By Eritrean,
Dan Connell was confronted head-on by Eritreans in Toronto during his presentation titled “Trafficking and Torture in the Sinai – Rights Denial and the Eritrean Exodus”. The program was facilitated by Ryerson University and sponsored by PEN Canada.
Dan walked in escorted by none other than the degenerate Aaron Berhane and hence set the tone of what would be expected out of the night. Having heard of what was to take place, Eritreans in the city showed up in large numbers dwarfing the number of non-Eritreans in the room.
The lecture on trafficking itself was poorly presented and it was clear to the audience that Dan should have prepared better. He admitted he had only 18 months of exposure to studying trafficking in the Sinai – which begs the question as to why Ryerson or PEN Canada could not have found a less polarizing individual with far more experience in understanding the push and pull factors of migration.
As expected, Dan was jumping from one topic to the other in an endless disorganized manner– the audience could not understand why he was talking about the 2% rehabilitation and recovery tax when there were more pressing issues such what could be done to curb human trafficking in the Sinai.
Then one of the Eritreans in the room had enough of the crocodile tears and shouted “Dan, Dan, Dan…..that’s a lie!” in reference to the comment by Dan that Eritreans who don’t pay their 2% tax are not allowed to enter Eritrea. The gentleman said he had not paid his 2% tax and had travelled back and forth from Eritrea numerous times in that year alone.
Dan seemed stunned and confused, perhaps because this was the first time anyone dared to challenge him. Other Eritreans in the room who were equally enraged by the blatant lies started intervening and demanded that Dan tell the truth.
Dan’s rather condescending attitude quickly turned into disbelief as his audience was publicly undressing him and exposing his lies for what they are. Despite the talk being billed as a discussion, despite PEN stated aim of encouraging discussion, and despite Dan Connell’s many pronouncements of wanting to encourage dialogue amongst Eritrean, it was obvious that neither the organizers nor Dan had any intention to hearing an opposing view.
The manifestation witnessed tonight is a message to the likes of Dan that Canadians of Eritrean descent will not tolerate lies being told about them to their face.
At one point, Aaron Berhane got up frustrated and told the crowd, “don’t listen to them, they are well organized” – referring to the Eritreans in the room. Obviously frustrated that the game was up and that his days of fooling the oblivious Canadian public was coming to an end.
Birds of the same feather flock together, and so Dan, just as he entered with Aaron left the room with Aaron in what could have been described as sick political romance.
