Dear Visitors- today is thanks giving: an American tradition of expressing gratitude for all the good things one have over the year (and for the harvest in the old days). And on this occasion, I would like to express my gratitude for where I am now and what I have been able to do on my life. I would assume, every visitor of my blog have also a good reason to be thankful…..for many of our friends and classmates are not yet lucky enough to have access to read blogs let alone to own their own blog and have the freedom of expressing their views.
So please take a moment to take a deep breath and be thankful for what you already have…and HAPPY THANKS GIVING for all of you.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The Article I Forwarded to my Friends
It is rare to get a positive article (by positive I mean non-political article) about Eritrea in the big media these days. If any thing the name Eritrea pop-up in the news, it is most likely related to the conflict with Ethiopia, or with the problem in Somalia, or the human right abuses by PIA. ….it is a depressing picture always….and I hate it. I hate it because I know what picture these reports create here. I hate it because it is always skewed…only the bad things are worth of news! I hate it because the good sides never show up to the front page. I am not trying to deny the reality…. but when all you see is these news, you get fed up….It makes it seem as if there is nothing more than conflict down there…. I always hope, at least some times, they show also there is normal life down there…..it is not only war and conflict…it is not only aid and drought….it is not only refugee and camps. We have normal life too…we have hospitable society, we have hardworking society, we have peace loving society…we have harmony…we have a beauty to offer to the rest of the world too…. But these good qualities never make it to the front page, and if some how they make it…they soon will be overwhelmed and covered by the depressing reports.
It is only with such thirsty for these few moments, that you can understand why 5 of my friends forwarded me the recent article by Jeffery Jenttleman of the New York Times in one day….it seems they were running to capture that moment and capitalize the opportunity…The article, which appeared in the travel section of the paper, is one of the rare opportunities which account the other life and beauty in Eritrea.
It was also an opportunity for most of us to forward it to our friends from other countries. You can tell your friends all the good thing in the world about your country, but when the only thing they can find when they google Eritrea is war and conflict, it is not a convincing effort. It is more credible when a third party reports and shows the things you wanted to show the world that would have the credibility. In that case, the New York Times report was a rare opportunity…and like many of you, I forwarded it to my friends from other countries and my advisor. …Even though it doesn’t tell all the good things I would tell about Eritrea, it was the best report I can find to introduce him with my country.
So if some of you missed the article, or if you wanted to show your friends the other life in Eritrea, here is a link to the article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/travel/05journeys.html?_r=1&oref=sloginAnd there was also a similar article in Reuters earlier this year. Here is the link.
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSLD39903620080822
It is only with such thirsty for these few moments, that you can understand why 5 of my friends forwarded me the recent article by Jeffery Jenttleman of the New York Times in one day….it seems they were running to capture that moment and capitalize the opportunity…The article, which appeared in the travel section of the paper, is one of the rare opportunities which account the other life and beauty in Eritrea.
It was also an opportunity for most of us to forward it to our friends from other countries. You can tell your friends all the good thing in the world about your country, but when the only thing they can find when they google Eritrea is war and conflict, it is not a convincing effort. It is more credible when a third party reports and shows the things you wanted to show the world that would have the credibility. In that case, the New York Times report was a rare opportunity…and like many of you, I forwarded it to my friends from other countries and my advisor. …Even though it doesn’t tell all the good things I would tell about Eritrea, it was the best report I can find to introduce him with my country.
So if some of you missed the article, or if you wanted to show your friends the other life in Eritrea, here is a link to the article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/travel/05journeys.html?_r=1&oref=sloginAnd there was also a similar article in Reuters earlier this year. Here is the link.
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSLD39903620080822
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
PIRATES VERSUS WEAPONS DEALERS
There is an interesting development that comes from the coast of somalia. agroup of pirates highjaked a ship----a routine exercise in the coasts of somalia for years now. But this time, it drew the attention of world supper powers, unlike other pirates....an attention the death of hundreds of Somalis didn't get. Th estory also reveals a dirt work of international diplomacy. The story below details all the ins of that in an interesting way. Below is the link to the full story.
The pirates that captured the freighter Faina didn't know the ship was full of tanks. They also were unaware that by hijacking the vessel, they had ruined an international weapons deal that may have been illegally sending arms to Sudan
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,582513,00.html
also look the link below for a similar story from BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7656662.stm
The pirates that captured the freighter Faina didn't know the ship was full of tanks. They also were unaware that by hijacking the vessel, they had ruined an international weapons deal that may have been illegally sending arms to Sudan
http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,582513,00.html
also look the link below for a similar story from BBC.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7656662.stm
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Reading Dr. Russom
I am a big fun of Dr. Russom’s poems….I love them. But I didn’t get a chance to own his books until recently. I would get one poem from here and one from there. Finally, I got one of his books from Amazon (I wonder why I didn’t search in Amazon till now). Anyways, I got the book “we have our voices”…a selected Poems of Reesom Haile. The book has 56 poems along with their English translation by Professor Charles Cantalupo of Pen State University. For any one who has some interest in art/poetry, it is a great book to have it on your shelf. I didn't get his other books, and I hope I will get them, especially the one with the audio (and if you know how to get it, pls tell me).
Why I love Dr. Russom’s work:
I love them, because they are full of art; they have beauty in them, there is creativity in them. They have full of humor. They are not a full page essay like other….they are short and precise. Unlike other Tigrigna poets which are usually loaded with heavy words, Dr. Russom’s poems are constructed from the words of the ordinary guy. They are simple, yet they always have powerful message. They are original and you wonder how he used them to tell his message.
Well, I may not be good enough to explain the power of his work. You have to read them for your self to appreciate them. So, I encourage you to get the book. But for now get some flavor from the following two of my favorite (from among many in the book).
Quan-qua-na
E’zi quan-qua-na
E’zi Tigrigna
K-t-ea-m
Chew a’lewo!
K-lm-lm
Te-s-mi a’lewo!
K-qe-m-m
Ber-bere a’lewo!
K-f-g-m
A’xmi a’lewo!
Q-re-bwo qu-re-b’wo
Ae-s-te-ma-q-r’wo!
The message here is clear. The beauty is on how he creatively constructed the lines to express the message. It looks he is responding to those who claim ‘Tigrigna dereq eyu, n’fkri kgelx ayk’aln eyu…can’t be used to express …this and that”. Here, he is not only telling us that their claim is not true, that Tigrigna has all the qualities, but is also showing us it has the qualities through this poet and his choice of words.
The Second of my favorite is Desta. Here is a PDF version of it.
Here, besides the beauty of the poet, there is a hidden message. But, it depends on how you wanted to interpret it. And different people may see it differently…only him self knows what he wanted to say. To me, the message is in the last lines of the poem, as is in most of his work. What did he want to say by the last lines? You can stretch your imagination
Finally, to fully appreciate his work; you have to listen to and see his performance…his dress, his art of his performance makes him the legend poet. Here is what I found in youtube…performing in Festival 1998 with Fihra… his signature poem, alewuna/alewana.
Why I love Dr. Russom’s work:
I love them, because they are full of art; they have beauty in them, there is creativity in them. They have full of humor. They are not a full page essay like other….they are short and precise. Unlike other Tigrigna poets which are usually loaded with heavy words, Dr. Russom’s poems are constructed from the words of the ordinary guy. They are simple, yet they always have powerful message. They are original and you wonder how he used them to tell his message.
Well, I may not be good enough to explain the power of his work. You have to read them for your self to appreciate them. So, I encourage you to get the book. But for now get some flavor from the following two of my favorite (from among many in the book).
Quan-qua-na
E’zi quan-qua-na
E’zi Tigrigna
K-t-ea-m
Chew a’lewo!
K-lm-lm
Te-s-mi a’lewo!
K-qe-m-m
Ber-bere a’lewo!
K-f-g-m
A’xmi a’lewo!
Q-re-bwo qu-re-b’wo
Ae-s-te-ma-q-r’wo!
The message here is clear. The beauty is on how he creatively constructed the lines to express the message. It looks he is responding to those who claim ‘Tigrigna dereq eyu, n’fkri kgelx ayk’aln eyu…can’t be used to express …this and that”. Here, he is not only telling us that their claim is not true, that Tigrigna has all the qualities, but is also showing us it has the qualities through this poet and his choice of words.
The Second of my favorite is Desta. Here is a PDF version of it.
Here, besides the beauty of the poet, there is a hidden message. But, it depends on how you wanted to interpret it. And different people may see it differently…only him self knows what he wanted to say. To me, the message is in the last lines of the poem, as is in most of his work. What did he want to say by the last lines? You can stretch your imagination
Finally, to fully appreciate his work; you have to listen to and see his performance…his dress, his art of his performance makes him the legend poet. Here is what I found in youtube…performing in Festival 1998 with Fihra… his signature poem, alewuna/alewana.
Sunday, August 17, 2008
The Greatest Olympian of All Times
For many people getting the chance to participate in the Olympic is a dream. For many others, getting a medal, even a bronze one, in this grand competition, is a life time achievement. For Michael Phelps, one gold medal was not enough, two was not enough,…,five was not enough.....it was only being the grandest Olympian of all times that was enough. He broke the all time record of 7 gold medals in one Olympic held by Mark Spitz for 36 years. Phelps has collected 8 gold medals in one Olympic, making him self the champion of all times Olympic and he will keep that record for years to come. What an achievement!!!
How is that possible for some people to achieve so much more than others? Michael Phelps has the answer,
“Nothing is impossible," Phelps said. "With so many people saying it couldn't be done, all it takes is an imagination, and that's something I learned and something that helped me.”
Thursday, August 14, 2008
The Tom Campbell Story Telling
Last week a headline in one of the ERN websites took my attention. It was about an interview Tom Campbell made….one of the few American scholars and politicians sympathetic with Eritrea. Tom Campbell is a professor and dean of Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley. He was former state senator, former US congress man and recently he is planning to run for a governor.
The Professor was a visiting professor at the University of Asmara in 2001 and 2002 and I had I chance to meet him in person once while he was there. So it is this small knowledge of him that gave me the curiosity to briefly look his interview, wondering what he will say about ER. What I found was shocking. Here is the excerpt that relates to UOA:
'”..And there are things you learn. Eritrea has, sadly, a long history of civil war with Ethiopia. They got their freedom in 1992. There are lot of land mines. As a result, at the University of Asmara in Eritrea, I'd say maybe 25 percent to a third of the students are missing a limb. Those who are missing legs cannot get up the stairs to the second floor or the third floor. No questions asked, the students just carry each other. I've never seen anything like it. Very naturally, somebody offers you his back and you climb on it and he takes you up to the next floor….”
Here is the full interview for you to see( http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10085062?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com).
At the time the Professor is referring, the UOA had approximately around 5000 students. 25% to one third of them would be equivalent to 1250 to 1630 students. I don’t know where he saw all those people missing their limbs. If you want to extend the story, it is equivalent to saying one fourth to one third of Eritreans were missing their limbs( Because, the landmines are not to hit selectively kids who have the potential to join the university).
Such false stories that misinform are not an unusual in the net. But this is Tom Campbell: a professor, a dean at Berkley, a former state senator, a former U.S. Congressman, a wonna be governor, and some one who spent two semesters at the UOA. To an outside reader, this is a first hand observation from a credible source. And it creates a depressing image of ER…. the kind of picture you see in TV about the victims of barbarian rebels of Sierra leone.
I don’t understand why such a prominent and pro-Eritrea figure makes this remark. My initial reaction was may be this is some sort of editing error. So I emailed the Professor explaining my reservation regarding the figures he made and asking him to correct it. However, one week later, he didn’t respond me. The damage might have been already done and there is little to do to change the perception it created. But, I felt he should at least acknowledge he made a mistake and try to make correction to the story. So, in an effort to make some correction, I also emailed the journalist and the professor a follow up email, again asking to make correction for their story. I guess, that is how far I can go for now. I don’t expect them to respond me. But if they did, I will let you guys know.
