If your issue with the Government of Eritrea was the price of commodities in Eritrea, I have great news for you.
A quintal of taff which used to sell for 12,000 now goes for 1,200. Bleached flour (Fino) declined from 1,200 to 600. A kilo of sugar? From 60 to 35; tomatoes from 40 (per kilo) to 5. Powdered milk (“Nido”) from 1,500 nakfa to 400. It is the same for all grains and staples: the Eritrean people are well-fed and burping and with non-stop electricity, they can even see themselves burping (they can’t wash it down with water, yet, but Adi Halo is coming.) This is the peace dividend you were promised and it is here.
So, if your major issue with the Isaias regime was that it had made life for Eritreans unbearable to the point of starvation and you were either opposing it or thinking of opposing it, now is a good time for you to align yourself. ተሰራዕ! Depending on the severity of your criticism of the government (and whether there were any witnesses to your sacrilege), you may not even have to write a Remorse Letter expressing your contrition for your lack of resolve during the trying years ( all caused by Weyane and America) and begging forgiveness from the “people and government” of Eritrea and vowing to accept whatever form of punishment you are deserving for your subversion.
One SURE way to demonstrate your remorse is to attack Weyane, America and the Eritrean opposition. And when you attack them, you must use the greatest hits (Top 20) from the Isaias Afwerki Adjectives for Opposition including ከዳዓት፥ ላሓስቲ ብያቲ፥ ሽዩጣት፤ ጂሃዳውያን፤ ውዱቓት፤ ትሩፋት፤ጠፋሻት, while ensuring to mention Weyane and tanks as often as possible. I know some of you think I am saying this to be funny, but no: Eritrea is a small country, and way too many of our people are exiled, and those of you who fit this category of opposition: it is best that you follow my advice and reconcile yourself with the government. I mean, it is not that you are doing anything helpful to the opposition ( you are quite destructive, actually) and nobody should blame you for following through with what you believe: the heart wants what it wants.
Haile Selasse I government had what we called “militia srnay” ( militia whose compensation was wheat) and it appears that the Isaias Afwerki government has “militia taff”: people who are paid off by knowledge of affordable grain. It’s time for Militia Taff to stop straddling the fence and just go home. Just go home, stand up, salute the flag and get all teary-eyed about how the resolve of the people and the government defeated a world conspiracy. That’s some good stuff.
Moreover, you do not have to be embarrassed for being a member of Militia Taff! According to a recent survey of 34 countries by Afro Barometer, the following is the order of priorities for Africans:
1. Decent work and economic growth (57%)
2. Ensuring everyone has enough to eat (31%)
3. Good health and well-being (27%)
4. Peace, justice and strong institutions (26%)
5. Clean water and sanitation (24%)
6. Industry, innovation and infrastructure (24%)
7. No poverty (22%)
8. Quality education (21%)
9. Affordable and clean energy (13%)
10. Reduced inequalities (2%)
11. Gender equality (1%)
So, there you have it. Now, human beings being human, it is likely that the Militia Taff might have remorse about their remorse once they learn that one of the reasons that the price of commodities has hit the floor is because Ethiopian merchants have bypassed the Eritrean businessmen and are selling their produces on the streets of Asmara. The Eritrean businessmen, whose money has been confiscated by the Eritrean government, are unable to import or buy wholesale and thus compete but who cares, right? Come on now, Militia Taff: your priority is that the people are getting cheap commodities. Sigh. I see you wobbling again. So here’s something that will make you guffaw and slap your knee: the merchants wrote a letter to President Isaias Afwerki to protest the unfair (damn! there is that word again) competition and he replied back, ” ዝበላዕክሞ ይኣኽለኩም!”: you have exploited the people long enough! President Isaias Afwerki has very strong opinions on what the price of commodities should be and he has expressed them so many times on TV (See below:)
Eritreans are aware about the prices of milk in #Eritrea & #Germay. Thank U DIA. It’s time for #IsaiasAfwerki to talk tomorrow about the prices of (Teff ጣፍ) after the opening of the border. How many pieces of #Ingera can someone make from(100 Kg of Teff)? #إريتريا#Ethiopia pic.twitter.com/bfB5nqTsQg
— Shewgi Ahmed (@shewgiMAhmed) November 2, 2018
There it is: I see you smiling and thinking ኣስሚዕዎም ወዲ ኣፎም (give it to them, Wedi Afom.) The prophet has spoken! So, don’t deny yourself: embrace the darkness. It is home for you. Go home, suffer no more.
