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

MERRY X-MAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR From Fridaynight

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

The Making of the Dictator...Lessons in Retrospective!!

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!!

Ygermena'lo!! Weditukabo and his artistic talent!! Great Peice

Ato Woldeab Woldemariam's 7 Assassination Attempt

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.

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)

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL eRITREANS!!!!!! (Brhan 'za Betey)

The Journey for Independence

Eritreans peacefully demanding their independence in 1941

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.”

When all peaceful means hit deadend, Eritreans took the last resort- started armed struggle in 1961

Ethiopian forces tried to weaken the morale of the population of Eritrea

The responses

Celebrating independence, May 24 1991





Marking Independence














Making legal conclusion throug referendom. Eritreans vote 99.8% yes for Independence!

Unfortunatelly,......Nevermind. Anyways, u know what this man is doing now

May 24(Independence week!)

Independence Week!

A scholar is Never Respected in His Home

"LiQ A'b Adu Aykebrn- a scholar is never respected at his home country!" is an old Eritrean saying! a true but unfortunate true! And especially at this age where civilization was based on knowlge and countries are investing millions in educating their citizens or attracting other countries scholars. Unfortunately, Eritrea is unwelcoming to its scholars! One example of this is Ambassador Haile Menkeryos, who was refuted by his government but shining in the world. Here is his latest success. Congratulations!! Amabasador Haile. We are proud of you.

SECRETARY-GENERAL APPOINTS HAILE MENKERIOS OF ERITREA
AS ASSISTANT SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR POLITICAL AFFAIRS

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today announced the appointment of Haile Menkerios of Eritrea as the new Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, succeeding Tuliameni Kalomoh. Mr. Menkerios is currently the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Previously, from June 2003 to June 2005, Mr. Menkerios was Director of the Africa I Division in the Department of Political Affairs.

In 2002, Mr. Menkerios was Senior Adviser to the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to the Inter-Congolese Dialogue, Moustapha Niasse, and assisted the Special Envoy on all aspects of the mediation process prior to the signing of the Global and All-Inclusive Agreement on 17 December 2002 in Sun City, South Africa. From 1991 to 2000, Mr. Menkerios represented the Eritrean Government in various capacities, including as Ambassador to Ethiopia and the Organisation of African Unity, Special Envoy to Somalia and also the Great Lakes region, and Permanent Representative to the United Nations.

Mr. Menkerios has a master’s degree from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University in the United States. He was born on 1 October 1946.

Do Doctors move their eye glasses very often?

I just finished watching a tigrigna move- Mantay Skay. If you get it, I would recommend you watching it........it is one of the good Tigrigna films that I saw.
But some side question. In the film and in other tigrigna filsm, the doctors move their eyeglasses very often. Do our doctors do that in actual life?

