Thread by @BeqaYiakl

Today’s #Yiakl #SundaySpotlight goes out to @FissehaYirgalem in acknowledgment of her extraordinary literary labor of narrating & archiving the terror, pain, decay, & death the PFDJ regime inflicts on #Eritrea|n prisoners it arbitrarily holds in its hideous prison underworlds.

A poet extraordinaire, a brilliant essayist, a short story writer, a journalist & radio presenter, Yirgalem honed her literary craft & gained stardom in the literary clubs she organized with her peers in Adi-Keih & Asmara b/n 2000 & 2001 before they were banned in 2001.

Through these literary clubs, Yirgalem& her young, daring, experimental, socially & politically conscious peers, such as Amanuel Asrat, Meles Ngusse, Saba Kidane, Ghirmay Abraham, Fortuna G.giorgis, had ushered in literary efflorescence that inspired many young&upcoming writers.

From Sept. 2003 until Feb. 2009, Yirgalem worked as a radio presenter & producer with the educational Radio Bana under the auspices of the Eritrean ministry of education. In Feb. 2009, the radio station was raided by military personnel and Yirgalem & other 30 staff members &…

...journalists associated with the station were taken initially to the infamous Adi Abeyto prison & later to the notorious May Srwa prison. While many of those arbitrarily imprisoned were released after four years, Yirgalem & 5 others spent 6 years.

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Subjected to constant torture, solitary confinement, poor dietary & medical services, Yirgalem had nearly died in prison. However, the crude violence of the PFDJ regime wasn’t a match to her fiery indomitable spirit.



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She came out of prison as a survivor not as a victim, with her will strong, her thoughts clear, her principles intact, & her poetic craft refined.

Immediately after she left #Eritrea for Uganda in 2018, while her condition was still precarious, Yirgalem started to write about her & others’ prison experience & exposed the cruel & absolutely arbitrary manner the PFDJ disappears people in her inimitably exquisite prose.

Read her four parts testimony here:
peneritrea.com/blog/few-days-…
peneritrea.com/blog/a-few-day…
peneritrea.com/blog/a-few-day…
peneritrea.com/blog/few-days-…

In December 2018, Yirgalem became a fellow of the Writers-in-Exile Program of the PEN-Center in Germany and received the first PEN Eritrea’s Freedom of Expression Award that includes a certificate of recognition, a medal, and $1,000.00 in May 2019.

Yirgalem continues to chronicle the ordeal of her former prison mates on her Facebook page and YouTube channel. Here: facebook.com/Yirgalem-Fisse… and here: youtube.com/channel/UCfLyo…

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In this interview pen-international.org/news/writing-i…, Yirgalem explains her motive for writing about prisoners: “I believe I’ve the responsibility to write & advocate on behalf of the forgotten #Eritrean journalists & prisoners of conscience. It’s not an option or a choice, but a mandate.”

In 2019, Yirgalem published a book of poetry titled ኣለኹ I am Here with Emkulu Publishers.
emkulu.com/product/%e1%8a…

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Prof. Ghirmay Negash has translated some of the poems for The Bare Life Review, a literary journal devoted to works by immigrant & refugee authors. barelifereview.org/post/poetry-fr…

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Thank you @FissehaYirgalem for continuing to share Eritrean stories! Your integrity, courage & resilience is inspiring. We love you!
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Follow @FissehaYirgalem's work on Youtube & Facebook Page.

Yirgalem Fisseha - ይርጋኣለም ፍስሃ