I learned today that the writer behind the screen who translated a moving story about Doctor Belaynesh is a little Dawit who is eleven years old. He is whom the psychologists or special education teachers call a child prodigy or gifted. From the perspective of his writing, he is far and away or beyond standardized educational level appropriate for his age. He reminds me of a five-years old Eritrean child who asked to a human service worker who came to his house for a visit by saying " Why do women cry when they see a beautiful thing?" We were perplexed to hear such sensitive question from an inquisitive child who is only supposed to acquire expressive skills in accordance with developmental milestone. In this response, the Social Worker told me that the child needed to move to to an area where he could receive a special attention by educators. Presumably he meant to middle class neighborhood as opposed to his living quarter where the quality of education and social life is poor.
With this in mind, I realize countless Eritrean children do not receive a special attention lack of awareness associated with poorly educated parents. We have to identify them the way the Eritrean community identified Dawit to be a keynote speaker at a time when President Isayas Afewerki and other leading government officials attended a mammoth meeting in New York. He is a beacon of hope and inspiration for thousands of Eritrean children who seek a role model among their own. In this country peer influence is stronger than that of parents' whose authority is likely to be challenged by fast-paced social and technological changes.
Again Bravo Dawit. May Eritrea blessed with thousands of Dawits. kemaKa shiH yweledu. Habrom. I congratulate your dear parents too. They deserve it!
Haile Bokure
Received on Sat Jun 29 2013 - 22:02:39 EDT