Unfiltered Notes: Are we losing the deeper message of Eritrea’s courageous Catholic Bishops?

By Tewelde Stephanos, June 14, 2014                    Email: testifanos@gmail.com

Many have commented on the exemplary moral leadership of the four Catholic Bishops articulated in the now famous document titled “Where is Your Brother?” ^1,2.  Such courageous moral stand is truly uplifting anytime but especially so at this moment of Eritrea’s grim reality.

But I worry if we are losing the deeper lesson of the good Bishops already. Some of us are concluding as if the message only applies to the regime and its supporters. Yes, the lawless regime makes Italy’s apartheid era look good by comparison. The wanton plundering of Eritrea’s material and human resources and Isaias saying “no one gave me a contract” to create the oppressive and corrupt regime leaves no doubt he is the worst enemy the country has.

That is not the whole story, however. Could a one-man empire last this long if we had heeded the Bishops’ deeper lesson? Did we honestly stick with the spirit of their question - “where is my brother”? What was our response when the disabled veterans were mercilessly mowed down or when so many people were herded to prison, some never to be heard from again? Except for very few brave souls, like our Catholic Bishops, we have all failed to do the right thing and that is why the regime has thrived this long.

Let’s start with the most contentious. In 1991, Eritrea’s tegadelti were given boundless respect and admiration. Then tegadalai Bitwoded Abreha was jailed without due process of the law and the tegadelti did nothing to help his mother who, as the word of mouth reporting goes, was knocking on all doors to gain her son’s freedom. Because the tegadelti stopped asking “where is my brother” things only got worse from there. Then came the jailing of Muslim teachers in Keren, the massacre of the disabled veterans in Mai Habar; followed by one horrendous crime after another. And what did the tegadelti do? Nothing. Even the top leaders who ignored the pleas of Bitwoded’s mother have disappeared without a trace since. And because they did nothing, even tegadelti’s children are fleeing Eritrea confirming what they (the tegadelti) let happen has made Eritrea unfit for their own children. While all this mess is unfolding, Eritrean society wrongly took the back seat assuming the tegadelti are there to safeguard freedom only to find out freedom cannot survive unless it is guarded by all. As the tegadelti abandoned the spirit of freedom and justice they supposedly fought for, ordinary citizens (derisively referred to as gebar by tegadelti) also willingly accepted a second class citizenship role. And it all went downhill from there.

How about diaspora Eritreans and Eritrea’s so-called educated class who enjoy full personal freedoms provided by our host countries? Did we wish the same freedoms for our brothers and sisters inside Eritrea or try to speak truth to power? Not even close. The vast majority of us kept quiet (even as the regime closed the only University in the country), and the voices of few brave ones were continuously drowned out in favor of a corrupt regime that is still in power. The irony of ironies: we even mis-used the freedom of expression allowed in our host countries to demonstrate in favor of a regime that kills people demanding those very rights.

How about religious leadership? Except for the consistent and united moral leadership of the Catholic Bishops - both now and in 2001, there is not much to speak of here either. The Protestant Church has been extremely quiet; and one dares say complacent The Orthodox Church is severely divided and cleverly manipulated by the atheist regime. It can’t even rally in a united way to free the ailing Patriarch who was demoted by the regime and replaced by immoral “leaders” who continue to turn a blind eye as the regime brutalizes their brothers. The role of the Mosque is not that better. Forgetting they are our brothers and sisters, we have been dormant or complacent as the regime viciously attacked members of the smaller faith groups.

Predictably, the regime and its supporters have started playing the same old song that the Catholic Bishops were funded by Eritrea’s enemies. Of course it is a bankrupt argument because Eritrea’s enemies did not massacre the disabled veterans, closed the only University, nor convert Eritrea into a despotic state. We did. But let’s assume for a moment that an enemy did fund the Bishops to write the deep, thoughtful and caring document. A document that is full of practical advice on how to solve our problems, a document that awakens the soul to do the right thing, a document that arouses sympathy for a mistreated brother or sister. A document that appeals to our sensibilities to never do what we did to Bitwoded’s mother ever again. If there are enemies like that who help you accomplish such noble causes, I, for one, want as many of those enemies as I can find. I am sure many also feel the same way.

But let’s go back to the bigger picture. Segment it anyway we want – by gender, by age group, by religion etc., our collective behavior has not been that good. After all, the hated regime is still there doing what it does best – promoting backwardness, poverty, ignorance and destruction.

