Afar University at Assab – Polarization with an Eritrean Student
Dr. Muhammad Shamsaddin Megalommatis
September 18, 2008
Among the standpoints, approaches, ideas and suggestions contained in that article, the most controversial one was undoubtedly my Call for an Afar University at the city – harbour of Assab, in the southernmost confines of Eritrea.
For a nation deprived of state, like the Afars who have been the victims of a colonial trichotomy (Eritrea, Djibouti and Abyssinia), with high illiteracy rate, plunged in drought and poverty, and threatened by adverse natural phenomena (floods and stagnant waters), a national university sounds as a faraway dream. Sensible voices remark that the lack of primary and secondary schools is overwhelming, only to limit the discussion within educational context.
One of the mails I received may be a good reason for an extended polarization on the subject; written by a Hamassien Eritrean student in North America, the letter evolves around several subjects, not only the Afar University project suggestion.
I will therefore publish this mail, without the slightest editing, encrusting in the text numbers that relate to the points of my commentary, which will be found after the letter. After the commentary, I will discuss the necessity of the project (for the Afar nation and the state of Eritrea), and its feasibility under (even) the current circumstances.
Letter sent by an Eritrean reader,
Dear Dr. Muhammad,
I read the your exuberant article titled "Red Sea Afars deserve Respect as Eritrean Citizens – Call for an Afar University at Asab" found at http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/74386 with great interest and as an Eritrean I thought I might engage you in email discussion with regards to your topic and several points you raised in your email.
Of course I would like to clear first and foremost a wrong perception that might click to your mind: I am not trying to argue based on ethnicity: I see Afar, Kunama, Seraye, Tigre, Akeleguzai, Hamassien, Rashaida, and any remaining tribes or ethnic groups in Eritrea as Eritreans united for a better, prosperous, democratic, free, people oriented, not dictatorial, and peaceful Eritrea. 1
I found in your article several points I don't agree with and that are totally out of main stream Eritreans thoughts and feelings at the moment. 2 To start with, you said (I quote) "The scholarships offered by ´Arab countries´ were allocated to lowland Muslims Tigre while the scholarships granted by Western countries were given to the Hamasen Tigrinya. The Red Sea Afar people didn´t benefit from the scholarships granted to the Eritrean people indiscriminately." (quote ends). 3
Now let's try to detail this. Let me first introduce myself to you. My name is …….. …………….. (at this point, I respect the reader´s demand and don´t disclose the personal names and sex), I am a Ph.D. student studying at a prestigious university in Canada, I am from Hamassien ethnic group just for completeness. (allow me not to go to details about me for reasons that will be clear as we go.)
As a student who has fled my country's dictatorial government 4 and as someone who spent the last twelve (12) years immigrating from country to country trying to study and work and apply for scholarships, let me make it very clear that it is a complete WRONG to claim western scholarships go to Hamassiens. 5 Look I, while in Africa, applied for Master's studies where I asked for scholarship as well in several countries: US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zeeland to mention a few. There was no a single question in application forms that asked me if I am Hamassien, Tigre, or Afar or anything like that. You can download application forms from Universities and see it for yourself. What it asks is GPA, Research ability or experience and references. Full stop. Finally I got a scholarship in Europe and for my Ph.D. I got scholarship in Canada. 6
Let me now also clear few things. Probably your claim about ethnic based scholarships from western countries are those that come to Eritrean Government or University of Asmara, Eritrea (before its demise) 7 and that people were being selected by the government or the university based on ethnicity (by the way the university was a surrogate of the dictator government anyways). I respectfully disagree sir. Why? I have been in University of Asmara in 1996 and there was scholarship to Taiwan and then to Ethiopia (before the two dictators stupid, pointless, aimed at elongating their grab of power border conflict). Both scholarships were open to University of Asmara students and application process was so open that in fact the names of those who succeeded were displayed along with their GPA. In short GPA was a factor. Nothing more nothing less. 8
So sir, respectfully I don't think it is fair to claim to talk for Eritrean Afars on the basis on wrong, misleading, and erroneous backgrounds. 9 Don't get me wrong: I am not in any way saying Afars don't deserve session or otherwise. I don't want to engage myself in to that discussion because I believe I am not fully informed. Rather I am challenging your reasoning because they are absolutely wrong.
