Author: Awate Team
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Book Review: Memoir of the Eritrean Student Movement in Egypt (1950–66)
In My Memoir of the Eritrean Student Movement in Egypt, 1950–1966, Abdul Kader Hagos Muhammad offers more than a mere reminiscence. He provides a participant’s chronicle of a formative but often overlooked chapter in the making of modern Eritrean nationalism: the years when young expatriate students in Cairo began translating identity into organization and organization
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Iska Warran, Somalis; Tread Carefully!
Drawing from Eritrea’s historical experience, the essay analyzes Somalia’s collapse, Somaliland’s resilience, Ethiopia’s controversial push for sea access, and the broader militarization of the Horn of Africa. It warns against foreign interference, empty nationalism, and elite-driven politics, advocating instead for people-centered dialogue and pragmatic, incremental solutions.
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Muslim and Catholic Fatimas
Most Eritreans do not know about the Eritrean Black St. Mary, but many have heard of Mariam Daari, the Black icon of St. Mary. I’m not sure whether it was carved from black stone or molded from some other material. The beautiful icon lives in a vast, hollowed baobab tree on the banks of the
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ኣስመራ ምንጪ ሕውስዋስ ስምዒት
ዓርቢ ንግሆ፡ “ቀይሕ ዘመን” ናይ ተስፋዮ ገብርኣብ ኣብ ኢደይ ሒዘ ናብ‘ታ ኣብ ፊት ህዝባዊ ቤት ንባብ ዘላ እንዳ ቡን ይኸይድ ኣለኹ። ንግሆ ኣዙዩ ጸጥታ ዝሰፈኖ፡ ኩሎም ሰባት ካብ ዓራቶም ዝወደቁ እዮም ዝመስሉ። ገጾም ዘይትሓጽቡ ቆልዑ፡ ንቁርሲ ዝኸውን ባንን ካልእን ክገዝኡ፡ ገንዘብ ጠቅሊሎም ዓሙኾም ናብ ዱኳናት ይኸዱ። ሓደ ኮምፕላሴን ዓይነት ፒጃማ ገይሩ ኣእማን እንዳ ቀልዐ ዝኸይድ
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Support the 2025 Awate & Negarit Fundraising Drive
(REPUBLISHED) This year, we’re launching the 2025 fundraising drive five months behind schedule—we trust you’ll understand. For decades, awate.com and Negarit have served you as a labor of love. Our mission has always been to promote awareness and work tirelessly toward the goal of national reconciliation—a goal we remain committed to until it’s fully realized.
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Support Awate & Negarit -2025 Fundraising Drive
Dear friends of Awate and Negarit, This year, we’re launching the 2025 fundraising drive five months behind schedule—we trust you’ll understand. For decades, awate.com and Negarit have served you as a labor of love. Our mission has always been to promote awareness and work tirelessly toward the goal of National Reconciliation and awarness—a goal we
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The Power and Peril of Social Media
This article argues for the regulation of social media to prevent the harm caused by unchecked platforms. It explores the damaging role social media has played in fueling violence and conflicts, citing examples such as the Rohingya crisis and the ongoing civil unrest in Ethiopia. The article calls for accountability, proposing that social media accounts…
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Negarit 306: Saving or Shooting?
Negarit 306 is the final episode for 2024; Happy New Year. As we welcome 2025 though the security situation in the Horn of Africa is as worrying as ever: Eritrea is still in the middle of a precarious situation. And nothing can improve unless the single ruling party and its leader change their attitudes and
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Isaias and Abiy: The Fallout
Often times, news surfaces only to be quickly subdued and forgotten, though it occasionally reemerges in surprising ways. Below is a brief list of key events: After the liberation of Massawa in 1990, Isaias returned from London where he attended a meeting between the TPLF and EPLF to discuss the future of the two countries.
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The Eritrean Dilemma with Its President
Isaias Afwerki. The most mentioned. The most criticized. The most admired, and at the same time, the most despised. He’s a prominent character in most dialogues, debates and discussions among Eritreans. Some admire him as the most accomplished person because he successfully led the struggle for the independence of Eritrea. To others, he’s notorious for
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Too Many Lemons to Carry
Dear Friends of Awate and Negarit (please scroll down for details), When we launched the 2024 fundraising in January, we were (and still are) counting on the thousands of fans, friends and colleagues to chip in. Fundraising is the most difficult part of the tasks. So far, only 52 friends have responded; the ratio of
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PM Abiy’s Mama Economy
Recently, Ethiopia relaxed currency controls and restrictions as per the recommendations of the IMF, which provided it with a generous credit line. Theoretically, it’s a loan even if Abiy Ahmed, the prime minister, insinuates otherwise. He said that borrowing from the IMF is like “borrowing from your mother!” However, many countries, including Egypt and Kenya,
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Is Ethiopia Doomed?
For an Eritrean, pretending to wear a 20/20 lens, you dwell on snooping around Ethiopian critiques, regardless of their successes and failures. I for example, wouldn’t expect anything neutral/good to come out of people like Monsieur Hidrat or other ELF offspring about Isaias’ government. Because I know that they have bones to pick with him.
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Re-aligned with the PFDJ but disappointed
After the downfall of the Derg regime in Ethiopia and the liberation of Eritrea in 1991, the Sudanese government curtailed the movement of Eritrean opposition organizations on its soil. Denied the opportunity to operate from Sudan, most moved to Ethiopia and stayed there until Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018. Several Eritrean opposition organizations
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Please respond to the call
Dear Friends of Awate and Negarit When we launched the 2024 fundraising in January, we were (and still are) counting on the thousands of fans, friends and colleagues to chip in. Fundraising is the most difficult part of the tasks. So far, only 41 donators have responded; the ratio of those who responded compared to
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Awate-Negarit Fundraising Drive 2024
You can donate using the method you think is most convenient to you, using the links provided below. Please chip in generously. Contribution addresses and account details: Credit and Debit Cards: Below the “Support awate.com” icon on the front page, there is a form through which you can make your donation. PayPal: Click the orange
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Announcement: awate.com restored
Awate.com is back alive. Since September 2023, awate.com was crippled due to unexpected internal logistical/technical issues. That was the longest disruption since it was launched on September 1, 2000. Luckily, with the help of a few concerned people, we have overcome the problems, and we are on. In the coming weeks, we plan to adopt
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The Silver Thaler Dictator
“Wedi Afom Berri; Ashaakheru Nebri.” (The Son of Afwerki is Brri; and his soldiers a streak of tigers” That is the Isaias Afwerki cult’s jingle glorifying Isaias, with an endearing and indoctrination motive. Last week the Eritrean dictator met President Putin of Russia and provided him with generous advice on how to revive the almost
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Negarit 230: Campaigns of Brigades
Whenever there’s something on the news, writers are pressured to comment on it. However, I do not comment instantaneously without knowing the background or having enough information about it—sometimes the topic doesn’t inspire or interest me and I do not like to sound robotic— repeating what everyone and their uncles are saying. Yet, many rush
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Eritrean Refugees in Ethiopia Brace for the Rainy Season
Eritrean refugees at Alemwach refugee camp in Gondar are bracing for another uncomfortable rainy season. Some of the camp’s residents came as children in Tigray escaping from Eritrea. The refugees fled from the Tigray camps amidst the Ethiopian civil war that raged between Tigray’s regional government and the Ethiopian federal government forces with its allied