Collectively, we are all equally bad for letting things get this ugly. No group can claim virtue over any other. But now is our opportunity to right this wrong, to rise from the ashes, to heed the Catholic Bishops’ message to never stop asking “where is my brother?” again. Because as the saying goes, if I don’t stand up when they take away my brother, there won’t be anyone left when they come for me. This regime will surely go.  And good riddance! what a moment that will be. What we will allow to replace it, is the real test awaiting us. Are we now getting the deeper lesson outlined by the good Bishops? Are we going to allow another mother’s heart to be broken like what let happen to Bitwoded’s mother and the countless mothers like her?

I feel nothing but gratitude for the stand the Catholic Bishops took. And for that, I say, I am a Catholic today.

1 http://assenna.com,  June 6, 2014

2 http://asmarino.com/alewuna/2093-the-most-daring-message-to-come-out-of-eritrea-

Unfiltered Notes: Justice Seeker’s Pledge – ‘be nice to other justice seekers’

By Tewelde Stephanos      Date: April 19, 2014       Email: testifanos@gmail.com

You probably heard the story of the two shoe salesmen returning from a barefoot nation. One reported there are no opportunities there because people don’t wear shoes. The other saw great opportunities for exactly the same reason - because people don’t wear shoes yet.  

Such opposite views are prevalent in today’s Eritrea. For those focusing on negatives (camp A), partial truths are exaggerated to conclude Eritrea’s independence was a mistake. For camp A Eritrea was dead on arrival. It is a helpless (I can’t do anything) and hopeless (it can’t be done) mindset that simply stands by waiting for an “I told you so” moment.

The things camp A lists to reach its pessimistic conclusions may well be true. But it is definitely not the whole truth because Eritrea is more than its highland component. Ignoring Eritrea is more than its Muslim component, there is also camp A’s other half that wants to Arabize Eritrea. Fortunately, these two faces of camp A, although very vocal, are not representative of their respective communities. And that is why I still believe there is hope for Eritrea.

I love Ethiopia and look forward to the day relationships between the two countries are back to normal. But the entire Eritrea is the reality that needs to be addressed. That is why the position held by half of camp A that is eager to go back to Ethiopia is a non-starter. They don’t even belong to the part of Eritrea the old Ethiopia really wanted. So, in reality, they have nothing to offer. Besides, Ethiopia has moved on in rather impressive ways (at least in comparison to Eritrea). So, it is doubtful today’s Ethiopians are as obsessed with the same nostalgia Eritrea’s camp A seems to be burdened with.

At the opposite pole (camp B), we have the regime and its cult followers manufacturing their own ‘facts’. Here Eritrea is falsely projected as the model of Democracy and Justice - upheld by the corrupt PFDJ no less. In the land of infinite ironies, a killer is idolized as his victim’s guardian. For camp B, Eritrea is nothing more than the tyrant himself. Given the outrageous things Isaias says and his willingness to go so far to look so bad, no one makes Camp A’s point better than camp B.

Evaluating Isaias’ last “interview” (kolel, is more like it), Kubrom Dafla¹ calls him Ewala (or is it a mental health issue?). For Isaias, the 360 Eritreans who perished in Lampadusa are “illegal African immigrants”. The masses of refugees he is the root cause of, are “thieves” he is glad to see “Eritrea be without”. No wonder camp A declares Eritrea’s independence a mistake.

In a way, camps A and B are aligned on the same end result. One says Eritrea should not have existed. The other spares no effort to ensure Eritrea becomes a failed state. What is the difference?

What is missing is camp C, a sane and honest middle that recognizes Eritrea for what it is in the here and now – a country in serious state of decay that needs to be normalized urgently. Not an easy task for sure. But if Rwanda and Ethiopia can do it, why not Eritrea? Given their difficult past (especially Rwanda’s), and seeing them doing well by comparison now, should be a source of inspiration. In the spirit of the second shoe salesman, since Eritrea is not completely dead yet, there is a chance to transform it into a place where its citizens feel safe and secure, free to pursue their dreams – all of their dreams.

Are we close?

The short and honest answer is no. However, there is progress. It is good to see Dr. Tewelde (wedi vacaro) doing an excellent job of refocusing people’s attention to the “urgency of now”. And it is time to go beyond producing “press releases”, as the tireless Selam Kidane² aptly puts it.

