Alemseged Tesfai: Conscience, Voice, and Legacy of Eritrea

By: Wedi Jelhanti

Alemseged Tesfai is not merely a name in Eritrean history. He is part of its backbone. A historian, writer, jurist, and freedom fighter, he embodies a generation of patriots who did not simply imagine Eritrea but fought for it with sacrifice, discipline, and unwavering conviction. His life and work stand as a testament to dignity, resilience, and the unbreakable will of a people determined to claim their own narrative.

Born on October 19, 1944, in the town of Adi Quala, Alemseged Tesfai came of age under political domination. From an early stage, he distinguished himself through intellectual clarity, command of language, and courage in public expression. His victory at the Ethiopian National Schools Oratorical Contest in 1962 was more than a personal achievement. It was the early emergence of a voice that would not submit. After graduating from secondary school in Asmara, he studied law in Addis Ababa and later continued his academic journey in the United States.

When Eritrea called, Alemseged Tesfai chose duty over comfort and national responsibility over personal advancement. In 1974, he joined the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front and placed his knowledge, his pen, and his life at the service of the liberation struggle. He understood that true freedom is not secured by arms alone but by consciousness, education, and culture.

Within the EPLF, he served in administration, education, and cultural affairs, where his literary journey took form. His novels, plays, short stories, and war diaries did not romanticize the struggle. They humanized it. Works such as The Other War and Two Weeks in the Trenches revealed the moral depth, social complexity, and human cost of liberation. These writings earned recognition beyond Eritrea and today stand as part of Africa’s broader cultural and literary heritage.

As a historian, Alemseged Tesfai assumed an equally critical mission. He reclaimed Eritrea’s history from external distortion. Through rigorous research and moral responsibility, he produced foundational historical volumes, particularly on the decisive period between 1941 and 1962, when Eritrean national identity solidified despite international manipulation and imposed political arrangements. His purpose was clear. Eritrea would no longer appear as a footnote in others’ histories but stand as a people with agency, memory, and voice.

What Alemseged Tesfai Is to Me

To me, Alemseged Tesfai is more than a scholar or a writer. He is a son of Eritrea, shaped by generations of patriots, guided by gratitude for life, and bound by responsibility to those who paid the ultimate price. Through his work, he reminds us who we are and why we stand.

He is the father many of us never had, firm, principled, and just.

He is the friend who does not flatter but speaks the truth.

He is the mentor who offers direction without breaking the will.

His thinking provides grounding, his words provide direction, and his life provides a standard. His work does not serve Eritrea alone. It speaks to Africa and reaches into world literature. It gives voice to peoples long silenced and affirms that freedom, dignity, and national identity are never negotiable.

For this legacy, I hold deep and enduring gratitude.

Thank you, AT #Memhrey

Thank you for Eritrea.

Thank you for Africa.

Thank you for the world.

Awet'Nhafash

MSM 🇪🇷