The Professor was a visiting professor at the University of Asmara in 2001 and 2002 and I had I chance to meet him in person once while he was there. So it is this small knowledge of him that gave me the curiosity to briefly look his interview, wondering what he will say about ER. What I found was shocking. Here is the excerpt that relates to UOA:
'”..And there are things you learn. Eritrea has, sadly, a long history of civil war with Ethiopia. They got their freedom in 1992. There are lot of land mines. As a result, at the University of Asmara in Eritrea, I'd say maybe 25 percent to a third of the students are missing a limb. Those who are missing legs cannot get up the stairs to the second floor or the third floor. No questions asked, the students just carry each other. I've never seen anything like it. Very naturally, somebody offers you his back and you climb on it and he takes you up to the next floor….”
Here is the full interview for you to see( http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_10085062?IADID=Search-www.mercurynews.com-www.mercurynews.com).
At the time the Professor is referring, the UOA had approximately around 5000 students. 25% to one third of them would be equivalent to 1250 to 1630 students. I don’t know where he saw all those people missing their limbs. If you want to extend the story, it is equivalent to saying one fourth to one third of Eritreans were missing their limbs( Because, the landmines are not to hit selectively kids who have the potential to join the university).
Such false stories that misinform are not an unusual in the net. But this is Tom Campbell: a professor, a dean at Berkley, a former state senator, a former U.S. Congressman, a wonna be governor, and some one who spent two semesters at the UOA. To an outside reader, this is a first hand observation from a credible source. And it creates a depressing image of ER…. the kind of picture you see in TV about the victims of barbarian rebels of Sierra leone.
I don’t understand why such a prominent and pro-Eritrea figure makes this remark. My initial reaction was may be this is some sort of editing error. So I emailed the Professor explaining my reservation regarding the figures he made and asking him to correct it. However, one week later, he didn’t respond me. The damage might have been already done and there is little to do to change the perception it created. But, I felt he should at least acknowledge he made a mistake and try to make correction to the story. So, in an effort to make some correction, I also emailed the journalist and the professor a follow up email, again asking to make correction for their story. I guess, that is how far I can go for now. I don’t expect them to respond me. But if they did, I will let you guys know.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The New Gold Rush
This is not a comment about the new gold rush in Eritrea by mining companies…it is a comment about the gold rush by Eritrean mothers of late 40’s and 50’s.
********
Last Saturday I was in philly for a wedding party of one of my friends. The wedding ceremony was fantastic…. I only wish you the same (of course, if u can afford it only). There was a very huge Eritreans and we had a festival like party, which I enjoyed very much, as such events are rare opportunity for me at this time. But, I have also seen some trends that I couldn’t make sense….so, I am commenting about it here, in a hope some one will explain to me the rational of it or how it makes sense.
One of the mothers sitting in front me in our table would be a good example to explain the point. This beautiful mother in her 50’s had put an elegant Zuria, a nice albaso kuno and a have stunning beauty that didn’t faded yet. But, as she sits in front of you, what first takes your attention is not her stunning beauty and elegance, but the tons of Gold she was carrying. A gold mido inserted over her hair, dozens of big gold benajir covering both of her arms, a big discs of kutusha hanging from her ear, and a gold collar covering her entire neck ( this is not a brace let…it is like a collar you put on Gofar kelbkum), and her albaso was covered with a cap of gold…..in short every part of her body that was not covered with cloth was covered with Gold. Those expensive metals have completely dominated her beauty, her elegant zuria and her artistic kuno…so when you see her, you don’t see the beauty…you see the gold,…you will not say “what a beautiful mother!”….but rather you will say “nay endamen e’nda eya bejaka!”. …
in short, those tasteless and artless expensive metals have dominated the fine lines of her beauty and style….and make her look like a decorated X-mass tree.
As I look across the entire hall, the case of the mother sitting in front of me was the rule of the day rather than an exception. It is seems an implicit dress code for those women in their late 40’s and 50’s these days. …it is like the Jontra days…when every kid was cutting his hair Jontra. This trend is not actually restricted to the Diaspora community. I have been seeing those in Asmara, though, for obvious reason, was limited in degree and extent to those with the means to afford them. But, for certain, this new gold rush, seems a new fashion in the circles of Eritran mothers….
So, the question is, how is this fashion making sense for our mothers? Even though I don’t claim to have a good test of style, I found it tasteless. It actually is destroying their beauty rather than adding value. A typical Eritean mother with her modest traditional gold collection has more style than those buried with tons of gold….well, at least with my tests.
But, if you find it the other way, please help me explain how it makes sense.
********
Last Saturday I was in philly for a wedding party of one of my friends. The wedding ceremony was fantastic…. I only wish you the same (of course, if u can afford it only). There was a very huge Eritreans and we had a festival like party, which I enjoyed very much, as such events are rare opportunity for me at this time. But, I have also seen some trends that I couldn’t make sense….so, I am commenting about it here, in a hope some one will explain to me the rational of it or how it makes sense.
One of the mothers sitting in front me in our table would be a good example to explain the point. This beautiful mother in her 50’s had put an elegant Zuria, a nice albaso kuno and a have stunning beauty that didn’t faded yet. But, as she sits in front of you, what first takes your attention is not her stunning beauty and elegance, but the tons of Gold she was carrying. A gold mido inserted over her hair, dozens of big gold benajir covering both of her arms, a big discs of kutusha hanging from her ear, and a gold collar covering her entire neck ( this is not a brace let…it is like a collar you put on Gofar kelbkum), and her albaso was covered with a cap of gold…..in short every part of her body that was not covered with cloth was covered with Gold. Those expensive metals have completely dominated her beauty, her elegant zuria and her artistic kuno…so when you see her, you don’t see the beauty…you see the gold,…you will not say “what a beautiful mother!”….but rather you will say “nay endamen e’nda eya bejaka!”. …
in short, those tasteless and artless expensive metals have dominated the fine lines of her beauty and style….and make her look like a decorated X-mass tree.
As I look across the entire hall, the case of the mother sitting in front of me was the rule of the day rather than an exception. It is seems an implicit dress code for those women in their late 40’s and 50’s these days. …it is like the Jontra days…when every kid was cutting his hair Jontra. This trend is not actually restricted to the Diaspora community. I have been seeing those in Asmara, though, for obvious reason, was limited in degree and extent to those with the means to afford them. But, for certain, this new gold rush, seems a new fashion in the circles of Eritran mothers….
So, the question is, how is this fashion making sense for our mothers? Even though I don’t claim to have a good test of style, I found it tasteless. It actually is destroying their beauty rather than adding value. A typical Eritean mother with her modest traditional gold collection has more style than those buried with tons of gold….well, at least with my tests.
But, if you find it the other way, please help me explain how it makes sense.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
WelCome Baby Ab-Ynabi!!!
Thanks be to God, the Hidrue family are blessed with a new member…..my cousin Yonas and his wife Rahwa are blessed with a new baby last week. Congratulations Yoni and Rahwa!!! They have named their son Ab-Ynabi! Ab-Ynabi is such an adorable baby and I am so happy!
Welcome Ab-Ynabi to the world…..and Welcome to the Hidrue Family!! We wish you all the best in life…..and may this be the beginning of many more blessing to come to the Hidrue family!!
Baby Ab-Ynabi Yonas
Welcome Ab-Ynabi to the world…..and Welcome to the Hidrue Family!! We wish you all the best in life…..and may this be the beginning of many more blessing to come to the Hidrue family!!
Baby Ab-Ynabi Yonas
Monday, July 14, 2008
Shrek in Tigrigna!!
While browsing the Internet in between my studies, I came through this youtube clip of Shrek in Tigrigna. Shrek is an animated feature film which won the Academy of award in 2001. And some one has translated to Tigrigna and make it available in youtube. So, here is the link to my readers. Enjoy it…….
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Reflection From July 4
It was a perfect summer day…but the streets of my town were empty …so quite. People were gathering inside their house with family members and friends and having barbeque…. part of the tradition in celebrating July 4, the nation’s birthday. Later in the day, people started to come out and were heading to the stadium, where the city I live celebrates July 4.
I closed my books and decide to join the crowd…. after all it is Independence day…and I will share the joy of the day with the people. By the time I reached the stadium, it was already crowded. Families were making groups everywhere with their kids, balloons and flags in their hand. On four corners of the crowd, there was small stages with musicians playing Independence Day songs. Some people were dancing, others were taking pictures and others were walking around.
I walked between the crowd and took a sit on one corner, where I can get a good view. The atmosphere was so colorful and people were happy…. celebrating their nation’s 232 birthday!!! And I enjoyed it…I almost felt part of them. I said almost, because I was a little bit uneasy…....it seemed like I am missing something. ….I don’t know what it is….
…Oh! I remembered. I know what it is now. It is the Independence poem. I usually write one for independence day….and read to the crowd in my small town on May 24. Oh yea…. the joy, the pride and the glory of Independence Day. And how I enjoyed reading my poem to the crowd. Now I don’t have Independence Day poem and I will not read to the crowd ….I wondered if I will read once again…
Most of the time, I blame my self for having such intense nationalistic view. But, today I assured my self I shouldn't. People here are celebrating 232th independence day ….232 years later and yet their pride is so intense as if it was only a few years. To me, the meaning of independence day is a first hand experience…it is not something from the history books. I have seen the ugly and cruel face of colonialism with my own eyes…..I have prayed for Independence at an age I shouldn’t pray. I have seen first hand the sacrifices made to it…I have lost my own classmates for it….and I have seen the joy my people felt when we get our independence….And yes, I should have a special feeling for it. The connection is right there…. not 232 years back.
As I thought about the pride that comes with Independence day, I thought about being immigrant. The immigrant communities and their children and grand children. What do they celebrate on July 4? How do they get the sense of pride I feel on may 24 or the sense of pride the people here are having? Take, for example, the “Eritrean Americans”. Do they celebrate July 4, like the other Americans? And if they do, what feelings do they have on July 4? how do they connect them selves with the real owners of the story?…..I mean…I asked my self. Perhaps, now as long as their parents are around, they will celebrate May 24. But two generations later, their grand children will nor more be ERN American…rather they will be African American…..and then, they will celebrate July 4…not May 24. I thought may be it is all the same …it is Independence day. But, then how will they be able relate to July 4? Will it generate the same sense of pride as Independence day does for me? Or will they feel the same sense of pride as the rest of nation? Will they say “this is the day our founding fathers declared….”? I got confused with my own question….
And it was a huge applaud from the crowd that took my attention away from the questions and back to the stage. A young girl, may be 9 to 11 years old, with a flag on her cap, was taking the stage. She sang “independence song” and the crowd applaud her…..and another young girl of similar age, took the mic and read a poem…..it was Independence day poem!
She praised her grand…grand … grand fathers for their courage and vision that created the present day America and the freedom and opportunity it provide to her…. and she promised to keep the sprit of their goal.
The crowd, once again, roared with a huge applaud and the girl beamed in smile. Her father was taking a picture …..trying to capture the precious moment of her independence day….
I smiled with my self…. imagining, one day, my little girl will also read independence poem to the crowd and I will be taking the picture…
But then, I asked my self, if that will happen…... if she will read independence day poem….and if she does, what will the lines of her poem read……
.........../// and here is ur mek'shish...........///
I closed my books and decide to join the crowd…. after all it is Independence day…and I will share the joy of the day with the people. By the time I reached the stadium, it was already crowded. Families were making groups everywhere with their kids, balloons and flags in their hand. On four corners of the crowd, there was small stages with musicians playing Independence Day songs. Some people were dancing, others were taking pictures and others were walking around.
I walked between the crowd and took a sit on one corner, where I can get a good view. The atmosphere was so colorful and people were happy…. celebrating their nation’s 232 birthday!!! And I enjoyed it…I almost felt part of them. I said almost, because I was a little bit uneasy…....it seemed like I am missing something. ….I don’t know what it is….
