In case some might have forgotten, the headlight of a traditional bicycle is powered by a friction dynamo that rotates when pushed to the wheel of a bicycle. Inside the dynamo casing is a wired magnet that creates electricity and powers the incandescent lamp of the bicycle. Those defunct dynamos, buried by Geremeskel are what gives the world its gravity. Before that, the world was still, it didnt move.
At the risk of annoying those who were already annoyed because I wrote the story of my crossing over to the land of the dead, I will briefly mention Past Life Regression. All the Narcissists we see among us were bicycle dynamos in their past lives. Now they reside deep in the core of the earth and act as forces of gravity- they make the world rotate and revolve. They can also stop it at will. If they do, we will cease to have day and night or seasons. Everything would be dull and boring.
Geremeskel ran a bicycle rental shop on the ground level of one of the high-rise buildings in town. He rented bicycles strictly on 15-minute increments. There was an analogue clock on the oily shelf and the bicycles were released on 15 past, 30 past, 45 past and at full hour. That way it is less confusing to calculate rental time-slots. If you came to rent 12 minutes before the hour, you have to wait for 12 minutes to get your beauty bike when the clock hand hits full hour. If you are late in returning, you would have to pay more. If you dont carry money, and usually kids dont carry more than the 10 cents enough for a 15-minutes rent, and you came back late, you would be locked up for a few minutes in a dark windowless room located deep inside the building. That room scared renters who were careful not be late in returning.
Many terrorized renters would check every few minutes to make sure they were not late. They would stand at the door, ring the bell, and shout the bicycle number. Geremeskel, a half-burned cigarette dangling between his lips, glances at the clock, and from behind a thick smoke would give his verdict: Gira Seqira or Gira Kebira - the mixed Italian-Arabic phrases mean, literally, a small ride or a big ride. Gira Seqira means you have enough time left for an extra ride to the small roundabout between what used to be Bar Senhit and Bar Jetti and back; Gira Kebira gives you time to ride around the magnificent Gira Fiori (did they destroy that Italian relic yet?).
What do you do if a Narcissist rings you door bell? Do you say Gira Seqira? The rude would open the door and say, take a hike, fly a kite or get lost. I am telling them to take a ride around the world and come back after ten-years. Gira Kebira, Kebira, Kebiiiiiiira.
Zewde and Zewde
I have never been moved as I was upon reading Teklesenbet Teklais eulogy on his friend Zewde Gebregergish. Recently the war hero passed away after suffering for decades of battle wounds from the liberation war. It was a moving story indeed. To me, the story evoked emotions because Teklesenbet mentioned a friend from the old days: Semere Gebregergish. I dont even know if Semere remembers me, it has been a long time. The last time I saw Semere was when I was passing through Himberti and I heard sharp drumbeats of a wedding and I changed my direction to join the fun. There I spotted Semere, healthy and alive, jumping with a stick in his hand and swaying his tall physique like crazy. We shook hands and hugged. Everybody danced the night away. And stayed in his house. After his vacation, Semere went off to his unit and soon he was badly wounded in the spinal cord and subjected to life in bed. His image, dancing to an authentic gwayla while engulfed by the reddish dust of Himberti never left my memory. Last I heard, he was somewhere in Scandinavia. I wish him more patience and endurance.
Indeed, many paid dearly for the struggle to liberate Eritrea. I am thankful to Teklesenbet Teklai, who is a wounded veteran himself, for bringing to us the memories of bravery and sacrifice that is now negated by the unjust regime. Teklesenbet should be encouraged to write more. The stories should never be allowed to die because it would be grave betrayal to the legacy of our heros. And it is what gives us the energy to keep going.
A few days ago another Zewde passed away. This time it was Aboy Zewde Mogos, a father figure and an always smiling octogenarian who walked like a vigorous thirty-year old. The exceptionally elegant Aboy Zewde, always dressed up, his white hat never leaving his head, had never missed attending an opposition meeting, a celebration, or an occasion in the Bay Area. I was honored to be introduced to him some years ago. Since then, whenever we met, he would grab my wrist so firmly that it hurts, and say his piercing words: ajokhum, bertEu. Those few words, that I heard from him over and over again, were so heavy that they felt like a big load landing on my shoulders. I always said to myself, if this old gentleman would be so committed, what prevents the younger from emulating his dedication to a cause?
