Senait Mehari is an

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts of ...

-born

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

writer and singer. She goes professionally by her single name "Senait" as well.

Biography

She was born in

Asmera Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. Th ...

in the Province of Eritrea in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

on 3 December 1974 (exact year is unknown, it may be some years earlier or later) to an Eritrean father and Ethiopian mother. When she was six years old, her father sent her and her two elder half-sisters to the

Eritrean Liberation Front The Eritrean Liberation Front (ELF; ; ; ), colloquially known as Jebha, was the main Eritrean War of Independence, independence movement in Eritrea Province, Eritrea which sought Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia during the 1960s and the ear ...

as "Students of the Revolution". Three years later her uncle took the three girls to

Sudan Sudan, officially the Republic of the Sudan, is a country in Northeast Africa. It borders the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west, Libya to the northwest, Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the east, Eritrea and Ethiopi ...

, where they lived with him for three years. When Senait was twelve years old, her father, who emigrated to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, 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. Her autobiography ''Feuerherz'' ("Heart of Fire") was published in 2004. In February 2007, the 'Zapp' TV show on Germany's NDR channel accused Senait of fabricating some of its contents, notably that she served as a child soldier in Eritrea. She denies the allegations. The book has been translated into several languages. A homonyme

film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...

has been released in 2009.

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") placed fourth in the German preselection for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

of 2003.

Personal life

Senait is now living in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

References

External links

Mehari's official homepage

Official website to her book
{{Authority control German autobiographers German pop singers Musicians from Berlin 1974 births Living people People from Asmara 21st-century Eritrean women singers Eritrean emigrants to Germany 21st-century German women singers