From: Savi Alazar (savialazar@gmail.com)
Date: Wed Jul 15 2009 - 07:33:15 EDT
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Campoasmara T <campoasmara@yahoo.com>
Date: Tue, Jul 14, 2009 at 10:23 PM
Subject: Re: Miss Eritrea 2009
To: savialazar@gmail.com
"Savi for savvy professionals"
I read your piece with great interest. It was straightforward, gutsy and to
the point. The reward you get from some people in Dehai for tabling your
opinion is downright silly
and childish. Each one of us have our own way of showing our love for our
country and people -- yours is by being blunt, inquisitive and honest.
For what it is worth I scribbled the attached piece and am soliciting your
help to post it in Dehai. I don't have posting privileges.
Regards,
--Belai Tewolde
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Greetings all,
I was pleasantly surprised to read the discourse underway in Dehai
regarding programming content on Eri-TV and the Eritrean Beauty
Pageant scheduled for July 25 in Asmara.
Two quick points:
the questioning and subjecting of government policy to analysis and
criticism is, to say the least, extraordinarily revealing and gutsy. I
hope this will mark a momentous milestone with outstanding significance
and consequence and not a fleeting phenomenon. However, I sense a
half-baked double standard in play here. For some time now it has
been the norm in Dehai to mobilize the cavalry to chastise anyone
who criticizes the Eritrean government for what he/she perceives are
serious lapses. Personally, I applaud any Eritrean who takes his
government to task on issues much more important and detrimental
to the country than “beauty pageants” or “ violence on TV..” Why are
unprejudiced and well-meaning concerns about the rule of law and
the constitution frowned upon, but issues like the ones being discussed
in Dehai perfectly kosher to vociferously lament about?
My second point:
whose life is it anyway?
Why are a bunch of “guys”, rather men, so incensed and uncomfortable
with the idea of perfectly intelligent women deciding to showcase
their beauty and talent? The contention that young girls could somehow
be swayed to follow in the footsteps of the contestants does not hold water.
Such an argument is totally baseless and absurd. If someone is determined to
become a doctor, engineer or a lawyer, nothing, least of all a beauty
pageant, will dissuade them. Whenever “western” style beauty pageant is
mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is “swim suit” contest or
scantly dressed women in the cat walk. No one even bothered to entertain
the possibility that the upcoming contest in Asmara could have a uniquely
Eritrean touch. The finalists could have undergone rigorous screening that
emphasized attributes other than “physical endowment.” Let us not
forget that these girls also have parents and family who love and care for
them? For us to agonize or feel anguish over this matter is simply
pretentious.
Most importantly, these girls are making a conscious and mature decision
that ought to be respected. An added bonus could be the respite the
"exercise"
provides the girls from the monotony of life in Eritrea.
Regards,
Belai