Next, do Afars deserve a university in Assab? Yes sure absolutely. I wish every city, town or village had schools, colleges and universities. 10 However your misrepresentation of facts 11 doesn't help Afars. I don't really know what you mean by Afar University? 12 Do you mean a university that teaches in Afar language? 13 I just hope not otherwise I will challenge you every country (in Africa, Europe, North America, Asia,....) may have several ethnic groups and languages but it is practically impossible to have university in everyone's language. 14 Do you have any idea what Science is all about Sir? 15 Say a university in Afar language opens, 16 for Gods sake what books are the students to use? 17 How are they going to work with lab machines including microscopes, telescopes and even a computer that are labeled and whose instruction manual is in most cases in English? 18 How are they going to publish their research findings? 19 How are they going to collaborate with other universities? 20 I mean did you really think about what you means by Afar University 21 or you were simply writing to fool yourself and thinking to fool Afars to follow you? 22 My personal belief is YES Afars deserve schools, colleges, and universities. 23 Primary school I would say in mother language but starting from Secondary school all the way to University 24 and in University should be in English for the students (Afar people and Eritrean people as a whole) benefit. 25
That way if we could get to the point where we have a democratic government, 26 be it Afar or non Afar students could benefit by applying for scholarships to study further abroad. 27 Come on Dr. Muhammad, are you aware that King Fahad University teaches in English? 28 Now tell me how cruel you could be to joke like this with poor peoples lives and use it for political ends? 29 In the first place you are not even Afar or Eritrean for that matter to talk with such affirmative tone 30 as though you really cared. 31 If you are doing it to make yourself famous, 32 please use some Hollywood actors or Bush/Mc Cain/Obama stuff 33 and proceed and don't play 34 with poor people conditions for your own purpose. God doesn't even like it. 35 How can you claim you are Muslim and do this Sir? 36 I can't believe a well educated person like you may indulge himself in such shameful and ignorant claims and proposals. Sorry. 37
Finally, while it pains me as Eritrean, the fact is the tyrannical government in the country is dictating and making Eritreans in the country suffer as a whole. 38 At least as far as I know, there is no any ethnic group that is getting privileged or disadvantaged. 39 Every ethnic group in equal manner is suffering. 40 Young people from everywhere are being conscripted by force to military 41, young people in thousands per month are fleeing the country and many dieing in Sahara Desert and Mediterranean sea, and some have even finished their lives with different means. 42 All this out of anger, frustration and hopelessness from their government. To make it clear, I believe we Eritreans all of us without any separation of ethnicity deserve better government. 43 We have all struggled for independence equally, and I believe secessionism 44 doesn't help 45 but of course as I said I have no full information so if I were to have clear information that they are being marginalized, then I would support their sovereignty. 46
To conclude, I believe from Elementary or secondary schools point of view, the dictatorial government despite all its evil administrative ways has been doing very good work throughout Eritrea including in Denkalia. 47 However the fact that no college has been opened as you claimed (I have to confirm), it causes series questions in my mind. 48 Why? Of course as a matter of fact we should also ask ourselves the demography (or population size) before we make conclusions. If I am convinced that the population there is too small and that it in fact makes more sense to have only up to high school there but the colleges/universities elsewhere where the population is higher but surely give the students from the region access (like dormitory, food, and other support) then I would definitely support such strategy. 49
Thanks Dr. Muhammad for your article and I hope you will read my email and reflect about my arguments (points) and hopefully open your eyes in the future.
Thanks again. 50
Commentary
1. This is a wish, and as such it is certainly worthy considering; we have however to always bear in mind the distance from reality that it may have, and more importantly, the successive steps needed to bridge the gap. Finding out the correct method is in this case seminally significant; otherwise a definitely good intention can bring the worst results.
There is more to it; I would rather view the wish as incomplete. It is certainly positive to envision different nations living together and being "prosperous", "democratic", "free" and "peaceful". Is it enough? Is there something missing?
Of course!
Top Priorities for Every Nation
The most important elements are missing:
1) national integrity,
2) historical authenticity,
3) cultural continuity, and
4) diachronic identity.
What a Nation is Bound to Avoid
It is certainly good to find different people living together within one state but this should not involve
a) national disintegration,
b) historical falsification,
c) cultural discontinuity, and
d) confused or even lost identity.
What is the importance of a nation "living" together with other peoples, if the price is loss of integrity and identity?
If living together with other nations occurs under dire circumstances that violate every nation´s holiest value, its national integrity, historical authenticity, cultural continuity, and diachronic identity, what is the purpose of continuing the unworthy, untrustworthy and emphatically evil "co-existence" (which is in fact slavery)?
No Need for "Coexistence" – if Coexistence means National Disintegration
It is however not difficult to comprehend that there is – practically speaking – no reason for which a nation should cohabitate with other nations within a state - only to get disintegrated and cease to exist.