Dynamics of Current Situation in the Horn of Africa

In recent weeks, the Somalia capital Mogadishu has witnessed its worst violence in 16 years, as Ethiopia and its allies accuse Eritrea of backing the dissidents, a charge Asmara denies. The events in Somalia, however, are only part of the complex geopolitics of the horn of Africa, and are becoming increasingly linked to the power game in Southern Sudan and Darfur, as DEAN DIYANI reports.
On April 23, in Baidoa, a senior US State Department official singled Eritrea for frustrating peace in Somalia by arming and training Islamists there.
But on the same day, Eritrean President Isaias Aferwerki's plane touched down in the Southern Sudan capital town, Juba. Aferwerki's visit was a part of efforts to broker peace in the troubled Darfur region in eastern Sudan and build confidence between Sudan's south and north.
The multitude of people lining long Juba's main, and only tarmacked road, probably didn't know the guest, let alone spell his name right. Emma Lobor, 12, a student at St Kizito Primary School, braved the early morning sun. However, he shook his head when asked if he knew the guest for whom he was singing. And at the airport, a billboard posted on wooden poles read, "H.E. Isaiah Aforg (sic), you are cordially welcomed to the land of peace."
Aferwerki's visit to Sudan puts him and his country right at the centre of two of Africa's most devastating conflicts, both in which the tiny African country with 4.9 million people has been deeply mired - Darfur and Somalia.
In Darfur, peace efforts have taken a multilateral approach, and with Sudan caving in to a hybrid UN/AU peace force, light is beginning to appear at the end of the tunnel. In Somalia, the peace efforts have been unilateral, and the country sinks ever deeper into chaos.
Build momentum
Aferwerki's visit to Southern Sudan, coming only a week after South African President Thabo Mbeki's visit, is the latest in a series of planned presidential calls that Southern Sudan President Salva Kiir hopes would build momentum for a regional solution for Darfur, and consensus for a way forward on the troubled implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Kiir established a seven-man SPLM Task Force on Darfur on March 31, appointing as its chairperson the SPLM special envoy on Darfur Rev Clement Janda, who for five months was involved in the Darfur peace talks held in Abuja, Nigeria, in 2006.
Mbeki arrived in Juba less than two weeks later and, after meeting Sudanese President Omar al Bashir, announced that the only sticking issue before Khartoum allowed in a UN force was whether or not it would use helicopters.
By inviting Mbeki first, the SPLM Darfur Task force has displayed acute understanding of diplomacy. South Africa's position as Africa's powerhouse cannot be sneered at, meaning its nod could easily have the other countries following suit.
Important also is the invitation of Aferwerki, a man deeply involved in the Darfur and Eastern Sudan conflict, and one who can easily bear down on the regime in Khartoum and the rebel groups in Darfur.
Not surprisingly, with those two visits alone Kiir's Press Secretary Ayom Wol put out a celebratory cry, declaring that the Darfur task force was "gaining momentum."
The Eritrean president may not have received the same hospitality had he instead visited Uganda, where only last month, he snubbed President Museveni when the latter visited Eritrea on a Somalia mission.
Or indeed from one of the regional countries that form the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development that Eritrea just walked out of, after accusing them of backing Ethiopia in Somalia.
But in the Sudan, Eritrea has in the past backed rebel groups in the south, including the SPLA, and in Darfur.
And even if the ordinary people didn't know Aferwerki, signs were written all over Juba that Aferwerki's support was appreciated by the political class.
"The Women League of the SPLM thanks H.E. Aferwki (sic) for his support to the SPLM," read a banner, reflecting the backing Eritrea gave the SPLM during its war against the Islamist regime in Khartoum.
Aferwerki's influence in Africa's largest country is apparently also understood by the National Congress Party in Khartoum.
At a November mini-summit on Sudan in Libya, Aferwerki was urged to mediate in the Darfur conflict and its spillover into Chad and the Central African Republic.
Eritrea mediated a peace agreement between Sudan and eastern rebels in October 2006, and observers reckon that Eritrea's success in that peace deal was because of its influence on the rebels.
On the other hand, the Somalia peace plan has taken a different turn.
"The regional powers were sidelined," says a new briefing paper from Chatham House," and multilateral efforts to support Somalia are undermined by the strategic concerns of other international actors - notably Ethiopia and the United States."
Ethiopia feared the destabilisation from insurgents based in Somalia; the US worried that al-Qaeda cells are incubating within the horn of Africa country.
Unilateralism, according to the authors of the report, has made Somalia more amenable to al-Qaeda than when it was under the routed Islamic Courts Union.
"Whatever the short-term future holds, the complex social forces behind the rise of the Islamic Courts will not go away," the briefing says.
Darfur and Somalia have also been different in how the peacekeeping forces were crafted together.
While the AU led the search for peacekeeping forces in Darfur, in Somalia such efforts were started by Ethiopia. Following the defeat of the Islamic Courts Union, Zenawi visited Ugandan President Museveni and soon Ugandan peace keepers were in Somalia. In the ensuing excitement, the US sent emissaries and US generals to visit Museveni.
Analysts believe that there were two fallouts from this.
One is a failure to read the geopolitics of the region. By feting Museveni, whitewashing him from his other controversial adventures in DR Congo and dressing him up as a powerbroker of sorts on the continent, the US rubbed the continent's real powerhouses - Nigeria and South Africa- the wrong way.
Second, was a failure to understand the social dynamics of the Horn of Africa. For instance, Museveni told IRIN that, "We are black people, this is a black continent - our continent. You cannot bring that Middle Eastern nonsense here."
Such statements do little to win over hearts for a peace keeper. If anything, they exposed Uganda's lack of understanding of the region. Masses of people in north, and northeastern Africa have for decades considered themselves Middle-Eastern, or Arab.
Also, in Somalia, unlike in Darfur, there was a failure to take into account the fears of Somalia's neighbours.
"We have always been at war," Nesredin Abdulrahman, an Eritrean state journalist attached to Aferwerki's press team told this correspondent in Juba during his president's visit. It's little wonder that Museveni's visit to Eritrea was a diplomatic failure. Aferwerki's office issued a statement moments after Museveni left saying the Eritrean President had told Museveni to immediately withdraw from Somalia.
According to a Ugandan source, Museveni's presidential jet flying from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, was denied permission to land in the Eritrean capital Asmara, with Eritrea saying it was flying from a country with which it was at war. Museveni had to fly to the U.A.E, before landing in Asmara.
It's easy to see why Eritrea considers itself to be at war.
After all, the border dispute that resulted into a war with Ethiopia is yet to be resolved.
In retrospect, the world seems to be coming to grips with the failure to look at Ethiopia's entry in Somalia from Eritrea's view point. US Assistant Secretary Frazier, while in Baidoa, admitted that communication with Eritrea has been minimal.
"Very clearly Eritrea has opposed Ethiopia everywhere in the region," Frazier said, according to VOA. "And that probably fundamentally goes back to addressing the issue of the border. I do not believe that Eritrea has taken a position of supporting extremists as a sort of ideological orientation, or a common interest with extremist elements across the region. I think that they are also supporting rebels in Darfur for the same reason."
In other words Frazier is admitting diplomatic failure in Somalia.
Aferwerki appears willing to work under a multilateral arrangement over Somalia as he's doing in Darfur, but only after Ethiopia withdraws from Somalia.
Asked by this correspondent how he expected to build multilateral efforts to resolve the Darfur conflict, yet his country had just walked out of the seven-member IGAD, Aferwerki said Eritrea stood on the side of the people of Southern Sudan the same way it does the people of Somalia because they "want to see justice done here."
'If a nation is weakened, invaded, the civilians are tortured, we can't condone such efforts", Aferwerki said. "In regard to what's happening in Somalia, we need to say 'No' to injustice."
Aferwerki has dug in.
And he probably knows that "naughty" stories are written about his country: He has banned political parties, curtailed the creativity of his people by limiting their economic freedom through putting major enterprises under state control, and fought independent media, while also arming Islamists.
But on this sunny morning in Juba, when schools were closed and pupils told to stay home or go line the roads to welcome a president they didn't know, Aferwerki was feted.
His plane landed at Juba Airport at 11 am to the shoving and jostling among journalists for the best position for the right picture.
Aferweki wore sandals, and trademark Maoist suit.
He stepped off the plane at 11.05 am, inspected a guard of honour alongside Kiir, before a lady placed black gowns and a silk ribbon, the president's names sown into them, around the president's necks.
"Long Live, long live the president of Eritrea", the dance troupes sang. "Welcome, welcome to Southern Sudan; welcome the president of Eritrea."
Salva Kiir smiled.
Aferwerki clapped.

