Eritrea, Syria & the “Truth Teller” Industrial Complex
By: Sebs Solomon—Originally Posted on August 16, 2021 via SolarTsunami
Most people can agree that the NATO war machine is completely out of control and the Military Industrial Complex must be dismantled; whether it be for the sake of the environment, ecosystem, humanity, or all of natural life. From the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia to the bases in the NATO countries themselves, the militarized and coercive approach is outdated and immoral. Actually, it was never “dated” in the first place because ethics transcend the confines of time and space. There are many people who stepped into the alternative media space after witnessing the catastrophic consequences of the war industry displayed around the world — they wanted to help end these crimes against humanity and nature.
First, I want to applaud all of those people, it is not easy putting yourself out into the ether for everyone to judge, question, and critique. This is a brave and righteous endeavor and I won’t discount that about anyone (even if I completely disagree with them on certain issues). I would like to point out Fiorella, from the Convo Couch, because she was always receptive and caring toward stories about Ethiopia and Eritrea that I asked her to cover in the past. She didn’t know me and could have easily ignored the subjects I brought up, but she did the opposite and fully engaged; it was kind and genuine. I would like to extend my shoutout to the lovely gentlemen on The Yellow Brick Road, both deeply kind individuals who are open minded without sacrificing morality; and my friend Aly Alexandra who writes passionately about whatever she wants, while still trying to “channel the voices of everyday people who are trying to make the world a better place.” I am not saying that someone has to cover the stories I think are important in order for me to respect them, I just appreciate the content creators who are willing to (in good faith) engage with their audience without being condescending or antagonistic.
Having said that, I have also observed certain problematic trends in the alternative media world and I feel compelled to to express my thoughts. If I get something wrong or if anyone disagrees with my points, please contact me on my twitter or leave a comment here on medium; I want to stay open to discussing anything with anyone. Not that this is important, but I will begin by giving a little background about myself. I was born in the Sahel desert of Eritrea, a tiny country in East Africa bordering the Red Sea. Shortly after my seventh birthday, there was turmoil in the country and my family and I left for the northern hemisphere. I won’t go into the details of the reasons why we had to leave, but to put it simply, had we not left, it would have ended badly for my family (and that is the truth that I know). Eritrea is a different place for me than it is for those who support the government and that’s ok; I don’t dislike, resent, or harbor ill feelings toward them. I love the independent spirit in which Eritrea was founded, both of my parents and many others in my family were part of that independence movement and a lot of blood was lost to attain it. I will always respect the sacrifices that were made by many people, I just wish those types of sacrifices never had to be made again. I do, however, take issue with the people who glorify this type of warfare instead of taking every action possible to make sure it never happens again.
My opposition to President Isaias Afwerki and the Eritrean government is not coming from the “CIA” or a “liberal” worldview. I don’t support any sort of US/UK/EU interference in Eritrea, the change has to come from within the nation and without the influence of State Department funded NGOs from Washington, Scandinavia, or the UK. Additionally, it should also not come from technocrats in Silicon Valley or Hong Kong, who promise economic liberation with private currencies in an effort to undermine the already underdeveloped economy. My dear friend, Filmon Zerai, wrote about the Eritrea-focused non-profit organizations with ties to the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) in an article last year. Whether one agrees with Filmon’s breakdown or not, I admire his principled stance on the subject because he is critical of Isaias and PFDJ while still opposing any nefarious and coercive intervention on the nation.
I hope Isaias Afwerki and his supporters can recognize that some people oppose him on moral grounds and not for strategic reasons rooted in multinational business interests. I am not a “useful idiot for NATO” or a “shill” for western intelligence agencies, I am speaking for myself as an individual and not anyone else’s agenda.
One unfortunate reality in Eritrea is that some people have family members or friends sent to prison for unknown or arbitrary reasons (one of which was my own uncle); even though, in the Eritrean Constitution Article 17 Section 3: Arrest, Detention and Fair Trial, it clearly states:
Every person arrested or detained shall be informed of the grounds for his arrest or detention and the rights he has in connection with his arrest or detention.