…Oh! I remembered. I know what it is now. It is the Independence poem. I usually write one for independence day….and read to the crowd in my small town on May 24. Oh yea…. the joy, the pride and the glory of Independence Day. And how I enjoyed reading my poem to the crowd. Now I don’t have Independence Day poem and I will not read to the crowd ….I wondered if I will read once again…
Most of the time, I blame my self for having such intense nationalistic view. But, today I assured my self I shouldn't. People here are celebrating 232th independence day ….232 years later and yet their pride is so intense as if it was only a few years. To me, the meaning of independence day is a first hand experience…it is not something from the history books. I have seen the ugly and cruel face of colonialism with my own eyes…..I have prayed for Independence at an age I shouldn’t pray. I have seen first hand the sacrifices made to it…I have lost my own classmates for it….and I have seen the joy my people felt when we get our independence….And yes, I should have a special feeling for it. The connection is right there…. not 232 years back.
As I thought about the pride that comes with Independence day, I thought about being immigrant. The immigrant communities and their children and grand children. What do they celebrate on July 4? How do they get the sense of pride I feel on may 24 or the sense of pride the people here are having? Take, for example, the “Eritrean Americans”. Do they celebrate July 4, like the other Americans? And if they do, what feelings do they have on July 4? how do they connect them selves with the real owners of the story?…..I mean…I asked my self. Perhaps, now as long as their parents are around, they will celebrate May 24. But two generations later, their grand children will nor more be ERN American…rather they will be African American…..and then, they will celebrate July 4…not May 24. I thought may be it is all the same …it is Independence day. But, then how will they be able relate to July 4? Will it generate the same sense of pride as Independence day does for me? Or will they feel the same sense of pride as the rest of nation? Will they say “this is the day our founding fathers declared….”? I got confused with my own question….
And it was a huge applaud from the crowd that took my attention away from the questions and back to the stage. A young girl, may be 9 to 11 years old, with a flag on her cap, was taking the stage. She sang “independence song” and the crowd applaud her…..and another young girl of similar age, took the mic and read a poem…..it was Independence day poem!
She praised her grand…grand … grand fathers for their courage and vision that created the present day America and the freedom and opportunity it provide to her…. and she promised to keep the sprit of their goal.
The crowd, once again, roared with a huge applaud and the girl beamed in smile. Her father was taking a picture …..trying to capture the precious moment of her independence day….
I smiled with my self…. imagining, one day, my little girl will also read independence poem to the crowd and I will be taking the picture…
But then, I asked my self, if that will happen…... if she will read independence day poem….and if she does, what will the lines of her poem read……
.........../// and here is ur mek'shish...........///
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Friday, May 23, 2008
Ayatolah of Iran Prayed for ERN independence during Friday Prayer! OMG!!
These days PIA has started an extensive media campaing by giving interviews to any media outlet that cares to listne. In this series of interviews, he has been making an outragous remarks...remarks that irritate when u hear them. In this another latest interview he made with Aljezira International, it seems he is now completely insine. Listen for your self....I don't know what in his mind is. God save ER and its people.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Making Discipline Your Self
This article is by Dr.Kardi Teknomo taken from...(http://teknomo.org/content/view/14/9/).
I felt it may interest some one out there.
......... ........... ...........................................
What is discipline? Many people think that to be a discipline person is very difficult. In this short article I will show you that it is not the case. Discipline is very simple.
Discipline is ….
tidy up your own bed right after you wake up
give a place for your things and put everything back in their own place after you use
do not make many promises and always try hard to keep the promises
do the work as fast as possible and do not postpone any work today for tomorrow
eat and drink regularly, not too much or too little, preferably almost at the same time
go to sleep regularly and wake up almost at the same time every day.Do not sleep too much or too little, do as you need.
go to work or school or your routine business regularly
take a bath and move your bowel regularly
urinate as soon as you need to
brush your teeth after you eat or before you sleep regularly
clean your face and hand and feet before go to bed
prepare well long time before exam
studying and working almost at the same time every day
say a little prayer and thanksgiving anytime and anywhere
You can add up your own list there. In principle, being discipline is not as hard as you may think. It is just being clean & neat, honest, regular, well prepare and be early. You do everything regularly and you will gain control your over your own emotion, feeling and thinking and knowing where you are and where are you heading to.
Isn't that boring to do everything regularly? Well, the answer is yes and no. Boring or not is just a perception and you can change that perception. If you believe it is bored to do everything regularly, then you will feel bored. In the other hand, if you can see the challenge that it is not easy to do things regularly and if you can see the benefit of discipline, then you will eager to put this principle into practice.
"I have read your list and I cannot do it because I am a messy person and my work demand me to do more work in one time and less work in the other time. " Firstly, do not feel guilty if you cannot do things regularly. Keep trying and if you cannot make some part of your life regular enough, do the other part of your life as regular as possible. To begin is always hard but if you keep working on it, you will eventually gain control over yourself. Being a messy person is your own perception and it can be changed if you want to. You feel that the external force, the work, is demand so much from you so that you have no control over yourself. Again, this feeling is your own perception. It is not real as you believe it is. You can change your perception over it and you will gain control over yourself more. Read the perception part of this book to change your perception.
The benefit of discipline is really great. It ranges from a simple things up to great things. You will not forget where your keys are because you put them in the same place every time. You will not be late to go to work because you can set your body alarm clock to wake you up at the same time every day. You will never get difficulty to sleep. You will never get constipation or difficulty to move your bowel. You know where to look for the things even if you are very forgetful. Since you are well prepared, your self confidence will be higher and you can do more work and gain more happiness to work because you now you can accomplish many things much more than before you learn discipline. Of course you may also gain money as you need. You can create your own new habit and erase your undesirable habit. In the long run, you will gain control your over your own emotion, feeling and thinking and knowing where you are and where are you heading to.
I felt it may interest some one out there.
......... ........... ...........................................
What is discipline? Many people think that to be a discipline person is very difficult. In this short article I will show you that it is not the case. Discipline is very simple.
Discipline is ….
tidy up your own bed right after you wake up
give a place for your things and put everything back in their own place after you use
do not make many promises and always try hard to keep the promises
do the work as fast as possible and do not postpone any work today for tomorrow
eat and drink regularly, not too much or too little, preferably almost at the same time
go to sleep regularly and wake up almost at the same time every day.Do not sleep too much or too little, do as you need.
go to work or school or your routine business regularly
take a bath and move your bowel regularly
urinate as soon as you need to
brush your teeth after you eat or before you sleep regularly
clean your face and hand and feet before go to bed
prepare well long time before exam
studying and working almost at the same time every day
say a little prayer and thanksgiving anytime and anywhere
You can add up your own list there. In principle, being discipline is not as hard as you may think. It is just being clean & neat, honest, regular, well prepare and be early. You do everything regularly and you will gain control your over your own emotion, feeling and thinking and knowing where you are and where are you heading to.
Isn't that boring to do everything regularly? Well, the answer is yes and no. Boring or not is just a perception and you can change that perception. If you believe it is bored to do everything regularly, then you will feel bored. In the other hand, if you can see the challenge that it is not easy to do things regularly and if you can see the benefit of discipline, then you will eager to put this principle into practice.
"I have read your list and I cannot do it because I am a messy person and my work demand me to do more work in one time and less work in the other time. " Firstly, do not feel guilty if you cannot do things regularly. Keep trying and if you cannot make some part of your life regular enough, do the other part of your life as regular as possible. To begin is always hard but if you keep working on it, you will eventually gain control over yourself. Being a messy person is your own perception and it can be changed if you want to. You feel that the external force, the work, is demand so much from you so that you have no control over yourself. Again, this feeling is your own perception. It is not real as you believe it is. You can change your perception over it and you will gain control over yourself more. Read the perception part of this book to change your perception.
The benefit of discipline is really great. It ranges from a simple things up to great things. You will not forget where your keys are because you put them in the same place every time. You will not be late to go to work because you can set your body alarm clock to wake you up at the same time every day. You will never get difficulty to sleep. You will never get constipation or difficulty to move your bowel. You know where to look for the things even if you are very forgetful. Since you are well prepared, your self confidence will be higher and you can do more work and gain more happiness to work because you now you can accomplish many things much more than before you learn discipline. Of course you may also gain money as you need. You can create your own new habit and erase your undesirable habit. In the long run, you will gain control your over your own emotion, feeling and thinking and knowing where you are and where are you heading to.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
The Most Controversial Article So Far
Yosief Gberihwot is one of the talented bloger’s in Asmarino.com’s Hidmo Wufyat. His analysis focus in critics and usually are based on grounds of logic. However, in his recent article- Romanticizing Ghedli- he has gone too far, too controversial and too provocative. Provocative writing is good, in the sense forces society to see many questions from other angle. In this article, although there are some truth to some of his arguments, there are are wild and un reasonable arguments. Yosief went too far questioning every thing Eritrea has and tried to destroy the pride of Eritreans. He questioned the wisdom of our socity, the existence of Eritrean identity and the scarifies of our martyrs. Here is the full article to judge for your self.
http://zete9.asmarino.com/?itemid=1310
.....................................................................................
As expected, the above mentioned article have got some response and I hope more response will come responding to the points raised in Yosief's article. For the record and reference, I will post all the responses that came in the order of their publication.
...........
1. The First reponse is by Amanuel Eyasu, who presented a very strong response for many of the points. Here is the link to his article.
http://asena-online.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=725&Itemid=104
2. The Second response was from Amanuel Hidrat. This article is a reply to a particular point of the many points Yosief has made. Yosief has questioned the existence of Eritrean Identity and nationality. Amanuel Hidrat's response is specifically targed to that point. The link to his article is here:
http://zete9.asmarino.com/?itemid=1326
3. Yosief G has now provided another explanation for his article. In this explanation, " Identity through equality by subtraction", Yosief says the myths of Eritrean identity he refered in his first article refers to the identity developed in Gedli era. here is his full article:
http://zete9.asmarino.com/?itemid=1332
4. The third response " In defence of Gedli" comes from Habtom Yohanes. Habtom promises to provide case by case response to Y. G's article and to disproof Y.G. Part one of his response is here:
http://zete9.asmarino.com/?itemid=1341
5. Another response comes from Awate's page....and indication that the discusion has expanded to other websites. in this article, "Eritrean identity: My Amicus Curie " , Simon A. Woldehaimanot provides a littreture review of studies regarding Eritrean National Identity. here is his full article:
http://www.awate.com/portal/content/view/4810/5/
6. Merhawi Mesghina: provide a brief summary of the development of Eritrean identity into what seems another response to Yosief. His article: A Cursory and Partial Historical Account on Eritrea as an Entity of Collective Identity , can be accessed in the following link.
http://zete9.asmarino.com/?itemid=1360
7. Y.G provided the second part of his article: Romanizing Gedli II and he indicated part 3 will continue. Here is the link for part two.
http://zete9.asmarino.com/?itemid=1365
8.Habtom Yohanes presented part two of his article: In Defence of Gedli II. Here is the link:
http://zete9.asmarino.com/index.php?itemid=1352
9. Habtom Yohanes again presented part three of his "In Defence of Gedli III" article.
http://zete9.asmarino.com/index.php?itemid=1375
10. Y.G's part three of Romanizing Gedli:
http://zete9.asmarino.com/index.php?itemid=1400
11. Y.G. came with an extention of his series article: this one focusing on the Orthodox church and the Tigrigna Ethnic group.
http://zete9.asmarino.com/index.php?itemid=1429
12. The discusion is now joined by Petros Batay in Assenai.com. Petros has promised to provide a series of article in response to Y.G's article. Petros told Y.G. Don’t agonize organize. Here is the first part of his article:
http://asena-online.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=775&Itemid=207
13. Petros Batay's part two of " Don't agonize Organize" series is here:
http://asena-online.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=809&Itemid=207
DISTRUCTIONS AND RESPONSES:
while the discussions generated by by Y.G articles and the responses are mainly focusing on issues, Fessehaye Woldu came on awate.com with a rude and arrogant evaluation of the blogers and the discussion. His article came shortly under critisim from one of the bloger's in Asmarino.com.
14. Here is Fessehaye Woldu's article from awate.com:
http://www.awate.com/portal/content/view/4844/12/
15. And here is the response: Criticism or Personal Attack! a response to Fessehaye Woldu's article:
http://zete9.asmarino.com/?itemid=1439
and the discusion seems will continue......Y.G. deserves for generating this discusion.
http://zete9.asmarino.com/?itemid=1310
.....................................................................................
