Mereja.Forum

[Zmeselo]

It’s understandable why the PP cadres and the Ethiopian government are acting this way, trying to create chaos in the region. What’s puzzling, though, is seeing some Eritreans fall for their cheap propaganda, effectively adding fuel to the fire. We know our history and country better than anyone, as President Isaias Afwerki once said, ‘Let them write fiction’. If that helps them sleep better at night.

[Zmeselo]

ALERT: New Ethiopia Threat to HoA Peace - Real & Dangerous

The ruling Prosperity Party has officially abandoned its Somaliland project and is now shifting its full force toward Eritrea.



Brace ourselves for:

➧ Relentless misinformation & disinformation campaigns against Eritrea
➧ Fabricated narratives linking Eritrea’s Port of Assab to Ethiopia’s “sea access” agenda
➧ A push to frame Ethiopia’s port ambitions as an African agenda
➧ And when all these fails to produce them a 'port' ()—a dangerous turn to military aggression in an attempt to occupy Assab (R.I.P in advance)

If reckless territorial ambitions and military aggression against Eritrea were impossible yesterday, what makes the incompetent Abiy Ahmed think he has a chance today?

The Oromo-dominated "Poverty Party" regime, under Abiy Ahmed’s six-year rule, has been marked by constant miscalculations—this could be its most catastrophic yet.



Eritrea has multiple cards to neutralize any emerging threat from Abiy Ahmed's Ethiopia.

From a strategic standpoint, if Ethiopia declares military aggression in an attempt to jeopardizes Red Sea security, from a layman's point of view, I expect Eritrea to take the following unprecedented measures:

➼ Destabilize Abiy Ahmed internally to the point where he is forced to fight for his political survival. (i.e. Keep him busy internally).

➼ Leverage our Red Sea Security alliance and reinforce military air power of allied forces, such as Egypt & Saudi Arabia— including air defense and battle drones—at the new Assab naval base while expanding kill zones on the Bure front. (i.e. ተጨፈጨፍን 2.0)

➼ Impose a strict airspace ban on all Ethiopia-bound flights, possibly by coordinating with Sudan and Somalia (though the latter is less reliable).

➼ Block Ethiopia-bound maritime trade by restricting access through Bab el-Mandeb —and, if necessary, sink one or two Ethiopian vessels as a deterrent. (i.e. Yemeni's Houthi style ban)



The goal is to make Abiy Ahmed realize that any reckless move against Eritrea will come at an unbearable cost. And if we play our cards right, it could even accelerate his downfall as the country is not in short supply of ተረኞች.

The ball is in his court. @tesfanews

[Zmeselo]

First official visit to the North Red Sea Region. Pleasure to meet with the Governor and the Minister of Marine Resources. Enjoyed exploring the Hirgigo Power Station and Adulis historic site. Excited for future collaborations! @AmbLiXiang

[Zmeselo]

Horn of Africa: Peaceful Coexistence & Sustainable Cooperation - the Only Way Forward.

Eritrea stands firm in its commitment to peace, cooperation, and regional stability. Through unwavering resilience & bold leadership, it has worked tirelessly to build bridges, foster mutual respect, and create a future where nations rise together, free from conflicts exacerbated by external interference.

The Horn of Africa is potentially rich with vast resources, a strategic location & hard working people. But unlocking this potential demands mutual respect, peace & solid political will. Eritrea has always fought for peaceful regional coexistence while defending its sovereignty with unshakable strength.



Let there be no doubt, seeking peace is not a sign of weakness. True power lies in a resilient just cause, strategic patience [ዓቕልን ትዕግስትን], and the courage to cooperate even in the face of adversity.

Despite challenges and external pressures, Eritrea remains steadfast in its mission to promote cooperation with a notion of economic integration, self-reliance, and collective security. The choice is clear; collaboration over conflict & progress over stagnation.

