Dessale Berekhet is awarded PEN Català's International Free Voice Prize
Dessale Berekhet received the prize in Mallorca this Friday 14 November, at a dinner celebrating the award. The award ceremony was part of PEN Català's programme marking the Day of the Imprisoned Writer, in which Berekhet also participated.
Says PEN Català in their press release on the event:
"[Mr. Berekhet] has dedicated his professional life to journalism and literature. Through the radio and two independent newspapers, where he wrote weekly opinion columns, Dessale has carried out important work to promote the languages Tigre and Tigrinya. On the more literary side of his work, he has published two cultural books and five books for children.
As a journalist, he has tirelessly worked on behalf of the defense of liberty and Human Rights, and has used his writing as a weapon against injustice and the prevailing lack of democracy in his country. This determination put his life in serious danger.
In Eritrea, governed by a single party, the Popular Front for Democracy and Justice, Dessale’s work is considered a threat and a challenge. The president of the country, Isaias Afwerki, who has been in power since independence in 1993, rules with an iron fist and does not allow the existence of other political party options, only that of his own party, even though the constitution provides for political plurality.
In 2001 the regime, with a new and forceful coup, banned private media and the situation became stifling for any media outlet that was not fully aligned with the regime. Dessale founded the Tigre cultural magazine Takiyat, which was short-lived due to the political situation. A witness to the imprisonment and persecution of many of his friends and colleagues, Dessale was forced to flee his country. Exiled in Uganda, together with other Eritrean journalists he launched the website www.unitedheartz.com, with the aim of providing free, objective and verified information. It was subsequently shut down."
Dessale was previously awarded the International Press Fredom Award together with his compatriots and professional colleagues Ruth Zecarias Ghebre and Mebrahthu Teclesion Berhe in 2013. The award is bestowed by CJFE (Canadian Journalists for Free Expression), and Berekhet won the award for his firm commitment to honest, investigative reporting and free expression.
Dessale Berekhet recently also co-founded PEN Eritrea. He currently lives in Bø, Norway.
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