As expected, the above mentioned article have got some response and I hope more response will come responding to the points raised in Yosief's article. For the record and reference, I will post all the responses that came in the order of their publication.
...........
1. The First reponse is by Amanuel Eyasu, who presented a very strong response for many of the points. Here is the link to his article.
http://asena-online.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=725&Itemid=104
2. The Second response was from Amanuel Hidrat. This article is a reply to a particular point of the many points Yosief has made. Yosief has questioned the existence of Eritrean Identity and nationality. Amanuel Hidrat's response is specifically targed to that point. The link to his article is here:
http://zete9.asmarino.com/?itemid=1326
3. Yosief G has now provided another explanation for his article. In this explanation, " Identity through equality by subtraction", Yosief says the myths of Eritrean identity he refered in his first article refers to the identity developed in Gedli era. here is his full article:
http://zete9.asmarino.com/?itemid=1332
4. The third response " In defence of Gedli" comes from Habtom Yohanes. Habtom promises to provide case by case response to Y. G's article and to disproof Y.G. Part one of his response is here:
http://zete9.asmarino.com/?itemid=1341
5. Another response comes from Awate's page....and indication that the discusion has expanded to other websites. in this article, "Eritrean identity: My Amicus Curie " , Simon A. Woldehaimanot provides a littreture review of studies regarding Eritrean National Identity. here is his full article:
http://www.awate.com/portal/content/view/4810/5/
6. Merhawi Mesghina: provide a brief summary of the development of Eritrean identity into what seems another response to Yosief. His article: A Cursory and Partial Historical Account on Eritrea as an Entity of Collective Identity , can be accessed in the following link.
http://zete9.asmarino.com/?itemid=1360
7. Y.G provided the second part of his article: Romanizing Gedli II and he indicated part 3 will continue. Here is the link for part two.
http://zete9.asmarino.com/?itemid=1365
8.Habtom Yohanes presented part two of his article: In Defence of Gedli II. Here is the link:
http://zete9.asmarino.com/index.php?itemid=1352
9. Habtom Yohanes again presented part three of his "In Defence of Gedli III" article.
http://zete9.asmarino.com/index.php?itemid=1375
10. Y.G's part three of Romanizing Gedli:
http://zete9.asmarino.com/index.php?itemid=1400
11. Y.G. came with an extention of his series article: this one focusing on the Orthodox church and the Tigrigna Ethnic group.
http://zete9.asmarino.com/index.php?itemid=1429
12. The discusion is now joined by Petros Batay in Assenai.com. Petros has promised to provide a series of article in response to Y.G's article. Petros told Y.G. Don’t agonize organize. Here is the first part of his article:
http://asena-online.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=775&Itemid=207
13. Petros Batay's part two of " Don't agonize Organize" series is here:
http://asena-online.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=809&Itemid=207
DISTRUCTIONS AND RESPONSES:
while the discussions generated by by Y.G articles and the responses are mainly focusing on issues, Fessehaye Woldu came on awate.com with a rude and arrogant evaluation of the blogers and the discussion. His article came shortly under critisim from one of the bloger's in Asmarino.com.
14. Here is Fessehaye Woldu's article from awate.com:
http://www.awate.com/portal/content/view/4844/12/
15. And here is the response: Criticism or Personal Attack! a response to Fessehaye Woldu's article:
http://zete9.asmarino.com/?itemid=1439
and the discusion seems will continue......Y.G. deserves for generating this discusion.
Monday, March 3, 2008
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Incentives Do Matter
The name of the building where my department is located is called Purnell Hall. The Building to the left of it is called Lerner Hall. The building to the right of my department is called Smith Hall…then Gore Hall… Mitchell Hall…. and the main library which is called Morris Library…….All the names are names of people…. people who have made significant contribution in the university during their life time and name of people who made significant financial contribution to the construction of the building…. the buildings are named after them in recognition of their contribution.
The name of the buildings in my undergraduate university, the university of Asmara, are….Main Campus, Dogali Campus, New Hall…College of education…….none of them are name of people…… …………
some of the most popular TV sows here are, Operah…Larry King live, the Colbert Report… all name of people… ….
the name of the TV programs on ERiTV are Bgahdi, Mozaic,…Reemna,…….none of them are named after the hosts.
Isn’t that time for us(ERITREANS) to realize that incentives do matter…. that outstanding contributors deserve recognition…that recognition is one of the best incentives…that people do respond to incentives?
The name of the buildings in my undergraduate university, the university of Asmara, are….Main Campus, Dogali Campus, New Hall…College of education…….none of them are name of people…… …………
some of the most popular TV sows here are, Operah…Larry King live, the Colbert Report… all name of people… ….
the name of the TV programs on ERiTV are Bgahdi, Mozaic,…Reemna,…….none of them are named after the hosts.
Isn’t that time for us(ERITREANS) to realize that incentives do matter…. that outstanding contributors deserve recognition…that recognition is one of the best incentives…that people do respond to incentives?
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Obama for Eritrea????????
As I have indicated in my previous article, the USA election has a very important impact on the lives and future of many nations through out the world. And this is especially true for Eritrea. Literally, we have waited 8 years to get a favorable administration in the white house. Some one who will give us a fair treatment…some one who will not take side with Ethiopia at the cost of justice. Some one who would build a positive relationship with our government. Now as the USA primary election shapes out, it is natural to ask which one of the primary candidates has the best menu for Eritrea.Against this background, my first choice is Congressman Ron Paul (unfortunately, he will not succeed to get the nomination, let alone the presidency. Nevertheless, if I were to vote, he would still get my vote.) But my Eritrean fellows seem comfortable with Sen. Barak Obama. They are very enthusiastic supporters of the junior senator from Illinois. Almost all the Eritreans that I know here are his supporters. A cursory browse of the young Eritreans on facebook repeats the same story. Their facebook pages read:
Go for Obama…..Yes we can….one million strong supporters of Obama….etc,
Go for Obama…..Yes we can….one million strong supporters of Obama….etc,
Another an informal poll(of Eritrean visitors) in awate.com shows the following figures: Barak Obama 73% Hillary Clinton 16.9% John MacCain 3.4% Ron Paul 2.8%By all measures, Obama commands an overwhelming support among Eritreans. If only Eritreans were the electors, Obama would be the next president. But where does all this support come from? As any immigrant communities, one would expect that Eritreans would go for the candidate who would offer the best menu towards their home country. Add to that; the fact that most Eritreans support the Eritrean government and blame Washington for the worsening of the US-Eritrea relationship. Thus one would expect, from the Support of Eritreans in the USA for Obama, his presidency would bring hope for a better US-Eritrea relationship: an end to the deteriorating relationship between Washington and Asmara. But is that so?So far we haven’t heard any detailed policy of the candidates towards Africa. But we can learn a great deal of what their presidency offers from the composition of their foreign policy advisory teams. These are the people who will set the foreign policy and priority of his presidency. They are the people who will dominate the state department.
On Obama's top list of foreign policy advisory team are two familiar names to all Eritreans: Susan Rice and Anthony Lake. And that is where the hope messages disappears.
On Obama's top list of foreign policy advisory team are two familiar names to all Eritreans: Susan Rice and Anthony Lake. And that is where the hope messages disappears.
Susan Rice was Assistant Secretary of State for Africa during the Ethio-Eritrea border war(Clinton administration). And we don't have a good memory of her time in the state department. At least, the government of Preseident Iseyas Afewerki(PIA) has accused her for complicating the border conflict and for taking side with Ethiopia. In fact PIA him self has publicly dismissed her as “a 35-year old immature, inexperienced intern diplomat.” Certainly, Susan Rice will not have any sympathy for PIA.
Anthony Lake was also a special envoy of President Clinton for the Ethio-Eritrea conflict. During the two years of the conflict from 1998 to 2000, Anthony Lake has carried out a countless shuttle diplomacy between Addis Ababa- Asmara- Washington. He was the top diplomat dominating the diplomatic mission to solve the conflict. But his effort didn’t produce any fruit. Nor does it left a good memory of him. In fact, Anthony Lake, like Susan Rice, was dismissed by the Eritrean government for complicating the border conflict and the peace process. If you don’t remember some of these statements defaming Anthony Lake, I am sure you will remember the famous comedy “Enkilalo!!”
Anthony Lake was not only accused of complicating the border conflict, but after the 2001 crisis in PFDJ, he was also accused for using his shuttle diplomacy for conspiring against the Eritrean government....the kind of CIA spy behind G-13 and G-15!!!!
And now, with Obama’s presidency, both Susan Rice and Anthony Lake will be back to the sate department and to Washington. Clearly, this is not a hope menu for Eritrea and for PIA.So why do Eritreans overwhelmingly support Obama? May be they haven't paid attention to the people behind him. Or may be they like the idea that an immigrant son from East Africa is a good model for their kids. But as far as for Eritrea (and the government of PIA) is concerned, Obama provides the worst menu of all the candidates.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
What is the Bigest Problem the world is facing?
It was in August 2005. I was taking English class as part of my orientation program for my TA position. We were all new international students. One day the professor asked us to ask questions with each other. So I found my self asking every student the following question:
“What is the biggest problem the world is facing?”
The response was shocking to me. But I will give u a chance to get your own response.
More than half of my classmate told me the largest problem facing the world is “Rapid population growth!” and no one said poverty or AIDS. By now you will be able to know where the majority of my classmates come from. At the beginning of the orientation, when all the international students were gathered, I felt as if I am in the national assembly of China……and I couldn’t think any thing but wish if many young Eritrea’s were there getting higher education.
In this opening statement, I am trying to show an obvious fact….that in the area of higher education, we r lagging way behind. The consequence of this lag in this era of rapid globalization is devastating. Globalization can be explained like a Darwinian theory of “ the Survival of the fittest”. And for countries, there is no better way to survive in this competition than by arming their people with science and technology…..that is why we see thousands of Assians in western universities. To arm them selves with the knowledge necessary to compete in the global economy….and of course, as china and India, they have started to reap the fruits. Their economy is growing with more than 10%.It is such unfortunate then to see our only university is closed. I can’t understand the rational for closing the university(if there is any). But I understand the consequence of it….AB ZELATA TEWESEKETA…. We will further lag in the competition and it will not be easy for us to compete in the global economy…and it will take more time to solve our problems.
When I ask my class mates what the bigest problem the world is facing....they told me the problem their home country is facing.....and now I am wondering if there were more Eritreans there, what would be their response.
“What is the biggest problem the world is facing?”
The response was shocking to me. But I will give u a chance to get your own response.
More than half of my classmate told me the largest problem facing the world is “Rapid population growth!” and no one said poverty or AIDS. By now you will be able to know where the majority of my classmates come from. At the beginning of the orientation, when all the international students were gathered, I felt as if I am in the national assembly of China……and I couldn’t think any thing but wish if many young Eritrea’s were there getting higher education.
In this opening statement, I am trying to show an obvious fact….that in the area of higher education, we r lagging way behind. The consequence of this lag in this era of rapid globalization is devastating. Globalization can be explained like a Darwinian theory of “ the Survival of the fittest”. And for countries, there is no better way to survive in this competition than by arming their people with science and technology…..that is why we see thousands of Assians in western universities. To arm them selves with the knowledge necessary to compete in the global economy….and of course, as china and India, they have started to reap the fruits. Their economy is growing with more than 10%.It is such unfortunate then to see our only university is closed. I can’t understand the rational for closing the university(if there is any). But I understand the consequence of it….AB ZELATA TEWESEKETA…. We will further lag in the competition and it will not be easy for us to compete in the global economy…and it will take more time to solve our problems.
When I ask my class mates what the bigest problem the world is facing....they told me the problem their home country is facing.....and now I am wondering if there were more Eritreans there, what would be their response.
Monday, December 24, 2007
The People of the world Should vote in the coming 2008 USA Election
Starting January 3, American’s will vote to select the candidates for the two parties and in late 2008 they will choose their president for the next four years. This is a wonderful system…a noble practice…if only the unfortunate majority of the rest of the people in this planet have similar opportunity. What a better chance would be than the power to change the state machine …? a machine that determine your future and your daily life. Needless to say, as I follow the process, I envy them for my people don’t have this power. But at the same time I felt this election is unfair,….perhaps injustice.
