ERITREA: APOLOGIES FOR THE INCONVENIENCE ... WE ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

ERITREA:  APOLOGIES FOR THE INCONVENIENCE … WE ARE UNDER CONSTRUCTION!

Is Eritrea faulty by design? 

Some have the designs, others are in the business of finding faults, some others are restless trying to mend the crack, few more are too blind to see either and the rest are hopeless or helpless to even lift a finger. 

The base upon which this Eritrea nation is erected is so weighed down by a history of loss on a scale not yet fully explored.  Is it any wonder then the Eritrean identity as such is a lost identity or, more precisely, an identity of loss that is not safe to identify with?

Eritreans talk or boast about their diversity of cultures, languages, religions and ethnic groups and the landscape that made Eritrea what it is.  If the ‘loss operator’ is applied on all these, the damage that has been inflicted over the last 20 years is immense.  What happened before then – over a span of at least 80 years – is another story.

In the face of what is going horribly wrong, some Eritreans do not even hesitate to shout, “Apologies for the inconvenience… we are under construction!”

Is it really because they themselves are under construction and a hollowed mouthpiece for a regime going stiff under our own eyes?

An intricate network of threads has been left hanging and Eritrea seems to be at a loss to make ends meet.  If Eritrea were a person, it would be diagnosed with what one would simply call trauma and the classic symptoms are denial, refusal to seek help, blaming the other and inability to acknowledge loss of control which, as a whole, result in destabilizing and abusing the family, the community, the work environment or, given the chance and pushed further, the nation itself.

In some cases this behaviour has, unfortunately, evolved to assume a lifestyle status.  It has affected hundreds of thousands that it has become normal.  It has yet to be identified as social illness on a massive scale.  Should we be so surprised then ‘blaming the other’ or asking for help ‘behind closed doors’ is a norm among Eritreans?  Isn’t that the style of governance practiced by the Eritrean regime itself? 

An Eritrean woman who is born and bred in the Western world goes for holidays to Eritrea every year says it is all good and great.  When asked how the people are living their lives and the rest, she says, “My father says it’s all a matter of time.  They might have problems now but they are doing it for the future.”

So says the father!  This is gospel truth.

She seems to have no meaningful identification or empathy with what is really going on and absolutely no sense of the gravity of it all.  ‘Nothing bad should be said about Eritrea because it might offend her feelings about her father,’ is the kind of impression she gives or probably a justification upon which her ‘identity’ is based.   This kind of identity, neither national and nor related to the kind of social environment she is at ease with, does not reflect the grim cloud under which the Eritrean people have been surviving for some time.

For some others, it is a personal property – under construction, of course.

On the other side of the spectrum, there is a soft-spoken Eritrean whose sister was killed in the war of independence and finds it unable to differentiate or untangle the idea of free Eritrea with the current regime in Eritrea.  He seems to be swimming in deep loss and grief to the extent that supporting the current government is the only way up to breathe some air.  For him, it is probably his way of paying tribute to his sister – another way of saying, ‘she did not die in vain.’

In between, there are all sorts of frequencies that one can hear – from deafening silence to outright blasts of denial while filaments of reasonable debate flicker in the background like a torchlight searching for voices in the dark.

Eritreans talk about unity in diversity in a nation that is literally dying a slow death.  Nationalism aside, they could have forged unity of purpose in three basic denominators that could build the foundations and project the aspirations of peoples who lost so much for so little: protect the values of basic human rights, ensure a fair distribution of wealth and maintain a sustainable level of openness.  Like a jigsaw puzzle, the rest would probably fall into place.  It may sound simplistic but that is exactly the groundwork upon which social stability can be built.

Basically, the early shoots of these three cornerstones were systematically destroyed by the current regime in Eritrea.  In its place, it defined Eritrean nationalism – call it patriotism – and the Eritrean identity by borderlines on a map spiced-up by an attitude of defiance in defence of the indefensible. 

‘All we care about is lines on a map!’ is the unspoken slogan of the current regime while you have all sorts of people crossing the line and running for cover.  Figure that out! 

Imagine an island that emerged from nowhere.  There must have been some tectonic plates rubbing shoulders, shifting gear underneath and raising earth quakes from deep down the ocean that triggers the emergence of lava and landmass from submerged space out into the open.  That is natural breathing.

The making of Eritrea is not that different and hence, the feeling of perpetual displacement.  Unlike the island which eventually becomes part of the landscape or seascape, Eritrea stands out in the open or independent – as Eritreans would love to put it – but unable to breathe or find its proper base and be part of the surrounding.  Despite its never-ending and deafening claim of self-reliance, it just gives the impression of an uprooted and suffocated nation.  It has an endless list of accusations blaming the outside world while failing to acknowledge it was made by the outside world.  What nation on earth could claim it wasn't made by an outside influence?  Look at a map of nation states for the last 150 years. 

Let alone be at peace with itself, Eritrea has a history of igniting conflict in the neighbourhood.  It is a nation under extreme pressure and almost disabled to come to terms with its own statehood.  It is not surprising why it could not maintain any stable relationship with any nation state on the map.  One finds it difficult to even call it a nation state.  It doesn’t have those basic ingredients or requirements that hold a nation together.

The real question is: what is eating the insides of Eritrea to gradually collapse under its own weight?

Eritrea has become a shop window of a nation state with a scaffolding set from ground up with a ‘business as usual’ sign hanging slightly tilted outside the main entrance and security guards – so insecure themselves – are spread out while the majority of the people are literally existing under a slave-like atmosphere.  Behind all that façade, the goods inside are being hollowed or dug out for sale – a savage act that is baring the bones of a not-yet-fully-formed nation.

People are dying a slow death and there are a few who are brave enough to talk about it.  There are a few more who don’t want to know.  It has come to a point when someone says to you, “History will be the judge,” with a surround sound system right beside you and forces you to ask that dreadful question, “Where was I?”

The table has turned and what is left remains to be seen.  It wouldn’t be that far fetched to embark on an ‘archaeological journey’ or a ‘forensic investigation’ into the ‘fossil’ of Eritrea while it is still breathing.  As one of the last nation states to emerge from Africa, it would probably serve as a good example on how nation states were made and corrode in the process – in fast forward but, back in slow motion.

The current crisis – very serious crisis – is an outcome of a cocktail of euphoric relief, total and absolute trust, wilful blindness and dead tiredness on top of groundless and misguided overconfidence.

Forging a nation is one thing and beating it to death is quite another.  Despite all that desperate need to open their eyes to the living, Eritreans still talk about ‘martyrs’ who shed their blood for the liberation and independence of Eritrea.  In hindsight, it looks and feels like a stream of bloodshed – the only thread that binds Eritrea’s unsustainable present.  Eritrea is suffering from a disability in that it has become a ‘nation state’ unable to be accountable and take responsibility for its own actions.

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