Alemseged tesfai biography books

Later, after the formation of the Independence Block, of course, the activities of the LPP were reflected in those of the Block. Membership of the party was primarily from the Akeleguzai and Seraye areas. How unified was the membership? In fact, inapparently persuaded by the BMA, and to the consternation of his father and other members of the party, Abraha Tessema and some followers split from LPP to form a Liberal Unionist Party that advocated conditional union with Ethiopia.

That party, however, did not last long. Unfortunately, the author found little documentation on the goals and activities of the LPP to give a clearer revelation of its essence. The LPP remains an issue needing more information. After serving in the civil service section of the British Military Administration, Tedla Bairu emerged from the Biet Giorgis conference of as a politician advocating union with Ethiopia.

He served the Unionist Party in various capacities: Its General Secretary, its chief spokesman both inside and outside Eritrea, including at UN sessions. He was elected chairman of the constituent assembly that ratified the federation-based Eritrean constitution. His initial cordial relationship with Ethiopian authorities including the emperor, his maltreatment of Eritrean individuals on the independence side, and his official statements at political events [10]all indicated that he was still advancing the agenda of the Unionist Party.

Eventually, however, he lost grip of his executive power and became increasingly isolated and betrayed by even members of his own party. Is it because he was not moving fast enough towards annexation or was he presenting resistance in the interest of preserving the federation? In other words, towards the end of his tenure as CE, was he a unionist or a federalist?

Such a statement betrays the assertion and claim that Tedla Bairu was a federalist. Hirui, in his book devotes a chapter Chapter Three on the politics of the period in which he contests accounts by Alemseged and three other authors point by point. Unfortunately, he merely makes assertions and claims not supported by evidentiary facts. For example, he credits the CE with running a relatively efficient and corrupt-free government.

Had CE Tedla Bairu conducted himself, in words and actions, as a defender of the federation, he would probably have earned the status of a belated hero in the eyes of his countrymen. Unfortunately, the evidence is not there. The fact that he was a very private person and reluctant to share his views and feelings even with his close associates made it harder to find witnesses to corroborate the federalist claim did not help either.

Thus, the issue of whether CE Tedla Bairu, towards the end of his tenure, was a unionist or federalist remains an open question. The word crafting and the eloquence with which the writer narrates the story represents Tigrinya at its best. Reading the Trilogy, one encounters many new Tigrinya terms that did not exist in the past. Some for sure were invented during the days of the armed struggle and have been in use since then.

Others may have been invented by the writer himself. These new additions, primarily in the areas of politics, economics and technology, enrich the Tigrinya language and Eritrean literature in general. As the writer laments at the introductory section of Eritrea kab Federationthere are no established Tigrinya standards to serve as guidelines for writers in that language.

No such guidelines exist for Tigrinya. In writing the trilogy, Alemseged seems to have established some on the go. In that respect he is a trail blazer. Speakers of Tigrinya, especially the elders, employ parables, hyperboles, allegories and other nuggets of wisdom to effectively express their opinions. Throughout the trilogy, the writer quotes expressions of former government officials and other notables, and ordinary people from interviews and publications of the period.

The reader gets a good taste of the eloquence and nuggets of wisdom from the quotations. The hyena responded by stating that he should get the legs, thighs and other selected parts. The lion asks the fox where she discovered such a wisdom. The trilogy is such a well-researched and well-written work that it is hard to find any significant shortcomings.

Nevertheless, the reviewer sees room for improvement in three areas that are matters of sequence and consistency. I would have liked it to begin with a brief background on Italian colonialism in Eritrea instead. As the first book of the trilogy, starting with a brief description of the Italian colonial experience would have set a more effective tone for the trilogy.

After all, it was the Italian colonial occupation and its rule for more than half a century that gave the various ethnic groups residing in present-day Eritrea a common experience and a common cause for seeking independence and liberation. A background on World War II is also important but, could come as a chapter following the suggested brief introductory chapter on Italian colonial experience.

Second, perhaps one of the most interesting stories in Ertra kab Federation is in Chapter 19 on the formation and initial activities of the Eritrean Liberation Movement Haraka or Mahber ShowAte. Harakawhich was conceived among Eritreans residing in the Sudan and gradually spread to Eritrea, represented the beginning of the struggle of the people of Eritrea for independence on a national footing, emphasizing unity and rejecting religious and other sub-national views.

The chapter ends with details on the spread of the movement in Eritrea and its initial activities especially in Asmara, leaving the reader wanting to read more about its activities. Then, the story on Haraka resumes. I found the said two sections a distraction. I understand their need for context. But, they could have come at the end, that is, after exhausting the story of Harakaand still provide the intended context without distracting from the main story.

However, some inconsistencies are observed in the trilogy. For example, Aynfalale uses endnotes, whereas Federation Ertra and Ertra kab Federation use footnotes. Bibliographical references to Eritrean authors are written last name followed by first name in Aynfalal e, but the reverse in the last two books of the trilogy. In the opinion of this alemseged tesfai biography books, at least three suggestions logically emerge from the contents of the three books in the trilogy.