Eritrea will never relent navigating its vision & purpose of creating a peaceful neighborhood that values peaceful coexistence & sustainable cooperation. This path is not just an option, but rather a necessity for a stable, stronger, united & self-reliant #HornofAfrica, and Africa for that matter. Berhane: @EmbassyEritrea

[Zmeselo]

ደጀን ኤርትራና!

His words are a weapon against the enemy and a compass for us. They show us the way. With unity, awareness, and determination, we move forward. That’s why Deqi Rimey. Let’s repost everything without exception. @Shabait and @Hawelti are our best drones.

ፈውሲ ሓንጪ መንጪ is ሓወልቲ።








ዕርቂ ምስ ሓቀኛ ታሪኽ

ቪርጂል ዝተባህለ ገጣሚ፡ ኣብ መንጎ 29-19 ዓመት ቅድሚ ልደተ ክርስቶስ “ኤነይድ”(Aeneid) ዘርእስቱ ንንግስነት ‘ሮማውያን’ ምስ ‘ትሮይ’ ከተኣሳስር ዝጸሓፎ ልቢወለድ ተራኺ ግጥሚ፡ ኣብ ኤውሮጳ ህቡብ’ዩ። ነገስታት ኤውሮጳ ህዝቢ ንስልጣኖም ካብ ሰማይ ዝወረደ መለኰታዊ ገይሩ ምእንቲ ክርዕሞ፡ ከም ‘ኤነይድ’ ዝኣመሰለ ብዙሕ ጽውጽዋያት ብክኢላታት ደረስቲ ኣጽሒፎም እዮም።

ኣብ ዞባና ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ’ውን፡

ካብ ነገስታት ኤውሮጳ ኣይንንእስን

ብዝዓይነቱ ነብሰ-ምትሓት(Inferiority complex)፡ ፍሩይ፡ ጥንታውን መለኰታውን ንምምሳል ዝተደርሰ ጽውጽዋያዊ ትረኻታት ኣይተሳእነን።

ፍሉይነቱ፡ ኤውሮጳውያን ሎሚ ነዚ ከምዚ ዓይነት ትረኻ’ዚ ከም ልቢወለድ ድርሰት ክርድእዎ ከለዉ፣ ኣብ ከባቢና ግን ከም እሙን ሃገራዊ ታሪኽ ዝቕበልዎ በሃማት (እንተላይ ቀለም ቀመስ መራሕትን ልሂቃንን) ገና ብብዝሒ ምህላዎም እዩ።

ጽውጽዋያዊ ታሪኽ ከባቢና ብዘዘንብዕ ረሲእነት እተደርሰ’ዩ። ገሊኡ፡ ኣብ ሓደ መዋእል ታሪኽ፡ ኣብ ፍሉይ ከባቢ ዓንቢቡ ዝጠፍአ ጥንታዊ ስልጣነ፡ ከም በይናዊ ታሪኽ ናይቲ ሕጂ ኣብኡ ዝነብር ዘሎ ህዝቢ ገይሩ ዘቕርብ’ዩ። እዚ ብኣእምሮ ሰባት ዘላግጽ ትረኻታት፣ ንገለ ህዝብታት ዞባና

ኣፍራስና ማይ ባሕሪ ይሰትዩ ነይሮም፡ ግዝኣትና ስግር ባሕሪ ክሳብ መን’ዶ በልዎ ይበጽሕ ነይሩ

ብዝዓይነቱ ናይ ታሪኽ ህውተታ ኣደንቊሩ፡ ክሳብ ሕጂ ዕዳ ኮይኑዎም ይርከብ።

‘ሃገር’ ዝብል ኣምር፡ ብዘመናዊ ትርጉሙን ባህርያቱን፡ ብደረጃ ዓለም’ውን እንተኾነ ካብ 400 ዓመታት ዝሓልፍ ዕምሪ የብሉን። ኣብ ኣፍሪቃ እሞ ከኣ፡ ድሕሪ 1885 ውዕል በርሊን ምስ መግዛእቲ ኤውሮጳ ዝመጸ እዩ። ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ ካብ ካልእ ከባቢታት ኣፍሪቃ ዝተፈልየ ታሪኽ ነይሩዎ ኢሉ ዝሓስብ፡ ታሪኻዊ ንቕሓት ዘይብሉ ጥራይ’ዩ።

