Thursday, November 13, 2014

Unfiltered Notes: Saleh is way off base about EFND

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.