Tag: eritrea
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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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The Literary Works of Bereket Habte Selassie (LL.B., Ph.D.)
A Portrait of a Political Thinker and Freedom Fighter Ladies and gentlemen, It is a great honor to speak to you today about one of the most remarkable thinkers, writers, and freedom fighters to emerge from the Horn of Africa—Dr. Bereket Habte Selassie. A legal scholar by training, a political reformer by necessity, a revolutionary
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Hail Ethiopia, Hail Peace!
“Abiy’s provocative declaration has now become a rallying cry for some Ethiopian extremists.” “No claimed ancient bloodline can legitimize ownership—leaving aside political decisions.” “You shall not covet the Eritrean Red Sea.”
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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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The Blame Loop Has Expired
Nearly a quarter-century after the ministers of Eritrea were made to disappear into silence on September 18, 2001, a date that split a nation’s hopes, the diagnosis of betrayal has calcified into ritual. In a recent article, Dawit Mesfin revisits this now-familiar script: that President Isaias Afwerki duped not only the Eritrean people but the…
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The Debt-Free Illusion: Rethinking Eritrea’s Economic Self-Reliance
“The myth of Eritrean self-reliance… has helped justify authoritarianism, isolation, and indefinite national service.”
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The River Remembers (Part II): The Archive of the Unsaid
In this installment of The River Remembers, the author dives beneath the surface of colonial history to explore its psychic and linguistic aftermath—what remains unspoken, untranslatable, and unresolved. Through a reflective reading of Tayeb Salih’s Season of Migration to the North, the essay examines how colonialism embeds itself not only in roads and records but…
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What Memory Chooses, and What It Omits
A lyrical excavation of memory, empire, and resistance, Of Trains, Turkays, and Tongues explores how colonial infrastructures—both physical and linguistic—have been reimagined through song, story, and subversion. From the iron rails of foreign-built trains to the surnames inherited from Ottoman administrators, the essay challenges selective nostalgia and interrogates how power, identity, and language collide. This…
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The Disease the Colonizers Left Behind – The River Remembers Series*
This first entry in The River Remembers series lays the foundation for a postcolonial reckoning across Sudan, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, and Ethiopia. Blending historical analysis, cultural memory, and theoretical insight, the essay examines how different colonial powers left behind not only borders but ways of seeing—and mis-seeing—ourselves. With reference to thinkers like Fanon, Bhabha, and…
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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
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Negarit: 325: Is’t Time for Another Cyclical War in the Horn of Africa?
A candid look at the unfolding chaos in the Horn of Africa. This video dives into Ethiopia’s economic collapse, Abiy Ahmed’s war ambitions, the fractured Tigray and Amhara fronts, and Eritrea’s quiet but critical role in the region’s future. From myths to IMF loans, from scattered flour to baked revenge—this is a raw political chronicle…
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Destiny of Conflict, and the Red Sea: A Reflection on Power and People
ethiopia #eritrea In this commentary, we explore the dangerous rhetoric and provocative actions brewing in the Horn of Africa—from Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s imperial ambitions to the Amhara splinter group ABEN’s rejection of Eritrean sovereignty. * Framed by poetry from Abul Alaa Al Ma’arri and Abul Qasim Al-Shabi, this reflection contrasts fatalism and free will—questions…
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Aferkebu Bun Dereja – Stop the Empire
In Eritrean tradition, coffee is served in three rounds—Awel, Dereja, and Bereka. This is Aferkebu Bun Dereja, the second round in a conversation about empire, exile, and the ongoing silencing of Eritrean voices. We explore how authoritarian power survives in modern disguise, how dissent is criminalized, and why Eritrea today is flying on autopilot—with no…
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Negarit 322: Emergency – A Fresh Cup of Coffee
A deep dive into Rousseau’s Social Contract and how it applies to the diplomatic impasse between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Why understanding the foundations of justice, negotiation, and power is vital to resolving regional conflict—and why failing to do so is an Aferkebu, an emergency. With cultural reflections, political satire, and critical analysis, this video explores…
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Wobbly Thrones of Tyrants and Echoes of Empires
Ancient empires ruled with swords—today’s regimes rule through propaganda, proxies, and fear. From Baathist Iraq to Abiy’s Ethiopia, the playbook of power, deception, and oppression remains the same. This piece reflects on history, misinformation, and the urgent need for genuine national healing in Eritrea and beyond. #Negarit321
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Between Approbation and Anathema Justice Suffers
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past. All of us labor in webs spun long before we were born, webs of heredity and environment, of desire and consequence, of history and eternity.” Faulkner, W. (1955), “Requiem for a Nun” This is a reflection on the insightful conversation between Daniel Teklai and Saleh “Gadi”
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Thanks to Dr. MK Omar, Inputs Enriching the Eritrean Library
Many Eritreans are for sure not well aware of how much poor the Eritrean library still is. Records of the colonial period were themselves scanty on top of being mostly distorted or written by less informed authors. But nothing can be done about that except regretting that it was so. Eritreans of the first two
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Notes on Culture, Identity, and Social Change
I have a habit of jotting down interesting things I see or hear. Today, I’d like to share a few of those notes with you. Yusra, the amazing performer Recently, many people sent me a clip of a young woman—a gifted artist—singing in multiple languages: English, Arabic, Bedawyet, Tigrigna, and Tigrayit. What an amazing performer!