The Poet Who Wrote Over 150 Poems In An Eritrean Prison
Tsegay Mehari
Tsegay Mehari is a poet who grew up in Knn, a small village in Southern Eritrea. He was imprisoned by the Eritrean regime between 2009 and 2013 but now lives in Sweden. He just published his first poetry collection, “Pots Of My Mother”, which is made up of poems he has written throughout his lifetime, including some he wrote during his time in prison. The collection is available in four languages and you can order the combined Tigrinya and English version here.
We had the privilege of interviewing Tsegay Mehari, which can be read below.
Tell us about you and your story
While burning on fire of ideas
I got in to life’s oven
Tolerating the pain
From inside and outside
Again and again
I get cooked!
I came out proud
I survived!
I tasted myself
Wow! I’m delicious.
I want to begin my story with one of my poems. Thanks to my almighty God and his mother Virgin Mary for this special moment. I am very glad and grateful to tell my story and my poetry’s journey to One Day Seyoum.
I was born in 1986 in a small village in Eritrea. I grew up there with a religious family. Love and morals were our life’s principles in our family. But, like every Eritrean, I had ups and downs. I travelled four hours every day to elementary school. Even though I loved school, it was not easy for me as an eight year old. When I finished elementary school, I went to Asmara to attend junior school. Then my life continued with rainbow colours to this moment.
In elementary school I started to read Tigrinya poems. There were poems I used to recite to myself and others on the way to and from school. From that time to this second, poetry became my inspiration in life. It helped me to love and forgive, to have an open mind, to see life in a creative way, and to see light in a dark night. Poetry helped me to accept life as it is and love what I have.
When did you start writing poetry?
I started writing poetry in elementary school. At the time, I knew nothing about the basic elements of poetry or metaphysical poetry. I just wrote poetry which rhymed. But, in 2003, I got a golden chance that was my turning point in my poetry journey. I studied a basic poem literature course for three months. I then started to write poems that could be published in newspapers, or read on the radio and television. This poem is one of the poems published in the newspaper:
Brotherhood
When the flare fire
Was unable to fire
The huge collection of sticks
Then the fire that blazes
Came to understand
That it needs a brother
Be coming together
Can simply fire.
What made you write poetry about Eritrea?
I write about my feelings, my observations, my thoughts. I write from my imagination, my dreams. I write about my questions about life and try to explain to others how I see life. I write about Eritrea because I am Eritrean. It is natural for me to write about the culture, lifestyle, the need for freedom of expression and freedom of press in Eritrea. Like everybody, I am here physically, but I always think of my beloved country. Hopefully one day I will go back to my beloved Eritrea.
Why did you go to prison? What was your experience?
It’s very difficult to be a truthful writer in our country, Eritrea. If you are a truthful writer either you must leave your country or you have to keep quiet. And as a truthful writer, you can’t keep quiet. That’s why most Eritrean writers left our beloved country or they are still in prison without a trial or basic human rights.
Myself and the other 25 journalists, poets and writers were imprisoned for nothing. We were imprisoned because Eritrea has zero freedom of expression or freedom of press, because Eritreans have no basic human rights. After six months of imprisonment, they asked me about my poems and my articles and what I meant by them and if I sent my work to an opposition radio. The reason for their questions was to terrorise us, they wanted to terrorise the whole country by imprisoning us. We were innocent from the first day of our imprisonment and we came out innocent. They even told us we were innocent.
How did your time in prison influence your work?
You can imagine how life in prison influenced me, if I tell you I wrote over 150 poems in my dark cell on toilet paper. It was forbidden to have a pen and paper. You can imagine how it influenced me if I tell you I wrote my four years in prison in the form of a diary. You can imagine how it influenced me when I tell you I wrote poems even when my fingers were paralysed from torture.
Life in prison taught me to be a brave poet. It reminded me that life is short and to live life in freedom, love and forgiveness. It reminded me to live for truth and to die for truth, like Socrates drank Hemlock for truth.
When the dictator took the basic freedom of life from me, I started to fight for freedom from my cell which was only 180cm by 180cm. I was imprisoned physically but not mentally. I read almost 150 books. I did not let the dictator get me down. When the dictator wanted me to die, I did the opposite. I survived. I survived by the love of God and the love of my family. In fact, I came out from the cell strong and became an invisible person. I wrote this poem one day in the prison cell:
My Standpoint
Obeying my conscience
Giving no ears to my flesh
Feeding my soul
Eating no food at all
In this shed of three days
Easily damageable life.
I prefer liberty with suffer
To slavery with pleasure
I prefer dying for freedom
To living for nothing
That is my stand
I want you to understand.
Some of the poems Tsegay Mehari wrote in an Eritrean prison
How did you leave Eritrea and where are you now?
I remember the last evening when I decided to leave my beloved country. It was in Embasoira hotel Asmara. I reviewed a poetry book which was written by Amare Weldeslasie. It spoke every thing I had in my heart about freedom expression and about how poetry was suppressed in Eritrea.
The day after I left my country at once.
It was a long journey with full of challenges. I came to Sweden via Ethiopia, Sudan, Sahara, Lybia , the middle sea and Italia. I saw the place that called Lampedusa which 361 beloved brothers, and sister sank in a blink of an eye.
It was summer 2014 when I arrived in Sweden. I got my residence permit in January 2015. I planned to achieve four goals as soon as I could. First one was to study the Swedish language which was the key for everything here in Sweden. Second one was to get a diploma in psychiatry. Third was was to get a drivers licence . And the fourth one was to publish my poetry book. Thanks to God, I achieved all of my goals in only two and a half years. I now work as a practical nurse in psychiatry. I love my job. I love the moments when I get to help people who have psychological problem with medicine and counseling.
Which poems are you most proud of?
I am proud of all my poetry, because every poem has its own inspiration and story, happiness and sorrow, love and forgiveness. But, if you asked me which I loved most:
Pots of my mother
My standpoint
Be inhuman
Dream of my dream
Shambko man
The lock maker
Skin Color
Fluid vs. solid
Queen of the night
Fear of Wraith
Single Option
Let’s have some days
Do you have any upcoming projects?
I am writing a biography about my four years in prison.
Thank you heartily to One Day Seyoum for this special moment!
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