No offense to the gorgeous Alec Wek! I just find it embarrassing that recently there are some Eritrean youth out there who changed their Facebook profile pictures to a picture of the supermodel after an episode of Al Jazeera English’s “The Stream”.
Some comments made on Alec Wek’s Facebook page within the last couple of days include:
– “…thank you very much for understanding the Eritrean situation, and for always using your fame to do good…proud and grateful for you!”
– “…thank you very much for being the voice of the voiceless Eritreans”
– “…You are our new hero.”
– “…The Eritrean youth in the diaspora have been a voice to the voiceless people inside the country and now we found you defending the poor people who can’t defend themselves.”
– “…we are proud and would like you to continue to be the voice, sponsor, and ambassador of our cause…” BLA BLA BLA
Ms. Alec Wek is an inspirational person surely, but I think these comments are quite exaggerated. Having been a refugee and helping to raise awareness about the plight of refugees worldwide is noble, no doubt, but to assume she can 
be somewhat of a spokesperson for Eritreans or that she’s a hero of Eritreans is not only weird, but extremely politically incorrect. Nothing about her appearance on The Stream suggested she knows anything about Eritrea, just that she can relate with refugees.
Message to Eritrean youth looking for gorgeous (s)heroes: look towards your country, look towards your history, look towards yourselves!
Eritrean women have actively contributed and scarified their lives for Eritrea’s independence. It is for this reason that today, thousands of Eritrean young women are taking part in national service as dignified citizens; they are not becoming ‘wives of generals’ as stated by Mussie Zena on “The Stream” but are active agents and contributors to their country’s development. Your mother was right Alec: what makes you beautiful as a woman is the woman you are and you must celebrate other women.
The Real Rahel 