Category: Articles
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Recognizing Individuals: A Step Towards Transparency
Let’s pause and consider ourselves and identify “who is who” among those who are making history, by being in the foremost list of activist leaders, in the quest of justice for Eritrea. In today’s Eritrean political mindset, many may feel discomfort when individual dissidents are picked from the crowds of justice seekers pool. Though these…
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USE: The United States of Eritrea
Currently Eritrea is ruled by an undemocratic regime that, can’t be reformed, continues to violate basic human rights, and is unable to provide even bare necessities for most its citizens. And it has been condemned by human right organisations and the United Nations. Dwelling on that however, does not help. Instead, I would rather focus…
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Anatomy of a Proverb
I had a relative who won all her arguments, thanks to her toolbox full of proverbs and parables which she used naturally and effectively. I think now, in retrospect, that for her to have won all those arguments, she must have followed techniques whereby each argument is forced to turn itself to an angle which…
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Abyssinia-(Al Habasha) Origins and Language
*Introduction: Conducting a discourse on language in Eritrean context in dispassionate manner had proven next to impossible – if past experiences are any guide. But hope is not lost, as sheer coincidence would have it, recently, EMDHR sponsored seminar via PalTalk that took place earlier this month, and it was refreshing to hear Dr. Chefena’s approach on language…
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Eritreans Mobilized For Justice In New York
First I would like to thank the organizers of the New York demonstration for showing their respect for humanity and saying no to injustice in Eritrea. The focus of my message is why this demonstration was vital and why it concerns all Eritreans and why they came together to send a message of solidarity to…
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Eritrean Youth: The Lost Generation
Many of us living overseas have conducted ourselves in such a way that we remained true to our Eritrean heritage. We unswervingly rallied behind the preservation of the very spirit that sustained the independence struggle. We, overwhelmed by the spirit of the ‘gedli’ era, cherished liberty as a heritage of all Eritreans everywhere as we…
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Confessions of A Recovering Addict: It was All for the Chicks
I relished it and my friends provided it. Truth be told, I was addicted, but it was all for a good cause, it was to impress the girls. I was in love and addicted to two cousins, but they manifested through one person. It was in unlikely place that I first noticed Leila, she was…
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The Role of the Elite In Leading Their Communities
The following post appeared on September 1, 2016, on Ismael Gabayta’s facebook page. Awatestaff took the initiative and translated it into English for the benefit of its readers. The original Arabic content by Ismael was slightly altered to avoid Arabic verbosity and be better understood by the English reader. Omissions and translation errors, if any,…
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Book Review: Loubet AlMaghzal By Haji Jabir
Title of the book: “Lubetu Almghzal”( The game of the spinning wheel) Author: Haji Jaber Language: Arabic Number of pages: 208 Published July 27th 2015 by Arab Cultural Center, Beirut, Lebanon. I read Haji Jaber’s third novel “Loubet Almaghzal” in which he narrates deeply and brilliantly about some diaries lost; diaries that make the history and memory…
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A Very Untimely Article
The American 2016 Election: A white woman on the top, a white man at the bottom. Hilary Clinton is poised to become the first female president, but a white woman on the top with a white man at the bottom is not history making. It is not even history repeating itself much less making it.…
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Testimony of Khaled Beshir, Ph.D.
Testimony of Khaled Beshir, Ph.D. Board Member, Awate Foundation Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at 2:00 PM Hearing before the House Committee on foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations “Eritrea: A Neglected Regional Threat” Thank you Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member Bass, and Members of the Subcommittee for giving me…
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“Eritrea: A Neglected Regional Threat”
The US Congress’ Foreign Affairs Committee will have a hearing on Eritrea under the title, “Eritrea: A Neglected Regional Threat”. The sub-committee hearing will take place tomorrow, Wednesday, September 14, 2016 at 2 pm Eastern. We hope to be able to link the live stream of the hearing on Eritrea from the Foreign Affairs Committee website…
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Challenges of Justice & Democracy In Ethiopia
Voices of justice and democracy are challenging modern Ethiopia. The adoption of “democracy” in the system of governance is becoming highly volatile in today’s political life. Despite its theoretical connotation and rationale, its notion has been devalued as a simple commodity that wishy-washy politicians sell to ordinary citizens. Instead of a justifiable system of governance,…
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Viewpoint: Events In Ethiopia
It has been over a year since the widespread public unrest erupted in the Oromia state of Ethiopia. This year, the simmering conflict between the Amara and Tigrai regions over parts of Welkait also erupted. While the Ethiopian government is now facing the two problems, Ethiopians and others are engaged in serious (and heated) debates…
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The Song That Emancipates Eritrean Women
Traditionally; most of the Tigriniya love songs hanker on the themes of interference by others, on one lover’s succumbing to the village gossip, “my love, do not believe the gossip, it is motivated by jealousy “. And many are lamentations about parents who refused to bless the courtship because of lack of societal stature and…
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The Agaiazians Have Testosterone Too!
A few days ago I stumbled on a new YouTube Phenomenon, The Agaiazian.tv, broadcast by an Eritrean named Tesfazion. Laden with the history of Tigray and Tigrinya, Tesfazion calls Eritrea a country needled out from the thin air, sewing the nine ethnic groups to create an artificial country by Vatican designers. His main thesis is…
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Grassroots view: The Discourse of Martyrdom and Sovereignty (P2)
In Part I tried to show two separate narratives or discourses around martyrdom, sovereignty, and nationalism as represented by the dominant Party-State versus the grassroots or popular views. I also argued the Party-State’s intense propaganda that the population have been subjected to on its own, cannot explain why the majority of the communities, at least…
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Grassroots View: The Discourse of Martyrdom and Sovereignty
Introductory note: This article is based on my contribution to a panel discussion on the 14th of May 2016 organized to mark the Eritrean Martyrs Memorial Day. By way of introduction let me share with you the following brief anecdote. On reading the email posting announcing the event, a friend of mine suggested that I was…
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Tagging Isaias Afwerki: The Paranoid Dictator
When searching for a list of the world’s worst known dictators, Google returns clusters of 10, 13, 20, 25, 100 with repeated names including Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot, Kim Il Sung, Idi Amin Dada, Mengistu Hailemarian, Haileselassie, Robert Mugabe, Muammar Gaddafi, Kim John Il, Bashar Al-Assad, Fidel Castro, etc. Isaias Afwerki is rarely listed…
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Jebena Presents Grafted Skin
A few days ago a loyal friend of awate.com sent us a link to a song that was recently released. An unusual piece of music by Amanuel Yohannes. It’s a song without any interruptions of brass instruments. A few days later, Amanuel Hidrat posted the song on the awate.com discussion forum. Immediately, Semere Tesfai transcribed…