ነዚ ስነፍልጠታዊ ታሪኻዊ ሓቂ ምቕባል ዝፈርሕ፡ ኣብ ጽውጽዋይ ዝተሸጐጠ ድንጉር ትረኻታት፡ ነቶም ከም ውጽኢት መግዛእቲ ኣብ ሓንቲ ሃገር ዝተጠምሩ ህዝብታት ንሓድሕዶም ኮነ ምስ ጎረባብቲ ህዝብታት ብሰላም ከይነብሩ ስኒት እናኸልአ፡ ሓደ ካብ ጠንቂታት ቅልውላዋት ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ ኮይኑ ጸኒሑ ኣሎ። ህዝብታት ቀርኒ ኣፍሪቃ እምበኣር፡ ካብዚ ዘለውዎ ጸገምን ድሕረትን ዘየዕርፍ ግጭታትን ክላቐቑ፡ ቅድም ቀዳድም ምስ ሓቀኛ ታሪኽ ክዕረቑ የድልዮም። ድንቊርና ወጊድ ኢሎም ክዉን ታሪኽ ክቕበሉ፡ መገዲ ሰላም፡ ሕውየትን ዕዉት መስርሕ ህንጸት ዘመናዊ ሃገርን’ዩ።

ሃገርነት ኤርትራ፡ ኣብ ከባቢና ዝሓየለን ዝሰመረን ዘቕንእን ክኸውን ዝኸኣለ፡ ህዝቢ ኤርትራ፡ ውድዓውን ስነፍልጠታውን ትንተና ታሪኽ ዝሰረቱ ዘመናዊ ሃገር፣ ብቅኑዕ ታሪኻዊ ንቕሓት ንትሕተ ሃገራውነት ጸብለል ዝበለ ሓድነት፣ ከም ውጽኢቱ ልዑል ሃገራውነት ዝሕላገቱ ብሉጽ ሃገራዊ ትካላት ጸጥታን ሰራዊትን ክፈጥር ስለዝበቕዐ’ዩ። ሰላምን ርግኣትን ዝፈጠረ ታሪኻዊ ንቕሓት ኤርትራውያን ንካልኦት ህዝብታት ዞባና ኣርኣያ እዩ። ብናይ ሓሶት ታሪኽ ዝፈርስ እምበር ዝህነጽ ሃገር የለን።

ቦርድ ክፍሊ ጋዜጣ

[Zmeselo]

ኣይንረስዕ ንኸይንዝንግዕ!

መዝገብ ቃልሲ ንሓርነት፡ ብወተሃደራዊ ግጥም ተጋደልትን ወራሪ ሰራዊት ኢትዮጵያን ጥራይ ዝተመልአ ኣይኮነን። ኣብ ገድሊ ኤርትራ፡ እቲ ኣብ ልዕሊ ሰላማዊ ህዝቢ ዝተፈጸመ ኣረሜናዊ ግፍዒ፡ ዓብይ ምዕራፍ ዝሕዝ ክፋል ታሪኽና’ዩ። ንጹህ ደም ሰላማዊ ህዝብን ተጋደልትን ዘይፈሰሶ፡ ስድሪ መሬት ኤርትራ የለን። ህዝቢ ኤርትራ ነቶም ኣብ ለካቲት 1975 ፡ብወተሃደራት ስርዓት ደርግ ብኣረሜንነት እተቐትሉ ሰላማውያን ነበርቲ ኣስመራን ከባቢኣን ይዝክሮም ኣሎ።

