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From: Gabe Gebru (sgebru@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Mon Sep 20 2010 - 22:34:13 EDT
IN THE NAME OF COMMUNITY
The term 'community' means different things together, but a frequent usage assigns to Eritreans in Diaspora togetherness is rarely attainable. As such, 'community' becomes an amorphous criterion for measuring the pro and cons of our current government in Eritrea. This repressive approach to defining community not only creates undue pressure for the maintenance of organic relationships, despite changing political and economic processes, but it also becomes an instrument through which the fiction of bygone communities is used to justify the hate and negative campaign against Eritrea.
Of course, this is not the first time that the built form has been equated with so called Eritrean community to create a better society: we have witnessed many aesthetic attempts and efforts to use the communities for their ill political gains. The audacity of the new round of creating communities, however, lies in the grandness with which it hijacks the word 'community' to mean “OPPOSITION”, and provision of every amenity. This use of the word 'community' sends the message that all involved must be anti government and the peoples of Eritrea.
It is through the continued acts of living together and interacting that communities are created. The word 'community' cannot be presupposed for any new political campaign.
We should however be in full support of a community which is free of all political influence and promotes and advances the needs and cultural values of our people.
I think the strongest role that we can play in this arena is to create conditions that inspire social connections to blossom and flourish. In many cases, the basic social network of "community" already exists in a given area. Providing Eritreans with ideas to start businesses, gather, relax, perform, etc. is what will help these networks strengthen and develop. We are not, and should not be, social engineers. Our work does, however, impact and stimulate the Eritrean "community" in powerful ways, both by stilting its growth and promoting its expansion.
Weldeab Sium
Indianapolis