Born in 1974 to an Ethiopian mother and an Eritrean father, Senait was abandoned by her parents as a baby and spent her early years in a state orphanage before being returned to. An unwanted baby, her mother packs her inside a suitcase, puts the case in the wardrobe and goes away.

On to forge a successful career as a model and soul singer.Īfter everything, though, she refuses to be a victim. A child from a suitcase - thats how Senait Meharis story begins. Left there by her Ethiopian mother in what she describes as 'a halfhearted mixture of murder and abandonment', it's hard to imagine a worse start in life. Soon after, Senait left home and after a brief homeless spell went Born in Eritrea in 1974, Senait Mehari was close to death when, at just a few weeks old, she was found in a suitcase on top of a wardrobe. Half starved and repeatedly raped, they were eventually There followed three years of hell in a training camp for young This were fiction, her father handed the three girls to the rebel troops In a further sickening twist, that would be scarcely credible if With the onset of Eritrea's War of Liberation againstĮthiopia, six-year-old Senait was exposed to scenes of unimaginableĬarnage, including the slaughter of 20 children when an Ethiopian pilotĭropped his cargo of explosive-stuffed dolls near her school. Punctuated only by vicious beatings and abuse. Senait's rebellious, independent spirit set her on a collisionĬourse with him, and the family's hand-to-mouth existence was Grandparents, she and two step-sisters went to live with their violent Shunted between austere state orphanages, Senait's early years Halfhearted mixture of murder and abandonment', it's hard to Left there by her Ethiopian mother in what she describes as 'a Just a few weeks old, she was found in a suitcase on top of a wardrobe. Retrieved from īorn in Eritrea in 1974, Senait Mehari was close to death when, at APA style: BOOK REVIEWS: Heart of Fire, by Senait Mehari, Profile Books, pounds 9.99.BOOK REVIEWS: Heart of Fire, by Senait Mehari, Profile Books, pounds 9.99.' Retrieved from MLA style: 'BOOK REVIEWS: Heart of Fire, by Senait Mehari, Profile Books, pounds 9.99.' The Free Library.

Heart of Fire by Senait G. Mehari