Welcome Mrs. Natalie Brown to Eritrea
Names from many lands intrigue me! Often times, at first encounter, I ask
the name of the person. It happened one day, at Wells Fargo, I met a
certain African-American bank teller by the name “Allora.” I asked her why she
is called by that name. She said, “ My Mom gave me that name?” In this
response, I asked her if she knew the origin of her name, and the meaning
associated with it. She retorted in a cozy smile, “I don’t know.” With
out-strerched hand, I said to her, “It is an Italian word which means so then….?”
she smiled again squarely and shyly. What unexpected rendezvous at a time
when some impatient people were waiting behind me in the line. I was drawn
in a fathomless sea of wonder. With courtesy, that is the nature of some
imaginative writers: so reactive, so inquisitive, so analyzing, and so
restless.
In this connection, in our society, we value also the names as the saying
goes in Tigrigna: “ ጥዋፍ የብርህ፡ ስም ይመርሕ” meaning a candle emits
light; and the person with an exemplary name leads right.
If that is so, “hallelujah” in case in American culture the name “Natalie”
signifying a person born in Christmas is interpreted as the following:-
“People with the name “Natalie” have a deep inner need for quiet, and a
desire to understand and analyze the world they live in, and to learn the
deeper truths. People with this name are competent, practical, and often
obtain great power and wealth. They tend to be successful in business and
commercial affairs, and are able to achieve great material dreams. Because they
often focus so strongly on business and achievement, they may neglect their
private lives and relationships.”
Dear friends, do I sound sentimental or superstitious? I prefer to be
optimistic. Otherwise, only time, the great judge (Dan or ዳኛ) will tell.
Obviously, a person with such character in one way or another may be
needed in improving Eritrean-American relationship as long as the U.S. policies
and directives are concerned. We must understand her limitation. For
American bureaucracy cannot be seen apart from Corporate America with its web of
laws, unspoken rules, procedures, and not to mention the instability of
ever-changing America demanding the flexibility and ability to predict the
unpredictable or to see the unseen. Of course, this may not be compatible in
the light of the fabric of our society which is too static.
In the meantime, Mrs. Brown I would like you to feel at home while you are
in Eritrea. The people are hospitable, and some of those who are in the
higher echelon of civil service are cosmopolitans by virtue of their long
residency in foreign countries. What is more….Eritrea is full of those earlier
generations whom the Americans left their mark during their long stay at
Kangew base. They are nostalgic of the old-good- days, and for this, they
will welcome you warmly.
In the meantime, off to a good start!
Peace! Selam! Shalom! Pace!
Haile Bokure
Received on Fri Sep 30 2016 - 08:50:17 EDT