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A Wake-Up Call For The Exclusionists
If you ask any of the Eritrean opposition groups who built their organizations on the basis of their religious beliefs & convictions about the nature of their struggle, they will tell you that their mission is not about creating a Sharia-ruled state, but rather about upholding the basic human rights of their people who were…
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It Is A Crazy World
When Europeans flocked to the New Continent following its discovery in 1492, the idea was to get as much gold and silver as possible from the land they mistook for India or the China of Marco Polo. Their kings wanted to stock their coffers with gold for an everlasting war and glory, the Church to…
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The Eritrean Elites And The People
Recently, I observed a relative tranquility in the Eritrean cyberspace, may be the success of the NCDC diverted the course of action into the righteous direction. A considerable number of participants also highlighted their views with regard to the event and confirmed that at least “we can sit together at the table.” Above all, Assenna.com…
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Naud: The Living Legend Passes Away
On September 16, 2010, the legendary leader Mohammed Said Naud passed away in Asmara Eritrea where he has been living since he returned to Eritrea in 1991 just after the Ethiopian forces were pushed out of Eritrea. He was seventy four years old. The Eritrean ruling party’s website annopunced his death in two-sentences only: “Veteran Fighter Mohammed Seid Nawd was…
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A New Type Of Politics Needed Not A New Type Of Opposition
In the absence of a central body which monitors and “regulates” discussions of Eritrea’s state of affairs, it is not surprising to see debates turn into fights and political campaign run negatively. In the absence of an arbiter, it is normal to see some people and organizations talk louder. Because the louder you talk it…
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Education: Isn’t It The Equalizer Of Justice?
“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desire.” Nelson Mandela (a statesman) Listening to a crucial repertory plays in the last three decades about the discrepancy of education, and…
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How And Why I Chose Harmony for Awate.com’s Column
About two weeks prior to Awate.com’s 10th anniversary, the Awate Team sent group email to some of its prolific writers who regularly contribute articles and enrich its website. The email recipients’ list also included people like me who currently are not contributing on a regular basis. The email’s main message was, the Awate Team is…
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Levels Of Perception
Dr. Heiner is a scientist who never goes out of his way to admire flowers much less beautiful women. His garden is the lab filled with flasks and test tubes. To him people are homo-sapiens with a tortuous evolution behind them, while society is simply a collection of humans living under a perpetual truce. But…
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To The Silent Majority – For How Long Can You Keep Your Silence?
A priest asked a dying Spanish Statesman and General who ruled his country in the late 18th century: ‘’Does your Excellency forgive all your enemies?’’ ‘’I do not have to forgive my enemies,’’ the ruler replies, ‘’I have had them all killed.’’ In Eritrea, today, every kind of available weapon is being unleashed: education, mass…
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Addis 2010: Eritrean-Ethiopian relationship (I)
Haddis Alemayehu’s ‘Fiqir iske meqabir (love to the grave) is a literary masterpiece of Amharic literature about feudal Ethiopia that I enjoyed reading during my school days. Addis 2010 revived my memory about the novel and in a number of ways I somehow tried to relate it to the current tragic state of Eritrea. So…
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Of Kings And Bandits: A Book Review
As the title of the book insinuates, “Of Kings And Bandits” is a story – actually many artfully crafted stories – seemingly set to challenge the conventional wisdom and debunk widely accepted versions of history of Abysinia, by exploring tales and legends of “great kings” who ascend to power illegitimately, of viceroys and their lackeys…
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Philosophical Enklil Part 1:Discuss Fishing Without Mentioning Fish
Recently, I have read articles written in Asmarino.com that attempted to address the existence of alleged “child soldier” in the Eritrean struggle during liberation war against Ethiopia. Yosief Gherberhiwet (YG), What the Book of Martyrs Doesn’t Say: Part I and Part II. There was also Zekre Libona (ZL) with his The Eritrean Revolution and Its…
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Eritrea: A Long Way From Getting Sanctions Lifted
On December 23, 2009, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) passed a resolution (S/RES/1907) to impose an arms embargo and targeted sanctions on Eritrea for two reasons: (a) its refusal to comply with prior UNSC resolution (S/RES/1862 of January14, 2009) mandating it to engage in dialogue with Djibouti to resolve its border crisis and withdraw…
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Unity of Purpose
Change always involves trade-offs; and one only hopes that short-term costs will be compensated by long-term benefits. A lot has been said about the National Conference for Democratic Change (NCDC), but I chose to remain silent, because, for the most part, I have nothing that adds value to the “discourse.” The truth is that I’m…
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Cheap Shots on the National Conference for Democratic Change:
We are heartened by the hard and imaginative work that our delegates to the National Conference put into the task of laying the foundation to heal the country from its harsh past and present, and shape the future that restores dignity, confidence and pride into our people. It is a real patriotic work and essential…
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Eritrea, NCDC & The Sana’a Forum
Following the recently concluded national conference of Eritreans, the government of Eritrea has lodged a complaint with Sudan and Yemen for sending their representatives to attend the event which was hosted by Ethiopia at its capital. Sudan and Yemen are members of the Sana’a Forum for Cooperation whose charter includes the promotion of peace and…
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Of Kings And Bandits: A Literary Review
I see men making a language of music and music out of language; men dreaming of finer lives, and living them. Here is a process of creation more vivid than in any myth, godliness more real than in any creed – Will Durant, A Shameless Worship Of Heroes Life is one, continuous and whole. No…
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Is Religion Compatible With Democracy?
Some wit has said that religion is too sensitive and too vital a subject to be left to the church alone. It is time to come boldly forward and look it in the face, the face of total mystery and enigma. Religion may be the last bastion of collective faith, inspiration and spirituality for mankind…
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The National Conference And The Expectant Community
Speculations about a National Convention of opposition parties and civic organizations aiming at working on a road map for the future of Eritrea, have been on the airwaves and headlines of major Eritrean websites especially during the last six months preceding the first week of August 2010. And after a prelude of a lot of…
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A Successful National Conference: A Crucial Milestone
Prior to the convening of the national conference, there were many pessimists who thought that there was no chance in hell that it would work. “ezi’om seb srah ay’konun”, they purported, all the while having nothing to show for it themselves, except for arrogance and hollow bravado. There were also some skeptics who in…
