[DEHAI] Fwd: Miss Eritrea 2009


New Message Reply About this list Date view Thread view Subject view Author view

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
 ***************************************************************************************************

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


New Message Reply About this list Date view Thread view Subject view Author view

webmaster
© Copyright DEHAI-Eritrea OnLine, 1993-2009
All rights reserved