N. 10 Periodico Culturale dell’Associazione Onlus Italia Eritrea giugno 2012

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Foto Lusci

PERIODICO CULTURALE DELL’ASSOCIAZIONE ITALIA ERITREA ONLUSTrimestrale - Reg. Trib. di Roma 87/2005 del 9/03/2005Piazza dell’Unità 13 - 00192 RomaSegreteria Lun./Giov. 15.00-18.00 Tel. 06 32 44 055 - Fax 06 32 43 823www.assiter.org - e.mail: assiteronlus@yahoo.it

Direttore responsabile: Lidia CorbezzoloRedazione: Lidia Corbezzolo, Nahom Haile, MichelangeloCiminaleIn collaborazione:

eritreaeritrea.com

Istituto di Cultura Eritrea

SOMMARIOpag.

Ite rEditoriale .................................................... 3Lid ia Corbezzo loFine del Mai Tacli. Grazie, Marcello! ...... 4Cristo fo ro Barbe riEritreaThe High Hoisted Banner of Pride

and Glory ............................................... 5Meron AbrahaVolunteerism, the Heart of Independence .. 8D anie l SemereSeizing Opportunity. A success story

of an Eritrean youth .............................. 10D anie l SemereMesob: The Symbol of Affluence and

Prosperity ................................................ 12Sirak KbromQuest for Finding Tomorrow’s Star ......... 14Meron AbrahaSanganese: Conflict Resolution at Its Best . 17Samue l Mengsteab

Archivio fotografico: Antioco Lusci, Michelangelo CiminaleProgetto grafico e Stampa: Arti Grafiche San Marcello S.r.l. Viale Regina Margherita, 176 - 00198 RomaAbbonamento annuale euro 25,00Ass.Iter Onlus c/c postale n. 84275023Finito di stampare: giugno 2012In copertina: Donna Saho, tramonto nella valle dei Sicomori(foto Lusci)Hanno collaborato a questo numero: Lidia Corbezzolo,Nahom Haile, Antioco Lusci, Cristoforo Barberi, MeronAbraha, Daniel Semere, Sirak Kbron

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EDITORIALEd i Lid ia Corbezzo lo

Carissimi Amici e carissime AmicheIl 2012 ci vede impegnati ad implementare e svi-luppare l’asilo Denden con il progetto “ILDENDEN CRESCE”.Al nostro fianco come partner l’Asilo l’Arcobalena di Roma che infaticabilmente e congrande professionalità lavora nel progetto pergli scambi culturali. Nel numero di marzo èstata riportata la prima missione effettuata perquesto progetto: grazie Luisa, grazie Claudia,grazie Michelangelo.Lo sforzo è notevole perché non mi stancheròmai di ripetere che abbiamo una grossa difficol-tà nel reperire i fondi. Anche se vinciamo bandie concorsi abbiamo un grosso ostacolo da sor-montare: anticipare la somma necessaria allarealizzazione del progetto perché solo a proget-to realizzato gli enti erogano la somma vinta.Quindi abbiamo bisogno del Vostro aiutosoprattutto con il 5 per mille.Ma anche se gli sforzi da superare sono tantissi-mi e molte volte manca la forza fisica e psicolo-gica per poterlo fare, con grande soddisfazioneguardo il lavoro svolto in questi anni e con tran-quillità posso affermareche non potevamo faredi meglio: lavoriamogratuitamente, il nostrooperato è cristallino enel cuore abbiamol’Eritrea e le sue genti daaiutare.E quando i bambinifestosi ci vengono incon-tro per darci la mano e iloro occhi morbidi elucenti incontrano inostri, una nuova energiaci invade e ci da il corag-gio di continuare il nostrocammino per la vita.

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FINE DEL MAI TACLI. GRAZIE, MARCELLO!d i Cristo fo ro Barbe ri

Cessa le pubblicazioni, con l’ultimonumero del 2011 dopo trentaquattroanni di vita ufficiale,il periodico bime-

strale Mai Taclì che significa,nella lingua loca-le: alla lettera “acqua chiara” e nell’accezione“fonte pura”. Lo dichiara il Direttore in modoinaspettato e repentino,un fulmine a ciel sere-no!

La fonte quindi si è esaurita, prosciugata comespesso accade in Africa, il deserto avanza!

Il giornale ha dato voce, per tutti questianni,alla Comunità Italiana dell’Eritrea (1889-1975)e non solo; ha consentito a tutti di espri-mersi,di immedesimarsi,di ritrovarsi e di ricor-dare. Il Mai Taclì ha rappresentato, per tuttoquesto tempo,l’anima collettiva della Comunitàsopravvissuta all’esodo (1941-1975) da quelleterre.

Il nostro giornale ha pubblicato immagini belle,sempre significative, a volte rarissime; ha rin-verdito, ampliato, a volte corretto la Storia checi riguarda; non avrà mai il successo universaleche gli sarebbe spettato ma conserverà la rico-noscenza e l’amore di chi è nato o vissuto inEritrea o di chi ci ha conosciuto apprezzando-ci. Tutti aspettavamo con ansia l’arrivo delGiornale.

