The Abraham Afewerki Foundation
For Music To Be Formed
November, 2006
Last month Eritrea suffered the sudden
death of a great artist that has entertained and inspired the public
inside and outside the country for nearly two decades. Abraham
Afewerki's unique voice, penetrating words, and inimitable musical
style had made him by all accounts perhaps the greatest contemporary
cultural voice of his generation. He was a great communicator who
easily captivated and motivated his listeners. His ability to successfully
articulate social issues that impacted Eritreans in their daily
lives endeared him to his audiences all over the world.
Abraham was a performer whose broad appeal crossed borders to
neighboring countries and transcended boundaries of age amongst
his own people. However, his enduring appeal was the unsparing
emotional honesty he reveals in his songs and display in his performances.
Many credit the great recording artist with changing the face of
Eritrean musical entertainment as he was at the forefront in the
drive to elevate Eritrean music to new heights. An intelligent
young singer/songwriter who has had the wisdom of old folks ironically
did not live to be an old man. He met his untimely death along
with another stellar young artist, Robel Solomon, in a tragic accident.
Abraham Afewerki's career was in full gear and taking off at a high
speed when life suddenly came to an end for this Eritrean star. The
visionary artist had different ideas in store that he had planed
to execute in the coming few years. There is no doubt that, had he
stayed alive longer, the growing Eritrean music industry could have
greatly benefited from his vision and single-minded but grand determination.
The artist, being one who sprung from humble beginnings, had a dream
of empowering less fortunate but talented young Eritreans through
the power of music. Abraham was a driven artist who believed in education.
Several days ago, a few friends of the artist, who had an intimate
knowledge of his dreams and aspirations had gathered and discussed
at length the artist's contribution to society and his legacy. At
the end of the discussion, the participants formed a committee that
will seek ways and means towards the formation of an organization
that will attempt to bring Abraham's dreams to reality.
The committee has agreed the organization will have a form of
a foundation and will be called "The Abraham Afewerki Foundation For
Music". The foundation's purpose will be clearly articulated once
it is formed. However, the general idea behind its formation is to
see the fruition of one of Abraham's dreams which is enabling Eritrean
youngsters with artistic inclination reach their full potential.
The committee has received the blessings of Abraham Afewerki's
family in its effort to form the foundation. The family has also
authorized the committee to help with overseeing the well-being
of the copyrighted material and safeguard the products the late
artist left behind. The committee hastens to point out that this
work is totally separate from and has no connection with the formation
of the Foundation or its purposes.
The committee also would like to use this opportunity and urge
all music lovers to honor Abraham Afewerk's memory by avoiding
bootlegged copy or illegally burned/duplicated CDs of the artist.
We also ask websites not to play his music in full or in part without
expressed permission of the artist's family and or representatives
of the family. To that end, we find it necessary to attach a note
(see below) that Abraham sent out to webmasters while he was preparing
to release his last CD. Included you will also find a list of authorized
distributors and point of contacts for Abraham Afewerki related
inquiries and products.
Friends of Abraham Afewerki
Washington D.C. |
