... Even where violence has been engaged e.g. torture of young people in the military training centres the main objective seems to be humiliating the subjects... and seem to have had the desired effect of complete subjugation... for how else is it possible for a father whose son disappeared in the Sinai and whose daughter became a colonel's concubine and whose wife has to queue up for his two breads a day; would silently carry a loaded Kalashnikov and goes out combat training at 4:00 am before his morning shift at 6:00 am? Internalised shame that is how... the despicable dictator's worst crime against my people so far as I am concerned is the fact that he reduced my brave and upright compatriots renowned for their courage to shadows of their former selves...

[view whole blog post ]

The Eritrean-Ethiopian conflict is based more on subjective attitudes rather than any intrinsic irreconcilable differences. Hence the first step to solving this intractable relationship is changing the psyche.

The subjective underpinnings of this conflict make solving this problem both easy and at the same time difficult. If the problem is objective and the counter parties are level headed, it is easier to find objective solutions. However, subjective differences deeply engrained in tradition take longer to change. Fortunately, there is a strong undercurrent of change.

[view whole blog post ]

... the tragedy in Eritrea has been not only socially engineered and carried out by the elite for a long duration, but is taken as a virtue to be proud of and keep for posterity. ... Hence, they are all culpable. Isaias cannot substitute Oedipus. Clearly, the reason for the so far eluding catharsis cannot be separated from the wish to attribute every crime in the land to Nsu, or the dictator.

Thus, the verdict of a collective self-blinding in a symbolic sense proposed here applies to all of us. The shame and indignity is such that, had such similar event happened in a country such as old Japan, the Samurai elite wound not have hesitated to commit a seppuku, a suicide by disembowelment with a short dagger.

[view whole blog post ]

... the tragedy in Eritrea has been not only socially engineered and carried out by the elite for a long duration, but is taken as a virtue to be proud of and keep for posterity. ... Hence, they are all culpable. Isaias cannot substitute Oedipus. Clearly, the reason for the so far eluding catharsis cannot be separated from the wish to attribute every crime in the land to Nsu, or the dictator.

Thus, the verdict of a collective self-blinding in a symbolic sense proposed here applies to all of us. The shame and indignity is such that, had such similar event happened in a country such as old Japan, the Samurai elite wound not have hesitated to commit a seppuku, a suicide by disembowelment with a short dagger.

[view whole blog post ]

"I am particularly concerned about the increasing number of unaccompanied children crossing the border without the knowledge of their families," Ms. Keetharuth said. "Children regularly mentioned dysfunctional family circumstances due to the long absence of the father, most of the time because of conscription, lack of educational opportunities and the fear of forced conscription into indefinite national service as major reasons for their decisions to flee."

The Special Rapporteur voiced particular concern about the indefinite national service, the ongoing practice of arbitrary arrest and incommunicado detention in inhumane conditions and widespread torture, both physical and psychological, during interrogation by the police, military and security forces. Mere suspicion appears to ...

[view whole blog post ]

We are certain that Your Majesty will, as always, use your wisdom and enlightened leadership to look into the problems related to Eritreans who are on their way to be deported to their country because of the situation in which their country currently lives and which the international community is daily and closely monitoring. Therefore, we urge Your Majesty to intervene and take the necessary measures that stops the deportation of Eritreans to a country that will receive them with open prisons, drawn swords, indefinite military conscription and forced labour, programs of human degradation, religious intolerance, humiliation and total disregard to the dignity and respect of women who were well-protected by your laws, virtues, traditions and culture.

[view whole blog post ]

The following is an excerpt of accumulated questions sent by interested Eritreans at various times to the editorial section of the America Team to be answered by Mr. John Stauffer, president of the America Team for Displaced Eritreans. Mr. John Stauffer, 70, is an American who since 2004 has been working continuously to help asylum-seeking Eritreans get refuge and assist them in living a stable life wherever they are relocated. Mr. Stauffer is a retiree after 38 years of honorable work in U.S. industry, and has after retirement dedicated all his time working day and night to help Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers with advocacy and covering pertinent expenses often with his own resources. No wonder, today, many Eritreans call him the "father indeed of Eritreans in need." ...

[view whole blog post ]

The following is an excerpt of accumulated questions sent by interested Eritreans at various times to the editorial section of the America Team to be answered by Mr. John Stauffer, president of the America Team for Displaced Eritreans. Mr. John Stauffer, 70, is an American who since 2004 has been working continuously to help asylum-seeking Eritreans get refuge and assist them in living a stable life wherever they are relocated. Mr. Stauffer is a retiree after 38 years of honorable work in U.S. industry, and has after retirement dedicated all his time working day and night to help Eritrean refugees and asylum seekers with advocacy and covering pertinent expenses often with his own resources. No wonder, today, many Eritreans call him the "father indeed of Eritreans in need." ...

[view whole blog post ]

when declared war & hostility  sub-merges

trapped in the mind set of vengeance

[view whole blog post ]

On Saturday, May 11, 2013, at 9:00 PM Berlin Time (at 12:00 PM Los Angeles Time), Yosief Ghebrehiwet will give a speech in Smerr PalTalk under the tile, "After Forto".

In this Paltalk presentation, various themes will be brought together to explain the current quandary of regime change in Eritrea, its various weak links explored and some suggestions proposed. Some of the questions that will be explored are:

[view whole blog post ]