Tewelde Stephanos ( testifanos@gmail.com) August 21, 2018
Ato Kubrom Dafla, in his Radio Erena broadcast of August 6, 2018, outlines a good list of demands Eritreans would be wise to rally around to help re-orient the nation’s direction towards a more hopeful future. Starting at minute 49:03 (https://shekortet.com/content/radio-erena-06082018), he breaks down general and specific demands tailored for different groups to adopt and champion. This is a timely list that organizers of the upcoming August 31st Geneva demonstration are hopefully taking into consideration.
Ato Kubrom Dafla, in his Radio Erena broadcast of August 6, 2018, outlines a good list of demands Eritreans would be wise to rally around to help re-orient the nation’s direction towards a more hopeful future. Starting at minute 49:03 (https://shekortet.com/content/radio-erena-06082018), he breaks down general and specific demands tailored for different groups to adopt and champion. This is a timely list that organizers of the upcoming August 31st Geneva demonstration are hopefully taking into consideration.
As outlined in the press release in assenna.com (https://assenna.com/press-release-update-on-the-planned-geneva-event/),
three groups are working on the August 31st demonstration. Group one
and two are responsible for publicity and logistics. Group
Three which is “tasked with creating the mechanism for the election of global leaders
by involving all the constituent groups of justice-seekers in the Diaspora”,
caught my eye. I am not sure what this means exactly. But I hope it means
this group will harness the energy of the day for continued post-demonstration engagement,
for the sole purpose of creating peace within Eritrea first. Without internal peace, Eritrea remains ripe
for exploitation or, worse, extinction.
I have not met Selam Kidane. But for me, through her
writings and interviews, she comes across as one of the most sensible activists
we have. I hope Selam, and others with her temperament, will be well
represented in Group Three. The group
should also include faith leaders who can drill down a consistent message of
peace and brotherhood valued by their holy books, to their mosques and churches.
Mosques and Churches have the widest reach, and they can truly maximize the
chances of success if they take this on. The rift within the Orthodox Church
must be reconciled so congregants and families can be whole again. All Faith
leaders from all persuasions can and should amplify the exemplary moral
leadership of our courageous Catholic bishops to make “where is your brother?” the
nation’s rallying cry for freedom and human dignity.
To build peace within, this group should also strive to help
us escape the “opposition”, “pro-regime”, religious and regional prisons we
have locked ourselves into. We need to learn and use a new language that is
forward looking. We need a new and softer tone that is inclusive, to help save Eritrea
from its death spiral. “Mass enslavement” of its people – as The Economist of
August 4th called it – is what Eritrea is known for today. Given the
new worrying developments, words like “opposition” or “pro-regime” should have
no meaning or place in our dialog anymore. Level-headed people from all sides
need to come out and seek each other to create this critically missing peace
within. That way, united in common purpose, we can negotiate peace with Ethiopia
or other neighbors with strength and dignity.
As encouraging as the talk of peace with Ethiopia is, it is
impossible to have peace with others unless one is in peace with oneself first.
The opaque agreements with Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and UAE were conducted by a single
individual -- “a despot-for-life”, as The Economist calls him. This has not,
and will not serve the interests of the Eritrean people.
We, the people, should demand to know what was signed off on
our behalf and nullify them if necessary. For example, Ethiopian businesses have
apparently been invited to operate in Eritrea. Generally, competition is good and
should be welcomed because, if done fairly, it brings the best in people – in
business, sports, education, good governance etc. But what appears to be in
store for us is competition with both hands tied behind your back. This will
condemn future generations of Eritreans to a life of perpetual poverty and
servitude.
WHY?
For decades, Eritreans have been barred from pursuing
opportunities to build a better life for themselves. The regime has
persistently chosen practices that favor poverty over prosperity, leaving Eritreans
with little or no chance to accumulate capital or know-how. As a result, well
equipped outsiders will have much better chances of owning the bulk of
Eritrea’s economy, paving the way for second class citizenship in one's own country.
There are plenty of sad examples to learn from. Less than 5% ethnic Chinese in Indonesia, Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries own over 60% of their private economies. Lebanese in West Africa and Indians in eastern and southern Africa have similar dominance. The crippling economic disadvantages local populations suffer from in these countries, is sure to be mirrored in Eritrea unless we rise up to take ownership of our destiny now.
There are plenty of sad examples to learn from. Less than 5% ethnic Chinese in Indonesia, Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries own over 60% of their private economies. Lebanese in West Africa and Indians in eastern and southern Africa have similar dominance. The crippling economic disadvantages local populations suffer from in these countries, is sure to be mirrored in Eritrea unless we rise up to take ownership of our destiny now.
This is not to say we should be afraid of outsiders or bar
them from coming -- far from it. It is true these ethnic minorities initially worked
hard and deserved most of what they got. As a first generation immigrant myself,
I can truly relate and appreciate the long hours of toil they must have gone
through to build a better future for their children. But it is also true; this virtue gave in to
excessive greed and corruption over time. Corrupt politicians are bought,
enabling these wealthy minorities to accumulate even more wealth.
This toxic combination of ill-gained wealth and unjust power in the hands of
few, inevitably, kills free markets, democracy and equality.
Sadly, cocooned in their untouchable wealth and power, these
minorities became arrogant and contemptuous of the locals on whose exploitation
their wealth is built on. This is going to be the fate of future Eritrean generations
if we don’t lay a solid foundation to level the playing field for them now. To
take one good example how, New Zealand recently put limits on speculative
foreign investors from buying real-estate in the country. Typically, rich
foreigners buy at inflated prices making it very difficult for locals to compete.
