About Us

Tigrai.net is an Ethiopian online Education, Tourism, and Technology Resource website was founded in 2000 by A.T. Areki originally as an outreach project of the TOESPN (Tigrai Origin Ethiopian Students and Professionals Network)Group.

Tigrai-net believes that the Internet Technology makes the world smaller and smaller. The ability to communicate and exchange information and across distance has enabled more individuals to participate in the Internet /cyber technology building a nation toward development regardless of their locations. As a result tigrai-net purpose is to foster educational, and benevolent activities, to preserve and advance the Ethiopia culture, customs, and language using an Internet technology.

Tigrai-net supports the development of technology and appropriately skilled people for industry to improve Ethiopia's global competitiveness. TigraiNet performs such kind of task by providing resources and mechanisms in support in the areas of technology, Economy and education; and contribute to the increase in the number and quality of people with appropriate technological skills for industry.

Mission Statements

• Tigray.net advocates and emphasis to narrow the social and quality of life gaps between our country and developed nations, by creating interactivity among Ethiopians. Especially in the aspect of education, Tigray.net presents its call to all Ethiopians all over the world to strength the quality of higher education and to extend their help financially, intellectually and in other form of helping mechanisms.
• Tigrai.net provides educational, social, historical, and political issues to Ethiopian community in the Diaspora and inside Ethiopia
• Tigray.net advocates in enhancing and improving the image of Ethiopia (politically, economically and socially), by encouraging global participation; by providing a forum for discussion; and by raising awareness on the Internet.
• Tigray.net provides information to the general public regarding productive and progressive Ethiopian culture, economy, politics and education. As a result, people will be informed about Ethiopian development in the aspect of education, economy and culture.

A message from the founder

As member of the TOESPN group I took a pride to contribute my share to help my origin country - Ethiopia by creating an online presence to promote one of the objective of TOESPN to the Ethiopian community in general, Tigrai community in particular. As a result, I have launched tigrai.net in 2000.

Since its inception, it took me quite a time to do the research, find pictures, contents, writing, and to do all the web development work myself. However, I am grateful by the success of tigrai.net in providing information to the general public regarding productive and progressive Ethiopian culture, economy, politics, and education.

Furthermore:
• Tigrai.net has been advocated in enhancing and improving the image of Ethiopia educationally, politically, economically and socially.
• Tigrai.net has been encouraged global participation, provided a forum for discussion and raised awareness on the Internet.
• At the time of Ethiopia-Eritrea war and then, Tigra.net defended Ethiopian interest by providing historical facts and exposed the EEBC’s crime of injustice, the complicity of the UN, and the betrayal of the International community against the Irob people in Ethiopia. Furthermore, tigrai.net criticized aggressively to the Ethiopian government for not being transparent.
• At the time of the TPLF split and then, Tigrai.net partially focused on political and national issues of Ethiopia and provided a discussion forum and writers café to it's netters to exchange ideas freely and openly.

For the last five years tigrai.net has brought experience, commitment and a rigorous, balance approach to the problems of our country development and able to find a solutions by raising awareness on the Internet.

In the future, tigrai.net will continue its service especially in the aspect of education, tourism and technology tigrai.net provide leadership in Tourism promotion, Education communications, and technology by linking professionals holding a common interest in the use of education technology and its application to the learning process.

Finally, I would like to dedicate the work of Tigrai.net to:

• My beloved brother who sacrificed his life for his people freedom and justice
• The social revolution

A. T. Areki
TigraiNet founder and Web Editor
1/1/2006

In Defense of Woyane Tigrai

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In our modern Tigrai society, Woyane is a very important Tigrigna word. It is playing a pivotal role of social transformation. Without going into an analysis of the sociological and psychological intricacies, its simplest translation is people's revolution. Hence, woyanai means a revolutionary, while woyenti is its plural form (i.e., revolutionaries). Then, woyin!, with a strong commanding voice (exclamation), means stand up and rebel (resist).

The root causes of Woyane Tigrai are very obvious. Generally, exploitative production relations, class-based socioeconomic structures (i.e., social and economic strata of the privileged and the down trodden); and repressive political institutions create an excellent breeding ground for a successful social revolution. In pre-Woyane Tigrai, i.e., during the era of Emperor Haile Selassiethe, the peasantry was the backbone of the socioeconomic landscape. The feudo-bourgeois, aristocratic system was characterized by crucial objective contradictions. Although peasants were the primary producers, they had to bear varying combinations of: taxes, rents, corvee, tribute, usurious interest rates, cash, and share-cropping. Keep in mind, according to the strategic policies of both governments of Emperor Haile Selassie and Mengistu Hailemariam, establishing any type of industrial infrastructure and higher education institutions in Tigrai was not allowed.

In short, the social, economic, and political realities that prevailed in the 1970s determined the strategic directions of Woyane Tigrai. Under the slogan, "Our struggle is long and bitter", the revolution had to be a social revolution of the peasantry. The founding fathers of the struggle went to the people (the peasants), lived with them, and learned from them. They also shared (discussed) with them the objective contractions that subjected Tigrai to backwardness, with an abject poverty and all other evils of mankind. In effect, they (the founding fathers) put into use the indigenous (local) knowledge. Through this strategy of mobilization of the masses, a highly charged national consciousness developed throughout Tigrai. A spirit of strong bondage, trust, and comaraderie were forged among all involved in the struggle. These conditions led Woyane to be the only successful social revolution in Ethiopia. Today, the people of Tigrai highly value the achievements of their bitter struggle. They are determined to stand steadfastly on guard of their Woyane for eternity. The founding fathers and all the rest of us will die. But, Woyane is eternal. Its torch will be passed on to generation from generation to generation... continue! By Asghedom Ghebremicael