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Mogogo Adhanet: Baking Fresh Lies
Whenever mogogo is mentioned, the image of injera, zigni or gogo immediately flashes in the mind of Eritreans, but the narration of today is about a different mogogo that has a special task. This unique mogogo is distinguished from the other traditional mogogos by the name of its highly skilled baker and owner that is…
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‘H’Mamate-Christos’: Review of The Passion of the Christos
“In ages to come, it is up to one lapsed young ‘Haleqa’, to take the melodic wealth of ‘Ge’ez’ from vicinities of monasteries to the streets of Babylon, the uncharted territory of the secular world, risking excommunication and cursing. No, no, that is more than Teddy Afro’s “Abugida”. When that happens, when the Eritrean Ray…
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Ngdet London, Kahsa Weyane
Let’s begin with a traditional scene. Two spouses quarrel and friends intervene. The husband is pressured to ask for forgiveness. He brings home a fat chicken, the wife cooks it for lunch and they resolve their issues over a zigni derho meal. The husband brought some gifts as well: a bottle of perfume and a…
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ሃገራዊ ዋዕላ፡ ተስፋ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ
ሃገራዊ ዋዕላ ትርጉሙን ክልሰ-ሓሳባዊ ኣገላልጻኡን ስፍሕ ዝበለ ኢዩ። ኣብኡ ኣትየ ብዝርዝር ክትንትን ኣይህቅንን። ብሓጺሩ ግን ሓደ ሃገራዊ ዋዕላ ብዛዕባ ሓደ ሃገር ብዛዕባታት ሰሪዕካ እትዝትየሉን እትውስነሉን ጉባአ ኢዩ። ሃገራዊ ዋዕላ ናይ ፖለቲካዊ ውድባትን ሰልፍታትን ጉዳይ ጥራይ ዘይኰነስ ህዝቢ ናይ ሓደ ሃገር ብቐጥታ ዝሳተፈሉ ዋዕላ ኢዩ። ብሓፈሽኡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ብፍላይ ድማ ኣብ ወጻኢ ዝርከብ ህዝብና ኣብ ሃገራዊ…
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The Eritrean Covenant: A Serious Window for Dialogue
After reading the document known as The Eritrean Covenant which was issued by Mejlis Ibrahim Mukhtar and published on Awate.com (www.awate.com) on February 12, 2010; And after analyzing the contents of the Eritrean Covenant and discussing the aims and dimensions of the message. We, the undersigned, residents of the city of Melbourne, Australia, we register…
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To Be Human: Perspectives From Norway
“We’re prisoners of war. Our dreams have been doctored. We belong to no where. We sail unanchored on troubled seas. We may never be allowed ashore. Our sorrows will never be sad enough. Our joys will never be happy enough. Our lives never important enough to matter.” From the novel, ‘The God of Small Things,’…
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Another Eritrean Delegation Member Absconds In Sudan; Arab League Ignores Isaias’s Pleas
Semere Russom, the Eritrean minister of education visited Sudan leading a delegation from his ministry. According to shabait.com, the government website, the minister was on a working visit to Sudan on a mission to share with his Sudanese counterparts the “experience on the provision of educational opportunities to youths who failed to attend classes at…
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To Paulos Tesfagiorgis With Love: An Open Letter
The first time I got to know you personally was in Khartoum in the late 80s while I was engaged with a group of Eritreans in promoting the rights of Eritrean refugees. Though I came from an ELF background and had sympathy for the organisation, at that time I was not affiliated to any political…
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The Eritrean Covenant: An Embodiment Of A Shared Future
Neither ethnicity nor religion has any genetic basis. This confirms that there is nothing coded in any one ethnic or religious group that goes, “this human has to monopolize power and resources while that should be marginalized and silenced.” But the realities in our world are totally different. Social injustice that takes the form of…
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Nationalism and Democracy: Rhetoric vs. Reality
“I will speak to it”, Shakespeare once wrote in Hamlet, “I will speak to it though hell itself should gape and bid me hold my peace.” Hell is not “gaping” but Ali Salim and Semere Tesfai are certainly generating enough heat to cause us to gape and will not “hold their peace” it seems until…
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The Eritrean Covenant: What’s In It For You?