This is an article written by Dean Diyani on the National Media Group and All Africa.com. I found it interesting and I hope you will too.

13 Boring Months!

“ Huh! What a beautiful day! You should not be in office now”, told me the janitor when he saw me going to my office. He is right. It is such a beautiful day and almost every one is now outside; lying on the grass; enjoying the clear sunshine and the perfect weather and playing all kinds of games. This is what they call a typical spring day. I have been told many times about the beauty of spring. And now, spring has started and every one is happy. The other night one of my Eritrean friends called me and asked me if I liked spring.
“What is a big deal about spring? I asked. If it is the clear sky and hot day, I had it almost all my life.” I just want him to talk. Otherwise, after 5 freezing months, I have started to understand why people appreciate spring and why we Eritreans don’t say “what a beautiful day”. My friend laughed and told me a story he has from his early days in the United States. In his first year here, the same time like now, one of his American friend (let’s call him James) asked him the same question- “do you like spring?”.
My friend admitted that he liked spring, and added proudly, “You know: in my country it is always like this- perfect weather: 12 months 12 hours sunshine”. He is right. I would have said the same. So does the Ethiopian government. The logo of the Ministry of Truism of Ethiopia proudly reads “13 months of sunshine”. By the way, do you know what the logo of the Eritrean Ministry of Truism is? It says “ three seasons in two hours”. It actually means, if you come to Eritrea, don’t forget to visit Massawa.
But James had been in Africa before and didn’t appreciate the full year tropical climate. So told to my friend “but you know what? It is boring- always the same, no change”.
Well, what do you think James would have said if he reads the logo of Ministry of truism of Ethiopia then?
“13 BORING MONTHS!”
But, fortunately, if he reads the Eritrean logo, he would say;“Cool! It sounds good. Three seasons in two hours: Too much change in a short time: it really sounds cool”
April 14, 2006.

The Man Who Couldn’t Convince His Teachers is Appointed to Convince the World!

