If you meet a Japanese say "Konichuwa" and he will be excited. If you find Pilipinos, just say "Comstaca Kabayan" and watch them smile with appreciation- you mimicked their language.

Haysam w'Haysam as Isaias put it, or Haysam w'Haysat as it should be put. Say that and some will giggle with excitement.  Last year while visiting Gash Barka, Isaias adorned his head with Umma; this year, at an event, he mimicked a speech in Tigre. AllahuAkbar. I think that will be the new PFDJ slogan, replacing Awet NHafash.

Two things I liked when I watched a video of the Tigre Language conference on Sunday. 1) An eloquent Tigre presenter mentioned a beautiful Tigre saying: "shoket shoket T'afegerra" and 2) There was a beautiful Beni Amer recital of a warlike poem which was delivered brilliantly if not for the usual PFDJ bravado, "we samdam Hna gl sefra, shrnay kaarj inbel'lE – bedel arzaq amrika gl Hdetna nagen'E – bedel teTweer amrika Hglanna lHays wHabenna." Brilliant recital and Rebabet accompaniment. Brilliant indeed.

Haysam w'Haysat, here is the translation:

The Tigre saying translates to: "a thorn is extracted with a thorn": like with like. Snake poison cures snake bite. Now go discuss "means of struggle."

The poetry recital translates to: "we are resilient for hunger, we don't eat foreign wheat; we prefer our pride and destitution instead of the bounties of America". Which means, toeing the official anti-America line, and which also means, utter stupidity: USAid, an American agency, supplied, and supplies, and will supply 70% of the food aid Eritrea needs. Talk of an ungrateful beggar- the PFDJ.

But that was not the significance of the conference; it was about languages and their role in building a society. Which again means, reinforcing the failing mother-tongue education which was resisted, stripped naked by many patriots including Abu Arre who is now languishing in the PFDJ jail. After 16 years of making the people less hopeful than ever, after a lot of hullabaloo, the male female students ratio among the Tigre population is nothing but shameful- if only the PFDJ's vocabulary has the word shame. They can only boast of a 5 - 95 gender ratio in education. Now that education is done with, Tigre has been discovered as a lethal political tool to garner support for the ailing regime. The advertised goal of the conference is to standardize Tigre language: put all accents in a blender and come out with one dull laboratory Tigre- engineering a new accent. In PFDJ land, diversity is not even tolerated within one language let alone among many languages. Déjà vu, it is obvious where this has been going. 
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If only the government would take a challenge, one would ask a simple question: why are the prisons of the Highlands manned by visibly larger number of Tigre speakers? This has also come to pass for nothing will elongate the regime's life. Not even their attempts to create wedges among the people.

Haysam w'Haysat, I will change the topic on you

Recently I went to attend a wedding in the Bay Area. On my way, I passed through Oakland to meet a friend for lunch in a Chinese neighborhood. The restaurant door was decorated with huge flame-spitting dragon. The entrée they served had worms and roots - I never eat that. I convinced my friend to go and eat at any Habesha restaurant instead.

The restaurant business is the only establishment left where Eritreans and Ethiopians admit they are Habesha and forget identifying themselves by their languages. I never saw a Tigrinya restaurant or an Amhara one… or a Tigrai restaurant. Of course there is no Tigre restaurant in the whole planet. It is Habesha restaurant. Everybody has learned to live with that. Beautiful Taf injera, white bread and juicy zgni was served and I ate that feeling a bit guilty- I didn't stand in line for the bread.

After lunch we drove on Telegraph Ave where the overhead cable lines looked red and hot as if they were carrying something volatile. We picked another friend whom I didn't see since the DC demonstrations at the State Department last October. An idea occurred to me when we drove past the PFDJ consulate in Oakland: bringing the fire-spitting dragon we saw at the Chinese restaurant, curve some dollar bills in its hands to adorn the consulate door. It would have been a perfect portrayal for the real fire-spitting circus gangs of the PFDJ; but it is too late now. The consulate has been ordered closed and will soon go to the usual clandestine operations: "plain-clothed" consuls will resume operations from their kitchen. That is how their illegal consulates operate in many of the smaller cities. 

The evening arrived so soon. It was time for the wedding party. Beautiful arrangement. Beautiful guests. Beautiful venue. Excellent food and drinks. Adorable bride and a handsome groom. It was one of the best wedding parties I ever attended. But it was even better. I met at least 25 people who grew up with me, seven of whom I hadn't seen for decades. I found a friend with whom I had a slightly heated political communication a while back. All I can say is that he was more gracious than I expected. A real gentleman, he never spoiled our meeting by injecting politics in it. My respect and my gratitude to this gentleman. That is a true Kerenite spirit and I thank him for that.

