Articles

On the occasion of the new year, Isaias Afwerki was interviewed by the ruling party owned EriTV and as per the promise he gave his supporters six-months ago, he said that he has “assembled people to prepare the constitution, and that the old constitution, though [he] didn’t declare it, is …

Verses on ‘Politics’ and on a Year Gone By Some graciously wished out of kindness and solidarity Had I contributed materials more often with regularity And not sparsely as is the case now claiming with sincerity “A situation which is depriving them the joy and felicity” From reading what they …

The passing of Omar Jabir is like the disappearance of a bright star from the Eritrean Revolutionary Firmament. As I have had occasion to declare in a posting in Awate a few years ago, Omar represents the soft side of the Eritrean character, a side that owns and uses empathy …

It has been a while since rationing of essential consumer items started in Eritrea. It has been since power became so scarce that Eritreans visiting home carry big quantities of candles. Tap water is almost nonexistent and the sanitation in Asmara and other towns is worrisome. Even with oil price …

OBITUARY (Issued by Gulf News in Arabic and translated by Awatestaff.) Every soul will taste death. Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return. “ O reassured soul. Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him]. And enter among My [righteous] servants. And enter My …

Racist remarks against our region remind us that wars have cost us dearly. And we should think like winners; that we are backward because we have been subjected to circumstances of history which predestined us to find ourselves where we are, not because we are genetically condemned to suffer the …

Dear Saleh: Focusing on your critic of EFND and its documents rather than on the unhelpful personality issues, we would like to let you know that we see your article in a positive light. We agree with you that, despite our efforts, EFND is not yet as diverse as we …

Editor’s Note: Today’s sample is possibly a representative view of the rest of the world regarding Eritrea and Ethiopia. Sometimes, looking at yourself from the perspective of others, particularly in this age of interdependence and globalization, helps with proper self-assessment. We hope this will add to the ongoing heated debate between …

The following is a two part digest of some comments in two parts that appeared on the Awate Forum. The first part is by Abinet, an Ethiopian debater, while the next part is a comment by Shum, an Eritrean commentator. Abinet says: This has been my stand from day one. …

The 660 – page book is written by the scholar, fighter, statesman, Ambassador Andebrhan  Welde Giorgis, where he eloquently exposes the ills of the power hungry dictator, Isaias Afwerki. To be fair to the author, he does not engage in nasty and sour personal attacks of the president, rather, he …

If one were to take a glance at the Eritrean history pages that desperately await an objective scribe and flip from the page of September 1st, 1961 to October 3rd, 2013, the vines of time that bind these two dates would surely appear as if poisoned by a tragic irony. …

I would like to thank Amanuel Hidrat for his well researched and educational article. I really appreciate the time and energy he spent to make his articles educational; I can only say he has expanded the subject matter and it’s going to be helpful in understanding articles and arguments which …

On September 20, 2014, The state-owned Eri-TV, the only Television station beaming from Asmara, Eritrea, showed the Commander of the Eritrean Police Force, Col. Mehari Tsegai, giving a lecture to a gathering of “religious leaders.” The reports stated that the “meeting [was] conducted in the Central region’s administration Hall in …

My name is Ibrahim Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo. I am the son of two veteran fighters of the Eritrean revolution – Aster Fissehatsion and Mahmoud Ahmed Sherifo. Both of my parents were former combatants but now Prisoners of Conscience. Their stories and misfortunes are in the public domain. Amnesty International, Human …

[A few days ago, Eritreans discovered the death of Ahmed Sheikh Feres, an octogenarian who died in the Eritrean regime’s prison where he was kept without charges since May 2007. News finally came out that he actually died four years ago but the regime didn’t announce this until last week. …

A Personal Testimony and Reflections on a Brutal National Service and Political Repression The following is an annotated text of a speech made in a public seminar in Hanover, Germany, on June 5; organized by an Amnesty International working group on Eritrea and the roots of human exodus from the …

[The following is the translation of the Arabic text report by AlJazeera that accompanied the video report. Awate.com bears responsibility for any errors in translation] From the frying pan into the fire: The Tragedy of The Eritrean Refugees In Sudan A Report of the episode by AlJazeera.net They left their …

One cannot help but take the bait when Awate Team smartly presents eclectic viewpoints in that classical battle of the sexes, the never ending binaries that we human types so easily fall prey towards. At the outset, however, it is worth taking heed what literary study cautions against; the two …