ኣብ ልዕሊ ህዝብና ንዝተፈጸመ ህልቂት ኣብ ክንዲ ይቕረታን ካሕሳን፡ ክሕደትን ምቅላልን ዝመረጹ ቀበርቲ ሓቂ ዝበሉ ይበሉ፡ ኣብ ልዕሌና ዝወረደ ግፍዒ ክንዝክሮን ሓወልቲ ክንገብረሉን፡ ኪንዮ ሕድሪ ምፍጻም ካልእ መግለጺ የብሉን። ናይ ኢትዮጵያ ታሪኽ ጸሓፊ ዘውደ ረታ፡ ኣብታ ‘የኤርትራ ጉዳይ’ እትብል መጽሓፉ

በፌደረሽን ኣስተዳደር ሆነ በፍጹም አንድነት ዘመን፣ ኣብረን በኖርንበት በአርባ ዓመታት ጊዜ ውስጥ፡ እኛ ኢትዮጵያውያን በወንደሞቻችን በኤርትራውያን ላይ ምንም ዓይነት በደል እንዳልፈጽንምንባቸው መርሳት የለብንም

ማለት

ኣብ እዋን ፈደረሽንን ምሉእ ‘ሓድነትን’ ብሓባር ኣብ ዝነበርናሉ ኣርብዓ ዓመታት፡ ንሕና ኢትዮጵያውያን ኣብ ልዕሊ ኣሓዋትና ኤርትራውያን ዝፈጸምናዮ ዝዀነ በደል ከም ዘየለ ክንርስዕ የብልናን

ክብል ጸሓፈ።

ኣዛዚ ናይቲ ንሰለማዊ ህዝቢ ሽዕብ ብታንክታት ዝረገጸ ኣሃዱ ዝነበረ ፡ብ/ጀነራል ካሳየ ጨመዳ ብወገኑ

የጦር ሜዳ ውሎዎች ከምስራቅ እስከ ሰሜን

ኣብ ዘርእስታ መጽሓፉ

ሽዕብ ዝተታሕዘሉ ግዜ ሓንቲ ጥይት እኳ ኣይተተኰሰትን። ኣነ ባዕለይ ምስቶም ናይ ቅድሚት ሓለዋ ስለ ዝነበርኩ፡ ባዕለይ ዝፈልጦ እዩ። እቲ ህዝቢ ውግእ ቅድሚ ምጅማሩ ዝጠቕሞ ንብረት ሒዙ ካብቲ ቦታ ካብ ዝእለ ወርሑ ኣሕሊፉ ነይሩ። ብተኣምር ግን ኣብታ ዓዲ ሓንቲ ዓይነ-ስውርቲ ሰበይትን ደርሁን ጸኒሖምና። ኣብኡ ክሳብ ዝጸናሕናሉ ግዜ ብዝከኣል መጠን ተኸናኺንናየን። ናብ ዝቕጽል ወፍሪ ክንከይድ እንከለና ድማ እኹል መግቢ ገዲፍናለን ኢና ተሰናቢትናየን

ይብል።

እንተኾነ ግን፡ ኣብ መንጎ’ዞም ንሓቂ ክቐብሩን ወለዶታት ከናቑሩን ዝተላዕሉ ኢትዮጵያውያን፡ ንሓቂ ከምታ ዝነበረታ ዘቐመጡ’ውን ኣይተሳእኑን። ሻለቃ ዳዊት ወልደግዮርጊስ

Red Tears: War, Famine and Revolution in Ethiopia

ኣብ እትብል መጽሓፉ፡ ኣብ ኤርትራ ከም ናይ ሃይለስላሴን ደርግን በዓል ስልጣን እንከሎ ዝረኣዮ ሓቅታት ኣስፊርዎ ኣሎ።

ነቲ ኣብ ኣስመራ ዝተኻየደ ናይ ራዕዲ ወፈራ፡ ብኸምዚ ይገልጾ

መንእሰያት ኣወዳትን ኣዋልድን፣ ብለይቲ ከካብ ገዝኦም ተተወጢጦም ይውሰዱ’ሞ፣ በቲ እቶም “ዓፋኝ” ባዕላቶም፣ ‘ስርሒት ስልኪ ፒያኖ’ ክብሉ ዝገልጹዎ ኣገባብ ተሓኒቖም ኣብ ጐደናታት ይድርበዩ። ብኸምዚ ዘስካሕክሕ ኣገባብ ኣቀታትላ፣ ኣማኢት ተቐቲሎም። ብተወሳኺ፡ ኣብ እኩባት ሰባትን ባራትን’ውን ቦምባ ይድርበ ነይሩ

