#QuarantineRant (Thread)
File under #Dictatorship+ #white/academicPrivilege + #MyComplicity:
Sometime around 2009/10, a person I have high regards in #Eritrea asked me to select Tigrinya s. stories with the intention of producing an English anthology. CC: @africasacountry (1.)

I selected few short stories; assigned to colleagues such as Tedros Abraham ( @EmkuluP) and my cousin Rahel A. Zere to help me translate the selected stories into English. It is all free labor. CC @StillSUDAN (2)

Then I was told to hand over all the stories to the subject of this rant; a certain American distinguished professor; an “expert” on #Eritrea'n literature who speaks none of the native languages, but has "translated" many Eritrean books. (3)

A year after I came to US, our exchange resumed as one of the short stories was selected 4 @wwborders special issue & the editors suggested more than stylistic changes, which our subject can not do it solely. He doesn’t know about the subject matter too. CC: @umideera (4).

“I am happy to make stylistic adjustments such as grammar, syntax, punctuation,” tells me, and asks if I can address Z content, supporting details, and other major changes, “because you were the one who also edited the original story too.” (5)

The translator was in #Eritrea with no internet access and the writer was not able to address the suggestions for lack of language, but I was updating her. CC: @FithiAndom (6)

I the address the changes; compile bio of the writer and the translator and send him. (In the entire process, although the writer was in America, he never reached her out). In Oct. 2013 the s. story was published in special issue of @wwborders magazine. CC: @ThaAyntu (7).

Next morning emails me with “Good News;” shares with me the link and wishes me a good weekend. Open the link: he puts his name as co-translator (before my cousin’s, the actual translator) and his longest bio of the three of them. @ZekuZelalem (8).

Of course, there is no mention of my name; I did not expect either, but his even before actual translator? CC: @MaazaMengiste (9).

About a year later he writes an article on @WARSCAPES and opened it with “Why has my translation of a short story originally written in Tigrinya….” This time there was no mention of the co-translator even. CC: @bhaki_shringa (10).

In July 2015 when we launched @PEN_Ertra, with proper credit but without his written permission, I used one of his co-translated poems by any #Eritrea’n poet. Oh, boy! Our subject was speechless and frantically called a mutual friend and our president then (11).

Then email exchanges: “Outrageous” “sick” “unprofessional” “unethical” “grave matter” were some of his words; asked me to publish an apology on our website and Facebook page, ASAP. He even drafted the apology. I posted an apology on our Facebook page. CC: @Sulaimanaddonia (12).

In our long email exchanges, with the intention of deleting I mentioned that I used some lines of a poem he co-translated with our mutual friend for @guardian article I had submitted & was expecting it to be posted in few days. (13)

I had properly credited it, but that was not the matter. Not only he requested me to remove it, but quickly wrote to the editor which puzzled her. CC: @SaayEritrea (14)

The jailed journo/poet I profiled and wanted to start the tribute with his poem was Fessehaye “Joshua” Yohannes: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/19/eritrea-forgotten-journalists-jailed-pen-international-press-freedom. (15)

Although I removed the poem, but I asked our subject if #Joshua who has been taken to prison in 2001 (4 years before the book was published) was asked his permission about his poem. NO. The irony… (16).