If election is the process by which people choose those who will control the power that determines their future, then almost all the people around the world, and certainly the people of Horn Africa, should vote in this election. The outcome of this election of will affect people all over the world. In fact one could argue that the outcome will affect relatively more to people in some parts of the world than will affect the average American. Americans have well built walls to protect themselves from the action of their government. A well developed institutions, a powerful senate and congress, an independent judicial system, a well distributed network of human right groups, a vigilant media systems….all protecting the individual American from the powerful Whitehouse machine. But what institutions does the rest of the world have to protect them selves from the “Washington machine”? Practically very little! So how would it be fair for the people who are probably to be less affected by its outcome only determine the fate of Washington?
Take for example the 2000 election. To an average American, whether the controversial election resulted in Mr. Bush or AlGore as president has little difference in their daily life. But to the Afgan, Iragis, or to the Somalis, perhaps the outcome would have been very different. The implications of this process where the less affected choose the leader for the rest of the world was clear in the 2004 election. Despite all what happened in the first term of Mr. Bushes’ presidency and to the surprise of the rest of the world, the 2004 election didn’t bring any change in Washington. If all the people affected by Washington had been given the chance to vote in the 2004 election, I bet the results would have been different.
And now, as we approach election dates, the people who will not vote are helplessly crossing their hands to see what their fate will look like. But their hope will not get due considerations in the decisions of the voters. As usual, 30% -40% of the eligible American voters will not even bother to show up in the election. And those who show up to vote will do so based on their own self interest.
Okey…may be I am exaggerating….….but I hope you have got my point…..the outcome of this election will affect the world equally as it does to an average American and thus are waiting to see who is the next president. If you want to know how this election will affect the rest of the world, let me strict my self to the part of the world that I know most….the unfortunate Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa comprises Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia.
Perhaps the most affected people are the Somalis. Last years the united States outsourced its war on terror to its ally in the region Ethiopia to oust the Islamist who came to power. The result was nightmare to the Somalis and a complete failure to USA. So far with in one year, over 1500 Somalis has died and over a million have displaced. The imported transitional government has proved to be a complete failure and the ousted Islamists are pretty much in good shape or perhaps more powerful. With this in the ground, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine what the Somalis are hoping out of this election.
Somaliland: the failure of the Transitional Federal government in Somalia and the rise of the Islamists have brought an unexpected miracle to Somaliland….. Somaliland has declared its independence after crisis in mainland Somalia. But no country has recognized their independence. But at the end of this year, with the failure of the TFG, there is a growing report that USA is planning to recognize the Somaliland and use it to protect and encircle the Islamists from South….what a wonderful opportunity for the Somaliland.….so Somaliland are looking the next US administration would stick to the plan, as the current administration may not finish the business before they leave office.
Djibouti…home for the US base in Africa, Djibouti has seen a rapid increase in military aid. Certainly, this is good for those in power….and want to keep it. But for those on the other side….u know what it means.
Eritrea: Certainly Eritreans couldn’t wait for the Bush administration and Janday Frazer to leave office…and will be looking for the next administration to push Ethiopia to respect the border ruling.
Ethiopia: well….Prime Meles has been the biggest beneficiary of the Bush administration in the region. Crafting him self as the best USA ally in the war on terror, he was able to silence USA in face of a fraud election, ignore an international border ruling with Eritrea, get a flow of millions of dollars in military aid to fight Islamists in Somalia. Certainly, it might be tempting for Meles now to change the USA constitution to give the Bush administration another term in power. But to those in Knjit, the umbrella of Ethiopian opposition who believe their victory in the 2005 election was cheated by Meles and the USA has cooperated by being silent, they couldn’t wait for Bush to go and a different people to come.Sudan: the fate of South Sudan and its hope to get their independence will not materialize with out a sympathetic President in Whitehouse…..and the Darfurian refugees would be looking for a president in Whitehouse who would keep his promise…not like Bush who would use their case in election terms only
If election is the process by which people choose those who will control the power that determines their future, then almost all the people around the world, and certainly the people of Horn Africa, should vote in this election. The outcome of this election of will affect people all over the world. In fact one could argue that the outcome will affect relatively more to people in some parts of the world than will affect the average American. Americans have well built walls to protect themselves from the action of their government. A well developed institutions, a powerful senate and congress, an independent judicial system, a well distributed network of human right groups, a vigilant media systems….all protecting the individual American from the powerful Whitehouse machine. But what institutions does the rest of the world have to protect them selves from the “Washington machine”? Practically very little! So how would it be fair for the people who are probably to be less affected by its outcome only determine the fate of Washington?
Take for example the 2000 election. To an average American, whether the controversial election resulted in Mr. Bush or AlGore as president has little difference in their daily life. But to the Afgan, Iragis, or to the Somalis, perhaps the outcome would have been very different. The implications of this process where the less affected choose the leader for the rest of the world was clear in the 2004 election. Despite all what happened in the first term of Mr. Bushes’ presidency and to the surprise of the rest of the world, the 2004 election didn’t bring any change in Washington. If all the people affected by Washington had been given the chance to vote in the 2004 election, I bet the results would have been different.
And now, as we approach election dates, the people who will not vote are helplessly crossing their hands to see what their fate will look like. But their hope will not get due considerations in the decisions of the voters. As usual, 30% -40% of the eligible American voters will not even bother to show up in the election. And those who show up to vote will do so based on their own self interest.
Okey…may be I am exaggerating….….but I hope you have got my point…..the outcome of this election will affect the world equally as it does to an average American and thus are waiting to see who is the next president. If you want to know how this election will affect the rest of the world, let me strict my self to the part of the world that I know most….the unfortunate Horn of Africa. The Horn of Africa comprises Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia.
Perhaps the most affected people are the Somalis. Last years the united States outsourced its war on terror to its ally in the region Ethiopia to oust the Islamist who came to power. The result was nightmare to the Somalis and a complete failure to USA. So far with in one year, over 1500 Somalis has died and over a million have displaced. The imported transitional government has proved to be a complete failure and the ousted Islamists are pretty much in good shape or perhaps more powerful. With this in the ground, it wouldn’t be hard to imagine what the Somalis are hoping out of this election.
Somaliland: the failure of the Transitional Federal government in Somalia and the rise of the Islamists have brought an unexpected miracle to Somaliland….. Somaliland has declared its independence after crisis in mainland Somalia. But no country has recognized their independence. But at the end of this year, with the failure of the TFG, there is a growing report that USA is planning to recognize the Somaliland and use it to protect and encircle the Islamists from South….what a wonderful opportunity for the Somaliland.….so Somaliland are looking the next US administration would stick to the plan, as the current administration may not finish the business before they leave office.
Djibouti…home for the US base in Africa, Djibouti has seen a rapid increase in military aid. Certainly, this is good for those in power….and want to keep it. But for those on the other side….u know what it means.
Eritrea: Certainly Eritreans couldn’t wait for the Bush administration and Janday Frazer to leave office…and will be looking for the next administration to push Ethiopia to respect the border ruling.
Ethiopia: well….Prime Meles has been the biggest beneficiary of the Bush administration in the region. Crafting him self as the best USA ally in the war on terror, he was able to silence USA in face of a fraud election, ignore an international border ruling with Eritrea, get a flow of millions of dollars in military aid to fight Islamists in Somalia. Certainly, it might be tempting for Meles now to change the USA constitution to give the Bush administration another term in power. But to those in Knjit, the umbrella of Ethiopian opposition who believe their victory in the 2005 election was cheated by Meles and the USA has cooperated by being silent, they couldn’t wait for Bush to go and a different people to come.Sudan: the fate of South Sudan and its hope to get their independence will not materialize with out a sympathetic President in Whitehouse…..and the Darfurian refugees would be looking for a president in Whitehouse who would keep his promise…not like Bush who would use their case in election terms only
Friday, December 21, 2007
Saturday, December 1, 2007
Michala Wrong on Bolton's Testimony
America's Latest African BlunderHow an about-face on a boundary issue could destabilize an entire region.
By Michela WrongPosted Thursday, Nov. 29, 2007, at 5:38 PM ET
John Bolton
Sometimes, authors of tell-all memoirs reveal even more than they realize. One such revelation comes on Page 347 of John Bolton's Surrender Is Not an Option, published earlier this month. I doubt most reviewers noticed the line as they leafed through the book in search of the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations' famous putdowns. But for anyone who follows events in the Horn of Africa, it had all the impact of a small explosion.
Bolton, whose contempt for the United Nations is only matched by his exasperation with the State Department, recounts the position Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer adopted in 2006 toward the "final and binding" ruling an international commission had reached over the Eritrean-Ethiopian border, the cause of a war that claimed some 90,000 lives.
"For reasons I never understood," writes Bolton, "Frazer reversed course, and asked in early February to reopen the 2002 [Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission] decision, which she had concluded was wrong, and award a major piece of disputed territory to Ethiopia. I was at a loss how to explain that to the Security Council, so I didn't."
Why should this interest anyone outside the United Nations? Because, at a peculiarly sensitive moment in the Horn's history, Bolton's words confirm what those who follow U.S. policy in Africa sensed but could never prove: While presenting itself as a neutral player in a bitter contest between two African regimes, Washington has in fact played the old Cold War game, favoring realpolitik over international law—with disastrous results.
The decision Bolton cites was meant to settle where the fuzzy international frontier between Ethiopia and Eritrea really lay. While the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission allotted many areas Eritrea claimed to Ethiopia, the village of Badme, a flashpoint of the 1998-2000 war, went to Eritrea. It was a decision Addis Ababa found impossible to swallow. As Bolton writes, "Ethiopia had agreed on a mechanism to resolve the border dispute in 2000 and was now welching on the deal."
What was at stake was never Badme village itself or its surrounding land. Nor, despite much trumpeting to that effect, was Ethiopia overly preoccupied by the fate of villagers whose settlements the EEBC line cut across. The standoff was all about wounded Ethiopian pride. Demarcation meant implicit recognition that the 1998-2000 war, which the Ethiopian army effectively won, was fought on a faulty premise. In Addis' eyes, it also meant accepting arrogant Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki's view of his tiny, strident nation as a significant regional player.
As a witness to the Algiers agreement that ended hostilities and established the EEBC, Washington has always publicly asserted its support for the commission's ruling. That finding was never Frazer's to challenge or change. No doubt her legal advisers warned her against the folly of trying to reopen a unanimous decision that took 13 months to reach, hence Washington's subsequent silence on the matter.
But Washington has, in every other respect, made its bias clear. Having decided Ethiopia was the region's linchpin state and a key ally in its campaign against Islamic extremism, it failed to pressure or punish Prime Minister Meles Zenawi when he defied international law. Ethiopia remains the biggest African recipient of U.S. aid—$500 million a year—and the strikes Washington launched at retreating Islamist fighters when Ethiopian forces overran Somalia last December illustrated the closeness of the two administrations' military cooperation.
Bolton's revelation could not come at a more sensitive time. The EEBC, which once planned to mark the line with cement pillars, says it considers its mission fulfilled at the end of this month. Exhausted by five years of Ethiopian foot-dragging, it intends to disband on Nov. 30, and the border will then be considered officially designated.
The fast-approaching deadline has both regimes in jittery mode. Eritrea accuses Addis of plotting to invade; Ethiopia denies this but has boosted military spending and warns that another war would be fought to the finish. Analysts say neither nation's forces are in a fit state to reopen hostilities, but a quarter of a million heavily armed troops stand mustered at the border. The International Crisis Group, which regards the possibility of a new war as "very real," has called for the United States to use its influence to rein in Addis and on the U.N. Security Council to reiterate its support for the EEBC ruling.
Washington, the only power that enjoys any effective leverage over Prime Minister Zenawi, appears to believe that in bolstering Ethiopia, it is backing a force for stability, a diplomatic approach that dates back to Emperor Haile Selassie's era. The opposite is probably true, because the unsettled border issue has acted as a festering sore, infecting the entire region.
Stalemated on the border issue, the two leaders have continued to wage a proxy war in alternative venues, each supporting rebel movements committed to their rival's downfall. Somalia has been the first major casualty of this cynical game: Eritrea's arming of the Islamic Courts Union was regarded as intolerable provocation by Addis, which sent its tanks rolling in.
