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Beggars Can Not Be Choosers

I have been a bit unease about using this medieval expression as an analogy to illustrate the ongoing CHALLENGE campaign underway among Diapora Eritrean opposition.  The campaign is, supposedly, to challenge the dictator of Eritrea:

I have been a bit unease about using this medieval expression as an analogy to illustrate the ongoing CHALLENGE campaign underway among Diapora Eritrean opposition.  The campaign is, supposedly, to challenge the dictator of Eritrea: to implement the constitution, to release political prisoners and demarcate the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia.  Buried beneath this campaign though, there seems to be a colossal frustration built over years of inability to shed the yolk of oppression in our country.  It is thus, this exasperation and resentment, in my opinion, that preceded this campaign.  Is it not?  That is why I risked vilification by some to call this piece ‘beggars can not be choosers’.  This campaign, lest it anger anyone, is a campaign which perfectly fits this medieval idiom, ‘beggars can not be choosers’, – effectively meant, be content with what you have and don’t make any noise.  The campaign is, therefore, nothing but a campaign of beggars who have limited choices available at their disposal.  Let’s call a spade a spade.  We have to bravely say it for what it is.

Recently, despite the evidence to the contrary, we saw yet again, a parade of people railroading themselves on social media to demand justice, strangely enough, from the autocrat in Eritrea; justice he denied the Eritrean people for the last quarter century.  With the level of extreme boldness and self-righteousness that has become the trademark of our opposition – but then, with the exception of a few who put the challenge to the Eritrean people – not a single one of them made a sober assessment of the challenges facing the opposition itself.  Truth got to be told, the demands are on the mark and long overdue.  After all, Eritrea has been under the illegitimate usurper for quite a long time.  What could go wrong in demanding justice from the oppressor?  Yes, history is littered with people demanding justice and failing that, rebelled to take their liberty by force.  Yes, there is nothing wrong in demanding justice.  I do, however, want to question the temerity of this campaign: to whom are the demands made for?  To an enemy who is undertaking the dismemberment of Eritrea and its people?  An enemy does what he is best at doing.  Or, should I ask, Is it a campaign of, I-couldn’t-snatch-justice-for-my-people;-therefore,-I-am-pleading-with-you-to-give-me-one?  How convenient!  Overcoming our weaknesses should have been a pre-requisite before confronting the enemy from within.  Taming our ego would have served us well.  This is the fundamental concept, sadly, the opposition was unable or unwilling to reconcile itself with.

 

Apart from the sensational campaign – which, in fairness, could have a long lasting effect as political tool – how do people know the efficacy of this campaign and what makes it different from the previous ones?  The Eritrean people have been crying ENOUGH for the last 20 years; but that “liberty” the people longed for proven elusive by the day.  Yet, the opposition preferred to stick to its old guns, instead of reorienting its strategy and mode of struggle to confront the enemy head on.  History repeats itself rings ever truer indeed.  It  never ceases to amaze me as to why people tend to tread the same line over and over again, in which, time and again has proven not to work.  With a double edged irony, why people mumble darkly in their private or make noise in public about Eritrea’s messy future, and yet unable to have a consensus to confront the oppressor is a bit unsettling.  Whether one made a demand for justice on social media or marched on the streets of Washington or whether a high powered opposition politician gave a rousing speech or a religious figure gave a solemn prayer, the dictator would still be entrenched as ever; this time, with full vengeance against our people.

 

And irrespective of the feasibility of the campaign, we just can’t seem to give up the old way of doing business.  I think we are obliquely beholden to our predisposition where the difference between individual liberty and the collective wellbeing is a bit blurred.  Otherwise, why would we use the same venue over and over again and suddenly, by the grace of God, we expect a different outcome.  According to the laws of commutative property, assuming one has familiarity with, changing the order of operations doesn’t change the result; for example, A + B = B + A.  However rearranged the operands are, one will get the same result.  That is what we have become.  Old habits die hard indeed!

 

What’s more, It is interesting to see how people tend to toe a group-think mentality – the practice of huddling together under one idea, virtually discouraging a different one.  It is so hilarious, though with healthy dose of resignation, to watch one soul after another proclaim their democratic credentials, and with just a minor word plays and semantics, each of them itemize the campaign’s three demands – almost verbatim.  It is reminiscent of a movie reruns, so to speak.  In fact, it seems easy nowadays to create a circus like political atmosphere.  All one creative individual has do is, invent a new rallying cry, coupled that with a woefully unreformed mentality – and, here you go again – you galvanize the yawning populace for a few days, weeks or even months with awesome success, till that same cry slips into the abyss.  Then the poor masses go into yet another hibernation, until a new one comes into life.  In that order, with the same mentality, the opposition proved its impotence beyond redemption.

