News of Asmarino.com’s Tesfaldet Meharena’s passing was devastating. An absolute pioneer and visionary, who awakened and inspired so many Eritreans at home and abroad.
One of the earliest memories I have of the internet was Asmarino.com during the Eritrea and Ethiopia 1998-2000 border war. We had a computer at home and my family and many of our friends would often gather, surrounding the screen, to read the latest news. Once our printer was set up my Mum would print pages from Asmarino.com. Etched in my memory was a picture of renonwed poet Russom Haile at the header of the page, wearing kidan Habesha.
The bleak years after 2001 saw most Eritreans recluse into a defeaning silence. Asmarino was there, not just as a beacon of hope but a reminder of so much that had been forgotten, betrayed or buried under the rug. As the majority avoided the shocking and growing problems, Asmarino was that moral compass.
Asmarino’s spirit
Asmarino captured the spirit of the Eritrean people, the spirit of defiance against injustice, tyranny and reclaiming what was stolen. Radio Dimtsi Meselna Delina, the powerful videos and the many columns and chats were fanatstic.
The radio programme started with a cute child’s voice (Tesfaldet’s daughter) introducing the programme:
“α₯α α£α₯ α£αααͺα αΆα΅ α«α ααα°α α© α΅ααΊ αα°αα α°αα α’α©α‘α‘ α«α₯ α«ααααα«αα‘ α°αα α£ααͺα«αα‘ ααͺαΆαα« α°α‘α₯ α£ααͺα
α α’α©α‘α‘”
Followed by Tesfaledt’s powerful intro:
“α₯α£αα© αα‘α αα αα°α¨α½α α΅ α’αͺα΅α«αα‘ α₯ααα³α α΅αα¨α΅α αααα΅ααα«α α°α¨αα» αα΅αα₯α αααα΅α ααα΅ αα α΅ α’α©α‘α‘ αααα αααΈα α΅α αα αα’ αααα΅ ααα α΅α αα¨α αααα α’α©α‘α‘”
This powerful and hopeful message is timeless and still causes goosebumps.
Iconic visuals
What were the images on Asmarino? The visuals were powerful and perfectly illustrated the heart of the Eritrean people and what they yearn for. I remember seeing images of Patriach Abune Antonios, political prisoners, journalists, Abraham Afewerki and many more.
The iconic footages were unforgettable, from the young girl in green carrying her sibling on the streets of Asmara, amongst the crowd jumping for joy as tegadelti entered in 1991. Looking directly into the camera and repeatedly putting her thumb up, clinching her fists. To the old men jumping just as high as the children, in Asmara 1991. There was also the elderly man who said “merahe sein’na.” And what about the heartbreaking October 2000 interview Medhanie Haile (imprisoned journalist) had where he declared,
“We love peace very much…..peace is everything.”
Iconic footages:
“Gerem….abzia zey’terede’ato….Hagerawi democrasawi sewra entay malet eyu?”
Eritrea’s bread and butter
Lost in the tsebhi but not forgotten
Thank you Tesfaldet β€οΈ
Your vision, dream and the spirit of Asmarino will carry on and only multiple.
Zara Tewolde-Berhan 