Selam all,
First I would like to congratulate the MeKete team for putting up a very important petition drive on the White House website with a well-described instruction and nice screenshots to assist petitioners on how to navigate through the cumbersome process of signing this petition. Unfortunately only about 5 thousand petitions have been registered so far, which is a far cry from the 25 thousand signatures needed to reach the goal. So one questions that comes to mind is, why are we not close to reaching our goal with only 11 days to go? Naturally, there may be many answers to this, but this is not about may answers. It is about the one and only answer that I can think of, whick points at many of us, especially those with an access to the electronic world, and not doing our due diligence in getting more people to sign the petition. It is mind boggling to see close to 100 thousand Eritreans to demonstrate against the illegal and unjust sanction against Eritrea two years ago, but only 5 thousand signatures at the White House petition page. Why?
One can certainly point a finger at the Organizing Committees' lack of strategy on how to pump up the volume, but this alone cannot be a factor in the low numbers of signatures. We are a very tight-knit community and a word-of-mouth travels faster than any electronic gadget in our community. So if all of us can inform the people around us to take a few moment to sign this very IMPORTANT petition, may be, just maybe, we may be able to reach our goal. We have to make sure that signing this petition must be emphasized and that reaching this goal would mean a lot to our community, our people and our wounded Nation. We must emphasize that hrough this petition, we would be able to tell President Obama that he has a loose Eritrean-hater Ambassador at the United Nation that "has at times demonstrated adolescent tantrums and at other times a vehement attitude of vendetta, as commonly displayed by a jilted lover" as Seble Ephrem put it in her article titled "Failed U.S Endevours." Through this petition, we can send a message to the world’s most powerful President that we supported and voted for his Presidency but now we have become the subject of his UN Ambassador's unfair and unjust treatments. that resulted in unfair sanctions against our people. Finally, we must emphaisize that through this petition we can also remind President Obama that his promise of "constructive engagement" must prevail over the current policies of disengaging, isolating and cornering Eritrea.
So again and again, it must be emphasized and more emphasized by many of us that signing this petition, or assisting other to sign, is as important as holding a rally or a mass demonstration in front of the White House. It is as important as huddling up and shouting in front of the State Department. It is important and indeed very important, so let's go to work. 11 days to go over 19 thousands needed.
Let's just do it!!!!
https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions/!/petition/block-push-strengthen-existing-sanctions-and-lift-sanctions-were-imposed-eritrea/YjjGRqKK
Happy holidays,
Haile A.
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Received on Tue Dec 20 2011 - 13:47:02 EST