In the Spirit of the Holiday Season

Many people are trying to make the best out of the harsh fall and winter season weathers by reviving their holiday spirits. Thanksgiving day will soon be followed by Christmas and new year. The holiday shopping spree will be in full swing. President Obama has hosted his first Presidential dinner and Michelle Obama appeared in a stunning dress made by a little known costume designer. For those who have not been affected by the economic slump down the holidays will come and go as always. But for those who have lost their jobs and are underwater in their mortgages, this holiday season may not be as exciting as it ought to be. My friend who is trying to buy a home said this to me. “As I go around looking for properties, I am stunned by the fact that some homes are available for almost half of what the original home buyers paid for them. It gives me a depressing feeling as I watch many trying to dispose of their homes as quickly as they could especially during the holiday season when they ought to celebrate like every one else.”

Well, it looks like millions of Americans will only try to make the best out of the depressing economic situation. The stimulus package has not brought about an economic turn around. Unemployment is at its record high, home foreclosures and chapter 11 bankruptcies are increasing at a staggering speed. President Obama's campaign promises are not materializing. And his administration is being challenged by a Republican onslaught. The economic slump down is surely affecting every body including the sizable immigrant population .

Many Eritreans in the Diaspora have been generous providers for family and friends back home. Even the Eritrean government is often said to survive on Diaspora remittances. Come new year, Eritreans back home do their shopping by money sent to them from the U.S and elsewhere. But due to job loses and difficult economic times, the Eri-Diaspora community is also trying to make ends meet and remittances to Eritrea have surely taken a hit. On top of that there are so many troublesome political developments in Eritrea that keep the Eri-Diaspora community pretty concerned and worried. So, the Eri-Diaspora community is facing a double jeopardy. That is, on one hand it is suffering from the consequences of an economic slump down in their adopted country and on the other hand a persistent sense of helplessness for failing to be there for their folks in Eritrea to help them out ride through even worse economic times there.

Whenever I am faced with a puzzling situation I often confide my worries to the friend of mine whom I have mentioned above. I asked him, “what do you make of the situation facing the Eri-Diaspora community in light of the economic meltdown here in the U.S.?” My friend never seems to run out of wisdom quips. And in a very confident way, he replied, “We Eritreans are like a well tested metal. The more we are hit by challenges and disasters, not of our own making, we get stronger and resolute. So, we will ride over this economic slump down triumphantly.” Well, that is why I like this friend of mine. He is the type that will comfort you even when you are in a state of an acute depression. So, in the interest of keeping my holiday spirits high, I am relying on his advice more frequently than I used to be. He has become my de facto therapist.


The day before yesterday, while having a delightful rendezvous with my ever optimistic and enthusiastic friend in a Starbuck café, we saw a young man who appeared to be in his late twenties ordering coffee. The guy is surely the type that will attract people’s attention because of his extremely lean stature and hollow chicks. “That guy sure looks strange”., I said. My friend made a quick glance at the guy and he started staring at me quizzically. The expression on his face changed. His flamboyant and vibrant attitude slumped in to a sad and sarcastic mood. And finally, he said to me, “You don't get it, do you? You don’t want to talk to that guy now if you want to keep your holiday spirits high.” I was very puzzled by that and I asked my friend, “Why, who is that guy?’. My friend started to respond to me in a condescending manner and finally he said, “I don’t blame you for your …… You have been in the U.S for over twenty years, enjoying a settled life with your family. How can you feel the pain of that man? You cannot?” My friend has that Asmarino pitch on him while talking that makes you feel guilty for a crime that you did not commit. But to avoid further put downs I started to figure out who that guy could be without the help of my friend.

By that time, the guy was joined by another guy who is even more thinner and leaner than him. A few more minutes later, the crowd grew bigger. The conversation grew louder. The young guys started chatting about strange happenings and sojourns. For a second I thought I was reading Herman Melville's book Moby Dick. I was so absorbed by the stories I was hearing. I started eavesdropping in an obviously intrusive manner.

Puzzled by the expression on my face, my friend tapped on my shoulders. But I did not let him open his mouth to talk to me. I was bit calling for further embarrassment. And I said to him, “You’re right, I am one spoiled and hyphenated Eritrean. I need to be born again to feel the pains of my folks.” After pausing for a minute, I continued, “What we have got there is not one tested metal but a bunch of them. But like you said, let’s keep our holiday spirits high. Because those guys are impeccable. According to what I have overheard, they have made it through two deserts, three oceans and three continents to get here. They will be OK now that they are here”.

I parted from my friend with a deep feeling of defeat and guilt. But I also cleverly hid my emotional turbulence from my Asmarino friend for fear of being prodded deeper by my him in our future encounters. Give an Asmarino an inch of yourself he will take a meter of it. I know of that during my high school days. So, with an awkward sense of self perseverance, I proceeded to where my car has been parked. But before entering into my car, I glanced back to where the “proven metals” were having a continued and heated conversation. They surely seem to have a lot to cover in their conversations. I wished them good luck. And now I have come up with my new year's resolution for 2010. And that is to get to know these brave Eritreans and to see what I can do to comfort and encourage them and also to know what got them into risking their lives to make such treacherous journeys. I empathize with them in the spirits of the holiday season.

What a marvelous and challenging thing it is to be an Eritrean. Our wish list is growing taller, our problems deeper, our hopes blurrier. What a challenge it is to be party to the fanfare and decorum of a western holiday while at the same time thinking of all the trials and tribulations of our people. How far can one split his human spirit between an assumed state of holiday bliss in the U.S. and a subduing reflection of countless accounts of human tragedy in Eritrea. Well, we got to do what we got to do. After all we are Eritreans. We never kneel down. Do we? Our challenges are great but we should never let ourselves be overwhelmed by them. We need to enjoy our holidays season just like every body else in spite of our insurmountable problems.

Happy Thanksgiving!