Personally, I don’t need a constitution or a piece of paper to tell me the difference between right or wrong. Clearly, Eritrea’s prison system and its problems are not unique and are similar to that of many other nations, some are even allied with NATO and have far worse prison conditions than Eritrea. Regardless, I denounce all brutal and cruel incarceration and I believe in global solidarity with all victims of merciless and inhumane captivity and detention.
That being said, when I hear reporters or journalists (in the alternative media space) give an analysis of Eritrea and solely focus on the geopolitical context with no mention of the harsh realities within the nation, I become worried. The alt-media is, ideally, supposed to be a contrast to the propaganda of the mainstream; with unfettered truth telling, not just spouting the opposite of whatever the mainstream media is saying without honest analysis. Of course, the tales of the mainstream media are almost always narrative management on behalf of multinational corporate interests which is facilitated by the intelligence agencies that captured the media space long ago — see Operation Mockingbird. I am not writing this to shame anyone or police the way people do their reporting; however, an analysis of Eritrea that does not also offer the principled qualms of those who oppose the current regime, is a flawed analysis. All of the people who critique Isaias Afwerki cannot be put in the same box and dismissed as “dissidents who don’t like strong regimes” (which is how it was described in a recent segment of BreakThrough News with Eugene Puryear and Rania Khalek). Although that segment was, overall, an excellent and fair breakdown of the situation in Ethiopia, it was a poor take on the internal issues of Eritrea, an insult to many who were forced to leave Eritrea, and shows little empathy for a whole population of displaced people who did not leave Eritrea for “minuscule disagreements” with the government. I don’t believe Eugene or Rania have bad intentions, but if they advocate for political prisoners, such as Julian Assange or Mumia Abu-Jamal, they should not abandon the rest of the political prisoners around the world, including those in Eritrea. I understand that they don’t want to be labeled propagandists for NATO, but it does not mean they should uncritically repeat the talking points crafted by the Eritrean government or their supporters because the Isaias Afwerki fan club does not represent the sentiment of all Eritreans.
I don’t think Eritrea is a unique evil and NATO is, obviously, much worse; nonetheless, that should not trivialize the internal injustices faced by the Eritrean people or absolve the corrupt, unethical, and purely self- centered people inside of the country. All corruption and all transgressions must be pointed out no matter where they come from or what “narrative” they may contradict.
Syria
Even though I just spent several paragraphs writing about Eritrea and explaining my personal reasons for the views I have, I am trying to make a larger point that pertains to more than one place. It is imperative that people critically consume the news they ingest on any country, place, or topic (including Syria or even Ethiopia). For example, I noticed that a select few have become the arbiters of truth concerning Syria. I don’t have a problem with people who support Assad (and I am not even comparing Assad to Isaias Afwerki); however, that does not mean that any Syrian who doesn’t support him is automatically a “liberal” spouting “CIA talking points” or a radical jihadist. I have heard this rhetoric from Kevork Almassian, a Syrian gentleman living in Germany who gives analysis on Syria and works with the German AfD Party (their platform is centered around anti-immigration). I am not downplaying the seriousness of the NATO funded radical groups, but I find it hard to believe that only Syrians who oppose Assad are more likely to be terrorists (inside or outside of Syria) than those who support him (a notion Kevork asserts in one of the videos I’ll link below). He has many criticisms about Syrian refugees living in Germany and the toll it takes on the host country.
Generalizations like this are dangerous and unbecoming. I am not saying that every single refugee who has ever existed is a model human being, but that doesn’t mean that you have to fear monger a whole population of people about a specific group to blame their problems on. This is dangerous territory when you start blaming whole groups — the “liberals” he rightfully takes issue with, do that often. Why not treat each situation as it arises rather than predicting which group is going to commit the crime first? Why think of people through such a rigid lens? That is just my opinion, though.