ክብል ይገልጽ።

ቀጺሉ

በቲ ዝካየድ ዝነበረ ኣልማማ መቕተልቲ፡ እቲ ዝነበረ ምርጫ ኣብኡ ጸኒሕካ ምሟት ወይ ከኣ ሃዲምካ ምቅላስ እዩ ነይሩ። ብዘይካ ሽማግለታት፡ ሕሙማትን ድኹማትን ወይ ከኣ ምስቶም ወተሃደራት ርክብ ዝነበሮም እንተዘይኮኑ ኣብ ኣስመራ ዝተረፈ ኣይነበረን

ብምባል ነቲ ዝነበረ ሃዋሁው ይገልጾ።



ሻለቃ ዳዊት ኣብ መጽሓፉ ብዛዕባ ንጸጥታ ኣስመራ ክሕሉ ብመንግስቱ ሃይለማርያም ዝተመዘ ኮሎኔል ኣስፋው ዘነበ ዝተበሃለ ግፍዐኛ ሰብ ኣመልኪቱ

ጽብቕቲ ሰበይቲ እንተርእዩ ምሳኡ ንኽትድቅስ ከገድዳ ምእንቲ ንሰብኣያ ይኣስር ነይሩ። ሰብኣያ ንኽፍታሓላ ከምኡ ኣንተገበረት’ውን ኣብ መወዳእታ ምቕታሉ ኣይተርፎን

ብምባል ንኣረሜንነት ናይቲ በዓል ስልጣን ይገልጽ።

ኣብ መወዳእታ እቲ ኣረሜንነት’ቲ ከይድገም፡ ደምና ብደመ-ጽሙኣን ደጊሙ ከይፈስስ፡ ዋጋ ሰላምና፡ ናጽነትናን ድሕነትናን ክንፈልጦን ከነኽብሮን፡ ከምኡ ኸኣ ክይንዝንግዕ፡ ነቲ ክርሳዕ ዘይግበኦ ከይንርስዕ ፡ዘሕለፍናዮን ዝሓለፍናዮን ንዘክር። @ERMedia91

[Zmeselo]

In a statement issued today, the Debretsion-led TPLF faction (TPLF-D) strongly refuted claims of "secret contact" with Eritrea, calling it baseless and entirely fabricated.

The allegation first emerged months ago from the splintered Getachew Reda faction (TPLF-G), as part of its effort to exploit the growing rift between TPLF-D and the federal government.

However, what started as a political maneuver against a rival faction has now been evolved and irresponsibly spread as "fact" without a shred of evidence—an entirely unacceptable act, the TPLF statement asserts.

ኣብ ትግራይ ዝቦቐለ ጉጅለ ብሄራዊ ክሕደት ቅድሚ ኣዋርሕ ዝጠጅኦ ሓሶትን ፀለመን፤ ሕዚ ሃገራውን ዓለም ለኻውን መልክዕ ንምትሓዝ ብምፍታን ህወሓትን ሰራዊት ትግራይን ምስ መንግስቲ ኤርትራ ሕቡእ ርክብ ከም ዝጀመሩ ኣምሲልካ ምግዋሕ ፍፁም ካብ ሓቂ ዝረሓቐን ዝኾነ ዓይነት መረዳእታ ክቐርበሉ ዘይኽእልን ጥራሕ ዘይኮነስ፤ ተቐባልነት ዘይብሉ ጠቐነ እዩ።

_________________

A Rejoinder to the Above:

The recent rant by OLF goons in Addis Abeba is nothing but a polished regurgitation of Abiy Ahmed Ali’s deranged fantasy of a CUSH empire. This spectacle was carried out in direct coordination with Abiy, Shimeles, Abba Dula, Jawar, and the rest of the Oromumma cabal, who are hell-bent on fabricating an empire for Ethiopia’s so-called seventh king. Abiy’s mother may have whispered delusions into his ears as a child, but no prophecy will ever alter reality.

