This article is an expansion of a brief speech prepared for the meeting held on Nov. 16^th. 2006 at UC Berkeley by the Priority African Network.

IN SEARCH OF MOSES
Saleh Gadi
Berkeley, Nov. 16^th. 2006

Diaspora. It is an important word which I never liked.

When I first heard the word, I had difficulty understanding what it meant but nevertheless, I hated it. The word was being repeated on the Internet and from the context, I guessed it must mean a refugee. Then I found that it is a noun and my spellchecker alerted me that it is written with a capital D. I wondered: why a fancy word when the word refugee is enough to explain the pain and agonies of a person in that predicament? I suspected the word was coined by a pharmacist- they are fond of creating complicated words � read what is written on your medicine containers and you will know what I mean. But now I know what Diaspora means. If I made the mistake of calling myself a Diaspora, my apologies; but I have decided to never call myself a Diaspora Eritrean again.

1. The Cubans have been waging a struggle against the dictatorship of Castro for almost fifty-years from the USA, specifically from Florida. These are people endowed with geographical proximity to their homeland, large, well-established community which is a source of substantial resources; they have full backing by successive American administrations and sympathy from all freedom loving people. Yet, the result of their struggle cannot be considered anything but a failure- they simply achieved nothing.
2. On the other extreme is the example of Khumeini and his followers who faced Iran's Shah from their exile in France. Khomeini was equipped with the now-outdated cassette tapes and a strong appeal to the Shiite religious fervor. With his taped messages of inspiration and agitation, he unseated one of the strongest police states in the region� a state which was supported by the USA and many regimes of the region. Though Khomeini established a theocratic state that does not recognize individual freedoms and the regime he established became aggressive in nature, he successfully and swiftly dismantled the Savak-protected regime of the Shah.
3. A third example, somewhere in between the two, we have another experience, that of the Iraqi opposition and specifically that of Shelebi. Shelebi who was favored by some of the top echelon of the US administration was more of a mafia thug than a politician. His clownish politics based on lies and deceit has resulted in the quagmire in present Iraq. He created lies and lies to rally support for the invasion of Iraq when he didn't have to- Saddam's crimes didn't need any WMD deceit to make the goal of unseating him more palatable. Saddam's oppression of his people was enough to warrant an invasion to end his power which he abused for decades � and I vocally supported that invasion to unseat Saddam. Shelebi had an eye on Saddam's warm seat, he saw himself as the natural replacement. And in preparation for that, a lot was said about his fame among Iraqis. But on Election Day in Iraq, the much promoted Shelebi and his party could not even secure a single seat in the parliament. That is an example of an opportunistic opposition that can only breed in the Diaspora.

What about the Eritrean "Diaspora" opposition?

I believe that the more one has stakes on the outcome, the more seriously one gets involved. The refugees among us want to go back home. The refugees among us believe we have an unfinished job that needs to be attended. However, we have a large number of Diaspora that has no stake in Eritrea. They consider Eritrea a hotel room where you check in for a few days and leave- you don't care if it burns to the ground once you leave. Eritrea is a hotel; its citizens are the housekeepers, and our tourist Eritreans check in, barely have a conversation with the housekeeper and come extolling the 5-star service they received. The PFDJ supporters are greedy, selfish and immoral elements; they are the real Diaspora who do not care what happens in Eritrea as long as they can secure unhindered cheap vacations with their hard currency. They care nothing as long as they can rub shoulders with the elements of the oppressive regime in Eritrea and stimulate their egos. They care nothing as long as they have freedom in the streets of Oakland or Washington DC. They have only contempt for the Eritrean people and they believe Eritreans can only be governed through sheer coercion and aggressive, violent means. They bless the harsh measures of the oppressive regime and they feed it their moral, material and political support. They are those who stand in line to vote in American precincts to elect officials from town Sheriff to president but think that the voting right is an unnecessarily luxury for the Eritreans people. They fight for their rights in the streets of the West but think Eritreans do not deserve freedoms. They fill their stomachs and they don't mind Eritreans going hungry because of the wrong policies of the regime that they support. That, my friends, is Diaspora-Hypocrisy. Be ware of calling yourselves Diaspora. But if you must, then measure situations with the yardstick used by a refugee. The conscience of a refugee is never dishonest.

To get an example of a refugee, we have to get closer to the chaotic Horn of Africa. First let's see the thousands of young refugees who are stranded in European refugee streets. The young generation who have become the Boat People of the age. Let's see those who are being wasted in the deserts of Sahara and the Mediterranean Sea. Unfortunately they are following the route of the previous waves of refugees in the Sudan who have been denied their rights for decades. People who were wronged by Haile Sellassie and the Derg and now by the PFDJ that chose to perpetuate worse injustices on them. These are people whose land is now confiscated by the PFDJ and distributed among the warlords of the regime and its supporters. Those are people whose very existence is denied by the PFDJ officially declaring, for example, "there is no indigenous people in the region" in Bisha. We all know that the indigenous people of Bisha are the Baria Eritreans. That land my friends, is now being exploited by NEVSUN in collaboration with the illegitimate PFDJ.