Today I was surprised by a Reuter’s news that reported, “Eritrea has appointed a new Foreign Minister”. It was interesting because the post had been vacant for almost two years now after the late Ali Said Abdela passed away in fall 2005. It is irony by it self to see a country with huge problem with the international community has no foreign minister for tow years- a position as critical as foreign ministry to be vacant for such long time is probably for the first time in history. But we poor Eritreans, who have no say in the affair of our country, have used to all types of ironies from our government. We simply take thing that doesn’t make sense as if we are destined for that. But that is not my topic today, and so I will not pursue this article on that line.
But the prominence of the matter was enough to draw my attention and when I saw the title in Dehai mailing list, I was anxious to see who the new foreign minister of my country. After all, at this point in time when our country is facing a formidable challenge from the international community and the country is at its lowest level in its diplomatic works, it is natural to hope that a new and credible personal will come to stage to change the situation. Poor me! who never give up hoping good thing from this government. But it wasn’t only me. There are many like me. In the past there have been rumors after rumors as to who will take the post- Askalu Menkoryos being the main favored candidate in that rumor circle. But, to my surprise and dismay, it was the last person that I can ever imagine for the post! The news says “ The former Minister of Education Mr. Osman Salih will be the new Foreign Minister and Mr. Semere Rusom, Eritrea’s former Ambassador to USA and currently Mayor of Asmara will be the new Minister of Education.” Alas!
By all accounts Osman Salih doesn’t have any quality for his new post. The art of diplomacy is a delicate process that requires a great deal of experience and skills. Osman doesn’t have any of these qualities for the post. Even if there were no people left and the president has a choice from Osman Salih and Semere Rusom only, any sensible choice would be Semere Rusom. He has handled the border conflict with Ethiopia with great diplomatic skill while an Ambassador to the USA. It was he and Haile Mernkoryos- the best diplomats that country has seen as its Ambassadors. So how are we going to make sense out of these new appointments?
Osman Salih was minister of Education for the last 13 years and deputy of the same ministry before that time. In fact he was in the education department even before independence. But what he has achieved in all these years in the Ministry is confusion, destruction and mess. Although the Ministry of Education has by far the largest Eritrea’s educated human power, the ministry was by all account the most inefficient, beaurocratic and messy Ministry. I am not exaggreting. I have seen it during my one year service in that Ministry. If you don’t believe me ask any teacher, and I bet you will never get any positive sympathy for Osman. Nor do you actually need to ask; the stustus of education in our country speeks for it self. Folks in that ministry have cried for years now in a workshop after workshop about the degrading status of education, their distatisfactions about the administration and the consequences for the country. But what they found was bullying by Osman. As a result, the status of education have degraded to a level that even haven’t reached during the Ethiopian colonial time. Although Osman Salih was not responsible for all the decline and destruction in our education system, he is at the center of all that failure. So in effect, the replacement of Osman by Semere is an effort to fix the problem in the ministry. I am sure for the folks in the Ministry of education, and for all the people who were crying about the decline of education in Eritrea, this is good news. Semere Rusom, besides his skills, he was a high school teacher before he joined the struggle for independence. So his appointment makes sense. In fact the rumors from Asmara(bado 3) had said so long time ago and have turned out to be true now.
What doesn’t make sense is the new post of Osman Salih. In effect he is promoted by this new post- informally to a position next to the president. Two points here: first Osman doesn’t deserve promotion. After all the confusions and inefficiencies he produced in the ministry of Education, it was demotion not promotion that he deserves. But again, we have seen the reward system from the president doesn’t work that way: and I will not be surprised to see achievers getting the stick and failures to getting the carrot.
The second point is Osman is not fit for his new post. The art of diplomacy is delicate and Osman is not the kind of person the country needs at this time. We need some one who is flexible and can communicate with a language the world understands. Osman doesn’t speak that language. So how are we going to make sense of it? What is the rational behind the president’s choice?
Osman will not do any thing in this new post. But that looks exactly what the rationale for the president’s choice. The Ministry is so crucial and sensitive. Given the domestic and international dissatisfaction with the president, all he needs is security and not performance. He doesn’t care about improving the diplomatic face of the country: what he cares his staying in power. For that he needs a loyal man there. After three of his former Foreign Ministers turning against him( do u remember them? Sherifo(1991-1993), Petros Solomon (1993-1997), and DuruA(1997-2001)) the President never felt secure about that post. And when the late Ali Said Abdela passed away, he was studying for the right person for the past two years- one who couldn’t pose any threat at all. As for work, like any ministry, he will run it from his office- by the people in the so power full office of the President. In fact for the last two years and even before that when Ali Said was the Minister, Yeman Gebremeskel was the real Foreign Minister. So what they need now is one who could nominally fills the vacuum and sign statements written by Yeman Gebremekel and pretends as if it was from his office. For that Osman is a perfect candidate- A complete yes man!
Well, I guess I was not welcoming Osman to his new post. But, I couldn’t imagine any thing positive about the man. But to be fair with him, I will give an opportunity for my readers to give their own reaction for his new post. On the left side of this blog, under the subtitle “Poll of the Week” give your reaction on how you think about his fitness to the new post.
God Save my beloved Eritrea

Contributed Jokes

After digging to a depth of 100 metres last year, Russian scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 1000 years, and came to the conclusion that their ancestors already had a telephone network one thousand years ago. So, not to be outdone, in the weeks that followed, American scientists dug 200 metres and headlines in the US papers read: " US scientists have found traces of 2000 year old optical fibre, and have concluded that their ancestors already had advanced high-tech digital telephone 1000 years earlier than the Russians. One week later, the Eritrea Profile (newspaper )reported the following:"After digging as deep as 500 metres, Eritrean scientists have found absolutely nothing. They have concluded that 5000 years ago, their ancestors were already using wireless technology.

