From: Merhawie (merhawie@gmail.com)
Date: Thu Jun 25 2009 - 21:41:15 EDT
Berhani and Elsa Kiflom,
I fear that I must agree with Biniam Haile.
First of all, let us dispense with your feigned indignation. You will
understand why by the conclusion, but for now, trust me.
Secondly, let me confirm this series of statements (which I have extracted
from your reply). First you said, "The fact of the matter is this; you have
already tarnished the good
reputation of the president by accusing him of collaborating with an
Ethiopian Restaurant." Then you followed with, "... you should be more open
min[d]ed and learn how to unite instead of injecting outdated ideas and
philosophies."
The reason that I bring up this series of statements is that it seems that
at first you are suggesting that you are concerned that the "President" has
been tarnished as a result of being associated with an Ethiopian restaurant
while in latter quote, you seem to be saying that that would be an
out-of-date philosophy/mode of thinking.
Personally, I dont care if you run an "Ethiopian" restaurant, obviously that
is your business (both literally and figuratively), however, you claim to be
proud of your Eritreanness. This is interesting though because you seem to
suggest that your "patriotism" could be called into question as a result.
Look, if you are concerned about the name of the restaurant you could always
identify as an Eritrean restaurant (even at the least, and I must say I am
not a fan of this, you could call it an Eritrean & Ethiopian restaurant).
Thirdly, I am sorry that this has "exasperated our mental anxiety and could
negatively impact our standing in the community" but I think the cat has
been out of the bag about you running an "Ethiopian restaurant" since you
put up the sign. Now psychological issues are a serious matter and deserve
due attention, however, I posit that your statement suggests that your
mental anxiety is preexisting condition and not of Mike's doing.
Finally, as far as your statement about Eritrean and Ethiopian
brotherhood...no. Perhaps I should explain myself, Eritreans and Ethiopians,
are neighbors not brothers, just as Eritreans and Sudanese are neighbors.
Now this of course does not discount the possibility of individual familial
relation, but let us not pretend that as a group Eritreans and Ethiopians
have a familial relationship. Its not like we are North and South Koreans,
it's more like we are the Japanese and the Koreans. To be clear, I wouldnt
mind having a neighbor over for dinner, but if he suggests that my home is
his home because he thinks we are brothers, well he's got something else
coming!
With respect and concern,
Merhawie