Did I dance? Twice. Did I congratulate the bride and groom? No- unless congratulating the parents count. I think I owe them a belated congratulation. Bet mal w'Iyal. I was so excited for meeting old friends that I forgot it was a wedding: it looked more of a get together of old friends! Get together?

Yes. A get together of the Keren High School alumni which is on the plans and hopefully would be held soon. A project that many were toying with for a while. I hope we will succeed in holding our much-awaited get-together. All right. So much for Keren today.

Never miss the point. …Hadarka aytrese'E - it is an advice in case you are wondering. Going on…..

I drove for two-hours back home over freeways, bridges and crossed railroads never wondering if they were built by the Army Corps of Engineers and whether that is analogous to Eritrea's slave project, Warsay Yekaalo.   I have to thank a certain propagandist for that. Just as I have to thank a buzzing fly for helping me make the connection between the propagandist and Mata Hari and Tokyo Rose.   Thus, my nickname for her: Asmara Rose.

The Stench of 'Asmara Rose'

As I typed this edition, a fly was annoying me. I picked a huge print file about 'Women Spies In History' and smashed the fly on the table. The file cover was bloodied. I tore off the back cover of the file and was about to throw it off when I thought about the previous life of the fly.

The Hindus believe that if someone lived a corrupted life, he is reincarnated as a lowly creature, maybe an ant or a fly. If someone lived a virtuous life, he is reincarnated as a glorious creature, maybe a lion. I thought of putting the fly in nitrogen and once dry roll it in acrylic plastic and make a breast medal of it. Then gift it to Mata Hari- she is a spy I read about in the file.

Mata Hari was a woman who was engaged with German political and military figures during WW1. The French secret police sent her to neutral Spain to establish relationships with the German echelons there. She was found to be a double agent, was arrested, charged, convicted as a German spy and sentenced to death.

It will be very difficult to explain the concept of Freedom to someone who doesn't value it- some creatures just do not see any difference between freedom and servitude. The evidences for this ignorance – about the value of freedom- are abundant. It is simply the Pharoah syndrome.

There is no question enslavers do not recognize that slaves are denied their freedoms. Surely, the plantation owners of the South never gave a thought to the lack of freedom of their slaves. The Master would admiringly inspect his just-harvested bushels of cotton while a few yards away his plantation manager was whipping a slave for not picking enough cotton.  In this convoluted logic, slavery is stealthily admired for it produced wealth, labor and yes, more slave breeding wombs. Kunta Kinte should not have resisted bondage, according to this logic.

We are repeatedly told to stand in awe observing the lame projects executed by PFDJ owned for-profit companies using free labor of the much talked about Warsay Yekaalo campaign. We are supposed to admire the labor of the youth who build villas for the enslavers' delight.  We are asked to applaud the fact that laborers do not have unions or rights; airports that do not have airplanes; ports that do not have ships; hospitals that do not have medicine; and roads that are full of roadblocks to check on the movement of the people who built them. What about freedom? What about it!

It is basic knowledge that infra-structure is a pre-requisite for any economic development. Indeed, no country can develop without first developing its infra-structure. But how? What are the policies? Who draws them? What is the mechanism for changing or scraping those policies if they are proved unworkable or unacceptable? Here lies the basic difference between the Eritrean slavery institution and the free Army Corps of Engineers.

'Asmara Rose' confirms that "The history of United States Army engineers can be traced back to June 16, 1775, when the Continental Congress organized an army with a chief engineer and two assistants…In 1794, Congress organized a Corps of Artillerists and Engineers, but it was not until 1802 that it reestablished a separate Corps of Engineers. The Corps' continuous existence dates from this year."

First she fails to say which "congress" approved PFDJ's slavery project. Second, since she is trying to draw parallels between American past and Eritrean present, can she tell us what else happened the year the Army Corps of Engineers was established? I will give her a clue: "Give me Liberty or Give me Death". Did the Army Corps of Engineers condemn Patrick Henry for his declaration? I wouldn't be surprised if 'Asmara Rose' told me they killed him.