A tutti noi ha regalato, ogni anno,calendari bel-lissimi, sempre in tema e relativi a quel periodostorico che, nonostante tutto, noi amiamo e nonpotremo mai dimenticare.

Ci ha catalogati, seguiti, ha permesso per il suotramite che ci ritrovassimo annualmente orga-nizzando il Raduno della Comunità, che pur

andava assottigliandosi, in varie belle zoned’Italia a partire dal 1975 e per ben trentasetteanni.

Ha organizzato raccolte di grandi ricchezze persostenere attività a sfondo sociale, educativo edi amicizia con la nuova Eritrea e per mantene-re almeno le più sacre vestigia della nostra pre-senza.

Noi Asmarini, Italiani d’Eritrea, abbiamo fattopoco perché questa Istituzione, non la chiamopiù “giornale”, sopravvivesse ed abbiamo fattonulla nei confronti dell’Uomo che questaIstituzione ha incarnato: Marcello Melani e deisuoi (pochi) più stretti collaboratori. Anzi alcu-ni, a volte, hanno osato criticarlo; critiche cheperò si scontravano con la sua generosa signo-rilità e con il suo fine sarcasmo toscano.

Marcello Melani, a noi tutti noto come il SignorDirettore, è stato forse lasciato solo ed ha rettosin che ha potuto.

Perdonaci Marcello, ma almeno un GRAZIE,oltre la stima ed il bene che ti vogliamo, ce loconsentirai ed è un GRAZIE non sussurrato,ma gridato ai quattro venti. Un GRAZIE chedeve essere testimoniato a tutte le altre organiz-zazioni,associazioni,enti che hanno a cuore laStoria della Comunità Italiana dell’Eritrea enon solo, che archiviano e consultano l’operatua e che vedono, purtroppo, cessare la tuaIstituzione.

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THE HIGH HOISTED BANNER OF PRIDEAND GLORYby Meron Abraha

About aweek ago,t a l k i n g

with a journalistfriend about theIndependence DayAnniversary cele-brations, he hap-pened to mentionthat he was prepar-ing a television seg-ment on the

Eritrean flag. Curiosity got the best of me and Istarted wondering, there and then, how much I,or anybody else for that matter, knew about sub-ject.If I were to say that there are people who don’tknow what the Eritrean flag looks like or whatthe colors stand for, I would be making thebiggest understatement of the century. And thatwould make me totally way out of line.But as regards questions pertaining to the originsof the Eritrean flag; the significance of the geo-metric symbols; the flag’s code of conduct; and soon… then perhaps things could get a little bittricky.The questions are really not that many but unfor-tunately neither were the people who knew allthe right answers. And that’s what got me writ-ing this piece on flags today.If we were to talk about how flags originated inthe first place, we would have to go way back intime to ancient history when flags were nothing

but simply decora-tive streamers, orperhaps just cere-monial images.They were usuallyrespected in the

same manner as the person or thing that theyrepresented.Theories abound that flags were most likelydeveloped long ago as something soldiers couldrecognize as their own during a war. In the thickdusty air of battles for instance, soldiers had trou-ble staying with their group so they would lookup in the sky, see their flag waving through theair, and then could get back with their fellowcombatants. The loss of a flag was a severe blowin a battle while the capture of the opponents’flag could be a turning point in that battle. The modern flag is said to have arisen in the sev-enteenth century, with the creation of the firstmodern states. Countries made flags an impor-tant aspect of their official identity. Flags are used by countries for other reasonsbeyond just having something to fly in the air. Aflag in fact represents an idea, or an ideal for thatmatter. It is neither a mere piece of decoration,nor an object to be honored for itself. It is hon-ored for what it represents. Many flags are heldin high esteem for their history; for the sacrificesmade by the people; for the qualities for whichthe country and people stand. These flags repre-sent a nation at international podiums, globalconferences and other occasions held at the inter-national level.The Eritrean flag, the core issue of my article, isindeed the proud possessor of these traits andelse. Divided into segments by a red trianglebased on the hoist, the Eritrean flag comprises ofthree triangles with green, blue and red colors.There is a yellowwreath with anupright branch inthe center and thiswhole motif isplaced in the hoist-

