Radio Erena

The station was founded in 2009^[3][4] by Biniam Simon, a former journalist for Eri-TV who was allowed to travel to Japan in 2007 to take part in a seminar on video production. Fearing repression at home, he sought but was refused asylum in Japan; he then managed to make his way to France.^[5][2] With the help of Reporters Without Borders, he found financial support as well as an office for the station.^[5][6] The station uses satellite, the internet and a mobile app to broadcast in Eritrea, where it is the only independent radio station.^[2]

Since 2009, the station has broadcast news on Eritrean politics and the migration situation in Europe in Tigrinya.^[5][6] It broadcasts two hours every day.^[2] In 2010, another former journalist from Eritrean Ministry of Information who fled to Ethiopia before seeking asylum in France, Amanuel Ghirmai, has been a co-presenter.^[6] Since 2014, the radio also broadcasts a programme in Arabic three times a week, presented by Fathi Osman, a former diplomat.^[4][6]

The station stopped working for three weeks in August 2012.^[2] Its satellite dropped the station and its website was hacked.^[2] The attack was traced back to an Eritrean location.^[2]

The station won the 2017 Special Award from One World Media, a London-based human rights organization.^[3][5]

Due to a lack of funding, the station's staff was reduced from six to three in 2024.^[7]