About the author
I was born in Asmara, Eritrea in 1960 and moved to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia at the age of 2 to live with my grandparents. When my grandparents died, I returned back to Asmara in 1974 to my parents joined Haile Selassie the 1st High School. In 1977, because of the ongoing war, I dropped out of school to join the public service to my country. In 1989, I moved to The Sudan and continued my education, some High School and post-secondary. I went to Computer Man College in Khartoum for one year. After that I moved to the United States of America and lived for about three years. In 1996, I went back to Ethiopia for health reasons. In Addis Ababa, I met my wife, Tirhas, in 1997. In 1998, my daughter, Yordi, was born. When my daughter was a month old, a border war erupted between Eritrea and Ethiopia. The EPRDF-led government in Ethiopia announced that all Eritreans should be registered by going to the nearest police station. When I reported to the police station, I was detained which lasted 5 years. The border war between the two countries was the main reason for all this. When the war ended in December, 2000, an agreement was signed between the two countries which stipulated release of the detainees in both countries. Some of the detainees in Ethiopia, including me, chose to settle in a third country and were transferred to a refugee camp. I stayed in Wa'ela Nihbi Refugee Camp for 3 years. After that my whole family was allowed to immigrate to the US that we live in.