Dictators know the strength of their Diaspora supporters who are willing to be milked and ask nothing the dictators cannot afford to give. Importantly, they don�t ask for rights, they don�t contend for power and they don�t pose a serious threat to the hegemony of the oppressive regimes. And Dictators know that refugees and those oppressed internally are determined. Thay can be patient but when they explode, the sight is not a good one for oppressors. Dictators in our region know of the Rwandan refugees who ignited the revolution to reclaim their lands, the Congolese, the Ugandans, The Sudanese Southerners and even Eritreans. And the worst crime of dictators is that they force the people to unseat them violently thus establishing a bad precedent and a vicious cycle of poverty, bloodshed and instability. They do not accommodate the idea of Reconciliation to avoid all of that. They do not take note of the ticking clock alarming them that their time is up and that they should leave peacefully. They insist on out-staying the concealed rage and frustration of the oppressed people.

In this age of globalization, an injustice to one is supposed to be considered an injustice to all of humanity. To make that a reality, we have to struggle harder. And to wage an effective struggle, we should revisit our modus operandi very often in order to polish and improve it.

What should we do?

I believe that the most effective way to face an oppressive regime that violently violates the rights of a nation is naturally to use a defensive mechanism that would enable you to resist the level of aggression coming from the oppressor. In other words, use equal or superior methods. Naturally there are people who chose to carry arms and fight the regime for their rights. That fact should not be a taboo� especially from the apologists of the regime that breeds armed rebellions to get at its neighbors. The PFDJ's common comment in dealing with this issue is their belittling of the opposition and their condescending remark- show us your manhood! � sre enteleka' ar'eyena? No one can doubt that what they mean is fight us back. And surely, throughout history, people are pushed to the brink and they give up hope and finally resort to violence. But for us civilians, we cannot carry guns- either because we are opposed to the idea of violence or we are cowards or we just don't wish the opposition to be taken seriously. Unfortunately, experience taught us that unless one spills blood, they are not taken seriously- example, Eastern Sudan, Darfur, Southern Sudan, etc. And the PFDJ had to arm those people to wage a violent attack on the Sudanese government before they can bring them to the table to negotiate a peace deal. What does that teach the Eritrean oppostition?

It is important to note that those exiled in the West have nothing to do in that domain- maybe there could arise a question: what if the opposition is raising money for arms, would you give? But that is only a theoretical luxury. I think, since that is not our domain, we leave it to those who believe it is their domain; we should concentrate on our struggle and discuss ways of making it more effective always within the bounds of the law of the land where we live and within the available legal civil means of struggle. Stalling tactics like the one which two years ago brought us the debate of whether PFDJ should be confronted militarily or peacefully are not relevant, 1) because denying the right of resistance defies the natural course of events and 2) because some were debating in a manner that gave an impression that they commanded armed battalions waiting in their backyards for a marching order.

In our struggle, we need to observe the following: 1) Be action oriented (with less theory). 2) Stay focused on the oppressive regime. 3) Focus on a single message of liberation. 4) Don�t pretend you have the mandate to chart the future governance of Eritrea. 5) Recognize you represent a tiny fraction of the Eritrean population. 6) Remember the millions of Eritrean at home are nobody�s militias. 7) Remember they are not pumpkins but people who think and feel. 8) Limit your agenda to issues that empower the people. 9) Put your shoes on the shoes of those who are actually suffering 10) If you must engage in partisan politics, please postpone it until such a time that we establish a parliament. 11) The Eritrean Armed Forces has the most obligation to defend the rights of the people- and it should not be considered a militia for grabs.

Is our exile-driven struggle going to end up like that of Cubans or Iranians? Will it be like those of Rwanda, where refugees resettled in Uganda waged the struggle? And what is the difference?

I hope you do not think that I am being simplistic but this, to me, is all a matter of leadership. There could not have been an Iranian Revolution without Khomeini. Agreed, there has to be a hospitable environment, the right time, a weakened regime and other factors. But without an effective leader, nothing can happen. It is the leader that makes you see the impossible as the inevitable. It is an effective leader that galvanizes you, motivates you and organizes you. It is an articulate leader, gifted with the power of persuasion, one who is totally dedicated, one who is tireless, one who is not easily distracted, that can get us to the promised land. What the opposition is missing, in short, is a Moses. This is not to take away from the hard work and contribution of many; nor am I advocating for the establishment of a cult of personality. But when I say people are not rallying to the opposition, I am saying that our opposition is rudderless and leaderless.

I beg you all to understand the above as a concern for the betterment of our combined activities and an effort to make our struggle effective. Lets identify the shortcomings in order to ameliorate the situation. What is being invested in the struggle, in terms of time and money� and emotions, is too great to be wasted; and what is at stake is the whole Eritrean nation. We face a great challenge ahead. Eritrea is in dire need for a solution. The oppressive regime should be destroyed and discarded and all its traces of injustice and ugliness wiped out. We will certainly succeed because we are siding on the side of Justice. We are sure we love our people. We are sure we are struggling for the good of our people. And with that kind of certainty, Eritreans will certainly be free. True, no one claims to own the truth, but regarding the struggle of Eritreans against oppression, we are damn sure we own the truth. And to pursue that truth effectively, we are In Search Of Moses.

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