But old habits that dwell on differences without substance continue to get in the way. Even with the benefit of decades-long hindsight, one of the latest entrants to the opposition camp, Forum for National Dialog (FND) – aka Medrek, is generating more anxiety than hope.

Listening to parties Medrek has dealt with - assena.com and Dr. Tewelde among them - it appears Medrek has burned some valuable bridges already. That can’t be good. That said, however, rejecting Medrek outright is a huge mistake. Sure, Medrek should be asked the tough questions in a way that challenges its members to be open and to do more; because they can do more. The capabilities they can bring to the table are obvious. The priority should, therefore, be to find ways how those capabilities can be brought to the forefront for the benefit of all. To be clear, I am not defending Medrek’s behavior. My concern is the dismissive tone and general intolerance we seem to exhibit so readily.

Let’s take an unlikely scenario to drive the point home. Say Ali Abdu openly declares that he is ready to put his energy and knowledge to dismantle the criminal regime he so shamelessly served. It would be foolish to dismiss him outright, as it has been our tendency to do. This does not mean, however, he will not have to account for his past - which is a legal matter beyond the scope of crowd justice. If justice is what we say we seek though, why deny anyone the opportunity to contribute towards the goal we all claim to be after? Watch him closely so he is not violating the rules of engagement by resorting to old habits – yes. But deny him the opportunity to help end PFDJ rule – no. We need to stop obsessing about intentions (hard to determine) and start using tangible actions as primary measuring sticks.

Another thing that needs serious re-consideration is how long one has been part of the “opposition” is not necessarily a merit. If there are no tangible accomplishments that can be attributed to that longevity, it actually becomes a liability. That is why “abey nerom” (where have they been) should not be part of a justice seeker’s vocabulary. Unfortunately, “abey nerom” are the first words so-called veterans and passive observers utter when a new comer enters the scene. We need to show some humility and honestly answer “entay afriye” (what have I accomplished) before asking “abey nerom” of others.

If that sense of humility is deeply rooted, a true justice seeker should have no problem pledging to never speak ill of anyone striving to end PFDJ rule. While challenging them to do more and to back words with deeds, of course.

References

1 http://assenna.com/voice-of-assennamr-kubrom-dafla-responds-to-dictator-isaias-afewerkis-recent-interview-thursday-13-march-2014/
2  http://asmarino.com/articles/2045-r-is-for-reform-and-r-is-for-reality-too

Unfiltered Notes: The Day After

By Tewelde Stephanos (testifanos@gmail.com)   Date: January 24, 2014

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter” -- MLK

I remember the face of one compassionate Italian mayor - full of sadness for people she didn’t know - clearly showing her deeper humanity. This was last October when the world mourned the Lampadusa tragedy where over 360 Eritreans perished in the Mediterranean Sea. Predictably, Eritrea’s regime known for gross inhumanity against its own citizens, showed no such compassion. Knowing full well these were people who fled its forced labor programs, the regime first tried to disown them as “illegal African immigrants”. It later attempted to shift the blame to imaginary enemies and finally refused to allow burials to take place in Eritrea denying much needed closure to grieving families. 

One thing is certain. The longer this regime stays in power, the more destruction and destitution Eritreans can expect. The question is: do we have what it takes to free ourselves from this burden, sooner than later, and to face the challenges of the-day-after before things go the way of South Sudan and Somalia?

Although the sense of urgency is not quite there yet, there is definitely room for optimism we can do this. The growing calls for justice and freedom around the world, Dr. Tewelde’s (wedi vacaro) refreshingly clear and direct campaigns, the growing support for wedi Ali’s family, the massive demonstrations in Israel (albeit for a different but related reason), and continued defections away from the regime are good indicators things have crossed the point of no return. Bravely taking responsibility for one’s actions and publicly apologizing for past mistakes, as Dr. Tewelde did is also admirable and will, hopefully, become a new trend for others to emulate. As more people take such honorable steps, maybe good societal values that were so mercilessly trashed by the regime for decades, can be restored as well.

To add to the optimism, credible rumors are floating about that Haile Menkorios maybe in the opposition camp. If true, this is indeed good news because he has great connections that can be put to good use. Hopefully, he and his group will also take advantage of hind sight to think differently this time and start building a broader coalition that appeals to greater number of Eritreans than before. Perhaps then, people like Mr. Herman Cohen can also free themselves from the bondage of only seeing the rotten regime as their only potential partner and stop giving it legitimacy it does not deserve. Wouldn’t it also be nice if Haile’s group took public and concrete steps to approach Dr. Tewelde and others to show Eritreans can really work together after all?

