This converse was done between the all time great awate forum commentator and me in the discourse betewwn the heart and the mind. For more detail, it can e visited @ http://awate.com/egypt-to-the-rescue-isaias-game-interrupted/
08/05/2015
Dear haile TG,
My take on your current endeaveur is slightly different. Understanding and endorsing your call fully, I would better go for building institutional and professional trusteeship. At this very juncture of time, Eritreans are looking for more trusted institution. Personal trusteeship has led us where we are.
And institutional trusteeship has two components.
1. Law
2. Rule of law.
Just let’s take an example this forum. It is not necessarily to trust the owners of this web-site. Personally, I am here not because I trust the owners but the law they have and the rule of law observed.
The same could have been applied to PFDJ had they formulated a law to begin. Unfortunately, PFDJ is lawless and there is no law to be ruled.
The challenge is not actually to formulate a law. Eritrean governtment tried to do that through the PFDJ institution. Rather, to rule the law is the critical one.
With regards
08.05.2015
Dear haile TG,
What I agreed with you is when you state, “human being is naturally for good?”
But let’s take what we have in our political history, that of the revolution period. According to the teachings we were and still are brainwashed is this:
1. Human Being is naturally greedy. And what he has is through looting.
2. To make him responsible, we need to guide him and for what he looted, we need to take it back and own it.
First of all, I don’t know who is stating this (I know they are the dictators but I am asking why they do so). Marx, when he was fade-up with exploitation of bourgeois, he stated that and he stood against them. He just elevated to human being and became the accuser forgetting himself. Then, he went for his advocay relentlessly to bring human being under control.
The same happened during the revolution secretly in the caves of political bureau though the call to the masses had different tone. PFDJ came out from that cave and advocated it openly. Religious leaders arrested in the 1990s were of such victimaization.
This being my holistic appraoch, I accept your initiation but at the same time I am calling for a wider bottom-up appraoch. Yours being the as a grassroot undertanding.
Dear HTG, you mentioned Abba Mussie et Dr. Alganesh. These individuals stood for the rights of the people not because their personality but the institution they have built; They both own an institution and they both observe rule of law of their institution. And for both, their basic foundation is “At individual level, human being is good. If he is in problem, it is not his fault but the fault of collective actions. Hence, we need to help those in victims.”
On the other hand, PFDJ institution stated like this. Those who are in victims are only because of their own fault. Then they state, “why we care on these individuals”.
Dear you know better than me that unless we care individuals we can not care for the whole. And we have to care about these individuals simply because they are human beings. Whether trust exists or not, we should built the concept of humanity first. To do that we need a trusteed institution.
tes
09.05.2015
Dear tes,
I totally agree with you on the importance of effectively run institutions in order to realize complex tasks, deliver objectives and maintain and develop systems of transparency and accountability. However, institutions are formed in response to commonly identified needs. In other words, it is the common need that triggers the formation of institutions. And as that need evolves and grows, so does the institution that is founded upon it. Alternatively, if the need dwindles or becomes no longer existent, the institution it was supported by stops rendering service. What we have is a case of the need being the central most important element that is responsible for the life of an institution.
Let me give you an example. A group of Eritreans in various metropolis in the diaspora identified the need to have churches in areas where they lived. That need brought them together and no sooner found locations rented from their local facilities to congregate and worship, it then moved on to bringing priests to officiate their activities (effectively institutionalizing) and finally moved on to raising enough capital to own their own permanent places (many worth close to $1 – 1.5 million). On top of that they formed board leadership directorates that effectively cut PFDJ hand short from its usual deeds. All this happened in the last decade or less. Most are now coming out with their properties fully paid up and accumulating growing capital in savings. The growing financial muscle would undoubtedly help them to control their communities better and meet needs effectively. But remember, it all started with group of people with a common need coming together (faith in this case). There is a mirror success story within the Islamic Eritrean communities too. Only recently we have observed how their institution managed to respond to refugees stranded in the streets of Yemen. And also the many selfless work they do in Sudanese refugee camps. There also other faith based communities from the minority religions growing in that direction. There has also been community formations such as the one in Las Vegas. This was meant to illustrate the fact that the formation and development of institutions is based on people with common need coming together.
When it comes to Eritrean political situation as a whole, a common need isn’t being identified because the people are not coming together under one roof to discuss and identify a common need as it pertains to the homeland. And as long as such common need is not identified, how do you go about setting up an institution? My arguments here is dealing with first step towards what you are suggesting. Because it is true that institutions would be the ultimate route forward. Hence, if the organized opposition bridge the “trust gap” via the “winning hearts” then surely there will be a common need springing out of the interaction that would naturally happen with the people. Such need will trigger the formation of institutions that will meet its goals and effective day-to-day running of which and professional management would be a must in exactly the way you suggest.
How am I doing here and what is your take?
Thanks brother
PS: incidentally, the term “silent majority” refers to those missing in action when it comes to national issue:) This makes it impossible for them to institutionalize for a common need.
