A colleague sent me the following joke.

A man was riding his motorcycle along a beach in California when suddenly the sky clouded above his head and, in a booming voice, the Lord said, "Because you have TRIED to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish."

The biker pulled over and said, "Build a bridge to Hawaii so I can ride over anytime I want."

The Lord said, "Your request is materialistic.  Think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking: the supports required to reach the bottom of the Pacific and the concrete and steel it would take!  It will nearly exhaust several natural resources.  I can do it, but it is hard for me to justify your desire for worldly things. Take a little more time and think of something that could possibly help mankind."

The biker thought about it for a long time.

Finally, he said, "Lord, I wish that I and all men could understand women. I want to know how she feels inside; what she's thinking when she gives me the silent treatment; why she cries; what she means when she says nothing is wrong; and how I can make a woman truly happy."

The Lord replied, "You want two lanes or four on that bridge?"

The Impossible-To-Understand Folks

I am wondering, how the Lord would respond if the Californian had asked to understand those who vehemently support the PFDJ.  I think the Lord would agree to build a bridge from Asmara all the way to California. That probably is a lot easier.

That aside, a lot has been said about the pro-PFDJ Eritrean Diaspora, and its repeated failure to grasp the injustice PFDJ perpetrates, and the abysmal governance in Eritrea. Almost all the time the justification these impossible-to-understand members of the Diaspora provide is that we have better infrastructure now.

The issue at hand, however, is not the "progress" that is made in building dams and roads. Equally, it is not an issue of establishing a mobile telephone network in Eritrea. The issue, rather, is the utter disregard the Eritrean government, and particularly the people in power in Eritrea, have for the general population.

The issues are the arrests, arbitrary detentions, killings, disappearances, abuses, human rights violations, beatings and rapes, inhumane treatments, displacements of ordinary Eritreans serving in the military and those outside the military.

If we ask, are there more dams in Eritrea now than 10 years ago? The answer would be most definitely yes and, by God, there should even be more ones that are functional. If we also ask, are there more schools in Eritrea now? The answer would also be yes: but there should actually be more universities, colleges, and institutions of higher learning, not just kindergarten and elementary schools.

I would like to note that whatever achievement we have attained as a nation is not, like these people think, a work of the government. It also is not a miracle that Eritrea has a relatively better infrastructure from 15 years ago, or 20 years ago. It certainly is not the sole product of the policies the PFDJ has been implementing in Eritrea as well.

On the contrary, it is a product of the hard work of the Eritrean people, who have now fallen victims to the government that some people are so determined to praise and defend. The role of some Eritreans who came back from the Diaspora to invest at home is worth mentioning in conjunction to this point.

Do not even start. Mai Nefhi Technical Institute is never a substitute enough for the University of Asmara.

In any case, Eritrea has been a free nation for over 16 years. Would you not agree it is a little harebrained to be proud because we have mobile phones in Eritrea?

Let us say, for arguments sake, we agree that we have achieved a lot in terms of rebuilding the infrastructure at home. I still cannot see how that can be an excuse for not respecting the rights of the same people these schools are built to provide services to, for not implementing the constitution and, most of all, for ignoring the pleas of the Eritrean people for better governance.  

Moreover, what is so extraordinary anyway about building roads, dams, and educational facilities, or rebuilding the infrastructure or the economy for that matter? Isn't that the most obvious thing that follows a very long struggle for independence like ours?

Then why do few members of the Diaspora use these things as an excuse for the evident failures that are unwaveringly visible in the ineffective system we have at home. It is probably a lot easier to build a bridge from Asmara to California than to have these people explain to you how a micro-dam has become an obstacle to treating human beings humanely.

Contempt & Disregard

Of those impossible-to-understand members of the Diaspora, however, I can only say the following. So much contempt, so much disregard for values and opinions of others; no wonder these people are supporting the PFDJ.

The most remarkable mockery I find in all their arguments is when they unreservedly echo the unjust allegations their leader makes against the US government. When he says there is no democracy and free press in the world, I can find it in my heart to understand his agitation, as he knows he is becoming more cornered by the day. He is a dying voice in the background, a jingling tattering noise fading away in to the dark history books. Therefore, he does not matter.