 I have nothing but respect for what Dr. Tewelde is doing. But since no one is perfect, those close to him should advise him not to alienate anyone. This is the time we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King’s life in the U.S. So, if we must judge, it should be based on nothing but “the content of their character”. We need to accept that everyone, deqi “ArbEa” or otherwise, are equally Eritrean. Period! The sooner we internalize this, the better chances Eritrea will have to heal its deep self-inflicted wounds.

Only through full and unreserved inclusiveness, will we be able to channel everyone’s skills and experience to take on the hard work ahead. Meles had a simple and beautiful vision to see the day when every Ethiopian has three meals a day. He identified poverty as public enemy number one and millions of Ethiopians are committed to that worthy goal now.

By contrast, Eritrea has no such vision, showing the poverty is really in our heads. In spite of 1000 Km of coastline, there is hardly any fish in town and malnutrition is widespread. With two deteriorating ports and unaccounted for gold revenues, Eritrea is poorer than ever before -- where life is sustained through remittances and people are unable to support themselves on honest local earnings. Eritrea could have been a middle income country by now if it were not managed so badly.

To reverse this, the younger generation from which future leaders will necessarily have to emerge, must shift the conversation away from the fruitless polemics of the past and re-focus it towards a more productive and hopeful future. As the saying goes, since the future cannot be predicted, you might as well invent it. So, if we can accept the simple fact that a working economy is a good pre-condition for a better future, then our conversation will have to change to what needs to be done now to get there. Much less weight should be given to ‘who did what to who during the ghedli years’ (less than 5% maybe), and much more to what environment we must create to attract the right technologies and people (local and global) to partner with to build a lasting economy.

Since productivity and efficiency are key drivers for a growing economy, we will then be forced to think about how we can keep our society healthy and come up with an equitable and efficient public health policy (sick or malnourished people can’t be fully productive even if the will is there). Education is another key contributor to economic health. And commitment to good education will, in turn, force us to shift our thinking to how we can free education from the grips of propaganda and re-focus its purpose to seek knowledge and truth -- as it is meant to be. The necessary planning for all these need to take place now before the-day-after arrives. Otherwise, simply waiting for the-day-after, as we seem to have done so far, will only increase the chances the vacuum it will surely bring along with it will be mismanaged too – leaving avoidable suffering for future generations.

If we manage to change the conversation with a strong bias towards the future, however, better choices will emerge -- brightening the future bit by bit. Some choices will be of the standard variety and some from way out in the fringes but no less exciting. Here is a good example from India (http://www.ted.com/talks/bunker_roy.html). Did you miss the part about starting democracy early and the 12 year old Prime Minister? Go back! 

Unfiltered Notes: Spitting in the Wind

By Tewelde Stephanos  Email: testifanos@gmail.com

17 Nov 2013

I read an article in asmarino.com recently that illustrates how deeply PFDJ’s culture of negation has penetrated the Eritrean psyche. Zekere Lebona’s¹ article with Yosief Ghebrehiwot’s (YG) supporting comment lashes out at the twenty two Eritrean Intellectuals who wrote a petition addressed to Eritrea’s despot and his muted ministers (click here to read the petition)².  I do admire both writers for their eloquence and brilliant minds. Both are regular contributors I have learned a lot from over the years. Although I disagree with YG’s conclusions, his diagnosis is - more often than not - on the mark. My favorite is “Equality by Subtraction”³, a must-read for Eritreans.  

To be clear, I am not suggesting Zekere or YG curb their rights of self-expression. However, a pinch of humility and respect for others can advance the discourse a great deal. Just a little pause to check what we say or do is not condemning Eritrea to continued PFDJ oppression, unintentional though it might be, will do. This does not mean, however, bad ideas from allies should go unchallenged (and I find the stand the 22 took to be a good one). But often, we tend to spend more time going after each other instead of channeling our energies against the oppressive regime.

The said article’s anger is directed at the twenty two Eritreans, whose hearts happen to be in the right place.  But as Zekere puts it, the appeal “… made by the twenty-two intellectuals from the diaspora is the most scandalous” compared to other appeals before it. YG chimes in accusing the “22 muhuran” of “… enabling [the regime] to stretch its life beyond necessity”.

