Unlike any other society in any culture, we, Eritreans in Diasporas, are facing serious problems with respect to our communities and religious institutions. It is commonly observed in many cities and towns in North America that many parents have created a very hostile environment among themselves against the survival of formidable communities and strictly spiritual religious institutions. Consequently, unbearable clashes are occurring among family members in many households and communities and these problems are adversely affecting our children to go astray. We have to admit that, due to our ill thinking and negative attitudes against each other, we have many Eritrean children who are dropping out of school at early age; kids who have become addicts in abusing drugs and alcohol; young children who have become mothers with children; young adults who have problems with the law; teenagers who become frequent visitors of prison to make time; kids from broken families who run away from home and become homeless; and children who are not connected at all to their ethnic identity and cultural heritage. Where did we go wrong to put our children in such horrible situation?

We cannot ignore the problem that prevails in many Eritrean households, even if our immediate children are not involved in any of the problems. We cannot pretend that the problem does not exist nor can we say that it does not concern us because the problem commonly observed between parents and children in our community is not only the problem of one Eritrean household, it is the problem of all Eritrean families. If we try to avoid the problem as if it is not our individual problem, before we know it the problem will soon catch up with us and we will see it coming to our doorsteps and knocking at our respective homes. The following story of a little mouse from unknown author illustrates how each family will be directly or indirectly caught up with the same kind of problem.

Once upon a time there was a little mouse living in a farmhouse. One day the little mouse looked through a crack in the wall of the farmhouse to see the farmer (the owner of the farmhouse) and his wife opening a package they bought from the store. The mouse was wondering what food the package might contain. The mouse was aghast to discover that the package was not food; instead it was a mouse trap. Retreating to the farmyard from the farmhouse struck with terror and horror, the little mouse proclaimed loud and clear to alarm those animals in the farm the warning by saying: "There is a mouse trap in the farmhouse, a mouse trap in the farmhouse!" The chicken, which was pecking grains around in the yard clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Excuse me, little mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it." The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mouse trap in the farmhouse, a mouse trap in the farmhouse!" The pig answered with sympathy, "I am so very sorry little mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it because it is of no concern to me. However, be assured that you are in my prayers for your safety." The mouse turned to the cow and told her, "There is a mouse trap in the farmhouse, a mouse trap in the farmhouse!" The cow said, "Little mouse! Did you say a mouse trap? You are crazy to think that I am in grave danger of this trap. Since it is of great consequence to you, you better take care of yourself.”

So, the little mouse returned to the farmhouse, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mouse trap with courage alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a mouse trap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught by the mouse trap. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail was caught by the trap. The fearful snake stung the farmer's wife as she stepped on it. The farmer rushed his wife to the hospital for an immediate medical treatment. After a few hours with the doctors in the hospital, she returned home with a fever. Now, everyone in the surrounding community knows that a fever is treated with fresh chicken soup. So, the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard to kill the chicken for the soup's main ingredient. Now, the chicken has become the victim of the trap incidence. The sickness of the farmer’s wife continued for some days and weeks. Consequently, family members, friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock until she got well. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. Again the pig also has become the victim of the trap incidence. The farmer's wife did not get well and a few days later she passed away. So many people came for her funeral. The farmer had the cow slaughtered, to provide meat for all of them to eat. The cow who tried to be smart on the little mouse also has become the final victim of the trap incidence.

It is evident that we can learn an important moral lesson from the story of the little mouse. We have observed in the story the creation of a firestorm and a chain of adverse reactions and consequences caused by the small mouse trap. The little mouse tried to make aware all the animals in the farm that the mouse trap is a common enemy for all, not necessarily only for the mouse. Nobody listened to the little mouse and they all thought that it was the concern of the little mouse only. It was then proved from the chain reactions and consequences that the trap was the concern of everybody in the farm. The snake wouldn’t be caught by the trap; the chicken wouldn’t be killed; the pig wouldn’t be butchered; the cow wouldn’t be slaughtered; and the farmer’s wife wouldn’t be passed away; if all the animals were concerned of the warning from the little mouse and if they had put their minds and resources together, they could have removed the small trap away.

So, the next time we hear that someone, an Eritrean, is facing some kind of youth-parent relationship problem and think that it does not directly or indirectly concern us, let’s remember that it was the same ill-concern and negative thinking that put the pig, the chicken, and the cow into serious trouble. We have to be aware that when the least of us is threatened, we all may be at risk just like the animals in the story. This alarm is a wake-up call to all concerned parents of the Eritrean community to come together and boldly claim that we have a problem in our communities and religious institutions and we should take an immediate and necessary action. Building strong communities and households are the pre-requisite of taking appropriate action to solve our problems. Obviously, the support and active participation of our Eritrean professionals and scholars in joining our communities is highly desirable. He/she that does good thing to another fellow Eritrean does good things also to himself/herself. We are not put on this earth to see through one another with animosity and hostility, but to see one another through peace and harmony. How pleasant it could be for us to work together as one family and community for the welfare of our children because we are all dependent on one another.