Category: Negarit
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Zerom The Liberator
Now that the endless “silver jubilee celebrations in Eritrea are over, and the epic trip of the torch that remained the only featured star on PFDJ’s media for about five months is over, I felt of sharing the following chapter, “The Liberator”, from my latest book “Miriam Was Here”. Consider it my way of expressing the human and…
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Eritrean Apathy: No Boletika Zone
This edition of Negarit was first published on July 21, 2008. Since then, so many Eritrean associations have been created; most of them peddle the “No Boletika Zone” position in the face of the rampant injustice that Eritreans are facing. These associations have played a major role in creating the political apathy that has inflicted many…
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Untie The Knot In Your Life
Today’s edition is very personal. I am celebrating my 87th cigarette-free day. Three-months of detoxification and I am treating myself to a cup of tea, not in the usual open air, but inside the shop. Over the years I got used to sitting outside, come rain or shine, because I liked what I thought was…
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The Prayers Of Good People
Mr. Johar! Mr. Johar! It was Big Bird calling my name; I could see the bright red mouth when it opened its yellow beak. There was clamor, unusual commotion for the calm Sesame Street Show. The noise became tense, and louder. Big Bird continued calling my name: Mr. Johar. Mr. Johar! When I opened my eyes there…
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UHURU: An Eritrean Cry From Nairobi
This edition of Negrit comes in two sections. The first is about the journey that culminated in the convening of the Nairobi meeting; the second is a postscript. I believe many are expecting my personal reaction to the “Veto” exercised against my attendance by Andeberhan at the final session of the Nairobi meeting. Indeed they might expect…
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Naud: The Legendary Founder Of Haraka
He is one of the fiery youngsters of the pre-armed-struggle era; a major personality of the late fifties and sixties. He is the visionary who saw beyond the Federation. An astute politician who planned ahead of time in preparation to the day when Haile Sellasie, as he foresaw, would abort the federation. He is the founder of the…
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Tesemma, The Lion Of Maareba
The history of Eritrea in the forties cannot be remembered without mentioning the Independence Block. And that cannot be mentioned without remembering Ras Tessema Asmerom. The independence block played an important role in the struggle against Eritrea’s unconditional unity with Ethiopia. Tessema Asmerom, a member of the Akele-Guzai nobility, was exposed to limited traditional church…
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The Rice Weyane Twins: Condoleezza and Susan
This edition of Negarit was first published on December 9, 2005 under the title, “A Secret Letter: Isaias to Bush.” It’s being republished hoping it will trigger some memories as suggestedf by a member of the Awate fourm. It’s being published under a new title: The Rice Weyane Twins: Condoleezza and Susan Asmara, December 10th., 2005 To George Bush From Isaias…
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Major Dawit Woldegiorgis: More Of Red Tears
The following article was published in July 2, 2009, as a response for Shaleqa Dawit Woldegiorgis’ article “The way forward for Ethiopia and Eritrea” which appeared four days earlier on Ethiomedia on June 29, 2009. I decided to publish it because Dawit’s article has been brought again in the Internet for discussion. I would like to…
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Bologna, Italy, 2013: “Eritrean Solutions for Eritrean Problems”
Since the last Bologna Forum conference in Oakland, followed by Miriam September’s article, The Genius in a Lamp: ‘Eritrean Solutions to Eritrean Problems’, debates centered around EYSC’s slogan, “Eritrean Solutions for Eritrean Problems”, have been going on. I decided to republish the following which was published in Sep, 2013, right after the Bologna Forum conference…
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Eritrea: A Picture and 1001 Words
Hopefully the person who sent me the above picture in 2001, would come out and be recognized; unfortunately I don’t remember who it was! I received the picture 14 years ago when awate.com was one-year old, and I believe it first appeared in the Internet accompanying the article below that I wrote on June 2,…
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Mola Asghedom For Governor Of Ethiopia Forum
I am sure you heard that Mola Asghedom who was on a ten year visit to Eritrea decided to leave his guest camp and return to Ethiopia. I am not sure of his title, but Eritrean Arabic websites refer to him as “General Mola Asghedom”. Why not, anyone who commands an army thousands of soldiers…
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Reintroducing Diversity In Eritrean Politics
On Saturday, August 29, 2015, I attended an event hosted by Bologna Forum in Oakland. I had prepared a speech in English but then I decided to deliver it in Tigrinya; it was not a word for word translation, hence, I am not sure if it was in an expanded or condensed form, but I am…
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Language and Religion In Eritrean Politics (Archive)
(The following was presented at a panel discussion under the theme “Eritrea’s Path towards Democracy: Dialogue on Constitutional Issues”. The event was held at the Universities at Shady Grove, Rockville, Maryland, on June 25, 2011; the organizers of the event assigned the topic to the presenter. It’s being republished to shed light on the topic as…
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Ali Baabe, Adolescent At Seventy
Sometime ago I discovered Banyan is a name of a tree, but I don’t know why the Indian community that lived in Eritrea was called Banyan. As a child, I was a client of a Banyan barber until he left town. Then I shifted to Aya Estifanos, who also moved to Tessenei. My next barber…
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Scent of Lemon: An Example Of Refined Eritrean Song
My taste in music is unusual, not many songs please me. My aversion to saxophones is unmatched, but I love wooden instruments, the traditional flute, the Andean reed zambona, fisarmonica, Congo drums, rebaba, and the violin. The saxophone, however, scares me more than the sight of a Black Mamba snake. I wish Eritrean musicians introduce…
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Miriam Was Here In Tigrinya Coming Out In July
It’s with great pleasure that I announce that the Tigrinya translation of my last book “Miriam Was Here” is now accomplished. The translation took almost a year and another several months in editing, checking, proofreading, cover design and registration. I am also glad to announce that I received the prestigious “#BookSeller” award from the PFDJ…
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Eritrean Opposition’s Pink Panther Show
I envy people who grew up watching the Pink Panther cartoon show; there was no television where I grew up. But as an adult, I avenged myself; I watched all Pink Panther shows. If you find a strange word, run for the dictionary. If you want to check a location of a country, go for…
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The Smashed Eritrean Wristwatch
Some anecdotes are timeless, I will tell you an old one: Adey Tekh’a, was a very old senile woman. A combatant asked her how old she was. She tried to remember, “Since I was baptized as Tekh’a, since I shepherded the goats. What! I could be 400 or 500 hundred years old! ” እምቧዕ!፡ተኽኣ ካብ…
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Eritrean Janus Ethiopian Hydra
This edition of Negarit was about to be published when the tragic events in Libya, and then the Mediterranean Sea overwhelmed us. I delayed it for a few days to give people time to mourn. Here, I would like to commend the Ethiopian government for handling the Libya massacre case responsibly, and the Ethiopian people…