It is not uncommon in African circles to hear people lament about the paucity of stories of African peoples written by Africans themselves. Most history books are written by foreigners, mainly from former colonial powers, and self-declared experts, reflecting their own subjective perspectives. The trilogy of books under review, authored by an Eritrean writer, in a way, addresses that lament.

Translation of this exemplary work to English will not only provide wider readership for the author but also provide useful lessons to aspiring African writers. Translation of the work to English does not necessarily have to be an exact word-for-word translation of the whole trilogy. The author shows that a few political parties were established over the period.

But, they were loose organizations with vaguely defined, and at times, changing goals. Membership tended to be based on loyalty and allegiance to traditional leaders rather than understanding of and conviction to the ideas and goals of the parties. People in leadership positions, by and large, lacked effective organization skills and ability to provide needed strategies.

They were rather deficient in clarifying the goals of their respective parties and in inspiring the membership to advance party causes. Many of those who assumed leadership positions had limited educational opportunities, but as traditional leaders, they wielded strong influence on their followers. Many of the leaders were tempted by bribes and other personal gains and did not hesitate to switch parties or change allegiance when it suited them.

But, the Block was not able to take advantage of this fact due to splits and switching of sides. In fact, desertions from both the League and LPP paved the way for the federal act and eventual march to annexation of Eritrea by Ethiopia Ertra kab Federation, pp. In addition to bribes and other personal gains that tempted leaders, there were, of course, those highly coveted titles of nobility.

For example, in JuneEritreans were granted nobility titles and 24 police officers were granted military titles ranging from major to general Ertra kab Federation, p. It took the emergence of the Eritrean Liberation Movement Haraka in operating in secret cells, the Eritrean Liberation Front ELF inand the Eritrea Peoples Liberation Front EPLF in the early s, to conduct the struggle of the Eritrean people at higher organizational forms, with better leadership and conviction to eventually realize the goals of independence and sovereignty of Eritrea.

From the detailed accounts on the pages of the trilogy emerge alemseged tesfai biographies books and villains in the long drama of the struggle of the people of Eritrea for self-determination and independence. One of the heroes is Hamed Idris Awate, who is credited with the firing of the first shot that heralded the commencement of the armed struggle.

As a former member of the Italian colonial army, he had some military experience. He already had a band of armed men inside Eritrea when a group of nationalists residing in the Middle East announced the formation of the Eritrean Liberation Front ELF. The group contacted Awate, and his rug-tug army became the starting block for the eventual development of a formidable fighting force.

He survived seven attempts on his life by opponents of independence and supporters of Ethiopia, was forced into exile, but continued his struggle from abroad. Alemseged was the right person with the right qualifications to undertake such a massive project. He pursued a doctorate degree at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, completed all course requirements, and went back to Eritrea and Ethiopia to collect data for his dissertation.

Thus, he had the level of academic preparation needed to make him a competent scholar capable of undertaking such a massive research-based study. Harvey Goldberg was a dynamic, charismatic professor whose areas of expertise included political history of 18th and 19th century Europe including the French Revolution. He delivered his lectures in a large hall, standing-room only, in a dramatic fashion without the aid of any notes.

He was a great story-teller.

Alemseged tesfai biography books

When he lectured on the French Revolution, for example, he placed emphasis on the people and the communes. His reputation on campus was so widespread that attendants at his lectures included not only history majors taking his course for credit, but also others, both undergraduate and graduate students. He was particularly admired by students from Third-World countries for his progressive stance.

Alemseged was his student, took some of his courses, and had him on his dissertation committee. The professor occasionally held out-of-class informal discussions on current political affairs. Several African graduate students at the university, including the reviewer, were regular attendant of his lectures and discussions. Little did we know at that time that four decades later, Alemseged will produce a great scholarly work that tells the story of his own people.

InAlemseged Tesfai went back to Eritrea and Ethiopia to gather data for his dissertation. Instead of coming back to Wisconsin to complete his doctorate program, he made the unselfish decision to join the Eritrean armed struggle for independence. His contributions were mainly in the areas of information, education and training, and publication.

And it was during the armed struggle that he started to write reports, short stories and dramas about life as a freedom fighter and his observations of lives of ordinary Eritreans. Thus, this humbling experience and closeness to his people when combined with his academic preparedness made Alemseged a well-rounded scholar to undertake such a major study.

I re-joined the College in September I received a Masters in Comparative Law in I passed my prelims and was in Eritrea for research on my PhD dissertation when I changed plans to join the struggle of Eritrea for independence as a combatant in late My first assignments at the Front were connected to public administration and education.

In the latter role, I served as a teacher and head of the curriculum section. InI was transferred to the Cultural Department where my writing career began. Here, I wrote two reviews on world literature and drama with the aim of applying their principles, style and performance techniques to the needs of drama and literature within the Eritrean revolution.

It deals with the plight of women living inside occupied enemy territory in a revolutionary situation. It is the age-old attempt by occupying forces to change the ethnic composition of the colonized peoples by forcing women into sexual contact with the enemy. The aim is to subjugate the colonized through ethnic mixing. When this comes as government policy by a colonizing nation, its psychological effect is devastating.

Love relationships between consenting couples, even in a colonial situation, does not fall under this category.