 

There is a name reserved for this kind of political stonewalling in the literary world.  It is called the march of folly.  In her book, The March of Folly, Barbara Tuchman defined folly” as a ‘pursuit by governments of policy contrary to their self interest, despite the availability of feasible alternatives’.  In one of her areas of analysis, the Protestant secession, the history of it was written extensively, but Barbara narrated it colorfully, the then Roman Catholic Papacy accelerated the Protestant secession when the papacy demanded that adherents pay for indulgence, so their sins could be forgiven in the eyes of God.  This, among many, infuriated Martin Luther, who went even further to create his own Protestant church, independent of Catholic Church.  Evidently, the Catholic Church acted contrary to its own interest.

 

Although the main thrust of Barbara Tuchman’s argument is geared to governments, I do want to emphasize that it is the people who create governments who make these follies.  Thus, we Eritreans made the irreversible folly of creating this non-Eritrean monster in our country, and as if that is not enough, we are still making the folly of not knowing how to remove him.

And sure enough, the ever mindful dictator, through his faithful slave, Yemane Gebremeskel, tweeted:

 

“Unable to fathom the historic/rapid regional changes, Eritrea’s avowed enemies & their local minions have remained confused & fazed for months now. This is why they are vainly scavenging for mundane issues to cast aspersions on the process. Prudence demands that they are ignored!”

 

What better way of explaining the futility of the current campaign!  

 

One more issue to remind you, which is indicative of how we are facing a deadly enemy.  On the unfortunate tragedy that befell on the Ethiopian Airlines flight on Sunday, the same slave, perhaps appropriately, tweeted:

 

“The Government of Eritrea has conveyed a message of condolences to the Government of Ethiopia and to the bereaved families of the deceased on the tragic crash of Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 737 that was on scheduled flight to Nairobi & in which all the passengers and crew have died.”

 

However, when tragedy struck to a boat full of Eritreans in October 2013, on the shores of Lampedusa, Italy, in which over 300 souls lost their lives, the dictator was never heard to express his condolences, if indeed he felt, to the bereaved Eritrean families; on the contrary, he denied their plight and spitefully referred to them as “African migrants”.  This goes to show that he is not one of us.  He is an enemy committed on the extermination of Eritreans.  His antipathy towards Eritreans is laid bare for everyone to see.  He is the enemy fair and square.

 

Finally, with the exception of those mindless herd, by now, it has become crystal clear that the battle lines had already been drawn between Eritreans who want their country back and a dictator hell bent on the destruction Eritrea and its people.  We just have to find a little time for reflection.

 

Tesfamichael Kidane

aseye.asena@gmail.com

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27 COMMENTS
  • Hagherawi March 15, 2019

    እዚ ዝግበር ዘሎ ናይ ይኣክል ጻዉዒት ፥ ብጣዕሚ ኣገዳሲ እዪ ፥ ዳርጋ ኩላትና ኣንጻር ምልኪ ሙዃና ፥ ከምኡውን ንለውጢ ቁሩባት ክምዘለና ዝሕብር እዪ።
    ግን ፥ ብተግባር እንተ ተሰኒዩ ጥራይ እዩ ቱርጉም ዝህሉዎ። ስለዚ ፥ ንተቃወምቲ ውድባት ኣብ ምንቃፍ ግዜ ከይኣጥፍእና፥ ካብ ዓንከል ምጥርጣን ምውጅጃልን ወጺእና ፥ ኣብ እንታይ ንግበር ዝብል መድረኽ ንስገር።
    ካብ እሰያስን ስርዓቱን ገለ ለውጢ ክመጽእ እዩ እሉ ዝጽበ እንተሊዩ ፥ ገና እንታይ ይኽውን ኣሎ ዘይተረዶኦ ክኸውን ኣሎዎ። ነታ ሃገር ዘዕኑዋ ዘሎ ፥ ክሃንጻ እዪ ፥ ዝብል እምነት ወይ ትጽቢት ይብልናን።
    ስለዚ እቲ ዓብይ እዋናዊ ሕቶ ፥ ንሃገርናን ህዝብናን ከነድሕን እንታይ ንግበር ?

