That time the dancing frenzy was in LA. As usual, the weather was beautiful. The food was tasty. Foul smell in the hall�Beer and other not so familiar types of Liquor. Youngsters and more youngsters clad in Americana dress styles. Beautiful girls. Some, fighting the LA night chill, had wrapped themselves in the Eritrean Flag�a sort of patriotic �gabi�. Generous number of handshakes, long lost friends and relatives embracing  each other. This time a frenzy of emotional reunion-- a perfect weekend night. A song pierced through the doors from the hall. �Ya beledi yaHabob�.�. The familiar song from the days of stage-one period of refugeeism in the streets of Kessela, Port Sudan and Khartoum-- could it be Mohammed Wardi?

Three night of festivities. The first night I came late. I discovered that Wardi with his dozen-piece band was the guest singer. The dancing floor was full. Hysterical dancing and merry go-round. Singing and dancing to the wee hours of the morning�about two AM. Unfortunately, I had missed the best part of the festival�the show of the youth from Seattle. I was told they were the best treat. But it was not all loses, I gained when I was treated to a late-early, night-morning, 3 AM cup of tea by their mentor; not a bad deal, huh?

The second night was equally fun. That night, the booze stand was closed... something that irritated a few people, they needed to refill but couldn�t. They spent the rest of the night dry and murmuring. The smell of the food was more aromatic and more appetizing. Less foul smell of beer and its liquory sisters. I bought water. The vendor opened the bottle and threw the cap in a trash bin, and gave me an open bottle. Why? That was his instructions, he said. Open the lid and give buyers an open, lidless bottle! Why? I have yet to solve this riddle and to find out the reason for this awkward instruction.

Then a peek to the hall. It was a skilled Eritrean band and a skilled singer, all in military fatigues. Patriotic and emotional songs. I convinced myself not to listen to the lyrics and dance to the beat. Then a veteran singer of the Eritrean music appeared on stage, wearing a suit, and was introduced to the public�AlAmin AbdulLatif! Good, �Abay Aba Shawl� is alive and kicking. Moments later, Alamin finished his first part and disappeared behind the scene for an interval. Minutes later, he came out to perform his second part. This time, he was clad in a fatigued military uniform. What? Why would a singer who shook the body and soul of the youth of the sixties and seventies with golden hits like �Fatna Zahra�, while dressed in civilian clothes, need to appear in military fatigue to motivate an audience? Have we submitted to the culture of militarism? Is the fatigue going to be the national dress? Alamin could have done better.

Fatigued outfits are for soldiers�even soldiers have different fatigues for different seasons and landscapes. Green fatigues for forests and shades of brown for desert. Our society has successfully created one more ethnic group -- the � Military Ethnie�, as a friend sadly commented.

It was the 1^st of September festivities. An important turning point for Eritrea. And an important date for awate.com, its launching date. The kids wrapped in Eritrean Flag caught my attention and I approached. Random questionnaire, I did a quick research:

What is the occasion for this celebration? The answers ranged from "it is the LA community�s turn to organize the yearly festivities� to �it is something we do every year�. What does September 1^st signify? The replies were astonishing. Nobody mentioned Awate in their replies. For most, the day signified the beginning of another month and a count-dawn to next year�s festivities. Indeed, it simply is �the beginning of another month�! Shame on the parents who miss the opportunity to teach their children about September 1^st.

Stage two of the quick research. Who is Wardi? Wardi? He is an Eritrean who grew up in the Sudan. Really? Well, in case one forgets, that is a reminder that one has been around in this world for quite sometime. What is mountain Adal? Surprisingly, one correct answer. Yet, no one associated Awate or Adal with September 1^st or the festival. Awate was not remembered in a festivity that celebrated his leadership in the long trek �the path to establish the Eritrean nationhood. His dream. That dream and vision of Awate has now been disfigured and is the cause of a very risky political rift facing Eritreans. What rift? As if you don't know, huh!

A high-level Eritrean delegation finished a high- level trip to mediate in a high-level peace talk between the high-level Sudanese opposition forces and the high-level Sudanese government. Very high-level endeavor indeed. The Sudanese have been extremely kind to the Eritreans and however we try, we can not reply they generosity. Yes, Wardi�s Yabeledi Ya Habob is so dear to Eritreans. The high-level Eritrean delegation is working hard to reconcile the ruling NIF party and the Sudanese opposition stationed in Asmara. Very noble indeed. But the proverbial Eritrean Butterfly imposes itself here. The Butterfly that covers the ground with its wings when its butts are stark naked.

The Eritrean government would be better off reconciling itself with its own opposition before crossing the border to reconcile Wardi's family. That is similar to a drunken priest preaching piety to his helpless congregation. Make peace at home and what is left over of the peace that you make at home, export it to �thee neighbors�. Fire fighters do not use petrol to extinguish fires!