Contributed by Osman

If A dog Was the Teacher:

If a dog was the teacher, you would learn stuff like:


- When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

- Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

- Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure ecstasy.

- When it's in your best interest, practice obedience.

- Let others know when they've invaded your territory.

- Take naps. Stretch before rising.

- Run, romp, and play daily.

- Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

- On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree.

- When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.


- Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

- Eat with gusto and enthusiasm. Stop when you have had enough.

- Be loyal. Never pretend to be something you're not.

- If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

- When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.
by unknown author

CONGRADULATIONS ZERSENAY!!!!!

Congratulations Zersenay!! You are a hero! we are proud of your achievements. You have opened a new window to hundreds of athletes in Eritrea and you will have special place in the history of athletics in our country.
We are now compensated for the disappointing losses we suffered in soccer.
Keep the good work!!
And congradulation too all Eritrean sport funs!

Searching For Scholarship

This Blog is intended to provide information for those looking for Scholarship/financial aid opportunities in the western world. It is all based on my experience and I hope you will find it help full in your search. Good luck!

What You Need for Sholarship:
To make successful application for scholarship, you need to know what are the requirements in each university and weigh it against your potentials for meeting them. Here are some of the general requirements:

Cumulative GPA(CGPA): undergraduate GPA is one of the main criteria for admission in graduate school. Most US and Canada universities require CGPA of 3:00 or above. European Universities accept a lower CGPA.
Standard tests: these tests include TOEFL, IELTS, GRE and GMAT. Almost all graduate school in USA and most universities in Canada require TOEFL and GRE. The probability of waiving either of these requirements is easier in Canadan universities, but very difficult in USA universities. However, if you are applying both for admission and financial aid, you MUST not only take these tests, but also score high. Remember, these requirement are party of the selection criteria and there are many more students around the world looking for them than are the available positions. If you don’t take these tests, in these competitive atmosphere, chances are higher your application will be eliminated at the primary stage.
With European universities, except for few top schools, most of them don’t require GRE and in most cases they can waive the TOEFL/IELTS requirement if you demonstrate that you graduate from a school with English as medium of communication. With regards to taking whether TOEFL or IELTS: most US universities prefer TOEFL while British Universities prefer IELTS. In other countries either of them are equally acceptable. However, IELTS is cheaper, payment is in local currency and is provided more frequently than TOEFL. In Eritrea, IELTS is administered by the British library and TOEFL by the University of Asmara Testing Center. Reference materials and information about TOEFL, GRE and GMAT is available at the American center in Asmara. They are located at the Eritro-Germany building. (http://asmara.usembassy.gov/eritrea/educ_advising.html)

3. Statement of purpose: appealing statement of purpose is supposed to help your admission and compensate some weakness in your GPA or standard test scores. Almost all graduate schools require statement of purpose and writing a good statement of purpose is not either easy. If you need guide lines and reference materials in writing effective statement of purpose, the American center office in Asmara has amble reference materials.

4. Application fee: almost all US universities and Canadian universities require application fee that ranges from $40 to $100. If you don’t pay these fees they will not process your application. Given the hard currency problem in Eritrea, you have to plan and figure out how to pay these fees. On the other hand, European universities don’t require application fees.

5. Application Deadlines: Most grad schools have early application deadline and application deadlines for financial aid are usually earlier than application for admission. In Most schools the application deadline ranges between January to early March. To be successful, your application package including test scores and official certificates should reach the university before the deadline date.





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Some Important Tips
Another important factor that affects your search for scholarship is the reputation of your undergraduate university. As a general rule, students who came from universities with good reputation have a higher probability of getting admission/financial aid even if their CGPA is way lower than your GPA. Unfortunately, the University of Asmara(UOA) is not a well known university in the western world. So students from UOA have to make extra steps in their search for financial aid to overcome this disadvantage. Here are some tips that you might find helpful:

Apply to a department where a University of Asmara Student is/was already enrolled. Most of Asmara University students are very successful when they came to the USA universities. Departments which have already students from University of Asmara know the quality of the students and that helps to overcome the reputation issue. To give you an example, currently the Department of chemistry at the Illinois University at Chicago has 5 teaching assistants from the University of Asmara. Similarly the Department of mathematics at the university of Illinois at Carbon dale has four students from UOA.
2. Another important point to consider is in which universities to apply: As a general rule the higher the reputation of the university the more competitive admission and financial aid are in that university. A useful strategy in this case may be to apply to a university with lower reputation and secure financial aid. Once you are here, if you have the ambition and capacity to go to a better school, you have higher probability to do so.


