Author: Semere T Habtemariam
-

Eritrean Refugees and the Burden of Visibility
Eritrean refugees are a demographic minority in Africa’s displacement map, yet they occupy an outsized space in the continent’s political imagination. They are far fewer than Ethiopians, Sudanese, Congolese, Somalis, or South Sudanese. But across Africa’s major newsrooms—Daily Nation, The Standard, Addis Standard, Sudan Tribune, Radio Dabanga, Daily Monitor, Mail & Guardian, and Daily Maverick—Eritrean stories
-

The Wound and the Cure: How Nehnan Elamanan Damaged Eritrea’s National Unity — and What a Truthful Manifesto Could Have Built Instead
Introduction: The Shadow of a Document There are moments in a nation’s history when a single document bends the arc of its political culture. Sometimes it elevates; sometimes it distorts. Nehnan Elamanan belongs to the latter category. Written in 1971, it did more than justify a factional split. It rewrote the moral grammar of the
-

Protocol, Power, Policy, and the Urgent Need for Institutions
I. A Visit That Reveals More Than It Intended Eritreans have long relied on Awate’s Regional News link to follow developments across the Horn of Africa, a region where every diplomatic gesture carries weight. This week, one story in particular demanded attention: the visit of Eritrea’s minister of trade and industry, Nasreddin Saleh, accompanied by
-

The Day After: Preparing Eritrea for its Most Dangerous Transition
There comes a moment in the life of every nation when denial becomes a luxury it can no longer afford. Eritrea is approaching such a moment. Tick‑tock. The eventual death of President Isaias Afwerki—whether tomorrow or years from now—is not a political prediction but an unavoidable biological certainty. What follows will determine whether Eritrea survives
-

Endless Cycle Splits, Mergers, and Rebranding in the Eritrean Opposition
Fragmentation Without Disappearance: The Endless Cycle of Splits, Mergers, and Rebranding in the Eritrean Opposition In the middle of last year, I committed to writing about Eritrean national unity—both in its broad historical sense and within the specific context of the diaspora‑based opposition. As I continue gathering information on the latter, I readily acknowledge that
-

The Unsung Heroes of Our National Unity
There is a Tigrinya saying I learned from my mother: “One who does not do small deeds should not dream of doing bigger things—ንእሽተይ ጽቡቕ ዘይገብር፡ ዓቢ ክገብር ኢሉ ኣይሕሰብ.” In truth, it is the small, consistent acts of goodness that shape our character and ultimately determine the destiny of a people. We are, after
-

National Unity Cannot Be Rebuilt One Community at a Time
Eritreans everywhere recognize the same painful truth: our nation is in deep crisis. Political paralysis, social fragmentation, and the mass flight of our youth have become defining features of our national condition. These burdens do not belong to one region or one religion. They belong to an entire people. My brother, the respected commentator Ismail
-

What Has Unity Got to Do with Age?
Across Eritrean political discourse—especially within the diaspora—one argument has gathered unmistakable momentum: that leadership of the opposition, and indeed leadership of the Eritrean state itself, where the average age hovers around eighty, must pass to a new generation. At first glance, the demand feels not only reasonable but inevitable. Eritrea is a young nation with
-

Unity or Irrelevance: The Eritrean Opposition’s Moment of Truth
Eritrea is no longer governed; it is controlled. The state has collapsed into one man. Eritrea is Isaias Afwerki. After more than thirty years in power, the ruling system has not only failed—it has stopped changing. Its thinking is stuck in the Cold War. Its actions are shaped by a past that no longer exists.
-

Somaliland, Somalia, and the Ethics of Non‑Alignment
Recognition, Reality, and Responsibility in the Horn of Africa The recognition of Somaliland would mark a historic moment—akin to Eritrea or South Sudan—not a geopolitical earthquake, but a shift whose ripple effects could extend far beyond its borders. Global politics has a way of humbling our certainties: the developments we dismiss as peripheral often become
