Category: ትግርኛ
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PM Abiy, Teddy Afro, and the Politics of Art
For the past few days, Teddy Afro’s new album has drawn wide attention. A friend told me its lyrics have irritated Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and sent me a clip of Abiy lecturing parliament about the difference between artists and activists. That pairing—music and political instruction—raises a deeper question: can art ever be separated
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Lies Define The PFDJ
Most of the materials for this 5-part mini-series are compiled from awate.on-forge.com, primarily the detailed first-hand testimony contained in Gebremedhin Zegergis’ eyewitness report. It was the first comprehensive testimonial on this subject. This series sheds light on one of the most sensitive and gray chapters in the history of the Eritrean struggle—from the late 1960s
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Negarit 353 : Are Eritrean Youth Content?
In today’s Negarit 254, I will tell you about the late Goitom, in addition to other stories of humor and human endurance that I observed during my journey through the Eritrean Kebessa, the highlands. This segment continues the travelogue I began in Negarit 249 and carried through to Negarit 352, and it leads us to
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Meqerka, Dem Sebaay, Zagir
In 1967, Israel and the Arabs (basically Egypt) fought the Six-Day War; Israel overran Egyptian territories and took control of the Sinai Peninsula and effectively closed the Suez Canal. Haim Bar-Lev, the Israeli chief of staff, designed a 120 km long ditch and about 20 meters high dirt fortifications. Along the Bar Lev Line, Israel
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The Beni Amretay Boy in Saharti
A struggle-era picture has resurfaced with confusion for some years, and I promised to clarify a few points in an episode. Today I am fulfilling that promise and will continue to do so in subsequent installments. The series will be rich with information and anecdotes: my meeting with the late Petros Solomon and Ali Sayed
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ምርቃ ኣብ ጎደናታት ኣስመራ
ኣስመራ ንግሆ ክትንገድ ዘለዋ ከተማ ተባሂላ ክትፍለጥ ኣለዋ እንዳ በልኩ፡ ኢደይ ኣብ ጁባይ ኣእትየ ከይሰልቸወኒ ኣብ ዕድል ዝረኸብክለን ንግሆ ሸናዕ ምባል ደስታ እዩ ከሕድረለይ ቐንዩ። ሎሚ ንግሆ ምስ ነዚ ህዱእ፡ ዝሕል ዝበለ፡ ኣብ ናይ 50ታትን ቅድሚኡን ዝተሰርሓ መካይን ድሮ ከም ንቡር ነገር ገይረዮስ ቅሊሕ ከይበልኩ ጽባቕኤን ምስ‘ቲ ናይ ቀደም ህንጻታትን ጽሩይ ጎደናታትን መቀረትን ቀመምን እትውስኸሉ
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Muslim and Catholic Fatimas
Most Eritreans do not know about the Eritrean Black St. Mary, but many have heard of Mariam Daari, the Black icon of St. Mary. I’m not sure whether it was carved from black stone or molded from some other material. The beautiful icon lives in a vast, hollowed baobab tree on the banks of the
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Netsereab Azazi’s Book—Ona and Besekdira
I have written and spoken about Ona—a turning point in my life and among my peers. I thought that experience was as intense as life could get. Reliving those events shakes a person to the core; it is a deeply traumatic experience. What I saw remains etched in my memory. When something stirs those recollections,
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ኣስመራ ምንጪ ሕውስዋስ ስምዒት
ዓርቢ ንግሆ፡ “ቀይሕ ዘመን” ናይ ተስፋዮ ገብርኣብ ኣብ ኢደይ ሒዘ ናብ‘ታ ኣብ ፊት ህዝባዊ ቤት ንባብ ዘላ እንዳ ቡን ይኸይድ ኣለኹ። ንግሆ ኣዙዩ ጸጥታ ዝሰፈኖ፡ ኩሎም ሰባት ካብ ዓራቶም ዝወደቁ እዮም ዝመስሉ። ገጾም ዘይትሓጽቡ ቆልዑ፡ ንቁርሲ ዝኸውን ባንን ካልእን ክገዝኡ፡ ገንዘብ ጠቅሊሎም ዓሙኾም ናብ ዱኳናት ይኸዱ። ሓደ ኮምፕላሴን ዓይነት ፒጃማ ገይሩ ኣእማን እንዳ ቀልዐ ዝኸይድ
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The Faucet Festival
A satirical take on Isaias Afwerki’s mysterious faucet sculpture, comparing it to Pharaoh Khufu’s pyramid and the Syrian comedy “Faucet Festival” to highlight Eritrea’s forced labor and cult of leadership.