One of the most important documents which graced the pages of this genuine and un-apologetically patriotic website, Awate.com in the last few weeks, is our equivalent of the Magna Carta – the Eritrean Covenant, published by Majlis Ibrahim al-Mukhtar. First and foremost, our heartfelt gratitude goes to all those who laboured so hard…
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دموع الاحزان
عمى”ارحو” شيخ هرم تقدم به السن، وتجاوز السبعين عاما من عمره، وبدت عليه علامات الكِبر؛ فاحدودب ظهره، ورقت عظامه، وتقوست سيقانه، وعلا الشيب ما تبقى من شعر رأسه، وابيض شاربه وشعر حاجبيه بالكامل..، ورغم تقدمه فى العمر، فهو يتمع بذاكرة قوية، وبحيوية يحسد عليها؛ فيواظب على أداء صلواته الخمس فى المسجد،ويحرص بالذهاب الى المسجد القريب…
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The Torch Is Dead, Long Live the Torch
Fresh breeze came from the south carrying subtle smell of animal dung and wild flowers as a mother agonized delivering her second baby. She has been laboring for hours when finally the baby came into this world, the few women in the house let out sharp ululations, twelve times, a baby boy was born. The…
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Neither A Blessing Nor A Short-Cut
Isaias Afwerki, the Muscle Man, model 1966, is a lot like the muscle cars of the 1960s: you never know whether it is a classic worthy of restoration or a piece of junk that should be sent to the junk yard. For muscle cars you need mechanics and for muscle men you need adversarial journalists.…
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Dr Bereket Habteselassie: From The Unknown To The Uncertain
It is now more than 35 years since I first met Dr. Bereket in Baghdad/Iraq. He was very energetic, articulate, physically and mentally active (still he is fortunately – touch wood). Since then I had been following his contributions, lectures, participations in regional and international forums and seminars. That makes me—I believe—eligible to talk…
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Amtelom Vs Derguhalom
There are things that we wish we would never know about because knowing can sometimes be the worst enemy of hope. How would a sailor in the middle of the ocean feel if he found out that, that tiny piece of ice heading towards his ship in a head-on collision is actually the tip of…
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Orphans Dining At The Miscreant’s Table
Self-identification is an essential facet of self-determination; a reviving society habitually pursues the quest for self-identification. Responding to the collective question of “who are we” construes a stumbling projection for any community to define its cherished common values, to collectively counter social wrenches, to regain deprived rights and chart its common destiny—a revival process stems…
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EDA, Civil Society Set Date For National Conference
On February 23rd, a preparatory committee composed of representatives of the Eritrean Democratic Alliance (EDA) and representatives of Eritrean civil society groups concluded a week long session in Addis Abeba, Ethiopia, and set July 30, 2010 as the National Conference date. EDA is an umbrella group of 13 Eritrean opposition groups, and the preparatory committee…
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ماتت الشعلة، عاشت الشعلة للأبد
عواتي – نقاريت أتت نسمة عليلة من الجنوب وهي تحمل معها رائحة خفية لروث الحيوانات والأزهار البرية بينما الأم تتألم بمخاض طفلها الثاني. كانت فى المخاض لعدة ساعات قبل وصول الطفل الى هذا العالم وعندها اتم الأب لتوه صلاة الفجر وبداء يعد بأصابعه عدد الزغاريد وهو يستمع بانتباه. كان قلقاً حتى وصل الى أربعة وهو…
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Nature Abhors vacuum: the search of veridical solution (Part IV)
“Heterogeneous in culture, Eritrea flourishes when it accepts and capitalizes on its diversity and disintegrate when it denies and suppresses.” (A view held by this writer) Introduction We are fortunate enough that the opposition writers as diversified as they are, indeed vigorously tackling the various issues with courage, confidence, power and penetrating intellect.…
