This article is inspired not only by Ms Sophia Tesfamariam’s recent faux pas, but also by her indefatigable temperament.  Hence it would be appropriate to dedicate it to her.

I would like to share with you an adaptation of one of Aesop's fables which illustrates that self-conceit may lead to self-destruction. The story concerns a conceited frog who tried to inflate himself to unrealistic size. The story goes like this: once upon a time a frog happened to be in the same field where an ox was grazing. The frog, impressed by the ox’s size, tried to get the ox’s attention; but the ox failed to notice him. The frog puffed himself up and croaked out loud. And yet the ox continued to graze without paying any attention to the frog. After numerous tries he grew anxious because he found himself totally ignored by the ox. Frustrated, the frog finally puffed himself up so much that he exploded to death without attracting the attention of neither the ox nor others. The moral of the story is that not all can become as great as they think. 

I am aware of the fact that some people, in order to either garner fame or impress others, perform their gruelling attention-seeking dances rather abysmally.  Many a times, their dances turn into attacks. Quite often, we have witnessed crude, underhanded and envy-driven attacks on the famous and successful in Eritrean communities abroad. Their plan is to bring the towering figures down to their size.

There could be many reasons why such attention-seeking dances are preferred by the striving. I believe one of the reasons emanates from a learned behaviour which can be explained by the ‘Modelling Theory’. In a few words, there are three steps to the theory that are worth mentioning: observation, imitation and then feat (affliction if the model is flawed). 

The above model reminds me of the cliché we all know by ‘monkey see, monkey do’.  More precisely, this cliché is best known to describe a situation where one fails to employ critical thinking and embarks on the process of learning without an understanding of how and why things function (or turn dysfunctional). For instance, some of our citizens find it easier to embrace GOE’s version of the story without assessing the real factors that have plunged Eritrea into abyss.  If one dares to ask the President as to why Eritrea is not pursuing a democratic path to development he retorts by saying ‘Tsegem yelen’ (no problem); we will sponsor it when the right time comes.  The ‘Tsegem yelen’ idiom that the Eritrean leadership uses quite regularly is clearly intended to obstruct our thought processes.  In other words, the dismissive attitude that accompanies the expression is an attempt to quash our faculty of thinking, reasoning, imagining, etc. rather than augment our capacity to think through problems that plague Eritrea. The disconcerting side of such act is to witness the reproduction of such idioms by GOE enthusiasts like Ms Sophia Tesfamariam.

Let’s consider some of the problems Eritrea is experiencing today and see if the ‘Tsegem yelen’ principle actually provides lodgings for them: Why is growth severely stunted in Eritrea?  Why are the youngsters fleeing the country in droves? Why journalists are muzzled in the country? Why is the economy degenerating so rapidly? Why are so many jails in the country? Why have the majority of Eritreans stopped sending their contributions to the country?  Why isn’t the Eritrean Constitution implemented after its ratification? And most of all, why does the international community shun Eritrea?  ‘Tsegem yelen’?

To provide answers to the above questions one needs to read reports written by agencies such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the UN, EC, the State Department and various other organisations. Faith based groups, Reporters without Borders, UNMEE, various NGO’s and other organisations have also provided insights on the prevailing and corresponding problems in Eritrea. Moreover, one can also read reports prepared by an array of writers - former friends of Eritrea, academics, authors, Ex-fighters and knowledgeable citizens. One of the Eritreans who has openly stated his criticism of GOE is Dr Bereket Habte Selassie. Dr Bereket, who is considered by many as the Father of the Eritrean Constitution, is a professor of African studies at University of North Carolina.  He helped Eritrea fight for independence from Ethiopia during 70s and 80s. Moreover, he is a campaigner for justice and a prolific author of several books on the Horn of Africa.  In short, Dr Bereket provides the intellectual credential for the Eritrean opposition.

Before I go back to the modelling theory and the cliché mentioned above, let me, rather briefly, mention the disorder that Eritrea is suffering from after its independence from Ethiopia.  The world has witnessed the fact that the dictatorship of the PFDJ, the sole political organisation in today’s Eritrea, is maintained by recourse to every form of control, intimidation and violence. President Issaias Afeworki, driven by his own sense of paranoia, which he is projecting onto our country as a whole, is pursuing economic and social policies of mobilising the entire country to achieve the goal of rapid destruction, as if it could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with countries like Zimbabwe. To this end, he has forcefully collectivised labour force to effectively reduce young Eritreans to the status of serfs;  he has blocked Eritrea from pursuing a democratic path; he has virtually steered Eritrea to be isolated; he has literally sidelined the ex-fighter community by amassing absolute control of the country; let alone take part in governance, he has systematically barred the diaspora from resettling back in Eritrea and so forth. That is exactly what Dr Bereket regularly highlights in his writings - the chronic Eritrean malaise.

There is concurrent version of ‘analysis’ which is provided by GOE. The reports start and finish by blaming the ‘other’ for Eritrea’s ills; of course, this is done without GOE never having to resort to self-examination and admission to its shortcomings. All the problems that exist in the country, according to GOE, are to do with Ethiopia (specifically with ‘Chifra Woyane’ – a derogatory term to the Tigray based group of TPLF, a sister party of the EPRDF – the ruling party of Ethiopia).  After people got tired of ‘Chifra Woyane’ excuses, this year the President has switched his attention to the ‘US’. The Eritrean media echoes the President’s arguments that the US is to blame for everything that is going wrong in Eritrea is indeed fascinating. Basically, argumentum ad nauseam.  And now, just like the disenchanted frog that thought of itself as an indomitable creature, the President, badly and as if he were a significant player in world politics, is puffing himself up to keep pace with the American hegemony. He boasts of stopping America’s ‘acts of adventurism, as well as weaving conspiracies to undermine Eritrea’s national interests’. The sad thing is that this model of invincibility PIA depicts of his regime readily digested by undiscerning PFDJites like Ms Sophia Tesfamariam.

Ms Sophia, a hardened and artless PFDJite, is a classical example of the group of people whom I dare to categorise in the ‘monkey see, monkey do’ group.  The reason for this derision is the simple fact that she, as a follower of PIA who echoes his cries word for word, has embarked on a mechanical journey that glorifies the Eritrean misfortune. One method of this mechanicalisation is to absolve the leadership of its innumerable blunders and attack those who highlight them. Therefore, her recent attack on Dr Bereket, whom she shamefully portrayed as a misfit, perfectly fits the demeanour I have tried to depict through the fable and the ‘Sophie see, Sophie do’ maxim.  She cannot puff herself up to look like the Eritrean dictator as she is just an instrument of the powers that be; and she certainly cannot puff herself up to Dr Bereket’s stature as she lacks his academic credentials, input to the Eritrean struggle for independence, literary contribution and most of all, his role as a campaigner for peace and justice. 

Recently, Ms Sophie stepped out of line and accused Mr Saleh Gadi of the Awatecom, a fellow activist, of unimaginable crimes which, on the face of it, will have to prove her allegations in a US court of law. The case will certainly drag her through unimaginable legal difficulty. And of course, it is hoped that some lessons will be learned from the upcoming court case.