Professor Tesfatsion Medhaniye 1: DR Daniel Kinde 0

(Zeru Hagos 03/16/09)

Diaspora politics have come so low it has become necessary to keep the score for the record and for sake of the coming Diaspora little league politicians.

San Jose California is home to Silicon Valley where new ideas are nourished and developed in to real products. Silicon Valley is home to many tech whiz kids and dreamers who turn dream in to reality and transform the world. However on March 15, 2009, San Jose has a crude awakening. Though the event could be hailed as the first of its kind to keep San Jose’s age old tradition of being home to new ideas, to the dismay of many participants the event was an eventful. Professor Tesfastison veteran Eritrea politician and DR Daniel Kinde a new kid from the extreme Ethiopian Diaspora politicians were the two guest of the hour for the many Eritreans and Ethiopians.

 To have Eritreans and Ethiopians under one roof is in itself an achievement thus I will give both sides (Eritrean and Ethiopian organizers) equal thump up points. Especially when the audience was both from the extremist Ethiopians who would kill all Eritreans to get Massaw and Eritreans who would like to Kill Meles and Sebhat for telling them[Eritreans] that they must persevere and continue the struggle for independence though Professor Tesfatsion wants them to drop dead and surrender! It was indeed an eye-catching event. But…..

The new comer Dr Daniel failed miserably to make Ethiopia’s case---his Ethiopia that is! Even on behalf of the extremists who would have loved him had he undressed Professor Tesfatsion simply to say our man was no match and brag for  a day or two at local cafes where such kind of events are usually cooked! The veteran politician Professor Tesfatsion was simply amazed by the ineptness of the DR sitting next to him. Close friends to Professor Tesatsion were quoted to have said the professor did not help his cause to sit with this guy. What happen to make DR Daniel so little compare to professor Tesfatsion?

After a gang of five people were able to operate a simple projector—watching the stage saga it seemed the organizers nor the good DR have not seen a projector before! Once they master the technology behind the projector, learning on the spot how to display ill prepared talking items, the DR took considerable time to identify head form tail of his own document paper to display on the projector. This entire time professor Tesfatsion was watching with an astonishment!

 DR Kinde managed to embarrass himself when he forgot his own presentation talking items and went tangential to curse PM Meles. The DR spent most of his presentation on PM Meles Zenawi, telling how Meles was accumulating wealth by selling land to neighbor countries! Unaware, the crowd was losing interest and failing to read the clue from audience faces and murmurs he went on to embarrass Professor Tesfatsion, so much so, the Professor told DR Daniel how he envies him! The professor was teasing Dr Daniel how he became an expert in everything from engineering, to economics and politics!

Apparently even Professor Tesfatsion who has long held grudges against Meles for check mating him when he wrote his famous book about the Eritrean revolution long time ago was bemused how DR Daniel seem to jump from one topic to another with ease and expect to defeat EPRDF which he knows to be a very formidable organization.

While the audience pleaded with DR Daniel to stick to the topic the Dr went on blubbering on topic he seems to have no idea. So much so an old man got tired of him and commented how he got his education and if his types were a symptom across some part of our community.

All in all the event which drew Eritreans and Ethiopians under one roof is indeed an achievement and the organizers must be congratulated, but, I hope next time organizers will match speakers accordingly. By my count Professor Tesfatsion has scored big over Dr Daniel. This does not say much about our extreme Diaspora politicians. But San Jose has done its job in conditioning Ethiopians and Eritreans to think big and out of the box.

 Who would have thought IPod would have rescued Apple form the brink and who would have thought extremist Ethiopians who want to kill EPRDF for signing with Eritrean referendum will be sitting with Eritreans, any kind of Eritrean, in our time! To borrow our Eritrean brothers across the Mereb saying Bravo! To those “Ameche” who are trying to undermine EPRDF try hard. Some of the organizers were Eritreans who grew in Ethiopia thus the nick name “Ameche”.