1. Dehab Faytinga belongs to the Nilotic Kunama and Tigrinya ethnic groups.
16 Facts About Dehab Faytinga
1. 2.
Dehab Faytinga was born on 10 June 1962 in Asmara, Eritrea to a Tigrinya mother and Kunama father, who was a revered freedom fighter among the ethnic group.
3.
Dehab Faytinga was given the nickname of 'Fighting gun' by the British administration in the early 1950s.
4.
Dehab Faytinga was a political prisoner when the Ethiopian military regime came to power and he was freed by the EPLF in 1974 when they stormed the prison in Asmara.
5.
In 1977, at the age of fourteen, Dehab Faytinga joined the liberation struggle and she became a combatant during the Eritrean War of Independence until the liberation in 1991.
6.
Dehab Faytinga then joined the cultural troupe as a Kunama language singer.
7.
In 1990, Dehab Faytinga toured the US and Europe as a member of The National Folkloric Troupe of Eritrea called the Sibrit Cultural Troupe.
8.
Dehab Faytinga won the 2nd prize and 1st East African women singer at the 2000 Ma' Africa in Benoni, South Africa.
9.
Dehab Faytinga composes her own songs and interprets work from well-known poets and composers from Eritrea.
10.
Dehab Faytinga has always been interested in music and developed her style 'in the field' that represents her own blend of several traditional music forms.
11.
Dehab Faytinga has been performing around the world representing Eritrea as a 'cultural ambassador' for her country.
12.
Dehab Faytinga participated in particular to Expo 2005 in Aichi, Japan and to Expo 2010 in Shanghai, China.
13.
Dehab Faytinga attended the Earth Summit 2002 held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
14.
Dehab Faytinga is one of the first artists from Eritrea engaged in support of people living with HIV and AIDS.
15.
Dehab Faytinga has participated in numerous World AIDS Day events including as guest-star singer on 1 December 2003 during the event held at the Hotel Intercontinental, and in June 2005, together with Kenyan singer Achieng Abura in an exceptional gala diner concert for the benefit of women and children affected by HIV and AIDS.
16.
Dehab Faytinga performed on the occasion of the opening of the Namibia gender-based violence Art Exhibition on 10 December 2013 at UNAIDS Headquarters in Geneva.