But life is such that Zewede passed away in Sudan, an almost forgotten hero, and another Zewde passed away in Santa Rosa leaving a fatherly void in the community; both losses in a matter of days. It is a call for contemplation. The thought of someone who was wounded in battle and lived suffering to finally die, and the death of a veteran who was a source of encouragement, arouses feelings of guilt for not doing enough and a feeling of responsibility. It adds to the resolve and dedication in the quest for justice. And we are the living until the bell rings and our time is up.
Friends and Friends
I am grateful to those who never stop challenging me on my assertions in a respectful manner. I am very thankful for the messages of encouragement and the productive and insightful input, feedback and positive criticism. But there are other types of messages: insults from bigots, irrational and illogical statements from past life dynamos, and condescending orders from the arrogant. The funniest are messages from Narcissists around whom the world revolves and who think everything written is about them, specially in the Internet they shed off what little humility they might have had, at birth. They come out with an ugly arrogance and anger. They are fond of supporting their views with quotes from divine scriptures; and that is enticing: lets all take refuge in scriptures for the sake of reciprocation. And one should not be hasty in accordance with the divine wisdom: Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry; for anger resteth in the bosom of fools - Ecclesiastes 7:9
Two years ago in an occasion, I met someone who looked angry and serious. He whispered into my ears and asked me to follow him to the outside because he wanted to talk to me in private. I followed him out and we sat by the curb outside the house. After some minutes of shaking his head and puffing, he asked me I am very offended, why do you attack me like that? Surprised, I replied that I hardly know him and that I dont know what he was talking about! He kept repeating: You intentionally attacked me in your last article, are you trying to deny that? He went on to say that everything I wrote was what he did, what he believed and that he was certain I was attacking him. I froze in shock! I explained: I dont know your history; I saw you only once, briefly, at a wedding party; I only know your first name; I have no reason or knowledge to write about you. He insisted he was the subject of my humiliating article and wouldnt be convinced otherwise. I gave up. I told him, take 'Gira Kebira!' and left the whole place. If someone annoys you, just try saying that. It works.
My recount from the Crossing Over two weeks ago, apparently inspired some people to be more paranoid and read what is not written. My views are biased towards Eritrean interests as opposed to Eritrean Diaspora interests, (and I am sure many understood them in that context). Nevertheless, I received a few reactions from a few neutral reporters who must have thought I wrote specifically about them. They were angry because I criticized the issue of neutrality to an oppressive regime. Some even went wild and made it look as if the debate was about free press and that I was against free press! Hashae! That could be a wild joke- and it is not funny at all. What I wrote was about integrity and about identifying political stands.
An individual went berserk because he had issues with awate.com and thought this was the right time to hit it through me. He insinuated that I and my cohorts were cancer, and he equated my view with that of Isaias the dictator! That was because I dont believe in the logic of neutrality to an oppressive regime. One would think that a person so clad-wrapped on his journalistic credentials, to the extent of boasting about it, would at least have the basic knowledge of propaganda as a tool of struggle. Someone in that level would be expected to know the difference between journalism as it relates to bread-earning and JOURNALISM as it relates to advocacy and peaceful struggle. At this moment I am not interested in the bread earning part. A lot can be said about press laws and journalistic ethics and reality, which I tried to address briefly in my last Negarit. But havent we been exposed to the deafening noises about the meek lopsided views on peaceful struggle and meeker views on the essence of constitution and constitutionalism. No doubt someone who considers the PFDJ constitution a divine revelation should have his head checked before talking about freedom- even if it is about free press.
Why is it difficult to understand that people like me are passionately opposed to the regime, and believe that carrying the regimes propaganda with an aura of indifference, while at the same time madly attacking its opposition, is not a good idea? Why would an opposition undermine the struggle against oppression? I just hope for a revision of the employed strategy and tactic.