Coexistence of several nations within a state is suitable, praiseworthy, and therefore morally justifiable, only if each nation can safely and without any hindrance survive as such.
Nations are – and will not be – minced meat ready for any use by the secret centers of colonial conspiracy and evil manipulation of the historical developments.
If a state cannot guarantee the full and multi-dimensional survival of a nation within its borders, nothing binds the nation in question with the state-menace of its existence; then, instead of just being an option available at all times, secession becomes an urgent imperative.
2. The term is problematic, if used in respect with Eritrea´s present socio-economic and political context; if you used the term "mainstream Germans" or "mainstream Americans", I would understand. But in a country where the sociopolitical interconnection has not advanced much (I do not speak at the level of the governmental choices but about the prevailing popular feeling and attitude that emanates out of all the country´s components), the term becomes of controversial use. Many would be ready to say that a Saho, a Beja, and an Afar – unfortunately – as of today are not "mainstream Eritreans". Then, all that you try to say turns against you.
The easiest to reply to this statement of yours would then be the following:
Yes, of course, my points are "totally out of main stream Eritreans thoughts and feelings at the moment", simply because the mainstream Eritreans are Tigre and Tigrinya speaking Abyssinians who could not easily accept the complaints of an Eritrean Afar.
A Complaint is a Complaint – not a Verdict!
3. I have to remind you that the text is not mine; I simply re-publish the complaint expressed by an Eritrean Afar. You try to oppose his sayings, which is not a major issue. What is important is that the ominous bias discussed in the text does not take place (anymore) in Eritrea. You may be right; on the other hand, the complaining Afar whose text I republished may also be right. This cannot turn to a personal vendetta. The proper way is to refer to competent authorities to guarantee that a fair policy is in this regard followed and respected.
To go straight to the subject, I will ask you this:
Are you ready – acting on the basis of complaints expressed – to publish a Call to the UNESCO to index all scholarships offered by its member states to Eritrean students on the country´s ethnic-religious groups?
This would offer to the Red Sea state an international consecration, as well as a solid testimony to transparency and evenhandedness. The rest is either discussion about past practices or waste of time on inefficient comparisons of personal experience.
Eritrea is not a dictatorship.
4. I definitely don´t agree with your evaluation of the Eritrean political establishment as ´dictatorial´; if you use the term ´undemocratic´, we can find some common ground. My personal understanding is that, after having spent much time in wars with all the neighboring countries, the Eritrean leadership did not have the chance to find out an African model of representative system.
5. You try to oppose a complaint by presenting your personal experience made within a different context. Of course, if you apply for a scholarship in Canada, the States, Germany and several other educationally advanced states, when you are already there as a visiting student or refugee, your Hamassien, Afar, Saho or Kunama origin and identity does not matter. But this is not the case of the present complaint, which has to do with scholarships offered through bilateral cooperation, involving governmental selection. In addition, as long as you fail to provide me with a list of names of Eritrean Afar students - holders of scholarships offered through bilateral cooperation or scholarships granted by the Eritrean state itself, I will have no reason to admit that your personal experience, impression and feeling truly reflect the currently prevailing situation.
6. You understand that you are out of subject; the complaint was not made for practices followed in US, Canada, Europe, Australia, and New Zeeland, but enforced in Asmara. Missing the focus is not a good sign for a young and promising Eritrean scholar.
Many Universities Needed in Eritrea
7. I was rather expecting you to express your opinion in this regard; I only hope that a great effort will be soon resumed in order to re-open the university of Asmara and actively contribute to its expansion. Eritrea needs at least 5 or 6 universities, some in cooperation with academically advanced countries, notably some among the following: Italy, Germany, Russia, Turkey, India, China and Japan. France and England, the racist colonial countries, should be ab ovo excluded, and before a bilateral cooperation with America, a package deal and an overall political agreement and understanding should be reached.
8. You don´t truly suggest that this approach is unbiased; you understand how privileged an Eritrean originating from Asmara or Massawa is - when compared to someone born in Tio. You must also take into consideration the percentage of high school certificate holders; among Hamassien, it is far higher than among Eritrean Afars. This means that proportionally fewer Afars manage to reach the stage that allows entrance to university; this has to be taken into consideration as well. A personal reference to events occurred in 1996 (12 years ago) at the University of Asmara would have some importance if answered by an Afar student who participated in the same procedure as you. Personal experience – if unilateral – does not consist in proper demonstration.
9. Here, my dear, you totally miss the point. I do not "claim to talk for Eritrean Afars"; and Afar Eritrean does, namely the author of the article that I re-published!
