Category: Articles
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“Baito Baitona”: The Debrezeit Dialogue Forum
It was my first participation in a big Eritrean gathering of various youth organizations and diverse individuals: refugees, students, journalists, writers, artists and opposition leaders; and I met my Facebook and media acquaintances from all over the world and reminisced our school experiences and all the ups and downs of life in Eritrea. It was…
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Reflection On The Bishoftu “Youth Dialogue Forum”
The preparations The first time I heard about the idea of planning to hold a youth conference in Ethiopia and other sectorial conferences was during the seminar of Eritrean intellectuals, professionals and other interested individuals held in Ethiopia in September 2011. It means the idea precedes the Eritrean National Conference for Democratic Change (ENCDC) conference…
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Undemocratic: Youth Organizations vs. Youth Conference Organizers
Indeed, the Eritrean Youth Conference in Ethiopia is extraordinary, but what inspired me to write today is Dr. Mohamed Kher Omer’s facebook message to Kiros Yohannes and others concerning the conference. I want to thank Dr. Mohamed Kheir Omer for his advice, his valuable information and his continuous articles at awate.com. I stand corrected, but Dr.…
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Eritrean Think Tank – And The Need For Purification Of The Intellect
We are in big trouble! At first shot, this may look like stating the obvious. But, I am referring to something probably much more serious than you think. It hits directly at the centre. It raises questions about the very existence of Eritrea as a nation and the survival of its people. I believe that we…
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Eritrea: Where The Victims Are Villains
I am livid – absolutely livid, in fact!! The reason for my anger has to do mainly with the last three comments made by S. Temelso, Y. Kahsai and A. Hidrat in response to my article of June 30, 2012 (www.awate.com) in which the Eritrean people are labeled as cowards, self centered opportunists and runaways…
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Youth Rebellion: Limitations, Challenges, Opportunities And Expectations
Uprising & opportunities The last two years has seen an increased awareness, readiness and action oriented tasks involving a growing number of Eritrean youth in the Diaspora. Increased use of social media such as facebook and paltalk, inspiration from the Arab spring and the tragic fate of many asylum seekers in Sinai has given this…
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The Eritrean Holocaust: Sweet Revenge of the Old Fox
Long ago in our youth, when we were intoxicated with Marxist thinking, we were made to believe that the masses were the true drivers of history and not individual leaders. The latter were seen not as ordinary mortals but as the hand, the very embodiment of history, of society, of nature, of God himself. Therefore,…
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The Eritrean Holocaust — And How To Stop It
Preface This is a serious attempt to first describe and explain the present situation in Eritrea and the nature of its political leadership. It then tries to suggest some simple but effective solutions which may have far reaching consequences for the future of the country and the region within a short time, not years. In…
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Eritrea: A Dissection Of The Opposition
The current Eritrean opposition organisations are offshoots of the mainstream politics of either the ELF or the EPLF; both organisations had a distinct political experience, stemming from different social and cultural background that contributed in creating separate trends that greatly impacted the course of the Eritrean history and general developments of the past and present…
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The Referendum: A Matter Of Perspective
I was reading the excellent article by Mr. Mesfin Araya on the trajectory of the Eritrean nationalism when of all the points he raised, a point that had always struck me as odd, the one about the referendum, was the one the least talked about and least analyzed by any of the Eritrean intellectuals or…
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Eritrean Youth And Their Political Positions
These are my reflections on why some of the Eritrean youth are either supporters of the regime or politically indifferent. Youth is a social sector defined by an age group normally ranging from 15-35 but the regime extends the upper limit to 40 or more to suite its manipulative purposes. In Eritrea, like in any…
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Notes On The Historical Trajectory of Eritrean Nationalism
Eritrea—which was once an Italian colony, a British protectorate, and briefly an autonomous region before it was reduced to a mere province of Ethiopia—became in 1993 an independent nation-state, redefining post-colonial African map, hopefully not setting a dangerous precedence. The history of over thirty years of bloody armed struggle had inflicted unbearable human suffering with…
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National Unity Existing Only As Virtual Reality
The question of national unity is of a paramount importance and to a great extent, the way it is resolved would determine the preservation and continuation of Eritrea as an integral united nation. Eritrean history clearly demonstrates that we have thoroughly and fundamentally failed in resolving that and other important issues. This could mainly be…
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Unfiltered Notes: Rays Of Hope With EYSC’s Freedom Friday
It is refreshing to see EYSC’s (Eritrean Youth Solidarity for Change) Freedom Friday initiative launched with the stated goal of eradicating dictatorship in Eritrea. According to EYSC, 10,000 robocalls and 2000 personal calls have been made so far (listen to recorded message here: http://eysc.net/pr/arbi_harnet_voicemessage.WMA). Could we be witnessing a long overdue tipping point building up…
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The National Council And EDA’s Fate
Well before the National Congress for Democratic Change convened in November 2011, questions were being asked about the future of one of its key constituents—the Eritrean Democratic Alliance (EDA). Would it continue as it was? Would it change to accommodate the new political and organizational reality that was to emerge from the Congress? Or would…
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Evaluation Of The ENCDC Held In Hawassa
A General Evaluation of the Eritrean National Congress for Democratic Change (ENCDC) held in Hawassa 21-30 Nov. 2011) by Eritreans for Democracy, Justice and Equality (EDJE) Summary: The convening of the National Congress marked the culmination of extensive preparations that lasted over a year. The process was based on the main decision of the Eritrean…
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The ENCDC Congress At Hawassa: A Determination To Succeed (P II)
In Part I, I touched on the preparations, the venue, and the deliberations. I apologize for the delay in presenting part II which deals with the process of electing the leadership, the Ethiopian role, current events and the way forward. Many articles were written about the Congress since I wrote Part I, therefore, I will…
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The Digital Age. A Matter Of Perspective
The other day I asked my son to get me a ‘smart phone’. One of those Blackberries: i-pads, i-pods, or i–phones. He looked at me quizzically and asked, ‘Why would you want a smart phone?’ I said I want to look hip. I want to look modern. I want to look cool. I want to…
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On Semere Tesfai’s Disagreeable Thoughts
In his latest article, instead of enlightening and informing us about our united and great people, who have been denied freedom, subjected and oppressed for very long time, Semere came with a disagreeable article. His characterization of the 600 opposition members who congregated at Awassa and EDA, as Islamists and Ethnic Organizations is unfounded. Instead, he should…
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The Ethiopian Roar And The Weary Eyes Of Eritrean Mothers (P.II)
To start where we left off (The Ethiopian Roar… P I) – among other things, we said “if Ethiopia is planning to use this upcoming EDA National Conference (November 2011) as a launching pad for regime change….then EDA will shatter in pieces before Christmas of this year (2011).” Well, the EDA Conference (Waela) was convened…