YG’s accusation of extending PFDJ’s life is not getting through my thick head. In this case, I would argue that the dismissive tone of rejecting those who dared to speak up, albeit tenuously, is more to the liking of the despot. I can almost see Isaias grinning ear to ear satisfied with how frequently and readily - we the people – go full force to break the stride of those who are taking their first steps against his rotten regime.

I do agree with their point that appealing to Isaias is a futile exercise. I even agree with Zekere’s point the appeal lacks a “sense of urgency, indignation and outrage”. But by focusing on its weakness, we are discounting its positives. This group of fine Eritreans has moved away from the club of silent majority (Isaias’ greatest asset) and they have chosen to be vocal. That is a huge deal. As such they deserve a welcoming spirit and a nudge to do more, not dismissal.

Recognizing this significant shift to break away from silence of the majority the despot has been enjoying, it would have been more productive for YG and Zekere to just chide the group for what obviously is a dead-on-arrival appeal, while making a good faith attempt to challenge them to do more. And they can do more given their immense intellectual capacity and the connections at their disposal to help make things better.

Inexplicably, Isaias has chosen death and destruction for Eritrea. To reverse this unfortunate choice, we need to encourage and welcome those who are stepping up, regardless of our personal biases how late or tentative we perceive their actions to be. There is no doubt in my mind this is NOT what Zekere and YG intended to do but through their dismissiveness, serving Isaias is exactly what they ended up doing. Hopefully it won’t be the case, but who wins if some of those 22 thoughtful Eritreans, go back to being silent or end up participating with reduced enthusiasm?

Lack of humility in our discourse and the quick negative reactions we exhibit towards each other are things the regime has been exploiting a million fold to its own advantage. This attitude of my way or no way is the main problem that has made the 30 plus opposition parties ineffective. Intentionally or not, they continue to serve Isaias’ interests. Is there no common goal these folks can work together on to bring about a better outcome?

These 30 plus groups have been in the opposition camp for decades now. Yet, I doubt if there is any action they have taken singly or collectively that matches Arbi Harnet’s approach to connect with change agents inside Eritrea. Apologizing ahead of time for my potential ignorance, Aribi Harnet is the only action-oriented group in the opposition camp that I am aware of. One can argue whether what Arbi Harnet is doing is sufficient or not. But that is the best we have so far and they deserve everyone’s full support to accomplish more.

We all know now that Eritrea’s struggle for independence was a single task undertaking. It was very narrowly framed as freedom from Ethiopia with no vision or strategy on what follows next. And that is why we are paying the heavy price today.  We can’t afford to repeat the same mistake again. Although Isaias’ demise will be a welcome event, the day after will be messy and we need to look beyond that day itself. Eritrea is a failed state where all state infrastructures are either completely out of commission or in need of serious repair. Adopting a culture of inclusion and a welcoming spirit for everyone’s efforts – big and small – will be critical in reversing the damage that has been done sooner than later.

Which is all the more reason to stop this bad habit of spitting in the wind.  The often repeated phrase one hears when someone or some group begins to make sense is ‘where have they been’ (abey nerom). We need to resist this temptation of belittling those we should be embracing. Any break away from the regime, as long as they are clean from proven criminal record, should be welcomed and embraced.

It is my hope Zekere Lebona and YG will take no offense from this posting and accept it for its intended spirit.

¹ http://www.asmarino.com/articles/1927-eritrea-a-petition-to-the-ghouls

² https://www.dropbox.com/s/f4upx2feg867mci/Appeal-06November2013-FINAL.pdf

³ http://www.asmarino.delina.org/blog/wufyat/hdmo/7/item/1332?view=article

Unfiltered Notes: Pessimism Is Not an Option

By T. Stephanos    Email: testifanos@gmail.com
August 24, 2013

Pessimism has been the prevailing state of mind in Eritrea for some time. And why not? There sure is plenty to be pessimistic about. Ruled by unenlightened group that has consistently adhered to a medieval code of conduct that exerts maximum pain on its subjects, Eritrea has been inhospitable to its own citizens.