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side of the red triangle. The upper segment isgreen and the lower blue. This national banner, or the current flag ofthe State of Eritrea, has the same basic layout ofthe flag of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front(EPLF), which has a yellow star at the hoistinstead of the yellow wreath.But Eritrea had its own sovereign flag andemblem as far as back in the 1950s. Followingthe temporary British administration until 1952,a UN mandate federated Eritrea with Ethiopia,consenting for Eritrea to retain limited controlover its local affairs. And it was then that theEritrean flag with a blue field and a greenemblem, depicting an upright olive wreath and asingle branch within, was adopted. Although the origins of this blue flag are not con-spicuously clear, documentations from that peri-od reveal that the late Mohammed Omer Hakito,one of the prominent political leaders of the1950s, had proposed a light blue flag with sevenstars in the middle. The proposal was fiercelydebated upon in the Eritrean Parliament, whosemembers finally voted unanimously voted for theblue filed flag with a green olive wreath emblemin the middle to be the official flag of the State ofEritrea. There are also assumptions suggesting that theblue flag was donated by the UN, whichenforced its will on Eritrea through its commis-sioner, Anze Matienzo, the Bolivian appointed tooversee the Federation’s implementation anddraft its constitution. These assumptions howev-er, hardly hold water.This flag was used until the end of the 1950s,when the territory was absorbed and thenforcibly annexed into Ethiopia. This triggeredthe armed struggle for independence.The blue and green Eritrean flag, however, con-tinued to be in use as the “flag of liberation” untilthe 1970s, until the EPLF officially came tobeing and proposed its own flag during thefront’s First Organizational Congress in 1977. The EPLF’s flag is dominated bya red triangle extending from the hoist to the fly

(right) with complementary green and blue tri-angles above and below respectively. A yellowstar is placed in the red triangle. The colors and symbols that constitute a flag areillustrations of the idea or thought that make upthe ideals of a country. Also reflected in thedesign is the patriotism and pride of the people ofthe country.Accordingly, the green stands for the fertility ofthe country; blue stands for the sea; and red forthe blood lost in the fight for freedom. The yel-low star has double meanings: the color repre-sents the mineral resources of Eritrea while thefive corners of the star stand for Equality, Unity,Liberty, Justice and Prosperity respectively (andnot necessarily in the same order). The Eritrean flag from 1952 and that of theEPLF coexisted as the flags of Eritrea until inde-pendence and the subsequent referendum in1993. When Eritrea finally took its rightful placein the world, following its declaration as an inde-pendent and sovereign country on May 24, 1993,the new National Flag that flew in the air was infact the EPLF’s flag with the wreath and uprightolive branch symbol derived from the 1952 flagreplacing the yellow star. Because a flag is a country’s way of portrayingitself to the rest of the world, time, energy andcreativity is invested in its design.Vexillology, the discipline that deals with the sci-entific study of the history, symbolism, and usageof flags or any interest in flags in general, tries topromote flag design principles based on a body ofresearch on flag history and design. And some ofthe prominent examples of these principles are:1. Keep It Simple : the flag should be so simple

that a child can draw it from memory.2. Use Meaningful Symbolism: the flag’s images,

colors, or patterns should relate to what itsymbolizes.

3. Use few Basic Colors: limit the number of col-ors on the flag to few colors that contrast welland come from the standard color set.

4. No Lettering or Seals: never use writing ofany kind or an organization’s seal.

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5. Be D istinctiv e or Be Related : avoid duplicat-ing other flags, but use similarities to showconnections.

I am not a v exillophile , and definitely not a v ex-illo logist, but I was excited to find out that ourflag indeed complies, to the letter I might add, tothese principles. Children can in fact draw it withease, the colors are in good contrast with eachother; there is no lettering of any kind; and it isvery distinct.I didn’t forget the fifth one. I instead saved it forlast because when it comes to meaningful sym-bolism, the patterns in our flag have their ownstory to tell.The yellow wreath symbol in the red triangle has12leaves on each side, with six more on theupright branch in the middle, totaling altogetherto 30, which is the number of years of the armedstruggle for liberation that the Eritrean peoplehad to endure.That’s not all. The red triangle, which has its baseat the hoist, extends towards the left representingthe declining amount of blood spilt for the inde-pendence and sovereignty of the country. Thecomplimentary green and blue triangles eithersides of the red triangle represent the growingamount of fertility as well as land bounty on onehand and the vast marine resources and clear(unpolluted) skies respectively.A flags can be unifying to a country, as it is thecase in Eritrea, which can look to its flag flownhigh above the landscape in times of trouble andremember that the country will indeed go on.People that have never met before can feel unitytowards one another knowing that they’re part ofthe same country and fly the same flag. It makesall Eritrean citizens feel like part of one team. One of the persons to whom I ventured my ques-tions about the significance of a flag is a highschool teacher in Asmara. I have known him tobe a man of rather unusual principles in life, and,true enough to his character, dismissed theimportance of having a flag at all.

He was of the belief that the world was like onebig village and there is no need of differentiatingone another with flags and symbolic representa-tions. He was adamant that flags were noting butmere symbols and that people could in fact iden-tify with each other through their cultural prac-tices and languages.His quite relevant knowledge of political science,despite having majored in physics, hindered mefrom trying to convince him otherwise. I couldonly wonder what would the women, who dressup and braid their hair in the colors of theEritrean flag, say to him if they ever confrontedhim.And talking about dressing up in the colors orpatterns of our national flag, I think it’s worthmentioning that people do that because theyequate the flag with the country they love. But asfar as international codes of conduct of flags areconcerned, flags should never be used as wearingapparel, bedding, or drapery. But then of course,it wouldn’t be completely misguided to feel itswearing as a mark of patriotism, although someof us feel very differently about this issue. Thevery conservative recommend the use of patchesand pins as appropriate, respectful and patrioticfor people who want to display the flag on a per-sonal level.At any rate, the fact remains that to fly thenational flag is a sign of pride and patriotism. Itis a positive affirmation of loyalty and commit-ment. It marks out a country that has confidencein itself, and is comfortable with its place in theworld, its history and its future.Taking into consideration the importance of ourflag, its deep significance, and of course the factthat the respect for the flag is one indication ofpatriotism, my journalist friend had raised animportant question in the end of his program:Shouldn’t we dedicate a National Day inhonor of our flag?A timely question, I dare say!

