Eritrea: Manal Younus - what a breath of fresh air!

To know Manal is to fall in love with her poetry, stories, recitals and her performances. We haven’t witnessed such a talent for a long time within Eritrean communities – a talent that spreads soulful messages from Australia to both the old and new worlds. 

Manal can write, deliver heart-wrenching speeches, tell stories, defend women's rights, lift our spirits high and move us to tears with her incisive and thought provoking recitals. Her poise, her confidence, her passion and delivery are mesmerising.

We at Asmarino.come have concluded that we do not need to conduct an extensive interview with Manal Younus now as we are still digesting and catching our breath after reviewing her recitals, speeches and poetry posted on her website. What a breath of fresh air!

But we will certainly follow her development and ask her to tell us more about herself and her source of inspiration. We are definitely interested in featuring her on our pages one of these days - Manal with her own words.

Manal’s poems and writings deal with themes of time, pressure, identity, growth, self-respect, love, family, social politics and people’s right. She can tell stories like no other; a talent which fits right in our Alewuna/Alewana (ኣለዉና/ኣለዋና) program.

Manal Younus, as a young, black Muslim woman of Eritrean origins living in Australia, is unafraid to use art forms to create her own world, and explore her own identity and spark vivid thoughts in the minds of her audiences.

Manal is born in Saudi Arabia.  She has performed in various festivals and published ‘Reap’, her first collection of poems.

She has been a guest on Australia’s ABC’s channel, presented a Ted Talk, a finalist for Young South Australian of the Year and more.

Eritrean elders, especially veteran activists, should trust the instincts of young people like Manal Younus and support them as much as possible. 

Asmarino.com thanks Manal for the inspiration and wishes her all the best.