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Fetsum Abraham: Facing the world empty handed from the periphery

I feel like there are five important realities in the current Eritrean dynamics: the average Eritreans in the resistance, the political parties (EDA), the intellectuals and Civic Organization leaders, the international community and the regime. You

I feel like there are five important realities in the current Eritrean dynamics: the average Eritreans in the resistance, the political parties (EDA), the intellectuals and Civic Organization leaders, the international community and the regime.
You know that most of our people are not educated by State policy. They depend on their instinctive capacity to deal with the dictatorship. Those at home are running away from the regime as the best solution to their predicament. The average Diaspora Eritreans in this category are trying the best to contribute with the only things they can do such as demonstrations and other communal activities all over the place. Therefore they are doing excellent shouting in the streets against the regime, challenging its supporters as much as possible, doing candle-lighting events for our victims and martyrs managing festivities (Independence Day, Martyrs Day, etc). Literally these are the only things they can do considering their levels of education and experience. One cannot expect them to do more than this
In the mean time the whole world is working hard to get rid of the Eritrean President out of his post. The UN was busy in Geneva, for instance listening to the UN report on massive human rights violations in Eritrea with close to 500 pages of documentation including personal interviews from direct victims of the system. It appears like the UN human rights commission has finished its homework academically challenging the UN Security Council to do something about the Eritrean situation. It has done the dirty job for our intellectuals materially communicating with the world with such a massive report, yet the most critical element that could put the icing on the cake (written strategy) has been missing from the Eritrean community and the intellectuals in particular. They cannot pursue the solution without our intellectuals producing the strategy because this part of the process is none of their business; simple as that.
At this critical time where the system has been fully exposed and the UN contemplating to forge a criminal case against the dictator, EDA is nowhere to be seen or heard from thanks to the confused and visionless politicians in that Alliance.
Yet, at this critical time where the system has been fully exposed and the UN contemplating to forge a criminal case against the dictator there appears a serious void that Eritreans as a unit could not fill to help it complete the mission. Concrete intellectual input is missing here to correct EDA and of course to help the momentous international drive to neutralize the dictatorship. This capacity is of course limited to the highly educated Eritreans that are currently working as professors and diplomats at different levels of the professions and leading our Civic societies. Our members of this class are wasting resources by limiting themselves talking about the obvious problems that everyone knows by now and sometimes patronizing each other with nothing to show the world as far as the solution is concerned. They appear out of steam generating new ideas. They also have a problem entertaining new ideas by other Eritreans in the pool. They show up after a long absence throwing a page or two worth of material against the regime that may not even help mobilizing the Diaspora anymore. Because our people are mobilized enough waiting for action that they cannot academically resolve without the help of our poor intellectuals that seem as confused as the mass with nothing special to offer except repeating events and killing ideas with silence. I cannot tell you if this is the best they can do or they are shying away from the ANSWER on purpose but that has been the best they offered so far from practical point of view. It so seems like they are suffering with the consciousness of guilt about their incapacity to write a strategy on their own or accepting someone’s suggestion to this effect, the reason they pop up with the same messages to just feel better and disappear for a long break till they show up again with literally the same thing again. That is what happens to self brain-drained intellectuals in this situation. They are far away from doing their responsibility of producing a strategy that enhances the current UN effort into a concrete solution for the Eritrean society, thus only showing up sometimes pretending they were still alive. The following texts may serve evidence to my postulate.
A distinguished professor issues the following substance once upon a time in “The Role of Eritrean Scholars: the Duty to be Unbiased” March 30, 2014:”I believe the Eritrean people expect Eritrean scholars to objectively and critically assess the ills of the nation and offer bold and constructive suggestions for the good of their country and the Eritrean people. Eritrean scholars should assume this responsibility as their national duty and indeed as their obligation. I also believe Eritrean scholars should not give a deaf ear and a blind eye to the suffering of their people. They should have the moral courage and intellectual integrity to speak on behalf of the voiceless and the oppressed.” The question is if speaking about and exposing the situation are enough to cut it for the society’s democratic dream without producing the badly needed strategy that can open the closed doors of the international community! Does not this statement contradict with silence on the ANSWER (rejecting it on substance or at least considering it on condition in the total absence of an alternate strategy from the society)?
Others did a good theoretical work through “On A SWIFT, EFFECTIVE AND LASTING SOLUTION TO THE ERITREAN NIGHTMARE!! – A Short Thesis on Strategy By Our Voice By assenna on May 16, 2015.” We respectfully responded to energize the momentum hoping to practically fill the void through the ANSWER to only be ignored as usual at least in so far as our experience is concerned till this moment in time. The good effort (theory) is about to dissipate now because we neither saw a follow up to materially crystallize the theory nor received response to our very relevant proposal, “The Answer” in this compulsive non-transparent dilemma of the so categorized Eritrean intellectuals.
A distinguished intellectual comments in one of my articles saying; “Dear Fetsum Abraham; I could NOT find a single statement or word that I could disagree thereupon [about my opinion on our poor intellectuals]. Apparently, Issayas too made a comment a long time ago baptizing Eritrean “oppositions” as “Internet Tegadeltti”. Hard as it is to swallow the bitter truth, ‘son- of- a- gun’, he was absolutely right.” The question is if the person that taught us this considers the self as tegadalai of this type for failing to accelerate the momentum by producing a strategy or adopting what was provided through the ANSWER!
I can go on and on discussing many things about our intellectuals but rather pass on suggesting to the Eritrean people to read them and conclude for themselves about my postulate. For what I think, they could not contribute better than the average Eritreans shouting in the streets for solution. Today should have been the right time to adopt the ANSWER and directly deal with UN intellectually or get something worth reading for them to further help the momentum of this special opportunity, but in vain.
Finally of course we have a regime that is surviving against all odds mainly because of lack of strategy from the confused and confusing intellectuals. The Eritrean intellectuals are the best gift the regime has so far gotten from the society because it will continue to survive without a formidable challenger as a result, the average Eritrean masses currently doing their best to change the situation without intellectual guideline and representation being their worst victims in this tragic experience. Simply speaking, the UN is doing things for Eritreans without an intellectual partner from the society in this melancholic episode where the educated class has reduced itself to the intelligence level of the masses. We are once again witnessing a wonderful opportunity to crash the system with international support slipping away because of the intellectuals’ failure to either produce or adopt the ANSWER in this situation where we are just a document away from resurrecting our society from the curse of the dictatorship.

