Dr Newitol is a composite of well-informed Ethiopians and Eritreans whose brains the editor picks…
61. Faytinga from Omhajjer asks: When do you think they will open the Omhajjer-Humera border?
Dr. Newitol: According to the information I have, it appears that the border point is next in line to….
62. Faytinga from Mai Kedra interrupts: Never mind, doc, it’s open and I, along with thousands of Eritreans, am on the move to the Ethiopian hinterland.
63. Ablelom from Mekele asks: Hi there, doc; I am an Eritrean here with my best friends Demseseom, Hamsheshom, DerEm and Fenkel. I really have no questions; I just wanted to say, “hi, gays! Waw waw! Tell my parents I made it out of Eritrea safely.”
Dr. Newitol: Clearly, based on your names, you have lived up to the expectations of your parents, no doubt Eritrean combatants.
64. Dr. Smith from American Hospital in Abu Dhabi asks: As a medical doctor, I am required to take the Hippocratic Oath: “First Do No Harm.” I had to think of that as I treated Sebhat Ephrem. Do other doctors have any obligations to society?
Dr Newitol: Sucks for you! No, there are no requirements on us non-medical doctors. Whether it is Dr. Zhivago, or Dr. Vitali Klitscho, or Dr. Abi: there is no ethical requirement. Hell, Kermit the Frog had an honorary doctorate and he was dating a pig.
65. Ma’aza from Asmara asks: Our satellite dish was broken and I had to watch Eri-TV and recently it showed news about presidential elections in Afghanistan and Congo? I am embarrassed to ask this because I don’t normally follow the news: but do we have presidential elections in Eritrea?
Dr. Newitol: No, and EriTV doesn’t cover contested presidential elections. It is either a way to prepare people for legitimizing the election of Abiy Ahmed, or an expectation that the election results will be disputed and there will be violence and to show you that elections in the Third World don’t work. You have no presidential elections because Eritreans are only politically sophisticated enough to elect regional leaders.
66. Awadallah from Omdurman, Sudan asks: At our demonstrations, we chant “Teer Teer Ya Bashir” (Get Lost, Bashir.) Today, I saw a counter-demonstration and these supporters of Omer Al-Bashir were chanting “Seer Seer Ya Bashir.” (Keep Going, Bashir.) My question is: whose slogan do you think the people will like?
Dr. Newitol: If they are like Ethiopians, they will like whichever side ends up winning. “Keep Going”, “You Are On The Right Track”, “ንኺድ ጥራይ”, “Avanti” are all slogans of those who are in love with the perceived winner. Until the winner loses, then they will say they were always expressing their dissatisfaction in their own way.
67. Colonel Shiferaw from Debre Berhan asks: Hey doctor, lately I am seeing a lot of people on TV who agree with me that Eritrea was, is, and will always be part of Ethiopia. Is it selfish of me to demand that when they give their opinion they say, “As Colonel Shiferaw has been saying for decades….”
Dr. Newitol: What is to stop you from claiming that they did? Clearly truth, facts, history don’t matter in modern Ethiopia.
68. Amine from Emba Derho asks: Dr. Newitol, this is a personal question, maybe you can help. My sister is married to an extremely abusive man. She wants to leave, but she doesn’t want to be single and there are literally no men around. She wants to stay married until she falls in love with someone who will treat her better. She has no hatred towards her husband; she spends most of her day cursing the unavailability of perfect suitors. Do you have any words for her?
Dr. Newitol: Yes. “You are stupid.”
69. Shiekh Abdulalim from Addis Alem asks: Today, I was looking for a religious video and I typed Fein Abree and stumbled on a video of an Eritrean female singer and her song “Setet” and the lyrics are x-rated. My question is: is this a sign that this is the end of times?
Dr. Newitol: How do you spell her name? Link? I have to research the song first.
70. Colonel Mengistu Hailemariam from Harare, Zimbabwe writes: I had two things I believed firmly: (1) Eritrea is part of Ethiopia and (2) without Ethiopia, Eritrea will always give its ports to Gulf Arab countries. When do I start saying, “I told you so?”
Dr Newitol: Colonel, you have a long track record of being disastrously wrong so Eritreans should take heart that because you can’t be right, what they are seeing now is wrong can’t last long.