Ethiopia has been seized by a child, pretending to be a leader. A fool draped in an ill-fitting jacket, playing emperor while his people starve. He dreams of a glittering Dubai and Singapore, yet presides over a nation where millions live in unimaginable misery.

The rabid land grab over Addis Abeba, Dire Dawa, Moyale, Bete Amhara, and Metekle has no historical foundation and no constitutional legitimacy. Ethiopia’s history is not a story that begins and ends with Emperor Menelik II. The years 1520 to 1550 defined the true geopolitical shifts of this land, when Ahmed Gragn’s war devastated the highland and lowland kingdoms, leaving behind a shattered Ethiopia that the Oromo expansion opportunistically exploited.

Crying about Menelik II while scheming to steal Amhara and other ancestral lands is not only deceitful, but the hallmark of a coward’s attempt to rewrite history. Emperor Menelik II reclaimed his ancestral homeland, land that had been ravaged and occupied during the Oromo expansion. Who ruled Bali, before Ahmed Gragn’s rampage? Who governed, before the Oromo settled? Your history is a house of lies, built on stolen narratives and soaked in blood.

You claim victimhood, while orchestrating genocide. You wail in Addis Abeba, while unleashing unspeakable horror against the Amhara people. But, the Amhara are fighting back. The Somali, Kaffa, Sidama, and every other people whose land you covet are not blind. They are watching. They are waiting.

Your grotesque #CUSH empire will be erased from existence. Your delusions of a seventh crown will shatter like brittle glass. Your madness will be buried in the dust of history, and no one will mourn its passing.

@HOAAffairs

[Zmeselo]

Q & A
Vintage Asmarino Woven into Modern Garments: Awet New York’s Asmara Collection

By: Sabrina Solomon

https://shabait.com/2025/02/26/vintage- ... ollection/

Feb 26, 2025



Awet Woldegebriel, an Eritrean-American fashion designer, founded Awet New York, a contemporary fashion brand known for its luxury, craftsmanship, and storytelling blend. His designs often incorporate elements of his Eritrean heritage and personal experiences, creating modern and meaningful pieces, reflecting his journey as a member of the Eritrean diaspora. Committed to creating high-quality, ethically produced garments that tell a story and resonate with a global audience, Awet recently launched his “Asmara collection” at Hotel Asmara Palace. Breaking from the traditional fashion week circuit, he chose to bring his collection directly to Asmara, dedicating it to the city that inspires him. Here’ s a glimpse into Awet’s perspective on his visit and his Asmara launch:

* * *



Your brand, Awet New York, is known for blending luxury, craftsmanship, and storytelling. How does your Eritrean heritage influence your designs?

Awet New York wouldn’t exist without my Eritrean heritage. When I started the brand in 2020, I thought about people like my father and how they were coping during the pandemic. I realized, many garment workers and tailors were being laid off in New York City. So, I started the brand with the idea of supporting these skilled craftspeople. It was about connecting to that heritage of helping others. My father always said,

Always look out for people with greatness in their hands.

That quote is embossed and embroidered on our Leatherman jacket. That’s one way our brand connects to our heritage.

I also look at the old Asmarino style. We are a people with style, who love art and culture. We have to incorporate our history into what we bring to the table. When you look at vintage pictures of Asmara, you’ll see designs reflected in our collection. You’ll see Asmarinos walking down Harnet Avenue wearing suits and jackets like ours. You’ll also see the same quality in the garments of the past that we incorporate into our brand today. The natural, rich tones and focus on tailoring and craftsmanship—vintage Asmarino style is my greatest inspiration.

