Author: Salyounis
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“Wey Gud” Is Not A Good Strategy
Writing for dehai.org and, undoubtedly speaking for many Eritreans, the astute and well-read Ghidewon Abay Asmerom has dismissed the role of Uganda in slapping sanctions on Eritrea as that of an unwitting ally of Ethiopia. “Such behavior henceforth should be called “the Uganda Syndrom[e],” he offered, and then, “As for this author, all what I
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What Springs Eternal
My business partner just sued me for a $1,000,000. He says we have a deal, detailed in a contract, in black and white, signed in front of witnesses and it is time for me to pay up. I have an airtight defense, so perfect that there is no chance I can lose. What’s that? Of course,
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Let’s Build A Monument To Paranoia
I was introduced to a young Eritrean: Vasco da Gama, was his name. Not his given name of course, but a tribute to his trek from Eritrea to the Land of Milk and Honey, crossing the length of two and half continents. Beware: the quickest way to clear a room with the Vasco da Gamas
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Injustice & The PFDJ Way
I was introduced to a young Eritrean: Vasco da Gama, was his name. Not his given name of course, but a tribute to his trek from Eritrea to the Land of Milk and Honey, crossing the length of two and half continents. Beware: the quickest way to clear a room with the Vasco da Gamas
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Injustice & The PFDJ Way
Justice is derived from customs, culture, and faith, which in civilized societies, are codified into law. Ask a conservative American what his justice system is based on and he will say it is the Judeo-Christian ethic. Not so, will say a progressive American: only two of the Ten Commandments (“thou shalt not murder” and “thou
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Those Who Can’t, Diss
Many of my correspondents ask why I am focusing on the writings of Yosief Ghebrehiwot when we are both in what is loosely defined as the opposition camp. Well, there are three major reasons. Firstly, it is because I am a huge fan of Yosief particularly of his ability to synthesize ideas, which is a
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Recruit All Day; Dance All Night
Years ago, in 1977 to be exact, I was visiting the just-liberated Keren. Initially, Kerenites were not in a celebratory mood; being an outsider (and very young), it took me a while to grasp the skepticism: they were waiting for the other “deqna” to show up. Ingrates! The EPLF had a simple plan on how
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For The Man You Are
You are thirteen years old, and your father reads you a poem. You are asked to memorize it, because there would be a test. You don’t remember the test, but you remember part of the poem: I had a dream tonight As I felt asleep Oh, the touching sight Makes me still weep Of my little
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Goodbye, friend
You have influential friends whose presence changes your life and you have taken-for-granted friends whose absence changes your life. And sometimes, they are the same person, the same friend, in-and-out of your life as you drift in-and-out of their presence. You try to make sure that the last thing you remember is not a scene
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“No Problem. Any Time.”
Shigir yelen: abzkone gzie. Those were the last words of President Isaias Afwerki in his “interview” with Shaebia.org staff. Some hyper eager folks have called Isaias Afwerki Eritrea’s “George Washington.” Actually, they should call him Eritrea’s first Sahel-bred person who speaks Tigrigna as if English is his first language. Offered thanks, a Tigrigna-speaking Eritrean might
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The Language of Authoritarians
As everyone knows, there are nine languages spoken in Eritrea. And, as everyone knows, the Government of Eritrea continues to preach and, in fact, enshrined in the retired-since-birth constitution, the clause that “all languages are equal.” And that, based on this principle, the government cannot possibly endorse any language as the official language. This article
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shaEbia ktHaqiq alewa (PFDJ Should Dissolve Itself)
Earlier this year, around Feburary 2001, the editors of Hwyet magazine, a quarterly Eritrean newspaper published by one of the para statal organizations, asked me and two other Eritreans, to write an article about the future of PFDJ. I did, as did the two other Eritreans. The editors decided against publishing the articles and, instead,