My friend is a sociologist. He is a PhD holder, and he commands much respect in his field.

Recently, while on a safari trip, we started talking about the United Nations. I know what you are thinking: it is definitely not a subject suitable for a safari. However, wait until you hear where we ended up. We got carried away and found ourselves discussing issues surrounding the Eritrean politics. By the way, that happens quite a lot.

In any case, most of what he said got me thinking and I found myself concurring with most of his ideas. To prove his arguments, he spoke of cases from other countries that were similar to ours.

The topic of the day was the role of Eritreans in the Diaspora in general. The main subject, however, were the pro-PFDJ ones, who have also been a target of recent outcry from their compatriots on the other end of the Eritrean political spectrum.

How is it possible for these people, (the pro-PFDJ Eritreans), to support the government of Eritrea without disgust? Though it looks very difficult to find an explanation for this phenomenon, my friend explains, it actually is not. His typical example is the State of Israel.  

More Eritrean Than Eritreans

I am no expert in Israeli issues. Very little do I know about the subject of the Israeli Diaspora as well. However, from what my friend explains, the Israelis living outside Israel are 'more' Israelis than those living inside the country. Since I do not intend to make this article about Israel and its people in the Diaspora, I will leave the Israelis alone and move to our people in the Diaspora instead.

By the same token, based on what my friend says, Eritreans in the Diaspora are 'more' Eritreans than those living inside the country. The logic behind this statement is the following. When people leave their country and reside in a different environment, they develop a very emotional nostalgic link with their country and people – of course the telephone and the Internet aside. With this nostalgia comes the need to establish a sense of belongingness. Therefore, far from home and detached from their kins and society overall, they crave to prove their devotion to their country and people by all means possible. In their attempt to prove to everyone else that they truly belong, they would do what ever it takes to go that extra mile.

On the other hand, people living in their own country do not need to do anything to prove they fit in. For this reason, they can be perceived as more passive than their compatriots abroad can, and could ultimately end up being considered as 'less of a citizen' because of their inert approach to things.

One proof, in the Eritrean context, is that if you speak to any Eritrean at home about the possibility of a second war being ignited with Ethiopia, they would reject it instantaneously. On the contrary, if you pose the same question to an Eritrean residing outside Eritrea, it is possible to find some that say it is not just a possibility, it is a must to settle the contention for once and for all. I have come across people who think exactly that. May be it is that extra mile coming into act, or may be it is because they are not physically going through the misery their compatriots at home are going through. Either way, they always have to fight the urge to say they know what is best for Eritreans at home, more than those living the life at home themselves can. In turn, they tend to demonstrate they care more for Eritrea and its people than those residing at home. For this reason, it is not uncommon to find people from the Diaspora who designate their fellow citizens in Eritrea as 'tihte-hagerawian'[sub nationalist.]

With this tendency, it is not surprising to see that their determination to identify themselves as concerned citizens could have catastrophic side effects if they associate themselves with the wrong side.

Once they establish a camp, and make the ardent mistake of identifying their camp as the sole representative of their country, there is no turning back for them. They would feel less of a citizen if they were to attack the camp they have already identified as their own. Even when there is enough evidence establishing the wrongdoings and atrocities committed by their camp, they would still have difficulties accepting the reality and denouncing the evil. It is perhaps like a child who would never admit that his father is capable of stealing. Even if the father was caught in the act, the child would still have a hard time accepting the truth. The child would torture his brain for hours looking for a possible explanation to exonerate his father. Possibly until he finds an answer similar to this: "may be my father wanted to 'borrow' the stuff."

This argument is specially fitting to the pro-PFDJ Eritrean Diaspora for two main reasons. One, they all equate the people of Eritrea with the few elite members of the ruling party; hence, they argue that anyone opposing PFDJ is a double agent.  Second, they are always looking for excuses to absolve their party from all the evil it has so far perpetrated on the Eritrean public, while it is actually easier to admit the wrong and endeavour to make amends.

We Have Problems, But…

Here, a conversation I had with a fellow Eritrean around the time I first arrived in the US rings a bell. After admitting what is happening in Eritrea as a disheartening and very distressing trend of events, he falls short of putting the blame on the government. Rather, he tells me, he cannot understand the people who write on awate.com about it. Obviously, he would now find me hard to understand as well, as I am writing on the same page he despised. However, as far as he was concerned, the people opposing the government are talking ill about 'Eritrea', mind you not the PFDJ, and they are writing about it for the whole world to read. It was as if he was ashamed of them for exposing the regime at home.

