al Sahha, was a legacy of  Italian colonization and the British administration in Eritrea. It continued well into the late sixties. Now that we are supposedly free under the rule of the �Lion of Nackfa�, a lion that should be kept inside a cage in a zoo, the tyrannical administration, the clique in Asmara believes we don�t need health or health inspectors, but we need something different- that is why they have plenty of grave-diggers!

Of course, with the exception of a few Eritrean households (the majority of them being in Asmara), in the fewer towns that had running water, the rest of Eritrea used Hawet, goatskin or Etro, (water jars), to store drinking water. Even those who have running water use clay jars to cool their water. Obviously, if there isn�t enough running water, one would not even ask about electricity and refrigerators. Probably, Eritrea�s per capita consumption of water was the lowest East of the Nile- I think it is even lower now under the tyranny. Scarce water limits the hygiene of a society and generally, Etros were not clean. Worse, most Etros had a tin-can tied to the them used for drinking- it is generally rusty and not washed very often. In such unhygienic situations, the job of the Hakim Sahha was vital.

The health inspector routinely visited households to inspect the cleanliness of water containers by checking water-jars for organisms that might cause illness. The Hakim�s tool of trade was a steel rod that looked like a crude golf club. The rod had a handle on one end and curved to form a circular O-shape covered with a white gauze (shash) on the other. Occasionally, the Hakim would knock at the door, and head straight to the family Etro, the water-jar. He would insert his tool, the rod with the gauze, into the jar as calmly as a fishing enthusiast. After a few moments, when he took the tool out, the gauze, a fine net, would either come out clean (healthy water) or would fish out tiny organisms (unhealthy water).  The organisms, the health hazard, are known as wnjeer, a type of worm. I had totally forgotten a generic term used to identify the many types of wnjeers (worms) until a tigrgna-master friend reminded me of it: Aleqti, parasites.

If the Hakim Sahha found parasites, Aleqti, in the water, he would order the water jar to be emptied and cleaned thoroughly before it is filled again.  If the household has a cement water container, baska, he would throw a tiny pill of fluorine into it. When the jar was emptied, all the parasites, the worms, the Aleqti, would be eradicated. A clean jar doesn�t encourage parasites to stick to the sides and find their way to the stomach of unsuspecting members of the family; when the jar is cleaned, the household would drink healthy water. 

So far, the opposition was like a tranquil sitting jar full of wnjeer and some Aleqti lurking on its outside by blending with the dumb green lichens. A long time ago, the Hakim Sahha inspected the opposition jar and suggested emptying it and cleaning it thoroughly in order to eradicate the Aleqti- I think the time was not ripe for emptying the jar. In the meantime, the Aleqti made us sick by causing nausea, diarrhea, stomachache and even bilharzia. Now, with the Khartoum agreements for creating a broad opposition body, the Aleqti are trying to create trouble within the opposition. Some tiny group within the Aleqti �chfra� are searching for a neglected jar that would host them- I know of such a jar, it is in Asmara. Do you remember the insect called�.

Hawi-Leyto?

I believe the firefly is similar to the poisonous Hawi-Leyto. It is an insect that glows in the dark; and it is very common in Eritrea. As a kid, I was amazed at its skill of disappearing during the day to reappear at night. The Hawi-Leyto is a misleadingly beautiful insect with polished shiny-green wings that glow like a neon light in the dark. Its beauty is so misleading when one considers the fact that if it came in contact with your body, in just one night, your skin would develop water-sacks that would eventually explode causing a painful burning sensation and a wound that leaves an ugly scar on your skin. 

If you have noticed, the Aleqti disappear during times of relative calm (daylight) and the minute an opportunity for a crisis (dark night) or a problem is witnessed, they jump in to sharpen differences and wreak havoc among Eritreans. They have perfected the skill of touching the sensitive societal chords. They know what scares and enrages many people and they harp on raw nerves trying to make everyone as paranoid as they are. They are masters at creating populist mobs of equally wicked and ignorant lots. And they have inflicted enough damage on our political and social fabric. We should not let them continue with that.

One would think there is no point in bringing this sad spot in our reality at a time when there is exemplary success being registered among the pro-democracy and pro-justice forces. Some would say bringing negativities of inconsequential elements would disrupt the mood. I have a different idea: If we don�t expose them and shame them for what they are, they will come out again and saw suspicion, division and hate among the people of our nation. As fringe elements as they are, we should recognize that a single matchstick starts a forest fire. Therefore, I believe that those who have shown continuous disregard for our struggle and unity with mischief and evil designs should be strongly condemned. But the rest, those who are irrelevant and sleep for twenty years to come out with empty noisy insults, I agree, they should be ignored because they are irrelevant and inconsequential.

My dear friends, avoid the misleading Hawi-Leyto, the Aleqti and the Wnjeer; look out for those whose only hobby is to instigate fights; and remember to clean your water jar thoroughly. Enough of Aleqti.

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