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Berhane, the Peace Messenger — Ali Hindi & Amanda Woolley & Amanuel Yemane & Peter Riddell
The extraordinary life of Berhane Woldegabriel, Eritrean teacher, journalist and bridge-builder
Classification: Peacekeeping operations, Biography: historical, political and military
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Rating 6 (from 6 votes)
Rating: 5.00 out of 5 (2 customer ratings)
Reviews
Jane Sleightholme
A special life
This book should be read by anyone wanting to understand more about the role of bridge-builders and conflict resolvers between and within communities as practiced by Berhane Woldegabriel with his fellow Eritreans and other African groups (including Somalis and Ugandans) in the diaspora.
I worked with one of editors Amanda Woolley in London and she often talked about Berhane. I met Berhane, a lovely warm intelligent man, on several occasions but until reading this book I didn't quite realise how much work he had done as a peace messenger for his fellow Eritrean people and for African people in general. He was a very good journalist and the book has a section of articles
he wrote from the 1980s onwards for the Sudanese magazine Sudanow and Africa World Review on the African refugee problem and the issue of Eritrean unity.
One of the last things he did before his death in 2020 was to use his language skills in Arabic and Tigrinya to take on the role of cultural mediator for Save the Children.
He made two tours in the Mediterranean on the SS Vos Hestia helping to rescue hundreds of refugees from small boats and transport them to safety in Sicily.
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Stephanie Grant
An interesting read
When I looked at the poster for the launch of this book, I was sorry not to be able to attend and intrigued by the book. I met Berhane just once, he did an amazing job pushing my wheelchair on one of the Quaker walks and we had an interesting chat about all sorts of things including the trees we were passing. So I ordered a copy of the book.
It has proved an interesting read. I have gained an insight into his life and into his motivation for working with refugees. He grew up in Eritrea, left as a refugee in the 1970s, worked as a journalist in Sudan for 13 years, leaving there as a refugee once more in 1990.
He spent 30 years in the UK working as an educator, translator and interpreter and becoming a dedicated peacemaker. In 2017, he spent time working with Save the Children trying to rescue refugees crossing the Mediterranean in small boats.
I have learnt quite a lot about the history of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan; about the pressures that can lead people to flee their homeland; the different ways countries respond to the arrival of refugees and how some of this results from colonialism.
Many people have contributed to the book, including Berhane himself in the form of some articles he wrote as a journalist. I’ve appreciated the opportunity to see things from a different perspective.
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Rating: 5.00 out of 5 (2 customer ratings)
Paperback eBook
£14.95
ISBN: 9781914151927
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Description
Berhane Woldegabriel was an Eritrean refugee who settled in the UK for the last thirty years of his life. He became a dedicated peacemaker, using his great political understanding and interpersonal skills to build bridges both amongst his own Eritrean people, and within wider communities.
Berhane was a universalist who loved people regardless of nationality and creed. Himself a man of strong presence and opinions, he believed, and demonstrated, that individuals and groups could resolve conflict by accepting their differences, finding a common purpose, and abandoning hate.
Berhane was warm, erudite and entertaining and his death in 2020 has left a huge gap in the lives of his friends and loved ones. In the hope that his work and ideas will continue, the editors of this book trace his development as a peacemaker from his early years, combining tributes, photographs and a narrative of his life’s journey.
Futher links
Initiatives of Change UK (IofC)
Save the Children
Learn more about the editors: Ali Hindi & Amanda Woolley & Amanuel Yemane & Peter Riddell.
Further details
Rating: 5.00 out of 5 (2 customer ratings)
Reviews
Jane Sleightholme
A special life
This book should be read by anyone wanting to understand more about the role of bridge-builders and conflict resolvers between and within communities as practiced by Berhane Woldegabriel with his fellow Eritreans and other African groups (including Somalis and Ugandans) in the diaspora.
I worked with one of editors Amanda Woolley in London and she often talked about Berhane. I met Berhane, a lovely warm intelligent man, on several occasions but until reading this book I didn't quite realise how much work he had done as a peace messenger for his fellow Eritrean people and for African people in general. He was a very good journalist and the book has a section of articles
he wrote from the 1980s onwards for the Sudanese magazine Sudanow and Africa World Review on the African refugee problem and the issue of Eritrean unity.
One of the last things he did before his death in 2020 was to use his language skills in Arabic and Tigrinya to take on the role of cultural mediator for Save the Children.
He made two tours in the Mediterranean on the SS Vos Hestia helping to rescue hundreds of refugees from small boats and transport them to safety in Sicily.
Verified Purchase
Stephanie Grant
An interesting read
When I looked at the poster for the launch of this book, I was sorry not to be able to attend and intrigued by the book. I met Berhane just once, he did an amazing job pushing my wheelchair on one of the Quaker walks and we had an interesting chat about all sorts of things including the trees we were passing. So I ordered a copy of the book.
It has proved an interesting read. I have gained an insight into his life and into his motivation for working with refugees. He grew up in Eritrea, left as a refugee in the 1970s, worked as a journalist in Sudan for 13 years, leaving there as a refugee once more in 1990.
He spent 30 years in the UK working as an educator, translator and interpreter and becoming a dedicated peacemaker. In 2017, he spent time working with Save the Children trying to rescue refugees crossing the Mediterranean in small boats.
I have learnt quite a lot about the history of Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan; about the pressures that can lead people to flee their homeland; the different ways countries respond to the arrival of refugees and how some of this results from colonialism.
Many people have contributed to the book, including Berhane himself in the form of some articles he wrote as a journalist. I’ve appreciated the opportunity to see things from a different perspective.
Verified Purchase