Meron Abraha, is journalist and web chief editor for Shaebia.org.

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VOLUNTEERISM, THE HEART OF INDIPENDENCEby D anie l Semere

An Eritrean writeronce stated hisdilemma in writ-

ing a fiction book out of theEritrean struggle for inde-pendence by saying “Thereare many real stories, buthow can one make them

seem more fictional. Many of the stories aresimply unbelievable.” That is why, heexplained, he finally resorted writing the sto-ries of selfless commitment of the then Eritreanyouth as they are. That is perhaps why one cannot get enough of hearing the stories of thestruggle told again and again.

One of the hallmarks of Eritreans’ struggle forindependence was the unmatched voluntarismthat was displayed by the complete selflessnessand commitment of the youth. It has been saidtime and again that the real strength of theEritrean struggle was not the modern weapons,or the alliance with the then superpower or anyexternal help. One of the fundamental sourcesof strength of the Eritrean struggle was theselfless commitment of the Eritrean youth thatprevailed over the seemingly impossible task.Indeed among the pillars of our principles wasthe belief in the decisive role of human factorproving what many have argued that voluntaryassociations contributes to the quality andstrength of a society.

It is perhaps, precisely for the above fact thatone can tell the success or failure of anyendeavor, be it in revolutions or developmenteffort, way before it ends. For the initiated itwas not difficult to foretell the failure ofAmerica’s infantry in Vietnam, or even in

Afghanistan and Iraq. The terrible failures ofthe various civil wars and some of the so calledstruggle for liberation of suppressed sections ofsociety can be explained by the lack of volun-tarism on the part of the participants. Thismight be due to lack of belief in the cause of thestruggles or lack of faith in the motive;nonetheless the result strengthens the aboveargument that with out the heart of a volunteer,no major success can be achieved. If we ask forthe failure of grand schemes and excellent poli-cies to materialize on the ground, we wouldinvariably find that it lacks the participation ofthe people full heartedly.

There is nothing stronger than the hearts ofvolunteers. And if there is anything the volun-tarism in our struggle for independence hastaught us, is that nothing is impossible. TheEritrean youth have historically been at thecentre of social change. Just like in the struggletimes, after independence also they have playeda catalytic role in the humongous task of nationbuilding; in the re-construction of the Eritreaneconomy and infrastructure, and in the manyextended social services. They have also paidwith their life in the defense of the nation andsacrificed a lot. What made all these endeavorssuccessful and effective is that it addressed theheart of the problem that concerns the entirepeople, and hence it invoked the voluntarismand civic participation. All these benefits areattributed to the voluntary organization of theyouth because it increased and enriched thestock of social capital that a society possesses.

The concern now should be the maintenance ofthe voluntary participation of the youth.Because as far as voluntarism is concerned

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there is a global concern that large section ofthe youth particularly those who live in ruralareas have become marginalized and are noteffectively participating in the transformationprocess. In these countries the failure of themost promising and largest population to par-ticipate constructively in the socio-economictransformation of their society could undoubt-edly cause a deep frustration for many youngpeople. Indeed in many developing and evendeveloped nations this frustration has been themain cause of frustration that in many cities itis causing the growing levels of youth crimeand violence, growing levels of drug and alco-hol abuse, increased level of HIV/AIDS inci-dents, lack of discipline at school etc. All thesecan undoubtedly affect the social fabric of thesociety that will eventually lead to destruction.

Eritrea has depended much on the voluntarismof its youth. And now, more than any othertime, in the face immense challenge this reliablesource of strength is needed. The trick in pre-vailing over these challenges lies in maintainingand augmenting youth involvement in thenational development discourse and implemen-tation. However the involvement of youth inthe unfolding development processes shouldnot be always be induced from above. Ouryouth should proactively seek to be part of theprocess of development through their partici-pation. It is this voluntarism of our youth thathas been the critical interventions in our strug-gle so far. And it is the most reliable guaranteeof the nation’s endeavor in search of economicliberation and independence. Maintaining thisin the heart of our youth is all we have to do tosee it accomplish miracles for times to come.

Daniel Semere, is a researcher at Research and Documentation Center, he is also a columnist in Eritreanprofile.