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Blame It on Moses
A young student and her classmate graduated together; she became a geography teacher, while her bright classmate was quickly absorbed into Abiy Ahmed’s party and appointed PR director of the Ethiopian Air Force. Today, he is hailed as an inspirational figure in that institution. By all accounts, he is doing a marvelous job. Recently, however,
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Penicillin Overdose Killed the Camel
Dr. Abiy Ahmed keeps me thinking these days, though not in the way I wanted to. During the struggle era, when there were not enough qualified doctors, dressers and nurses became doctors by default. Their kit was modest: a few vials of penicillin for wounds and infections, chloroquine for malaria, and vitamin K and blood
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Nepal: A Lesson for the PFDJ and the Youth
Every era popularizes certain names—mainly names of rulers and prominent people of the time. Since the nineteen-forties and fifties, the name of a famous person that was often repeated in newspapers and radio bulletins has become popular; parents adopt the name for their babies. My aunt, (who is my cousin, but I called her aunt
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The Eritrean Regime and Its Neighbors
On May 24, 1991, Eritreans achieved their long-sought independence, formally recognized on May 24, 1993. Yet, true freedom remained elusive. The organization that became the ruling government legally solidified its hold—not through popular consent, but through brute force, injustice, and external alliances and considerations. Those early days were euphoric; few foresaw the wars and displacements
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“Military Communique #1: Coup d’ Etat”
This was a common radio announcement, preceded by martial music and read in the deep voice of an officer. Immediately, fear engulfed listeners, followed by intense discussions and swirling rumors. Most people in the so-called third world instantly recognized it as a coup d’état—usually in a country they couldn’t even locate on a map. A
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The UAE and the Horn of Africa – A Swirl of Interests and Alliances
Last time I said I would cover the UAE… Here it is. Now, this isn’t a comprehensive history. It’s a sketch—basic pointers you can expand on. But it’s important to know where you stand and what circles surround you. People are born into families that grow into clans, tribes, regions, and nations. Let’s focus on
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Gaza Asab: A Peace to Start More Wars
“Ports are traditionally built to host ships that encourage trade. But Abiy envisions a port to launch his navy and battleships. Abiy Ahmed’s maneuvers in the Horn mirror the tragic ambitions of old empires… poised to repeat history.”
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How Eritrean PFDJ Propaganda Twists Routine Diplomacy
“A YouTuber presented the two messages as proof that the U.S. was warming up to Eritrea. He interpreted every word as though it were divine scripture.” “Had the audience listened or read critically, they wouldn’t have fallen for the farce. The excitement lasted a week—until reality hit.” “On June 4, 2025, the U.S. administration suspended…
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Delusion and Confusion: Awet NeHafash or Awet Nwedi Afom
Isaias Afwerki vs. Reality: A Speech Drenched in Delusion. That was illustrated in his last public appearance to deliver the Independence Day speech. As usual, it was a speech drenched in delusion. Listening to Isaias Afwerki’s speeches should be classified as punishment. They are stale, tedious, and laced with bitter pronouncements that parch the tongue.
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Shariati’s Rooster; Honey budger Eritreans (Seramat)
Ali Shariati (Nov 1933 – June 1977) was an Iranian thinker and poet. He was 44 years old when he was found dead in England. British authorities said it was a heart attack, but many believe he was assassinated by the brutal Iranian security service, SAVAK. That was during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza