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The Difference Between Propaganda and Public Relations
When I started to work after leaving Eritrea, I landed at a sales and marketing job. My understanding of sales was clear, but I didn’t understand what marketing meant. My boss at the time, an American veteran of marketing, taught me that a sale is the about taking the product or service to a consumer,…
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To the West or to the East?
News coming from Sudan indicate that high level consultations are still continuing between the the tripartite Sudanese government and the PFDJ, the Eritrean ruling party. According to unconfirmed news, a delegation will fly out of Eritrea to continue discussions on political and intelligence operations. The delegation is expected to include the Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman…
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Graduated in Coffee Bean Picking
On Negarit 104 I talked about vowels and consonants and why Tigrinya speakers add a “i” vowel to many words like Oklandi, Taxi, Hollandi, etc. A commentator (HTT) explained the reason: it has to do with the word construction and combinations of vowels and consonants. I found his explanation palatable and that is why I am…
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Anger Is Not Allowed
Do you know Justin Rosenstein? He is the engineer who invented the Facebook Like button—if we knew its benefits, we would have used it more often. But I will return to that towards the end. Now let’s move on to languages… I know, there are some people who get urticaria, a skin rush, whenever the…
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Eritrea’s Socio-Politics of Slash and Burn
Back in 1990, The New York Times had an opinion piece titled, “The Politics of Slash and Burn”. The gist of the article speaks to the beginning of down spiraling political discourse in the US where Republican candidates were encouraged to use words like ”Sick.” ”Traitors.” ”Bizarre.” ”Self-serving.” ”Shallow.” ”Corrupt.” ”Pathetic.” ”Shame” when describing their opponents.…
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“Made In Ethiopia”: Review by Semere T Habtermariam
Book Review By Semere Tesfamicael Habtemariam Title: Made In Ethiopia Author: Dr. Mohammed A Nurhussien (MD) Publisher: Red Sea Press Year: 2020 Pages: 300 In his book, “The Constant Outsider,” Thomas M. Cirignano has written that, “Each of us is a book waiting to be written, and that book, if written, results in a person…
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Negarit 103: ከፊሎም ደዊሉ ነሩ- The sponsor called- وأتصل الكفيل
What a change! Smartly dressed PFDJ official, with a bonus. For the first time he travels alone, and he scores two full points. The second person who comes (used to come) second to Osman Saleh was the previous information minister. The current one, I testify, used to dree sharply. But since he started to carry…
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The Lampedusa Tragedy: A Chronicle
[This was first published on October 2, 2014 @14:33] Tomorrow, Eritreans all over the world will observe a day of remembrance for the victims of Lampedusa, the tragedy that shook their being on October 3, 2013. The tragedy was not the first incident where Eritreans died, but it was the first of its kind considering the…
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Saudi Memo; Eritreans in Eastern Sudan Victimized
Updated with a copy of the embassy memo Gedab News received an alleged copy of a memo that the Saudi Ambassador to Khartoum sent to Adil Al-Jubair, the Saudi Minister of state at the foreign ministry. The memo implicates the Eritrean government in the unrest in Eastern Sudan and of financing politicians to “confuse the…
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Kabuga, Fascists and Jackets
I know when what comes on Negarit hurts them because they go berserk with their insults. The last episode really made them mad—and I couldn’t differentiate between PFDJ cults and the fascist cult. They reacted the same—insults and jingoism, as usual. I know the sickness is inflicted by the 800 years of Kbre Negest indoctrination;…
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SmeTr Hamassien: Objective and Struggle
Book Review by Semere T Habtemariam Title: SmeTr Hamassien: Objective and Struggle (ስመጥር ሓማሴን፥ ዕላማን ተጋድሎን።) Author: Dr. Yebio Woldemariam Language: Tigrinya (146 pages) Publisher: Ultimate Printing Press Year: 2017 (2010 Geez Calendar) The English version is out under the title: Profile of Courage: Eritrean Struggle against Italian Colonization and Fascism. The author of SmeTr…
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Over 2000 citizens Crowd Eritrean Embassy In Addis Ababa
Lately, crowds of frustrated Eritreans have been crowding the Eritrean embassy hoping it will facilitate their return to Eritrea. A stranded Eritrean said, “…the embassy is treating our debacle as a commercial opportunity and plans to exploit us.” The Eritreans had travelled to Ethiopia for different reasons. Some went there to meet their relatives who…
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PEN Eritrea Names 2020 Freedom of Expression Award Winner
(Sept. 18, 2020): Awate.com’s founding editor, novelist, and activist, Saleh “Gadi” Johar has been named PEN Eritrea’s annual Freedom of Expression Award winner, a recognition that awards $1,000.00 and a trophy. The award ceremony was hosted virtually on Friday, September 18, 2020. On behalf of the award committee, Dr. Daniel R. Mekonnen noted that the prize…
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PFDJ Leaders Chewing on Fifty-Years Old Grudges
A few days ago, I watched a documentary type of video where Alamin Mohammed Saeed and General Abraha Kassa were host commentators. I picked three points from the video: one positive, one negative, and a third annoying. 1) I was glad to hear they talked about the fascist Agazian groupies, the first time PFDJ officials…
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Kenya: Eritreans and a US$3.4 Million Burlap Swindle
How many Jute plants does it take to make US$3.4 million worth Jute bags? The Kenyan Fraudsters didn’t have to worry about that; they just swindled the amount by pulling jute fibers over the eyes of some Eritrean victims. Eritreans are not new to Kenya; a few call the country home since a long time.…
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The Moody Government Closed Italian Schools
After months old wrangling with the school administration, the Eritrean government finally closed the Italian schools in Eritrea. The school bell, “Sadly remains silent for the first time in 103 years in the Italian school of Asmara” as an Italian writer put it. But the fate of the Italian school was sealed once the authorities…
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The Debate Over Arabic Language in Eritrea!
Orally told stories relate a conversation that took place in the first parliament in Eritrea in the 1950s. During a heated parliamentary debate on the official languages of Eritrea, a member of parliament from the Independence Block stood up to speak in favour of adopting Arabic as the second official language of Eritrea. As he…
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Narcissus, Marie Antoinette, and Saba Hailu
The following is the draft script for Negarit 99. This time it has been two steps forward, one step backward because #100 preceded #99 so that #100 coincides with Awate Day on September 1, 2020.] Todays Negarit addresses the story of Narcissus and Narcissism, compares Marie Antoinette and Saba Hailu. The French Revolution; Queens and…
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Mesfin Hagos Should Resign From His Political Party
[This is part 3 of 3 in a series under the title of “Can Mesfin Hagos Lead Under a Banner of “One Country, One Destiny”?] “Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom” Thomas Jefferson The earlier two pieces1 were meant to show how complex the Eritrean socio-political terrain can be. And negotiating such complexity requires a leadership…
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Happy Double Awate Day
(This is a close English translation of the Tigrinya content of Negarit #100 video on YouTube channel) Happy September 1 for all of you. Our culture teaches us that one who is not grateful to fellow human beings is unable to be grateful to God. As we all know, Hamid Idris Awate is not only a martyr.…