As to the rest of us of Eritreas who, like the “26 Percenter” Africans are moved primarily, first and foremost, by justice, well. We got some work to do. For us, nothing has changed really because we didn’t start opposing the government because it was starving the people. We opposed it because it is hard-wired to be an unjust system, has committed crimes upon the Eritrean people, crimes so heinous that they have been chronicled in testimonies and are archived, somewhere by the UN, for a future government to use them as a basis for Truth and Reconciliation. Furthermore, because the criminals who committed these heinous crimes are still in charge and at large, we consider it an act of betrayal of treasonous proportions to ignore the suffering of our disappeared, imprisoned, raped and exiled population to celebrate the fact that taff is now selling at 1,200/quintal. Fuck taff.
But we have to have a plan. A policy. A program.
If you are a Ghedli-romantic like me, you know Ghedli began everything by identifying enemies and friends. I have been in the US for so long I am uncomfortable with the word “enemies” so let’s call it “adversaries”; and I have been in politics for so long I know there are no friends so let’s call it “allies.” Adversaries and allies.
Who are our adversaries? They are people, organizations and governments who rationalize injustice and violation of civil liberties. Our adversaries do not respect Eritrea’s right to self-government, as we define it: a democratic government where the people are sovereign. Our adversaries do not respect that Eritrea, formed in 1890, was formed whole with clearly defined political boundaries, and a demography that was instantly Eritrean in 1890. Our demography includes Muslims and Christians in 50-50 split and anyone who wants to dilute, change that, regardless of their agenda, is an adversary. It is made up of lowland and highland. It is made up of people who speak 9 distinct languages, but they don’t define who they are by the language they speak. Our adversaries include imperialists, white and black, who justify encroachment and annexation using God of the holy books and gods of Machiavelli. Our adversaries are the promoters of PFDJism, a warped history of Eritrea, its armed struggle, its heroes and villains. Our adversaries use 1,000 reasons to refuse to speak up for civil liberties, massive violation of the rights of children, adults and old people in Eritrea.
Who are our allies? Our allies are all organizations, political and civil society, who believe that governments can only govern with the consent of the governed. They are religious organizations who advocate for religious freedom. They are journalists who advocate freedom of information. They are women’s advocacy groups who demand equality for women. They are military veteran groups who demand respect for military veterans. They are educators who advocate value of education in promoting justice. They are doctors who want to rid our people of diseases. They are economists who want to promote development. They are lawyers who want to protect rights. They are farmers who want to own their land. They are merchants who want respect for property rights. They are the military who want to pledge allegiance to a people’s constitution. They are refugees who want to be repatriated with dignity. They are soldiers who want to serve voluntarily. They are prison wardens who hate their jobs of imprisoning the innocent. They are advocates of civil liberties and freedom, and they never, ever compromise that with pretenses of “national security”, “state of emergency” or whatever it is that Weyane and America did or didn’t do.
We believe in justice, above all. Above sugar, above wheat, above powdered milk, above employment, above money, above jobs, above border demarcation, above “consolidating peace in Ethiopia”, whatever the hell that means. We believe in forming alliances with all justice and equality focused advocacy groups, wherever they are. We believe in accountability. We believe in truth and reconciliation. We believe that Eritrea’s 70-year long struggle was not to replace foreign tyrants with domestic tyrants but to self-government.
And one of the best ways to do that is to ensure that Militia Taff find their true home: in the bosom of the government. Please go home to the bosom of your PFDJ: you have confused the people enough. The rest of us, we have work to do. And it begins with, for God’s sake, finding our true allies in Eritrea and Ethiopia: women’s organization, journalists organization, workers union: civil society committed to democracy and justice. That is, work around Abiy Ahmed who appears to be a prisoner of Isaias Afwerki.
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