The Media, Advocacy, and Public Awareness (MMA) Focus Group is tasked with conducting research on Eritrea, analysis of research findings, and communicating to the world the real facts and figures of our research findings. Our targets are the media, public, and policy makers in the entire world. This focus group has short and long terms tasks. The short term being helping in expediting the removal of the dictatorship in Eritrean and transition to democracy. Eritrea and the perpetual plight of the Eritrean people is the core of the short-term tasks. Defining in stark terms the current tyranny and lawlessness in Eritrean take priority for this focus group. This can be done through research, analysis and communication. The long-term tasks will be playing its role in instilling democratic values in the Eritrean society and improving the images of Eritrea that has been tarnished by the deeds of the dictatorial regime and its stubborn leader. For this current article we would like to focus on the first and timely part of the task at hand, which is the short-term plan focusing on the exposing and removal of the evil and lawless regime.
Research: Effective research is the energy of an effective advocacy and awareness mission. For research to be effective, it needs to be based on facts, figures, prospective, and retrospective events. Furthermore, for research to be effective, it must have voluminous and contextual multidimensional events. Voluminous events cover the entire history of Eritrea. Multidimensional events all the regional, domestic, and international players in shaping Eritrean historical evolution. Events, and facts relating to prospective, retroactive, voluminous, and multidimensional features must be derived, assembled in terms of sequences, ranges of impact, and urgencies for targeting and prioritizing Eritrean affairs.
Eritrean experience is rich in facts and figures. The Eritrean regime’s crimes are endless. These facts and figures are about the killings, detentions, lengths of detentions, their scope and range as to affect men, women, children, war veterans, religious figures, politicians, and the elderly. These facts must be assembled and be looked at from their retrospective events. Retrospective events are those factual crimes that the regime has done in the past. These factual crimes need to be assembled in sequential order, categorized in range and scope of severity, and presented to explain the deadly nature of the regime. Prospective events are what the regime is doing now and is bound to repeat in the immediate and for as long as the retrospective events have been covered. Since the regime is bound to retrench in its tyrannical character, the prospect that it will intensify its defensive and offensive crimes is factually real and incontestable. The character of a deadly regime is more toxic, bitter, aggressive, and calculating as it feels threatened and vulnerable. And the potency of its destructive forces is more comprehensive and far reaching than when it was firmly in control and settled mode. The regime’s Covid-19 lockdown simultaneous with its war ventures in Tigray are examples the initial phase of its prospective crimes to come. Those crimes will do more damage to Eritrea than the regime has done in the its retrospective factual crimes.
Analysis: Analyzing factual research findings means recognizing the relevance of facts, placing them in their sequential order, and presenting them cogently and starkly in unmistakable clarity. Analysis is effective if its sharp and cutting in bringing facts to their proper link to events, actions, persons, and institutions. Analysis must be rich in facts, daring in speculations that are based the nature of the facts – for instance, explaining the factual reality proving once Isaias always Isaias. Immutable characteristics or habits that were consistent in the past-retrospective facts, will endure in the future. Effective analysis brings these to light and presents them as warning, threatening, standing your ground, and telling the adversary that he cannot hide from the target you placed him to be. The adversary is equally equipped to refute, threaten, insult, and badmouth you in bewildering manners. Courageous analysts equipped with facts and figures are not frantic. The adversary will try to move off target by lying, denying, counterattacking, and threatening. An effective analyst will have facts and figures on which to stand firm and combat the erratically moving target, the tyrant, and his cadres.
Communication: Communication is the conduit through which research outcomes are disseminated to the public and targeted audiences. Communication is displaying the facts that are assembled to be analyzed, comprehending their impact and retelling them in their analytical dimensions – e.g. the criminal is bound to deceive, the killer is bound to flee from the law, the thieve is bound to steal again. Making clear, purging ambiguities, and owning the facts, figures and selling them in the marketplace of ideas makes good communication. Communication is based on values, believes, perceptions, and realities.
All individuals have values. Any fact, figure, or idea that is not congruent with their values will be rejected without thinking. An effective communication changes values into beliefs. The way values are converted to beliefs is through the process of articulating facts, making them stark, clear, and without embellishments – effective analysis will remove the need for embellishments.
Beliefs are deeply held values integral to a person’s values. Beliefs can be dogmatic in which case facts and figures may be resisted. Constructive facts that are hard to deny, effectively communicated with patience, understanding, grace, and virtuous attitude can change beliefs. Beliefs have a continuum of intensity. Effective communication can be elastic without sacrificing factual realities to address and reach throughout the continuum of beliefs.
Communication taking into consideration the essential elements of values and beliefs clarifies the world based on facts and figures. They change perception to reality.
The Media, Advocacy and Public Awareness Focus group intends to confront Eritrea’s adversaries equipped with well researched facts, figures, events, and issues. To that effect, the urgency of our task is critical. It is a matter of life and death. We must act fast and punch hard to be effective in our task.
Glory to Eritrea and Her Martyrs
Death and Eternal Doom to PFDJ and its Leadership