    • Tsehaye March 15, 2019

      Shintawi,
      Indeed, beggars like yourself in the hopeless opportunists oppositions can’t be choosers. Period.

      • tewelde gebremariam March 15, 2019

        tesfamichael kidane,

        May be you do not understand how revolution starts or are purposely belittling the movement for your own interest. Let me tell you a revolution does not start fully grown up but, like any organism, gradually evolves into maturity to realize its end.

        • Tesfamichael Kidane March 16, 2019

          tewelde gebremariam,
          if you think I don’t understand how revolution starts, you are implying you know how to start one. So come out of hiding and lead us please. Be brave and reveal yourself and teach us how to start a revolution. We will be more than happy to follow you. Obviously, you can’t start revolution when you hide yourself behind screen.

      • Tesfamichael Kidane March 16, 2019

        Tsehaye,
        Perhaps you don’t understand the point of the argument in the article, That is exactly what I said; we can’t be choosers. I made it very clear, but you don’t get the point.
        What is the word Shintawi? I have no idea what that means. We don’t have this word in Eritrea. Is the word from tembien?

  • Hdri Tesfai March 15, 2019

    The two poodles of the dictators Yemane and Estifanos twitted:”The Government of Ethiopia signed today in Asmara Reconciliation Agreements with the Afar &Gambella opposition movements respectively.The separate Reconciliation Agreements provide/spell out frameworks for both movements to pursue their political objectives through peaceful means.”
    Why do you think the Ethiopian government is reconciling with the opposition movements? Might makes right. In their case. They may use internet technology or even mass protests in western cities to oppose their government but they also use might to pressure their government to come to the negotiating table. And they are getting better results.. It is about time Eritrean opposition groups change their strategy as the author aptly pointed out to remove the dictatorial regime by any means as begging please ayay give us this and that does not work with a criminal. The sooner the better for the sake of our precious country.. One opposition website even begs, in big colorful page, the dictator as long as he does x, y and z a he can stay in power and other foolishness. Who gave the editor of that website to negotiate on behalf of Eritrea. The dictator is unmitigated disaster to Eritrea as he he will do anything to stay in power. The opposition should likewise. I am not calling for civil war but there are lesser severe tools to get better results.

  • Awet March 15, 2019

    Very impressive and well thought piece!!!! Hope people understand it. Hagerawi you made a perfect comment too!! My comments are the”enough is enough ” movement should have a target plan!! We can not say it for ever!! What is the next plan?? We need to escalate it higher! May be to have a united front with all civic groups and political organizations and declare a government in a exile!!! Lets bring the fight into the monster and his mafia groups!! Lets see what is happening in Venezuela!! The opposition leader received recognition by powerful nations because he has a plan and credibility!!! Why not us!!!

  • Aba thimmer March 15, 2019

    “Enough “as slogan is a trigger for challenge .challenge for what?For who doesn’t matter. The term enough to be loud because everyone is suffering due to dictatorship. My point is, we are suffering, no future nor dignity as people even individually, threatened species at risk .here is the true challenge to be deed maker’s

    • Aba thimmer March 15, 2019

      Furthermore , to my above comment,” lets do something” is my favourite slogan for who wish to follow but don’t call me another Dawa.

  • Genet-Original March 15, 2019

    Dear writer
    The slogan of “Enough” is not asking for Isaias afwereke the Ethiopian man who has been allowed to kill the Eritrean people for 55+ years. Most of us have known that he is incapable of doing the right thing by the Eritrean people. Therefore, the latest slogan of Enough is Enough is for our people, all of them, regardless of their backgrounds to come out and say Enough for our silent, Enough for our carelessness, Enough for our passiveness, Enough for our weakness, Enough for our lethargic state of mind, Enough for pettiness of division, Enough for our fear. There is nothing better than to come out and let the whole world see you, in order to smash the fear.

    Enough For being silent majority for the past 27 years!!
    ERITREA FIRST!!!!!!

    • Tesfamichael Kidane March 17, 2019

      Genet-Original,
      I get the point, thank you so much. Eritrea First indeed!