Not surprisingly, some asmarino.com writers have even gone to the extent of declaring Eritrea’s independence a mistake and something that should be reversed. Although their frustration is understandable, I don’t believe anything good can come out of such desperation. It is better to salvage what we have (not an easy task) to recoup some of the dignity we have squandered so willfully before contemplating alternatives from a position of extreme weakness.

As bad as we have let things get, however, it is not hard to see Eritrea’s malaise is reversible. Even taking recent African examples, Rwanda is doing much better compared to its bloody past. Admittedly, given the history of one-man shows that stay too long leaving messy exits behind, it may not be out of the woods just yet but it sure is on a hopeful trend. Ethiopia is another good example. In spite of its complex problems, it is truly moving on, making more good decisions than bad ones. It even went through its first institutional peaceful transfer of power in history. So, the current dark clouds over Eritrea’s skies can be cleared if (and this is a BIG if) we start behaving differently.

But first let me pile on the bad news to acknowledge how seriously broken things are.

From all indications, Eritrea appears to be a country without people. Sure, it has about 5 million inhabitants. But disempowered and dispirited, the inhabitants have so far refused to behave as people. We have resorted to small but ineffective regional or religious factions allowing ourselves to become easy prey for all sorts of vultures. Save very few brave souls, we have the tendency to obey any orders from the tyrant of the day, no matter how ridiculous (‘give me 50,000 nakfa or I will jail your elderly father’). In addition to modern-day slavery at home, this culture of extreme obedience and self cacooning has manifested itself in other undesirable ways too – one of which is the astronomical prices human traffickers demand from Eritreans only.  

Normally, the sort of indiscriminate oppression the regime levels against its own people should have resulted in a united opposition to uproot it. But we are more divided than ever. Even the “youth” movements are infected with the divisive virus of the older generation dimming the light at the end of tunnel a bit more. The hope was that as the old folks die off, their divisive legacy would die with them. As it seems, the regime is more likely to fall under its own dead weight than through active demand for freedom. One seriously hopes not, but with severely weakened sense of a unifying national umbrella, Somalia’s recent history is not a far-fetched scenario for Eritrea’s near future.

Our dialog, if it can even be called that, lacks civil discourse mimicking the regime’s arrogant culture. Anytime someone or some group starts to make sense, the regime launches vicious attacks to discredit them using well-crafted misinformation it has perfected for over 40 years. To make matters worse, people either keep silent or repeat the regime’s falsehoods without a second thought. Having trashed the character of fellow citizens, Eritrea now appears to be devoid of decent folks to look up to as examples of good citizenship – where the tyrant is referred to as “the man”. Even our language has deteriorated to glorifying the despicable as manhood has nothing to do with killings, deceit and thievery.

And then we wonder “who” can replace the despot. But “who” is not even the right question. A more appropriate question to ask is “what” because what we have is a systemic failure. The focus ought to be on how to build self-correcting institutions that can cleanse themselves of tyrants through legal means.

The regime’s repeated servile visits to Egypt to sabotage efforts of multiple African countries to renegotiate outdated Nile water rights continues to isolate us from our neighbors. This ought to be a source of shame for all Eritreans because, at the end of the day, it is being done in our name.

But the regime’s obsession to sabotage Ethiopia at all costs has only managed to impoverish Eritrea. Either way – be it from the regime’s shameful submissiveness to Egypt or our silence - Eritrea is the loser. Although not expressed publicly, such creepy (loQmaS) behavior can only generate mocking laughter from Egypt -- proof of which is Egypt doing absolutely nothing to end the horrific crimes Eritreans are subjected to in Sinai.

Similarly, the regime financing regional armed groups who don’t even believe in Eritrea’s sovereignty can only be detrimental to Eritrea’s long term health. Taking Tigray’s “opposition” as an example, there is sufficient platform for them to resolve their issues within Ethiopia’s political space. As the regime continues to eliminate and disempower Eritreans, it is possible this Tigray group could end up being the primary security force to guard the rotting regime – creating complexities that will be difficult to untangle for future generations on both sides of the border.

But enough about the bad news. What now?

Building Trust

One core value that is missing from our interactions is trust. It is ironic that blind trust on the regime’s current actors is what got us where we are today. Instead of leveraging that trust to build a better future, however, the regime chose to install multi-layered spy networks to destroy trust itself. As a result, lifelong friends, neighbors and even family members don’t trust each other anymore.