3. A similar strategy to secure admission and financial aid is to apply to field of studies where financial aid is easily secured. In general, there is more financial aid in hard science fields such as chemistry, mathematics, physics and the like than in social science and business departments. So it may be a good strategy to consider applying to a field that is related to your field and that provides you with financial aid.





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Funding Organization
Links for potential funding organization in USA and Europe is provided on the right side of this Blog under the "Shishay-Hakote" section. You might want to explore them in your search for scholarship.

The Prescription

A calm and respectable lady went into the pharmacy and walked right up to the pharmacist, looked straight into his eyes, and said, "I would like to buy some cyanide."

The pharmacist asked,
"Why in the world do you need cyanide?"
The lady replied, "I need it to poison my husband."
The pharmacist's eyes got big, and he exclaimed, "Lord, have mercy! I can't give you cyanide to kill your husband! That's against the law! I would lose my license! They'll throw both of us in jail! All kinds of bad things will happen! Absolutely not! You CANNOT have any cyanide!"

The lady reached into her purse and pulled out a picture of her husband in bed with the pharmacist's wife.
The pharmacist looked at the picture and replied, "Well, now. That's different. You didn't tell me you had a prescription."

Contributed Aman

Contributed Jokes!

There was a blind girl who hated herself just because she's blind. She hated everyone, except her loving boyfriend. He's always there for her. She said that if she could only see the world, she would marry her boyfriend. One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her and then she can see everything, including her boyfriend. Her boyfriend asked her, "now that you can see the world, will you marry me?" The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend is blind too, and refused to marry him. Her boyfriend walked away in tears, and later wrote a letter to her saying. "Just take care of my eyes dear."

Contributed by hdra

ViVa Red Sea Boys!!!

Tomorrow the junior Red Sea boys will mark a new opening into the history of soccer in Eritrea. For the first time in history, an Eritrean team will play in continental championship. As such, it is a historic event and Congratulation for all Eritrean soccer funs!!
No matter how they will play on the championship, they are marking history. As for the outcomes of the play, as a fun, I am crossing my hands. It is unfortunate; the team is in the “death group” of the champion- along giants Nigeria, Ghana and Burkina Faso. These teams have a well know record and name in the game, which is very important. But who knows! Tomorrow, they make miracle against Nigeria. After all, who expected them to beat Libya, Egypt and Zambia! All these teams have undermined the Red Sea Boys before each game: only to find them selves in surprise defeat. So the Nigerians may be presented with another surprise tomorrow. If they did win over Nigeria, or even get draw, it will boost their moral and help them to keep their ticket for the world championship in Korea. If they manage at least to be the second in their group, then they will authematically qualify for the world championship in Korea. But even if they didn’t manage, they have already done great job by securing their ticket to Togo. After all, the Red Sea boys are the only team from the entire East Africa to play this game. Not a bad achievement.
With this regard, credit is due to their Head Coach Dorian Marin who is making great contribution for both teams- the juniors and Seniors. In a total of 8 matches he has so far, he win 5 games, two draws and only one defeat. That is quit achievement for a team which has no known record of victory in last 5 years now. The official name of the team is “Red Sea Camels”, but the media has preferred Red Sea Boys, and I like it.
Guys, let’s hope for another miracle, but even if that doesn’t come true, the team deserves credit for making this history. Viva Red Sea Boys!! Good Luck!!

One Suggestion For HAMADE'A

Look at the following statements carefully and try to identify their differences:
Minister of Foreign Affairs Weizero Abrehet Hadgu
Minister of Education Hiwet Debessay
Minister of Justice Ato Habtom Negsai
Minister of Energy and Mines Ato Salih Abubeker

Do u find out?

These are 4 ministers- two men two women. One man and one women from the ministers listed above are single while the others are married. It is simple to identify Hiwet is single by looking at the prefix before her name. But for the men, it is very difficult to tell which of them is single. So what we are saying is that the title system for women tells their marital status, but not for men. Hummm! It doesn’t look fair, especially given how socially sensitive it is for women to be single in our culture. The solution is not with creating another prefix for men, but creating new and uniform title for women.
In our traditional title system, a married woman is prefixed with weizero while a single woman with weizerit. This has an unintended disadvantage for modern women. It is socially not appealing to call a 50 year old women weizerit. Of course getting married is an individual choice, and if one decided to be single, it shouldn’t be concern to society. But the fact of the matter is that in our society, being single is not perceived as a result of individual choice. It is perceived as result of social failure. It becomes a concern then, especially when the individual holds public office, like minister or general directors. As these positions expose them to public media and conferences, calling them weizerit is giving out unnecessary private information. It is in realization of these concerns that the Ministry of Information adopted their own way of calling- they simply drop the prefix and call them as” Minister of Education Hiwet Debessay”. But it is not enough fix. People have quickly realized why they do so. So the absence of the prefix is equivalent to weizerit!
The real solution is to come up with a uniform prefix that doesn’t distinguish marital status which will replaces the exiting prefixes of weizero and weizerit. I don’t see any objection for such move. All it needs is for HAMADE’A to come with such proposal and initiate it. So, if any of you are associated with the organization, forward them my suggestion.