No ID Cards For Integrity
What do you call someone who theoretically struggles against the regime and confuses his position between that of an opposition and that of a neutral observer? It has to be someone who thinks in terms of paper ID cards. Are there non-visible IDs, a moral equivalent of a paper ID? I dont know.
Anyone has the right to consider himself a neutral observer or even a supporter; but being a neutral observer and an opposition at the same time, defies any human logic. You cant be the regimes supporter, its opposition and neutral to it. In simple Arithmetic, supporter is (-1) neutral is (0) opposition is (+1).
There is a complicated riddle facing us: How could you owe the neighborhood restaurant $1 and at the same time owe it $0? How could you have a Debit, a Zero balance and a Credit on your bank account all at the same time? When someone insists that he has a credit and a 0 balance at the same time, the only explanation is that the person is severely confused. All right, my name is Saleh but my name is not Saleh! Confused? Live with it!
In politics, this is called creeping normalcy. Yet, people have the freedom to express their confusion and consider it normal; and everyone who observes confusion has the right to call it by its true name.
At this juncture of our struggle against oppression, we have three groups of Eritreans: those who support the oppressive regime; those who are neutral; and those who oppose it. Actually there is a fourth group, a product of cross-breeding between a few opposition and a few neutral elements. An oxymoron? Not really. It is a sort of an eco- friendly vehicle that consumes more gas than a jumbo jet! Remember, everyone is free to make a choice. But where does the relation of that to journalism or Free Press come from? Go figure! But you wont find any relation.
Surmise and Summarize
I believe that some opposition elements have weird strategies and tactics, and weirder rational of invoking free press in any subject. But the allegation that those elements are secret associates of the regime and PFDJ moles is a wild allegation and an insult. I dont believe in any of it and I wish it would stop. Simply put, they dont have any secret relation with the PFDJ. And the violent threats that came from some elements are disappointing and should not be condoned at all. I dont believe in forcing anyone to parrot what others want them to say either, they make their own choice. What I believe in is, fighting the destructive onslaught on the opposition by some elements with vigor. They should be hammered with sound debates. I believe in proving to them that their strategy (or tactic) is not helping the quest for justice. On the contrary, it is hindering it. That is an intellectual fight to convince; and the battlefield is the mind. Why not? It is not impossible. Many ex-diehard supporters of the regime have been convinced to adjust their stand, how difficult would it be to convince those who are with the opposition (or claim to be with it) on the same trench? Not very difficult. But not all. A few other elements (a tiny minority) have a motive that I couldnt put my fingers on with certainty. Therefore, there is no other option but to guess.
I surmise that the imminent demise of the regime with no guarantee for keeping the status-quo is causing some brains to go haywire. The noise coming from the political arsonists is because they are expecting the disruption of the status-quo soon - the era of justice, equality and true freedom is near. I suspect the anger is because the selfish exclusionist tactic employed to change the regime, while at the same time protecting the status-quo, is exposed to the skin. And this is the project of a tiny disruptive group who can only live in chaos. That is my guess. And I summarize:
There is enough faith in the struggle; no one questions the unjust nature of the PFDJ anymore. It is time to heighten the tolerance levels towards the allies to the maximum. It is time to reinforce our national unity because it is the most targeted aspect of our strength. Opposition elements should recognize the fact that the justice they seek is also sought by all compatriots equally. The whole wronged people of Eritrea are yearning for justice and fairness. That should be our leading torch. Be fair and just. And There shall no evil happen to the just. - Proverbs 12:21. It is obvious that not only the time for Gira Kebira is up, the time for Gira Seqira is also up. I foresee rented bicycles being returned to the shop. The whole opposition spectrum to the oppressive regime is determined to give the bicycles to its rightful owners, the patient Eritrean people. And all the rusted and corroded dynamos in the core of the earth are now unearthed; they are exposed to the light and scorch of the sun. They have lost their appeal. They have lost their magnetic force. Welcome to a world with no center of gravity.