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Born into a family ina village called AlaBolosto, 30 kilo-

metres north ofDekemhare, in a timewhen Eritrea was stillunder the occupation of analien power, with no viable

infrastructure for education, the challengecould only be humongous for Said MohammedAli. But what would anyone do if that personhas a burning desire and an insatiable appetitefor knowledge and more knowledge. Whatcould that person do if sheer curiosity for newthings and experiences prods that person everytime he or she met a challenge? Of course theperson would try to utilize everything she or hecould find to acquire new things and knowl-edge no matter how limited that could be orhow hard it is to find. For Said it meant walk-ing as far as 30 kilometres, to the nearestlibrary, every now and then to supplementwhatever was given to him in a classroom andsearch for anything new. It might not be sur-prising that in such situation in a given place,such a person would usually ace most subjectand amass the top ranks in a class. Said wouldalways get first up to third ranks in his elemen-tary education. It may now be proved thatranks meant of little significance as far asknowledge is concerned. But back then it wasconsidered to be a quality of a genius. But stillit wouldn’t make news when it comes to Said,for his effort and desire was conspicuous andvisible and hence his achievement expected. However, if any person who has a tendency ofgood understanding in a classroom could some-how keep his curiosity, it is almost certain thatthat person is bound to achieve something. And

that was what young Said was able to do as heleft his village to study his junior and secondaryeducation in Dekemhare ComprehensiveSecondary School. If there is a curiosity toinstigate something and perseverance to keepand work hard to attain it, one would definite-ly advance. In his 8th grade biology class Saidsomehow took an interest in taxonomy and setout to prove whether a certain worm, generallybelieved by the society as naturally unable tosee, could actually have a sight or not. This taskmight seem formidable and even ambitious.And if we consider the realities in Eritrea thatthere are very few laboratories with which onecould test and experiment one’s hypothesis, thetask taken by Said could as well be consideredimpossible. The significance of this task of his ishowever, the initiative and the audacity tothink big on any task his curiosity brought tohis attention and the perseverance he kept onas his study continues for a couple of years.It was this quality of his that made him excep-tionally good in Maths. Here was a subject thatdoesn’t demand much, if some books could beprovided. Of all the subjects Said attended,Math wasone wherematerial forexperiment,in this casebooks, areavailable andcould beaccessed withrelative ease.And eventhis, he some-times had togo to the

SEIZING OPPORTUNITY. A SUCCESSSTORY OF AN ERITREAN YOUTHby D anie l Semere

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libraries in Asmara for materials. These relativeadvantages combined to set him in a project ofdeveloping his own Theorem while he was ingrade 11. This was a task that was going to takethree years; two in formulating a sound ideaand hypothesis and one in proving it. Afterthree years of tenacious and painstaking work,Said is now the discoverer of two newTheorems.From the household mathematical formula ofPythagoras, a2 + b2 = c 2, Said has been able toderive and discover two new Theorems; thedouble angle triangle theorem and the tripleangle triangle theorem.

Said’s Theorem IDouble Angle Triangle Theorem

C2 = a2 + ab

Said’s Theorem IITripled Angle Triangle Theorem

(c 2 – a2) (ca) = b2a

Just like any other theorems, these theorems,Said believes, are also going to contribute invarious fields and areas like navigation, survey,astronomy, physics, engineering, maths, andsolving other problems.All along this journey, he said it took nothingbut hard work. He seems to have proved thisassertion and we can take a note of the processhe had to go through even after he proved hisnew discovery. After Said formulated the idea,the next step was unclear; ‘I didn’t know whereto go to verify my discovery’ Said recalls. Withthe help of a teacher he finally was able to pub-licize his findings in a seminar in the College ofHealth and Science. And in March 2010 he wasable to contact the Pan African Journal basedin Nigeria via the internet to get acknowledge-ment for his work. After three months of wait-ing the journal notified him that his work has

been awarded a provisional acceptance withfull acceptance due very soon.This discovery affirms once again hat hardwork always yield an outcome that makeseveryone proud. It also recognizes that Eritreaand Eritreans are capable of making contribu-tion in the field of science. However, its impor-tant significance is the wonder it provokes aswhat Eritrean students could accomplish hadour schools been fully equipped with laborato-ries and necessary materials. It should also benoted that there has to be a system throughwhich such people like Said could be encour-aged and given the ground. If nothing, theyshouldn’t wander confused where to verifytheir experiment when they did have one. Ourcolleges should be crafted in such a way toaddress such issues.To his Eritrean younger brothers and sisters,Said can be an inspiration. If a person, whocame from a house where there was no booksbut the Koran, can accomplish this, then itmight be worth asking what we should andcould do with what we have. As Said put it inhis life guiding motto ‘some things are difficultbut not impossible.’ That is what we, the youth,need to get and understand. After all ‘geniusesare those who have been given opportunity andwho have had the strength and presence ofmind tot seize them’. It is nothing more andnothing less.

Daniel Semere, is a researcher at Research and Documentation Center, he is also a columnist in Eritreanprofile.

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MESOB: THE SYMBOL OF AFFLUENCEAND PROSPERITYby Sirak Kbrom

It is one of thev a r i o u sEritrean tradi-

tional handicraftsmade of the palmraffia, adorned in adiversity of colorsand accomplishedthrough efforts ofcreativity. This

beautiful household utensil, where food (injera– the sourdough flatbread) is kept or even atraditional Tigrigna dish is served is Mesob, orthe breadbasket.