Could those in the opposition and civic groups, especially the “youth” groups, gather the courage to reach out to their peers to reconcile differences and re-direct the fight against the regime instead of against each other? Could each of us make our own individual pledges to withdraw our membership from the club of ‘silent majority’ and support those we believe are making a positive difference? Mine goes to Arbi Harnet for their innovative approach to reach their peers in Eritrea because sustainable change can only come from inside Eritrea – with support from outside accelerating that change.

Communication with the right tone

There are well-intentioned individuals or groups (the G13, G15, civic groups, Internet groups etc) with strong desire to do something transformative. Unfortunately, they either exit the scene too soon or squabble among each other posing no threat to the regime. For a tiny country of 5 million (if that), we have too many splinter groups with no discernible collaborative spirit or, worse, with deep but unfounded antagonism towards each other. In a way, we have become the best allies the corrupt regime could hope for – perpetuating the agony in the process.

Those leading the way need to start communicating with a respectful tone to gain followers. Often, the message that comes across loud and clear has a tone of dictators in waiting who want to rule rather than leaders who are ready to serve.

Our dialog needs to be elevated to more dignified levels – respectful, coherent and persistent than what we have had so far. We need to have the right tone in our conversations everywhere (in formal meetings, in forums, in places of worship, in coffee shops etc) to replace the regime’s dismissive tone and feudal culture. The Orthodox Church’s split into pro and anti-regime cliques is sad to say the least.

Culture of inter-dependence

Our recent history, architected by few insiders of the regime, has been one of extreme arrogance. This has alienated us from each other and from the rest of the world. The arrogance of yesteryears where we derisively saw Ethiopia as nothing more than a market for Eritrea’s finished goods is a fading memory now. We have made a total mess of things and destroyed whatever potential there was to produce goods for export. Ethiopia is advancing ahead of Eritrea now and we are more likely to become consumers of Ethiopia’s goods instead. Eritrea doesn’t produce much that improves the lives of its people or that is of interest to others. If there is (gold you might say?), the feudal lord and his minions have made sure nothing trickles down to improve the economy. Forget meeting energy needs for industrialization purposes. Eritrea can’t even handle demand for basic household lighting.

Unless cheaper sources of energy are miraculously discovered, for example, energy self-sufficiency will remain an elusive goal and with it Eritrea’s elevation to the civilized world. A better formula could be mixing Ethiopia’s much cheaper hydro power and Eritrea’s port services as good counter weights in building an inter-dependent future with desirable side-benefits of reduced chances of conflicts. But the poisoned atmosphere needs to be detoxified for that and other formulas to be contemplated.

Although Assab and Massawa could still be viable for the long term, they are less competitive to Djibouti’s improving port services and other options Ethiopia is exploring. Meles’ words describing Assab as watering hole for camels still holds true today. Even if the regime gets a much deserved demise tomorrow, Eritrea’s ills will continue unless we start thinking and acting more constructively. We need to switch to an inter-dependent mind set to end the isolation.  Unfortunately, we will have to face this from a position of weakness for some time.

Education

Education is one of the very few high probability equalizers for personal and national growth. Nations with enlightened leaderships facilitate citizenship applications for highly educated foreigners. Our citizenship in western societies, gives us the opportunity to see this blessing first hand in our daily lives. Even Ethiopia is trying its hand by allowing Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia to attend its universities. What are the chances of those graduating from these universities returning to Eritrea’s life of slavery?

Unfortunately, the regime has marginalized education robbing the nation of two decades worth of quality education. Mentioning the closure of the only accredited university, the so-called chancellor never attending a university graduation ceremony, a semi-literate military man appointed to run the so called “colleges” (military boot camps in reality) is probably sufficient to show how deep we have sunk in this critical space.

Maybe we wouldn’t have made the ranks of other small countries like Finland and Singapore who come at the top of education achievement ratings year over year. But we could have made some progress towards that worthy goal if it weren’t for the wasted decades under a regime that despises education and the educated so much.

There is no denying things are bad. But it is possible to turn things around for the better by refocusing energies to re-build the frayed trust; through renewed commitment to respectful dialog that gets the tone right making everyone feel included; by moving away from the regime’s bombastic and isolationist culture towards an inter-dependent future within Eritrea and outside; and by re-starting the journey towards quality education. Rwanda and Ethiopia are improving the trajectory of their future. We can too. But for that to happen, we must first reject the regime’s toxic culture of exclusion and extreme arrogance wholesale.