Having boasted last December that it could pacify Somalia within two weeks, Ethiopia is now confronting the same hearts-and-minds problem as U.S. troops in Baghdad. The hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees streaming out of Mogadishu, like the villagers emerging from the Ogaden region with tales of Ethiopian rape and plunder, will provide future Islamist movements with easy recruits.
But the reverberations of the EEBC debacle spread much further. Why, in the future, should any well-connected African state ever agree to obey an international ruling that finds in favor of a smaller, weaker rival?
Washington appears to have learned nothing from the past, when the decision to embrace unsavory African strongmen purely on the basis of their anti-Communist credentials proved the most short-sighted of investments. Now, just as then, such supposed pragmatism is proving counterproductive, turning an already unstable region into a war-torn, refugee-plagued, famine-afflicted recruiting ground for extremism.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
Press Release by Organization of Eritrean American(OEA)
In recent press release, OED has brought an important point to our attention. The full content of the press release is attached below. What this press lease does is provide an evidence (witness) to what we all know for long time now. The witness came from John Bolton, former USA ambassador to UN, in his newly released book is quoted as writting the US Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Jendayi Frazer has a clear intention to change the ER/ETH boundry decion in favor of Ethiopia. It has been awhile since her relationship with the government of PIA has come to a personal one. And that relationship has escalated so ugly that Frazer is now treating to put ER on state sponsoring terrorism brad name..
There are three points that we need to understand regarding the press release of ODE:
First, the reluctance of USA to push for the implementation of the border settlement was clear before Jendayi came to office. It is also difficult to argue that the foreign policy strategy of USA will solely depend on the person holding the office. It is rather based on their perceived national interest, whether that perception be right or wrong. Hence it is inaccurate to blame her for all. Certainly, she has used the opportunity to punish ER. But, there may not be much change regarding the border conflict even with different personnel. This means, the press release, revealing Jenedayi as having a hidden intention, will not change the USA policy very much. So it is mostly for ERN consumption.
Second, the relationship between ER and Jendayi Frazer escalated into a personal relationship when PIA refused to talk to her. This was followed by press release under the name of ERN foreign ministry that personally attack her capability, treating her as amateur and immature. This kind of belligerent and stubborn approach is at the root cause of the diplomatic isolation ER has now. Hence the search for solution should focus on change the behavior of PIA
Finally, I have to appreciate OEA for being watchdog and getting this press release out quickly. However, to bring real change to the diplomatic isolation of ER, OED should work hard to persuade Washington that ER can be a good partner for USA as much as or better than Ethiopia does (In fact Washington knows ER has more influence on Horn of African than Ethiopia, but doesn’t trust PIA as real partner). But they could do that only if they are able to persuade PIA to change his approach…. I really doubt if they can do that.
** The Following is the press release by OEA***
Bolton Reveals Frazer Worked to Reopen Eritrea/Ethiopia Boundary Decision in Favor of EthiopiaFormer senior Bush Administration official John Bolton has publicly and unambiguously revealed that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer sought to prevent demarcation of the Eritrean/Ethiopian border according to the final and binding 2002 Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) decision. In his recently published memoir – “Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations and Abroad” (Threshold Editions) – former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Bolton states that in February 2006, Frazer informed him that she wanted him to “reopen” the 2002 EEBC decision, “which she had concluded was wrong, and award a major piece of disputed territory to Ethiopia” (Page 347). Bolton describes his surprise at Frazer’s position, because in January 2006, he had gotten the Security Council to agree to a Frazer-led “U.S. initiative” on the border issue on the basis that this initiative would be solely focused on rapid implementation of the EEBC decision. Bolton also describes in detail what he believes was the singular focus of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Annan’s deputy Mark Malloch Brown (now the UK’s Minister for Africa and Asia) and many Security Council members on punishing Eritrea for its restrictions on the UN peacekeeping force known as UNMEE and the lack of focus on the main issue: Ethiopia’s obstruction of demarcation. Bolton notes that UNMEE “was simply propping up Ethiopia’s flat violation of its commitments” (page 344). Moreover, Bolton believes “Eritrea had a point: Ethiopia had agreed on a mechanism to resolve the border dispute in 2000 and was now welching on the deal” (Page 344).Bolton’s revelation about Frazer, the lead U.S. official for African affairs, provides a useful insight into the likely motivations of her recent hostile statements towards Eritrea, coddling of the Ethiopian government and equivocal rhetoric about demarcation. When Frazer tells the Voice of America on November 6, 2007 that “demarcation [between Ethiopia and Eritrea] should definitely be done, but it needs to be done in the context of dialogue”, it is now clear what Frazer hopes to accomplish through such “dialogue”. Frazer misleadingly states in the same interview that Ethiopia has accepted the EEBC decision “without condition”, while the truth, as noted in a September 28, 2007 letter by the President of the EEBC to the UN Secretary General, is that “even if all of Ethiopia’s conditions were met by Eritrea, Ethiopia would not commit itself to anything more than discussion on demarcation.” It is not, therefore, surprising that the State Department issued a press release on November 9, 2007 about a “boundary impasse” between Ethiopia and Eritrea that failed to even mention the EEBC and instead focused on unspecified “efforts” by the current UN Secretary General to “resolve” the situation. It is with all of this background that one must also consider a November 6, 2007 Washington Post article in which an anonymous “U.S. government source” speculated about future Ethiopian air strikes on the capital of Eritrea in order to topple the Eritrean government and the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa’s November 1, 2007 warning to American citizens in Ethiopia to stay at least 30-60 miles away from the border with Eritrea.
There are three points that we need to understand regarding the press release of ODE:
First, the reluctance of USA to push for the implementation of the border settlement was clear before Jendayi came to office. It is also difficult to argue that the foreign policy strategy of USA will solely depend on the person holding the office. It is rather based on their perceived national interest, whether that perception be right or wrong. Hence it is inaccurate to blame her for all. Certainly, she has used the opportunity to punish ER. But, there may not be much change regarding the border conflict even with different personnel. This means, the press release, revealing Jenedayi as having a hidden intention, will not change the USA policy very much. So it is mostly for ERN consumption.
Second, the relationship between ER and Jendayi Frazer escalated into a personal relationship when PIA refused to talk to her. This was followed by press release under the name of ERN foreign ministry that personally attack her capability, treating her as amateur and immature. This kind of belligerent and stubborn approach is at the root cause of the diplomatic isolation ER has now. Hence the search for solution should focus on change the behavior of PIA
Finally, I have to appreciate OEA for being watchdog and getting this press release out quickly. However, to bring real change to the diplomatic isolation of ER, OED should work hard to persuade Washington that ER can be a good partner for USA as much as or better than Ethiopia does (In fact Washington knows ER has more influence on Horn of African than Ethiopia, but doesn’t trust PIA as real partner). But they could do that only if they are able to persuade PIA to change his approach…. I really doubt if they can do that.
** The Following is the press release by OEA***
Bolton Reveals Frazer Worked to Reopen Eritrea/Ethiopia Boundary Decision in Favor of EthiopiaFormer senior Bush Administration official John Bolton has publicly and unambiguously revealed that U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer sought to prevent demarcation of the Eritrean/Ethiopian border according to the final and binding 2002 Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) decision. In his recently published memoir – “Surrender Is Not an Option: Defending America at the United Nations and Abroad” (Threshold Editions) – former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Bolton states that in February 2006, Frazer informed him that she wanted him to “reopen” the 2002 EEBC decision, “which she had concluded was wrong, and award a major piece of disputed territory to Ethiopia” (Page 347). Bolton describes his surprise at Frazer’s position, because in January 2006, he had gotten the Security Council to agree to a Frazer-led “U.S. initiative” on the border issue on the basis that this initiative would be solely focused on rapid implementation of the EEBC decision. Bolton also describes in detail what he believes was the singular focus of former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Annan’s deputy Mark Malloch Brown (now the UK’s Minister for Africa and Asia) and many Security Council members on punishing Eritrea for its restrictions on the UN peacekeeping force known as UNMEE and the lack of focus on the main issue: Ethiopia’s obstruction of demarcation. Bolton notes that UNMEE “was simply propping up Ethiopia’s flat violation of its commitments” (page 344). Moreover, Bolton believes “Eritrea had a point: Ethiopia had agreed on a mechanism to resolve the border dispute in 2000 and was now welching on the deal” (Page 344).Bolton’s revelation about Frazer, the lead U.S. official for African affairs, provides a useful insight into the likely motivations of her recent hostile statements towards Eritrea, coddling of the Ethiopian government and equivocal rhetoric about demarcation. When Frazer tells the Voice of America on November 6, 2007 that “demarcation [between Ethiopia and Eritrea] should definitely be done, but it needs to be done in the context of dialogue”, it is now clear what Frazer hopes to accomplish through such “dialogue”. Frazer misleadingly states in the same interview that Ethiopia has accepted the EEBC decision “without condition”, while the truth, as noted in a September 28, 2007 letter by the President of the EEBC to the UN Secretary General, is that “even if all of Ethiopia’s conditions were met by Eritrea, Ethiopia would not commit itself to anything more than discussion on demarcation.” It is not, therefore, surprising that the State Department issued a press release on November 9, 2007 about a “boundary impasse” between Ethiopia and Eritrea that failed to even mention the EEBC and instead focused on unspecified “efforts” by the current UN Secretary General to “resolve” the situation. It is with all of this background that one must also consider a November 6, 2007 Washington Post article in which an anonymous “U.S. government source” speculated about future Ethiopian air strikes on the capital of Eritrea in order to topple the Eritrean government and the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa’s November 1, 2007 warning to American citizens in Ethiopia to stay at least 30-60 miles away from the border with Eritrea.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Where are the Generals?
Last week shabai.com reported that the cabinet of Ministers and Zonal Administers held a meeting where his excellence PIA have evalution of development programs.
I am sure now some of u r saying “so what?”.
Hold on! There is something new to it: the generals where not there! What happened? Ever since the political crisis in PFDJ in 2001, the army have been give unconditional power and authority…..a shift that changed the landscape of the power in Eritrea. As part of this power bestowed to the army generals, the commanders of the zonal operations were given a seat in the self- appointed body of cabinet ministers, zonal administers and commanders of operations. (This self appointed body has replaced the national assembly, though without any official announcement). The body by it self is a nominal body: where the PIA shows up with power point presentation and the ministers and administers are seen on TV taking notes and applauding at the end of the meeting. Nothing more is known about what goes in that meeting. But it is reasonable to assume nothing critical question will ever raise. As such, it is of no use whether the general or self appointed yes-men seat on these chairs…..But there is a symbolic meaning to that. The presence of the generals in that body was a symbol of the power shift from civilian institution(to be correct, from tegadelti, semi-civilian) to a military institution. And when they were absent from that meeting last week, one can hope if this is the begining of a power shift back to the civilian institutions. During the last 5 to 6 years, the army has a upperhand in the decision making than the civilian institutions and oversights their activities. This was a deliberate choice by PIA to secure his power through the barrel of the gun. This eventually left the public under the mercy of the army…and thus: the agelglot were put in building the houses of their commanders while their families left without help: the army took the function of the police, building their own prison system: the colonels administered the municipalities: the list is long.
However, once the civilian institutions were under full control, the competition for power and status started among the ranks of the army them selves. Eventually this has manifested last month in a failed assassination attempt on the life of Colonel Simon: the head of the internal security. The event was largely interpretyed as a by-product of the competion among the groups emergying in the army. The fact that the attempted assassination was on top security personel means a direct threat to the power of PIA. The question that follows was how would PIA respond to that? And some have hoped the struggle between these military groups may bring a change so needed in Eritrea.
The exclusion of the generals from the “club meeting” last week is PIA’s response to the generals. To show his assertion and discontent, immediately he excluded them from his club meeting. But how far will he restrain them from the tremendous power they have now? Will this continue to the point where the civilian institutions regain their authority?
