Senait Mehari
Encyclopedia
Senait Ghebrehiwet Mehari is an Eritrea
n-born German
singer. She goes professionally by her single name "Senait". She is also known as Senait Mehari, although this is a common understanding and is due to the Europeanization of an Eritrean naming
convention.
n mother. When she was six years old, her father sent her and her two elder half-sisters to the Eritrean Liberation Front
as "Students of the Revolution". Three years later her uncle took the three girls to Sudan
where they lived with him for three years. When Senait was twelve years old, her father, who emigrated to Hamburg
, Germany, sent for them writing songs around this time. She also wrote a sequel, Wüstenlied („Desert Song”), about her visit to Eritrea. It was published in May 2006.
She released her first album, Mein Weg („My Way”) on November 11, 2005. The first single Hey Du („Hey, You”) is a romantic song. The theme of the album is autobiographical –the song Wenn die Nacht („When the Night”) is about her dead grandmother; Kap Gheza is about a child who feels unloved, and Libbey is a love story.
In February 2007, the 'Zapp' TV show on Germany's NDR channel accused Senait of fabricating some of the contents of her bestselling "Feuerherz" book, notably that she served as a child soldier in Eritrea.http://www3.ndr.de/ndrtv_pages_std/0,3147,OID3691026_REF2488,00.html. She denies the allegations. Her biography Feuerherz („Heart of Fire”) has been translated into several languages.
of 2003.
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
n-born German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
singer. She goes professionally by her single name "Senait". She is also known as Senait Mehari, although this is a common understanding and is due to the Europeanization of an Eritrean naming
Habesha name
Habesha names are constructed in a fashion similar to Arabic name convention. In this convention, there are no family names. Instead, one is known through their lineage...
convention.
Biography
She was born in Asmera, Eritrea, on the 3rd December 1974 (exact year is unknown, it may be some years earlier or later) to an Eritrean father and EthiopiaEthiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n mother. When she was six years old, her father sent her and her two elder half-sisters to the Eritrean Liberation Front
Eritrean Liberation Front
The Eritrean Liberation Front was the main independence movement in Eritrea which sought Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia during the 1960s and 1970s. In the very late 1950s unorganized political movement seeking independence was secretly active as small cells...
as "Students of the Revolution". Three years later her uncle took the three girls to Sudan
Sudan
Sudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
where they lived with him for three years. When Senait was twelve years old, her father, who emigrated to Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Germany, sent for them writing songs around this time. She also wrote a sequel, Wüstenlied („Desert Song”), about her visit to Eritrea. It was published in May 2006.
She released her first album, Mein Weg („My Way”) on November 11, 2005. The first single Hey Du („Hey, You”) is a romantic song. The theme of the album is autobiographical –the song Wenn die Nacht („When the Night”) is about her dead grandmother; Kap Gheza is about a child who feels unloved, and Libbey is a love story.
In February 2007, the 'Zapp' TV show on Germany's NDR channel accused Senait of fabricating some of the contents of her bestselling "Feuerherz" book, notably that she served as a child soldier in Eritrea.http://www3.ndr.de/ndrtv_pages_std/0,3147,OID3691026_REF2488,00.html. She denies the allegations. Her biography Feuerherz („Heart of Fire”) has been translated into several languages.
Music career
She worked as a songwriter and background singer before launching her own career. Inside Germany her singles Leben/Aura became big hits in Germany in 2001. Aura was re-released early 2005 in new versions before of the release of her album. A nice tune, called Hiwet is available from her website feuerherz. Her song Herz aus Eis („Heart of Ice”) became a hit - it was 4th in the Eurovision song contestEurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest is an annual competition held among active member countries of the European Broadcasting Union .Each member country submits a song to be performed on live television and then casts votes for the other countries' songs to determine the most popular song in the competition...
of 2003.