Another classic case of Orwellian revisionism

First published May 28, 2003 on awate.com

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In the last few weeks, Mr. Ali Abdu has been very busy performing his favorite role – idolizing Big Brother. This is a function that our ‘Minister of Truth’ has been perfecting for the last few years, reaching his peak performance during the week of Independence celebrations. ‘Qalaat bwerki qelem’ (words of gold) – archival video clips of Issayas speaking on various occasions – is the centerpiece of this parody. No other Eritrean leader, fighter, intellectual or ordinary citizen is ever smart enough to have uttered words of wisdom that qualify for this show of Ali Abdu’s. Here, praising the tegadalai[1] gives way to glamorizing the ‘Great Leader’. In a gradual and barely noticeable way history is being rewritten to fit the new PFDJ-crafted image of it. One can actually see how the threads of a false history are being woven around a single persona. It is a spectacle that’s amazing to watch.

Another favorite scene that is repeatedly shown on Eri-TV is that of Issayas dancing with young performers at Asmara Stadium to the rhythm of shamaye shama by Elsa Kidane and Abdu Yousuf – I gather on the occasion of the 1998 Independence celebrations. Now what really struck me this time was the fresh editing that has recently been done on this clip. At the end of the original video, as Issayas and his bodyguards return to the podium, while the music is doing the customary d’rrb beat, there are images of other dignitaries, including some that are now behind bars. Particularly notable was the scene of Haile Durrue playfully moving his shoulders and clapping to the tune. This clip was frequently being shown on Eritrean TV even after the jailing of the G-11[2], surely an irritating reminder of those comrades-in-arms of DIA[3] now in jail.

But not anymore! … The record has now been set straight – and this historical mistake is rectified! In the ‘corrected’ video clip the picture briefly fades into total darkness, then cuts back to the same dancing ‘Wedi Afom’[4]. In a skillful application of the surgical approach to history certain unwanted episodes have been expertly sliced out. A few problematic personalities wiped off the archives. There were no Sherifos or Durrue’s in the 1998 celebrations. In fact, those scenes are only a figment of the imagination of a few feeble souls (sympathizers of the ‘defeatists’!) whose patriotic credentials are questionable, or those who are not sophisticated enough to understand the dialectics of history. You said Petros Solomon? We never heard of him. Kekia who? We don’t know anybody by that name! ... [Pause] ... These people never existed, stupid!

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[1] Freedom fighter

[2] The 11 senior government/PFDJ leaders jailed by Issayas (part of the group of 15, or G-15, that spearheaded the 2001 reform movement)

[3] DIA - Dictator Issayas Afwerki

[4] Issayas Afwerki