Is he (or am I) claiming anything "on the basis on wrong, misleading, and erroneous backgrounds"? You fail to provide us with any proof. The fact that you personally failed to notice the situation described within the republished (by me) article does not mean - even for a second - that this situation does not exist.
A Reminder is a Reminder – not a Verdict!
Even worse, you failed to understand two things; the first is related to my article, and the second concerns the original article. First, when an author republishes another article – complaint, the real desire is to bring at the epicenter of the interest a topic that has not yet been focused on. It´s let´s say a reminder.
It would be paranoiac to assume that a reminder is a ´proof´; a reminder is a reminder. It shows the urgent need for investigation – national and international. The result of an investigation matters in the end.
Second, when writing a complaint, an author wants to share a very negative experience. Fair investigation carried out by unbiased people will only prove whether the negative experience reflects an objective reality. So, your overreaction rather serves as corroboration of the complaint.
Possible Motives
Your motives, taking into consideration that you refer to either unrelated facts or mere personal experience in order to refute and/or counterattack, seem to be those of the guilty; you overreact in order to cover and conceal a subject and thus remove it from the epicenter of the interest of the others. Your failure makes of the original article a far more credible evidence.
The correct reaction from your part would be the expression of an interest to shed more light on the issue; paradoxically enough, nowhere in your answer can one find the word ´investigation´.
Only God does not need an investigation to be made as He knows everything; and the accomplices, because they also know everything – with respect to the crime that they have perpetrated.
10. I am glad that you wish the Eritrean Afars´ Civil and Human Rights were respected.
An Afar University at Assab
11. The two subjects are unrelated. One point is the complaint expressed by the author whose article I republished; it evolves around equal opportunities of scholarships for Afar students in Eritrea. This is the fact that you pretend that I got wrong.
A completely different point is my suggestion for an Afar University at Assab which was first expressed on the occasion of this article; however, this point is totally unrelated with the first. Either the first point is correctly presented by (not me but) the original article´s author or not, the suggestion for an Afar University at Assab is valid, worthy and urgent, as I will analyze further on.
12. Afar University means a national university with main medium in Afar language (Qafaraf); as it will be the first university for all Afars (not only those of Eritrea), it will become a pole of attraction for the entire Afar Nation, making the Afars evolve about Assab.
As a National University, the Afar University will mainly focus – at an early stage – on Humanities, Social and Political Sciences, and Natural Sciences. At a later stage, further faculties will be created.
The Afar University at Assab will be the laboratory of the national educational system of the Afars; it will promote many projects related to the Afar Primary and Secondary education, namely
1) the Afar encyclopedia project,
2) the Afar Academy project,
3) the Afar Lexicon project,
4) the Afar Cultural Heritage Repertory project and many others.
It will consolidate and standardize the Afar language, contextualize the Afar political – journalistic discourse, and launch many projects of Translation (in two ways, familiarizing Afars with several global cultures and diffusing Afar culture allover the world). This is a very brief description, but I will expand further later on.
13. Of course, I mean an Afar medium university, enriched certainly with several departments of language and literature - German, Italian, Russian, Turkish, Arabic, Iranian, Indian, Chinese, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese.
I find it fair and I believe the Afar Nation is only worthy it.
I can´t believe that anybody in the world would oppose, except tyrants and racists.
I find it only normal for the Afars to have what the Norwegians have.
Are the Afars so much less of a nation that anyone dares discuss the issue of the much needed Afar University in a negative way?
What sort of filthy and sick racism may have invaded one´s mind so that what looks possible, suitable and necessary for the Albanians is not viewed through exactly the same standpoint for the Afars?
Should we consider it too much of a pioneering project so that we agree upon a reverse approach, namely to first focus only on the Primary and Secondary Education, thus leaving the Afar University for our posterior generations to materialize it in the 22nd century?
Or is it something deeper that is kept ´secret´? Namely the secretive thought and the guilty ´hope´ that, by just arranging a provisory solution for some primary and secondary schools in Afar language, we guarantee the progressive assimilation of the Afars with the Tigrinya Semitic culture and the colonial English subculture?
Is the eradication of the Afar Nation what is to be found at the back side of our mind?
Are we afraid to admit then that our rejection of the Afar medium University at Assab is due to our galloping racism that makes us convinced that the Afars deserve only to be the victims of a Cultural and Spiritual Genocide?
University Courses in Maltese? Yes! In Afar language? No!