Eritrea’s regime, on the other hand, intervenes viciously to ensure Eritrean
professionals are paid much less than their foreign counterparts. Eritrean
professors in Asmara University, with 2 to 3 times more workload, were paid
one-tenth the salary of their Indian peers. There can’t be peace within when poverty is championed so openly and
the human spirit crushed so routinely.
ERITREA WITHOUT
ERITREANS
Here is a very likely but preventable scenario. Ethiopia and
Eritrea have apparently agreed to open borders. If there is no peace within Eritrea
to give hope to Eritreans that life is going to be better at home, many will cross
to Ethiopia. Over a hundred thousand have crossed already in spite of an active
“shoot-to-kill” policy. So, we can’t expect this will stop unless the situation
at home becomes more hopeful very soon. And in the long run, life for those
crossing into Ethiopia may not be much better either. It is unlikely they will be
treated with the same respect their forefathers commanded in Ethiopia before. Many
decades ago, Eritreans in Ethiopia were better off economically, educationally
and professionally. Relatively speaking, then, Eritreans were better equipped
for success. The roles are reversed now. While Ethiopia was investing in
education and infrastructure; Eritrea has fallen behind like never before. Perceptions
among the first 400 Ethiopians who flew to Asmara in July was that, those who
knew Asmara before were deeply saddened by its decay; and those who didn’t know
it but came out of curiosity were surprised by the lack of progress compared to
their homeland.
As Eritreans cross to Ethiopia to escape “mass enslavement”
at home, Ethiopians will flow in the other direction to fill the vacuum and to take
advantage of business opportunities being promised to them. Short on capital
and relevant experiences, Eritreans who stay in Eritrea are more likely to be employees of
Ethiopian businesses than empowered competitors and owners of their own destiny.
Additionally, although Eritrea shares no census data
publicly, I saw a government document in 1998 showing the population at 2.79
million. Let’s assume it is 4 to 6 million now. Ethiopia is a nation of 100
million. If this open borders talk becomes a reality, without serious thought to
the damage it will bring to Eritreans, Eritrea’s population could be majority
Ethiopian in few years. Will we then
have Eritrea without Eritreans?
WHAT TO DO?
Unless the situation of the last 40 plus years of one man
making all decisions for the whole nation is reversed soon, Eritrea as a nation
will die. Hopefully not, but it may have actually died already, since we don’t
know what has been signed off with Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and UAE. With our
inability to create the much needed peace within that would have enabled us to
speak with one loud voice, we, the people, wasted precious time dissing each
other to let things get this bad. We alone allowed this to happen and there is
no one to blame but us. So, this is our opportunity to redeem ourselves as a people one more time. And this may be our last chance. No matter what our past affiliations
were, we simply must throw away our old corrosive attitudes and practices, and come
together to chart out a fresh start. Hopefully, Group
Three will show the way -- with our full support to follow, of course.
I am not opposed to union with Ethiopia or with other countries
in the region. IGAD was and can be a good model. An EU type of union, where
partnership is based on equality that does not compromise peoples’ dignity is
preferable and achievable. But the fire-sale of a nation, as we seem to be witnessing
from these early indicators, will surely compromise the dignity of future
Eritrean generations and forever condemn them to second class citizenship with little
chance of becoming the primary owners of their economy and overall destiny.
There are numerous and excellent activist models to emulate.
One of the good ones is Australia’s GetUp!. I encourage Group Three to take a closer look. GetUp! is driven by “values, not party
politics”, which is a perfect way to do away with the
opposition/regime-supporter divide that has so far made peace within Eritrea
impossible. “Ordinary people are powerful” is GetUp!’s core belief, we can put
into practice as well.
If we create PEOPLE POWER on a solid foundation of peace within -- and we can -- then we will be taken seriously when we tell Saudi Arabia and UAE that Eritrea is not for sale; that any agreement they currently have will be nullified if it does not benefit the Eritrean people; that they should refrain from causing any environmental damage in all parts of Eritrea they have access to, and they will bear the cost of cleaning up any damage they may have caused already; that we will no longer allow Eritrean territory to become launching ground for the horrific brutality unleashed on Yemeni children and civilians.
If we create PEOPLE POWER on a solid foundation of peace within -- and we can -- then we will be taken seriously when we tell Saudi Arabia and UAE that Eritrea is not for sale; that any agreement they currently have will be nullified if it does not benefit the Eritrean people; that they should refrain from causing any environmental damage in all parts of Eritrea they have access to, and they will bear the cost of cleaning up any damage they may have caused already; that we will no longer allow Eritrean territory to become launching ground for the horrific brutality unleashed on Yemeni children and civilians.
Similarly, we can demand the same from Ethiopia; that we
will continue the march towards peace with them as equals. But Ethiopia will be
wise to note that the Eritrean people (not a despot) are its true partners;
that mutually beneficial alliances are only possible when there is full consent
from the people; that we should never forget how unilateral decisions taken by feudal
Ethiopia of yesteryears drove both countries into poverty and backwardness. It
is extremely important Ethiopia does not succumb to those temptations again. By
idolizing a “despot”, PM Abiy, unfortunately, pushed the dial back towards the feudal
past (https://unfilterednotes.blogspot.com/2018/07/unfiltered-notes-has-demariw-abiy.html).
Hopefully, he will re-calibrate
his priorities soon.
But more importantly, it is the Eritrean people who are
ultimately responsible for whatever good or bad happens in Eritrea. Borrowing
GetUp!’s core belief again, we, the “ordinary people [who] are powerful”, should choose
to rebuild a new Eritrea as a viable nation that is at peace with itself. Then,
and only then, will it be possible to make current and future dictatorships
obsolete, and bring power back to the people, where it belongs.