  • Danilo March 15, 2019

    ወዲ መድሂን በራድ ( ተምበናይ ) ወዲ ግለት /ወዲ ሕርካም ይኣኽለካ game is over for you

  • Mike March 15, 2019

    If I am to comment about the piece, the writer seems very intelligent in his way of writing and how he put his ideas to explain the past situation of our country Eritrea. Moreover, he exactly explained how the regime operates its agenda to exterminate the Natives of the Land for far too long. I was a bit surprised though how he missed the message of the day “Enough challenge”. Earlier on the top one person “Genet-Original” has explained it very well and I am about to add more of the same comment.
    Well, first, haven’t we come a long way on how we react to this regime’s behavior? I mean how many of us where brave enough to come out on TV or YouTube to be heard our voice of opposition to the regime? in my opinion not too many. Now, the fear that the regime instilled on our people for far to long is smashed and defeated once for all. By itself, this is big progress if not victory to the people of Eritrea. In addition, one of the weapons the regime employed upon the Eritrean people was FEAR. So no one is afraid of the regime anymore.
    Second, the young generation is about to take control of their future into their own hands and they are not about to give up or wait for the opposition groups to decide for themselves. If I understand them correctly, they are saying “ enough silence, enough to injustice, enough to my freedom and I am about to speak up no more ignoring the real issue and dance with the Enemy in any PFDJ cultural events” and there is nothing wrong with that, I called it BRAVE and that is progress as well.
    Third, the regime is a brutal one who operates in secrecy since it’s inception in 1970. It’s clandestine and illicit operations are exposed all over the world even by the UN Human rights and all governments all over the world. Now, the young and old Eritreans know it’s tactics and they are saying enough is enough and there is nothing wrong with that and that is big progress as well.
    Finally, it is ok to be skeptical but let’s not forget Eritrean armed struggle started with single digit (very few people). Besides, time is in our side this time as well. If we have the courage, cause, and focus on our message then there is nothing prevent us from achieving our goal to topple the dictator, butcher and his yes men from our beloved Eritrea.

  • Hagherawi March 15, 2019

    Genet O., Aba Thimmer and Awet

    Dear compatriots

    The level of consciousness of our young people is raising everyday thanks to those who are coming forward to condemn a regime that brags openly about its own brutality.
    It’s of paramount importance to keep the current trend on and live, till the terrorist tactics of the clique to silence people is completely defeated.
    What makes our voices these days so important is their diversity. This is a sort of paradigm shift that we all need to encourage.
    What all of you have been saying in different ways is we need not dwell on this for long. Let’s explore a way forward, something that can help build a formidable global civic movement. Everyone willing to serve Eritrea should be welcome.
    One way to be more inclusive is to bring on board all those who have been trying to achieve the same goal albeit less successful. Let’s add our voices because that makes us strong.
    In a nutshell, we need to move forward as fast as we can and get organized at global scale.
    Organization is power. Secret organization is more effective against an extremely brutal dictatorship.
    The latter is what is needed inside Eritrea.

  • Genet-Original March 16, 2019

    Hagherawi
    My brother
    You are absolutely correct about the level of diversity. That is the main fact what makes the movement of Enough is Enough different. Also it is very straightforward. It is a movement never been seen before. It is out in the open. There are more women and young people more than ever. The fear that has been paralyzed our people is now officially smashed beyond repair. We need people to contact their local Eritreans justice seeker and join and organize. Join a leadership. Participate and give your ideas. We need more people to get on the social media to express their desire for our people to take their country back. The social media voice must be backed by local organization and evolved into action plan on the ground.

    Enough for being silent majority!
    ERITREAN FIRST!!!!!!!!!!
    God bless !!!!!

    • Hagherawi March 16, 2019

      Genet O.

      Sister you are doing wonderful job.
      Keep it up.

  • k.tewolde March 16, 2019

    “This goes to show that he is not one of us.” quips Mr.Kidane,rings a bell? yes indeed,it doesn’t matter anymore,life is a good teacher,we have come a long way and lost plenty and it seems quite a number of us have learned our lesson,now,the burning question should be,how do we remedy that? how can we refrain from making such mistakes? how do we move forward together? how do we empower the young to take ownership of shaping their destiny and lead the way? how can we carve out a common and clear vision for our people?…….if we ask the right questions and work on them diligently,we will find the right answers guaranteed.Lets refrain belittling and judging our brothers and sisters,lets welcome dissent against tyranny and lawlessness regardless from which angle it comes from,lets adapt and change the way we fight our enemy,because the enemy is elusive and changing and trading sides as we can see.Lets respect and listen to each other,lets support and encourage one another even in times of adversity……..this culture only will put the enemy in a tailspin and wet his drawers.We can do it,yes we can! lets get back the gift of our fallen brothers and sisters,lets get back our country–ERITREA!!

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