Despite 'Asmara Rose's' stretching, there is a huge difference between the Army Corps of Engineers and the Eritrean Slavery Project. We know the Eritrean Slavery Project is the decision of one man, a dictator, who declared it, supervises it, and can stop it, or amend it at his whim—and every measure he took and he will take will be blindly applauded by 'Asmara Rose' and her ilk. The whole nation that is bearing the result of all of Isaias' adventures and experiments does not have a say in the issue. Worse, they cannot take the man who is causing all the destruction out of office. In the era of the dictator, the Eritrean people are required to have only hands—hands that will be used to haul rocks or hands that will be used to applaud the order to haul rocks.    

In contrast, the Army Corps of Engineers was organized by the people through their elected representatives and is supervised by the same elected representatives. If a member of the corps so wishes, he or she can leave the corps. There is no early morning SWAT team raid on the houses of the Corps- no "gffa". They move without the need for a bribed "menqesaqesi wereqt". They know their salaries, the type of jobs they do and when they will be relieved. They can even sue their leaders if they have a reason and get even. Dead members would be buried properly and openly. No extra-judicial execution in the Corps - and I never heard of any member of the corps running to Mexico escaping from the brutal condition in the Corps construction site! In short, the corps, which is totally legal, transparent and accountable, is a prestigious institution. On the contrary, the Warsay Yekaalo Project is not legal, it is secretive, and is not accountable- it is a combination of coercion and enslavement. Then 'Asmara Rose' has a nerve to question Prof. Habtu's Americanism! That is why I find 'Asmara Rose' the embodiment of 'Tokyo Rose' - propagating ideals and practices that are alien to the American constitution. I will vouch for Prof. Habtu blindfolded. He condensed the fate of our youth in one honest sentence: "hundreds of thousands of the youth in Eritrea are cursed to a life of stone hauling…"

When 'Asmara Rose' is done misrepresenting American history to suit her purposes, she goes to misrepresent Eritrea's with her faux knowledge of Eritrean cultures: "Understanding Eritrea's development strategy requires knowledge of Eritrea's rich history, and Eritrea's diverse cultures, norms and social traditions."  And what exactly are those?  Does she have a clue that the rich Eritrean history is mostly based on the quest for freedom?  None of Eritrea's diverse culture condones slave labor. The Eritrean social traditions are all based on Justice. The PFDJ that 'Asmara Rose' peddles doesn't recognize any of that. Worse, as usual, she brags at the expenses of the youth who are being forced to waste their life hauling rocks. But since the word of an eyewitness speaks louder than any propaganda piece, here is what an ex "slave-laborer", whose labor was extracted in building the Gelalao Hotel (the one that Asmara Rose, presented as a masterpiece), has to say:

"the modern hotel that is in Gelalo was built by the labor of the prisoners.  There was not a single machinery it was built by the sweat, blood and tears of the prisoners.   Although there were cars, people were forced to walk for two hours a day, in the sweltering heat, commuting [to and from their workplace.]  Beginning at 5:00 AM, without a taste of food, we laboured until noon.   After lunch, we resumed work at 2:00 PM and concluded at 6:00.  Then we return, escorted by people with rifles.   And, after all that hard work, your noon meal is two breads, and at night, two breads with lentil.  Alternative food is unthinkable."

He goes on to say:

“Something sad and amazing happened in 2004.  Many Eritrean youth came to visit their country from America, Europe and every continent. They brought them to see a modern miracle built by the Warsay-Yeka’alo Campaign, the miracle was the same modern hotel that was built by the blood and sweat of the prisoners of Gelalo.  They didn’t want anybody to know of our whereabouts, so they gave us a day off.”(1)

I am sure 'Asmara Rose' was one of those Tourist-Eritreans.

What would you say to this man? Would you tell him "it is your obligation to suffer and work as a slave because the rulers decided so"? Well, and that is exactly what 'Asmara Rose' is saying. But then, what do you expect of a hypocrite who considers Eritrea a yearly excursion destination, a touristic spot! How about staying there for a while and haul some rocks on the next trip?

'Asmara Rose' could not understand the difference between freedom and bondage; between voluntary work and forced labor; between slavery and freedom. She just wants the end result. If you build a road, it doesn't matter how you build it, just build it. If you get rich working honestly day and night or if you get rich stealing and drug trafficking, it is all the same to her and to her friends. No distinction between moral and amoral work and no distinction between right and wrong. What she is doing is propaganda campaign for her enablers, those who receive her when she visits Asmara. That is how Mata Hari served her clients. That is how Tokyo Rose served the Fascist regime of Japan.

Haysam w’Haysat, that is how 'Asmara Rose' serves the dictatorship of Eritrea.
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(1) http://www.awate.com/portal/content/view/4006/6/