Category Archives: Perspective

The Devil in God’s Land: Paperback, $19.95, 130 pages, 229×152 mm, Mkuki na Nyota Pulblishers, Tanzania, 2011. ISBN 9789987081615, “Have you forgotten your vows to the martyrs? Can you honor your vows while in the cruel embrace of the powerful?” Zegonfo II asking Senai in Act One, Scene One, Page 3.) Who … more

Not fit to lead Isaias is mentally unstable and unfit to lead. He is stuck in a cemetery of dead ideas and it’s foolish to expect him to change. His arrogance and ignorance knows no boundary. Who among us could have imagined any head of state to openly boast: “I … more

* No human creation lasts forever; and, surely, the tyrannical regime in Eritrea will come to an end. But it is naïve to think time alone will put a dagger in the tyrant’s throat. A proactive, action-oriented and results driven struggle is way over-due. A future does not come with … more

What guides us to be on the right path and how do we know we are on the right path? Is it our history, our religions, our philosophies, our prevailing realities or a mix of all? Where are the sign-posts on the road and the light-houses on the harbor? These … more

Last Thursday, a panel of 19 eminent people of the Global Commission on Drug Policy issued a report on the global war on drugs. The report concluded “the war on drugs has failed, with devastating consequences for individuals and societies around the world.” It further recommended to the Secretary General, … more

Abraham Lincoln towers in American history because, among many other accomplishments, he appealed to “the better angels of our nature.” Although he came to prominence almost a century after the Founding Fathers, he was, indeed, the last one of them.  He steered the nation amid the worst violence and brought … more

        Oh, old Pharaoh Moses asked you, “let my people go.” But, you turned a deaf ear, Ten plagues fell on every house and borough. The people found out That you were neither god nor savior And your power was far from thorough.   Oh, new Pharaoh … more

Rarely does one find a serious and intelligent book that is totally engaging, but the author of a new book, “Wounded Nation: How a Once Promising ERITREA was Betrayed and its Future Compromised,” did just that. “Wounded Nation” takes up on where the first volume, “The Crown and the Pen,” … more

“Where are the groups? You ask for it in your imagination. But you must tell me where these groups are.”  The petty dictator of Eritrea rambling in an interview with a Swedish journalist. If one examines the last 50-60 years history of Third-World nations, one is bound to see a … more

Change always involves trade-offs; and one only hopes that short-term costs will be compensated by long-term benefits. A lot has been said about the National Conference for Democratic Change (NCDC), but I chose to remain silent, because, for the most part, I have nothing that adds value to the “discourse.” … more

The book, Of Kings And Bandits, tells the story of a young Eritrean boy, who was forced to choose between dying in dignity, free and brave, or dying in ignominy, humiliated and afraid. Jemal chose the former; and joined a band of “bandits”, otherwise known as freedom fighters, to defy … more

The book, Of Kings And Bandits, tells the story of a young Eritrean boy, who was forced to choose between dying in dignity, free and brave, or dying in ignominy, humiliated and afraid. Jemal chose the former; and joined a band of “bandits”, otherwise known as freedom fighters, to defy … more

A friend implores that those of us who write on Eritrean affairs, do so, from a middle-of-the-road perspective. I understand the appeal: the extreme is reprehensible and the middle-road is praiseworthy. To me the art of compromise, the art of navigating from the middle is the art of peace-making, and … more

Procrusle was a famous robber who lived in the surroundings of ancient Athens, Greece. He gained notoriety by forcing his captives, tall or short, to lie down on his special couch. If the prisoners’ legs were too long, their limbs were chopped off, and if they were too short, they … more