When Awate website established a virtual base in September of 2000, I remember thinking if this ‘burst’ would be sustainable despite the fact that what was being posted made a lot of sense in the following months. It made its mission clear and held its ground by the quality of its content.

Looking back, those months must have required guts and clarity of mind to engage with conflicting issues of Eritrea’s national interest. Not long after, the storm that washed away the credibility of the Government of Eritrea was about to begin. It was a time when the Eritrea-Ethiopia war was approaching yet another critical stage of armed conflict or responding to national and international pressure towards a settlement of sorts.

It was a waiting game for those Eritreans who refrained themselves from passing judgements on the performance of their government and abstained to demand accountability.

It was a bold step for Awate. It adopted a mission to reconcile, inform, inspire and embolden.

Over the years, it established a platform of debate and a credible Gedab news posting, maintained a timely and objective editorial, kept on the momentum of contributions from various corners, sustained influential and informative columns (Al-Nahda and Negarit – among others) and worked in organising and engaging Eritreans living abroad to take part and change the political, social and economic affairs of their country of origin by way of signing petitions or expressing the frustrations and concerns they have on the way Eritrea has or is being governed.

After all these years however, some Eritreans have chosen to ignore bare facts on the ground. It does serve as a heavy burden of proof that this has being the overbearing attitude of denial that created and sustained a state of gross injustice in Eritrea in the first place.

At least we know where we are – well, for the time being anyway!

HAPPY 6^TH ANNIVERSARY AWATE!