To me it looks he will not go so far. To do so means to preclude the extravagancy these generals and colonels now used to enjoy. This will mean to risk his power. What he probably will do is, as usual, play with the divide and rule card. Under the name of corruption, a bunch of the disfavored generals and colonels will either be freezed or sent to jail. The rest will still continue with their tremendous power share.
Unfortunately this will not bring any change to the poor people.
I am sure now some of u r saying “so what?”.
Hold on! There is something new to it: the generals where not there! What happened? Ever since the political crisis in PFDJ in 2001, the army have been give unconditional power and authority…..a shift that changed the landscape of the power in Eritrea. As part of this power bestowed to the army generals, the commanders of the zonal operations were given a seat in the self- appointed body of cabinet ministers, zonal administers and commanders of operations. (This self appointed body has replaced the national assembly, though without any official announcement). The body by it self is a nominal body: where the PIA shows up with power point presentation and the ministers and administers are seen on TV taking notes and applauding at the end of the meeting. Nothing more is known about what goes in that meeting. But it is reasonable to assume nothing critical question will ever raise. As such, it is of no use whether the general or self appointed yes-men seat on these chairs…..But there is a symbolic meaning to that. The presence of the generals in that body was a symbol of the power shift from civilian institution(to be correct, from tegadelti, semi-civilian) to a military institution. And when they were absent from that meeting last week, one can hope if this is the begining of a power shift back to the civilian institutions. During the last 5 to 6 years, the army has a upperhand in the decision making than the civilian institutions and oversights their activities. This was a deliberate choice by PIA to secure his power through the barrel of the gun. This eventually left the public under the mercy of the army…and thus: the agelglot were put in building the houses of their commanders while their families left without help: the army took the function of the police, building their own prison system: the colonels administered the municipalities: the list is long.
However, once the civilian institutions were under full control, the competition for power and status started among the ranks of the army them selves. Eventually this has manifested last month in a failed assassination attempt on the life of Colonel Simon: the head of the internal security. The event was largely interpretyed as a by-product of the competion among the groups emergying in the army. The fact that the attempted assassination was on top security personel means a direct threat to the power of PIA. The question that follows was how would PIA respond to that? And some have hoped the struggle between these military groups may bring a change so needed in Eritrea.
The exclusion of the generals from the “club meeting” last week is PIA’s response to the generals. To show his assertion and discontent, immediately he excluded them from his club meeting. But how far will he restrain them from the tremendous power they have now? Will this continue to the point where the civilian institutions regain their authority?
To me it looks he will not go so far. To do so means to preclude the extravagancy these generals and colonels now used to enjoy. This will mean to risk his power. What he probably will do is, as usual, play with the divide and rule card. Under the name of corruption, a bunch of the disfavored generals and colonels will either be freezed or sent to jail. The rest will still continue with their tremendous power share.
Unfortunately this will not bring any change to the poor people.
Sunday, October 28, 2007
War brews on the new frontier by Michela Wrong
**This is an excellent article by Michela Wrong. She is also the Author of "I didn't do it for you" How the world betrayed a small African Nation. **
A grim deadline expires in a few weeks' time. It will pass unnoticed by the British public, but that doesn't make it any less important, not just for the two nations involved, but for Africa as a whole. For it sets the seal on an abject failure by the west to ensure that a vital African ally respects international law. And the act of defiance our governments have chosen to ignore will undermine peacemaking on the continent for decades to come.
At the end of November, the frontier separating Eritrea from Ethiopia becomes officially demarcated, in the teeth of Ethiopian opposition. For five years, Addis Ababa has done its best to prevent cement pillars being placed along a line designated by the international Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission in April 2002, a ruling that both states originally agreed was to be final and binding. The exasperated commission chairman, Sir Elihu Lauterpacht, announced last November that if the stalemate continued, the border would automatically count as legally demarcated a year hence, pillars or no.
With that announcement, Lauterpacht in effect told the international community: "We've done our bit. The rest is up to you." Its mandate complete, the commission will disband. Law yers, however distinguished, can do only so much. Ever since it emerged that the commission's ruling placed the contested town of Badme, of huge symbolic importance as the flashpoint of the 1998-2000 war, inside Eritrean territory, it has been clear that only realpolitik could secure Ethiopian compliance.
Those five years of procrastination did not come cheap for you and me. A UN peacekeeping force has been deployed along a buffer zone between the two states throughout, at a cost to western taxpayers of more than $1bn. All for naught, because a new war now looks horribly likely. Both sides have moved troops up to the border and Ethiopia recently announced that it was considering terminating the Algiers Agreement, which ended the fighting in 2000. The rising rhetoric feels like an ominous countdown to a resumption of hostilities.
Could all this have been avoided? Outsiders often claim both governments are so pig-headed that outside pressure either has no effect or backfires. But the west never tried. A US diplomat friend used to accuse me of naivety when I struggled to interpret governments' behaviour. "Look at what they do, not what they say," he would scold. The Addis regime looked at what the west did when confronted by its defiance, not what it said, and concluded - correctly - that it had nothing to fear from continued intransigence.
Since the days of Haile Selassie, giant, Christian Ethiopia has been regarded as the Horn of Africa state the west had to keep onside, too big, too strategic, too poor to ignore. The war on terror buttressed that belief, notwithstanding evidence that Addis Ababa's aggressive behaviour was destabilising the region.
So, after Ethiopian troops shot nearly 200 de monstrators protesting against rigged elections and jailed the opposition, western donors made only token adjustments to the $1.9bn in funding they give Prime Minister Meles Zenawi each year. Any disapproval Washington might have expressed over Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia rang hollow, given the enthusiastic help it lent the army as it hunted retreating Islamist forces. And Ethiopia's warning that it might terminate the Algiers Agreement came soon after the US state department said it was preparing to put Eritrea on its list of terrorism-supporting states for its role in Somalia: a green light to Addis if ever there was one. What they do, not what they say.
One doesn't have to be an admirer of the Eri trean government - undemocratic, stiflingly militaristic, cynically ready to support any rebel group that threatens Meles - to quail at the ramifications of the west's limp behaviour. By indulging a delinquent favourite, the inter national community has set a precedent other regional bullies will happily follow. We can expect a repeat next door in Sudan, where the government and the rebels have yet to demarcate the frontier separating south from north. The Eritrea-Ethiopia dispute was bitter enough. In Sudan, oil pushes the stakes even higher. Khartoum has already refused to implement a "final and binding" ruling defining the limits of oil-rich Abyei Province. What is the likelihood of its complying with any border ruling that locates oil deposits out of reach in the south?
Africa as we know it is a recent invention. Quixotic and impractical, its colonial frontiers are poorly charted and easily challenged. Fear of the mayhem that would ensue if member states regarded existing boundaries as being up for debate prom pted the Organisation of African Unity, in 1964, to embrace the doctrine of uti possidetis, that colonial borders should remain as they are. The Eritrea-Ethiopia debacle, which will be finalised next month, undermines that principle, weakening future attempts at peaceful arbitration. The message it sends is that "final and binding" frontier rulings are negotiable; and that while minnows must obey international law, large countries with friends abroad can defy it with impunity. There could be few more dangerous signals to send a fragile continent.
A grim deadline expires in a few weeks' time. It will pass unnoticed by the British public, but that doesn't make it any less important, not just for the two nations involved, but for Africa as a whole. For it sets the seal on an abject failure by the west to ensure that a vital African ally respects international law. And the act of defiance our governments have chosen to ignore will undermine peacemaking on the continent for decades to come.
At the end of November, the frontier separating Eritrea from Ethiopia becomes officially demarcated, in the teeth of Ethiopian opposition. For five years, Addis Ababa has done its best to prevent cement pillars being placed along a line designated by the international Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission in April 2002, a ruling that both states originally agreed was to be final and binding. The exasperated commission chairman, Sir Elihu Lauterpacht, announced last November that if the stalemate continued, the border would automatically count as legally demarcated a year hence, pillars or no.
With that announcement, Lauterpacht in effect told the international community: "We've done our bit. The rest is up to you." Its mandate complete, the commission will disband. Law yers, however distinguished, can do only so much. Ever since it emerged that the commission's ruling placed the contested town of Badme, of huge symbolic importance as the flashpoint of the 1998-2000 war, inside Eritrean territory, it has been clear that only realpolitik could secure Ethiopian compliance.
Those five years of procrastination did not come cheap for you and me. A UN peacekeeping force has been deployed along a buffer zone between the two states throughout, at a cost to western taxpayers of more than $1bn. All for naught, because a new war now looks horribly likely. Both sides have moved troops up to the border and Ethiopia recently announced that it was considering terminating the Algiers Agreement, which ended the fighting in 2000. The rising rhetoric feels like an ominous countdown to a resumption of hostilities.
Could all this have been avoided? Outsiders often claim both governments are so pig-headed that outside pressure either has no effect or backfires. But the west never tried. A US diplomat friend used to accuse me of naivety when I struggled to interpret governments' behaviour. "Look at what they do, not what they say," he would scold. The Addis regime looked at what the west did when confronted by its defiance, not what it said, and concluded - correctly - that it had nothing to fear from continued intransigence.
Since the days of Haile Selassie, giant, Christian Ethiopia has been regarded as the Horn of Africa state the west had to keep onside, too big, too strategic, too poor to ignore. The war on terror buttressed that belief, notwithstanding evidence that Addis Ababa's aggressive behaviour was destabilising the region.
So, after Ethiopian troops shot nearly 200 de monstrators protesting against rigged elections and jailed the opposition, western donors made only token adjustments to the $1.9bn in funding they give Prime Minister Meles Zenawi each year. Any disapproval Washington might have expressed over Ethiopia's invasion of Somalia rang hollow, given the enthusiastic help it lent the army as it hunted retreating Islamist forces. And Ethiopia's warning that it might terminate the Algiers Agreement came soon after the US state department said it was preparing to put Eritrea on its list of terrorism-supporting states for its role in Somalia: a green light to Addis if ever there was one. What they do, not what they say.
One doesn't have to be an admirer of the Eri trean government - undemocratic, stiflingly militaristic, cynically ready to support any rebel group that threatens Meles - to quail at the ramifications of the west's limp behaviour. By indulging a delinquent favourite, the inter national community has set a precedent other regional bullies will happily follow. We can expect a repeat next door in Sudan, where the government and the rebels have yet to demarcate the frontier separating south from north. The Eritrea-Ethiopia dispute was bitter enough. In Sudan, oil pushes the stakes even higher. Khartoum has already refused to implement a "final and binding" ruling defining the limits of oil-rich Abyei Province. What is the likelihood of its complying with any border ruling that locates oil deposits out of reach in the south?
Africa as we know it is a recent invention. Quixotic and impractical, its colonial frontiers are poorly charted and easily challenged. Fear of the mayhem that would ensue if member states regarded existing boundaries as being up for debate prom pted the Organisation of African Unity, in 1964, to embrace the doctrine of uti possidetis, that colonial borders should remain as they are. The Eritrea-Ethiopia debacle, which will be finalised next month, undermines that principle, weakening future attempts at peaceful arbitration. The message it sends is that "final and binding" frontier rulings are negotiable; and that while minnows must obey international law, large countries with friends abroad can defy it with impunity. There could be few more dangerous signals to send a fragile continent.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Who Really Cares for Darfur?
Last week I was invited into a seminar about Darfur. The Seminar was organized by a group called STAND- a Student Anti-Genocide Coalition. This group advocates for prevention of genocide around the world with special interest in Darfur. Along their media advocacy, at this time they are working on a Divestment program from Sudan. Divestment refers to taking away investments from companies that make business with the government of Sudan. The group claims divestment was effectively used to fight apartheid in South Africa during the apartheid era, and is hoping for the same result for Darfur crisis. So the seminar was about their divestment program in Sudan.
The process of divestment works like this. STAND has identified 27 companies as a target for the program. These are the companies, which are making business with the government of Sudan (GOS), and thereby helping the government to finance the genocide. Almost all the companies are China and Southeast Asia companies. STAND first asks these companies to stop their business with the GOS. If they didn’t stop, then they go into the next phase of the process. They advocates for states, universities, union organizations and other associations who have large investment funds to withdraw their investments from these companies. If they succeed in convincing many investors to withdraw their investment from these companies, the stocks of these companies will fall and this will hurt the profitability of the companies. So far, 52 universities and 13 states have divested from companies that operate in Sudan. Eventually, this is expected to force these companies to withdraw their operation from Sudan. In turn, the government of Sudan will lose its source of revenue and will be forced either from office or make peace deal to stop the genocide. This is in summary of the process.