But how is it that these people say there is no democracy in the US while they are enjoying the fruits of the same democracy they claim does not exist? I find it very ironic that these people are actually exercising the democratic rights they are given by the same democracy they work hard to undermine. One thing is certain; it must be very challenging to be them.

I usually do not go to the pro government websites to read the articles they post. For the simple reason that I do not anymore have the stamina to read the hocus-pocus the writers there write. I used to read and laugh at articles that claim the Eritrean government is doing a great job, the G-15 are spies working for foreign agents and so on. However, it is not funny anymore. I actually find it very disturbing. I get sick from reading their articles.

But recently, an article posted here at Awate (Asmara Rose: Not A Credible Witness) provided a link that I, unfortunately, followed to an article written by one of the impossible-to-understand PFDJ writers. (US-Eritrea Relations: Soured By Design.)  If only I could meet the author in person and look in to her eyes when she talks about the issues that she writes about! I bet even she is disgusted by what she writes. I cannot wait, however, to see how she and her caste will conduct themselves in a post-PFDJ Eritrea. I wonder if they are going to turn around and say they were doing it for the country, for the welfare of the masses. Time will tell how they will behave, but at least they will have the democracy they are attacking now to turn to.

Before I move on, just one statement, and I promise you will be smiling if not laughing aloud. It is from the “US-Eritrea Relations…” article I mentioned above.  [emphasis added] 

"I will also endeavor to educate the greater American public about the State Department and its illicit activities in Eritrea that have contributed to the deterioration of US-Eritrea relations since the Eritrea Ethiopia border conflict in 2000. Bear with me, it is a long read."  

Oh boy! Aren’t we very enthusiastic to teach? Well, I am sure it will be a long read. Trying to convince people to believe something that does not exist is always a long read, if not futile at all.

But I move on anyway.

Putting On My Psychologist Hat

I used to think that these people were just misinformed. It is very clear, however, that it is not misinformation. It is not even PFDJ propaganda that is to blame. It has more to do with their twisted psychology than with fact or history. It is their mere ego, stubborn pride: you call it whatever you want.

I am sure there are some people who believe in the merits of their actions when they put forward arguments in favor of PFDJ's policies. On the other hand, and I do not mean disrespect for the opinion holders, there are those who robustly defend the ruling party driven by guilt.

These people probably feel they did not have enough to offer during the struggle for independence. Maybe they had no participation at all. These people now believe it is their time to shine. For them, it does not matter if the policies they defend are right or wrong. What matters most to them is fidelity to the ruling party – remnant of the once formidable front – the EPLF.

It is a pity because, in doing so, they are ultimately losing the confidence of their compatriots. Except to the very few who share their ideals, these people are flaws of the society that created them.

The most favorable analogy that suits them is perhaps the obsession of a lover following a nasty break up. It would be, in a language familiar to Asmarinos, "FiQrom slezeywedeou". In other words, it is their unfinished love affair with EPLF professing itself during the reign of the PFDJ. As a friend once quoted for me, "Bi zemen Wube ztsememes, Wube endabele mote!"

These people fail to understand the front that liberated Eritrea, and I am not undermining the roles other parties might have played, is gone. EPLF is no more. Most of its leaders are in prison, "murdered" while in detention, or in exile. PFDJ, at this point, is nothing but a mechanism devised to keep those who have fatal lure to power in power.

Well, I am sure time will tell what will happen next.

However, do you not all wish that these people would demolish the brick walls they have built around their conscience, and see that the same government they adore is actually the same government that is taking Eritrea down the road of devastation. I admit that in itself will not be enough to bring the needed change in Eritrea, but I bet it will be the first step of many, many steps that need to be taken.

I wish that they try to see beyond the two story buildings and the villas they are building around Mai Temenay, Sembel, or Paradizo.

Maybe that will actually help trounce the maniac in power, and cure Eritrea of the cancer that is taking over it and maybe it will be insignificant.  But I say it is worth giving a shot.