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6 COMMENTS
  • SHake June 24, 2015

    well done brother,you always come through with articles of wisdom and perseverance.
    thanks, you got my vote.

  • k.tewolde June 25, 2015

    the moment is ripe, just like you said fitsum, but it takes the sacrifice of ordinary people like me and you to lead back our people to the promise land. it doesn’t require ivy league education to restore the vision of those who we left behind in shallow graves.like the inevitable dawn, the time has come.it is time to give credit for those who fought this brutal clique in the fore front and behind the scenes for decades to it’s eventual demise at hand.my fellow compatriots, your ardent work is being heralded, the whole world is watching.it won’t be to long before the whole Eritrean nation rallies under the olive branch.

  • lemlem June 28, 2015

    In my opnion Eritrean dilemma
    lacks people who are committed and dedicated to fight and show a good example for the masses.however what we have in opposition are limited impaired people who neither able to lead or unify the opposition. They are simply dormant. We don’t have to forget, in some of the factions there are wolves of PJDF working day and night weakening them from progress.

    • k.tewolde June 28, 2015

      take charge my fellow citizen,nobody owns the opposition platform, purge and unite, let us not refer to each other as ‘ they’, ‘them’,let us find a way to answer the call individually to that iconic wailing of the eritrean mother in the italian piazza after the lampedusa tragedy.

  • N.Galla June 28, 2015

    As usual you said it all, brother Fetsum! It’s an excellent article and it’s a very didactic one; so if I may add to yours in a slightly different ways, they are all, the following, doing an excellent job, finally:
    a) Average Eritreans in the resistance
    b) Human right council commission of Inquiry
    c) U.N.
    d) Our Eritrean and World websites.

    What Is Missing?
    EDA, Baito and others to form…
    a) A constitution or adopt the shelved one
    b) A united opposition armed forces
    c) A Government in exile
    d) A preparatory diverse commission for elections to cut off the “Ghedly Syndrome” for good.

    Our expectation from our intellectuals?
    Their guidance, Wisdom, Vision and direction in order to forge a democratic Eritrea.

  • R.K. June 29, 2015

    At this stage in my opinion it is imperative that all Eritreans read the existing constitutions (the old one,the last one as well as the constitutions of the countries in which we leave)in order to acquaint our selves with the foundation of a nation building tools. And sustain meaningful discussions and common grounds that leads us to the forming of political parties or the Baitos.

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