Are You Worried Like Me?

I was watching BBC news tonight and there came the news about the abducted British in the Afar region. And a man who was presented to the reporters and diplomats at the area by the Ethiopian officials as a witness was interviewed. The young man said the abductors who were in Eritrean soldier uniforms and they released him. But guess what? The man speaks tigrigna! So how did a tigrigna speaker from Tigray become a local resident of the Afar region? And are the Eritrean soldiers stupid enough to leave the Tigrian guy for witness there even if they did the abduction? Of course it is unbelievable fabricated drama. Even though the government in Eritrea does stupid things now and then, I don’t believe they will do this kind of political gamble.
But this is part of the ongoing project to portrait the Eritrean government as terrorist government or supporting terrorist an ongoing effort prepares ground for invasion. After Ethiopia successfully destroyed the union of Islamic courts in Somalia, Meles is emboldened. And soon after Somalia he has started fabricating false accusations against Eritrea: First came the news that Eritrean Generals were arrested by Kenyan authorities while escaping from Somalia (awate.com has confirmed that the general is in Asmara- unless you believe EPM’s version of the story); and then came another fabrication ……Eritrea tried to blow up the African Union headquarter in Ethiopia. And now Eritrea abducted British tourists in the Afar region.
Well, were does this take us? Professor Tekie has put it clearly in his article “ Who is next after Somalia?”
False accusations and wild fabrications by weyane is not the first time and as such I wouldn’t worry about it. What is worrying me now is, unlike the past, that the Eritrean government has diplomatically isolated itself from the supper powers and I will not be surprised if the Ethiopians decide to gamble with another war, they will get full blessing from the superpowers and we will be left out in the cold with out any sympathy. And as these accusations come ever two weeks now, it worries me that these miscalculations may lead into unnecessary war. We have enough of it. And worse, I dread to death to imagine what will happen the future of Eritrea, if in fact this materialized.
There are some people who would accept the removal of the government in Eritrea by any means is good enough by itself. But, dear fellows, no mater how much we dislike the government, it should be only our business to remove it from office. And if any outside help is to be appreciated, the last one should be from Ethiopia!

The Power of the Professor's Pen

Professor Tekie is one of the best writers we have. The professor of Economics, is a gifted and experienced writer. He is eloquent, and articulate. He has a blessed pen, and using his pen he has made huge contribution to the Eritrean case over the years- both during the struggle for independence and during the boarder conflict. As a result, he has earned wide recognition both at home and in the Diaspora Eritrean.
But now and then he has become the target of criticism. In August 2001 he wrote an article titled, “let’s listen to the other voices” which by many accounts, is considered as his best single influential contribution. It has served as the basis for the wide wave of public opinion that followed later on the private newspaper at that time. Not surprisingly, it brought him huge criticism from the supporters of the government. Since then, the professor has sided on the government side and abandoned the very public opinion of listening to the other voices. Instead he focused selectively on writing about the boarder issue. Given the unfairness of the international community on the issue, his articles serve the cause of our country. Nevertheless, this has also resulted in sharp criticism for the professor from the other side- those on the opposition side.
Once again, the professor is on the hot seat. Two weeks ago, he wrote another piece entitled “After Somalia, who is next?” in which he put an equation:
Ethiopia+ America + the opposition meeting in AdissAbeba = preparation for invading Eritrea.
I don’t see any problem with the article. The news that were coming from the horn of Africa and the American diplomat for Africa indicate the same sign and his article was timely. But by doing so, implicitly the professor has said what the government wanted- We have a big enemy and be patient and alert.
An Eritrean associated with EDP responded him with criticism. The professor responded the criticism. It is this response that caused the wave of counter criticism. Many writers have sharpened their pen against him.(see the link www.selfi-democracy.com).
To be franc, the professor’s selective approach is not balanced. Although a professor of Economics and member of the Eritrean constitution drafting commission, he didn’t write any thing about those problems, which are equally or more important for Eritrea at this time.
But it is not only him who writes on the side of the government. There are other professors who write only on issues which please the government only. More important the majority of other Eritrean scholars have chosen to silence them selves. To me, they are equally responsible and subject to the same level of criticism. So why is all the criticisms labeled against Professor Tekie?
In any case, it looks his pen has the power to produce waive of opinions. And if he decides to point it again on “listening the other voices”, he has the power to break the silence.