Kevork has been referenced by many people in alternative media from The Grayzone to Vanessa Beeley. Max Blumenthal wrote an article addressing the issue before (not that it’s an issue, necessarily) where he also mentions the western empire and the “disastrous interventions they’ve orchestrated in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria and [Palestine]” but makes no mention of Somalia or AFRICOM at all, why? Why is the first time they have ever addressed AFRICOM or Somalia in a recent article (which was well researched and thorough information wise).
Interesting Views on Refugees in Germany
This does not mean all of Kevork’s views are worthless, but it does make me question his character and the takes of the people who use him as a source. In 2016, Kevork spoke at an AfD meeting about the Syrian refugee crisis in Germany. I paraphrased and noted some points made by Kevork during his AfD speech and on another video from his youtube channel, Syriana Analysis:
- “There are islamist Syrians coming to Germany in droves and many are terrorists and sympathizers. Furthermore, many Syrian muslims don’t follow the rules at the refugee camps: they smoke and drink, they don’t respect privacy, and they pray loudly which disturbs non Muslims.”-Kevork
Response: why snitch on people who may smoke or drink at a refugee camp, after suddenly having to leave their home countries? This complaint is quite petty and absolute piffle.
- “Syrians against Assad are more likely to be islamists who want to create a caliphate. Germans must be careful letting in all of these islamist Syrian refugees because they will turn Germany into a failed state like they did to Syria and Germans need to do something before one of the islamist Syrian terrorists blows up a German train station.”-Kevork
Response: this is an odd thing to say, why would only Syrian refugees be capable of blowing up a German train station? This is fear mongering and is no different from 2015 when Donald J. Trump came gliding down the escalator to announce his presidential run and to proclaim (to a paid audience — as revealed by James Corbett) that Mexican immigrants are bringing drugs, crime, and rape to America. That logic is also similar to the speech given by Joe Biden in 1993 on the senate floor, regarding the Crime Bill, when Biden said the “cadre of young people — born out of wedlock, without parents, without supervision, without structure, and without a conscience developing because they have not been socialized — should be focused on. Not out of love or humanity, but because those people will become predators on the street in fifteen years.” Like I previously said, more generalizations and fear mongering. Why is Kevork using the logic of neocons like Joe Biden and Donald Trump?
- “The islamist Syrian refugees don’t understand German norms and will never integrate into western culture. Syrian refugees should feel grateful to the Germans who are paying for them to live in Germany, with their tax money. The refugees who don’t want to assimilate are the only ones having a hard time, psychologically. They need to learn the language and respect German norms if they want to fit in.”-Kevork
Response: The trauma, shock, and stress of abruptly moving from one country to another is probably the main cause of the psychological issues many are experiencing; not so much their inability to properly assimilate to another “culture” or norm.
Closing Remarks
Some people may think I am being too critical or overly picky, but I disagree. The character of the journalist providing the analysis is just as important as the information being shared. Intentions and ethics are vital. That doesn’t mean mistakes can’t be made, I make mistakes all the time. And if someone points out a contradiction in my thinking, I try my best to correct it. The reason I am stressing the importance of remaining objective, empathetic, and honest is because when things are omitted for the sake of “getting along” or obtaining more clicks, then alternative media is nothing but a mirror of the mainstream. Furthermore, calling certain refugees rapists, criminals, and terrorists or insinuating that some people only leave their respective countries because they don’t like strong regimes, alienates large populations of people who need love and support, too. Lastly, don’t assume that anyone who disagrees with you is smearing or trolling you; and for the love of Allah, don’t call people feds and banish them from different communities; that is just cruel and unjust.
If the goal is to build coalitions, then dismissing people as “liberals” or “too woke” when they say something you don’t like is just as bad as calling someone a “white supremacist” for criticizing Barack Obama, it is so silly. Unless the goal is not building coalitions with everyone, rather, a targeted demographic.
It seems as though only staunchly pro-government voices or State Department sponsored “anti-government” views are highlighted when covering the foreign policy of any country in alternative or mainstream media. This is not a healthy mix because the truth is normally in the nuance.