Date: 09/05/2015
Dear haile TG,
Your lines are always very refinied. Remember, it was because of you and SGJ that the School of Fine of Thoughts was established. I hope you have gone through the details about this school. Always you have the point and you never failed us to bestow.
Saying that, what you brought is an ideal example from which I based my argument on. Dear haile TG, acknowledgement is the very basic thing to start. As I stated before your point on table is vital as a grass-root. But we need an integral approach. If the heart and the mind are ready then there must be a push and pull factor with a well put strategy.
For example, lets take the Lampedusa incident: Once people heard about that news, no one except the PFDJistas remained inside the house. Almost all Eritreans started to roar to the streets and on the air from all over the world. More organized groups started to immerge. Before we had traditional (classical) opposition organizations but now NNN (to use your words). People started to organize on common needs and what you brought above are manifestations of the potential to organize.
Dear haile TG, I am following the progress we do. I am very optimistic to see a strong political institution very soon and a united people not against PFDJ but for their own prosperity as PDFJ is politically dead for good.
Just imagine this,
Eritreans lived with EPLF and ELF as friends (just that of opposite sex). ELF went to a hospital for long time as it was in a comma. Then, EPLF was killed by PFDJ, a never existent friend, and took the skin of EPLF, just like that of sheep and wolf, the people didn’t realize. PFDJ exploited the relationship that existed between the people and EPLF and urged marriage. The people was just naive to accept that offer. They could have asked where the long lived ELF friend is. Even they could have asked who PFDJ is.
What happened is in fact difficult to have such kind of rational thinking considering the time given. EPLF flourished in Nakfa and died in Nakfa by PFDJ. EPLF’s burial happened in 1994 (Rommedan Mohamed Nur’s interview is so loud to tell the truth for what happend at that time). PFDJ came with a cover skin and called for marriage. The people accepted unconditionally, even they didn’t ask about ELF, the trusteed friend.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?…
Then, PFDJ started to remove his skin thinking that he is already married, thinking the marriage will not be ended as marriage is eternal as that of Catholic Church. Take note, there was no force witnessing that marriage though PFDJ brought an official marriage certificate.
The people then started to say, let even that Catholic type marriage be ended.
You have a very deep understanding on psychology and social works (I have noticed it before). Counseling must be your profession (?). Then, how hard is for a divorced couples to start a new and rejuvenated life? Do you think it is easy to forget the shared life before and easily go on?
Parallel to that, ELF, though hospitalized outside the country, she was trying to continue struggle for survival. Now ELF is awake from the comma though with an ambivalent mindset. The good thing is, ELF is the one who rejected that secret and unofficial marriage between the people and PFDJ. Had ELF was present at that meeting, PFDJ couldn’t take that of EPLF skin.
Therefore, the case of Eritrean people and that of PFDJ is just DIVORCE THAT HAPPENED BETWEEN CATHOLIC COUPLES. And the divorce that happened was against conscience though a must.
Then, the heart is deeply hurted inside and bleeding dearly. The mind is in a kind re-organizing itself to start a new life. Already some basic foundation is going on. ELF are still there barking and reminding the people their own history and not to repeat the same mistake. PFDJ is there claiming the divorce is illegal. He is bringing the marriage certificate again and again as a witness; He is sayign, “look this is our official marriage with its signature signed in 1994”. The people is scratching his head and say, “NO” and “YES”. NO, because they know they are deceived, YES, because they had believed before the marriage was eternal and hence against conscience.
Dear haile TG, PFDJ is knocking again and again the door of his x-couple. He is a wolf and is never ashamed to walk even naked with a torn sheep skin. Some people are trying to fix that torn skin (the reformers) believing that the divorce shouldn’t happen. They were there in the hall (Nakfa, 3rd congress). Still they want to make that marriage legitimate. Some are hesitating as they believed that what happened was a mistake but let’s try to be.
ELF is constantly rebuking for that divorce to happen.
The missing part here is then an institution that hosts the divorced couples and help them to restart life again.
EPLFites should stop bringing the marriage certificate and trying to fix the torn skin. simply because the people knows what it happened.
ELFites should stop rebuking simply because the marriage has now ended. It was unofficial and secret marriage but the divorce is unofficial but non-secret. Just like that of Catholic couple divorce.
On our part:
Dear haile TG, let’s provide a room for these recently divorced people. We should not go again to the “trust-me” approach and test the already bleeding hurt again and again. We should stop bring the marriage certificate and burking again and again for a divorce to happen.
PFDJ is a wolf and has to be weeded-out. ELFites should stop burking. Now, it is time to provide a peaceful house for the people. And the house should be clear from the very beginning. To make the house clear, all the people need is “law an rule of law”.
For the later, as you mentioned, some communities are becoming strong. The people is starting to build the house in different parts and lets work together and assemble them so that they can run as ONE (clustering).
You see, before, industries were so selfish that they were producing everything they need in one place. Now, they learned the concept of comparative advantage and resource allocation system. Different industries produce different items but for the same end product. This is what we should learn.
With Regards
tes
Rennes, France
09/05/2015