Can You Teach Me the Art of Saying "NO" ?

This year I have some odd time with one of my room mates. For a number of reasons I don't like him and I don't feel convinent in his presence. It is difficult when you live in the same house and share the same living room and kitchen. Both of us are aware of the tension between us. At some point, he started to be real rude to my guests and I was mad with it. One day, One of my Eritrean friend came to visit me and I was in my room. My friend knocked the front door of the house and this room mate was in the living room which is where the front door is. He didn't opened him- Worse, when I came and opened the door, my friend greeted him, but he ignored him. I was pieced off with that and from that day on, I started to ignore him in every thing. When he realized that I am ignoring him, he started to be very nice- making all kinds of offer. The odd thing of human being that I have now learned many times. But it was too late- I have already decided I will be better off by ignoring him and I don't intend to change my mind. The problem now to me is, he continued making all sorts of offer when ever he gets the chance, although I have declined almost all of them. Of course, as long as we are living in the same house and share the same living room and kitchen, I don't want to be too rude. At least I want to keep some sort of balance, but certainly I don't want his offer. I can do that with out his offer. All I want him to do now is stop making all sorts of offer. But I am not sure how to tell him I don't want any offer from him, because it sounds too rude also. Actually, this is an example of a problem I have for long time now. Now and then, I found my self the difficulty of saying "NO" to offers made to me by people. This is specially difficult when the offer is made by people who are close to you such as close friends, close relatives, class mates and office mates. In such cases, it is a big dilemma for me. You don't want to accept the offer( you may feel very uncomfortable to accept the offer for your own reasons) and at the same time, you don't want to offend the people making the offer by declining their offer. It is difficult when you know they made the offer in the expectation that you will get exited and happy with their offer.
It turns out that the art of saying "NO" is important and difficult art of communication for me. It really needs time and practice to learn it. How do you handle such circumstances? What is your experience?

Michael ~ Ze Skuff!

The Post Cards in My Room

It was late afternoon. In my small room, I was sitting on the bed. Had it been a school time, I couldn’t afford such time, but now I am still in semester break and I don’t have pressing things to do. I have decided not to read any thing related to school till class starts. So I was sitting on my bed. It looks as if I am in deep thinking- although I am not sure about what I was thinking. Suddenly my eyes fall on the well in front of me. In that very small wall, there are some post cards hanging- all of them from friends in Eritrea. Many thanks to those who send me the cards! They are beautiful postcards and I always get surprised whenever I get one. That is why I hang them in my wall. It is also interesting to see how fast the idea of using post card greeting is becoming part of our culture. 15 years ago, it was probably only very few people using it. Some ten years ago, almost all the post cards you can get in the stationary where imported ones with foreign idea and language on them. Now the shelves of the stationary are stocked with home made post cards, like the ones in my wall. To me, it is great development- every thing is process and it takes time.

But still there are things to improve. As I look one by one to the post cards hanging on my wall- they all speak about one topic- Me’Adi(meal)!! From left to right, except one, all the postcards have a picture on the cover that shows food and food related staff-A beautiful meal though(like the one on the pic above). Looking at them, my mouth would fill with saliva. But if an outsider would try to learn about Eritrea from the post cards, all he would learn is we are obsessed with food. Wouldn’t it be nice if we have more variety? – a variety of post cards that reflect the treasures of our culture. Don’t assume it is because that all my friends happened to select the same kind from the market. It is the market that doesn’t provide the variety. As far as I know, there were very few variety that started, but because they didn’t get enough demand, they couldn’t survive another year. There was one post card that successfully penetrated into the market - a tigre girl by one of the people in this group ( I hope if he has it, we will share us here).

This concentration of post cards around Me’seb Werki is not unique to the post card business. There is the same trend in the film industry. Although at this time many films are being produced in Eritrea(large number in fact), almost all of them revolve around one topic- LOVE. Similarly trends is also reflected in the main stream business. In the early 1990’s when Foto Zula made a remarkeable progress in the photo business, many businessmen rush to share that profit and as a result dozens of Photo centers were accumulated in the same street as FoTo Zula. When 1998/99 ASMARA Sweet Café revolutionized the business of Pastry and fast food in Asmara, quickly the same business was established every where in Asmara.

The motive is clear- business always moves to the market where there is potential profit. Those who succeed in the process are those who come up with the creative idea in identifying what the customer wants.