Its name has been used for long as an idiom forprosperity and affluence as it is the hub of foodsecurity among the Tigrigna society in particu-lar. Thus describing Mesob as a symbol ofEritrean prosperity, unity and creativity wouldonly be doing it justice.

When Eritrea presented its cultural artifacts atthe 2010 World Expo in China, the Mesob,beyond the expectations of the organizers, wasamong the biggest attractions. Undoubtedly,Mesob has the artistic touch and beauty.Whether it has food in its bosom or not theMesob is always at prosperity in its traditionalbeauty.

The way the Mesob impressively standsstraight hints perhaps to its primarily intendeddesign to stand as a perfect symbol of affluence.Looking at it with analytical eyes, it looks likea champion of artisanship. Wide at its base, itgoes on narrowing until its waist. But the headappears again to be the widest circular struc-ture. This bestowed it the structure of a woman

with tight waist, giving the dexterity of art asthough it was born out of thoughtful attempt ofa professional architect. Moreover, the struc-ture resembles the traditional way of dressingof Tigrigna women, which again stands as atoken of beauty. As you proceed from just see-ing to looking, you can’t help noticing thesecret symbol of the society: the circle. Mostother household items are based in circularstructure, the Mogogo (clay oven), the Kitcha(the traditional bread), the Tsahli (traditionalearth ware casserole) and the Injera itself allfeature a circular structure. It then dawns onyou that this is simply the traditional inventionof the Eritrean mother who, apparently, didn’thave any idea of designing.

Many years ago, an Eritrean mother had tocome up with something that would serve heras storage for injera, her most delicate food.And she had to do it with materials readilyaccessible to her. So she came up with the ideaof using the palm raffia (or the fiber from itsleaves). She split it into tiny strands and madetiny bundles, wrapped them with a straw fiber,which she then wove together to make thebeautiful Mesob.

Looking at the intricate process of making aMesob, one can only imagine that it might havetaken a very long time. A woman can completeone Mesob in around five months. And this istaking into account the fact that the motheronly does it in her part time, after a tiresomeday of domestic chores. But the beauty is worththe wait. The mother takes one stitch at a timeunderstanding one of best nature’s secret thattime and patience always reward their clients.

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It seems as though Mesob was deliberatelymade to denote the unity that Eritreans proud-ly boast, as one discovers that Mesob takes partin the culture that incorporates harmony andtogetherness: the Meadi. If a western inventionprovided us with the dining table to gatheraround for a meal, a traditional family of theTigrigna society would use Mesob. While thesunken top of the Mesob serves as food basin,usually another Mesob is there to perform as a

tabletop where everybody gathers around. Aseveryone extends his hand to take his sharefrom the food provided over the Mesob, it’s asif some sort of gravitational force draws every-body to integrate.

It is not an arbitrary choice then, for Eritreansto attempt to symbolize their unity and pros-perity with this simple but ponderous inven-tion.

Sirak Kbrom, is a program producer for EriTv and regularly contributes articles to Shaebia.org.

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QUEST FOR FINDING TOMORROW’S STARby Meron Abraha

Doesn’t itseem just

like yesterdaywhen we had twoseasons ofShingrwa lookingfor a star thatcouldn’t be found? Well, afterShingrwa judgesrevealed that this

time around the coveted “star” was indeedfound, the only suspense that hung in the air atthe packed hall of Cinema Roma this pastSunday, April 15, was who would stand as thewinner following the six outstanding perform-ances in the third season’s finale.I haven’t been update with the previous stagesof Shingrwa’s third season to be able to predictwhich artist delivered the overall best perform-ance. But based on some of the episodes I didmanage to watch, I had quite a picture of whostood where in the competition as I waited forthe anxiously awaited final stage to begin.Coinciding with Easter Sunday, the finale forShingrwa 2012 was, as both of its previous sea-son finales, staged at the elegant and comfort-able Cinema Roma Hall. Although I could havestayed at home and watch the whole thing liveon television, I opted to go and witness thewhole drama and excitement in person. There’snothing like a first-hand experience, after all!After opening statements from the Guest ofHonor and one of the judges respectively, thesix finalists presented each one modern song.Sudanese-born Simon Kahsay kicked off witha mellow rendition of one of Taniko’s hit songs.He was well accepted by the audience but notany better than the contestant who succeededhim on the stage. In fact, the moment Meriem

Shawush got on stage and started singing in ahighs-spirited manner, loud cheers accompa-nied her all the way through her song.The enthusiasm of the audience kept momen-tum with Nur Osman and Abraham Haile, thesingers that followed, but got to the highestlevel with the two final singers, Eden andYohannes (Wedi Kerin). From the number ofpeople who by then were standing on their feet,waving big banners with pictures of theirfavorite contestant, and cheering and shoutingout loud from their hearts, Eden and Yohanneswere probably the two singers that had thebiggest number of fans in the audience.If that was cheering and support at its greatest,then words can hardly describe the thrill andexcitement that ensued as the six Shingrwafinalists returned once more to the stage for atraditional song.