How dare you think that you can possibly "challenge" me with the racist, disreputable, and utterly criminal approach that "every country (in Africa, Europe, North America, Asia,....) may have several ethnic groups and languages but it is practically impossible to have university in everyone's language"?
Your sentence is incitement to genocide, and I urge you to denounce this inhuman, colonial fallacy.
How can´t you see that the same right (of having a national language as university medium) has to be accorded to all the nations indiscriminately?
Why on earth are the Maltese, with a total number of speakers around 330000, entitled to a national language as university medium and the millions of Afars have to be deprived of this right just to please the fancy of your "challenge", which in fact is nothing more than a colonial bias and preconceived nonsense?
No to the spiritual, cultural and physical annihilation of all African nations!
Or do you suggest, as an excuse, that because some ethnic groups that total less than 10000 members have no practical chance to establish their dialect as university medium, great historical nations like the Afars or the Bejas should be just considered as a staff for minced meat production to be delivered on the altar of the world´s most execrable and Satanic ritual, namely the spiritual, cultural and physical annihilation of all African nations?
14. How inane one can be, when repeating trashy colonial clichés that target the existence of a great number of African nations! "Practically impossible to have university in everyone's language"!
Really?
Who told you that?
Have you prepared your thesis on the topic?
Is it the conclusion of the besotted masters - gangsters of the Apostate Freemasonic Lodge that manipulates the governments of England and France, pushing them to carry out their machinations and complete the fabrication of a bastard "nation" allover the earth, devoid of God and spirituality and smashed in the melting pot of egocentric empiricism, immoral relativism and compact materialism?
Of course it is practically possible to offer every nation with more than 100000 people as total number the possibility of national language as university medium; except we consider them as expendable stuff and plan their evaporation….
15. Do you have an idea about establishing a university and you thus enter into discussion on a subject that you totally ignore? Who told you anything about Science? Humanities and Social Sciences are needed first. The Afars – thank God – are not like the Australians or the Canadians, namely modern nations with no past (I don´t refer to the indigenous populations in either cases), who can focus mainly on Engineering and Sciences, and only imitate England and France when it comes to Humanities.
Hypocrisy
16. Why are you concerned with the preparatory work of a project that you so utterly hate?
Leave the subject aside!
Those who know, have an understanding of the priorities and the necessary steps. It´s not your business.
First, try to uproot the evil hatred that your own words reveal as deeply rooted inside yourself; then, if you love a project, express your interest. The opposite is called hypocrisy, mendacity or bias.
Bear in mind that to discuss a subject, you don´t only need related knowledge.
Moral status is the foremost qualification; you don´t have it.
Your words reveal an ulcerous attitude oscillating from envy to jealousy and bitterness.
This is not the way of a real scholar; and you don´t need to imitate the inhuman barbarism of the Amhara ´Ethiopianist´ pseudo-professors and bogus-scholars of the centers of vicious forgery that are comically called "Ethiopian universities".
17. The books should be prepared beforehand; if you are interested in the financial aspect of the project, funds should be raised from various academic establishments allover the world.
By reducing the military expenses, promoting development and focusing on literacy campaigns, President Afeworki has a strong chance of becoming popular and sympathetic to most of those who currently either dislike him or do not know him well.
18. The microscopes and telescopes should not be a priority for the first five (5) years of the Afar University at Assab; the Afars will be versed in Biology and Astronomy at a later stage, if you don´t bother.
Computer science is not an issue; almost allover the world it is taught in English, and the same should happen in the case of the Afar University at Assab.
But compared to Afar Literature, History, Afar Islamic Theology and many other disciplines of the Humanities, Computer Science should not be a major preoccupation – except for the need to make of all the students good users of the Microsoft Office suite.
19. You need to understand that it will take 2 to 3 years of preparatory work at all levels involved, and another 5 years until the first M.A. graduates get their degrees; research comes after. Why do you ask about it now? It´s preposterous!
Do you happen to first take an exam, and then study its subject?
20. This is incredible and vicious! You ask about administrative issues of a university that does not exist and, even worse, that you don´t want it to exist! The only answer is the following question:
What business is it of yours?
As earlier, I will have again to make it clear to you that you cannot express interest in the development of an issue that you beforehand hate, envy and oppose.
I will complete my commentary in a forthcoming article; then, I will focus on the project of Afar University at Assab. This project is not only badly needed by the Afars; the Eritrean government would find it critical for winning a key victory over the heinous colonial relic of Abyssinia and the barbaric ´Ethiopianist´ administration that shamefully never accepted the existence of Eritrea as an independent state.
Note
Picture: Assab coast
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