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From: hbokure@aol.com
Date: Sun Jun 13 2010 - 18:06:48 EDT
Book "duqan tberh"
Author: Beyene Haile
Language: Tigrigna
Reviewed by: Haile Bokure
This is a dramatic book encompassing over half dozen protagonists representing every member of our society at large. They act as intellectuals, artists, commoners, pragmatists and drifters. The scene is Duquan Tiberh symbolizing Eritrea where the aforementioned actors meet and debate on social issues, culture shock, generational gap, marketing and future course of Eritrea. Due to different life experiences, mind set and school of thought acquired in the West, they tend to disagree. The author with sympathetic understanding defines this phenomenon as a perceptual issue. By representing one of the protagonists as a camera man, the writer elicits his shortcoming in viewing from the perspective of imagery devoid of actual feelings and experiences of the people. Out of this dilemma, the question “ From what angle did you see?” is born out dominating the thesis of this complex book.
The author in connection with his satirical, philosophical and psychoanalytic interpretations recreats figurative terms such “Embaba ‘imni, gTmi , medrK teK’ilotat, Harmaz, AnaSu” etc. signifying the importance of building industrial society not by mere intellectual discourse, but by cultivating a highly skilled people. He convinces by way of his protagonist the importance of realistic national plan in which different sectors of the state machinery are likely to work in a composite whole. In other words, like that poetic rhyme or jigsaw puzzle symbolzing a different curved stones that are likely to produce a complete picture.
The author by embarking on his psychoanalytic skills based on cognitive therapy pinpoints the need for self-analysis on the part of educated class. Instead of hiding behind professional jargon, ambiguous test results, acrobatic words, he suggests to engage themselves actively and creatively in meaningful and productive works. Like Pirandello, he attempts to sensitize such critical views by projecting a drama in which the entire audience participates as actors and spectators as well. It looks like Freudian play therapy, a technique which is used in group therapy. Similarly, the author recommends the need to change the mind frame of ruling class in Ethiopia in an effort to stop invading Eritrea. The rationale behind this aggressive stance is the absence of justness and sense of mission in engaging in destructive act that hurts not only immediate family members but the entire human kind as well.
As long as the role of Eritran intellectuals on nation building is concerned, I think that the author seems to overlook the systematic and institutionalized discrimination involved in hindering our intellectuals from acquiring professional skills and technical know how. There is much secrecy in industrial West emanated from fear of transferring technology to the third world. That is why the majority of them are ended up in teaching profession or in low level management positions. Some of them could be overly trained or qualified, and thus Eritrea could not accommodate them in terms of their professions and needs too.
The author's language and analytic skills are superb indeed. This is not ordinary book to swallow, but a serious book to digest with diverse literary styles and philosophical assumptions. He narrates freely without a single point in mind. For this, it demands patience and a careful reading from the very beginning to the end. This book is a must for those who want a challenge in reading Tigrigna at a higher level. It can be ordered by writing to:-
Awget
P.O. Box 1291
Asmara, Eritrea
Haile Bokre