Each contestant tried its level best for an aston-ishing performance. Viewing the audience’sreaction, which was also my opinion of course,I dare say Meriem was unequalled in her stagemovements to her animated song. Abraham andWedi Kerin also did a wonderful job with theirguaila selection. Nur Osman and Eden’s upbeatchoice of songs saw them perform better thistime around while Simon’s rendition of Habib iTeal, earned him a big hand from the hall.

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In the brief interlude where the three judgesretired to deliberate on who would walk awaywith the coveted title, if found at all, everybodyin the audience, myself included, hardly paidattention to the comedy show presented bycomedian Hagos (Suzinino) but was insteadbusy predicting which artist would stand inwhich place.

The consensus was that Meriem, Yohannes,Eden and Abraham would definitely fall withinthe top winners’ circle.Judgment time came. Yoel Ghide, one of thethree Shingrwa’s judges, said that the judgeshad “made careful and meticulous considera-tions as to who would be fit for the title ofShingrwa Star,” and to the utter joy of allwatching and listening, he said that this yearthey indeed found the ‘star.’ But the suspense was not yet over. The hostcalled all contestants to the stage and afterreceiving a closed envelope from the judges, heannounced the bottom three starting withfourth place winner Nur Osman. Eden Keseteand Abraham Haile followed as fifth and sixthplace winners. The announcement was not wellreceived by the audience. Dissatisfaction washighly visible, and the murmuring and shoutsof disbelief echoed around the hall.Shingrwa was a competition, and as in everycompetition, there have to be winners and los-ers. These three composed the latter group andwere handed out monetary prizes of 5,000Nakfa, 3,000 Nakfa and 2,000 Nakfa respec-

tively from the Director General of EritreanTelevision, Mr. Asmelash Abraha.When the second envelope, containing thename of the new star, was opened the tensionand anxiety got indescribable. As previous pre-dictions were not fulfilled, at least not to themaximum, the audience waited impatiently.Most were almost confident that Simon wouldbe the second runner-up. And the assumptionswere grounded. Simon indeed became the sec-ond runner-up, winning 50,000 Nakfa in mon-etary prize and a roundtrip air ticket to Sudan(his birthplace, call it coincidence or not).After Lorenzo, the show’s host du jour, pro-claimed Meriem Shawush the winner of thecontest and the first Shingrwa Star, pandemo-nium hit the stage. Meriem’s fans got on stageand the host was barely audible as he called outYohannes’ name as the first runner-up andwinner of 70,000 Nakfa in cash and roundtripair ticket to Dubai.The guest of honor, Minister Arefaine Berhe,handed out the prizes and then bestowed asparkling glass miniature statue of a camel with

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a star on top to the beaming Meriem, who sur-rounded by her family and fans, was literallyincapable of singing one of the tunes thatbrought her victory that day. She went homewith the coveted title, a roundtrip air ticket toParis, France and of course a 100,000 Nakfaricher.Most of the people I met outside the Cinema orelsewhere that day were not totally complacentwith the decision. Most had hoped Yohanneswould win the title this year. He was himselfconvinced that he would win. He was in factheard as confidently saying that he had nodoubts that he would own the title. You can only imagine his disappointment.Pardon me, but I must say he had it coming. Inhis interview the day before, he appeared to bea little too full of himself. Many disapproved ofthat seemingly arrogant behavior, particularlycoming from a young artist whose future stilllies bright ahead.Stardom in Eritrea is earned and never handed,and Meriem, against all expectations, earnedher victory.One thing however remains true: the six ofthem were dynamic singers and each deliveredgreat performances. I am sure we’ll be hearingmany great things from them in the future.The Eritrean music talent show, Shingrwa,which in the Bilen language means “tomor-row’s star,” was launched in 2007 in an effort toexplore the talent pool in the country and in theprocess provided a platform for young and tal-ented stars who may have lacked the opportu-nity to explore their potential. While the importance of music in preserving

and promoting the culture and identity of asociety is obvious, music in Eritrea has not onlyhighlighted the people’s culture, but alsoshaped and immortalized the different stages intheir history.The Minister of Tourism, Ms. AskaluMenkerios, during her speech at the show’ssecond season’s finale, had put it plain and sim-ple: “Music and other cultural activities played adecisive role in turning Eritrean cultural diver-sity into a blessing rather than a curse as is thecase in most parts of the world.” And now Shingrwa has opened a new door inthe endeavors to promote and shape the art ofmusic in the country. Its popularity amongEritreans of all ages has enabled many of thecontestants to have a broad fan base rooting fortheir victory. “Just by being on the show the participants areable to familiarize themselves with the public assingers,” Barnabas Mebrahtu, one of theShingrwa judges had once said of the show.Shingrwa 2012 was different from the previoustwo seasons in that the first stage was conduct-ed in the six administrative regions, where therich Eritrean cultural diversity was reflectedand strong competitors observed. From 360competitors in the first stage, 100 passed on tothe next level, out of which only 30 made it tothe third stage. Top 10 were selected for thefourth stage, out of which only six made it tothe finale.The finale of Shingrwa 2012 got live televisionand satellite coverage.

