There are many instances of governments that are overthrown, pushed out, reclaiming their authority or totally dying out. In the Horn of Africa, there were many such change of governments. Some short-lived, others permanently die out. Ethiopia In 1960 the Ethiopian Brigadier-General Mengistu Neway led a coup with his younger brother Germame Neway …
Read More »Get Prepared Before The Flood Arrives
In the Senhit region, all the way to the West, there are rock mounds, there are ancient conical tukul-shaped pyramids covered in fist size stones scattered in many places. They are covered in black stones, rarely with white. I discovered they were graves of notable warriors or clan leaders. The …
Read More »The Wicked Pact Against Tigray
How do people keep their composure despite an anger? I will start with a Tigrayan Lady whose views I really liked. Principled, to the point and very genuine. Obviously she is in pain due to the current situation in Tigrai; I would be as angrier if I was a Tigrayan. …
Read More »Ethiopian Northern Command Troops Were Asleep
I am not sure who the president of Sudan was then, but I think it was Ismaiel AlAzhari when a propaganda war followed the 1967 Arab-Israel war. Soon a joke circulated quoting claiming the Israeli Defense Minister, Moshe Dayan, said, ‘we can occupy Sudan while the people are eating their …
Read More »Abyssinians And Arabs Have Similar Traits
Happy New Year, Aamkum Mubarek, RHuus Haddish Aamet, Bekitet Haddas Senet lideyya, Feliches neues Jahr, Feliz Agno Nuevo, Felice Anno Nuovo, Bonne Annee, Melkam Addis Aamet The following are today’s topics of Negarit 114: 1. The Arab and Abyssinian counting of time is similar, and the origin of Gregorian calendar. …
Read More »News and Information, Life and Property
My generation grew up consuming news. In Teashops, particularly in the morning, radios blasting, news bulletins from BBC Arabic, VoA, Monte Carlo, and many others. Every artisan on the streets had radios on the shopfronts. Each day I walked to school through the textile and grocery shops, tailors, tin artifact …
Read More »Gallantry at Halhal
[The following is chapter 20 from Saleh “Gadi” Johar’s book, “Of Kings and Bandits.” First republished on September 8, 2014 to commemorate the Battle Battle of Halhal which happened on September 6, 1968, on Dec, 17, 2020, the chapter was presented again on the authors YouTube channel in an abridged form as …
Read More »The Massacre of Ona and Besekdira: When Scars Replace Wounds
Almost all my generation carry scars on their upper arms. Scars left from the crude type of vaccinations: smallpox, Measles, typhoid, TB, Yellow fever, etc. I say crude because it was not a drop on the tangue, or a pinch with a small needle. They use huge syringe and keep …
Read More »The Sixth and Seventh Kings of Ethiopia
A man from Keren arrived in Asmara and headed to the neighborhood where his relatives lived. Though he had seen the house long ago, he was not sure exactly where in was. Then he saw his relatives’ son sitting on the stairs of a door. He kissed the boy and …
Read More »What Follows Condemnation?
The dead do not hear. One can whisper, shout, scream, and call a dead person, but you do not get an answer. And like a dead person, the leaders of our region do not listen. I have concluded long ago that they have become prisoners of the social media simply …
Read More »Rejecting Wars– A Matchstick in The Horn of Africa
My call for participation from the friends of Negarit is very encouraging. I got a few worthy comments and feedback. They are gems. Imagine if we share all that we know? I am encouraged and I will not stop reminding you to share your knowledge. Thank you and keep them …
Read More »Isaias Afwerki’s “Secret Letter” To Donald Trump
[This article was first posted on November 9, 2016 under a title “Mistirawit Debdabe.”] Eight years ago, on November 8, 2008, I published Isaias’ congratulatory letter to the then president elect, Obama. Today I am publishing Isaias’ congratulatory letter to president elect Donald Trump. You will notice the two letters …
Read More »The Difference Between Propaganda and Public Relations
When I started to work after leaving Eritrea, I landed at a sales and marketing job. My understanding of sales was clear, but I didn’t understand what marketing meant. My boss at the time, an American veteran of marketing, taught me that a sale is the about taking the product …
Read More »Graduated in Coffee Bean Picking
On Negarit 104 I talked about vowels and consonants and why Tigrinya speakers add a “i” vowel to many words like Oklandi, Taxi, Hollandi, etc. A commentator (HTT) explained the reason: it has to do with the word construction and combinations of vowels and consonants. I found his explanation palatable and …
Read More »Negarit 103: ከፊሎም ደዊሉ ነሩ- The sponsor called- وأتصل الكفيل
What a change! Smartly dressed PFDJ official, with a bonus. For the first time he travels alone, and he scores two full points. The second person who comes (used to come) second to Osman Saleh was the previous information minister. The current one, I testify, used to dree sharply. But …
Read More »Kabuga, Fascists and Jackets
I know when what comes on Negarit hurts them because they go berserk with their insults. The last episode really made them mad—and I couldn’t differentiate between PFDJ cults and the fascist cult. They reacted the same—insults and jingoism, as usual. I know the sickness is inflicted by the 800 …
Read More »PFDJ Leaders Chewing on Fifty-Years Old Grudges
A few days ago, I watched a documentary type of video where Alamin Mohammed Saeed and General Abraha Kassa were host commentators. I picked three points from the video: one positive, one negative, and a third annoying. 1) I was glad to hear they talked about the fascist Agazian groupies, …
Read More »Narcissus, Marie Antoinette, and Saba Hailu
The following is the draft script for Negarit 99. This time it has been two steps forward, one step backward because #100 preceded #99 so that #100 coincides with Awate Day on September 1, 2020.] Todays Negarit addresses the story of Narcissus and Narcissism, compares Marie Antoinette and Saba Hailu. …
Read More »Happy Double Awate Day
(This is a close English translation of the Tigrinya content of Negarit #100 video on YouTube channel) Happy September 1 for all of you. Our culture teaches us that one who is not grateful to fellow human beings is unable to be grateful to God. As we all know, Hamid Idris Awate …
Read More »The Staff of Moses
This is rough transcription of Negarit 98 published on YouTube this morning… The senior police (Police Abbay) After WW2, the British Administration left Eritrea a sufficiently trained police force known as field forces. Their training and mandate were limited to civil criminal offenses and enforcing rule of law in the …
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