For many African writers, censorship can entail a lived experience as well as a current threat, even for those who emigrated to the United States. Ghirmai Negash danced close to the flame of censorship several times before arriving at Ohio University. So re-examining the impact of censorship on the work and lives of African writers was […]
Category: meanwhile
ይርጋኣለም ፍስሃ* 1987 ኣብ እዋን ቁልዕነቱ ናብ ቃልሲ ንናጽነት ተጸንቢሩ። ንሱ ግና “ኣነ ናጽነት ምስ መጸ‘የ ገድሊ ጀሚረ“ መውጽኢት ኣፉ‘ያ። ሓደ ካብቶም ኣብ ፈለማ ዓመታት ናጽነት፡ ክምህሩ ናብ ኣብያተ ትምህርቲ ዝተመደቡ ተመሃሮ ቤት ትምህርቲ ሰውራ ነይሩ። ቀትሪ እናማሃረ፡ ምሸት ድማ እናተማህረ፡ ተውለ ምዕማም ሕርያኡ ነይሩ። ተማሃሪት ማእከላይ ደረጃ ኣብ ዝነበርኩሉ ግዜ (1995 – 1997) ኣብ […]
From Warscapes Eritrea’s direct involvement in the ongoing Ethiopian civil war has been highly contentious for many observers. Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) leaders reportedly have claimed they’re mainly fighting the Eritrean army in support of Ethiopian federal government soldiers. Eritrean leaders either have been silent or denied it. Although it took longer than it normally should have, […]
Dessale Berekhet* Nov. 1, 2020 To be torn away from home, especially for an aspiring writer, heralds a sure death of the Soul, albeit a slow one. That is how I felt when, after years of deliberations with myself; I left my country, Eritrea. For decades on end, I had considered myself an active participant […]
Abraham T. Zere* Nov. 1, 2020 A person I was connected to online for a joint project suggested that we meet in person after the project was over. “I read about your story as an exiled writer. I thought it was cool and was curious to meet you,” he confessed, shortly after we met. That […]
Eritrea: Forget “rights” and speak of duties and responsibilities Abraham T. Zere* The concept of “rights” doesn’t meaningfully exist in the state vocabulary of today’s Eritrea. The idea has been replaced by “duty and responsibility.” The state media apparatus constantly pounds into citizens the need to carry out their duties rather than wasting time by […]
Daniel Mekonnen Of threshing fields, funerals and Eritrea on International Human Rights Day Tuesday 10 December 2019 or a country like Eritrea, an occasion like International Human Rights Day serves two major purposes. On the one hand, it serves as a stark reminder about the dire state of human rights violations in the country. On […]
Last month, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) declared that Eritrea is the world’s most censored country, worse even than North Korea or Turkmenistan. Their survey highlights the fact that independent media was banned in 2001; that at least 16 Eritrean journalists are behind bars, making the government the worst jailer of journalists in sub-Saharan […]
“PEN is building on the Manifesto this year by highlighting the work of five women writers and activists who have been on the forefront of literature and free expression across the world. PEN is proud to highlight:” “Yirgalem Fisseha Mebrahtu, an Eritrean poet, journalist and writer. After the government closed all independent media in 2001, […]