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About Saleh "Gadi" Johar

Born and raised in Keren, Eritrea, now a US citizen residing in California, Mr. Saleh “Gadi” Johar is founder and publisher of awate.com. Author of Miriam was Here, Of Kings and Bandits, and Simply Echoes. Saleh is acclaimed for his wealth of experience and knowledge in the history and politics of the Horn of Africa. A prominent public speaker and a researcher specializing on the Horn of Africa, he has given many distinguished lectures and participated in numerous seminars and conferences around the world. Activism Awate.com was founded by Saleh “Gadi” Johar and is administered by the Awate Team and a group of volunteers who serve as the website’s advisory committee. The mission of awate.com is to provide Eritreans and friends of Eritrea with information that is hidden by the Eritrean regime and its surrogates; to provide a platform for information dissemination and opinion sharing; to inspire Eritreans, to embolden them into taking action, and finally, to lay the groundwork for reconciliation whose pillars are the truth. Miriam Was Here This book that was launched on August 16, 2013, is based on true stories; in writing it, Saleh has interviewed dozens of victims and eye-witnesses of Human trafficking, Eritrea, human rights, forced labor.and researched hundreds of pages of materials. The novel describes the ordeal of a nation, its youth, women and parents. It focuses on violation of human rights of the citizens and a country whose youth have become victims of slave labor, human trafficking, hostage taking, and human organ harvesting--all a result of bad governance. The main character of the story is Miriam, a young Eritrean woman; her father Zerom Bahta Hadgembes, a veteran of the struggle who resides in America and her childhood friend Senay who wanted to marry her but ended up being conscripted. Kings and Bandits Saleh “Gadi” Johar tells a powerful story that is never told: that many "child warriors" to whom we are asked to offer sympathies befitting helpless victims and hostages are actually premature adults who have made a conscious decision to stand up against brutality and oppression, and actually deserve our admiration. And that many of those whom we instinctively feel sympathetic towards, like the Ethiopian king Emperor Haile Sellassie, were actually world-class tyrants whose transgressions would normally be cases in the World Court. Simply Echoes A collection of romantic, political observations and travel poems; a reflection of the euphoric years that followed Eritrean Independence in 1991.

Despising Weavers and Tailors!

Comments reflect the commentators’ character. While some are insightful and they help sharpen one’s views, others are vulgar, uncouth, and

The Primitive Mineliks

A friend told me a joke about someone who frequently climbed up a hill and prayed to win the lottery.

Celebrating Dr Saeed Forma

The last time I eulogized my friend Mebrahtu, I didn’t think I will do another one for a while. But

My Uncle Malik Amber

The Siddis-Ahbash in the Gujarat and Maharashtra regions of India are of African ancestry. They were brought to India by

Singers and Poets

About ten years ago there was a popular singer named Tarreqe. He had a unique voice. Until his slow disappearance,

Proclamation No. 1

Last Friday, Abiy Ahmed released a few prisoners of conscience who posed a risk to his control of power. The

The Story of the #BlueEritrea Flag

Today, I hope the restless would stay calm as I narrate a basic history of the Eritrean flag–the significance of

Tug Of War

When a country faces a risk of war and invasion, the best precaution is to strengthen is national unity. But

Eritrea, Ethiopia’s Hostage

Anyone who went through the miseries and cruelties of the successive Ethiopian occupation (Haile Selassie’s and Mengistu’s) followed by the

The Era of PFDJ-Stupidity

This is excerpts from my Negarit 151, a presentation of Carlo Cippola’s book, “The 5 Basic Laws of Human Stupidity.”

The Six-Husbands of Eritrea

In the Tigrinya language we do not have separate words for sebay, as in husband, and sebaay, as in Man.

Eritrea and the Ethiopian Civil war

[9 mnts. reading] Writers or speakers who discuss everything under the sun should not shy away from raising critical topics

Negarit 148: ብሰላም ዕረፍ – Remembering a friend – ارقد في سلام

Eulogy for a departed friend, mourning in my own way and cursing the PFDJ//Saleh

Casualty and Effect

Living in Eritrea, far from the Sea, I only knew canned Sardines. Then I went to Massawa and tried grilled

“The World Is Against Us,” Eritrea’s St Alamin

A few people were mad because I criticized Saint Alamin, the Secretary of the PFDJ. They insisted that I apologize

The Hyena-leg, Egri Zb’ee

When I was a child, there was a man who had a big funnel-shaped wooden leg. His steps made a

“May You Beget A Black Cat”

In 1986 a border conflict erupted between Qatar and Bahrain over the ownership of the Hawar Islands (Fisht AlDibal). Qatari

The General’s Bad Lessons

A longtime ago in the environs of Kulentebai, the late Tesfai Tekhle, the liberation era commander, told a group of

Please Come and Invade Us!

A fringe racist, bigoted, and servile group has been trying hard to undo Eritrea and what its people stand for.

Eritrea: “A Foolish Undertaking”

Over the years I have come across many views; some I learned from, others I were a waste of time,

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