Eritrea: 2001 - THE YEAR IN REVIEW

THE YEAR IN REVIEW
By Russom Mesfun
December 31, 2001

Ladies and gentlemen, please train your binoculars on the Eritrean political platform. You're now looking at a phantom National Assembly, the one that gave new meaning to the words "missing in action." This is what's known as the virtual congress.

If you look closer, you should also be able see eleven graying members languishing in jail. That does not necessarily mean their case will make it to the floor. No congress was going to squander its precious time discussing the arrest of its members, with or without charges.

And just in case you didn't notice, what just whizzed by was the national election. May be next time we'll get to have a real one, with all the fireworks that is. And while we are at it, let's not get anything lower than 99 percent, "one person abstaining," of course.

Like Encyclopedia Britannica, the constitution stayed on the shelf, without so much as a word to the stakeholders. No one knew when it was going to come down to the floor; but from afar it looked breathtaking.

University of Asmara students tried to apply classroom theories on the ground; but the ground reacted in a hostile manner, turning into a blazing pizza oven. Things were never the same again. At least two did not make it back. The student leader remained in jail; the rest returned in bad shape. The parents only cried and cried. Wasn't this supposed to be our…? Never mind.

An Italian diplomat was told to get out.  From various corners, Eritrean diplomats decided to ship out as well. The private press became history, its reporters in the slammer. With most of the youth in the trenches, the village was left with a few well-meaning elders, who thought they could make a difference. But they too were placed behind bars.

Human rights organizations cried foul; charged that it was against international law: Please release immediately or press charges. Reply: Mind your own bizzwax. Reason: National security. Result: By year's end, the nation remained the only one without private media in the entire continent. The last to have Internet access, and the only one without free press.

The economy was a basket case. Doctors said it was suffering from a serious malaise: A combination of inflation and repression, aversion to new ideas, failure to use all human and material resources wisely, breakdown in communication, board-shareholder antagonism and, most importantly, unlimited board tenure had taken their toll.

But not to despair. The board was still wearing a smirk. It was blessed with a disunited, disorganized, and timid opposition, the all-bark-no-tooth kind. These folks have yet to start talking with each other - even to establish common denominators. Lord have mercy!

Of Predators and Patriots

At times it felt as if 2001 wont go away; certainly not before some malicious display of cruelty, the likes of which Eritreans had not witnessed in a long, long time. Having braved Ethiopian brutality, merciless plane bombings, overcrowded refugee camps, lost family and relatives, many had sought shelter in the West in the hope that there was no freedom until Eritrea was found. Well, Eritrea was found all right, but they were not sure it was the same one they had in mind. It looked so much worse than the one they had escaped from in the first place.

Mesfun Hagos, someone who had paid his dues above and beyond the call of duty, had the audacity to hold a meeting to discuss national affairs. All he ever wanted to do was to explain the dire political crisis in his country. It was not to be; not if the government's supporters had their way anyway.

The times had changed pretty fast. As hundreds of people watched in revulsion, a gang of hoodlums would deploy the very chairs they were invited to sit on to strike the guest speaker. Eritreans who learned of the brutality would shake their heads in resignation, sensing perhaps for the first time that things have gone a tad too far.

A horrified witness, an elderly Eritrean woman, would later say, "Even a pest does get near a lion sometimes." Everyone knew exactly what she meant. Who else, but an Eritrean mother, could have put it so eloquently?

Owing to years of leadership, his country had issued the veteran fighter a special passport, a diplomatic one. But suddenly it had changed its mind, taking exception to his opinionated ways. Many would urge him not to be in haste to return home. "It was not safe out there," he was warned in no uncertain terms.

But he felt it was at least safe enough to have a meeting in London, in the terra Magna Carta. He thought wrong, and ended up making news. Not for what he had to say, but for what he was prevented from saying.

Which angered at least one Eritrean, Ms. Abeba Mussie, a former PFDJ loyalist, to be disgusted enough to discard her membership card. In just one horrible incident, one of the most faithful members became one of the most articulate voices of discontent with the very party she had supported for years.

This being a family website, you, gentle reader, will be spared the kind of language she was subjected to upon resignation. I hope the gallant lady will save it for posterity and/or justice.

Thank God almighty we're free at last!

Nevertheless, the year was kind to Milkias Mihreteab and Semere Tazaz, two fortunate souls, who finally made it to the US. They had tried to practice journalism in a certifiably dangerous place to do so, but were smart enough to run away just in time. Even far away from their headquarters at Kestedemena, the newly minted refugees would still get called all kinds of names and become the subject of the most bizarre speculations.

The idea, of course, was to change the subject. But the daring duo nipped it in the bud, sticking to the agenda at all times and taking care of the people's business, the people they had left behind.

Still, you can't say the year was devoid of humor. Fascinatingly enough, many would find out that they had assumed woyane citizenship, but not voluntarily. It takes five years of residence, a citizenship test, a serious background investigation, a lengthy interview, and the filing of countless documents to be an American citizen. But in the brand new Eritrea, you could turn into a woyane by uttering a suggestion or two. No Kidding.

Singing is Still Allowed

One of the most popular songs became Kahsay Berhe's Nabrana Meret Semay. Asmarites -- who were addicted to the private newspapers but had lost them overnight -- could not have come up with a more fitting melody.

Our lives are as separate as the earth and sky…

Your driveway is watched by a guard 
While our door rattles with the wind. 
Your abode is graced with carpets 
As compared to our colorless walls. 
Your house seems to add more floors atop
While our rent keeps on going up.

Everyone seems to know the name of your folks 
But even the family priest has forgotten ours.
Lambs are slaughtered at you home weekly 
While a chicken is rare in ours on a holiday.
But we are equal in love.
The only thing the rich 
And the deprived can have.

Happy New Year to all Eritreans around the world.

 

 

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