Dear Brezidenti, Is The PFDJ A Fairy?
Growing up, my old aunt was bedridden. I used to visit her in her room, which had a rope with two ends fitted to the opposite wall. Clothes, towels, and a host of other things were hung there. My aunt saw things we couldn’t see hanged on the string.
I will return to the remaining part of the story later. Now let me share with you my message to President Isaias Afwerki.
Dear Brezidenti,
it’s no secret that I oppose your regime, and I am not apologizing for it. The biggest harm is that many people blame you for denying them the opportunity to respect their first president. However, there are many who are all worked up because citizens dare to criticize a leader—they believe being a leader gives you absolute power to behave the way you please. I wish I was not put in the situation I am in but unfortunately, you didn’t muster a little wisdom that could have saved the nation all the agonies. I also wish your priority focused on the nation and nationals instead of focusing on power solely to ensure the superiority of your party. Alas, Eritrea launched its independent statehood as a dictatorship, and it’s evident where that has led us to.
I will do my best to illustrate the damages inflicted on our nation in two parts. Today, I will present part 1, and I will whisper to your ears the extreme behaviors of your loyalists from the perspective of those who are abused, insulted, defamed and shamelessly stripped of Eritrean identity by many of your loyalists. In the second part, I will tell you about the rest of the intimate, honest, and grievances in a direct manner. But first, allow me to finish the story of my late aunt.
Esreal leyti: Fairies of the night
My aunt looked at the hanging string and reminded anyone who visited her to be careful with what was hanging on it. What our sisters (that’s how people referred to deqi-Hdrtna, the fairies). have forgotten always included their maHzel, a traditional leather used to carry babies on that back. She would admire the craftsmanship and how it was decorated with seashells. I never saw anything of what she claimed she could see and described at length, including what the fairies were talking about—it seemed they had a party in a parallel dimension in her room.
That is how legends are made. No one would ask for the sources for fear of crossing the line, which would be considered close to blasphemy. But looking back, I believe it was either a paranormal experience or an illusion for lack of a word to describe it.
Dear Brezidenti
So, Dear Brezidenti, your supporters see and know what other people don’t see or know. They explain all the shortcomings people accuse you and your party of, with authoritative knowledge and confidence. They have answers for all the grievances on your behalf. They fight to force their explanations on the poor citizens who do not have answers or supernatural skills to understand your mindset, your decisions, etc. Do you give them daily briefing about what, how, and why do the things you do? Or do you have a telepathic connection with them? I don’t think you do; they must be feeding each other on the issues even before anyone airs them. That’s when the fairytales come to my mind to save me the thinking, speculations, and probing.
If they are just claiming knowledge on their own, believe me, they are doing you a disservice. What they say as excuses on your behalf is so foolish it is damaging your reputation; your character is being blamed for the foolish excuses of your supporters.
Unfortunately, they don’t fancy being considered normal citizens; they claim to be privy to your private life and they think that gives them an edge over the common citizen. If you have a solution, please help stop the madness; if you can, please shut off the telepathic channel that connects you to them, like the Deqi-Hdrtna have. If you must have robots, at least have those who update their program regularly.
Hope is what is left
I had lost much of the hope that I had; however, despite my bitterness, I still have some hope left. That’s why I am writing you a letter of appeal, just in case.
In 1991, though my background was the ELF, which your party has perfected, turning it into a vulgar word and insult, I divorced everything inherited from the decades I lived through. I was convinced the era of armed struggle was over; we all own the experience collectively—the good, the bad and the ugly—Il Bon, Il Brutto, Il cativo. I hoped it will be time for a mental repose, time for focus on making Eritrea safe, stable and prosperous. As difficult as living in our region is, I hoped no Eritrean would be forced to fight or indefinitely live with their fingers on the trigger. I never imagined people will rot in jail by the independence government. As you know, hope was dashed, and it is getting worse.
One can’t have a conflict with himself unless mentally ill. Conflicts require other side or sides. I am not onto the feel good, nationalistic posture of making excuses for my country when it’s on the wrong path. Yet, after so many wars, I have yet to see or hear of an appraisal, a reflection: what did we do wrong. Where did we err? Could we have averted the risks? What were our negative and positive roles and contributions in major events of our history, like the many wars, for instance?
I believe, since we never appraised our situation, we are overwhelmed by bravado and partisan sloganeering. It’s common to see Eritreans describe themselves as impeccable, infallible angels. We commit no mistakes! And w that mindset, we can go on cheering for war because we are always right. I don’t think that is the proper way to assess and correct our path. But alas, even this input by me as a concerned national will be considered seditious because it criticizes you and your government.
Kbur Brezidenti, you have molded your loyalists to believe in many misguided, dishonest, and feel-good notions that are doing much. Please remind yourself and your loyalists that we are only humans, not supernatural, not deqi-Hdrtna. We are fallible. And the sooner we realize that, the better for the nation.
Awate Forum