I find it very absurd. It is like playing blind and deaf when you can actually see and hear clearly. All of the pro-PFDJ Eritreans know the unforgiving certainty at home. However, none of them will dare say we need change in Eritrea and most of all PFDJ needs to go. Because to do so would make them 'less' Eritreans, I bet they probably even consider it as a crime equal to treason. To clear their guilty conscience, therefore, they go around looking for lame excuses like the child tormenting his brain to exonerate his father. Everything in Eritrea is going wrong because of the regime in power to the south of our country. That is the best excuse they can come up with after years of searching for a possible explanation. The child's excuse is much better.

Other excuses that accompany the one mentioned above also include the wasted attempt by many to consider the Eritrean problem only as a domestic problem.  Hence arguing no one should be involved in solving our problems. We can do it all by ourselves. This argument, as all the others in favour of the status quo at home, has yielded nothing so far. The main flaw in this argument perhaps can be best explained in the following anecdote.

Problem Solving: A Riddle

Two brothers lived together for so many years peacefully. The younger brother at some point, out of selfishness and desire to control, started abusing his elder brother. The elder brother did everything to handle the domestic feud between himself and his brother in a mature way – seeking guidance from close relatives, sending village elders to arbitrate between the brothers and so on. The younger brother, however, refused to give in to pressure including from all those who favoured him. He even scolded the arbitrators, the village elders. At this point, the elder brother could only see one solution for the dispute with his younger brother: to take him to court. Take him to court, he did. Only to find out even the courts were controlled by his younger brother.

That is crudely what happened and is happening in Eritrea. Do you still think the matter should hitherto be considered as a domestic feud or problem? Look at the so-called members of the G-15. Some of them did say it was a domestic problem. Perhaps it is a domestic problem; at this stage, however, we need a solution from wherever we can find it, since a home-brewed solution seems to be far from reality.

The other argument, many naïve Eritreans also find comfort in is arguing that all the issues in Eritrean politics can wait until the 'border conflict' with Ethiopia is resolved. Once that is taken care of, they further argue, then we can deal with the government in power and call for the immediate implementation of the Eritrean Constitution. This is also a fruitless line of reasoning, as there is no sign of the 'border conflict' ever being resolved as long as the regimes on both sides of the border remain in power. Even more, what happens to all the Eritreans who find themselves trapped in this mess, until PFDJ and EPRDF come to their senses and decide to demarcate the border?

That aside, I thought we were the special people who can fight with one hand and rebuild the nation with the other. How is it then we are now being told that we cannot do two things at one time? We have to wait to implement our constitution until we demarcate the border. It has already been five years. How long should we wait? 10 years, 20 perhaps? Listen to yourself arguing that!

After all this, what we are left with is still the Eritrean Diaspora divided in to two halves lingering on either ends of the Eritrean political spectrum: those who support the PFDJ and those who oppose the PFDJ. Both ends trying to prove to the rest of the world they are truly Eritreans and they represent the better half of their country at heart.

Time to Pick a Side

Let us be frank about one thing. Divided we are not going to achieve anything. Yet, it is much better that we stay divided than make an alliance with the regime in power at home. I will spare you the 'do your duties' speech and will leave what you do next to your own discretion. You know enough to determine where you stand at the moment – with the people or against the people. That is the simplest it can get.

If we extend our bluntness for a little longer and try to reason out our choice of sides, I think we can all find it in our hearts to be on the right side. I would not dare undermine your intelligence by saying you do not know which is the wrong side. Instead, I will call up on all of us to break loose of our reminiscence and make the right decision at a time it is most sought. Let us all stand by our people.

PFDJ is not Eritrea. Siding with PFDJ is also not a sign of nationalism. Eritrean nationalism is a much greater concept that encompasses all Eritreans from all walks of life, and from all camps of ideology. Even the fanatics and the religious fundamentalists, if any, are included. The same Eritrean blood that runs through your veins and mine also runs through theirs. None amongst us can therefore claim that he or she is a better Eritrean. Different but one in unity do we make a nation. Certainly not because of the ideologies that we hold dear, and certainly not because we form a homogeneous society do we make a nation.

Thus, it is high time that we stop measuring nationalism in terms of our political affiliations. It is also high time that we start looking at things exactly the way they are. We do not need to prove to anyone that we are more Eritrean than him or her. Whether we like it or not, we can never take away the identity of a person and say you are less Eritrean. Halt then, stop trying to prove that you belong. You belong already. What you need to do now is side with the people.

The real nationalist zeal does not come from siding with one party. It comes from being true to oneself. Ok I admit I might be overdoing this thing, but you know what I mean.

Anyway, by failing to speak against the grave crimes committed against our fellow citizens, and by aligning ourselves with the culprits, we become accessories to the crimes we all detest. 

It is true, none of us will be prosecuted for siding with PFDJ, except, of course, those persecuting our people.  But what ever we do let us not become an accessory to these crimes. Eritrea needs us now more than ever before.

Now I can safely say, let us do our duties and rescue this beautiful country we all love.