Meadna's interview with Bordoli Netsereab

Meadna conducted interview with Bordoli Netsereab. Bordoli is a young Eritrean from New York and currently in his last semester studying Bachelor's Degree in Accounting at Lehman College in the Bronx , where he also works as a full time college assistant employee. Bordoli makes great music as a hobby and is great lyricist. Bordoli recently caught attention of many Eritreans with one of his songs, The Horn, a masterwork, covering huge topics including the Algerias agreement, Ethiopia’s US-backed invasion and occupation of Somalia, Eritrea’s principles such as self-reliance and the determination of the Eritrean people, misguided western policies on the Horn of Africa, Jendayi Frazer’ incompetence and Eritrea’s past and present roles in the region.

Meadna - Please tell us a little about yourself?

Bordoli - I was born in Eritrea (ab meda) in 1982 to two of my heroes my mom and my dad.  My father died in the struggle for independence so my mom had to take me and my older brother and flee the country.  When we finally made our way to the States we found that the conditions in Philadelphia were terrible so our family moved to New York City seeking better opportunities and to reunite with my mom’s closest friends from the struggle.  And NYC is where I currently reside with my mother.

I am currently in my last semester studying Accounting at Lehman College in the Bronx where I am also a full time college assistant employee.  I have always loved math and so I tried Accounting and found out that this is what I wanted to do.

Meadna – You make music as a hobby, how did you get into music?

Bordoli - I loved hearing about how people came up from poverty to being successful and that was what the majority of music that I listened to was about.  And music is the greatest compliment to a daydreamer like myself.

Meadna - You also write lyrics yourself, how did you develop that skill or what influenced you?

Bordoli - Everybody has a hobby and music just happens to be mine.  Since I was a child I used to put things together whenever I had a chance to and a family friend called me MacGyver.  At an early age I was curious about how things worked and driven by the urge of constructing things from scratch.  I always felt that the end product would be well worth the work.  I love conformity and some of my friends even consider me to be a "neat freak".  These traits stick with me to this day and are major contributors to me writing, producing, and recording my own music.

Meadna - One of your songs/music, the horn, is a master piece, you manage to cover huge topics including the Algerias agreement, our principle, self-reliance, western policies, Somalia  issue, where did you get your inspiration from and how hard was it to write?

Bordoli - Thank you very much.  The feedback that I got from “The Horn” was a surprise, albeit a pleasant one.  I got the inspiration from wanting to correct wrongs from rights. My intention for "The Horn" was to spread awareness among my peers.  I used to oppose President Isaias Afwerki when I knew almost nothing.  I took it upon myself to do research and not be compelled to jump to conclusions when reading headlines.  Digging deep in search for the truth I came to the conclusion that it is imperative for the survival of Eritrea ’s sovereignty that we support the country by resisting hidden agenda-driven forces from controlling ever sensitive policies..  It was harder having accurate information to write rather than composing the lyrics to the song because I consider myself to be a good writer, music or otherwise.

Meadna - How you manage to both study and produce music?

Bordoli - It is not as hard as it may seem.  Actually, I think the two can coincide.  I record most of my music in a makeshift home studio so I don’t have far to go when I want to go from producing to studying or vice versa.  The things that help me most is that I like to multi-task and I pretty much stay away from watching TV.

Meadna - Art or music is very much appreciated by young people and it is one of the most effective ways of informing and inspiring people, art has also played a great role in the struggle for independence and at this very important moment of Eritrean history, considering these facts do you plan to produce more when you get free time?

Bordoli - Yes I do.  I have just finished writing a track titled “Say it loud” which is about being “black”.  I am trying to eliminate sampling from the beat I currently have so I can maintain 100% masters and submit it for radio airplay.

Meadna - You also wrote on your space "My moms fought and my pops fought and died for my survival but I got it from here", if you could please tell us more about this?

Bordoli - Although, both my parents were ELF freedom fighters and my father died trying to liberate his country, I meant this to be translated figuratively.  The freedom fighters of Eritrea fought for the liberation of their nation with some entering martyrdom.  I, along with the rest of the children of Eritrea , vow to continue the struggle to maintain its sovereignty.

Meadna - Difficulties you come across?

Bordoli - I didn't have too many difficulties in my life.  My main problem is that I am a daydreamer in the literal sense.  I day dream a lot and it sometimes affects my social life but I consider that to be a gift and a curse so it doesn't bother me too much.  Other than that, I feel that the sky is the limit.

Meadna - Who are your Mentors or people you look up to?

Bordoli - There are many including Martin Luther King Jr., President Isaias Afwerki, Mahatma Gandhi, Harriet Tubman, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, but more importantly my close friends and family..

Pieces and quotes from the masterpiece, The Horn Song by Bordoli Kiflai.

"Forever being secretly biased for whatever reasons
Even consider their own citizens only Eritreans living in America
Damn, that’s one hell of a statement to make for a Secretary of State
Miss Jendayi Frazer you’re just an assistant
You can’t have a position without your master’s permission"

"Babe, if Bush is directing’ya, you need to change lanes
Liberate yourself; take off your slave chains

And for Meles it’s the same, His loyalty is Washington
As the Annuak and Oromo are closely watching him
With suffocating opposition, homie needs oxygen"

"For certain, Badme is a diversion
It’s urgent that we work in coherence
To deny any clearance for outside interference
Contrary to the appearance, they only bring grievance in the region"

"Mogadishu was peaceful, but of course
Journalists called it “Relative Calm”
Until Meles, sponsored by American bombs
Came through waving arms not saying Salaam
Now that’s an occupation, don’t let them ever lie to ya
The TFG don’t really represent Somalia
It’s a puppet government set up by the ruffians
Just to get control of the Gulf of Aden"

"It’s a call for calm and peaceful resistance
Against the existence of imperialistic
Evil wishing for division and conquerization
But the EPLF built a strong foundation
Focused on a platform of self-determination
Breaking the chains that got the motherland forsaken"

"And shame on the Bush administration
For their blatant support of the Tigray invasions
And continuous aid in a brutal occupation
& Operations meant to oppress the population"

"When nationals resist occupational forces
The media like to spin it and call it an “insurgency”
We need to raise public awareness with more urgency
It isn’t for “Democracy”, it’s for the currency"

"They forgot to mention, or is it not their intention
To prolong the instability, creating more tension
So there could be more reasons for foreign intervention,
A big military presence and more investments to send in
The Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden"

"And through the pretext of the “War on Bin Laden”
Civilian casualties are ignored and forgotten
It’s just melodrama linking us with Osama
When the fact is: We fought him before the Feds taught him
On how to fight the Soviets, so it’s not appropriate
To try and make it look like terrorists are our associates
It would be perilous to list us as terrorists
When we sponsor reconciliation"

"They rather be the doctor leaving us to be the patient
But we conquer deprivation with hard work and dedication
Victory is sweat, defeat is bitter tasting
Historians get your pens out, it’s history in the making
We don’t need no handout so please keep yo’ hand out"

"Respect Law & Order, demarcate the border
They won’t stop at Badme, they want the waters"

"We seen it at Tsorona, they want the capital
Dishonestly trying to challenge our sovereignty
They tried to take it back claiming a 5 year warranty"