Meron Abraha, is journalist and web chief editor for Shaebia.org.

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Amongst the Kunama ethnic group inEritrea, there are people calledSangane ne . Sangane ne is plural

of Sangane na. There can only be oneSanganena in any Kunama community at atime who is usually the chief.Sanganene is a family that only deals with rec-onciliation. If a murder occurs, all the reconcil-iation process is processed bythe Sangane ne family. The practice ofSanganene dates back to 2000 years and theelders of some villages say that the conceptof Sanganene came into being during timeswhen there was no government. The ancientscreated the idea of reconciliation in order tosettle murderous conflicts between families.There is no one who dares to fight or do some-thing bad in front of these respected families. Ifpeople are fighting and someone from theSanganene family appears in the scene, allfighting stops immediately. Insults and badbehavior are never allowed in the presence ofa Sanganena.In number, the Sanganene are many. They liveat different places within the Kunama ethnicgroup’s area. In Fode there is one Sanganena.And there are some Sanganene in areas such asSona near the Gash River. There is a concen-tration of Sanganene families in villages suchas Binb ilina, Shambiko and Bishuka.If someone kills a person, the chief who lives inBinbilina assumes the responsibility of a surro-gate for the perpetrator. He sorts out the prob-lems in the entire Kunama ethnic group whichmakes him the chief Sanganena. The livingSanganena is called father Gaallee Ella. Exceptfather Galee Ella, no one is allowed to performany reconciliation activity. No one can performthe reconciliation even if they know the ritual.

Only after his death can someone else inheritthe title.If there has been a murder, the killer takesrefuge in either one of the Sanganene families.Having done that, he has to inform his immedi-ate family. Following such an incident, hisentire family and other relatives are in dangerof falling victim to an act of vengeance so thewhole family and relatives have to take refugeat the nearest Sanganene family.Once word is circulated, the Sanganene fami-lies organize a shelter for the killer’s extendedfamily and provide round the clock protectionagainst retaliation by the victim’s family. Thenext day, the main Sanganena calls for a meet-ing between all the families involved in thefeud.The Sanganena formally informs the victim’sfamily that the alleged killer is under his pro-tection and that it would undertake full investi-gation to determine whether the accused isguilty or not.Once the investigation is conducted and anyguilt is ascribed to a person, his or her family isordered to provide compensation which is usu-ally in goods and livestock. The family of theguilty party isallowed a certainperiod of time toput together ac o m p e n s a t i o npackage. In themeantime thefamily of the vic-tim must refrainfrom avengingtheir kinsperson.While the familyof the guilty man

SANGANENE: CONFLICT RESOLUTION AT ITS BESTby Samue l Mengsteab

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or woman try to put together the compensa-tion, they must regularly update the Sanganenawith a progress report. In turn, the Sanganenareports to the victim’s family. All communica-tion between the two parties is always conduct-ed through the mediation of the Sanganena.During the day of reconciliation between thetwo families, nobody is allowed to go to work.On that day, all the families meet at the place ofthe Sanganena. At midnight, they slaughter agoat and collect the blood in a Taffe ra – a smallgourd. A young and strong boy from theSanganene family is selected to go to the hut ofthe guilty man’s or woman’s family unnoticedand throw the gourd on the roof. This symbol-ises the need for reconciliation.The actual reconciliation itself is conducted in awild and uninhabited area. The Sanganenasupplies a fat ox. In the wild, they go near ananthill and cut the first leg of the ox with asword while he is alive. After it is dead, half ofit is eaten by the men present in the reconcilia-tion process while half of it is taken back to thevillage.Once they are all back in the village, a fullymade up couple adorned in jewellery from eachfeuding family are presented to the reconcilia-tion process. Each woman then proceeds to dothe other one’s hair – both hairstyles have to

match. Both men, dressed as if they were goingto a wedding ceremony, also sit facing east.The uncooked bone from the upper arm of theox, bared of all the meat and blood, is thenplaced in a hole on the ground along witha Te ffe ra (gourd) filled with goat’sblood. Following that, the Sanganena spits onthe Taffe ra three times and on the fourth go,hits the bone as hard as he can. When the boneis broken he mixes the marrow with a concoc-tion prepared ritually. He spreads the mixtureon the two men from forehead to chest.Both men are then instructed to touch foreheadto forehead, nose to nose, and chest to chestand the action subsequently symbolize themerging of the respective families. Once thatprocess is completed, there is no fight or anythought of revenge – instead, the two familiesbecome relatives. The philosophy behindSanganene is that a killing does not getresolved by punishment but through unity.The reconciliation process does not involvedancing and singing like other ceremonies andthe Sanganena is not paid for his services. Theprocess helps to prevent bloody fights betweenfamilies from getting out of hand and consumewhole communities.

(ELEM Magazine, March 2012)

Donna Saho (Foto Lusci)

Foto Lusci