My first observation is that I was surprised by the interest of the young students who took the case seriously and commit them selves to help the people of Darfur. This kind of movement is only available in the so-called western world, and I consider it a very positive part of their system. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Chinese’ students form the same coalition?
My second observation is that out of some over 50 students in the conference, we were only two black students. I have now learned that black students prefer to avoid seminars about Africa, because invariably, they portray an ugly image of Africa only.
My third observation is that this is not the best solution for the Darfurian. This process is very slow. It took 11 years in the case of South Africa. It will be unbearable pain for the Darfurian displaced from their land to wait for the process to resolve their problem. It would be better for STAND to come with a different program.
The most effective way to solve the problem of the Darfurian, is to deploy a peace keeping force in Darfur and bring the people to their homes from the refugee comps. The problem to this process is the politics between Sudan and the west, especially US and UK. Sudan has demanded any peacekeeping force should come only from Africa and rejected any western forces in the peacekeeping force. The west, on the other hand has insisted in sending their force. And here is where the question comes. Why is the west insisting in sending their soldiers? The official reason is that African forces are not fit to handle the situation in Darfur. Sudan says otherwise. Sudan has explained its suspicion of western forces. It sees it as a neocolonial attempt to control over its huge resource.
The African union, the Arab league and neighboring countries have supported the position of Sudan.(It is possible though, these countries are supporting Sudan from their own interest with out regard to the issue of Darfurian). Sudan’s suspicion has some ground behind it. One has to ask “are African forces really not qualified to handle the situation in Darfur?” And why is the west insisting in sending their forces for two years now, despite the urgency of the situation? Darfur rebels and the janhuwit are not among the most well organized rebels in Africa. They are poorly trained and equipped to challenge a formal force. One has also to remember that the United States is mobilizing an African peacekeeping for Somalia. Every one knows the warlords in Somalia are more fierce than the Janjuwit or Darfur rebels.(a western led peacekeeping force was forced out from Somalia in 1993 by the warlords). If the United States believes an African Force is fit to handle the situation in Somalia, the argument that African forces are not fit for peacekeeping in Darfur is weak. Add to that Sudan’s suspicion: its bad relation with the west for the last 20 years, that all of its oil is exported to china and the west doesn’t get any share of it, that the US is arming and training the South Sudan army (another problem in Sudan), and that China and the west are in fierce competition for African oil, one wonders if the west’s ordeal in the name of Darfur is genuine.
And perhaps, the African force is fit enough to keep peace in Darfur. The Darfurians don’t care whether it is white or a black peacekeeping force, as long as they got their homes safely and quickly. And if the west had accepted that idea of African peacekeeping, the Darfurians may have already been returned to their home. And may be STAND has to asks their government (US) to accept the proposal of sending African force.
The process of divestment works like this. STAND has identified 27 companies as a target for the program. These are the companies, which are making business with the government of Sudan (GOS), and thereby helping the government to finance the genocide. Almost all the companies are China and Southeast Asia companies. STAND first asks these companies to stop their business with the GOS. If they didn’t stop, then they go into the next phase of the process. They advocates for states, universities, union organizations and other associations who have large investment funds to withdraw their investments from these companies. If they succeed in convincing many investors to withdraw their investment from these companies, the stocks of these companies will fall and this will hurt the profitability of the companies. So far, 52 universities and 13 states have divested from companies that operate in Sudan. Eventually, this is expected to force these companies to withdraw their operation from Sudan. In turn, the government of Sudan will lose its source of revenue and will be forced either from office or make peace deal to stop the genocide. This is in summary of the process.
My first observation is that I was surprised by the interest of the young students who took the case seriously and commit them selves to help the people of Darfur. This kind of movement is only available in the so-called western world, and I consider it a very positive part of their system. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the Chinese’ students form the same coalition?
My second observation is that out of some over 50 students in the conference, we were only two black students. I have now learned that black students prefer to avoid seminars about Africa, because invariably, they portray an ugly image of Africa only.
My third observation is that this is not the best solution for the Darfurian. This process is very slow. It took 11 years in the case of South Africa. It will be unbearable pain for the Darfurian displaced from their land to wait for the process to resolve their problem. It would be better for STAND to come with a different program.
The most effective way to solve the problem of the Darfurian, is to deploy a peace keeping force in Darfur and bring the people to their homes from the refugee comps. The problem to this process is the politics between Sudan and the west, especially US and UK. Sudan has demanded any peacekeeping force should come only from Africa and rejected any western forces in the peacekeeping force. The west, on the other hand has insisted in sending their force. And here is where the question comes. Why is the west insisting in sending their soldiers? The official reason is that African forces are not fit to handle the situation in Darfur. Sudan says otherwise. Sudan has explained its suspicion of western forces. It sees it as a neocolonial attempt to control over its huge resource.
The African union, the Arab league and neighboring countries have supported the position of Sudan.(It is possible though, these countries are supporting Sudan from their own interest with out regard to the issue of Darfurian). Sudan’s suspicion has some ground behind it. One has to ask “are African forces really not qualified to handle the situation in Darfur?” And why is the west insisting in sending their forces for two years now, despite the urgency of the situation? Darfur rebels and the janhuwit are not among the most well organized rebels in Africa. They are poorly trained and equipped to challenge a formal force. One has also to remember that the United States is mobilizing an African peacekeeping for Somalia. Every one knows the warlords in Somalia are more fierce than the Janjuwit or Darfur rebels.(a western led peacekeeping force was forced out from Somalia in 1993 by the warlords). If the United States believes an African Force is fit to handle the situation in Somalia, the argument that African forces are not fit for peacekeeping in Darfur is weak. Add to that Sudan’s suspicion: its bad relation with the west for the last 20 years, that all of its oil is exported to china and the west doesn’t get any share of it, that the US is arming and training the South Sudan army (another problem in Sudan), and that China and the west are in fierce competition for African oil, one wonders if the west’s ordeal in the name of Darfur is genuine.
And perhaps, the African force is fit enough to keep peace in Darfur. The Darfurians don’t care whether it is white or a black peacekeeping force, as long as they got their homes safely and quickly. And if the west had accepted that idea of African peacekeeping, the Darfurians may have already been returned to their home. And may be STAND has to asks their government (US) to accept the proposal of sending African force.
Thursday, October 4, 2007
REALLY?
Hey guys!!! It has been very long time since I updated this blog and some of you have been reminding and encouraging me. I appreciate that. Part of the list of excuses for interrupting is…”once you stopped it, it is harder to start it again”…of course u may not buy that excuse.
But today I got a small kick to begin it. I was attending a seminar series in the Department of Economics. The speaker was a New York Times columnist by the name David Leonhardt. He was giving a seminar about a new field of study that getting popular in social sciences called the “Economics of Life”. He said, among other things, the new field has two parts: Really and incentives matter.
These are not new in a sense, but have got some twist by some researcher and thus are popping up. I am not going to report about his seminar: but I felt we need the two words badly in ER and thus I will say some thing about them. For today, I will write about the first: Really? Hummm that sounds good. Really?
David indicted that popularly held views are questioned in this new field and these studies suggest that most of the time these views are not correct. People often base their argument, and sometimes their believe, simply because it is believed by the majority: or because it is so popular, that they fail to question them. The truth of the matter is most of the time these views turned out to be incorrect. Studies that question such misleading popular views are categorized under this new field.
The message is simple: “ don’t take any thing at face value. Don’t base your arguments on unfounded, but largely held views. Instead use to question and try to find facts.”
For most of us, we may not have the drive to ask and challenge against largely believed views. And we may not say “really?” every time we came across these views.
But there are many occasions that make you say "Really?". Sometimes we get really pieced off when somebody try to sell us their garbage ideas. In fact it is an insult and when you don't have the courage to challenge, what do u say? then comes "Really?". and that is my favorite time to say "Really? Take this example:
Dimtsi Hafash on May 2004: “ Many parents have called the ministry of information to express their outrage about the content of internet cafes that are spoiling their kids and demanded for the government to close the internet cafes.”
REALLY?
Here is another example:
Last month PIA was making interview with TV-ER about the relationship with US and Mana Kidane asked him this: “ why is Eritrea criticizing the United States while everyone is quite? PIA answered this:
“ In fact they should be happy about that because our criticism helps them”
REALLY? What about criticism against you?
So, here I am, in my small rooming writing this piece for Friday night when suddenly my cell phone range. It was from a girl that I know and she picked a topic that we disagreed last week. I was not convinced by some of the stuffs she told me about her and that pieced her off. So today she told me this:
“ Mike! I am down to earth open person. Don’t interpret the things I told you from different corners. Take them at face value”
REALLY?
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
CONGRADULATIONS RED SEA BOY'S!!!!!
Our national team's victory against Kenya last Saturday is a very important step towards Ghana 2008. If they win the next game against Swaziland, Eritrea will participate for the first time in the CAF championship. Congratulation Redsea boys!! and Good luck for the next game!!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Friday, June 8, 2007
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Quote from 1998 time magazine
By logic, the Nation of Eritrea (pop. 3 million) should not exist. The secessionist province's independence fighters ought never to have defeated Ethiopia in their 30-year-long struggle. They were outmanned, outgunned, abandoned or betrayed by every ally; their cause was hopeless. They won by force of character, a unity and determination so steely not all the modern armaments, super power support or economic superiority of Ethiopia could withstand it. The spirit that saw the Eritreans through 10 years in the trenches of their mountain redoubt at Nakfa has built them a Nation from scratch; since independence was finally consummated in 1993." TIME Magazine - March 30, 1998
Someone forwarded this message for me and I decide to put it on this blog, because it in a very rare occusion to find an account of Eritrea true struggle in these magazines.
Someone forwarded this message for me and I decide to put it on this blog, because it in a very rare occusion to find an account of Eritrea true struggle in these magazines.
Wednesday, June 6, 2007
An Eritrean Kid in USA
A first grade teacher explains to her class that she is an American.
She asks her students to raise their hands if they were American too.
Not really knowing why but wanting to be like their teacher, their hands
explode into the air like flashy fireworks.
There is, however, one exception. A girl named Selam has not gone along with the crowd.
The teacher asks her why she has decided to be different.
"Because I am not an American." replied Selam.
"Then", asks the teacher, "What are you?"
"I'm a proud Eritrean," boasts the little girl.
The teacher is a little perturbed now, her face slightly red.
She asks Selam why she is a Eritrean.
"Well, my mom and dad are Eritreans, so I'm a Eritrean too."
The teacher is now angry . "That's no reason", she says loudly
"if your mom was an idiot, and your dad was an idiot, what would you be then?"
A pause and a smile.
"Then" says Selam,
"I'd be an American."
Semhar Tekeste(University of Ottawa)
She asks her students to raise their hands if they were American too.
Not really knowing why but wanting to be like their teacher, their hands
explode into the air like flashy fireworks.
There is, however, one exception. A girl named Selam has not gone along with the crowd.
The teacher asks her why she has decided to be different.
"Because I am not an American." replied Selam.
"Then", asks the teacher, "What are you?"
"I'm a proud Eritrean," boasts the little girl.
The teacher is a little perturbed now, her face slightly red.
She asks Selam why she is a Eritrean.
"Well, my mom and dad are Eritreans, so I'm a Eritrean too."
The teacher is now angry . "That's no reason", she says loudly
"if your mom was an idiot, and your dad was an idiot, what would you be then?"
A pause and a smile.
"Then" says Selam,
"I'd be an American."
Semhar Tekeste(University of Ottawa)
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Monday, May 21, 2007
Response from International community
The response of the International community in the words of the then U.S secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, in 1952 to a Security Council debate:
“from the point of justice, the opinion of the Eritrean people should get consideration. Nevertheless, the strategic interest of the United States in the Red Sea basin and considerations of security and world peace maker it is necessary that the country has to be linked with our ally Ethiopia.”
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