[dehai-news] a view from Asmara; Is Eritrean Self Hatred a Mental Illness


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From: Thomas mountain (thomascmountain@yahoo.com)
Date: Mon Jul 27 2009 - 11:48:11 EDT


For the last ten years or so, since I first began to contribute my views on the Horn of Africa via the internet, I have sporadically recieved what I would call "hate mail" from persons claiming to be Eritrean. I recently made an attempt to survey the total number, well over 1,000, and try to break what i have recieved down by tone and content.
What I have found, especially when compared to the general Anti-Eritrean rantings and ravings posted on the one or two truth challenged websites posing as Eritrean "opposition" is that three signifant milestones are consistently present. These three conditions are 1) distortion of reality 2) denial of reality 3) delusions of grandeur and are listed by the "bible" of mental illness, "The Manual of Diagnostics and Statistics of Mental Illness" as important findings of the existance of a mental illness.
!) Distorting reality by portraying life in Eritrea as one big disaster. Even if one does not take into account disaster both natural and man made these past nine years or so, a quick camparison with the rest of Africa, which is almost unfair considering the ongoing holocausts and genocides being committed on the continent today, reveals Eritrea as an oasis of peace and stability.
2) Denial of reality as never mentioned are the tremendous advances deaing with malaria, AIDS and the effects of global warming. Even traditionaly hostile organizations like the World Bank have used words like "remarkable" in describing the incease in life expentancy recorded by Eritrea since independence.
3) Delusions of grandeur, as in a handful of exiles from Eritrea so convinced that they know better what is going on in the motherland than literally millions of Eritreans, something that alienates most of them from their countrymen and women.
I have seen such a pattern of mental illness in those who have sent me emails over the years that I no longer try to argue or educate these persons, rather strongly urge them to get professional help for their mental condition they are suffering from in the hope that one day they will be able to overcome their disablity and regain their mental health and be welcomed back into the Eritrean family of peoples, nine tribes and counting.
Selam and more rain for Eritrea, though it has really started to pour these days
Thomas C. Mountain
Asmara, Eritrea

      

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