Eritrean heritage is woven throughout the brand. Our online shop and stores feature pieces like the Biniam Leatherman jacket, the Nahom pants, the Eyob shirt, and the Saba dress. I wanted to use Eritrean names, just as we use names like Jennifer and Cali. It’s time to uplift our people. However hard our names are to pronounce; I wanted to imprint them globally. My father, a true Eritrean patriot, was my inspiration. I’m proud to link these two worlds and bring Eritrean greatness to the global creative and fashion industry.

Why did you choose Asmara for your first fashion show?

We’ve always talked about the Asmarino style with our customers and community. Everyone in the diaspora knows that when you try to explain Asmara to the world, people often don’t believe such a vibrant culture and lifestyle exists. I once had a wholesale customer, who wanted to see “more Africa” in our designs. He had a preconceived notion of what Africa looks like. It’s important for us to show Asmara—the city, the lifestyle, the way people live. Explaining it with words and pictures, isn’t enough. We needed a presentation. So, instead of Paris, Milan, or New York Fashion Week, we cancelled those plans and came to Asmara. This collection, titled “Asmara,” is a dedication to the city. It needed to be seen in its rightful place, with the people who inspired it.

Beyond the show, we’re also shooting our first fashion editorial campaign here, capturing the essence of “Once Upon a Time in Asmara.” We have an incredible team and local models, who have become friends. Our goal is to open Pandora’s Box and reveal the beauty of Asmara. People don’t know Asmara the way we do. This project will hopefully change that, inspiring others and opening opportunities for the city and the country.



How has your journey as an Eritrean-American shaped your identity and creative process?

Eritrea is integral to Awet New York. I’ve always looked for ways to serve my country. This is my way. I hope this is just the beginning of a bridge connecting the creative worlds of New York, LA, and Asmara. It’s been a pleasure meeting the students in the Association of Eritrean Designers. Ultimately, their growth and vision are what will make this genuinely significant. We need to ensure the next generation of incredible designers, comes from Eritrea. We must maintain constant communication. I challenge every creative in the diaspora—videographers, stylists, makeup artists, choreographers—to bring their art to Eritrea, bridge the gap, and open doors for others. If you’re creative in the diaspora, you’ll find so much inspiration here; especially from those eager to learn. This is what we’re doing and what we’ll continue to do.

What are your long-term aspirations for Awet New York’s involvement in Eritrea?

I hope to continue working closely with the Association of Eritrean Designers. I’ve been impressed by the passion and commitment of the fashion students I’ve met. I hope to work with government officials to ensure we’re constantly sharing ideas. We learn about the market each season, and I hope we can relay that information. We’re open-minded and excited to be working with them. I want to focus on meaningful and impactful collaborations.



What are some of the unique challenges and opportunities you’ve encountered as an Eritrean-American designer?

Beyond the challenges of being an Eritrean-American designer, there are the challenges of being Black, period. Less than 5% of designers are people of color, and even fewer are Black. Our consumption is high; we live in fashion. Culture is woven into our fashion. We, as people of color, speak the language of fashion. We are underrepresented in fashion, even though we are high consumers. There are only a handful of us out there. The challenge has always been how to stop people from thinking of Africa as one story and how to introduce the Eritrean and Asmarino styles. Walking down the streets of Asmara and seeing the stylish older gentlemen, fills me with pride. The real challenge is debunking myths, and Asmara and its culture allow for that.

How do you balance modern and traditional aesthetics in your designs?

I encourage people, to find vintage pictures of Asmara. My goal is for people to connect with the past to move forward. That’s how I see my journey as a designer. The best way forward, is to always remember the past. My biggest inspiration comes from the people of Asmara and those vintage times.

Thank you, Awet. We wish you all the best.