Category Archives: Pointblank

Whether we thought him dead, alive, arrested, or in intensive care, we have to admit that his sudden disappearance and reappearance was an act of grand performance. He deftly played a lone hide-and-seek with the entire nation and won; deceiving his supporters and enemies alike!   A lot of speculations flew … more

Why? When that three-letter word is uttered (or rather blurted out) by my daughter, I sometimes wish the word never existed (J).  Tell her it is time to go to bed, she wants to know why.  Explain that she needs to sleep because she will wake up early to go to … more

If you think you know the history of Eritrea, here is a pop quiz: when did Eritrea’s armed struggle for liberation really begin? Was it on 9/1/1961 when Awate fired his first shot as many Eritreans believe or late October 1961 when my late uncle joined the revolution? If you … more

Two men surveyed the scene in Eritrea from afar. One saw (or thought he saw) a new era of freedom and prosperity and turned to his companion with tears in his eyes and said “how lucky we are to finally witness the birth of a free and democratic Eritrea”   … more

It is always better to look ahead than to look back; better to propose solutions than to lament the past but the future is so inexorably linked to the present, the present so intimately intertwined to our past, that to ignore the past is to guarantee future failure.  As George … more

As I was passing by the brilliant young Eritrean who sells hotdogs near where I work, I noticed that he took off the picture of president Obama that always hang on his stand. When I asked him why he said he was mad at him for breaking many of the … more

Tomorrow more than a billion Christians will be celebrating Christmas all over the world.  For Tewahdos, the big day falls on January 7.  A day of intense joy for some; a quite day of contemplation and prayers for others; still a nightmare for others, Christmas – whatever secular accretions it … more

The term “non-violent” or “peaceful resistance” has a nice ring to it. It suggests that the person espousing it must be for peace and all others for violence. For those who want to distinguish themselves from the rest of us (run of the mill Eritreans), no other slogan would do … more

Since his debut back in May 25, Amanuel Sahle has enriched Awate.com with several eloquent and highly readable articles.  In its introductory piece, Awate.com said about him that “he spends most of his time reading on and writing about social and philosophical issues”.  What awate.com failed to mention is that … more

I want to begin with a series of congratulations… (skip 4 paragraphs to go directly to the topic) 1.  Congratulations first to awate.com for the sleek new look and for ten years of steady and reliable reporting. The site continues to earn our respect and admiration for its creative and … more

“I will speak to it”, Shakespeare once wrote in Hamlet, “I will speak to it though hell itself should gape and bid me hold my peace.” Hell is not “gaping” but Ali Salim and Semere Tesfai are certainly generating enough heat to cause us to gape and will not “hold … more

The inspiration for this topic came from Ali Salim who mentioned it in his last article and considers it responsible (wholly or partially) for today’s “demeaning” attitude of Christians towards Muslims.  Whether we agree with such an assessment or not, there is no denying of course that such seemingly innocuous … more

When discussing issues that touch upon region, religion, or tribe I think it is always a good idea to begin the discourse with a self-disclosure. This helps readers to put things in context and understand us better. So let me briefly state who I am and how I generally see … more