We all have our good days and bad days. I can only hope
Saleh Johar wrote this unhelpful
article in awate.com on
one of his bad days. Saleh’s broad brushes were too demeaning, short on facts
and inconsistent with his admirable mission “to inform, inspire and embolden”.
I will be the first to admit EFND had its shortcomings but
lack of effort to be inclusive is definitely NOT one it
is guilty of. That much, I know. In fact, Dr. Aferworki, one of the main
targets of Saleh’s article, was genuinely leading the reaching out effort for
religious and gender inclusiveness. And initially the numbers did increase in
encouraging ways - more so religiously vis-à-vis gender diversity. In spite of
the initially promising trend, however, a diverse membership was not sustained
over time. But due to lack of effort, it was not.
The meetings were through conference calls. Out of a regular
group of 20 or so individuals, I only knew a couple of people personally and
came to know the rest through their voices. I am glad I came to know them all,
but it was amusing for me to discover that, somehow, I was part of a group of
“relatives” or “village Uqqub club”. Is such mockery really necessary? I don’t
know what drove Saleh to go as far as he did. But one thing is certain - there
is nothing informative, inspiring or emboldening about such a contemptuous
adventure. We are supposed to be members of this so-called justice seekers
group. But as long as we continue to get the tone of our “disagreements” so
recklessly wrong, PFDJ will continue to be the only beneficiary. With enemies
like us, no wonder they are not in a hurry to make friends.
I have always disagreed with those who try to explain away
Isaias’s crimes as willful acts against Eritrea and Eritreans because he is not
Eritrean. The fact is, he has been nothing else but Eritrean. We just refuse to
come to terms with the fact that some people are just evil. But that is no
consolation either because the rest of us have so far proven ourselves to be
incompetent beyond measure to stop that evil. And Saleh, in his article, has
unintentionally perpetuated PFDJ’s exclusionary mindset - a mindset that paints
those we don’t like or agree with, with hateful labels such as Islamist,
Crusader, regionalist etc. I fail to see how Saleh’s liberally dismissive tone
of decent people, who are trying to do the right thing the best way they know
how, can help in advancing the cause of justice that we all proclaim to be
fighting for.
But I suppose for those who are hell-bent to hold on to
wrongly held beliefs, facts don’t matter. Similarly and unfortunately, Saleh’s
broad brushes, denigrating EFND to the extent he did and stating it has done
nothing to be inclusive is just plain wrong and way off base.
To be clear, I am not saying EFND should not be criticized.
Far from it. But it is puzzling to see the boundless zeal we continue to
bring to the table, mercilessly attacking each other along the way - often
without merit or with heavily distorted facts. And I am not advocating we
tolerate mediocrity when we see it either. We shouldn’t. But promoting
falsehoods and stretching facts to go after each other with such venom is the
furthest from the spirit of reconciliation we often claim to hold as a core
value.
Now, I don’t know if Saleh had private discussions with
certain individuals in EFND where bad words might have been exchanged. I am
also aware some so-called Christians and Muslims do harbor hateful perspectives
about each other, which Saleh so rightly objects to. However, I also know, in
the many conference calls I attended, I never heard ““Crusaders” Branding
Others, “Islamists””, as Saleh claims. So, why project the anger so broadly and
so recklessly against people who have absolutely nothing to do with what got
Saleh to react the way he did? Isn’t that a fishing expedition in search of
non-existent enemies?
I believe Saleh when he says his life’s mission is “to
inform, inspire and embolden”. But his article did not do justice to that lofty
mission and it came across with absolutely the wrong tone and with the
potential to alienate a whole lot of good people. As mentioned earlier, we all
have bad days every now and then. One hopes the good days are more and, over
time, the momentum of our struggle to be positive.
I also believe no matter how badly we behave sometimes, that
moment can be turned into a good learning experience if we are so inclined. I
hope we will collectively take this episode to be one of those moments.
Hopefully, those wrongly accused will just ignore it and move on to pursue
their worthy goals. And may God give those of us who still harbor the negative
sentiments Saleh is rightly annoyed about, the wisdom to break out from that
prison of hate.
And there was this bombshell from JH Ahmed in the comments
section of Saleh’s article: “.. You have Mr. Tewolde Stephanos, an
unapologetic bigot who along with Semere ? waged a barrage of anti-Muslims
attacks when the Mejlis Ibrahim al-Mukhtar’s Covenant came out.”
There is probably nothing one can say or do to dissuade JH
Ahmed from making such libelous accusations. But for the benefit of independent
and fair minded folks who want to judge for themselves, here is the link
to what I wrote some four years ago that JH Ahmed found objectionable (http://unfilterednotes.blogspot.com/2010/07/unfiltered-notes-comments-on-eritrean.html). In
a fair game of criticism, JH Ahmed should have provided the link to give
readers the proper context to make up their minds. He didn’t. Additionally, I
only wrote a single article about the subject - which can hardly be called a
barrage unless one is prone to exaggerations.
Assuming JH Ahmed had misunderstood what I wrote, here is an
easy step he can take to re-examine things. Read the article again and mention
one example – just one – that is bigoted. And if there
are more, by all means, bring it on. That way, when things are put in proper
perspective, fair minded and independent folks can see for themselves who the
real bigot is.
For those who don’t have time to read the article, here is a
sample to give you a flavor. It starts with: “….I found it to be a
well-intentioned document worthy of everyone’s support.”; “The
document invites everyone to imagine a better tomorrow and
its emphasis on “emancipation of women” through education is particularly
refreshing.”
And finishes with: “That is why The Covenant is a good
place to start for reaching out and for cross education. Although it falls
short in some of its analysis and diagnosis, it should be supported for its
intended spirit. It should be shared and discussed widely. Hopefully, the
authors will one day come out to promote it openly and actively.”
I also had few misgivings, which I tried my best to voice
respectfully and truthfully.
Here is a thought: Wouldn't it be wonderful if the authors
of the covenant and EFND get together to jointly define the way forward?
On a lighter note: I can’t close this without commenting on
what was said about Adi Teklezan. It is my home town and I would like to
imagine it, not as the place where the highlands and lowlands separate as some
seem to see it, but as the perfect place where the two start to beautifully
melt into each other, manifesting their shared humanity. It is equidistant from
Keren and Asmara and that makes it the perfect town (smile) where highlanders
and lowlanders equally feel at home with no urge to use denigrating labels
against each other. Amen to that.
