Radio Erena: 14 April 202
The National Holidays Committee (NHC) in charge of the National Day celebrations preparations issued this year’s celebration theme: Resilient: As Ever.
The remarkable themes of the past years’ celebrations where similar: Steadfastness, Solidarity and Unity Against All Odds …etc. it’s noticeable that all these themes are derived from the extensive and rich fields of resistance and confrontations: this year’s theme, which is no exception, reflects more the world of sports halls than patriotic resistance.
Resilience in general has varied connotations. In this particular context it has something to do with ‘punches’. It reflects Eritrea’s flexibility and that she can’t suffer ruptures after severe punches. All this gives the sense of being in a boxing ring: punches counter punches, knockouts, mouth guards and gloves: the overwhelming sense of a frenzied boxing match.
Where do these ‘warrior-spirited’ themes come from? Is it from the heritage of the past thirty years of bitter armed struggle? From watchful observation and examination one discovers that these themes have another hidden source: the theory of conspiracy.
Almost all of the themes are telling. They are yelling to say that Eritrea can persist and survive against the conspiracies and the mechanisation of its malicious foes.
The Conspiracy theory springs from the head of a paranoid dictator; a dictator who can’t live without enemies: real or imagined. The conspiracy theory which is reflected in this theme, unconsciously, aims at providing a sort of ‘legitimacy’ to a ‘leader’ and a government who are entirely illegitimate.
Keep the ‘imminent’ danger present in the hearts and minds of the people so the people don’t have the time to question your authority and its legitimacy.
Is Eritrea resilient at the present? The right question is not that but it’s rather: Resilient to what? The answer will inevitably lead to the conspiracy theory.
In the past thirty years, the country has been hospitable to only one thing: the changes that lead to the abyss: forced conscription, mass immigration, political stagnation and international isolation, in addition to the complete loss of faith in the past and the future.
The immediate implication of this year’s theme is telling. Eritrea has survived the Woyane mischievous agenda as we were told; and it has also survived the Khartoum regime Islamic agenda in (1994-1997); and it has likewise outlived its enemies in Badme’s War (1998-2000), and finally it also emerged victorious from the lasting Woyane conspiracies in the years 2000-2018.
All these themes and rhetoric come in one-package formula from the same sources. Not only Eritrea has survived regional conspiracies, we are told, but it also resisted heroically the international conspiracies; all under the judicious and undefeated leadership of DIA.
The rhetoric and themes extracted from this pathological setting portray Eritrea as an innocent lamb in the jungle of ravenous lions; and the sole protector is the ‘Ever-Resilient Leader’.
What we have is: Deception: As Ever, rather than Resilient: As Ever.
It’s the morning of 30th year of independence; it’s the time to wake up.
By Fathi Osman
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